Fear, Love & War [Explicit Lyrics]

1. Intro
2. Push - Killarmy, Superb
3. Militant - Killarmy, U-God
4. Originators
5. Skit
6. Sweatshop
7. Street Monopoly
8. After Hours, Pt. 1
9. Trilogy - Killarmy,
10. Feel It
11. Skit
12. Whatever We Want
13. Skit
14. Monster
15. Hit
16. One to Grown On
17. Skit
18. Day One
19. Spoken Word
20. Nonchalantly
See all 22 tracks on this disc

Tracks:

Pugilist at 59
Beautiful Trouble
Stealing Electricity
Sound of One Heart Breaking
Ash Wednesday
K.C. Violin
Four Chambered Heart
Stolen Children
It Goes Away
All the Fine Young Ladies
Old Heart

Amazon.com

Though not a conceptual narrative like his earlier Hotwalker, Love & Fear is Tom Russell offering a rootsy, Southwestern evocation of what Frank Sinatra called "the September of my years"--an album of thematically related material that ranks with his finest. The "love" of the title, in its infinite variety, permeates every track, while the "fear" is less fear of getting old or fear of death than, perhaps, fear of not making the most then of what he knows now. And knowing, in a lustful song such as "Beautiful Trouble," that he's capable of making those same mistakes (if they are mistakes) all over again. The bittersweet romanticism of "The Pugilist at 59" and "Ash Wednesday" could make converts of Springsteen diehards, the narrative of "Stolen Children" is about as bitter as Russell gets, and the rockier propulsion of "Stealing Electricity" and "Four Chambered Heart" pushes his music into edgier territory. "It All Goes Away" and "All the Fine Young Ladies" cast Russell as the older-and-wiser sage, while there's a hint of supper-club lounge in the closing "Old Heart." The spirit of the album feels like a benediction, but the creative vitality suggests that Russell has plenty more to offer. --Don McLeese

Album Description

Tom Russell was born in Los Angeles and now makes his home on the border in El Paso, Texas. He taught school for a year in Nigeria, during the Biafrant War. He lived in Spain, then relocated to Vancouver, B.C., where he started at the bottom of the music business, playing in the strip bars along skid row. With Love & Fear, Tom shakes off his folk troubadour shackles to bare his soul with his most personal recording to date.

Customer Reviews:

Another "Non-commercial " hit........2007-05-16

I'm new to his music, and mystified at how so much of life's experiences are packed into the songs. The words are so harmonic and mix perfectly with the instrumentals. All frequencies are rich and pleasing. The selection "KC Violin" alone is worth the price of the disc. How many realize that "Stealing Electricity" is based in fact. I have seen Mexicans throw metal hooks attached to steel cables over power lines and use the stolen power to weld. I had a joyous belly laugh at that song. Phrases like "califlower heart" and many other subtle expressions reflect his unique talent with words. A remarkable production.

Not Great But Not Bad.......2006-08-15

After reading all the critical praise for Love and Fear, I expected a lot more than I got. I mean, the hosannahs were sung so high, I expected this CD to be akin to the second coming. However, its far from that. This is one CD I actually liked less the more I listened to it. Once I had listened at least a dozen times, I was able to get past the dissonance experienced in the contrast between my high expectations and the reality of what I heard.
The reality is that Love and Fear is not a great album, but neither is it a bad one. Russell starts out strong with Pugilist at 59, a stark tale of growing old alone while being stalked by the demons of alcohol and caffeine. The brooding Beautiful Trouble builds on the promise offered by the opening cut. But then the spell is broken by the mildly humorous but musically awful Stealing Electricity. C'mon Tom, what is this garbage?
The spell broken, the quality of the rest of the CD fluctuates. The best of the rest are It All Goes Away and the gorgeous Old Heart which ends the CD. Four-Chambered Heart offers an interesting simile and musically, it is the hardest-driving piece on the CD. The mawkish and whiny sob song Stolen Children vies with Stealing Electricity for the title of worst song on the album.
If you are already a Tom Russell fan, you will find much to like here. But be honest, its not among his best. I like Russell, and I like Love and Fear. But I will certainly be skipping over the last two mentioned songs whenever I have the CD on.

Thankful I found out about Tom Russell and his beautiful music.......2006-07-31

Tom Russell is a master storyteller and songwriter. I do not see how anyone could listen to the song Beautiful Trouble and not be haunted by the music, words and story.

what you see is what you get.......2006-05-15

Like Columbus, I was looking for one thing and found another---namely, Tom Russell. Never heard of the guy. Now that I have, I plan on filling out my collection of his stuff. This is not one weak song on this album. Starts off with a strong, I am in the fight now and forever number,"the Pugulist at 59". Got some regret numbers, like "All the fine young woman" and the "sound of one heart breaking" and a few of redemption and of the it will be all right variety, like "It Goes Away." The songs are, in fact all, about Love and Fear. But they are pivot songs, written by someone who has learned a few(well, more than a few) lessons but still has time to put the lessons to use. Like the writer said, life can only be understood looking backwards, but lived going forward. Russell gets that and we are all the better for it.

Tom Russell at the Top of His Game.......2006-04-28

I am an unabashed Tom Russell fan. Anyone who writes for a living has to be. The first time I heard "The Sky Above, The Mud Below" -- an epic tale of twin Mexican horsethieves who stole the wrong horse from the wrong person ("he was the sheriff, the judge, he owned the hearse -- a man you did not anger") -- I was hooked. But it takes more than good writing to deliver a great song. It also takes solid musicianship and, in the case of a CD/record, good production work. It all comes together on "Love & Fear," a collection of 11 songs that will have anyone over 40 looking in the mirror and wondering if they could have done a better job with the years they've lived so far. Amazingly, there is no "filler" on this album; every song is a keeper in its own unique way. Highlights include "Beautiful Trouble," which warns of falling "in love with women half your age... you've found trouble, beautiful trouble"); "Stealing Electricity," with one of the most engaging chorus hooks in recent memory (just try NOT to sing along!); "Ash Wednesday," a gorgeous duet with the equally gorgeous Grethen Peters; and "All the Fine Young Ladies," a tale of regret and hope that Russell had been honing in his live shows for at least a year prior to the release of this album. Why Russell has not gained more widespread recognition is beyond me. The singing is consistently great, the music is always compelling and the songwriting is beyond stellar. And on "Love & Fear," Russell raises an already extremely high bar to new heights -- a truly magnificent accomplishment. If you don't know Tom Russell, it's time to get acquainted with one of America's musical treasures.

Paramount 90th Anniversary Collection: Scores

Average customer rating:

Great Movies have Great Soundtracks!
Only Disc 1 Is Worth Anything
More of a propaganda CD
Great selection of Film Hits!
Older recordings, main themes only

Paramount 90th Anniversary Collection: Scores
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Varese Sarabande 25th Anniversary Celebration
Simply the Best Movie Themes
Hollywood's Greatest Hits, Vol. 1
The Essential Elmer Bernstein Film Music Collection
The Incredible Film Music Box

ASIN: B000068TN9
Release Date: 2002-07-02

Tracks:

Saving Private Ryan 'Hymn To The Fallen' - John Williams
Double Indemnity 'Prelude' - Miklos Rozsa
The Lost Weekend 'Finale' - Miklos Rozsa
The Heiress 'Departure/Morris Suggests Love/The Proposal/Finale' - Aaron Copland
Sunset Boulevard 'Prelude' - Franz Waxman
The Ten Commandments 'Prelude' - Elmer Bernstein
Breakfast At Tiffany's 'Moon River' - Henry Mancini
Hatari! 'Baby Elephant Walk' - Henry Mancini
Rosemary's Baby 'Main Title (Vocal)' - Christopher Komeda
Romeo & Juliet 'Love Theme From Romeo & Juliet' - Nino Rota
Once Upon A Time In The West 'Once Upon A Time In The West' - Ennio Morricone
Love Story 'Theme From Love Story' - Francis Lai
The Godfather 'Main Title (The Godfather Waltz)' - Nino Rota
The Godfather 'Love Theme From The Godfather' - Nino Rota
Chinatown 'Love Theme From Chinatown (Main Title) - Jerry Goldsmith
The Godfather - Part II 'End Title' - Nino Rota
Star Trek: The Motion Picture 'End Title' - Jerry Goldsmith
Raiders Of The Lost Ark 'Raiders Of The Lost Ark' - John Williams
Terms Of Endearment 'Theme From Terms Of Endearment' - Michael Gore
Flashdance 'Love Theme From Flashdance' - Giorgio Moroder
Beverly Hills Cop 'Axel F' - Harold Faltermeyer

Tracks:

Witness 'Building The Barn' - Maurice Jarre
Children Of A Lesser God 'Main Title' - Michael Convertino
The Untouchables 'The Strength Of The Righteous (Main Title)' - Ennio Morricone
Fatal Attraction 'Fatal Attraction' - Maurice Jarre
The Addams Family 'Main Title' - Marc Shaiman
Dead Again 'Winter 1948' - Patrick Doyle
Indecent Proposal 'Flashback & Photos' - John Barry
The Firm 'How Could You Lose Me?-End Title' - Dave Grusin
Clear And Present Danger 'Main Title/A Clear And Present Danger' - James Horner
Braveheart 'For The Love Of A Princess' - James Horner
Primal Fear 'Courtroom Montage' - James Newton Howard
Mission: Impossible 'Zoom B' - Danny Elfman
Star Trek: First Contact 'End Credits' - Jerry Goldsmith
Titanic 'Hard To Starboard' - James Horner
The Rugrats Movie 'Baby Shower Happenings' - Mark Mothersbaugh
The Talented Mr. Ripley 'Italia' - Gabriel Yared
Rules Of Engagement 'Semper Fidelis (Always Faithful)' - Mark Isham
Mission: Impossible 2 'The Bait' - Hans Zimmer
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider 'Main Titles' - Graeme Revell
Vanilla Sky 'To The Roof' - Nancy Wilson
The Sum Of All Fears 'The Mission' - Jerry Goldsmith
Forest Gump 'I'm Forrest...Forrest Gump' - Alan Silvestri

Amazon.com

Granddaddy of the Hollywood studios, Paramount Pictures is rightfully proud of its century of contributions to both American cinema and the art of film scoring. But the first disc of this 43-track double-CD anthology merely hints at the studio's musical peaks, blithely skipping through its first seven decades in just 17 tracks. Indeed, the package as a whole seems more interested in marketing its post-'70s catalog of hits and blockbusters than it does in paying real homage to history and roots. Even rarities like Double Indemnity and The Lost Weekend are served up via modern budget-line rerecordings, as is Ennio Morricone's epochal Once upon a Time in the West). Contemporary recordings of Aaron Copland's rare score to The Heiress and Franz Waxman's great Sunset Blvd. fare better, but soundtrack fans may miss the originals. The studio's rich pop-crossover successes in the '60s are documented via Breakfast at Tiffany's "Moon River" and excerpts from Romeo and Juliet and Love Story, while successful franchises like Star Trek and Raiders also get their due. Too often the '90s-focused second disc only underscores some uncomfortable trends in contemporary scoring--orchestral nervous tics punctuated by booming crescendos, treacly piano Muzak--and makes one wonder if the music of The Rugrats Movie and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider are really film music milestones. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews:

Great Movies have Great Soundtracks!.......2007-05-10

If you love movies and movie music, you can't go wrong with this two cd Paramount Anniversary set.

Only Disc 1 Is Worth Anything.......2006-07-19

Normally I have a lot to say in my reviews, but not this time. The main problem with this collection is that all the most memorable film scores are just on one disc, with the second used mostly to play out stuff from the last ten years that, really, musically isn't very memorable and only includes three pieces anyone will recognize just because, like the movies they come from, they're based on old TV shows - The Addams Family, Star Trek, and Mission: Impossible.

And that brings up another problem. With all due respect to the late Jerry Goldsmith, who has provided some truly great classic movie scores, was it REALLY necessary to include TWO versions of the SAME Star Trek march in this collection? This seems evocative of the milk-it-for-all-its-worth attitude Paramount has had lately toward its now-tarnished crown-jewel franchise. Where's James Horner's theme music from Star Trek II and III? If they're gonna put Star Trek on here twice, they should have provided a little diversity. It wouldn't have taken much, I'm sure.

I'm sure that Paramount's had other films with far more memorable music (even Harold Faltermeyer's Top Gun Anthem could have helped on Disc 2). This just seems like a lazy attempt at something that really could have been great.

More of a propaganda CD.......2002-10-30

There are some really great songs on this 2 CD set. However, those really great songs seem to be lightly interspersed amongst a large number of forgettable songs whose main purpose seems to be to remind you of those movies you enjoy(ed) so much.

It seems a little odd to me that out of 90 years of film making the most memorable scores have been largely released within the last few years. I was pleased to find themes from the Godfather, Indiana Jones and Witness. I was perplexed with the inclusion of songs from Rugrats, both Mission Impossible movies (one would have been more than enough) and Tomb Raider (memorable???).

This is my own personal bias, but I do prefer movie soundtracks that evoke a feeling of excitement. With this collection I just couldn't get excited. I kept finding myself being let down by songs that didn't in some way complement the preceeding song.

There are certainly some great tracks here, but overall I was disappointed. My advise would be to look elsewhere.

Great selection of Film Hits!.......2002-09-25

This one was a pleasant surprise! I thought- how could any CD that had "Baby Elephant Walk" be all that good? This one is. Lots of great scores- classics and a few hidden treasures. After hearing the beautiful title score for "Children of a Lesser God", I had to buy the entire soundtrack - very soothing. There are a few that may seem too overplayed ("Love Story", "Raiders of the Lost Ark",), but most are a welcome addition to any compilation. Try NOT loving "Building the Barn" from "Witness" or the "Hymn to the Fallen" from "Saving Private Ryan". Hours of great listening.

Older recordings, main themes only.......2002-08-27

This is a great album concept, but I really wish Paramount had re-recorded these scores as they deserve to be heard. The tracks range from 1944 to the present, and the older recordings sound just like the cleaned-up older recordings that they are.

I would also personally have enjoyed more "secondary" music themes (otherwise it becomes like reading book summaries that always only quote the opening paragraph), and I could easily have done without the "pop" tunes (like Baby Elephant Walk and the Rugrats theme). In fact, it would have been very nice to listen to an album comprised of tracks chosen for their strong musical value rather than apparently for their box office and/or hit song popularity. But, to be fair, that may be precisely what draws some people to this CD set.

Tracks:

Ghost, The
According To Plan
Lights
Owl, The
Today
We Choose Faces
Last Ride Together
At Last Is All
Long Walk
Fear Is On Our Side
(untitled)
If It Was Me

Album Description

The full-length debut of this Texas band follows their 2003 self-titled five-song EP; a much poppier affair produced by Spoon's Britt Daniel, with a dose of thunder and lightning, pain and pleasure. Produced this time by Paul Barker (Ministry, Revolting Cocks), the record is more sadness than joy with lonely lyrics and hauntingly echoed guitar persuaded by chorused basslines. The sound is coaxing and familiar, then howling and anguished. Reminiscent of latter-era Talk Talk; with the introspection also comes passion. "Fear Is On Our Side" isn't trivial or banal, trendy or futile. It's a testament to our times, our revolutions, and our meaning. It's timeless, maniacal, and resounding. Darkness and truth.

Customer Reviews:

AWESOME!.......2007-07-06

I have never heard any of the songs by this band but this is the greatest record of all time based on the name of the band alone. I will die happy knowing that these boys are fighting the good fight. Oh, man...

Great Sad Bastard Music.......2007-02-07

THIS ALBUM ROCKS!!!!!!! If you are looking for an alternative to the cheesy, thinly veiled "dark" pop albums that seem to be coming from all angles these days, check out ILYBICD, they are the real deal. It is really hard to avoid comparisions to Interpol, or the editors, and especially Joy Division here, because they are all valid comparisons, except for the fact that there is a darker underlying feel to this album that the others don't have. Where the Editors have a dark, heavily guitar driven sound, and interpol has its deeply synthesized sound coupled with very strange lyrical pairings, ILYBICD has an almost viceral sounds that would be moving even if you removed the music component, or vice versa. I would have to say that ILYBICD sounds more like an old Bauhaus album to me, with its dark imagery and alternating hard and light songscapes. A definite must have for anyone who considers themselves a fan of dark and melancholy music.

great mood.......2007-01-10

great album by Ilybicd, dark mood, good performace, good songs especially the ghost & lets ride together

Nevermind the band's name... oh so enjoyable.......2006-09-23

The Austin, TX band I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness boasts one of the most unusual band names I have ever encountered, and it begs the question: does it distract from the music, or does it complement it? After the band's self-released 2003 EP, now finally comes the full-fletched debut album.

"Fear Is On Our Side" (12 tracks, 52 min.) fleshes out (and matures) the sound of the 2003 EP, with great results. If you are not familiar with their sound, imagine a mix of the 80s Cure-meets-nowadays-Interpol. The band creates a mood with dark yet at times poppy and even danceable songs, to great effect. Check out the opener "The Ghost", which sets the table for the album. "Lights" is one of the few truly upbeat songs, along with "At Last At All". There are a couple of instrumentals along the way, creating more of the dark (but not scary) mood. Other highlights include "Last Ride Together", which truly is reminiscent of the 80s Cure sound, just great, and the closer "If It Was Me".

This is a great album. And it even translates better in a live setting. I saw ILUBICD in concert recently, and these songs ROCKED hard, much more so then on the studio versions. People may scratch their heads at the unusual band name, but I hope they will go beyond that and give this band a chance. Highly recommended!

Wonderful synth and guitar soundscape pop.......2006-07-31

I found this band looking for music that resembled The Bravery, Depeche Mode, and a few of my other favorite bands. While 'I love you..." is a different band altogether, I was very happy to add this album to my collection. The music is very dreamy and even though a song will start with a strong bass or drum riff, you will be surprised how the song will descend into a calming soundscape. For me, this band is perfect to listen to when you are in a mood to relax. Not gym music.
Newbies to the band should check out their first single "According to Plan". For me, I don't particularly have a favorite song because the album blends together so well and I simply enjoy it as a whole (although one would be pleased to check out "we choose faces").
This is one album you will be happy to say you own, and a band you will be proud to say you started listening to before they hit it big.

Average customer rating:

A Composition that Missed the Mark
I generally admire Tan Dun, but this project was a misstep
Dark depths and bright voices, a shock, a whimsy
A Music Collage
Mind Opening

Bitter Love

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000JWBU
Release Date: 1999-08-17

Tracks:

Against Time Of Desire
I Once Dreamed
Moist With Sweat
NChiCa
Gentle Showers
How Sweet This Incense!
It Is A Ghost!
Your Solemn Vow
Can It Be True
This Is My Fear
To Come
At Peony Pavilion
Stir My Belt Ornaments
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Amazon.com

When he was a youth in his native China, Tan Dun spent a period as a fiddle player for a Beijing opera troupe. His intimate familiarity with the great Chinese epic opera The Peony Pavilion from the 16th century (produced during the 1999 Lincoln Center Festival) is evident in his own work of the same name, for which Peter Sellars collaborated as stage director. Bitter Love is a self-contained fusion of music and poetry that draws from Tan's larger opera score. The traditional love story of The Peony Pavilion--which bears some striking similarities to the Orpheus myth--comes through in floating, dreamlike fragments that reflect Chinese poet Tang Xianzu's lucid imagery like a smoky moon against water. As in his earlier and fascinatingly experimental opera Marco Polo, the New York-based Tan creates an eclectic collage of styles that mix East and West, old and new, as well as classical purity and pop energy, all with audacious imagination. This is, after all, a composer who has written music for water and stones, and he exhibits an almost childlike delight in the sensuous appeal of sounds here, in the overlay of traditional Chinese instruments such as pipa with synth beats, cross rhythms, and a panoply of percussion. Soprano Ying Huang gives Tan's fluttering threads of melody a silver sheen. However tempting it might be to label Tan's project as "crossover," it displays a depth and artistic integrity not usually associated with the term. --Thomas May

Customer Reviews:

A Composition that Missed the Mark.......2007-06-15

'East meets West' appears to be the hallmark for this work of avante garde Chinese composer Tan Dun.
Well, I love Chinese music, been listening to large volumes of Chinese operatic recordings and performances for more than 40 years - from the southern Cantonese to the north-western Qin and Yu operas, and even more the Eastern Kun operas and Huang Mei lyrics.
What is being achieved in this album? I would hesitate to call it East meeting West.
Fine, it is original. Fine again, that Miss Huang Ying is a lyrical soprano with a good voice and sound technique.
But please do not mistook the work as having any lineage with the Chinese operatic tradition: it has virtually none of such.
The choice of singer alone reveals that there is no regard to the authentic Chinese operatic tradition: a Western lyrical soprano is UNABLE to bring out the style and sonics in Chinese traditional-styled melodies. For such performer, go for the celebrated Chinese soprano Miss Wu Bixia instead, the pioneer of fusion of Chinese and Western vocal styles.
Very much unlike the more recent work of Tan "The First Emperor", this album endeavours to present music that is off the beaten track. However, the result is that it is off track. The stuff here, I dare say, accounts for more than half of the adverse criticism of that opera, a much more valid work in all respects but for these 'grey area' elements.
Chinese operatic arias are much more than wailing and whining. Musical lines are more melodious, harmonics much clearer.
The blurred effects here are not authentic Chinese style.
I envy those who are able to enjoy this album.

I generally admire Tan Dun, but this project was a misstep.......2006-03-28

BITTER LOVE is a selection of songs from Chinese contemporary composer Tan Dun's 1998 version of the classic Chinese opera "Peony Pavilion". Soprano Ying Huang has the spotlight, with the New York Virtuoso Singers and the NChiCa-Orchestra performing and the composer himself conducting. The staging of the opera, produced by Peter Sellars, was toured around the world, but no video recording was made. These fourteen songs are all we have, but make a conveniently concise single-disc presentation.

Tan Dun's updating is drastic, maintaining the text (in English translation by Cyril Birch) but with totally new music. The traditional music of "Peony Pavilion", of which "Hang the Curtain Down" might be the most well-known, is nowhere to be heard here even in brief quotation. Instrumentation consists of pipa (a Chinese flute), percussion, several midi instruments, electronic sampler, and water gong. The rhythms, the scat singing, and the electronics make this work quite outside both the Western and Chinse traditions, and lovers of chillout projects such as Thievery Corporation may find this CD to their liking. Ying Huang's singing, however, displays the mannerisms of Beijing opera, so the work is a real fusion of styles.

Were this the only work by Dun, it might seem fresh and admirable, but it compares poorly to some of his recent works like THE MAP and the WATER PASSION. Some novel ideas, such as the mix of Chinese and Western instrumentation and the use of water for sound are present, but all in all the musical material here is very limited and repetitive. Perhaps it would be another matter entirely if I were watching a live performance where the orchestra is meant to accompany action onstage, but on its own the music isn't rich enough. Furthermore, Sony's packing of the material, with very unhelpful liner notes, makes it look as if Tan Dun's talent is being used to advance some mission of world music crossover gimmickry. I regrettably cannot recommend this like I can other works by Tan Dun, who is generally one of the most interesting living composers.

Dark depths and bright voices, a shock, a whimsy.......2004-05-24

This piece of music either creeps up on you out of nowhere - like a tarantula imitating a meteor streaking out of outerspace - or it "conveys" itself to you like a waiter extending to you a glass of dark wine - or a film that seeks to shock you with an unexpected silence and a pagan cry. You must be the judge. But if you are faint hearted - quick to flee sexuality in all of its forms - you should go nowhere near this piece. And and if you are bold and brazen and hot for simplistic outrages you should probably bury your head in the sand. This work is for mature listeners only. By "mature" I mean a listener who is willing to cast to the side - as if she or he is flinging to the wind cherry blossoms in autumn - all grotesque fundamentalisms of ANY KIND. The music begins with a luminous voice slowly moving out of darkness. The voice wanders around in the dark over a deep abyss but I do not sense that the abyss is strong enough to terrify that wondrous voice. And the full piece, as it develops, may be best called "The Complicated Tales Of Incandescent Bliss". This piece of music is hideously subversive. I say that with a tongue in my cheek and a fart in my belly. The mere "subversive" is hideously dull. For a century now we have lived with a million, billion artists who wished - desperately wishing to canonize their egos - to "subvert" things. "Bitter Love" is horribly subversive. It is horribly subversive because it does not aim to be "subversive". Its power comes from a source that is not easily described. I am not a witch, but I would like to pretend that I am a witch gazing with my dark-gold eyes into a blasphemously kitsch crystal ball. I would say, gazing into profound fires, that I see a century of struggling, sick, twisted artists striving to catch up to "Bitter Love". It is dark without that pretentious quality that defines the run-of-the-mill Goth. It is bright without protestatiing itself before the blasphemously sentimetality of movies like "The Sound of Music". It plays havoc with our senses without toadying up to the most stupid features of the avant-guard. "Bitter Love" will shock you even while it consoles you.

A Music Collage.......2003-12-01

A soprano; a tenor; a monk; a baritone chorus; an infant; unconventional Chinese orchestration mixed with bits and pieces of Peking Opera; folk tunes; lots of percussions, these are the sounds with which the story of Peony Pavilion is musically revealed. Rather than an opera, it is a musical dream or a conception. Chinese traditional culture is always a rich resource for musicians (especially Chinese musicians) to tap into, and Tan Dun is one of those who know exactly where to get his inspirations. The work is a collage of various individual and seemingly disparate elements of West and East, ritual and sensual, ancient and modern, only that Tan displays them with a sense of assimilation at times, and antithesis at others. As always, Tan's unique music perspectives, distinctively modern though they are, are fulfilled by returning to the original purity and simplicity of the basics and down-to-earth folk music elements.

Ying Huang's pure soprano displays the poetry of the music beautifully. With sensuous approach, her singing is well attuned to the music's aura of longing and exotic beauty. The fabulous baritone chorus from The New York Virtuoso Singers gives a touch of the western opera and provides an indispensable layer to the otherwise rather thin orchestration.

But the music is not for everyone, nor for everyday. Despite its depth and range, it could be a strange land for the ears not tuned to its novelties and diversities, and as for that matter, one may wonder how much of the profound emotions Tan meant to deliver has actually reached the audience at general level.

Mind Opening.......2002-04-24

If you're unfamiliar with Chinese Opera this album may be shocking. But, once you take the time to listen this is a beautiful experience. Tan Dun's blend of eastern and western musical traditions is brilliant. Ying Haung's voice is clear with tones "razor sharp."

Tracks:

Intro
The Push
Militant
Originators
Skit
Sweatshop
Street Monopoly
Afterhours Part 1
Trilogy
Feel It
Skit
Whatever We Want
Skit
Monster
The Hit
One To Grow On
Skit
Day One
Spoken Word
Nonchalantly
The Rule
Lady Sings The Blues

Customer Reviews:

killarmy's best album.......2007-02-18

Although all of their albums have been good, this one takes first prize for me. With production mainly by 4th Disciple, the beats on this one are top notch. Definetly pick this up if you like Killarmy or Wu-Tang.

Killarm is the truth... Real hip hop.......2006-06-01

Killarmy is a bunch of real hip hop brothers that rza wutang's producer has taken under his wing... Killarmy's "fear,love & war" is a mastepiece and a classic undeground hip hop album as their previous albums are...AS always sharp. Forget all that mtv garbage that you listing to and stop listining to those fake Tony montana wanna be thugs and beging to listing to some real [...] like raskass,oc, cella dwella, az, cats that if you enjoy g unit, the game, feminem, Paul wall, lil john , dipset ? You'll never know about. Most all these new up & coming rappers as always talk about how good hustles they're & how they've came up & how rich they are and how much nice clothe they got but can they rap ? Hell no. Support true hip hop.

Unlike All the other Wutang crap (cept for Black Knights),.......2003-07-23

this album is actually good and not full of all that "smart" "intellectual" stupid whiteboy-fantasy-lyrics. this whole album is the bomb, with ill beats and lyrics. It's street and everything, which is different from all the rest of all that "mystical" wu-tang stuff that doesn't make any sense and no one listens to in the streets. ya'll know! and don't front that what i typed aint true cuz it is.

I haven't heard the other Killarmy albums, but this is just banging. Hella tracks too. If ya'll like this stuff, check Black Knights' "Every Knight Is A Black Knight", they're Wu-published and are actually good too.

Good CD.......2003-04-09

I would like to give this CD 5 stars but I can't because, it just takes too long to get going. I'm a Killarmy/Wu fan and love all three CD's but honestly, I was a little bored through the first part of this CD. However, it's worth the wait because as the CD moves along, the songs do to. When it reaches the end and finishes up with "Lady Sings the Blues", I was more than satisified. That track is one one the darkest, most emotional and haunting hip-hop tracks I've heard in years! If you're not sure about picking up this album, do it for that track. Don't download it. Support a bangin' hip-hop group for Christ's sake! Download sellout garbage if you must to keep them from getting your money. Support real hip-hop and help keep it alive!

swords for survival.......2002-06-18

This is a bangin album, the Gods dont play. The lyrics are always on point. The beats are ahead of their time. These are true MC's blessin us with knowlege, wisdom, and understanding. Most people go for the shinny getups catchy tunes and lyrics that are simple minded. They are missing the idea of true Hip Hop. Hip Hop is supposed to make you think on another level. Killarm's lyrics have a profound impact on the listener, and have 'em beggin for more. I am a loyal fan to say the least and i appreciate the talent and the realizim put into it. The first two albums were instant classics, the third album is no exception. Every single beat has a grimy "full metal jacket" feel knawmean, when they where searching for the female sniper y'know. Sweatshop intro says it all. not to mention "Originators", 9th prince spits metaphors constantly like a hillbilly spittin his chaw. The realness alone is noteworthy, for example "The Hit" The slang is so advanced, some cant keep up. Its too hype, the off beat style, the sampling of the gunfire and bombs it all goes with the beat. Its too much to absorb in one sitting, the more you listen to it the more you catch, and thats with all wu tang tracks. Thats my word!

Average customer rating:

Powerful music a tribute to Holocaust victims

Ruth Lomon: Songs of Remembrance
Laura Ahlbeck (oboe)
Manufacturer: Composers Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00005Y4RU
Release Date: 2002-02-01

Tracks:

Chor der Waisen
Mes Yeux
The Survivor
Fear
Der Ewige Segne...
The Butterfly
Gedale's Song
Sunny Evening
Poeme Macabre
Love Poem

Album Description

In 1945, as the Allies swept across Europe and the Third Reich crumbled, the Nazi death camps were liberated one by one. Photographs and news accounts forced the world at last to confront and acknowledge the horror of the genocide that had taken place. At the time, it was widely thought that words would never be found to express such inhumanity, and that the experience of such profound suffering lay beyond human expression. In reality, seminal works about the Holocaust appeared almost immediately: Viktor Frankl's important psychological treatise, Man's Search for Meaning, was published in 1946, and If This Is a Man, the first volume of Primo Levi's autobiographical memoir appeared in 1947, and many more books followed. This resiliency and urgent impulse of artistic response to that monumental 20th-century tragedy proves the human desire to create a narrative, context, and meaning from reality, however gruesomely incomprehensible it may be.

Almost six decades later, new works of history, philosophy and art of all genres are still confronting the Holocaust in the context of a new millennium world that acknowledges genocide as part of our reality. I spoke with composer Ruth Lomon in order to understand her impulse to create this song cycle.

You've described the inception of Songs of Remembrance as being inspired by a year's stay in Jerusalem in 1994 during which you immersed yourself in reading poetry in the Library of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum. What has been your history with Israel and did you know in advance what your composition would entail? I've lived in Israel 1955-6, 1966, 1987 and 1993-4. My husband, Earle, is a physicist and we go back to Israel for his work and because we love the country and the friends we have there. At the time of our departure for Israel in 1994, the Oslo agreement had been reached and we were filled with renewed hope for peace. Originally, I intended to compose a song cycle on poems of peace by Israeli and Palestinian poets. But with the return of mounting conflict and tensions, this hope eroded and I turned my thoughts to the subject of the Holocaust.

You also studied Persian and Arabic modes (the Maqamet) with its use of quarter tones, as well as the Segah, used in the singing of the Torah. In addition, you have investigated early Christian music, precursors of Gregorian chant and Armenian church music from the third century. Were there features of these exotic and archaic music languages that you found particularly inspiring? How did you incorporate them into your own musical language?

The embellishments or melismas of the melodic line in the settings of “Mes Yeux,” “Gedale's Song,” “Fear” and “Sunny Evening” are influenced by the modes. Examples of the influence of early Armenian chants are most noticeable in the cadential material I use in “Mes Yeux,” which was the first poem I set to music; it is also a microcosmos of the song cycle because it contains harmonic and melodic references that are the basis of the work.

The cycle opens with an extraordinary setting of the poem by Nellie Sachs in which the phrase “Wir Waisen” (We orphans) becomes a statement of the paradox of the shared solitude of suffering, a central theme in Holocaust literature and in this moving collection of songs. There is the feeling of retelling or reframing what has been said in order to preserve it for the future and counteract this isolation. You met with two of the poets, Berthe Wizenberg Fleischer and Miriam Merzbacher-Blumenthal, who live in New York and Connecticut respectively. How did they react to your project?

I was worried about taking these very personal poems and setting them to music, but when I met with Berthe and Miriam and corresponded with the other poets, they made it clear that they felt it important to have the words sung, spoken, whatever the vehicle, so that we keep this knowledge of the Holocaust alive. Meeting Professor Rosette C. Lamont was also very important. She is

Customer Reviews:

Powerful music a tribute to Holocaust victims.......2003-01-12

Lomon's Song Cycle, for voices, piano and oboe/English horn, is a remarkable piece of music. The limpid melodies of the "Love Song" are searing and remain indelibly in the memory. The singing is exquisite, with Dellal in particular achieving a powerful expressiveness. This recording received an excellent review in FANFARE magazine, Fall, 2002.

Average customer rating:

One of my Favorite CDs
Melodious Shakespeare

Songs to Shakespeare
John Addison , John Addison II , William Aikin , Thomas Arne , Sir Henry Rowley Bishop , Benjamin Britten , Geoffrey Bush , John Clifton , Henry Balfour Gardiner , Franz Joseph Haydn , Mervyn Horder , Herbert Howells , John Ireland , William Linley , John Major , Sir Charles H.H. Parry , Roger Quilter , John Christopher Smith , Charles Villiers Stanford , Michael Tippett , Ralph Vaughan Williams , Graham Johnson , and Anthony Rolfe Johnson
Manufacturer: Hyperion
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000002ZP7
Release Date: 1993-11-19

Tracks:

You Spotted Snakes
No More Dams I'll Make For Fish
On A Day, Alack The Day
She Never Told Her Love
O Mistress Mine
Lawn, As White As Driven Snow
If Love Make Me Forsworn
O Happy Fair!
If Music Be the Food Of Love
Farewell, Thou Art Too Dear For My Posessing
When In Disgrace With Fortune And Men's Eyes
Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer's Day?
The Rain It Raineth Every Day
Orpheus With His Lute
Come Away Death
Fear No More The Heat o' The Sun
Take, O Take Those Lips Away
It Was A Lover And His Lass
Winter
When Daffodils Begin To Peer
Under The Greenwood Tree
Songs For Ariel - I. Come Unto These Yellow Sands
Songs For Ariel - II. Full Fathom Five
Songs For Ariel - III. Where The Bee Sucks
Who Is Silvia?
Francie
Sigh No More Ladies

Customer Reviews:

One of my Favorite CDs.......2004-02-19

In this wonderful collection of Shakespeare settings, Mr. Rolfe-Johnson creates a magical atmosphere using his unbelievable musicality and gorgeous, gorgeous voice! The songs themselves range from the sweet and charming "No more Dams!" to the heavenly interpretation of "She Never Told Her Love", but for me the high point of the whole CD is his incredible performance of the early version of Vaughan Willams' "Orpheus with his Lute"...this song alone is worth the price of the album! Mr. Rolfe Johnson is truly one of the worlds most exquisite tenors! A must have for every fan of English Song!

Melodious Shakespeare.......2001-01-24

This CD consists of a collection of settings of Shakespearian lines by composers ranging from the 18th to the mid-20th centuries. It is an ideal vehicle for finding a new way to enjoy these writings of Shakespeare and also experience the work of a number of British composers, some well-known and some not so well-known

Freedom from Agoraphobia Self Hypnosis CD

Average customer rating:

True Freedom!
Not what it claims to be......

Freedom from Agoraphobia Self Hypnosis CD

Manufacturer: World Sangha Publishing
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000EX2PAG

Product Description

This is a Powerful CD for anyone experiencing the disabling issue of Agoraphobia. This CD was brilliantly co-authored by a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist and Registered Counselor with over 14 years of professional experience and by someone who has suffered from Agoraphobia for years. It is gentle and mindful to all the issues you face, yet powerful enough to help you move though the fear and take back your life. This CD will truly help you find Freedom from Agoraphobia and to take charge of your life again! Christopher Love CDs are very Powerful Transformational tools for you to heal and transcend the past, empower your present moment, help you hold the vision of what you want in the future from life, and to help you expand into the Mystery of Being. All CDs also include a combination of Alpha and Theta Brainwave technology for a deep and relaxed Mind/Body/Spirit experience. Alpha brainwaves are those most frequently found when you are in a deep meditation state. Alpha brainwave states are typically associated with contemplation, visualization, problem solving and accessing deeper levels of creativity. Theta brainwaves represent a state of deep relaxation and meditation, enhanced creativity, stress relief, light sleep and dreaming. It is also best to use headphones whenever possible but not absolutely necessary. Each CD includes beautiful full color graphics imprinted on top of the CD and are shipped in a slimline jewel case without a paper insert and without shrink-wrap. Christopher Love is an internationally known Bestselling Author, Award Winning Composer/Recording Artist, Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, Certified Neuro-Linguistic Program Practitioner, Board Certified Hypnotherapy Instructor/Trainer and a Teaching Reiki Master with over 14 years of professional experience. He is the author of 9 books, 24 solo music CD's, 74 Self Hypnosis/Guided Meditations on CD, 2 Poetry CD's, 2 Rumi Poetry CD's and a children's stories on CD.

Customer Reviews:

True Freedom!.......2007-04-11

I have no idea what that one reviewer who didn't like this CD is talking about. I think he or she is NUTS. I too love this CD and it helped me beyond expectations. Mr. Love obviously knows his stuff and all I can say is I feel great and I was not great for a long time. I lived in fear and was afraid of my own shadow, never went anywhere, did anything. And know I go for a walk every day and soon I will be driving my car again. I listen to the CD every day for a month and I could feel the urge to do things and I just one day started, like it was no body's business. So There! Who ever you are, you know nothing.

Not what it claims to be.............2006-04-13

I bought this item from Ebay, he has a store there, and the page there really makes him out to be great and advanced with his methods, and it even says he has gathered information from an agoraphobic sufferer as well.....I'm not sure who he talked to and where he got his certificate from but this CD might as well be sold from the trunk of his car! The music was to busy and haunting, his voice was to deep and scary, not good for trying to relax and "go deep". The script is rather off from what you would expect. I expected to be lead into a relaxed state and be guided through my anxious thoughts with positive new thoughts, and instead I was all over the place and he was inconsistent with the guided imageing. Your leaving your front steps and then your passing by a garden or park....wheres the in between! Maybe a car ride would make since, who leaves the house and magically sees a garden or park near by, it just wasn't consistent with what it claimed to do. One more complaint, it ends bluntly, no easing out the door, it just stops. I would give it no stars if Amazon would allow it, because it wasn't even remotely good and I waisted my money. I would also like to add that agoraphobia is a cripleing problem and to waist money on something that claims to work is very dissapointing and inhumain in my opinion. May I suggest looking up meditation CDs and then clicking on the titles that reviewers for that CD have viewed as well, and in doing this you will be givin simular titles for the catagory with each one and maybe that will lead you to a CD that may help. Currently I am awaiting the CD's - "Indigo Dreams: Adult Relaxation-Guided Meditation/Relaxation Techniques decrease anxiety, stress, anger" and "Creative Visualization Meditations by Shakti Gawain" Both of which I found by doing the searching technique that I just explained above. I will review both CD's once I have used them. I have also heard good things about "Journey into deep relaxation" by Dorean Blumefeld" Not sure I spelled the name right, I have not used it, but I have heard from 2 people online that it was good. Good luck on your journey.

Average customer rating:

English is an asset and a drawback
You Will Love Opera After Hearing Carmen In English
A wholly credible "Carmen" -- finally!
I love Carmen!

Carmen (Sung in English)
Bizet , Bardon , Gavin , Plazas , Magee , and Parry
Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Mozart: The Magic Flute
The Barber of Seville / B. Ford, D. Jones, A. Opie; G. Bellini [in English]
Verdi: La Traviata
Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro
Mozart - Don Giovanni / Garry Magee · Cullagh · Banks · Plazas · Shore · Tierny · PO · David Parry

ASIN: B00007JGRN
Release Date: 2003-03-11

Tracks:

Prelude
In The Plaza
Just Look At That Delicious Morsel
Here Come Our New Soldier Boys
Jose! There Was A Girl Here Looking For You Just Now
Off With You Old Soldier Boys
Corporal! Sir!
We Have Heard The Bell Summon Us To Meet Here
Ah, Just Look!
But Why Hasn't She Come, Our Carmencita?
Love's A Bird Wild As Any Rebel
Carmen! We Will Follow You High And Low!
The Cheek Of It!
Give Me News Of My Mother!
Your Dear Mother And I Were Leaving Church This Morning
I See My Mother's Face!
Wait A Moment - I'm Going To Read The Letter
Come And Help
So, Corporal: Tell Me What Happened
Well, Carmencita: What Do You Have To Say For Yourself?
Where Are You Taking Me?
There's An Old Bar In The City
Careful - It's Lieutenant!
Entr'acte
From Far Away Mysterious Sounds
Bravo, Bravo! More! Keep Dancing!
Hurrah! Hurrah! The Torero!
Who's That? It's Escamillo, The Bullfighter From Granada
Hurrah! Hurrah! The Torero!
You're Most Kind
We'll Come With You, Senor Torero
Toreador, Be Ready!
At Last! We Got Rid Of Them As Quickly As We Could
There's A Little Job That We're Starting!
Being In Love Is Not A Reason

Tracks:

To Bid You Welcome To Our Bar
La La La La La La La La...
Back To Camp!... Go At Once!
That Flow'r You Threw To Me I Treasured
No, It's Not Love At All!
Hello! Carmen!
Lieutenant Fair, It's True
The Sky Above The Open Road
Entr'acte
Keep Going, Dear Old Friend, Kep Going!
Right! Let's Stop For A While
Shuffle! Cut Them!
In Vain You Would Avoid The Bitter Things They're Saying
You're Back!
As For That Man, It Should Be Easy!
Is This The Place?
I Say That There's Nothing To Fear
It's Him! I'm Sure It's Him Over There!
Escamillo Is My Name, And I Come From Granada
She Had A Lover Here
Hola! Hola! Jose!
You Should Take Care, Carmen
Alas! Jose, Your Mother Is Ill
Entr'acte
A Few Cuartos! A Few Cuartos!
Here They Come! Here They Come!
If You Love Me, Carmen
It's You! It's Me!
Viva! Viva! What A Corrida!

Customer Reviews:

English is an asset and a drawback.......2004-07-20

The best thing about this recording of Carmen is the libretto. Conductor David Parry penned this facile and dramatic English translation. He avoids the pitfalls of literal translation to achieve an idiomatic flow that matches the rhythm of the original lyrics. I use this as a reference libretto for any of the French Carmens.

Unfortunately, the performance suffers from being sung in English. The singers declaim their parts with such proper British diction that Carmen comes across as a school marm. The spoken dialog is delivered beat for deliberate beat and is dripping with reverb. It makes the plaza, tavern and mountain pass all sound like a sewer pipe.

This is a good first Carmen for someone trying to understand the work. The libretto itself is a good investment for further listening. For an enjoyable performance with an emphasis on character and action, I recommend Regina Resnik on the London Double Decker set.

You Will Love Opera After Hearing Carmen In English.......2004-02-09

What a perfect introduction to opera. This newly released recording will surely get you hooked into opera. Carmen, a French opera by Georges Bizet, is the most recognizable and most popular in the opera world. It's famous melodies- the overture, the Habanera, The Toreador Song have all been featured in everything from cellular phone ring tones to Superbowl Commercial (last year's Superbowl with The "Opera In English" label has been making Italian operas into English for a number of years now. Also on the market are Verdi's La Traviata in English (with soprano Valerie Masterson as Violetta) Handel's Julius Caesar with Janet Baker and even Wagner's epic Ring Of The Nibeling sung in English. This is a terrific recording and I highly recommend it if you want to get into opera. Listen to this version first and then try the real, original French version Bizet had written. Patricia Bardon is sensational, sexy and dramatic as Carmen.

The real strength of this version is the dynamic drama. With the advantage of being sung in English, we get better insight on characters' emotions and motives, and we understand the drama a lot better. Carmen is all about great drama. Bizet drew the plot from the French writer Prosper Merimee's dark short story. Carmen is the ultimate femme fatale- a devil-may-care, sexy Gypsy living in Spain, seduces the conservatively raised soldier Don Jose, stealing him away from his fiancee, the passive Micaela, living a life of underground smuggling and rowdy taverns. "Habanera" and "The Gypsy Song and Dance" are very expressive of Carmen's extraordinarily liberal lifestyle. Don Jose, however, has fallen deeply in love- as he shows us in his song/aria "The Flower Song". But Carmen soon becomes tired of his constancy. Don Jose wants a committed, monogamous relationship with Carmen. But Carmen will not submit to love, since she is first and foremost a carnal creature. Eventually, she falls for the handsome Toreador Escamillo. Don Jose, consumed by jealousy, stabs Carmen at a bullfight after Carmen declares her love for Escamillo and rejects Don Jose's love. Don Jose's crazed, obscessive personality shines through in the English version as well. This tragedy has been done in English before so don't think this is the first time. Back in the 50's, there was a film, starring black actors "Carmen Jones" which was treated the same way as this opera- more like an English Broadway musical and with the dubbed singing voice of Marilyn Horne as Carmen. All in all, this recording is excellent.

A wholly credible "Carmen" -- finally!.......2003-09-17

This recording really sells "Carmen" as a drama. Although I have two other recordings of this opera and have seen it performed several times, it never quite worked for me dramatically. But thanks to the fine performances, conducting, and translation here, I've become a "Carmen" convert. Producing a good English-language performance of a foreign opera, especially a warhorse like "Carmen," is much more difficult than it might appear. You need performers who not only can sing the parts (of course) but also can sing *English* and make it halfway intelligible and make it sound like English and make it dramatically convincing to English-speakers. The singers on this recording do an excellent job all around. Don't be put off if you don't recognize their names -- they are up to the task musically and (especially) in their acting. Admittedly, as with *all* English-language recordings, some passages are very hard to understand without reading along, but most of the time the words are clear and effective. I would recommend this recording to any opera beginner or opera lover, even those who normally turn up their noses at performances in translation.

I love Carmen!.......2003-08-15

I do. I can think of no other opera with more melodic inventiveness, and few others with so sure a dramatic pulse. Carmen is popular and it thrills me to say that it is also a very good opera - not always true of popular things.

And what of this recording? Carmen sits well in English, so it is good to hear in translation, although some of the detais in the text jar. Escamillo refers to Jose as "my dear", which sounds rather peculiar, and the guide's line to Micaela: "it's not exactly inviting, is it?" sounds distinctly Middle England rather than Rural Spain. Some of the performers, not least Carmen herself, make the words work, although there are long tracts, especially with the chorus, where the language is distinctly indistinct.

The soloists are, by and large, strong. Patricia Bardon's deep, Handel-friendly voice adapts well to Carmen and she colours the music with phenomenal detail, sounding sexy and provocative from the start with an edge of pride and anger that emerges as the show goes on. She is out of her depth above the stave, though, and some extra top notes in the second act don't show her off to her best advantage. I have previously said that Julian Gavin is poorly served by recordings, though here he sounds much more even and gives a thrilling and musical performance (but his wooden spoken lines let him down). Mary Plazas is a lovely Micaela, rich-voiced and sincere (and word-perfect), but Garry Magee sounds miscast as Escamillo, lacking the ballast at the bottom of the voice to do justice to this tricky role.

The supporting cast is good (Mary Hegarty seems to do nothing but Frasquita these days!) but the really treasurable thing is the conducting. Stepping out of Italian Ottocento, David Parry turns his hand to this French Comedie with an appropriate lightness of touch. His pacing and handling of the set pieces is exemplary and the enrtractes go with a real swing.

A pleasure, then, for the Carmen naive or a novelty for the Carmen-acquainted. I nearly wrote Carmen-weary - but I don't think it's possible.

Dance Music: