Urchin

Amazon.com
Taking their cue from trip-hop and acid-jazz progenitors such as DJ Spooky, Portishead, Bill Laswell, Coldcut, the Grassy Knoll, and DJ Shadow, Urchin construct a chill-room collage of classic hip-hop breakbeats, jazzy solo horns, sweeping string sections, and gurgling space-age synths. Punctuated by echoey turntable scratches and occasional vocal tags, stoney Urchin grooves like "Nile Rose" and "Unspoken" are built around repeating loops, short sampled figures and motifs that cycle continuously, resulting in a layered pastiche of timbres, colors, and textures that constantly mutate. Dark enough to inspire a little mystery, and upbeat enough to keep your head nodding in time, Urchin makes a cool addition to the instrumental hip-hop family tree. A trippy dreamtime soundscape peppered with ethnic, classical, jazz, electronic, and urban sounds. --James Rotondi

Tracks:

Candlelight
Crew Cut
Texas Yellow
The Peddler
Ice Cream Van
Unspoken
Nile Rose
Natural Rye
Texas Mellow
Shitewrecked

Amazon.com

Taking their cue from trip-hop and acid-jazz progenitors such as DJ Spooky, Portishead, Bill Laswell, Coldcut, the Grassy Knoll, and DJ Shadow, Urchin construct a chill-room collage of classic hip-hop breakbeats, jazzy solo horns, sweeping string sections, and gurgling space-age synths. Punctuated by echoey turntable scratches and occasional vocal tags, stoney Urchin grooves like "Nile Rose" and "Unspoken" are built around repeating loops, short sampled figures and motifs that cycle continuously, resulting in a layered pastiche of timbres, colors, and textures that constantly mutate. Dark enough to inspire a little mystery, and upbeat enough to keep your head nodding in time, Urchin makes a cool addition to the instrumental hip-hop family tree. A trippy dreamtime soundscape peppered with ethnic, classical, jazz, electronic, and urban sounds. --James Rotondi

Customer Reviews:

Pulsating loops & electronic beats.......2004-01-07

The editorial Amazon review pretty much captures the mood of this disc and identifies the styles quite well. This is one of those discs that should stay near the player and never gather much dust. I've had my copy since '99 and play it whenever the trip -hop attitude comes to mind and I feel like letting my head wander or my creative juices flow. The spatial endorphins released from listening to this disc are amazing! It is very spacey, relaxing and while listening you feel like you are on some type of extra terrestrial oddysey. The music takes you out there. Although there are times where the beats get repetive it does suddenly change directions and morf into another direction with a new beat. Good chill out music for those when those creative moments fly by and hours seem like minutes.Coming in at 67:02 it is good music for a non-obtrusive dreamy background . This is an ethereal blissed out electronic trip-hop disc that is jazzy and laid back. Part of the wafeform catalog that grew out of the internet radio show Musical Starstreams, Urchin proves to be one of those unique duos that captured a moment in time and the results seem to keep echoing on. Good stuff for those chill out moments year after year. Recomended for scratchy trip-hop fans that like spacey music in the wee hours of a new day.

One-of-a-kind work.......2003-11-28

Think I bought this based on the cover and having heard a slice of "Ice Cream Van." While the mood is very dark-maybe even frightening for very young listeners-the sophistication of the layering and arrangements shows evidence of some seriously inspired musical minds. True, it does get a bit repetitive, but with a revealing set of loudspeakers or really good headphones, this stands as a work of genius that has not been matched or even imitated.

Get it or regret it!

(BTW, does anyone else recognize the guitar riff in the middle of "Ice Cream Van" as an homage to the harpsichord in Paul Mauriat's 60's classic "Love Is Blue"?)

classic, hypnotic.......2003-10-04

I first heard of Urchin on an internet radio station. the song was "candlelight". I immediatly searched my local record shop for the album. finally after a week of searching and another week of waiting for my special order to arrive, I heard the rest of the album. I think the cd was in my player for a month straight! I play it when I throw parties for background music and find people asking me "who is this?". I don't want to drag on and write a redundant review, all I wanna say is this album is far and away the best "chill out" album ever! Find it and love it.....

Amazing.......2003-07-11

I bought this album at random a few years ago, looking for something new. It is now, by far and wide, my favorite album ever. Every song is breath-takingly beautiful. Though at first I barely ever listened to it, it slowly grew on me as I discovered all the layers. It's the best music I've ever found to daydream to. If you give it more than one chance to grow on you, you will not regret it.

Searching For UFOs.......2001-03-01

Summers Night, Clear Sky, A Full Moon Gives A Blue Cast To The Fog Hoovering Above The Ground. Reclining In An Old Wooden Chair You Let Your Mind Drift..... The Perfect Setting For This Truly Magnificent Album. Dark Beats Dovetail With Beautiful Melodies. Hands Down Urchin Has Created An Incredible Work Of Art And Demands More Attention Than They Have Recieved. (MUST BUY)

Average customer rating:

Rock n' Roll Forever
saving rock 'n' roll
Urchin is Rock

The Diamond
Sound of Urchin
Manufacturer: Hybrid Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music

Pop Rap | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Rap Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

You Are the Best
Sound of Urchin

ASIN: B0007UVXEU
Release Date: 2005-05-17

Tracks:

Police Helicopters Over Brooklyn
Jack-O-Lantern
There Are People in the Clouds
Bomb Me
Dracula Bite
White Dove
Blown Away
Howling at the Moon
Sometimes
Door
Last December
Diamond [*]
Rock n' Roll Forever [*]
Times Square 5:00 A.M. [*]

Customer Reviews:

Rock n' Roll Forever.......2006-06-15

The Diamond is a perfect album. That's about all there is to say. Every song stands on its own, and taken together present a flawless whole, some songs easygoing, some fast and punky, all melodic, tuneful, singable, rocking and fun. The musicians are excellent - Tomato is an outstanding drummer (see them live!) and the guitar and bass players are superb, each creating their own space which melds with the whole. The bonus songs are every bit as strong as the rest of the album. The production captures the energy of their frenetic live performance and still gives the songs the polish and clarity they deserve. This is a perfect album. I can't wait for the next one.

saving rock 'n' roll.......2006-03-23

A phenomenal album, by an awesome band. Heavy and intelligent. What metal of the 80's only hoped it could become. Check out "people in the clouds", "white dove", and "dracula bites." They are incredible live. See the Urchin when they come your way.

Urchin is Rock.......2005-05-17

Sound of Urchin aims to take over mainstream rock n' roll and this could be the album that does it for them. Do yourself a favor and see Urchin play live.

Average customer rating:

Markovitch / Vishnevskaya

Manufacturer: BBC Legends
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00004YYR4
Release Date: 2000-11-28

Tracks:

Francesca Da Remini, Op.32: Symphonic Fant After Dante
Lullaby
The Magpie
Night
Where Are Thou, Little Star?
The Ragamuffin
On The Dnieper
The Rite Of Spring: Part One. The Adoration Of The Earth: Intro. Lento
The Rite Of Spring: Part One. The Adoration Of The Earth: The Augurs Of Spring (Dance Of The...
The Rite Of Spring: Part One. The Adoration Of The Earth: Mock Abduction
The Rite Of Spring: Part One. The Adoration Of The Earth: Spring Round Dances
The Rite Of Spring: Part One. The Adoration Of The Earth: Games Of The Rival Tribes
The Rite Of Spring: Part One. The Adoration Of The Earth: Procession Of The Wise Elder
The Rite Of Spring: Part One. The Adoration Of The Earth: Adoration Of The Earth (The Wise Elder)
The Rite Of Spring: Part One. The Adoration Of The Earth: Dance Of The Earth
The Rite Of Spring: Part Two. The Sacrifice: Intro. Largo
The Rite Of Spring: Part Two. The Sacrifice: Mystical Cirlces Of The Young Girls
The Rite Of Spring: Part Two. The Sacrifice: Glorification Of The Chosen Victim
The Rite Of Spring: Part Two. The Sacrifice: Summoning Of The Ancestors
The Rite Of Spring: Part Two. The Sacrifice: Ritual Of The Ancestors
The Rite Of Spring: Part Two. The Sacrifice: Sacrificial Dance (The Chosen Victim)

Average customer rating:

A Mussorgsky feast beyond praise
A STRONG REBUTTLE to the "bad" reviews.
Review for Richter's "Pictures" Only
A bad whooping cough in 1958 in Sofia, Bulgaria
Giant performance!

Panorama: Modest Mussorgsky

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Russian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Panorama: Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov
Panorama: Sergey Prokofiev
Panorama: Johann Strauss
Panorama
Brahms: The Complete Symphonies / Karajan, Berlin PO

ASIN: B00004W3IV
Release Date: 2000-09-26

Tracks:

Pictures At An Exhibition: Promenade
Pictures At An Exhibition: Gnomus
Pictures At An Exhibition: Promenade
Pictures At An Exhibition: The Old Castle
Pictures At An Exhibition: Promenade
Pictures At An Exhibition: Tuileries
Pictures At An Exhibition: Bydlo
Pictures At An Exhibition: Promenade
Pictures At An Exhibition: Ballet Of The Unhatched Chicks
Pictures At An Exhibition: Samuel Goldenberg und Schmuyle
Pictures At An Exhibition: The Market At Limoges
Pictures At An Exhibition: Catacombs: The Roman Tomb
Pictures At An Exhibition: With The Dead In A Dead Language
Pictures At An Exhibition: The Hut On Chicken's Legs
Pictures At An Exhibition: The Great Gate Of Kiev
Night On Bald Mountain
Songs And Dances Of Death: 1. Lullaby
Songs And Dances Of Death: 2. Serenade
Songs And Dances Of Death: 3. Trepak
Songs And Dances Of Death: 4. The Field Marshal
Khovanshchina - Highlights: Prelude: Dawn Over The River Moscow
Khovanshchina - Highlights: Dances Of The Persian Slave Girls

Tracks:

Pictures At An Exhibition: Promenade
Pictures At An Exhibition: Gnomus
Pictures At An Exhibition: Promenade
Pictures At An Exhibition: Il vecchio castello - Promenade
Pictures At An Exhibition: Tuileries
Pictures At An Exhibition: Bydlo
Pictures At An Exhibition: Promenade
Pictures At An Exhibition: Ballet des petits poussins dans leurs coques
Pictures At An Exhibition: Samuel Goldenberg und Schmuyle
Pictures At An Exhibition: Promenade
Pictures At An Exhibition: Limoges: Le Marche
Pictures At An Exhibition: Catacombae: Sepulchrum Romanum - Cum mortuis in lingua mortua
Pictures At An Exhibition: La Cabane sur des pattes de poule
Pictures At An Exhibition: La Grande Porte de Kiev
6 Songs: Lullaby
6 Songs: The Magpie
6 Songs: Night
6 Songs: Where Art Thou, Little Star?
6 Songs: The Ragamuffin
6 Songs: On The Dnieper
Boris Godunov - Highlights: Shuisky: 'Long Live Our Tsar Boris Feodorovich!' (Prologue)
Boris Godunov - Highlights: Boris Godunov: 'My Soul Is Sad! (Prologue)
Boris Godunov - Highlights: Boris Godunov: 'I Stand Supreme In Power'
Boris Godunov - Highlights: Boris Godunov: 'Farewell, My Son, I Am Dying'
Boris Godunov - Highlights: Boris Godunov: 'Hark! 'Tis The Knell Of Death!'

Customer Reviews:

A Mussorgsky feast beyond praise.......2006-06-11

It was incredibly generous of DG to throw toegther these great performances--one of them legenday--in a bargain two-fer. The legendary performance, of course, is Richter's 1958 Pictures at an Exhibition performed in concert. The rights are owned by Philips, but I don't know if their latest remastering has been used here. The complaints about dreadful sonics are justified: the piano is far away and tinny, the Sofia audience coughs continuously--some of them are lucky to have left with their lungs intact--and there is a noisy exhaust fan in the foreground. It's a testimony to Richter's incandescent reading that it survives beyond all obstacles.

Another high point is the orchestral reading of Pictures under Giulini with the CSO. This was a famous recording in its day, because Giulini took the thrice-familiar music seriously, a bit slower than usual, adding many individual touches. Maybe his approach becomes ponderous and too serious at times, but it's one of a kind, and the solo winds in the orchestra are a delight.

Actually, I was most moved by Vishnievskaya's selection of songs, recorded in the Soviet Union with Igor Markevitch adding his superlative accompaniments--this is Mussorgsky singing of the highest order. But so is Fassbaender's Songs and Dances of Death, despite her lack of Slavic authenticity. Maazel bombs through Night on Bald Mountain with suitable thrills.

In all, this Panorama two-fer can't be faulted. It's one of the very best in the seeries, and several of the choicest things on it are otherwise out of print.

A STRONG REBUTTLE to the "bad" reviews........2006-05-19

155 minutes of music and one reviewer gives these CDs 1 star for couging here and there during 7 minutes of Richter's Pictures recital. Not continually mind you. I DON'T GET IT!
A reviewer doesn't like vocal music..so 2 stars. I DON'T GET IT! Just because one does not like "classical" vocals, doesn't mean they stink.
This is over 2 1/2 hours at single CD budget price. Geez...
Giulini gives a superbly recorded THRILLING performance of Pictures that, in my humble opinion, is second only to Reiner's. Also with the CSO 15 years earlier.
This 34+ minutes alone is worth the price of this collection.
The excerpts from Boris Gudonov are considered one of the best performances in the catalog (Karajan/VPO). 29 minutes and a good way to determine if you want to purchase the complete opera 3 CD set for over $30+ bucks.
Markevich/Vishnevskaya is considered to be the definitive version for the "6 songs".
The Kovanshchina prelude (Dawn on The Moskva River) is one the most heart rending themes in the canon. Simply gorgeous 6 minute piece of music.
I could go on and on.
Sure there are a few "gaffs" on these CDs. Maazel brings in Bald Mountain in under 10 minutes. Whew!
But hey...kudos to the orchestra for being able to play that well, that fast without stumbling over each other. Quite exhilerating acually.
And Then there is Richter's famous/"infamous" Pictures. Yes the annoying cough and a not so sonic recording. But anyone looking for just this track should already have been aware of this problem. "Classisists" have been talking about this problem for 50+ years. Obviously it can't be fixed. But still several coughs in 30+ minutes just makes it sound as live a performance as it is.
So let's recap...155 minutes of music with maybe parts of 15 minutes of minor problems for DISCOUNT bucks. Pretty good math I'd say. Equals 5 STARS where I come from.
Overall, this is an excellent CD for those who want Mussorgsky's major orchestral output in one package at a bargain price.
Top conductors, top orchestras, great performances and, except for Richter's Pictures, GREAT SONICS.
If you want a truly magnificent solo piano Pictures try Pletnev's on Virgin Classics. It will blow you away. And you get the bonus of his own piano transcription of Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty which is even better.
ENJOY!

Review for Richter's "Pictures" Only.......2006-04-24

I was thrilled to find that Deutsche Grammophon has reissued Sviatoslav Richter's famous Sophia performance of "Pictures." I have owned it on tape, but have until now not had it on CD. I was surprised by previous reviews of this edition, since I thought that the explosive coughing had been toned down substantially. My tape broke years ago, so maybe my memory is off. But the re-engineering of this performace has been one of the most needed "retrofits" in the entire classical catalogue. The sound quality of this edition is certainly much better than the old Polydor record.

I also will refrain from entering the "Is it the greatest Pictures ever?"-debate. It is my favorite. One sometimes hears critics dismiss the piano--thus Mussorgsky's--version as monochromatic. But Richter presents a much more percussive version than most others, which may be why some people don't care for it. (My dad played this piece with a more Romantic reading.) It's a matter of taste: I have never cared for the Ravel version, probably because the percussive aspect doesn't translate into orchestration.

I almost never write music reviews, since I'd hate to convince people to plunk down good money on a CD that conforms to my taste but not theirs. BUT, if you have enjoyed this performace in the past . . .

I give five stars to Richter recital, which amazes me still. I agree that his deliberate "clunkers" are distracting. But having listened to this performance for almost twenty years, it is the "correct" playing of Pictures that now jars me. If you love this performance, as I clearly do, you'll be happy to have this CD. Just don't Google the Hartmann pictures which inspired Mussorgsky. It's disillusioning, but they aren't very good!

A bad whooping cough in 1958 in Sofia, Bulgaria.......2006-04-17

I was listening to the magnificient percussion and
overall sound of this double release, from 2000, #469 169-2,
when throughout the 1st CD, which opens up with the Mussorgsky
number PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION, there's an irritating
musician in the room, exhibiting signs of a bad whooping cough,
thereby totally destroying the 20 minutes or so recording!

There are many soft passages throughout the number, and
it is just incredible that DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON allowed the
bad caugh distractions and irritations (cough! cough! cough!)
to stay on the tape!

Unbelievable! It's so bad, I thought about unloading this
art work, at a second hand music store for a buck and a half,
although I surely paid more than $20 for this double CD release
a few years ago.

I don't care much for the vocal pieces, either.

Aside from that, the remainder of the release is very strong,
so ...I can't bring myself to unload it....yet, anyway.

Giant performance!.......2005-06-03

Carlo Maria Giulini has been to my mind one of the most aristocratic, intelligent, wisdom and remarkable conductors in the last Century. Born in 1914, Giulini owns that special touch of genius that has been proved in several ocassions.
There are several works in the Symphonic repertoire whose meaning depends in last instance of your personal world's approach. The list wold be extremely long but briefly I would name five classic works: The Eroica, The First of Mahler, The Ninth of Bruckner, The fourth of Nielsen and this work.
What do you demand from this work? Fireworks, nostalgic approach, musical musculature,effectism or tonal poolish?
Besides a great amount of recorded versions, there is however, a relatively small number of succesful performances from the early forties with Arturo Toscanini, Guido Cantelli and Igor Markevitch in the fifties, Dorati in the sixties and then Markevitch again and Giulini in the seventies.
Giulini gives this work a remarkable stature, enriching the score with sumptuous details and rubatos, smart accents, inflexions, color sense and above all a noblesse spirit that personally I haven't listened in any other previous version.
Go for this golden treasure recording. But do not expect great fireworks exercises. Giulini never searched the gallery' s applause. He was a honest and original master by himself: his personal landmark.

Average customer rating:

Awesome TALENT!
Music Lover
Rock, Funk, Rythmic, Enjoyable
A little bit of everything you ever wanted!

You Are the Best
Sound of Urchin
Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Sound of Urchin
The Diamond

ASIN: B00005UKM8
Release Date: 2002-01-22

Tracks:

Zen Magic Marker
Rock N' Roll Jubilee
Scary Skull Eyes
Billy The Eagle
Let It Rain
Fireflies On The 4th Of July
Laying On Your Zeets
The Millipede/Who'll Stop The Beggar
Alligator Swamp
The Clearing Hole
Cross The Cloud
Space Station On The 4, 5 & 6
The Alligator
Happy

Customer Reviews:

Awesome TALENT!.......2005-10-21

This band is extremely talented and will probably be appreciated most by the more intelligent listeners. This CD grows on me every time I hear it. Then, I heard them live. GO IF YOU CAN!!! They are a band I am sure will become more well-known as people experience their truly amazing talent and energy. Tomato, Doo Doo and Seahag are all outstanding. However, I am partial... the Rev. B-Ill is a master on the guitar! This CD may not rock as much as their Diamond CD, but watch out, there is likely more rock coming... and when you hear them play live, you will agree - THEY DO ROCK! If you purchase this CD, do it without expectations. It's a bit different and with a little time, it may just become your favorite!

Music Lover.......2004-01-27

THis band sucks. I bought it based off of what i heard in the samples and was very much disapointed in what i heard once i got it. There is no rock and no good rapping. It is obvious that this band has no freaking idea about what they are doing. Don't buy it it sucks.

Rock, Funk, Rythmic, Enjoyable.......2002-04-26

Sound of Urchin is unclassifiable, but I'll try anyway. A very straight-ahead rock band that flows easily into and out of funk similar to 311, rap, reggae, and alternative similar to Three Mile Pilot. They're obviously enjoying what they're doing, making it near impossible to not want to beg to go along for the ride.

A little bit of everything you ever wanted!.......2002-02-05

An excellent album. The next best thing to seeing the sound of Urchin live is to listen to their album. You Are the Best is an eclectic ride from straight rock, to funk, back to hard rock, over to reggae and back again to hard rock while making all stops in between. It is refreshing to here a good rock band that does not takes itself too seriously. You can tell that the band is having fun and it is contagious while listening to it.

Tracks:

Mr. Hanalei
Cherry Mountain (Herdin' The Sheep)
Quiz Show Spy
Fearless Vampire Killers
Space Station On The 4, 5 & 6

Customer Reviews:

Awesome.......2005-03-15

Defanatly does not represent the live show but if you have heard them live you know they bring the rock each and everytime. This disk is a good first outing and an important part of hearing how their sound progressed from this disk to where they are now. Deaner doesn't have to answer for anything other than hearing something good and bringing it to the people (I'm looking at you boonerang.)

A Review Haiku by Todd Marrone.......2003-12-16

A very good band,
not a spectacular disk,
they are better live.

worth it.......2001-08-18

this cd is really cool, nice buy for 6 bucks or whetever it costs. I really like the flow, the singer has funny rhymes.

Great start.......2000-11-17

I just heard of these guys and am very happy to have stumbled upon this disc. It is straight up refreshing and fun. These guys have musical influences that run the gamut, and make for a very eclectic sound. I keep hearing about them live, but I have never seen them. I will make a point to check them out, but for the time being, I am very glad I have this disc to tide me over.

Dean Ween, you have so much to answer for.......2000-09-21

ANOTHER rock/funk band with a rapper with no flow. Gee, color me surprised. All the background says the band is fantastic live, and I hope that's the case because the energy on the disc seems forced and cliché. Sure, you can talk over a loud track, but that doesn't make you a rapper. You can throw swear words around, but that doesn't make you a rebel. You can talk about herding sheep, but that doesn't necessarily make you a shepherd. The music is all riffs you've heard before, which really surprises me. If Dean Ween is co-producing, he must have been asleep at the controls, because none of the sonic genius or creativity that marks their work is here. I hope Dean had a nice nap.

Average customer rating:

Mood(y) Music
I was blown away by the Mystic Upbeat sound "Of What May Be"
Seattle masters of atmosphere's first album a success

Ode to the Urchin
Creeping Myrtle
Manufacturer: Doldrum
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Ambient | Dance & DJ | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Experimental | Miscellaneous | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00000IMDQ
Release Date: 1999-03-02

Tracks:

Acidophilus
Mab
Sunnyside
Ketura
Step in the Sun
A Good Mope
Valentine
Of What May Be
Flimsy
The Shy Reserve
The Nether Reaches of Florid Dandyism
Departure Never Leaves

Album Description

Music to snog and smoke to while wearing headphones in the dark, eyes closed, breathing deep the gathering gloom.

Customer Reviews:

Mood(y) Music.......2000-05-11

Ever had one of those days where it was rainy and bleak and you just wanted to sleep the world away? But you were kind of enjoying yourself--reveling in your own morose thoughts and self-pity? This is the soundtrack for that day! Randal Prater, the lead guitar player and poet laureate of Creeping Myrtle, is an excellent musician (check out the weird Gothic scream on Valentine, like a succubus' wail); and his writing is thoughtful, funny and more full of angst than Goethe's Sorrowful Young Werther. He's got a great woeful voice, and isn't afraid to let it crack with emotion, or whisper with introspective asides, or snarl in anger. I don't like comparing bands to other bands, but I get the same kind of pleasure out of this album that I did listening to Dead Can Dance and This Mortal Coil back in my college days. My favorite song on the album is Step In The Sun. (Go listen to the whole thing on www.doldrum.com.) It starts out very slow and slithery, then builds to a funky-maudlin jam session. The lyrics are haunting: "I'll make you sigh as we float down the stream/As we float down the stream/To the end of your dream." The song conjures the image of lovers floating down a river on their backs (like poor Ophelia in the painting by Delaroche), hand in hand, relentlessly pulled toward some mysterious end, but finding succor in each other's company. How many bands these days invoke apparitions like that? Sadly, they're few and far between. I want more from Creeping Myrtle; I can't wait to hear (and see) what they summon next.

I was blown away by the Mystic Upbeat sound "Of What May Be".......1999-04-30

I have followed Creeping Myrtle for some time now. I am really impressed with the way both their lyrics and sound has evolved. I really enjoy how original their music is. I really enjoy the entire album. But "Of What May Be" just mesmerizes me.

Seattle masters of atmosphere's first album a success.......1999-04-26

Having prided myself for years on the inability to predict the future, I find I must now humbly admit my accuracy from 1995 in forecasting the success of a band I knew only from a free tape snapped up at the last minute from the front counter in Orpheum, a record store in Seattle, Washington: Creeping Myrtle. At that time, I wrote, "Fans of our very own Jessamine, My Diva, and Sky Cries Mary can add Creeping Myrtle ... to their lists of local bands having little to do with grunge and everything to do with ecstasy." Anchored by the singing, guitar playing, tape manipulation--and insistent talent--of its front man, Randal Prater, the band has since then gone through a few personnel changes, managed to hang onto its name, and built logically on the promise of its E.P.s, _Corduroy_, _Peculiar_, and _Bead_ (soon to be collected on a CD called _Kindergarten_), to produce a full-length album worthy of a daring prediction. _Ode to the Urchin_, on Doldrum Records, 12 tracks long, with an accompanying Web site and little fear of MP3, represents both a culmination of its gentle, atmospheric (but electronics-shy) aesthetic and a new beginning for its concision, rhythmic experimentalism, and--dare I say--songwriting. Whereas before, the band seemed content to establish a mood and allow the songs to meander along a progression of luscious harmonies, now it shifts tempos, employs cadences, and inserts dissonant chords with the confident logic of a seasoned ensemble building on previous work. Prater's ethereal, echoing voice and metronomic strumming guides each song through its changes, as drummer-percussionist Gary Hunt and accompanist Peter Sawtell provide gentle meter and ambiance. If you live in the Northwest and want the perfect soundtrack to rainy afternoons at the end of the millennium, or if you simply want to imagine living under such moody conditions, _Ode to the Urchin_ is the disc for you.

Average customer rating:

A real piece of history from 1958 - mono but not dated

Moussorgsky: Complete Songs

Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000002S0Q
Release Date: 1989-08-16

Tracks:

Tell Me, Star, Where Art Thou?
The Joyous Hour
Tell my why, O Maid
The Leaves Were Sadly Rustling - Gerald Moore
I am Rich in Palaces
For You, the Words of Love
King Saul - Orch National de la Radiodiffusion Francaise/Georges Tzipine
Song of the Old Man
We Parted Proudly
The Wind are Howling - Orch National de la Radiodiffusion Francaise/Georges Tzipine
Night
Calistratus
Balearic Song
A Prayer
The Cast-off Woman
Sleep, Son of Peasants
Mignonne

Tracks:

Desire
Gopak - Orch National de la Radiodiffusion Francaise/Georges Tzipine
Savishna
The Seminarist
Hebrew Song
The Magpie
Seeking Mushrooms
Piruchka (The Feast)
The Street-Urchin
The He-Goat
By the River Don
The Classic
The Orphan
A Children's Song
With Nursey
In the Corner
The Beetle
With the Doll
Evening Prayer
The Hobby-Horse
The Cat 'Sailor'
Eriomushka's Cradle Song
The Puppet-show
Evening Song
The Forsaken One

Tracks:

Within Four Walls
Thine Eyes in the Crowd Ne'er Perceived Me
The Useless Day is Over
Ennui
Elegy
On the River
Trepak - Orch National de la Radiodiffusion Francaise/Georges Tzipine
Cradle Song - Orch National de la Radiodiffusion Francaise/Georges Tzipine
Serenade - Orch National de la Radiodiffusion Francaise/Georges Tzipine
The Warrior-Captain - Orch National de la Radiodiffusion Francaise/Georges Tzipine
Cruel Death
The Misunderstood One
Misfortune
The Spirit of Heaven
What Fellow is Fitted for Weaving or Spinning?
Trouble
A Vision
Master Haughty
The Wanderer
On the Dnieper
Song of Mephistopheles - Orch National de la Radiodiffusion Francaise/Georges Tzipine

Customer Reviews:

A real piece of history from 1958 - mono but not dated.......1998-12-14

This box set earns its 5 stars on three counts. The first, the obvious one, that Boris Christoff (so closely identified with his namesake Godunov) is the perfect Mussorgsky bass. The second is that these songs are all excellent, not many 'complete' song collections can be so uniformly good. The third, and this is what makes it 5 stars not 4, is that EMI have really taken the libretto seriously - 144 pages with full cyrillic texts (not just roman alphabet transcriptions) plus translations in English, French and German. Timings: 57'14 66'51 67'57