| 1. Seventeen [With Rap] |
| 2. Seventeen [Without Rap] [Special Version] |
Seventeen,Tre-O,Sony,Pop,Rap & Hip-Hop
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Seventeen Days
3 Doors Down Manufacturer: Umvd Labels ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B00070Q8JK Release Date: 2005-02-08 |
Tracks:
- Right Where I Belong
- It's Not Me
- Let Me Go
- Be Somebody
- Landing In London
- The Real Life
- Behind Those Eyes
- Never Will I Break
- Father's Son
- Live For Today
- My World
- Here By Me
Album Description
After selling 12 million albums since their debut in 2000, 3 Doors Down released their third studio album, entitled Seventeen Days, on February 8, 2005. The album, recorded at Ocean Way Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, and produced by Johnny K (Finger 11, Disturbed) features twelve original songs, including the road-weary ballad "Landing in London" featuring Bob Seger. Seventeen Days is the band's first studio album since 2002's multiplatinum Away from the Sun and the first new material since 2003's RIAA Gold-certified live EP Another 700 Miles. From Escatawpa, Mississippi, 3 Doors Down is Brad Arnold, lead vocals; Matt Roberts, guitar; Todd Harrell, bass; and Chris Henderson, guitar.Customer Reviews:
Simply fantastic.......2007-07-18
Here with ME!.......2007-05-31
The CD shows an effort to remain the same, but become more progressive as well. 3 doors down is just a great band that always seems to produce catchy songs that people love, and the cd's always house something for everyone.
Same story here...from harder rock, to ballads they do a great job!
And once you hear the song Here with me....you'll melt. It's just one of the best songs ever.
Great album........2007-05-16
totally amazing.......2007-03-08
Well...
The way they recycle already recycled riffs over and over and over again is... riveting.
That fake southern accent takes my breath away.
The never changing song structure requires some real ingenuity, which these guys epitomize; brilliance!
Those sappy, basic lyrics that impress the mentally handicapped really touch my heart; and it hurts.
Overall Wow. All I can say is wow. Where did this ray of light come from?
GOOD but NOT GREAT.......2006-08-18
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Seventeen Seconds [Deluxe Edition]
The Cure Manufacturer: Elektra / Wea ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B0007XT8BC Release Date: 2005-04-26 |
Tracks:
- A Reflection
- Play for Today
- Secrets
- In Your House
- Three
- Final Sound
- A Forest
- M
- At Night
- Seventeen Seconds
Tracks:
- I'm A Cult Hero
- I Dig You
- Another Journey By Train
- Secrets
- Seventeen Seconds
- In Your House
- Three
- I Dig You
- I'm A Cult Hero
- M
- Final Sound
- A Reflection
- Play for Today
- At Night
- A Forest
Album Description
Originally a Goth-flavored post-punk outfit, the Cure evolved into one of the truly seminal bands of the '80s, and ultimately one of modern rock's most celebrated and influential acts. Guided by creative visionary Robert Smith, the Cure's signature sound balances a dreamy pop savvy with a dark, brooding majesty and fuses superbly crafted, literate songs with a feverish emotional intensity. The band's early catalog-newly remastered and expanded wtih a wealth of rarities-is a series of masterpieces that laid the groundwork for their phenomenal and enduring popularity.Customer Reviews:
Should be called The Audiophile Edition.......2007-05-17
A Masterpiece and Touchstone of Minimalist Rock.......2006-11-15
- Cure mastermind Robert Smith, liner notes
This album, the Cure's second, is spare, gloomy, atmospheric and even beautiful in its own way. If you can get into this kind of mood, SEVENTEEN SECONDS is absolutely brilliant. It also contains "A Forest," complete with its gorgeous, haunting intro (which was edited from the STANDING ON A BEACH compilation). "A Forest" is one of the most quintessential Cure songs. Other highlights include the dreamy "In Your House" and the creepy, ominous "At Night."
The title track is a strange song, and I've often wondered what it means. Why "17" seconds? It seems to be making a point about the arbitrariness of existence. Years ago, I came up with this weird fantasy of what the song was about based on the line "Seventeen seconds/ A measure of life." I imagined this was the length of time a cherished Indian prince was alive after birth. I even told some people that's what it was about just for kicks! An actual quote - "No one has lived longer than a dead child, and Methusula (P'eng Tsu) died young. Heaven and Earth are as old as I and the ten thousand things are one." - Chuang Tzu, about 300 B.C., China
Disk 2:
Unlike some other reviewers on this forum, I think the one-off Cult Hero single included here is a cheeky hoot (Cult Hero were basically the Cure plus a bunch of friends including local postman Frank Bell on vocals and the super-talented, on-again-off-again Cure member Porl Thompson on guitar). I think "I'm A Cult Hero" and "I Dig You" are both funny, rocking and way cool. A great thing to throw on at a party . . . quite the opposite of SEVENTEEN SECONDS. They sound like they were having a blast on the live versions of these songs, also included. The Cure live tracks actually sound very good; Robert Smith's guitars sound clean and crisp on most tracks and Simon Gallup's bass is thick and resonant. As for the rest, the demos are mostly of use to die-hard fans who study everything by the Cure they can get their hands on, but the alternate mix of the bizarre "three" is pretty trippy.
A Flawed Masterwork.......2006-08-31
Buy this, but don't put your original up on Amazon or eBay. The bonus tracks are worth the price, but the first disc is far from improved. In fact, it's much worse. Yes, the playing is cleaned up some, but the vocals are very quiet. Too quiet. So far back in the mix that new ears could think it to be an all instrumental album unless they're really concentrating.
Excellent.......2006-07-20
Good effort by The Cure.......2006-03-14
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Seventeen Seconds
The Cure Manufacturer: Elektra / Wea ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000ENC72W Release Date: 2006-04-04 |
Tracks:
- Reflection
- Play for Today
- Secrets
- In Your House
- Three
- Final Sound
- Forest
- M
- At Night
- Seventeen Sounds
Album Description
Originally a goth-flavored post-punk outfit, The Cure evolved into one of the truly seminal bands of the '80s, and ultimately one of modern rock's most celebrated and influential acts. Guided by creative visionary Robert Smith, The Cure's signature sound balances dreamy pop savvy and poetic lyricism with a dark, brooding intensity. The band's first four groundbreaking albums-newly remastered-are a series of masterpieces that laid the groundwork for their phenomenal and enduring popularity. Fusing superbly crafted songs with charged emotional depth from the very beginning, The Cure's early catalogue, as upgraded by Rhino, is ready to be revisted.Customer Reviews:
Great Cure record.......2006-12-15
A blissfully stark performance.......2006-08-23
The opening piano driven 'A Reflection' sets the tenebrous tone present throughout 17 Seconds. It's creepy and unforgettable. The next 2 songs, 'Play For Today' and 'Secrets', pick up the tempo while further carving out a desolate landscape.
Robert Smith never deviates from the overall theme of starkness.
If you want to get a feel for the early days of the Cure and 80's goth this is an excellent choice. It's short so you might consider the deluxe version, which I have not heard but expect to be on par with the other excellent deluxe versions of the Cure catalog that have been recently released.
stark, hauntingly seductive--the Cure's first masterpiece.......2006-06-23
It shouldn't be overlooked though that The Cure's 1979 debut "Three Imaginary Boys", a strong album in its own right, did point the way toward "Seventeen Seconds", in particular on tracks like "Another Day" and especially the title track. There's no denying though that "Seventeen Seconds" marks a major turning point for The Cure--the sound here is more thoroughly haunting, more claustrophobic, with an incredibly icy snare drum sound throughout, and with Smith's vocals often being pushed WAY back in the mix and never as upfront as on many of the songs from "Three Imaginary Boys".
Smith also explains in the deluxe edition liner notes that the group made virtually no modifications to their 'basic set-up' throughout the album's entire 10-day recording session, and quite frankly, this method proved to be an absolute blessing. For one thing, it allowed the band to work quickly and affordably since they were still relatively low on money at the time. At the same time, it also accounts for the album's consistent sound which gives it an irresisible, mesmerizing flow. There don't appear to be that many overdubs at all on the album, which could be attibuted to the lack of time and money the band had at their disposal, but again, this proved to be an advantage--the starkness of the album is absolutely arresting.
It appears that Smith pretty much had in mind exactly what he wanted when the band went into the studio to record "Seventeen Seconds". As the saying goes, there doesn't appear to be a note out of place anywhere on the entire album--the overall level of craftsmanship is astonishing. The performances themselves are nearly as precise--the only time the band sounds a bit 'off' is on the intro portion of "Play For Today" where Lol Tolhurst's bass drumming seems to be a tad behind the beat. Tolhurst's lack of technical proficiency on the drums has been well-documented, but aside from this extremely minor gripe, his limitations don't hinder the album whatsover. Frankly, on most of the songs you could almost swear the band was using a drum machine opposed to a real living drummer.
Keyboardist Matthieu Hartley joined the band for just this one album before leaving. "Play For Today", "In Your House", "M", "A Forest", and the title track all use synthesizers in a mind-blowingly unobtrusive manner that enhances their moody feel.
Every song here is in a minor key, and even with such a strong emphasis on 'mood', the band still managed to pile in catchy hooks and/ or arresting melodies into pretty much every song. Much of this is thanks to Smith's guitar work, which is brilliant throughout--check out his superbly 'rubbery' rhythm work on "Play For Today"; his dreamy arpeggios on "In Your House"; and his ingeniously dissonant chords on "At Night". "A Forest" is a thrilling uptempo epic that culminates in Smith's cathartic, frantic riffing, and the 8-note guitar riff that appears on the intro leaves such an impression that you might not even realize that it never reappears after the first minute & a half of this nearly-6-minute song.
Like Pink Floyd before them, the Cure prove themselves to be masters of pacing. There are three instrumentals/ near-instrumentals here, and they each work as links in the chain as opposed to just album fillers. The album starts off with the gentle, yet creepy and contemplative instrumental "A Reflection". "Three" has a robotic kind of repetitiveness to it, and is basically an instrumental, although there are some extremely buried vocals that seem to be mostly spoken and are almost totally inaudible. The atonal, haunted house-style "The Final Sound", which is less than a minute, perfectly sets up "A Forest".
There's just so much musical invention here... Smith's guitar kind of takes a backseat on "Secrets" which has a prominent, memorable bass line and extremely distant-sounding piano chiming. The beginning part of "Play For Today" features brilliant interplay between Gallup's bass and Smith's expect use of guitar harmonics.
The only track on the album that comes up a little short is the album-closing title track. It's not BAD--it does have a neat build-up and build-down, but it feels a bit too sketchy and melodramatic, as if they couldn't quite figure out how to bring the album to a satisfying conclusion.
The Cure would go on to make more elaborately-produced recordings later on, but "Seventeen Seconds" remains a key touchstone in their discography, and a phenomenal record in its own right.
The first "real" Cure album.......2006-05-18
This is known as the first part of "The Dark Trilogy", which is followed by Faith and Pornography. The early Cure records that kind of stand by themselves. They aren't as produced as later offerings, with a more low-key sound than usual(the exception being Pornography).
The album IS very low key, and original CD pressings(and perhaps record pressings too) really ruined the sound of this album. The voice was too low, the drums were much louder than the rest of the instruments...it was a mess. It took me many years to really appreciate this CD, thanks to the god-awful sound reproduction on the old CDs. Well, they fixed it, thank god. The instruments have been raised up closer to the drums. The voice sounds louder in certain songs(At Night), and everything just sounds more "full", unlike the old pressing. It really has made all the difference in the world.
The CD is pretty solid, with only a couple of weaker tracks. "A Forest" is amazing as usual, as is "At Night". Songs like "Secrets" and "Play For Today" are great as well. "In Your House" sounds far less repetetive now that you can hear the damn keyboards!
A very low key and gloomy album, but not so much as Faith. I really like this one a lot, because it is gloomy, but not so sluggish as Faith, and has more hooks. A really big step in the right direction for The Cure.
If you're new to The Cure, and have been thinking about picking this up, get this one over the Deluxe Edition. Far cheaper, and the deluxe edition only has a couple of songs that a really worth owning. If you have the old CD pressing, and have always been frustrated with the sound, pick this up. Of coure, the voice on "Secrets" is still really low, but that's the way i'm guessing it was intended("keep quiet")
Sam M.
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Rodgers & Hammerstein: Songbook for Orchestra (Orchestral Suites)
Manufacturer: Telarc ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000003CXQ Release Date: 1992-01-28 |
Tracks:
- Oklahoma!
- Carousel
- State Fair
- South Pacific
- The King And I
- Cinderella Waltz
- Flower Drum Song
- The Sound Of Music
Customer Reviews:
Irresistible.......2005-07-29
Rodgers and Hammerstein's musicals dominated Broadway in the 1940s and 1950s, and American musical theater has produced no more consistently eloquent and durable voice than Richard Rodgers. From his fertile genius flowed a surprising number of memorable songs, many of which have passed into and become an accepted and beloved part of modern American culture.
This well-filled CD (77:36) features symphonic arrangements (all but two by Robert Russell Bennett) of the music from Oklahoma (1943), Carousel (1945), State Fair (1945), South Pacific (1949), The King and I (1951), Flower Drum Song (1958), and The Sound of Music (1959). All the great tunes are here in suites from each musical that average 10-12 minutes in length. The arrangements are expert: rich, varied, and colorful. The performances are polished, idiomatic, and irresistible; Kunzel and this orchestra are thorough masters of this kind of material. And Telarc's sound (recorded 1991) is state-of-the-art (engineer Michael Bishop deserves to take a bow).
In short, there's nothing here to cloud your listening pleasure (the only quibble I can imagine is that some of your favorites may not last long enough), so it's hard for me to envision anyone with ears and a taste for music who wouldn't enjoy this CD. Warmly recommended. Finally, if you like this one as much as I do, you might want to know that the same team has produced a companion volume, the Lerner & Lowe Songbook for Orchestra.
"Some Enchanted Evening" with Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops.......2003-12-26
This CD has all the scores arranged chronologically. The OKLAHOMA! suite that opens this disc promises a feast for the senses, Kunzel ably evokes the territory's "bright, golden haze" in the way he conducts the various excerpts, until you feel the atmosphere of the country charm of the show, and the love-affair between Curly and Laurey. Then, in CAROUSEL, he ably evokes the pathos of this tragic R&H masterwork, especially in the truncated Waltz, but he leads a wonderfully melodic "June is Bustin' Out All Over" and a devotional "You'll Never Walk Alone." Although this suite does not include Billy's pivotal Soliloquy, it includes "If I Loved You" as an expression of his love for Julie, and within minutes you could be soaked in the ups and downs of the show's mood.
After a brief STATE FAIR suite, with sweeping renditions of "It Might As Well Be Spring" and "It's a Grand Night for Singing", we are brought into the disc's showstopping highlights. These highlights are the excerpts from SOUTH PACIFIC, THE KING AND I, and THE SOUND OF MUSIC. But yet Kunzel conducts the rest of the disc until the various suites amount to a series of showstoppers. These three suites present wonderfully-arranged versions of their many familiar classic songs, with well-played solos. The SOUTH PACIFIC suite presents the songs in chronological order, yet preserves the atmosphere of the show at the same time. Kunzel ably brings out the romance in "Some Enchanted Evening" and "Younger than Springtime," and contrasts it with the exotic and dreamlike "Bali Hai'i" and the comic "There is Nothing like a Dame" and "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair". Although the suite ends quietly with a reprise of "Dites-Moi" rather than the reprise of "Some Enchanted Evening," within minutes we are swept into the KING AND I suite. Kunzel ably brings out the Oriental pathos in this score, and he captures the warmth of Anna's rapport with the King's Siamese children in "Getting to Know You", and with the King himself in "Shall We Dance." There is also romance in the love ballads "I Have Dreamed" and "We Kiss in a Shadow." Similarly, in the selection from THE SOUND OF MUSIC, Kunzel conducts this until the orchestra soaks itself in the atmosphere of this Austrian R&H score. This SOUND OF MUSIC suite has more of a feel of the score compared to the bonus track on Sony's reissued version of the Broadway recording. You can almost feel as if you are following the progress of the Trapp family and how it lifts its spirits with the joy of music. Kunzel gives us a soaring version of the title song, and spirited versions of "Do-Re-Mi" and "My Favourite Things." He balances it with the open-air quality of "Edelweiss" and "The Lonely Goatherd." Although this suite could have included "Something Good," the love ballad written for the film, the three recollections of the songs that were cut from the movie only last for a while. And, the towering version of "Climb Every Mountain" crowns this portion of the disc, and this sumptuously-produced recording. But, I should also mention the infectuous FLOWER DRUM SONG medley, where Kunzel turns this underrated score into a work of art, until it convinces you to buy the cast recording. And, don't forget about the brief CINDERELLA WALTZ, too, when Kunzel conducts it magically, until you feel like you are in the company of Cinderella and the Prince. He is able to show how this R&H score marked a comeback for R&H after the failiures of Me and Juliet, and Pipe Dream.
Overall, this glorious Rodgers and Hammerstein recording is guarunteed to make you want to pucker your lips out for a whistle or sing along (to paraphrase another revew for Kunzel's Disney Spectacular disc) - even if this recording is music only, and as long as you know the words to the songs (and you might know a large handful of them already.) There is always a certain magic in this fine CD that makes you feel like you're sitting in the theatre watching these musicals, until it makes you feel like it is truly, to borrow two R&H song titles, "Some Enchanted Evening" and "Something Wonderful" to be in Kunzel's company for this R&H offering. It would certainly be one recording that could make you feel willing to buy the complete cast recordings of the shows. And I guaruntee that it will make you feel willing to pull out your existing copies of the cast recordings to listen to them again. I also guaruntee that it will be a cornerstone in any Rodgers and Hammerstein collection, just as it is in mine. Recommended heartily to any Rodgers and Hammerstein enthusiast and to fans of Erich Kunzel's work. And, you can play it while reading the Richard Rodgers biography, Musical Stages, until Rodgers himself would count this as his favourite disc in the afterlife.
By the way, most of the arrangements for the suites on this CD were done by the veteran R&H orchestrator Robert Russell Bennett, and it surely adds to the appeal of this recording. This itself is enough to amount to the icing on the cake, since Kunzel conducts them well on here, and since this recording still allows the suites to have the original theatrical atmosphere. And, although this recording is like the Mauceri collection of the Rodgers & Hammerstein overtures in compiling orchestral suites of Rodgers & Hammerstein, I think that I like the Kunzel recording even more because Kunzel has more magic in his conducting of these suites.
Excellent!.......2003-04-08
Great Arrangments.......2001-09-02
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For A Sunday Morning
Various Artists Manufacturer: Decca ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B00005UWL1 Release Date: 2002-01-15 |
Tracks:
- Grieg: Morning Mood
- Dvorak: Waltz From Serenade For Strings
- Faure: Pavane, Op. 50
- Bach: Air
- Holst: Finale (The Dargason) from St. Paul's Suite
- Debussy: Prelude To "The Afternoon Of A Faun"
- Faure: Sicilienne from Pelleas et Melisande
- Bach: Sleepers, Awake
- Debussy: En Bateau
- Grieg: Anitra's Dance
- Britten: Sunday Morning By The Beach
- Williams: Seventeen Come Sunday From English Folk Song Suite
- Strauss: Morning Newspapers
Customer Reviews:
I recommend it highly.......2005-10-05
Pour yourself some tea, get the paper and put on this CD.......2002-02-14
I also liked that it had a good mix of familiar songs and ones I hadn't heard before. Selections include "Morning" and "Anitra's Dance" by Grieg, "Serenade for Strings in E Major" by Dvorak, "Sunday Morning" by Britten, "Pavane" by Faure, "Seventeen Come Sunday" by Vaughan Williams, "Air on a G String" by Bach, "Morgenblatter" by Strauss, "The Dargason" by Holst, "Prelude a l'Apres-Midi d'un Faune" by Debussy, and "En Bateau" and "Sicilienne" by Faure.
Don't expect any big fireworks -- there's certainly nothing rousing like "Ride of the Valkyries" or "1812 Overture" here. Pop this in for a lazy day.
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Nine Inch Nails: And All That Could Have Been Cd 2
Manufacturer: Nothing ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B0009R0DJC |
Product Description
Something I Can Never Have Adrift and at Peace The Fragile The Becoming Gone, Still The Day the World Went Away And All That Could Have Been The Persistence of Loss Leaving HopeCustomer Reviews:
"Still" an absolute masterpiece.......2007-07-16
"Still" is definitely for the diehard NIN fan who can accept music from all sides. If you're expecting a sound from this album resembling that of "Pretty Hate Machine" or "The Downward Spiral," then you probably won't enjoy this album as much as you could, and therefore, is not the purchase for you. The album is composed of nine tracks: five "deconstructed" versions of past tracks, and four tracks previously unreleased.
Here is the track list and a brief description of each:
1. Something I Can Never Have - From "Pretty Hate Machine." Reduced to a still beautiful piano/vocal arrangement with an amount of raw emotion almost matching that of the original.
2. Adrift and At Peace - Just as suggested by the title, this is a lighter piece. Almost entirely piano, the positive force of this piece brings me out of even the deepest emotional grind.
3. The Fragile - An excellent track, laid out exactly like the original version from the album of the same name. A Rhodes/vocal arrangement this time, but again, still contains the same power of the original.
4. The Becoming - From "The Downward Spiral." Reznor has replaced hard-hitting industrial electronic drums and multi-layered background screaming with an acoustic guitar, real drums, and a piano. Reznor's screams in the second chorus still remain.
5. Gone, Still - Very chilling piece. Lots of lower end sound under arranged piano.
6. The Day The World Went Away - From "The Fragile." My 3rd favorite song on the album. The first part of the song has been reduced to a piano-vocal arrangement, with the anthemic ending using the same piano in replacement of Reznor and the drunken chorus.
7. And All That Could Have Been - Absolutely epic. My 1st favorite song on the album. The watery beginning and high-passed vocals chill to the bone as a volume swell takes you into the gripping first chorus. The journey continues from there.
8. The Persistence of Loss - Definitely a pensive piece. A piano bass line underlies a plucky piano melody with the occasional chime from the live horn section.
9. Leaving Hope - My 2nd favorite song on the album. A very emotional piece that mixes the serenity and peace of piano with a light, emotional but still gritty sound calling back to NIN's "Spiral" days.
I certainly had a lot to say about this album, so it's my opinion among those of others. I just felt like giving my perspective on this album in order to persuade the right people to purchase it.
And if you're the right person, you should. It's definitely worth it.
The NIN CD for People That Don't Like NIN?.......2007-03-01
Track List:
1 - Something I Can Never Have
2 - Adrift and at Peace
3 - The Fragile
4 - The Becoming
5 - Gone, Still
6 - The Day the World Went Away
7 - And All That Could Have Been
8 - The Persistence of Loss
9 - Leaving Hope
The versions of "The Day the World Went Away and "And All That Could Have Been" are my favorites of any released versions to date, and well worth purchasing the album for. This rendition of "Something I Can Never Have" is also very good, and the take of "The Becoming" is... unique (I have very mixed feelings about it; liking it at some times, hating it at others).
So, why only 4 stars? The sound levels are inconsistent - I've found myself having to turn up the volume on some songs considerably to hear them, while needing to turn it down on others. This, however, is a small complaint - the album is very much worth purchasing (and, as another reviewer pointed out, you can usually buy it on the NIN website if amazon.com is out (so you don't have to resort to the obscene prices some of the resellers were charging).
Turn out the lights..........2007-02-22
A must have for NIN fans, great version of song, raw power.......2006-08-10
1. Something I Can Never Have
2. Adrift And At Peace
3. The Fragile
4. The Becoming
5. Gone, Still
6. The Day The World Went Away
7. And All That Could Have Been
8. The Persistence Of Loss
9. Leaving Hope
They are remixes/demos of many NIN songs, including music meant for the Movie "one hour photo". The essence of this album is that it seem to be a more raw/stripped version of song by NIN, with more power in vocals, with changes in the music that emphasize the power and feeling of the vocals, and it bring out a whole new rage of color to the whole song. This could have easily been released as a big release by NIN and could have made big money. Example: The version of "something I can never have" is just awesome, redone in it own perfection but in no way harming the original song. Truely, this is a collection that a NIN fan should have. This is harder to come by, and a few sight online, including amazon, have this available. I recommend the Deluxe Edition "and all that could have been", but realistcally getting a hold of a copy of that, and the cost, may be much more. But these are must get songs, in either form.
Trent "Still" got it.......2006-01-20
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Seventeen Seconds
The Cure Manufacturer: Elektra / Wea ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000002H5R Release Date: 1990-10-25 |
Tracks:
- A Reflection
- Play For Today
- Secrets
- In Your House
- Three
- The Final Sound
- A Forest
- M
- At Night
- Seventeen Seconds
Customer Reviews:
The Cure's Great Leap Forward.......2007-07-20
If you're not familiar with the Cure's early work, this album may take you by suprise at first, and could require repeated listenings to fully appreciate. As a matter of fact, this album's extreme minimalism coupled with its rather ambient and peaceful atmosphere make Seventeen Seconds quite unlike any other album in the Cure pantheon. Actually, it may well be my favorite album from what diehard fans refer to as the "trilogy" (Faith and Pornography making up parts II and III respectively).
Aside from band leader/icon Robert Smith, Seventeen Seconds, as with most Cure albums, features a line-up change. Bassist Simon Gallup, second only to Smith in long-time membership, makes his debut. A full-time keyboardist, Mathieu Hartley, was added, yet this would be Hartley's only album with the band, apparently due to musical differences he had with Robert. Finally, as with all early Cure albums, original member (and future keyboardist) Lol Tolhurst returns, choosing to play an extremely cold yet somehow appropriate style of drumming that you could swear sounded like a drum machine (its not however; 1980 drum machine technology did not sound anything like this).
Two long-time fan favorites were born from this album: "Play for Today," and "A Forest." Yet ALL of the remaining songs (Secrets, In Your House, M, At Night, Seventeen Seconds) are very strong as well, and if you like the first two tracks mentioned, you're bound to enjoy the rest of the album as well and will begin to appreciate the larger musical context that a classic such as "A Forest" was part of. Now, my only beef with the album is the instrumentals. "A Reflection," the opening track, is quiet nice and lays the foundation for the bleak yet enchanting musical landscape to come. "Three," however, strikes me as non-sensical. Technically not an instrumental, the vocals are so deliberately buried beneath the track that virtually none of the lyrics are comprehensible (sorry, but only the Cocteau Twins are allowed to do this!). Then there is the matter of "The Final Sound." This track (less than a minute long) resembles the prepared piano compositions of avant-garde composers like Henry Cowell and John Cage. While I have a deep appreciation for the modern, this seems glaringly out of place on the album, and for me at least, it really disrupts the overall mood (many fans, however, have commented that it make a good prelude to A Forest; you decide!).
I have to give Seventeen Seconds five stars. If four and a half was an option (Amazon, this is a long overdue update!!!!) I would use it, but its not. If you are not familiar with the Cure, I would first recommend an album such as Disintegration or Bloodflowers. But for those who have already begun their collection, Seventeen Seconds should fit in very nicely as a fine representative of The Cure's earliest work.
Magical.......2006-04-23
stark, hauntingly seductive--the Cure's first masterpiece [but what the heck's with the insanely high list price??].......2006-02-05
It shouldn't be overlooked though that The Cure's 1979 debut "Three Imaginary Boys", a strong album in its own right, did point the way toward "Seventeen Seconds", in particular on tracks like "Another Day" and especially the title track. There's no denying though that "Seventeen Seconds" marks a major turning point for The Cure--the sound here is more thoroughly haunting, more claustrophobic, with an incredibly icy snare drum sound throughout, and with Smith's vocals often being pushed WAY back in the mix and never as upfront as on many of the songs from "Three Imaginary Boys".
Smith also explains in the deluxe edition liner notes that the group made virtually no modifications to their 'basic set-up' throughout the album's entire 10-day recording session, and quite frankly, this method proved to be an absolute blessing. For one thing, it allowed the band to work quickly and affordably since they were still relatively low on money at the time. At the same time, it also accounts for the album's consistent sound which gives it an irresisible, mesmerizing flow. There don't appear to be that many overdubs at all on the album, which could be attibuted to the lack of time and money the band had at their disposal, but again, this proved to be an advantage--the starkness of the album is absolutely arresting.
It appears that Smith pretty much had in mind exactly what he wanted when the band went into the studio to record "Seventeen Seconds". As the saying goes, there doesn't appear to be a note out of place anywhere on the entire album--the overall level of craftsmanship is astonishing. The performances themselves are nearly as precise--the only time the band sounds a bit 'off' is on the intro portion of "Play For Today" where Lol Tolhurst's bass drumming seems to be a tad behind the beat. Tolhurst's lack of technical proficiency on the drums has been well-documented, but aside from this extremely minor gripe, his limitations don't hinder the album whatsover. Frankly, on most of the songs you could almost swear the band was using a drum machine opposed to a real living drummer.
Keyboardist Matthieu Hartley joined the band for just this one album before leaving. "Play For Today", "In Your House", "M", "A Forest", and the title track all use synthesizers in a mind-blowingly unobtrusive manner that enhances their moody feel.
Every song here is in a minor key, and even with such a strong emphasis on 'mood', the band still managed to pile in catchy hooks and/ or arresting melodies into pretty much every song. Much of this is thanks to Smith's guitar work, which is brilliant throughout--check out his superbly 'rubbery' rhythm work on "Play For Today"; his dreamy arpeggios on "In Your House"; and his ingeniously dissonant chords on "At Night". "A Forest" is a thrilling uptempo epic that culminates in Smith's cathartic, frantic riffing, and the 8-note guitar riff that appears on the intro leaves such an impression that you might not even realize that it never reappears after the first minute & a half of this nearly-6-minute song.
Like Pink Floyd before them, the Cure prove themselves to be masters of pacing. There are three instrumentals/ near-instrumentals here, and they each work as links in the chain as opposed to just album fillers. The album starts off with the gentle, yet creepy and contemplative instrumental "A Reflection". "Three" has a robotic kind of repetitiveness to it, and is basically an instrumental, although there are some extremely buried vocals that seem to be mostly spoken and are almost totally inaudible. The atonal, haunted house-style "The Final Sound", which is less than a minute, perfectly sets up "A Forest".
There's just so much musical invention here... Smith's guitar kind of takes a backseat on "Secrets" which has a prominent, memorable bass line and extremely distant-sounding piano chiming. The beginning part of "Play For Today" features brilliant interplay between Gallup's bass and Smith's expect use of guitar harmonics.
The only track on the album that comes up a little short is the album-closing title track. It's not BAD--it does have a neat build-up and build-down, but it feels a bit too sketchy and melodramatic, as if they couldn't quite figure out how to bring the album to a satisfying conclusion.
The Cure would go on to make more elaborately-produced recordings later on, but "Seventeen Seconds" remains a key touchstone in their discography, and a phenomenal record in its own right.
(P.S. And now I'm going to gripe for a moment about why I deducted one star from my rating. The reason is because of the insanely high list price of this single CD version of the album. As of this writing, the list price is a whopping 18.98! What the heck is Elektra's deal? Even back in the mid '90s Elektra Records had jacked up list prices on Cure CDs. I think it's smart to leave this single CD version of the album in print--it doesn't sound significantly inferior to the 2005 Rhino reissue--but still, with Rhino's 2 CD deluxe edition now available, you'd think Elektra would slash this list price more-or-less in half, seriously. As great as the album is, the running time is under 36 minutes, and $18.98 is pushing it to the point that I can't keep myself from docking the album one star on Elektra's account.)
Actually, more like 35 minutes, and 17 seconds........2006-01-31
(three and a half stars) curiously muffled vocals.......2005-05-10
Other than these two songs, the remainder of the songs on the album, though certainly decent, are somewhat lifeless and undistinguishable. I'm not sure why Robert Smith chose the album to be engineered so that his voice and the lyrics he sings are minimalized, because these are usually such strong qualities of the band. However, "A Forest" and, to a slightly lesser extent "Play for Today," certainly make "Seventeen Seconds" worthwhile.
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Edge Of Seventeen: Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack
Various Artists Manufacturer: Razor & Tie ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B00000J76O Release Date: 1999-05-18 |
Tracks:
- Right By Your Side - Eurythmics
- Small Town Boy - Bronski Beat
- Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You) - A Flock Of Seagulls
- Obsession - Animotion
- The Politics Of Dancing - Re-Flex
- Love Plus One - Haircut 100
- Destination Unknown - Missing Persons
- So Many Men, So Little Time - Miguel Brown
- High Energy - Evelyn Thomas
- Mickey - Toni Basi
- Why - Bronski Beat
- Modern Love Is Automatic - A Flock Of Seagulls
- In The Name Of Love - Thompson Twins
- You're My World - Cilla Black
- Blue Skies - Lea Delaria
Customer Reviews:
REALLY BAD MOVIE :(.......2007-06-01
Very good acting but utterly mundane plot.......2007-04-21
With that said, the acting is excellent all around, especially Chris Stafford who made the most out of a truly mundane script.
Didn't Get It.......2007-01-14
A gay slice of the 80's!.......2006-12-06
This film won raves at the Sundance festival some years back, and I can see why. "Edge" is a combination of things: a loving "time capsule" for the Reagan era, and an affecting look at finding one's identity during a most turbulent time, the teen years.
Neat, enjoyable coming-of-age drama.......2006-09-06
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The Seventeen Jewels
The Blazers Manufacturer: Little Dog Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B00013NDUK Release Date: 2003-01-01 |
Tracks:
- And I Feel It
- I'll Never Trust
- Next To Me
- Excuse Me
- 17 Jewels
- Come On Baby
- Leaving It All Up To You
- Our Time
- I Don't Want To Spoil The Party
- This Place Of Love
- Ven Mi Vida -Come On Baby-
Customer Reviews:
Music Lovers Everywhere Need This Album!.......2004-11-04
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Seventeen Stars
The Montgolfier Brothers Manufacturer: Poptones ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B00004Y3DL Release Date: 2000-09-25 |
Tracks:
- Time Spent Passing
- Even if My Mind Can't Tell You
- Pro-Celebrity Standing Around
- Four Days
- Seventeen Stars
- Low Tide
- In Walks a Ghost
- Chanson du Crscule
- Between Two Points
- Fin
Album Description
Poptones remastered reissue and now vastly improved. Music which conjures up it's own world...the mysterious coffeehouse where Joao Gilberto is possessed by the ghost of Ian Curtis. Featuring Marc Tranmer of Gnac. 2000 release. Tri-fold digipak.Customer Reviews:
Scusa, chi 'e??.......2001-10-13
It is serene and deep. A thinking persons album and something safe enough to sleep by.
A truly brilliant album!.......2001-07-03
It's a shame that these artists are not widely known yet! I had a very hard time finding the album. Even the file-sharing networks ... didn't help out...
I'm not sure about what to compare this music to, but if you like whacky artists like Moondog, like I do, you'll sure like this one.
This album oughta be a must-have for every self-respecting music lover!
Last days of music selling...or a new hope for the winter.......2001-02-27
The sound remind me of 80's band, The DURUTTI COLUMN, mixed with the melancholy of another british band, the BLUE NILE.
The MONTGOLFIER BROTHERS come from a place where it's always sunset and the days are of a nostalgic longing of the past. Sometimes it reminds me of "fado" ( a portuguese kind of music ) if it could be played in acoustic six string guitars with lyrics about a trip in France or..."always the first to leave..."
In the first years of record selling, every new record had lots of chances of becoming a "classic" in my collection. It was then when I discovered the Live At Sin-e and the first TINDERSTICKS album.
In the last days it was much more difficult. Record selling becomes a profession and not a pleasure. But sometimes, a record like this one proves you wrong.
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