There is a fine line between adult contemporary and all-out schmaltz, but in the capable hands of Brenda Russell, one need have no fear. Even though her debut on Hidden Beach Records (and her first collection in several years) boasts such lite jazz stalwarts as Kirk Whalum and Dave Koz, Russell is no easy-listening chanteuse, despite the fact that her clear, true voice is seductive enough to lull you to sleep. This seriously underrated singer-songwriter--whose best-known compositions are "Piano in the Dark" and "Get Here" (which was a hit for Oleta Adams)--possesses a lush, decidedly mature (but not stodgy) approach to the art of making music. The arrangements might be delicate and thoughtful, but Russell's sturdy piano playing and her dedication to the lost art of soul singing gives even the most laid-back tracks a little attitude. On songs like the samba-flavored "Please Felipe" or the conversational stroll of "Walkin' In New York," Russell conjures up memories of singers like Dionne Warwick or Anita Baker. Not so much in actual vocal tone, but in the sense of knowing how to deliver a song with heart and integrity. In a Destiny's Child world, the adult musings of Brenda Russell might not make the grade, but it's nice to hear a singer whose confidence and style resonates with honesty. --Amy Linden
Paris Rain,Brenda Russell,Hidden Beach,Adult Contemporary,Disco,Jazz Music,Jazz-Pop,Pop,R&B,Soul,Soul/R & B,Urban
Average customer rating:
|
The Best of the Three Tenors
Luciano Pavarotti , Placido Domingo , Jose Carerras , Zubin Mehta , and James Levine Manufacturer: Decca ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B00004UB8A Release Date: 2002-06-11 |
Tracks:
- 'O sole mio
- Funiculi, funicula
- Libiamo ne' lieti calici (Brindisi)
- Sous le ciel de Paris
- Torero quiero ser
- Parlami d'amore, Mariu
- Manha de Carnaval
- Lolita
- Dicitencello vuie
- Core 'ngrato
- Because
- You'll Never Walk Alone
- Singin' In The Rain
- Maria
- Tonight
- 'O paese d' 'o sole
- Cielito lindo
- Ochi tchorniye
- Caminito
- La Vie en Rose
- Mattinata
- Wien, Wien, nur du allein
- Amapola
- Lippen schweigen
- Brazil
- Sous les ponts de Paris
- Torna a Surriento
- Nessun dorma
- La donna e mobile
Amazon.com
Back in 1990, three of the world's most celebrated tenors--namely, José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, and Luciano Pavarotti--combined forces to create the Three Tenors, now celebrated on a best-of CD. They gave their first concert in Rome. The event was recorded and went on to become one of the best-selling classical titles of all time.This latest release brings together tracks from that night in Rome (including "Nessun dorma" and a competitive rendition of "O sole mio") with music performed in a 1994 concert in Los Angeles and at the 1998 event in Paris where the Three Tenors sang to an audience of thousands with the Eiffel Tower as their backdrop.
The 22 tracks making up The Best of the Three Tenors range from operatic standards, such as the joyful "Brindisi" from La Traviata, to popular songs like "Singin' in the Rain" and "You'll Never Walk Alone" (from Carousel). There are no solos on this disc; each piece is performed by all three singers. And with plenty of applause and cheering to be heard, not to mention the sense of fun in the singers' voices, the disc captures the atmosphere of these extraordinary musical events. --Rebecca Agnew
Customer Reviews:
Nice songs from this album.......2007-07-22
Not bad.......2006-03-18
The best from the three greatest..........2005-08-11
There are no solos on the cd. I think I've read somewhere that they felt there had been enough "three tenors cd's" and if they were to release yet another one it would be one containing what the audience demands, the three of them joining forces and performing together in the songs.
The result, in my opinion is highly recommendable. The three voices blend perfectly together. I have to admit that I have a personal favourite among the tenors and that I would never buy an entire recording featuring only one of the two others, but I recognize their talents and -as stupid as it may sound- since they are performing together I can also appreciate the other two. (I like them too, but in smaller doses....)Some people have commented on their problems with mastering the english language. If anything, I think it just adds to their charm. By the way, who is perfect??
The songs on this cd is a mixture of beautiful songs, heartwrenching songs, toe-tapping songs and powerful songs. It's wonderful to just listen to the beauty in the three voices. It's fun hearing Pavarotti pushing his "high-note-button" in "O sole mio" and Carreras and Domingo copying his stunt. I have no idea what they're singing about in "Manha de Carnaval", but boy does it sound romantic...... And "Dicitencello vuie" brings tears to my eyes (even if I'm still left in the dark when it comes to understanding the meaning of the words...) In "Because" Carreras takes my breath away when singing "because God made thee mine, I'll cherish thee...through light and darkness, through all time to be, and pray his love may make our love divine...." (What woman wouldn't like to hear those words..??!?) Their rendition of "You'll never walk alone" should satisfy some of the soccer-fans since it's the anthem of a European football-club and "Nessun Dorma" will probably satisfy the rest of the soccer-fans, being the antheme of the 1998 world soccer championship. In short, there should be something for every taste on this cd.
It's a very "versatile" cd. You can play it almost everywhere. You can sing along to it in the car, you can dance around the house to it while doing your chores, you can put your feet up and unwind after a hectic week. Or you can write an Amazon review while listening to it.... (Feel free to add suggestions of your own here.....)
To make a long story short - a very enjoyable cd!
Just Like the Real Thing!.......2005-07-14
Powerful and moving!.......2004-10-21
Average customer rating:
|
The 3 Tenors in Concert 1994
Manufacturer: Atlantic / Wea ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000002IZE Release Date: 1994-08-30 |
Tracks:
- Le Cid: O Souverain, O Juge, O Pere
- Maravilla: Amor, Vida De Mi Vida
- Werther: Pourquoi Me Reveiller
- Spring Is Here: With a Song In My Heart
- Granada
- Non Ti Scordar Di Me
- 'A Tribute to Hollywood': My Way
- Tribute To Hollywood: Moon River
- Tribute To Hollywood: Because
- 'A Tribute to Hollywood': Singin' In the Rain
- Tu, Ca Nun Chiagne
- Pagliacci: Vesti la Giubba
- Turondat: Nessun Dorma!
- 'Around the World': America
- 'Around the World': All I Ask Of You
- 'Around the World': Funiculi, Funicula
- 'Around the World': Sous Les Ponts De Paris
- 'Around the World': Brazil
- 'Around the World': Be My Love
- 'Around the World': Marechiare
- 'Around the World': Lippen Schweigen
- 'Around the World': Santa Lucia Luntana
- 'Around the World': Those Were the Days
- 'Around the World': Te Quiero Dijiste
- 'Around the World': Torna A Surriento
- Encores: La Donna E Mobile
- Encores: Libiamo Ne' Lieti Calici
Amazon.com
It's not opera; it's not a pop concert; it's not Broadway. It's all of these and none of them. Once you accept the fact that this sequel to the original blockbuster concert recording is less about music and more about entertainment and the power of musical personalities, you can appreciate what you're hearing as an event--phenomenal and bizarre, momentous and frivolous. This is an occasion to celebrate the voices and egos of three huge superstars, and to have fun listening as Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, and Jose Carreras interact, bouncing lines off each other and playing to the overwhelmingly enthusiastic audience. Much of the fun and flavor of the concert is dependent on seeing the action, though, and without the visuals you notice flaws in the singing much more. Domingo comes off as the more solid performer, and his voice is in far better shape than the other two. But if you crave big, high, and loud--and you don't take your opera too seriously--you'll love this disc. --David VernierCustomer Reviews:
Un gran concierto.......2005-07-19
Give em a 3.5.......2004-01-25
This event, like the first one in Rome, has a magnificent setting but, like Rome, the show was marketed mainly to the American audience. They still include the dreadful "Maria" with the hilarious pronunciation and even added "With a Song In My Heart" (or, as Carreras is wont to sing, "Weeth a Soeeng een My Haht"). Though some may deride the choice of encores, they were almost perfect. The Three Tenors, despite their prior celebrity, are creations of our culture of entertainment in ways that Caruso could only dream about.
Synopsis: Carreras stands out, Domingo substitutes volume for quality and Pavarotti soars when he doesn't have to.
The Most Enjoyable Evening IN !!!!!!!!!!!.......2003-05-01
Hmmmm...........2002-04-21
Last Encore of songs missing off C.D........2002-02-06
Many thanks for your time,
With kind regards,
Pam Sargeant.
Average customer rating:
|
Paris Rain
Brenda Russell Manufacturer: Hidden Beach ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B00004UART Release Date: 2000-07-18 |
Tracks:
- Ideal World
- She's In Love
- Catch On
- Walkin' In New York
- Love And Paris Rain
- Expect A Miracle
- Please Felipe
- You Can't Hide Your Heart From Me
- Move The Moon
- Something About Your Love
- Baby Eyes
Amazon.com
There is a fine line between adult contemporary and all-out schmaltz, but in the capable hands of Brenda Russell, one need have no fear. Even though her debut on Hidden Beach Records (and her first collection in several years) boasts such lite jazz stalwarts as Kirk Whalum and Dave Koz, Russell is no easy-listening chanteuse, despite the fact that her clear, true voice is seductive enough to lull you to sleep. This seriously underrated singer-songwriter--whose best-known compositions are "Piano in the Dark" and "Get Here" (which was a hit for Oleta Adams)--possesses a lush, decidedly mature (but not stodgy) approach to the art of making music. The arrangements might be delicate and thoughtful, but Russell's sturdy piano playing and her dedication to the lost art of soul singing gives even the most laid-back tracks a little attitude. On songs like the samba-flavored "Please Felipe" or the conversational stroll of "Walkin' In New York," Russell conjures up memories of singers like Dionne Warwick or Anita Baker. Not so much in actual vocal tone, but in the sense of knowing how to deliver a song with heart and integrity. In a Destiny's Child world, the adult musings of Brenda Russell might not make the grade, but it's nice to hear a singer whose confidence and style resonates with honesty. --Amy LindenCustomer Reviews:
Paris & New York My 2 Favorite Cities.......2005-07-13
Vastly underrated classic album.......2004-01-28
This should have been a massively successful a la Ms Bland, Diana Krall.
Each track is a beautifully produced hook-laden gem and Brenda has never sounded better. She has already proved her superb songwriting prowess in the past but on this release she has exceeded her best.
Highlights are "She's In Love", "Love & Paris Rain", which is an exquisitely haunting jazz masterwork, "You Can't Hide Your Heart From Me" & "Move The Moon". "Please Felipe" is positively vibrant and has the definitive feel-good factor.
Stephan Oberhoff makes a fine contribution to the instrumentation and production.
But it's always "Love & Paris Rain" that I play and play.
Buy it - you'll regret you didn't.....5 stars
Got It as a present and returned it. WHAT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2003-12-10
i later saw the video for "Walkin' in New York" and was totally in love.......and then realized I was a fool for trading-in this cd.
I had to buy it (again) and believe that one of the most severe musical mistakes i have made in my life was letting "Paris Rain" go in the first place. I have no favorites on this cd....i listen to it in its entirety. A good purchase for grown folks lookin' for great music!!!!!!!!!!!!
Paris Rain.......2002-09-24
My fave song is cant hide your heart from me and it its absolutely beautiful, as are many of the other tracks. The lyrics she writes are beautiful and from the heart and her voice is amazing, and that is what makes a good songwriter and performer, not .like most of the stuff in the charts.
Most people in england have never heard of brenda russell, and she is too good a secret to be kept!
Come in from the Rain.......2002-07-01
On an ideal day
We could care for each other
In an ideal way"
Brenda loves writing songs that inspire her audience. She is a talented singer, songwriter, arranger and producer with a unique and inspirational world view. Her songs are often inspired by her own experiences, but some are creative mental images. She can literally paint pictures with her lyrics. She is a beautiful woman with an equally exquisite soul. Her music has endured the trends of time. She incorporates rock, pop, R&B, Jazz, classical and Latin into a style all her own.
"Every time you change your environment it affects how you feel about life and it affects your music." ~Brenda Russell
Paris Rain is a lyrical journey through a series of romantic ideas. Each song is sung with passion and is surrounded by spiritual beauty. They evoke a feeling of being "in love" and when you listen on a dreamy day, these songs just make you want to float away. They lift your spirit to new heights and soothe a stressful day in an instant.
This is that escape. The place you go when the world is too much. Your ideal world. Maybe a beach, a walk in New York with someone you love or running in
Paris in the rain. It is about fantasy and love and new beginnings. About miracles that occur when your heart has given up.
"Don't stop believing in love
Believe in love, babe" ~Expect a Miracle, a song complete with thunder and rain.
It is about how we are not alone in the wake of a storm.
Ideal World - Filled with fairy dust and glitter. "Before we reach the planets, let's get it right on earth..." It speaks of care and love and an idyllic world. It is about taking chances and discovering that ideal moment on an ideal day. I cried the first three times I heard this song. It touched something deep in me I can't explain.
She's In Love - Nostalgia, a girl in love, crying just like a child who was lost and then found her way back home. Evokes a smooth sway of a swing on a cloudy day. A woman who is in love and the beauty she feels in her soul shows
in her eyes.
Catch On - Slightly more upbeat. She just needs the stars to shine on her and help her see why we are really here on earth. A sense of unity and awareness.
Walkin' in New York - Free spirited lyrics with a spicy Latin beat.
Love and Paris Rain - Dreamy, laid back. Her voice turns silky as she remembers a misty night walking under Paris lights. The drums fall away on this track and the passionate lyrics drift off into a piano sonata. While I love this song, it doesn't inspire me like "Ideal World."
Please Felipe - Playful and upbeat. The rain stops and she captures Felipe in a song. Cute, wistful love song.
You Can't Hide Your Heart from Me - "Hello it's me...You can't hide your heart from me....You gazed in my direction...But souls have wings...And we were born to fly..." A song about jumping off that cliff into love. Has traces of "Piano in the Dark" somewhere in the music, like a ghost from the past.
Move the Moon - Inspirational lyrics about women being strong, but still needing a man to love her. "If you think I don't need you baby, You're so wrong." There is nothing she wouldn't do, she would even move the moon. Sweet and sassy.
Something About Your Love - Remembrance of life and the paths we take. "I only know that I could not keep you from my mind. " There is something about the newness of love that made her want it all again.
Baby Eyes - Sigh...
Rainy Day Dreams and Romantic Notions. This is just one smooth and silky seduction. It is an intimate collection of songs that are lusciously embraced by Brenda's soothing velvet voice.
Music for a Mellow Mood.
~TheRebeccaReview.com
Average customer rating: |
Menuhin and Grappelli Play "Jealousy" and Other Great Standards
Yehudi Menuhin & Stephane Grappelli Manufacturer: Angel Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000002SDS Release Date: 1990-10-25 |
Tracks:
- Jealousy
- Tea For Two
- Limehouse Blues
- These Foolish Things
- The Continental
- A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square
- Sweet Sue
- Skylark
- Laura
- Sweet Georgia Brown
- I'll Remember April
- April In Paris
- The Things We Did Last Summer
- September In The Rain
- Autumn Leaves
- Autumn In New York
- Button Up Your Overcoat
Average customer rating: |
Songbird of the South
Kate Smith Manufacturer: Asv Living Era ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B00006RSMJ Release Date: 2003-01-21 |
Average customer rating: |
Broadway Favorites
Manufacturer: Madacy Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD ASIN: B000000L0Z Release Date: 1995-09-01 |
Tracks:
- Phantom Of The Opera (Title Theme)
- What I Did For Love (A Chorus Line)
- Memory (Cats)
- Don't Cry For Me Argentina (Evita)
- Old Man River (Show Boat)
- Tonight (West Side Story)
- Climb Every Mountain (The Sound Of Music)
- It Ain't Necessarily So (Porgy And Bess)
- What Is This Thing Called Love (High Society)
- I Love Paris (Can Can)
- If Ever I Would Leave You (Camelot)
- The Rain In Spain (My Fair Lady)
Average customer rating:
|
Just-Spring: Art Songs of John Duke
Manufacturer: New World Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B00005V9UK Release Date: 2002-01-01 |
Tracks:
- Just-Spring
- Acquainted With the Night
- Water that Falls and Runs Away
- I Carry Your Heart
- The Mountains Are Dancing
- April Elegy
- Morning in Paris
- There Will Be Stars
- Good Morning, Midnight
- Heart! We will forget him!
- Bee! Im expecting you!
- The Bird
- Little Elegy
- All Music, All Delight
- Shes Somewhere in the Sunlight Strong
- Bells in the Rain
- Penguin Geometry
- O, it was out by Donnycarney
- Aubade
- I cant be talkin of love
- Walking in the Rain
- Merry-go-round
Album Description
John Duke (1899-1984) is one of the acknowledged masters of the American art song. This release of twenty-three of his finest songs will afford lovers of vocal music the opportunity to discover Duke's little-known corpus. Comparison with the musical language of other notable American art song composers (Griffes, Loeffler, or Ives, for instance) reveals an unusually consistent and personal style throughout most of Duke's career, the composer venturing only slightly afield of a conventional tonal practice derived mostly from European music of the nineteenth century. Musical influences on his language, in fact, are almost entirely European; most of his songs have an accompanimental texture unmistakably his, continuing, in a way, the tradition of the German Lied, using poems in English.Duke often claimed, both in his writings and in conversation with colleagues, to have developed his art song style somewhat self-consciously after having studied in great detail the historical, poetical, and musical contexts of three previous genres exhibiting a marriage of music and poetry: the Elizabethan song, the nineteenth-century Lied and the French mélodie of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His choice of poetry avoids almost completely the abstract in favor of the tried and true themes of love and mortality, themes that most composers have found the most suitable for musical treatment. Duke's music is taken very seriously by those who know his work intimately. After all, about how many American composers could it be said that all 265 songs have a natural feel for the voice, an elegantly matched pianistic accompaniment, a recognizable and personal style, and a musical language that never resorts to false syntax? It is easy to see why American singers love to sing his songs.
Customer Reviews:
A Generous Packet of Art Songs by American Composer John Duke.......2006-01-27
This fine recital by soprano Lauralyn Kolb, a former student of the highly regarded Howard Swan of Occidental College and a sought after oratorio soloist and recitalist, with pianist Tina Toglia is a study in musical intelligence. Kolb's soprano voice is beautifully focused and her communication of the texts ranging from ee cummings, Emily Dickinson, Elinor Wylie, Sarah Teasdale, Robert Frost, Richard Nickson, Mark Van Doren to James Joyce is pristine and warmly sensitive. Her collaboration with Toglia demonstrates the way musicians should approach the art song. There are many excellent songs in this collection that could be singled out, but the pleasure of the recital is that the variety selected by the artists is very satisfying for a survey of works by a relatively unknown (to the public) composer. Recommended. Grady Harp, January 06
just spring review... great CD.......2005-08-20
Average customer rating: |
Two Double Zero Two
Manufacturer: China Rain Music ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD ASIN: B000CAGUES Release Date: 2003-01-14 |
Tracks:
- Soul
- Stone Cold
- Wild
- Pride N Joy
- 65 Roses
- Electra Fi
- All I Do
- Pretty Face
- Now
- Darling
Average customer rating: |
Blessed Rain
Manufacturer: Ashley Maher ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD ASIN: B000CA3JB0 Release Date: 2002-11-05 |
Average customer rating: |
African Rain & Spanish Clippers
Manufacturer: Elfin Productions and Publishing ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD ASIN: B000CAA8C8 Release Date: 2003-08-26 |
Christian Music:
- Pick of the Litter
- Pleasures U Like
- Provocative
- Shake a Tail Feather: The Best of James & Bobby Purify
- Snowflakes [Import]
- Soul Lounge, Vol. 1: The Vibe Compilation
- Street Corner Serenade: The Greatest Doo Wop of the '50s and '60s
- Superhero
- Temptations Live [Extra tracks] [Original recording remastered] [Live]
- The Best of Ann Peebles: The Hi Records Years
Christian Music
Tunnel Trance Force, Vol. 24 [Import]
Vinicius E Baden: Serie Elenco [Import]
Vacation [Original recording remastered]
Even Cowgirls Get The Blues: Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack