Black Sheep

Product Description
Black Sheep, the first indie release showcases the emotional diversity of Martins extraordinary voice, songwriting and character. Song production is similarly varied with certain tracks lush and full, while others remain simple and acoustic.

Black Sheep,Martin Sexton

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Average customer rating: another incredible album by Mr. Sexton Martin Sexton is gold As seen on Scrubs Great after a few listens Very soulful folk singer

Black Sheep Martin Sexton Manufacturer: Kitchen Table ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music General | Folk | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Wonder Bar The American Live Wide Open Seeds In the Journey ASIN: B00023GGMG Release Date: 2004-04-20

Tracks:

1. Black Sheep
2. Glory Bound
3. Diner
4. Freedom Of The Road
5. Caught In The Rain
6. Love Keep Us Together
7. Over My Head
8. Gypsy Woman
9. Candy
10. Can't Stop Thinking Bout You
11. America The Beautiful

Customer Reviews:

another incredible album by Mr. Sexton.......2007-07-19

I believe that Martin Sexton is the best kept "secret" in the music industry. I have a couple of his discs and feel that his range and musicianship are phenomenal. Black Sheep is an immensely entertaining offering, and is recommended without reservation. If you like great singer songwriters, check out Martin Sexton.

Martin Sexton is gold.......2007-07-06

I have yet to hear a song of his that I do not like. This CD has only one upbeat song (Diner, Track 3) and it's a lot of fun.

As seen on Scrubs.......2007-05-28

The song Diner from the Black Sheep album is a great song. Makes you want to get up and bust some moves. The rest of the album is...kinda not so great.

Great after a few listens.......2007-05-06

I simply bought this album for its track "Diner", which I loved. After importing it onto my computer, the songs started to come on once in a while on shuffle, but I almost always seemed to switch to "Diner" when any of them came on because they weren't pleasing me. It got to the point where I had played Diner 10 times and only a few other tracks once. Feeling that I had a made a bad decision, I decided to finally give the album a listen in full to see if that was the case. I didn't find the album specia after that listen, but I wasn't too upset by it. After a while longer, some of the songs were coming on randomly again and I was beginning to find them significantly more pleasing. At some point, I again decided to listen to the album in full. This listen was much more pleasing. After a few more listens, it has become one of my favorite albums. On one day while listening to the album, I felt so compelled to have more Martin Sexton that I went to the mall right then. Great album, after a few listens.

Very soulful folk singer.......2007-04-11

Martin Sexton is a great vocalist, very soulful, and a talented songwriter. I love this album; it is simple and unadorned, but you don't need a lot of over production when you have this kind of talent. Particularly fun is the song "Diner" which was featured on "Scrubs" as a dance montage.
Highly recommended.

Average customer rating: A Creature All Its Own

Black Sheep Boy (Definitive Edition) Okkervil River Manufacturer: Jagjaguwar ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Lo-Fi | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: New Moon Sky Blue Sky Armchair Apocrypha Overboard & Down God Save the Clientele ASIN: B000MRA6K0 Release Date: 2007-03-06

Tracks:

1. Black Sheep Boy
2. For Real
3. In a Radio Song
4. Black
5. Get Big
6. King and a Queen
7. Stone
8. Latest Toughs
9. Song of Our So-Called Friend
10. So Come Back, I Am Waiting
11. Glow
12. For Real [Multimedia Track]

Tracks:

1. Missing Children
2. No Key, No Plan
3. Garden
4. Black Sheep Boy, Pt. 4
5. Next Four Months
6. Another Radio Song
7. Forest
8. Last Love Song for Now
9. No Key, No Plan [Alternate Take][Multimedia Track]

Amazon.com

When Okkervil River released Black Sheep Boy Appendix in 2005, it seemed like the band just couldn't stop themselves. Folk icon Tim Hardin's tune had both opened and provided the name for the preceding full-length album, and the "Black Sheep Boy" was too compelling a concept to leave behind. Ouch, you sigh, a concept album: But here, the concept disappears, replaced by Will Sheff's fantastic narrative songwriting and a mix of electrics and acoustics--guitars, pump organs, mandolins, vibraphones, and more. Then there's this 2-CD Black Sheep Boy Definitive Edition, merging the original album with the Appendix EP. It's a spare-beauty-turned-turbulent thing. On "Another Radio Song," Sheff's an imagist, bellowing and pleading alongside a cresting string section: "There is no escaping it / The way an unborn baby's ear unfolds in your belly / There is no escaping the thing that is making its home in your radio." It all becomes a bursting emotional leap. And for the Definitive album, you find that classic rock gem: an unreleased track whose easy brilliance seems effortless. "The Next Four Months" is a pill-popping, husband-ditching classic, "We're driving down the interstate/ You're feeling great / You scratch your wrist / And we pretend your kids, your husband / All you left does not exist," the story goes. You can guess the ending. But it's the whole piece, words and music, that you have to hear to imagine. --Andrew Bartlett

Album Description

This is the definitive double-disc set which brings together Okkervil River's ground-breaking Black Sheep Boy project in its entirety--including the original album, the 7-song Black Sheep Boy Appendix EP, the song "The Next Four Months" (originally released on the "For Real" CD single), the "For Real" video as well as a new video of a magical alternate slower take of "No Key, No Plan". Enjoy this panoramic perspective of a modern masterpiece and one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the new millennium. Black Sheep Boy is Okkervil River's most ambitious and cinematic record to date, a love story and adult fable carved in lacerating rock and roll, desolate late-night country weepers, and a few shining moments of sheer, shameless pop. Along the way, the compositions of Will Sheff evoke the mature songcraft of Leonard Cohen's New Skin for the Old Ceremony, the sophistication of Scott Walker's Scott 4, the shambling slow-motion bravado of Neil Young's On the Beach, and the raw nerves and trick effects of Big Star's Third/Sister Lovers. The Appendix is not just a companion piece to Black Sheep Boy; it's also a condensed, alternate vision of that record's imagery and themes, with the ultimate intent to exhaust and destroy both. This ambitious mini-album rounds up and reworks the band's favorite unfinished songs (tracked for the full-length) and then punctuates and bookends them in brand-new compositions.

Customer Reviews:

A Creature All Its Own.......2007-07-07

Okkervil River is one of those rare bands that came on the scene like a crippled child in a street race, tons of ambition and heart in a limping fragile frame. With each reappearance their stamina shines through however, as every album they release is an exponential improvement over the last. With Black Sheep Boy they have, not only come to full maturity as a band, but have grown into a powerful creature of immense musical talent aswell. They are without a doubt miles ahead of their competition. On par with bands such as The National, Arcade Fire, and The Decemberists, as far as talent and personal voice, if not also in style (Think: The child of The National and The Decemberists trapped inside of a very troubling dream).

The Album does not stick to a single genre, sometimes it's alt-county, sometimes it's straight up rock, but it's always musically inspired and rewarding to listen to. But the part that makes this an excellent Album, rather than a collection of songs, is the epic scope of the story it contains.

The songs collect the thoughts and experiences of a true struggle with evil. The physical turmoil of a rotten relationship, the very real vices and temptations of humanity, the sickly excitement and victories that evil enjoys, all of these things are brought together to form the black sheep boy, the devil inside us all. The story is extremely personal, and Okkervil River's great strength is the injection of emotion into every line, and every note of the songs. But even for an album completely covered with the struggle with evil, it never gets bogged down in the darkness, and is more often triumphant in it's victories over the enemy. I'm always overjoyed with the pitiful pleas of evil desires as the hero turns his back on the empty promises and lies and moves on to a better life.

Add to all of this, the fact that it now comes packaged with The Black Sheep Boy's Appendix, for almost no extra cost, and you have a definitive product indeed. The Appendix is an EP that was released several months after Black Sheep Boy. However, it is seriously one of the best mini-albums I've ever heard. From start to finish the songs segue like a masterpiece stage act. Floating from song to song, remembering themes and images from itself and Black Sheep Boy propper, it finalizes the story and musical arc of Black Sheep Boy. It contains several songs that are even more beautiful and grander than the songs on the album itself. Check out 'Another Radio Song' to find the best song Okkervil River has recorded to date, in my opinion.

This is a must have for any fan of adventurous albums with emotion, talent, and character. I have listened to it at least once a week for the past year and a half. Give it a try.

Average customer rating: A wolf ain't the word AWWWWWW MAY-ANNNNN!!!!! Still as potent as it was in 1991......... Bah Bah Buy it Definite Classic

A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing Black Sheep Manufacturer: Fontana Island ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music East Coast | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music General | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music Experimental Rap | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music Pop Rap | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Dead Serious Mecca and the Soul Brother Here Come the Lords Stunts, Blunts & Hip-Hop One for All ASIN: B000001G0E Release Date: 1994-01-25

Tracks:

1. Intro
2. U Mean I'm Not
3. Butt In The Meantime
4. Have U.N.E. Pull
5. Strobelite Honey
6. Are You Mad?
7. The Choice Is Yours
8. To Whom It May Concern
9. Similak Child
10. Try Counting Sheep
11. Flavor Of The Month
12. La Menage
13. L.A.S.M.
14. Gimme The Finga
15. Hoes We Knows
16. Go To Hail
17. Black With N.V. (No Vision)
18. Pass The 40
19. Blunted
20. For Doz That Slept
21. The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)
22. Yes

Amazon.com

Dres and Mista Lawnge kicked off their careers in high style as the bratty kid brothers--the, uh, proverbial Black Sheep--of the Native Tongue family. It's not a completely deserved reputation, since the pair's debut disc is a slickly produced effort with smooth rhymes and strong beats. The guest spots are kept to a minimum, though they remain choice, especially when kid MC Chi Ali raps, "pass the 40, 'cause my mother's not looking." The duo's style pulls toward humor, which they try to keep understated (in their sexual boasts), but it sometimes goes way over the top--most notably on the gangsta-rap parody "U Mean I'm Not," in which the narrator kills his sister for using his toothbrush. --Randy Silver

Customer Reviews:

A wolf ain't the word.......2007-04-11

African-Americans have come along way from the days where we were called all sort of names that dehumanized us. Now here comes the underground black people with words that were buried and now resurrected again. The artist of this cd needs to read the Scriptures because YHWH says we are wonderfully and fearfully made, we are not animals, but was given dominion to rule animals. We were made in the image of YHWH so how could we be m...........f.....? It's a shame so many are LOST and can't find their way back home.

AWWWWWW MAY-ANNNNN!!!!!.......2007-01-24

essential early 90s hip hop that is hardcore, yet laid back. the production is stellar!!!!! just about every song is a beautiful head noddah!!!! they just don't make hip hop albums like this anymore. i could never get tired of listening to this. BAH BAH INDEED NOW!!!!!

Still as potent as it was in 1991................2006-11-14

Dres & Mr. Lawnge dropped this monster back in 91. Every song hits. Timeless Classic.

Bah Bah Buy it.......2006-08-29

This is the least known of the Native Tounges groups but don't let that get in the way. This album is so dope and it might just be the best of the Native Tounges albums. Seriously. Every track is lyrical and production brilliance and the wordplay of Dres is just incredible. Also there are lots of hilariously great lines all over the place. No collection is complete without this masterpiece.

Top Songs- every song!

Definite Classic.......2006-07-27

This one's gotta be in the classics archive along with "De La Soul is Dead" and "The Low End Theory". With the exception of 1 or 2 tracks, overall this is a tight album, and even though its a 1-hit CD group, this one should be in your collection if you're into the Native Tongue style (also recommend Chi Ali if you can find it!)

Average customer rating: How a boy became a man... Broken But Beautiful Black Sheep Boy Brilliant. A finely sharpened dart Highly rated... guess I have to listen more

Black Sheep Boy Okkervil River Manufacturer: Jagjaguwar ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Lo-Fi | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs The Crane Wife Shut Up I Am Dreaming Feels Separation Sunday ASIN: B0007UDCBC Release Date: 2005-04-05

Tracks:

1. Black Sheep Boy
2. For Real
3. In A Radio Song
4. Black
5. Get Big
6. A King And A Queen
7. A Stone
8. The Latest Toughs
9. Song Of Our So-Called Friend
10. So Come Back, I Am Waiting
11. A Glow

Amazon.com

The band's name comes from an obscure Russian story and the album title comes from a song by fallen '60s folk hero Tim Hardin, but the haunting music here is purely the Austin collective's own. Like tour partners the Decemberists and soul mate Alasdair Roberts, Okkervil River deals primarily in dark string instruments and even darker poetry. "Some nights I thirst for real blood/ For real knives/ For real cries," singer Will Sheff sings on opening track, "For Real," signaling that his appetite for southern gothic muder ballads remains as strong as ever on the group's fourth album. The sinister "So Come Back, I Am Waiting" and "Black" confirm this suspicion. Less country, more Arcade Fire--whatever that means--Black Sheep Boy paradoxically also finds the band at its most commercially ambitious. Here, the slow death rattle of previous releases slowly gives way to explosive choruses and actual gore. --Aidin Vaziri

Album Description

On Okkervil River's first Jagjaguwar release, Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See, the band included a song entitled "Listening to Otis Redding at Home During Christmas," a kind of re-imagining of Redding's "I've Got Dreams to Remember." On the band's newest release, they perform a trickier feat, as songwriter Will Sheff takes a lesser-known text — "Black Sheep Boy" by `60s folk-pop master Tim Hardin — and spins that short song's imagery into a phantasmagorical evocation of the title character, including a brief cover and a couple of sprawling, surreal sequels. Black Sheep Boy is Okkervil River's most ambitious and cinematic record yet, a love story and adult fable that evokes the mature songcraft of Leonard Cohen's New Skin for the Old Ceremony, the sophistication of Scott Walker's Scott 4, the shambling slow-motion bravado of Neil Young's On the Beach, and the raw nerves and trick effects of Big Star's Third/Sister Lovers. It also echoes Lou Reed's Transformer in that it is the band's most playful and confident record by far, delighting in linguistic games and reveling equally in sheer pop, lacerating rock'n'roll and straight-up country weepers. The most fully realized and wildly adventurous Okkervil River album also introduces such previously foreign elements as children's keyboards, digitally manipulated field recordings, and dirty splatters of distorted guitar. The longing might be keener, but the fun is funner - somebody has spiked the drinks, and there are at least two bullets in the Russian roulette chamber.

"We will float until we learn how to swim. Yes, that's an In the Aeroplane Over the Sea reference, and yes, Okkervil River has that sort of mythical genius." - Magnet's Eighth Best Record of 2003

Customer Reviews:

How a boy became a man..........2007-06-23

This is simply the most moving, beautiful story ever told via an album. Its the story of abuse, love, hope, friendship, regret, despair, happiness, and especially anger, which is most apparent in the song "Black", in which Will Sheff unleashes so much emotion through his vocals that one can't help but feel his complete and utter hatred. "Black Sheep Boy" is filled with absolute musical gems, including:

For Real - A brilliant poppish type song that sends the album off to a great start, its highly infectious and a pretty emotional song via Sheff's vocals.
9.5/10

In A Radio Song - The very next song following For Real. This is a very somber, tranquil, relaxing song, mixed with beautiful music play and vocals, which is nice, becuase it gets you prepared for the next song. 9/10

Black - Following In A Radio Song, Black is... well its quite possibly the greatest song ever composed. By far the most emotional, heart-wrenching, beautiful song on the entire album. The story of his abused girlfriend, and how he tries to help her, while showing his true anger towards the girls father. A song about love and hatred, and Sheff lets us know that through his amazing, perhaps over the top vocals (in a good way though), which makes the song so incredible. I can only think of one other song with more emotion, and thats Korn's "Daddy". Absolutely astounding and the greatest song ever, describes this song pretty well.
10/10 (100/10 if I could)

A Stone - Ha ha, oh yes, this song is something. This takes a chick flik and turns it into a five and a half-minute song. First there's hope, then love, then sorrow, and thats about it. Mixed with somber and freshly calmed vocals, A Stone is the greatest story every told in this short of span. I absolutely love it, I can't possibly see any other way of looking at it. Sheer brilliance.
10/10

The Latest Toughs - An upbeat, catchy song, that carries the album along quite well. A very refreshing change from the rest of the album, and I LOVE the background vocals in this song. Though the upbeat part of the song may seem confusing, because this is most certainly not a cheerful song.
8.5/10

So Come Back, I Am Waiting - How the boy became a man. Just listen to this song, thats all I can say. But you have to listen to the predecessing songs first, since they really lead up to this song. I like to think of this as the ending song of the album, although A Glow does continue it. This is really the final chapter in the album, about how this young man finally manages to see the inner light in life, and his love. He finally becomses a man, which Sheff cooes near the end of the song "So come back to your black sheep man". A fantastic, beautifully muically composed piece of art. Most bands can only dream of composing a song this incredible, both musically and lyrically and vocally. WoW!
10/10, duh.

Album Overall: 10/10
This is the most well written album, lyrically it makes one think deeply and emotionally. This is whats missing in the music world today, incredible music mixed with unforgettable lyrics. So many songs nowadays are so straight forward and utterly disappointing, well not any of the songs on this album do that. How good is this album? Well its one of the 10 greatest albums ever, how about that? Any indie rock lover can certainly not miss out on this piece of art. I also recommend checking out Shearwater's (both Will Sheff and Jonathan Meiburg are in this band as well, though Jonathan is the lead singer, and the sound is more soothing and relaxed) "Palo Santo". This is the greatest album since Radiohead's OK Computer, and touches the heart in so many places. Well done Okkervil River, well done.

Broken But Beautiful Black Sheep Boy.......2007-04-25

Can an album be depressing yet uplifting at the same time? Thats how i feel everytime i listen to this album. It always seems to find itself into my rotation when depressed, yet when i hear the song For Real i cant help but jam along to the thundering guitar. If you pay attention to the lyrics they are some of the darkest stuff written in a while, but you can't help but sing along. I would compare this to a darker (not more emo) Bright Eyes. Will Sheff spills everything he has into every word he spews, and the thundering rhythm section melds perfectly with his cracked voice. Great vocals and Amazing arrangements.
Key Tracks: For Real; So Come Back I'm Waiting; Black; Song of Our So-Called Friend; A Stone

Brilliant........2006-10-18

Out of Austin comes the little-known band Okkervil River, playing some of the most imaginative, beautiful, and heartfelt songs I've ever heard. Okkervil River goes a bit rock and pop with songs like "Black" and "All the Latest Toughs"; they absolutely blister with the raw and wonderfully coarse "For Real"; quiet down with the delicate and sublime "A Stone". But the crowning glory on this album is "So Come Back, I Am Waiting": a desperate, clawing, nearly nine-minute epic crescendo, filled with wild emotion, great alliteration, and wonderfully descriptive imagery. The entire album is loosely woven around the theme of the black sheep boy-- but it's not a story, more of a feeling, with repeating elements and imagery that flicker in and out. Between the varied instruments, Will Sheff's emotive voice and his wonderful use of language, this is my favorite album, period.

A finely sharpened dart.......2006-08-15

Take Andrew Bird, mix in a bit of Modest Mouse and sprinkle a little of Calexico's horn section in between, and enjoy the resulting "Black Sheep Boy". This is a really powerful album, because of many variables. The one that did it for me though, was the raw emotion of the singer, Will Sheff. This emotion is coupled to smart lyrics that reveal a raw maturity. Raw is a good word to describe "Black Sheep Boy", because in my opinion it describes perfectly the awkwardness, the pain and fury from growing up. Not just growing up, but growing from those really hurtful yet subtle cuts...parting ways with a loved one, a friend, and coming to terms with one's family. They're the stories of the black sheep among us losing their innocence, but learning to live. And this band does an excellent job of playing the rage, tenderness, and exhaustion.

All tracks are impressive. Whether loud or tender, each is strong with a depth of instrumentals. I don't think the band took a song off in this record, however, slight angst fatigue set in beginning with "So comeback" for me. Repeated listening is essential but well worth it. A great record, perfect for long drives.

Highly rated... guess I have to listen more.......2006-08-01

This album was highly recommended on many sites so I decided to give it a try. True, it's a good album and worth buying.

But, sometimes a little too much Bright Eyes and even Counting Crows. You got to like the singing I guess, otherwise the songs are all ok.

Average customer rating: Outstanding Incredible..Worth 30 stars Superb singing matched with superb arrangements Beautiful music Beautiful Music, Yet There Is No There Here

Blue Wheat Stephen Foster , John , American Traditional , Spiritual Traditional , and Dale Warland Singers Manufacturer: American Choral ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Foster, Stephen | ( F ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Folk | Styles | Music Folk Songs | Songs & Lieder | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: Harvest Home Christmas With the Dale Warland Singers Cathedral Classics December Stillness Christmas Echoes, Vol. 1 ASIN: B000003M4T Release Date: 1996-06-18

Tracks:

1. Oh, Shenandoah (Traditional)
2. He's Goin' Away (Traditional)
3. Skip To My Lou (Traditional)
4. Steal Away (Spiritual)
5. Wayfarin' Stranger (Traditional)
6. Soldier, Soldier Won't You Marry Me? (Traditional)
7. Pretty Saro (Traditional)
8. Johnny Has Gone For A Soldier
9. Black Is The Color (Traditional)
10. Red River Valley 9 (Traditional)
11. Nelly Bly (Stephen Foster)
12. My Lord, What A Mornin' (Spiritual)
13. Jeanie With The Light Brown Hair (Stephen Foster)
14. Hard Times Come Again No More (Stephen Foster)
15. Single Girl (Traditional)
16. Deep River (Spiritual)
17. Buffalo Gals (Cool White [John Hodges])
18. The Water is Wide (Traditional)
19. Black Sheep (African-American lullaby)

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding.......2007-06-06

Robert De Cormier's remarkable arrangement and Marie Spar Dymit's and Lynette Johnson's pure vocals of "Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier" are well worth the price of the entire CD.

Incredible..Worth 30 stars.......2007-05-16

The Dale Warland Singers are my benchmark by which I judge all other choirs. The uniformity of sound, blend, and precise entrances, uniformity are incredible - almost inhuman. Excluding the all male Chanticleer from the roster, this was the finest choir in America. Now that they have broken up, buy all of their CD's you won't be disappointed!

Superb singing matched with superb arrangements.......2004-07-03

A project like this one inevitably highlights the skill of arrangers, and Dale Warland has selected some of the most talented anywhere. Most of these selections will be familiar to listeners, but I doubt most people have heard, for example, "Red River Valley" in Carol Barnett's haunting version here, and ditto for her magnificent "Deep River."

The disc opens with a spectacular, panoramic "Shenandoah" that takes maximum advantage of the Dale Warland Singers' refined sound, and things only get better (if that's possible). Other favorites are a cheery, fizzing "Nelly Bly" and Mark Keller's strong reworking of Stephen Foster's "Hard Times Come Again No More."

Throughout the recording, the freshness of the arrangements is matched by the irresistible singing. This group is known for its outstanding performances and recordings, but this must be counted as one of their all-time best. The sound quality is terrific, capturing the gorgeous blend and precision of the group in a natural-sounding acoustic. Just stunning.

Beautiful music.......2003-07-03

I bought this CD after hearing a few of the recordings on our local NPR radio station. I was not disappointed in any of the selections. Very beautiful.

Beautiful Music, Yet There Is No There Here.......2003-01-13

The Dale Warland Singers (DWS) are among the relatively few musical professionals, who by their aesthetic standards and demonstrated artistry, have taken the less traveled and narrow road to exemplary artistic excellence.

The sound quality and acoustics are excellently engineered in this 20-bit original recording. The most delicately blend and inflection of the singers' voice can be heard. This sheaf of choral works has once existed in real space and time in the kaleidoscopic folklife of past generations. In recording the "Blue Wheat", the 40-member DWS, the creme de la creme of professional choral ensembles, has elevated the common oral tradition of American folk music into a rarified choral art form a capella "in the style of the chapel."

If the soul of the DWS is a capella singing, then Warland and the arrangers are the wings of the same soul. Among the kapellmeisters whose arrangements have graced this folksong anthology are the late Norman Luboff and Roger Wagner. Also included in this album are contemporary arrangements by other esteemed composers: John Rutter (conductor of The Cambridge Singers), Carol Barnett (the DWS resident composer from 1992 to 2001), and Stephen Paulus.

Gertrude Stein is famous for saying of her childhood home, Oakland, California, "When you get there, there's no there there." Purportedly, Stein opined this city by the San Francisco Bay lacked a defining sense of place. Bel canto notwithstanding, the folk melodies of "Blue Wheat" invoke a longing for something no longer possible. The abyss between the America today and the its past is impossible to bridge. Already, we have yielded to the abstractness of political correctness. Our past is either neglected, actively destroyed, or selectively museumed. We do not live in an understood land and culture. There is no there here in the presence of this music. It is only the poignancy of the moment that these beautifully rendered tunes live in our mind. We have to accept this reality as part and parcel of our rootlessness.

If the Oakland Raiders do make it to and win the Superbowl in 2003, there is a there there for some in the football community, albeit fleeting.

Average customer rating: I Will Need Not Wait Anymore!

Black Sheep/Hammer Hammer Manufacturer: Wounded Bird Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Jazz | Styles | Music Jazz Fusion | Jazz | Styles | Music Smooth Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Similar Items: Melodies Oh Yeah? The First Seven Days Like Children Timeless ASIN: B0009E325C Release Date: 2005-05-31

Tracks:

1. Jetstream
2. Heavy Love
3. Black Sheep
4. Light of Dawn
5. Hey Girl
6. Waiting No More
7. Between the Sheets of Music
8. Manic Depression
9. Silent One

Tracks:

1. Goodbye
2. I Got You
3. Oh, Pretty Woman
4. One Day
5. Vaporize Me
6. Nowhere to Go
7. Forever Tonight
8. Highway Made of Glass
9. Rainbow Day
10. Sister Louisiana
11. Oh, Pretty Woman [Reggae Version][#][*]

Customer Reviews:

I Will Need Not Wait Anymore!.......2005-06-01

'Black Sheep',released in 1978 was the first album by this artist I ever heard and indeed it's very atypical of Jan Hammer.So is 'Hammer' from 1979.Strictly speaking about 'Black Sheep' the album is a wild mixture of musical styles,starting out with the brazen heavy metal of "Jet Stream" while the title song and the pretty "Silent One" are catchy midtempo pop that couldv'e easily come off of the 'Melodies' album."Waiting No More" and "Between The Sheets Of Music" are the most musically interesting as they both showcase an uptempo fusing of blues,funk and fusion set to quirky arrangements.Hammer himself takes on the lead vocals himself on "Hey Girl" which strangly has a certain punk edge (?????)while he takes another hard rock turn on a metallic cover of Jimi Hendrix's"Manic Depression".As for the next album 'Hammer'-a VERY different animal.Where 'Black Sheep' is pure transitional material THIS album,despite being the follow up takes a more drastic turn towards simple three chord rock n' roll,heavily influened by Steve Miller and Paul McCartney.Only the fairly funky "One Day" sounds anything like the old Jan Hammer Group.Tunes like "Goodbye","Vaporize Me",a cover of "Oh Pretty Women" and the Beatle-esqe pop of "Sister Louisianna" owe almost everything to mainstream pop-rock then to anything relating to fusion jazz,except that Hammer's electric guitar-like porto moog subtitutes for the lead guitars.Only the oddball,clished Eurodisco of the Georgio Moroder-ish "Forever Tonight" falls really out of place,sounding strangly like Donna Summer's "Sunset People" of the same vintage.In addition this CD includes a bonus cut,a Jimmy Clif-style reggae version of "Oh Pretty Woman" that's very exciting.
Taken together this twofer CD package collects two of Jan Hammer's most unusual and experimental music.Likely to disgust jazz and fusion fans for it's heavy rock n' roll content and not likely to appeal to fans of commercial R&B because of the genre defying material but for someone already exposed to the other music of Jan Hammer (ie his two albums with the Mahavisnu Orchestra circa 1971-72 or his two Jan Hammer Group albums circa 1976-77) these albums will fill some gaps left between 1977's 'Melodies' and his subsequent hard rock with Neal Schone and his latter 'Miami Vice' soundtrack work.

Average customer rating: one great cd "Roaring" What a find! A must-have for any true music fan. Black Sheep showcases Martin's diverse vocals and writing.

Black Sheep Martin Sexton Manufacturer: Eastern Front Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music General | Folk | Styles | Music Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Folk General | Folk | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Folk General | Folk | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music Similar Items: Wonder Bar The American In the Journey Live Wide Open Camp Holiday ASIN: B000003GUY Release Date: 1996-05-21

Tracks:

1. Black Sheep
2. Glory Bound
3. Diner
4. Freedom Of The Road
5. Caught In The Rain
6. Love Keep Us Together
7. Over My Head
8. Gypsy Woman
9. Candy
10. Can't Stop Thinking Bout You
11. America The Beautiful

Amazon.com

Because Massachusetts singer-songwriter Martin Sexton performs alone and accompanies himself on acoustic guitar, he often gets lumped with the new-folk movement and ends up playing on the coffeehouse circuit. Sexton doesn't come out of the guitar-strummer tradition of James Taylor and Pete Seeger, however; he's the heir of blue-eyed-soul-shouters such as Joe Cocker and Bill Medley. So it's no surprise that his album, "Black Sheep," is more impressive for its singing than its writing. --Geoffrey Himes

Customer Reviews:

one great cd.......2003-11-16

I bought this cd because my sister said it was good. So I kind of went into it blind. I'd never heard him before. But she told me to buy Jack Johnson a couple years ago and she was right about that, so I trusted her. The cd is awesome. I love his voice and the lyrics are even better. It's amazing how much great music is out there that they don't play on the radio. Well, commercial radio anyway. But without commercial radio, how would we know what to buy?

"Roaring".......1999-08-17

I am sure Martin would just love a rating system! I guess marketing has its own demands and lingo...Martin is awseome..melodic , moving, passionate and on fire! I have seen him perform many many times.Sometimes a recording just can't capture the reaches of this man but Black Sheep comes closest. Martin, just keep roaring!

What a find!.......1999-08-04

I first heard Marty play in a little bar in College Station, Texas called the Crooked Path. A friend of mine was in charge of booking him there and my friend asked me to go along, with the promise that if I didn't like the show, he would pay me back for the cost of admission. After I heard the first song, that friend was in no danger of losing money. I was immediately entranced by Marty and found myself lost in his lyrical mastery. During intermission, I bought both of his other cd's and I would highly suggest that anyone else do the same. I've played Marty for all of my friends and none of them have been disappointed in what they heard and most have bought this CD. Kudos, Marty and a wish for continued success.

A must-have for any true music fan........1999-07-23

I first heard Martin Sexton on a CD my mom picked up. I don't normally like "folk" music, so when she told me Sexton was "folk", I prepared myself not to like it. Maybe that's why I was so swept off my feet. His yodeling and raw guitar work was some of the most amazing and unique I had ever heard. I listen to every kind of music: jazz, swing, rock, rap, you name it. But Martin Sexton is unlike anything I had previously heard. I have recommened his CD Black Sheep to all of my friends and much of my extended family. I also recommend it to every person visiting this web page. Congratulations to Martin on his success!!

Black Sheep showcases Martin's diverse vocals and writing........1999-06-06

Martin Sexton is one of the most amazing vocalists I have ever heard. He has awesome command of his voice, easily flowing from a soft conversational tone to an explosive blues power-wail. Black Sheep is a phenomenal biography of extremely well-written tunes that tell some of Martin's story - an emotional ride you'll never forget. Do yourself a favor and get this albumn!

Average customer rating:

Pink Champagne: A Collection of Vintage Light Music Manufacturer: Asv Living Era ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Morton Gould | Gould, Morton | ( G ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Contemporary | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Pop | Styles | Music Easy Listening | Compilations | Pop | Styles | Music General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music Orchestral Pop | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Similar Items: Twilight Memories: Vintage Brit Light Music A Portrait of Farnon Holiday for Strings Percy Faith's Greatest Hits ASIN: B00008IHWK Release Date: 2003-04-08

Tracks:

1. Curtain Time
2. Lovely Day
3. Music for "Rivers of the North of England": Serene/Flowing
4. Chiming Strings
5. Vanessa
6. Film Opens (Eleventh Hour Melody)
7. Melody in Moccasins
8. Seventh Heaven
9. Gin-Fizz
10. Vendetta - London Promenade Orchestra
11. Cross Roads
12. Laughing Marionette - London Promenade Orchestra
13. Pulling Strings
14. Tinkerbell
15. Tomboy
16. Playtime
17. Falcons
18. Speakeasy
19. Dance of the Hailstones
20. Bubble, Bubble, Bubble (Pink Champagne)
21. Muriella
22. Happy Time
23. Waltz in Swingtime
24. Veradero
25. Windy Corner
26. Baa Baa Black Sheep
27. Dancing Tambourine

Average customer rating: Mezmerizing Mix-and-match-musicianship Music is amazing An Appendix you can't live without Leftovers? Yes. But at least they're still warm...

Black Sheep Boy Appendix Okkervil River Manufacturer: Jagjaguwar ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Lo-Fi | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Overboard & Down Palo Santo The Crane Wife Tanglewood Numbers The Dissolving Room ASIN: B000BKUX10 Release Date: 2005-11-22

Tracks:

1. Missing Children
2. No Key, No Plan
3. Garden
4. Black Sheep Boy #4
5. Another Radio Song
6. Forest
7. Last Love Song for Now

Customer Reviews:

Mezmerizing.......2006-12-26

I bought this right off the turntable in the music store. I like all the songs and three of them are among my all time favorites. The intensity builds and hits a peak that gives me goose bumps.

Mix-and-match-musicianship.......2006-07-19

Okkervil River has been one of my favorite bands of the decade thus far. However, this CD seems to be just the scrapings of a few miscellaneous songs, with a few fillers just to justify putting it to market. Two songs of note: "Another Radio Song," which has been floating around for a few years, and "No Key No Plan," the only new song that's really worth hearing on the piece. This isn't to say that this album is bad, it's still better than 75% of the music I've bought this year, but if this is indicative of the future direction of OR then I am disappointed. The new Shearwater album is amazing, though, and perhaps this OR release feels rushed and pieced together because the band has been concentrating on that instead.

Music is amazing.......2006-03-16

Sheff writes and sings with passion, feeling, and conviction. This music grabs you and grows on you. RCM

An Appendix you can't live without.......2006-01-07

Seriously you need to hear this

Leftovers? Yes. But at least they're still warm..........2005-12-04

While I share the opinion of the reviewer above in that Mr. Sheff's songwriting continues to grow stronger and stronger, one can't help but feel slightly dissatisfied with the River's latest offering.

I too have held a long-term fascination with this group, and Sheff in particular, and bought this album just as any obsessive fan will. After a few listens through, however, it becomes increasingly apparent that "Black Sheep Boy Appendix" is merely a good excuse to showcase one or two musical gems, specifically "Another Radio Song" and "Black Sheep Boy #4." Though these two tracks will certainly warrant the purchase price for most fans of the group, the rest of the album, unfortunately, sounds like mere filler.

"No Key, No Plan" and "Last Love Song", while not bad songs, seem colder and less natural, due in large part to Sheff belting out lines in wracked emotion before the listener even feels a connection to the material being sung. Unlike Okkervil's previous efforts, which paced themselves perfectly to allow the listener to slide into the album and it's mood, making Sheff's emotional stylings believable and appropriate, these songs feel forced and insincere.

Tracks such as "A Garden" and "A Forest" meander almost aimlessly and are usually perpetrated by far more pretentious artists than Will has ever appeared to be.(Connor Oberst and Mike Patton, though both exceptional writers in my opinion, come to mind here.)

While I can understand that Will's tireless musical output drives him to release material at a more frequent rate than his peers, it's no secret that this is the fourth release by Okkervil River in just over a year. Four releases, though two of them were an E.P. and a single, is still an awful lot of work.

One starts to notice the parallels and similarities between artists such as Oberst, Patton and Sheff: multiple projects churning out material simultaneously, more releases in six months than most artists in two years, etc., etc. My gripe is only that it becomes very easy for an audience to tire of something (however brilliant or inventive) when given too much too quickly, and even easier for the artists themselves to tire, which tends to lead to poor material.

Luckily for Mr. Sheff, he seems to have found just enough material here to warrant this release, but again, just barely.

All in all, this album seems to work, if only for the fact that it still offers that familiar "Okkervil" sound we love so much, though it will almost certainly not join the ranks of the near-perfect masterpieces this ensemble have blessed us with this last year.

And down the river goes Huck....

Average customer rating: I bought it for one cut. Excellent live album

Live at Black Sheep Greg Brown Manufacturer: Alcove ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music General | Folk | Styles | Music Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music General | Live Albums | Folk | Styles | Music Similar Items: The Evening Call In the Hills of California Over and Under Friend of Mine One More Goodnight Kiss ASIN: B0000AZKOK Release Date: 2003-08-19

Tracks:

1. Last Fair Deal Gone Down
2. Nowhere to Go
3. I Still Miss Someone
4. Milk of the Moon
5. Between Girl and Gone
6. In the Wind
7. Little Satchel
8. Same All Over
9. Who Could've Known
10. Summer Lightning
11. Bittersweet
12. Beulah Land
13. Goodnight Irene

Customer Reviews:

I bought it for one cut........2006-09-18

My local public radio station has been playing a cut from this album that was so powerful and compelling that I bought the CD just to get it. Happily enough, this is an excellent CD, with a number of strong performances by three superb artists.

But one cut is in a class by itself: track five, "Between Girl and Gone" by Karen Savoca. I have been collecting and listening to music for over fifty years. In that time I have not heard a more moving, poetic and touching song than "Between Girl and Gone." It is one of the four or five best songs I've heard in a lifetime of avid listening to music.

I'm tempted to go into detail. Savoca wrote this song, and the language is so carefully crafted that it deserves to be called "poetry" (not a word I use lightly). The guitar work by all performers is pleasing. And then there is Savoca's voice, which carries the complex emotions of this song in a way that can almost be painful to hear. I can't compare it to anything else I've heard, although the closest approximation might be some of Bonnie Raitt's most exquisitely heartbreaking songs of loss.

Savoca herself seems fairly obscure. If more people hear this song, that won't be true for long. Buy this CD and enjoy all the rest of the album. But be prepared to be stunned by "Between Girl and Gone."

Excellent live album.......2006-01-17

This is an excellent live album by some very good musicians and singers. It is interesting to hear the songs you already know singed by another. Highly recommanded.

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