Vertical Man

New York Times
"Vertical Man" is not merely a retread of Beatles' styles. There is a grittiness, a density and a fluid eclecticism that is of the '90s, not the '60s. And there is consistency that has been lacking in Starr's work until now. All told, this is a tightly crafted, appealingly upbeat album, and clearly meant as entertainment rather than innovation.

Entertainment Weekly
The ex-Beatle gets help from such friends in high places as Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Scott Weiland, Alanis Morissette, and Brian Wilson.... No matter how strained the music gets, Ringo's familiar quirky voice and organic drums keep him on a first-name basis with the current culture.

Vertical Man,Ringo Starr,Polygram Records,Pop,Popular Music,Rock,Rock/Pop

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Average customer rating: Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material! Beginner or Expert Very Informative and Enjoyable Frank's view Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra

Instruments of the Orchestra Various Artists Manufacturer: Naxos ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra | ( H ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music London Philharmonic Orchestra | ( L ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra | ( M ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music National Philharmonic Orchestra London | ( N ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Instructional | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Blowout Box Sets | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music More Titles at Least 20% Off | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music All Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra | ( H ) | Performers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music London Philharmonic Orchestra | ( L ) | Performers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra | ( M ) | Performers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music National Philharmonic Orchestra London | ( N ) | Performers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Instrumental | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Similar Items: Britten: Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra Op34; Simple Symphony Op4 The Mahler Symphonies: An Owner's Manual (includes 1 CD) The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (Book & CD) Study of Orchestration, Third Edition What to Listen for in Music ASIN: B00006O0NT Release Date: 2002-12-03

Tracks:

1. Overture To 'Tannhauser'
2. Domna, Pos Vos Ay Chausida
3. We Don't Merely Use Instruments, We Play On Them. And They Play On Us.
4. Hungarian Dance No.7
5. The Violin Is One Of The Most Tender And Beautiful Instruments Ever Invented.
6. Violin Concerto In D Major (Adagio)
7. But For A Long Time It Was Seen As The Instrument Of The Devil.
8. The Soldier's Tale: Triumphal March Of The Devil
9. The Manipulative Seductiveness Of The Gypsy Violin.
10. Csardas Music
11. The Violin And The Initiation Of Nature
12. The Four Seasons (Spring, Mvt 1)
13. Birds Are Again Evoked In The Second Concerto, Especially Music's Natural Favourite.
14. The Four Seasons (Summer, Mvt 1)
15. Like The Devil, The Violin Is A Master Of Disguise.
16. Old Viennese Dance No.3 'Schon Rosmarin'
17. The Menacing Sensuality Of Ravel's Tzigane: A Very Different Side Of The Violin:
18. Tzigane
19. Do We Now Have The True Measure Of This Instrument? Not Just Yet.
20. Caprice No.24
21. The Many Effects Of The String Tremolando: Brandenburg Concerto No.4 (Last Mvt)/From Joy To Fright/Quartettsatz In C Minor/The String Tremolo Practically Spells The World Agitato.
22. Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No.7)
23. Prokofiev's Tremolo In Romeo And Juliet Should Not Be Heard Just Before Bedtime.
24. Romeo And Juliet: Act IV
25. Vivaldi Use It To Illustrate The Shivering Of Travellers Crossing The Ice.
26. The Four Seasons (Winter, Mvt 1)
27. The Violin Muted
28. Clair De Lune
29. The Gentleness Of Muted Strings Persists Even When A Whole Orchestra Plays.
30. Piano Concerto No.21 In C Major, K.467 (Slow Mvt)
31. The Pizzicato Violin
32. Pizzicato Polka
33. In Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, The Accompaniment Is Pizzicato.
34. Violin Concerto No.2 In G Minor (Slow Mvt)
35. Varieties Of Pizzicato: Colas Breugnon (The People's Feast)/Now A Drier, Leaner, Hungrier Pizzicato. There's Not A Lot Of Comfort Here./Capriol Suite (Tordion)/The Use Of Pizzicato As 'Percussion'/Romeo And Juliet (Act I)/Mahler Used Pizzicato...
36. The Planets (Mars - The Bringer Of War)
37. The Technique Of Double-Stopping Enables The Violin To Play Duets With Itself./Sonata No.3 In C Major For Unaccompanied Violin (Fugue)/Now A Later Example Of The Same Technique
38. Hungarian Dance No.4
39. Double-Stopping Is A Standard Feature Of A Lot Of Folk Music.
40. The Four Seasons (Autumn, Mvt 1)
41. Now The Same Technique, But The Sound Might Have Come From Another World.
42. Bolero
43. Double-Stopping Can Only Approximate The Sound Of A Real Violin Duet.
44. Cadenza To The Violin Concerto By Brahms
45. Now Compare That With A Real Violin Duet.
46. Forty-Four Duos (No. 1: Teasing Song)
47. Another Duo By Bartok, Demonstrating The Violin's Rich Lower Register
48. Forty-Four Duos (No.2: Maypole Dance)
49. And Now What May Be The Most Beautiful Accompanied Violin Duet In History
50. Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
51. The Soul Of The Violin Is In Song; But What About This Weird Passage?
52. Violin Concerto No.1 In D Major (Mvt 2)
53. The Use Of Harmonies In The Orchestra Can Be Both Magical And Unsettling.
54. Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 1, Opening)
55. Tchaikovsky's Use Of Harmonics In The Sleeping Beauty Is Both Strange And Darling.
56. The Sleeping Beauty (Act II, No.15: Entr'Acte)
57. Ravel's Harmonics In Mother Goose Effect A Magical Transformation.
58. Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
59. Stravinsky's Harmonics In The Firebird Transport Us Almost Into Another World./The Firebird (Introduction)
60. The Natural Upper Notes Of The Violins Have A Unique Emotional 'Grab'.
61. Also Sprach Zarathustra (Of The Afterworldsmen)
62. Still In Their Upper Register, The Violins Unleash The Energy Of A Young Colt.
63. Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No. 4)
64. Elsewhere, Britten Uses The Same High Register To Create A Very Different Mood.
65. Four Sea Interludes (Dawn) From 'Peter Grimes'
66. To End This Outing With The Violins, A Charming Little Elfin Dance
67. Elfenreigen

Tracks:

1. Introduction To The Viola
2. Viola Concerto (Mvt 1)
3. Khatchaturian Gets A Very Different Sound From It: Fuller, Fruitier, More Exotic.
4. Gayane Suite No.1 (Armen's Solo)
5. Very Nearly The Whole Of The Violin's Upper Register Is Also Available To The Viola.
6. Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'
7. The Viola Can Bring A Special, Rich Twanginess To Pizzicato That The Violins Lack./Don Quixote/Berlioz Drew Sounds From It That Retain Their Metallic Strangeness Even Today.
8. Harold In Italy (Mvt 4)
9. The Muted Viola: Intimate, Gentle, Poignant In Dvork
10. Cypresses (No.9)
11. The Massed Violas Of The Modern Symphony Orchestra In Mahler
12. Symphony No.4 (Mvt 3)
13. The 'Period' Viola In Bach
14. Brandenburg Concerto No.6 (Last Mvt)
15. The Cello: A Voice Of Unique Nobility
16. Suite No.1 For Unaccompanied Cello (Prelude)
17. Brahms And The 'Soul' Of The Cello
18. Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat Major (Mvt 3)
19. Most Orchestral Composers Tend To Emphasize The Cello's Lower Register.
20. Cantata 'Herz Und Mund Und Tat Und Leben', BWV 147 (Soprana Aria: Bereite Dir, Jesu)
21. In The Time Of Beethoven The Cello Remained As Fundamental As Ever.
22. Symphony No.3 'Eroica' (Finale)
23. But The Cello Is Not Condemned To Spend Its Life In The Basement.
24. Elfentanz, Op.39
25. Not Only In Recital Showpieces Like That Is The Cello Is Used In Its Highest Register.
26. The Protecting Veil (Opening)
27. A Cello With An Identity-Crisis: The Pizzicato Flamencan
28. Flamenco
29. Double-Stopping In The Lower Reaches Of The Cello's Range
30. Solo Suiet For Cello And Piano (Sardana)
31. It's In The Middle Register That The Cello Really Comes Into Its Own.
32. Oriental Dance, Op.2 No.2
33. It Was To The Cellos That Beethoven Gave Two Of His Most Famous Themes./Symphony No.5 (Mvt 2)/Still More Famous Than That Theme Is This One From The Ninth Symphony.
34. Symphony No.9 (Finale)
35. Introduction To The Double-Bass
36. The Carnival Of The Animals (The Elephant)
37. But The Double-Bass Can Be Intensely Expressive And Graceful.
38. Elegy No.1 In D Major
39. The Range Of The Double-Bass Is The Greatest Of All The String Instruments/Allegro Di Concerto, 'Alla Mendelssohn'/And It's Also Capable Of Very Considerable Virtuosity.
40. Capriccio Di Bravura
41. Double-Bass Solos In Orchestral Scores Are Rare But Often Memorable./Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 3)/In His Third Symphony Mahler Makes A Very Different Use Of The Instrument./Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1)
42. The Double-Bass Muted In Prokofiev/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Kije's Wedding)/In Another Work Prokofiev Uses The Double-Bass To Enhance The Winds./Romeo And Juliet (Act III)/And He Combines The Bass Clarinet With A Shivering Tremolo From The Double-Basses....
43. Symphony No.5 (Mvt 3)/So Much For The Strings/On Now To The Winds

Tracks:

1. The Antiquity And Magic Of The Flute
2. Prelude A L'Apres-Midi D'Un Faune
3. The Versatility And Agility Of The Flute
4. Orchestral Suite No.2 In B Minor (Badinerie)
5. The Flute In Fifteenth-Century Spain
6. Sa'Dawi
7. Other Flutes: The Bass And Alto
8. Chamber Music No.II
9. The Piccolo - Aptly Named
10. La Naissance D'Osiris (Mvt 6)
11. From A Piccolo Of The Eighteenth Century To One Of Its Descendants In The Twentieth
12. Suite No.1 For Small Orchestra (Valse)
13. A Variety Of Techniques
14. Chamber Music No.II
15. Flutter-Tonguing. But Tchaikovsky Got There Eighty Years Before.
16. The Nutcracker (Act II, No.2: Scene)
17. From The Transverse To The Vertical: The Baroque Recorder
18. Recorded Suite In A Minor (Menuet II)
19. An Unfamiliar, Early Vision Of The Instrument
20. Naelden, Naelden
21. The Bachian Oboe
22. Cantata 'Ein Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott', BWV 80 (No.7: Duetto)
23. Introduction To The Cor Anglais Or 'English Born'
24. Symphony No.9 'From The New World' (Mvt 2)
25. The Loneliness Of The Cor Anglais
26. The Swan Of Tuonela
27. The Cor Anglais Joins The French Horn In Haydn.
28. Symphony No.22 'The Philosopher' (Opening)
29. Introduction To The Oboe D'Amore, Beloved Of Bach - But Also Of Ravel
30. Bolero
31. The Clarinet Family: Boxing The Compass, From The Depths Of The Bass Clarinet.../The Egyptian (Violence)/...To The Raucous And Squealy.../Taras Bulba (The Death Of Ostap)/...To The Shrill And Complaining...
32. Petrushka (No.8: Peasant With Bear)/...To The High Sprits Of A Playful Puppy./Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)/And To The Downright Jazzy/Romeo And Juliet (Act II)
33. As The High Clarinets Tend To Be Loud, So The Bass Tends To Be Soft:
34. Gayane Suite No. 1 (Mvt 5)
35. The Bass Clarinet Is Used By Most Composers Mainly As A Colouring Agent.../Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/...But It Does Occasionally Get A Whole Tune To Itself./Iberia (Almeria).
36. The Range Of The Normal Clarinet Parts Goes Quite High...
37. The Snow Maiden (Scene 5: Melodrama)
38. ...And Quite Low.
39. Peter And The Wolf (The Cat)
40. The Clarinet As Concerto Soloist
41. Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
42. But That's Not The Instrument Mozart Wrote It For; This Is:
43. Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
44. Introduction To The Saxophone
45. Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 4)
46. The Soprano Saxophone Has Quite A Different Feel To It.
47. L'Arlesienne Suite No.1 (Minuet)
48. The Little Sopranino Sax Goes Even Higher.
49. Bolero
50. The Most Famous Use Of The Saxophone Is In An Orchestration By Ravel.
51. Pictures At An Exhibition (The Old Castle)
52. The Saxophone Can Be Quite Contagiously Good-Humoured.
53. Sax-O-Phun
54. The Puffa-Puffa Image Of The Bassoon
55. Peter And The Wolf (Grandfather)
56. The Bachian Bassoon, In Accompanimental Mode
57. Cantata 'Weichet Nur, Betrubte Schatten' ('Wedding Cantata'), BWV 202 (Aria No.1)
58. Bizet Leaves The Puffa-Puffa Image Out, Allowing The Bassoon To Sing./Carmen Suite No.1 (Les Dragons D'Alcala)
59. And Ravel, Also In Spanish Mode, Does Likewise.
60. Bolero
61. The Bassoon As A Voice Of High Seriousness, Indeed Desolate Loneliness
62. Symphony No.3 (Opening)
63. The Eerie Bassoon In Its Highest Register
64. The Rite Of Spring (Opening)
65. Stravinsky Now Draws On Its Lowest Register, Lonely And Melancholy.
66. The Firebird Suite (1919, Berceuse)
67. The Bassoon As Concerto Soloist, Avoiding All Exaggeration
68. Bassoon Concerto In G Minor (Finale)
69. The Deep-Voiced Contra-Bassoon, As A Fairy-Tale Beast
70. Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
71. The French Horn Under Its Woodwind Hat
72. Wind Quintet, Op.43 (Last Mvt)
73. Now A More Prominent Role, In A Woodwind Quintet From An Earlier Era
74. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Mvt 2)
75. The Horn In Harmonious Blend With Strings In Another Quintet
76. Horn Quintet, K.407 (Finale)

Tracks:

1. The Trumpet As Virtuoso Soloist
2. Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Last Mvt)
3. The Special Brillance Of Paired Trumpets
4. Concerto In C For Two Trumpets, RV537 (Mvt 1)
5. The Ceremonial Trumpet
6. Fanfare For The Common Man
7. Trumpets And Drums - An Incomparable Alliance
8. Messiah (The Trumpet Shall Sound)
9. The Versatility Of The Trumpet, From The Most Public To The Most Lonely
10. Piano Concerto In F (Slow Mvt)
11. The Trumpet As The Voice Of The City/An American In Paris/The Trumpet As Recruitment Officer/The Soldier's Tale (The March)/The Trumpet As Swaggerer
12. Carmen Suite No.2 (Habanera)
13. The Trumpet As The Voice Of Strength And Courage
14. Carmet Suite No.2 (Toreador's Song)
15. The Trumpet Muted/Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Opening)/The Trumpet As The Voice Of Weariness
16. Billy The Kid
17. The Trumpet As Character Actor
18. Pictures At An Exhibition (No.6)
19. The Trumpet As The Voice Of God
20. Mass In B Minor ('Et Exspecto')
21. The Birth Of The Trombone
22. Aenmerckt Nu Hier
23. The Birth Of The Brass As A Family
24. Canzon 12 In Double Echo
25. The Trombone In The Eighteenth Century
26. Trombone Concerto In B Flat Major (Finale)
27. The Tone Of The Tenor Trombone/Romance For Trombone And Organ/The Memorable Voice Of The Bass Trombone/Requiem (Mvt 2)/But The Bass Trombone Is More Than An Instrumental Bullfrog.
28. Hosannah
29. The Trombones Become Part Of The Orchestra.
30. Symphony No.5 (Finale)
31. The Wagnerian Trombone:/Overture To 'Tannhauser'
32. The Trombone As Caricaturist
33. Pulcinella (No.19: Vivo)
34. The Trombone As Raspberry/Concerto For Orchestra (Intermezzo)
35. The Horn And The Hunt
36. Horn Concerto No.4 In E Flat, K.495 (Finale)
37. The Challenging Horn Of The Baroque
38. Abaris Ou Les Boreades (Menuet)
39. The Scarcity Of First-Rate Players In Handel's Time
40. Walter Music (Minuet 1)
41. The Horn As Magician/The Firebird Suite (1919, Finale)
42. Horns And The Sound Of Nobility
43. Overture To 'Tannhauser' (Opening)
44. The Special Sound Of The Horn In Its Higher Register
45. Mass In B Minor ('Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus')
46. The Trumpet-Like Sound Of Massed Horns
47. Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1, Opening)
48. The Tuba - Unfairly Maligned?
49. Symphony No.6 (Mvt 3)
50. The Tuba Perfectly Cast By Ravel
51. Pictures At An Exhibition (Bydlo)

Tracks:

1. Introduction. And We Begin With A Bang.
2. Fanfare For The Common Man/The Bass Drum On The Battlefields/Wellington's Victory, Op.91 (Opening)
3. At The Opposite Extreme Is The Triangle.
4. Piano Concerto No.1 In E Flat (Scherzo)
5. Categories Of Percussion: Tuned And Untuned. The Side Drum
6. Overture To 'La Gazza Ladra' - The Thieving Magpie (Opening)
7. The Side Drum In An Effective But Unexpected Role/Clarinet Concerto (Mvt 1)
8. The Tambourine. One Of The Oldest Instruments In The World
9. Den Hoboecken Dans
10. Even Older Is The Originally Oriental Gong.
11. Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
12. No Single Instrument Can Match The Gong In Evoking The Breaking Of Waves./Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'/But Gongs Don't Have To Be Struck To Be Effective.
13. Gymnopedie No.2
14. The Cymbals Are Generally Discovered Early In Life./The Sanguine Fan/And They Do More Than Clash Together Loudly. They Can Be Clashed Together Softly./Studio Example: But They Needn't Be Clashed Together At All/Studio Example: They Can Be Lightly...
15. Other Untuned Percussion Instruments Include The Whip.: Piano Concerto In G Major (Opening)/And Here Are No Fewer Than Twenty, Cracked By Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Act I, Scene 5)
16. More Versatile Than The Whip Are The Wood Blocks.../Studio Example/...Which Crop Up All Over The Place In Twentieth-Century American Music.
17. Rodeo (Hoe-Down)
18. Related To The Wood Blocks, By Sound, Are The Castanets./Jota Aragonesa/But The Castanets Were Also Used By Monteverdi Back In The Seventeenth Century.
19. Scherzi Musicali (Damigella Tutta Belle)
20. A Still Earlier Example From Fifteenth-Century Spain
21. Yo M'Enamori D'Un Aire
22. The Birth Of The Bongo
23. Symphonic Dances From 'West Side Story'
24. From The Streets Of New York To The Blacksmith's Shop/Il Trovatore ('Anvil Chorus')
25. Desert-Island Decibels: Grand Canyon Suite (On The Trail)/Arcana
26. From One Vegetable To Another: The Humble Squash, Or Marrow/Huapango
27. Onwards To The Tuned Percussion. First, The Timpani
28. Also Sprach Zarathustra (Introduction)
29. But The Drum Roll Can Be More Effectively Frightening Than The Big Bang.: Symphony No.2 'Resurrection' (Mvt 3)
30. Not One Drum Roll, But Many/Grand Canyon Suite (Sunrise)/Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)
31. Taking Advantage Of Tunability
32. Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Mvt 2)
33. The Russian Composer Rodion Shchedrin Takes A Downward Turn./Carmen Suite (Changing Of The Guard)/Tuned, Yes; But For The Truly Melodic We Must Look Elsewhere.
34. Introducing The Glockenspiel/Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
35. Saint-Saens And The Xylophone
36. The Carnival Of The Animals (Fossils)
37. Ravel And The Xylophone
38. Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
39. Introducing The Marimba/Carmen Suite (First Intermezzo)
40. Introducing The Vibraphone
41. The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Narange Dolce)
42. The Vibraphone Goes Russian.../Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)/...And Is Joined By The Marimba./Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
43. Introducing The Hungarian Cimbalom
44. Folk Dances
45. The Cimbalom And The Symphony Orchestra
46. Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 3)
47. Introducing The Tubular Bells
48. Hary Janos Suite (Viennese Musical Clock)
49. A More 'Up-Front' Approach From Rodion Shchedrin
50. Carmen Suite (Introduction)
51. But The Bells Can Also Make The Sinister Even More Sinister./Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
52. Introducing The Celeste
53. The Nutcracker (Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy)
54. Magic, In The Use Of Collective Percussion
55. Miroirs (La Vallee Des Cloches)
56. Plucked Instruments: The 'Undercover Percussion'/Carmen Suite (Scene)
57. A Prime Case In Point Is The Harp, Irresistible To The Romantics./The Nutcracker (Act II, No.1: Scene)/The Non-Solo Harp As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Hungarian Rhapsody No.1
58. The Traditionally Subservient Role Of The Harpsichord In The Baroque Orchestra
59. Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Slow Mvt)
60. The Piano: King Of The Tuned Percussion/Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Mvt 3)/And A Quarter Of A Century After That:
61. Petrushka (Russian Dance)
62. The Anti-Romantic Piano As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra
63. Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Last Mvt)

Tracks:

1. Keyboard Instruments In The Orchestra - The Most Powerful Of Them All:
2. Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Finale)
3. But Things In Handel's Day Were Very Different.
4. Organ Concerto In B Flat, Op.4 No.3 (Last Mvt)
5. The Organ Is Difficult To Classify.
6. An Unexpected, Organ-related Guest
7. Concerto Pour Zampogna (Last Mvt)
8. Peasant-Fancying... And A Touch Of The Roaming Cowboy
9. Les Miserables (Drink With Me)
10. Outside Artefacts And The Power Of Association
11. Mahler's Sleighbells
12. Symphony No.4 (Opening)
13. A Roll-Call Of Some Unusual Guests/The Typewriter/Parade
14. Chains, And More/Integrales/An American In Paris/Sandpaper Ballet
15. Purpose-Built Oddities: Wind Machines/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Opening)
16. Don Quixote (Variation VIII)
17. National Calling Cards: The Guitar For Spain/Concierto De Aranjuez (Finale)
18. And The Guitar's Poor American Relative, The Banjo/Washington Breakdown
19. And Poorer Still, The Mouth Organ/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Packing Up)
20. The Balalaika For Russia/Romeo And Juliet (Act II: No.14)
21. The Maracas For Mexico/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (El Desayuno)
22. The Bongos And Congas And A Whole Wealth Of Other Drums For Africa And Central America/Studio Example
23. The Sitar Of India/Evening Raga: Bhapoli
24. The Accordion For France (Especially Paris)/Paris Canaille
25. The Zither For Vienna/The Third Man (Theme)
26. The Cimbalom For Hungary/Folk Dances
27. The Guitar As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Rondena
28. There Are Whole Orchestras Of Balalaikas./Sveit Mesiats
29. The Effect Of The Wordless Human Voice, Used Purely As An Instrument/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
30. Nocturnes
31. Instruments And the Imitation Of Nature. The Clarinet As Cuckoo
32. The Carnival Of The Animals (The Cuckoo)
33. The Flute As An All-purpose Aviary
34. The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aviary)
35. The Oboe As Duck
36. Peter And The Wolf (The Duck)
37. The Recording Of Reality. Does It Work As Well?
38. The Pines Of Rome (The Pines Of The Janiculum)
39. The Recording Of Reality Electronically Reborn In New Guises
40. Cantus Articus - Concerto For Birds And Orchesra (Mvt 2)
41. Beethoven Turns Avian: Cuckoo, Nightingale, And Quail
42. Symphony No.6 'Pastoral' (Andante Molto Mosso)
43. Some Improbable Casting: The Violin As Braying Donkey
44. The Carnival Of The Animals (Persons With Long Ears)
45. A Truly Orchestral Hee-haw To Be Reckoned With
46. Overture To 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
47. A Thunderstorm In A Million
48. Symphony No.6 'Pastoral (Allegro-Allegretto)
49. the Instrumental Depiction Of A Silent World
50. The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aquarium)
51. Saint-Saens' Menagerie Takes A Curtain Call.
52. The Carnival Of The Animals (Finale)

Tracks:

1. The Grouping Of Instrumental Families. An Additive Approach. First, Two Violins
2. Forty-Four Duos (No.4)
3. A Great Contrast, Of Both Pitch And Character: Violin And Viola
4. Duo For Violin And Viola In B Flat Major, K.424 (Finale, Vars 1 & 2)/Studio Example
5. Arrival Of The Standard String Trio: Violin, Viola, And Cello
6. String Trio In B Flat (Menuetto)
7. The String Quartet: Two Violins, Viola, And Cello
8. String Quartet In F, Op.18 No.1 (Mvt 3)
9. The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Viola
10. String Quartet No.5 In D, K.593 (Adagio)
11. The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Cello
12. String Quintet In C (Mvt 3)
13. The String Sextet: Two Violins, Two Violas, And Two Cellos
14. String Sextet In B Flat (Mvt 2)
15. The String Octet: The Standard String Quaret Times Two
16. Octet In E Flat, Op.20 (Mvt 1)
17. Double The String Octet: A Fully Fledged String Orchestra
18. String Symphony No.2 (Finale)
19. The Massed Strings Of A Symphony Orchestra
20. Fantasia On A Theme Of Thomas Tallis
21. Contrasts Of Pitch And Instrumental 'Colour' In The Woodwind Section
22. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Theme)
23. In The First Variation It's The Horn That Gets The Lion's Share.
24. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 1
25. In Variation Two The Torch Is Handed To The Bassoon.
26. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 2
27. In Variation Three The Oboe Leads.
28. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 3
29. Variation Four: Conversation Before Returning To A Solo-dominated Texture
30. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 4
31. And Variation Five is Dominated By The Clarinet.
32. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 5
33. The Next To Be Featured Is The Virtuoso Flute.
34. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 6
35. Individual Farewells And A Closing Chorus
36. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 7
37. A Mixed Group: Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, String Quartet, And Double-Bass
38. Octet In F (Mvt 3)
39. The Early Classical Symphony Orchestra Of Haydn And Mozart
40. Symphony No.29 In A, K.201 (Finale)
41. Strings, Wind, But No Brass. What Haydn And Mozart Never Knew
42. Canzon 28
43. Beethoven's Fifth: Two Horns, Two Trumpets, And Three Trombones Join The Team.
44. Symphony No.5 (Finale)
45. From Beethoven To The Massive Orchestras Of Berlioz, Wagner, And Mahler
46. Beethoven Changed The Face Of The Symphony And The Orchestra Forever
47. Symphoy No.6 'Tragic' (Mvt 1)
48. The Cult Of Orchestral Elephantiasis Reaches Its Peak.
49. Symphony No.1 'Gothic' (VI: Te Ergo Quaesumus)
50. When Large Doesn't Necessarily Mean Loud: Debussy
51. Images (Gigues)
52. A Crisis Of Confidence; The Orchestra's Survival Hangs In The Balance, But It Still Develops. The Ondes Martenot:
53. Turangalila Symphony (Chant D'amour 1)
54. The Advent Of The 'Early Music' Movement Brings A New Vitality And Freshness.
55. Balle De Xerxes (Gavotte En Rondeau)
56. Computer And Synthesiser: Friends Or Foes?
57. Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
58. A Speculative Look Ahead/Mass In B Minor ('Dona Nobis Pacem')

Customer Reviews:

Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material!.......2007-04-04

This set lends itself to greatly enhancing one's knowledge of the orchestra, instruments in it, and their usage. I am a huge music buff, and I still picked up a great deal I previously did not know. I highly recommend this for all who wish to understand the origin of music, as well as the processes that are employed to create music!

Beginner or Expert.......2007-03-12

This CD is excellent for the beginner or expert! To be able to haear the instrumets separately and then together really provides a good education. and/or refresher. The book thaty comes with the CD is alomost worth the price by itself!

Very Informative and Enjoyable.......2006-11-20

Whether you're a music novice or pro, "The instruments of the Orchestra" is a very worthwhile purchase. The 7 CDs, with a total of 8 hours, are expertly narrated by Jeremy Siepmann. He's a great speaker, very much like the late Leonard Bernstein was. Mr. Siepmann takes you on an unforgetable musical journey covering the origins and use of the various orchestral instruments throughout musical history. The balance between his narration and a wealth of musical examples, which range from snippets to entire movements, is superb. The comprehensive enclosed booklet is excellent and faithfully follows the 7 CDs in content. Even with my 40+ years of music training I still learned new things from this wonderful collection. Considering the excellence of the content, and a cost that translates to about $5 per disc, this collection is a great value. Grab it, you won't regret that you did. Five solid stars!

Frank's view.......2006-08-19

This boxed set of CD's with booklet achieved all I had hoped that it would. There are good samples of individual instruments and well done commentary on each. The only drawback was that some of the samples were too brief and could have been longer, hoiwever I guess this fits in with time constraints of the medium. It has given me a lot of clues as to future purchases of CD's for listening to individual instruments. Altogeth a satisfactory purchase and a welcome addition to my collection.

Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra.......2003-11-08

I've listened to classical music for years and am interested in composition. I bought this CD set to learn how an orchestra and its instruments work. I thought the CDs would be a nice but boring lecture. They aren't! Not only are they FUN but they are informative as well. I learned a huge amount from each CD and couldn't wait to listen to the next one.

The narrator and writer is a great speaker and holds your attention well. He is definitely knowledgeable. He provides musical examples for each point he makes, so you get to "hear" what he just talked about. I'd say the CDs are about 65% music and 35% narration. You'll learn about the range of instruments, some history, different ways to play them, how they sound, and how they are used in the orchestra. This CD set was a great learning experience and is sold at such a low price!

I recommend this CD for those who want to learn about classical music and those who know about it but are interested in learning more about the inner workings of an orchestra. You'll learn much useful information. For instance, the Rite of Spring (with that eerie start) is written for bassoon! I never knew a bassoon could sound like that but now I do.

The one complaint I have is the last CD. This deals with the orchestra. I wanted more of a tour of how the orchestra has been used through history up to the present. Instead, it was a tour of how different groups of instruments sound. I thought it could have been better. The other 6 CDs are excellent.

Average customer rating: Ringo's best latterday disc Too noisy Best and most underrated Ringo Album After a quarter-century in creative limbo, Ringo awakes! It's quite an innovative record if you ask me...

Vertical Man Ringo Starr Manufacturer: Polygram Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Similar Items: Time Takes Time Ringo Rama Choose Love Goodnight Vienna VH1 Storytellers ASIN: B000009N9K Release Date: 1998-06-16

Tracks:

1. One
2. What In The...World
3. Mindfield
4. King Of Broken Hearts
5. Love Me Do
6. Vertical Man
7. Drift Away
8. I Was Walkin'
9. La De Da
10. Without Understanding
11. I'll Be Fine Anywhere
12. Puppet
13. I'm Yours

Customer Reviews:

Ringo's best latterday disc.......2006-11-25

If you're interested in investigating Ringo's work since 1990, Vertical Man may be the best place to start. It has the strongest writing, the most charming accompaniment, and the most characteristically "Ringo" feel to it. Ringo Rama (Deluxe) is probably the next best bet: the writing there is also generally strong (save for some rather leaden rockers). Ringo's collaborator these days, Mark Hudson, knows his hooks and his harmonies, thank goodness, but the songs on Ringo Rama and Choose Love occasionally pander (with superfluous Beatle references) and sometimes they feel much more like generic Mark Hudson songs than like Ringo songs (Time Takes Time also suffers from this). Vertical Man is more uniformly successful on all accounts. Listen and enjoy!

Too noisy.......2005-04-16

Ringo is the best but this album is terrible really. Most of the songs have the same beat, there is no cool to it, everything sounds so crowded and noisy. Since I couldn't find more than a couple of likeable melodies on this album, I started to hate Ringo's band, I find their way of playing loud, hysterical, unrelaxed, hurried and senseless, In my opinion those lamers didn't give a chance to the potentialy best drumming in the world become what it could, but anyway, don't expect a sound masterpiece and you might be fine with it. There is one great, great, great song on this album.

Best and most underrated Ringo Album.......2005-04-04

"Vertical Man" is a CD you can blast while on a walk or on a drive during the spring/summer. What an uplifting album, filled with songs with a certain quality of upbeatness to every song, even the mellow songs (think "King of Broken Hearts"). Ringo is known, according to "Into RingoRama Land", for having a "band atmosphere" and most let's this be known in "Vertical Man" with an aray of special guests, ranging from Alanis Morissette to even his Beatle mates. Some of the musical highlights include "Mindfield" (a very trippy-like song, fun to sing a long too), "La de Da", and "Without Understanding", where Ringo manages to steal in a few Indi sounds in only a style that Ringo could create. Beatlesque and Beatlesque!!!

After a quarter-century in creative limbo, Ringo awakes!.......2005-02-10

It may be redundant to say Ringo Starr has relied mainly on his famous friends to bring his solo music to life, but for someone who was primarily the Beatles' drummer as opposed to the songwriting team of Lennon & McCartney, Ringo has perhaps had no other option. After 1973's RINGO, which set the standard for that "Ringo Starr & friends" format, he began to slowly dip in terms of consistency & enthusiasm, so much that 1981's STOP & SMELL THE ROSES is widely acknowledged as the worst Beatles solo album (and considering some of John's solo music, that says a lot), and even 1983's OLD WAVE could not get released in America.

Ringo battled various addictions throughout the 1980s, so much that it was not until 1992 with his album TIME TAKES TIME that he at least appeared to be awake while making his music. While it was his best work in years, who knew Ringo could only get successively better afterwards. 1998's VERTICAL MAN managed to do just that even if its commercial inactivity was both unfair & disheartening to Ringo, who had put his heart & soul into it.

By now, Ringo had a really fine collaborator in songwriter & producer Mark Hudson (most famous for his recordings in the 1970s with The Hudson Brothers), and maybe it was this new blood that finally encouraged Ringo to take his songwriting seriously for a change, for all but 2 of the 13 songs feature his name on them. In most cases, it is a case of "What took you so long, Richard?"

The opening track "One" is not just one of Ringo's most perfect songs, but would be of anyone's career, so again Ringo's luck wins out. Unlike the spot-that-star game that the rest of the songs employ, "One" mostly relies on in-house musicianship, save for Jeff "Skunk" Baxter's pedal steel guitar, who comes close to stealing the show.

"What In The...World" at last gets the famous-friends theme started with Joe Walsh playing guitar (and doing the solo), and Ringo's old Beatle mate Paul McCartney playing bass & singing back-up. Even Paul thought this song was one of the most Beatlesque tunes you could lay your ears on, and all that is missing is George to chip in to make it another Beatles reunion. The stuff dreams are made of!

"Mindfield" is a sort of Dylanesque turn that appears to say "Don't take celebrities for their word; listen to yourself". Quite a statement from a celebrity himself, and one who employs them on a regular basis. For this tune, we have Joe Walsh returning, with Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, Alanis Morissette (we'll hear more from both), and Stone Temple Pilots' Scott Weiland making up the fervent chorus.

Finally, Ringo manages to create a melancholic number to rival that of "Photograph" on "King Of Broken Hearts", and maybe it was no accident that George Harrison (who co-wrote the former) was also involved here. The distinctive slide guitar is undoubtedly some of George's finest work (considering that his health was beginning to fail by now), and helps make the song any listener is sure to weep over.

A Beatles cover? Surely, you jest. But 'tis true, Ringo redoes "Love Me Do" on VERTICAL MAN, mainly because he claimed it was his favorite Beatles song(!), and that Ringo did not play on the Beatles' version (a session man filled in). Ringo gets to take it back finally, slowing the tempo down a bit, and enlisting Steven Tyler to fill in for John Lennon on the harmonica. Instead of being a sign that Ringo was out of ideas, it manages to work no matter what its intention was.

The title track is a bit off-the-wall even for Ringo Starr, and its origin comes from Ringo's stepdaughter & a book of quotations she made. However, any song that has Ozzy Osbourne singing back-up is still worth a listen, and sounds like something John would have come up with, circa "I Am The Walrus". And it also has the cello part played by producer Mark Hudson's landlord's secretary, her having done it in lieu of rent money!

Even as Ringo was beginning to flex his songwriting muscle, he still allowed himself the occasional cover on Dobie Gray's "Drift Away". Slightly re-arranged as a trio with Tom Petty (Steven Tyler had done it originally, but was removed due to contractual issues) & Alanis Morissette (her contribution being especially fine) each taking a verse, I think this could easily have been a hit before Uncle Kracker turned it into one as a duet with Dobie a few years later. Steven Tyler does turns up though, this time, amazingly, on drums.

"I Was Walkin'" is a freewheeling rocker that seems to be a statement of purpose not just for Ringo, but all musicians. In Ringo's case, his "occupation is syncopation, and when I hit 'em well it saves my life". Steven Tyler the blues-harpist returns & also joins the "I Was Dreamers" singers with Alanis & Paul McCartney.

"La De Da" is a similar song about living your life true to yourself & nobody else, and no one knows about this more than Ringo Starr. His credo is whenever life drags you down, sing "la de da", get back up on the horse & ride on. The stars come fast & furious on this one, with another axe solo by Joe Walsh, back-up singing by Paul McCartney, Steven Tyler, Walsh & the "NOT the Village People Singers" (which are too numerous to mention but include Ringo's wife Barbara Bach & his daughter Lee Starkey among the choir).

Ringo then goes to India for parts of "Without Understanding", tabla and all. Sounding like an outtake from SGT. PEPPER, the song even features background vocals by Beach Boy Brian Wilson, the same Brian Wilson who was often frustrated at being unable to overtake the Beatles' musical masterpieces. We all know he would finish SMILE eventually, but "Without Understanding" on the whole sounds like it could have been created during those infamous original sessions that led to his breakdown. The gospel group Sauce also joins in the madness singing back-up.

"I'll Be Fine Anywhere" is a bit uncharacteristic from Ringo, being a song about the wandering type when, in a few songs, he would be praising settled domesticity. But it does give Ringo a chance to work with George again, who contributes another fine slide guitar solo. I think this would be the last time Ringo & George would work together, sadly. It is nevertheless a fine way to end one part of a great musical love affair.

"Puppet" once again has a take-nothing-from-nobody kind of philosophy, but it is not quite as well-said as the previous songs on the album did. The closest thing to filler on what really was one of Ringo's most solid efforts.

VERTICAL MAN says goodnight with the gentle lullaby "I'm Yours", that has Ringo Starr, former hellraising Teddy Boy, declaring eternal love to his wife Barbara, even mentioning her by name. Some might say the lyrics are of the dippy type Paul McCartney is often accused of writing, but the emotion is genuine coming from Ringo's voice. The string arrangement is from old producer George Martin, who probably will not work with Ringo again, seeing as he is now offically retired from the music business. Again, what a way to go!

In all honesty, people probably did not really care about Ringo Starr's music anymore by the 1990s. George Harrison had all but retired from active duty, while Paul McCartney kept on truckin', but even he would not recharge his batteries until later in the decade. The fact that VERTICAL MAN did not set commercial records when it at least should have had the chance to is unfortunate, and I believe shortly afterwards, Ringo considered retiring to spend time with his family. Of course, he would return with an album that superseded even this winner, so even a Beatle's retirement is not exactly a permanent one.

Until we'd see more in RINGORAMA, VERTICAL MAN is a wonderful surprise that shows Ringo Starr can & will do more than just rely on help from his friends because on here, they just add to the fun rather than guide Ringo by the hand.

It's quite an innovative record if you ask me..........2004-11-04

... but firstly I want to comment on the fact a few people think it deserved more commercial success. Well, duh! But I will say that I think Ringo's lack of a consistent stream of singles never helped him. I do believe in the late 70's he would have had more success if he'd released more than one single per album. But so many of the older artists are suffering from that these days. It all seems centred around who's the most lastest most hottest artist around now. I mean here we are in 2004 and do popstars from 1995 still get publicity. No. It's really depressing. Ringo Rama is ****ing awesome, but will it ever get much commercial success? Not a chance. But it's awesome, so go and get a copy. Vertical Man is also pretty good. On Vertical Man, Ringo brings together a few styles, folk, rock n roll, choir music, Indian, a bit of other stuff, to He kidn of creates a hymnal folk-rock 'n' roll. It quite a fresh sounding record. I think 'Without understanding' would sound better on Ringo Rama, and woudl have made that a perfect record for me but it's still a brilliant song. It's like a cross between Beach Boys, heavy metal and Indian music, if you imagine that. I'll be fine anywhere and I was walking are fun, Puppet is really groovy, I'm yours is a sweet ballad, What in the world is perfect pop and La de da is a great singalong piece. But the best song is 'One', a brilliant fusion of sldie guitar laden blues-rock, pop and folk. It has a haunting melody and theme. It's one of the best songs of his career in my opinion.I don't love every song but we're all different.

Average customer rating: Ringo's best latterday disc Too noisy Best and most underrated Ringo Album After a quarter-century in creative limbo, Ringo awakes! It's quite an innovative record if you ask me...

Vertical Man Ringo Starr Manufacturer: Polygram Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Similar Items: Time Takes Time Ringo Rama Choose Love Goodnight Vienna VH1 Storytellers ASIN: B000007Q8L Release Date: 1998-06-16

Tracks:

1. One
2. What In The...World
3. Mindfield
4. King Of Broken Hearts
5. Love Me Do
6. Vertical Man
7. Drift Away
8. I Was Walkin'
9. La De Da
10. Without Understanding
11. I'll Be Fine Anywhere
12. Puppet
13. I'm Yours

Customer Reviews:

Ringo's best latterday disc.......2006-11-25

If you're interested in investigating Ringo's work since 1990, Vertical Man may be the best place to start. It has the strongest writing, the most charming accompaniment, and the most characteristically "Ringo" feel to it. Ringo Rama (Deluxe) is probably the next best bet: the writing there is also generally strong (save for some rather leaden rockers). Ringo's collaborator these days, Mark Hudson, knows his hooks and his harmonies, thank goodness, but the songs on Ringo Rama and Choose Love occasionally pander (with superfluous Beatle references) and sometimes they feel much more like generic Mark Hudson songs than like Ringo songs (Time Takes Time also suffers from this). Vertical Man is more uniformly successful on all accounts. Listen and enjoy!

Too noisy.......2005-04-16

Ringo is the best but this album is terrible really. Most of the songs have the same beat, there is no cool to it, everything sounds so crowded and noisy. Since I couldn't find more than a couple of likeable melodies on this album, I started to hate Ringo's band, I find their way of playing loud, hysterical, unrelaxed, hurried and senseless, In my opinion those lamers didn't give a chance to the potentialy best drumming in the world become what it could, but anyway, don't expect a sound masterpiece and you might be fine with it. There is one great, great, great song on this album.

Best and most underrated Ringo Album.......2005-04-04

"Vertical Man" is a CD you can blast while on a walk or on a drive during the spring/summer. What an uplifting album, filled with songs with a certain quality of upbeatness to every song, even the mellow songs (think "King of Broken Hearts"). Ringo is known, according to "Into RingoRama Land", for having a "band atmosphere" and most let's this be known in "Vertical Man" with an aray of special guests, ranging from Alanis Morissette to even his Beatle mates. Some of the musical highlights include "Mindfield" (a very trippy-like song, fun to sing a long too), "La de Da", and "Without Understanding", where Ringo manages to steal in a few Indi sounds in only a style that Ringo could create. Beatlesque and Beatlesque!!!

After a quarter-century in creative limbo, Ringo awakes!.......2005-02-10

It may be redundant to say Ringo Starr has relied mainly on his famous friends to bring his solo music to life, but for someone who was primarily the Beatles' drummer as opposed to the songwriting team of Lennon & McCartney, Ringo has perhaps had no other option. After 1973's RINGO, which set the standard for that "Ringo Starr & friends" format, he began to slowly dip in terms of consistency & enthusiasm, so much that 1981's STOP & SMELL THE ROSES is widely acknowledged as the worst Beatles solo album (and considering some of John's solo music, that says a lot), and even 1983's OLD WAVE could not get released in America.

Ringo battled various addictions throughout the 1980s, so much that it was not until 1992 with his album TIME TAKES TIME that he at least appeared to be awake while making his music. While it was his best work in years, who knew Ringo could only get successively better afterwards. 1998's VERTICAL MAN managed to do just that even if its commercial inactivity was both unfair & disheartening to Ringo, who had put his heart & soul into it.

By now, Ringo had a really fine collaborator in songwriter & producer Mark Hudson (most famous for his recordings in the 1970s with The Hudson Brothers), and maybe it was this new blood that finally encouraged Ringo to take his songwriting seriously for a change, for all but 2 of the 13 songs feature his name on them. In most cases, it is a case of "What took you so long, Richard?"

The opening track "One" is not just one of Ringo's most perfect songs, but would be of anyone's career, so again Ringo's luck wins out. Unlike the spot-that-star game that the rest of the songs employ, "One" mostly relies on in-house musicianship, save for Jeff "Skunk" Baxter's pedal steel guitar, who comes close to stealing the show.

"What In The...World" at last gets the famous-friends theme started with Joe Walsh playing guitar (and doing the solo), and Ringo's old Beatle mate Paul McCartney playing bass & singing back-up. Even Paul thought this song was one of the most Beatlesque tunes you could lay your ears on, and all that is missing is George to chip in to make it another Beatles reunion. The stuff dreams are made of!

"Mindfield" is a sort of Dylanesque turn that appears to say "Don't take celebrities for their word; listen to yourself". Quite a statement from a celebrity himself, and one who employs them on a regular basis. For this tune, we have Joe Walsh returning, with Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, Alanis Morissette (we'll hear more from both), and Stone Temple Pilots' Scott Weiland making up the fervent chorus.

Finally, Ringo manages to create a melancholic number to rival that of "Photograph" on "King Of Broken Hearts", and maybe it was no accident that George Harrison (who co-wrote the former) was also involved here. The distinctive slide guitar is undoubtedly some of George's finest work (considering that his health was beginning to fail by now), and helps make the song any listener is sure to weep over.

A Beatles cover? Surely, you jest. But 'tis true, Ringo redoes "Love Me Do" on VERTICAL MAN, mainly because he claimed it was his favorite Beatles song(!), and that Ringo did not play on the Beatles' version (a session man filled in). Ringo gets to take it back finally, slowing the tempo down a bit, and enlisting Steven Tyler to fill in for John Lennon on the harmonica. Instead of being a sign that Ringo was out of ideas, it manages to work no matter what its intention was.

The title track is a bit off-the-wall even for Ringo Starr, and its origin comes from Ringo's stepdaughter & a book of quotations she made. However, any song that has Ozzy Osbourne singing back-up is still worth a listen, and sounds like something John would have come up with, circa "I Am The Walrus". And it also has the cello part played by producer Mark Hudson's landlord's secretary, her having done it in lieu of rent money!

Even as Ringo was beginning to flex his songwriting muscle, he still allowed himself the occasional cover on Dobie Gray's "Drift Away". Slightly re-arranged as a trio with Tom Petty (Steven Tyler had done it originally, but was removed due to contractual issues) & Alanis Morissette (her contribution being especially fine) each taking a verse, I think this could easily have been a hit before Uncle Kracker turned it into one as a duet with Dobie a few years later. Steven Tyler does turns up though, this time, amazingly, on drums.

"I Was Walkin'" is a freewheeling rocker that seems to be a statement of purpose not just for Ringo, but all musicians. In Ringo's case, his "occupation is syncopation, and when I hit 'em well it saves my life". Steven Tyler the blues-harpist returns & also joins the "I Was Dreamers" singers with Alanis & Paul McCartney.

"La De Da" is a similar song about living your life true to yourself & nobody else, and no one knows about this more than Ringo Starr. His credo is whenever life drags you down, sing "la de da", get back up on the horse & ride on. The stars come fast & furious on this one, with another axe solo by Joe Walsh, back-up singing by Paul McCartney, Steven Tyler, Walsh & the "NOT the Village People Singers" (which are too numerous to mention but include Ringo's wife Barbara Bach & his daughter Lee Starkey among the choir).

Ringo then goes to India for parts of "Without Understanding", tabla and all. Sounding like an outtake from SGT. PEPPER, the song even features background vocals by Beach Boy Brian Wilson, the same Brian Wilson who was often frustrated at being unable to overtake the Beatles' musical masterpieces. We all know he would finish SMILE eventually, but "Without Understanding" on the whole sounds like it could have been created during those infamous original sessions that led to his breakdown. The gospel group Sauce also joins in the madness singing back-up.

"I'll Be Fine Anywhere" is a bit uncharacteristic from Ringo, being a song about the wandering type when, in a few songs, he would be praising settled domesticity. But it does give Ringo a chance to work with George again, who contributes another fine slide guitar solo. I think this would be the last time Ringo & George would work together, sadly. It is nevertheless a fine way to end one part of a great musical love affair.

"Puppet" once again has a take-nothing-from-nobody kind of philosophy, but it is not quite as well-said as the previous songs on the album did. The closest thing to filler on what really was one of Ringo's most solid efforts.

VERTICAL MAN says goodnight with the gentle lullaby "I'm Yours", that has Ringo Starr, former hellraising Teddy Boy, declaring eternal love to his wife Barbara, even mentioning her by name. Some might say the lyrics are of the dippy type Paul McCartney is often accused of writing, but the emotion is genuine coming from Ringo's voice. The string arrangement is from old producer George Martin, who probably will not work with Ringo again, seeing as he is now offically retired from the music business. Again, what a way to go!

In all honesty, people probably did not really care about Ringo Starr's music anymore by the 1990s. George Harrison had all but retired from active duty, while Paul McCartney kept on truckin', but even he would not recharge his batteries until later in the decade. The fact that VERTICAL MAN did not set commercial records when it at least should have had the chance to is unfortunate, and I believe shortly afterwards, Ringo considered retiring to spend time with his family. Of course, he would return with an album that superseded even this winner, so even a Beatle's retirement is not exactly a permanent one.

Until we'd see more in RINGORAMA, VERTICAL MAN is a wonderful surprise that shows Ringo Starr can & will do more than just rely on help from his friends because on here, they just add to the fun rather than guide Ringo by the hand.

It's quite an innovative record if you ask me..........2004-11-04

... but firstly I want to comment on the fact a few people think it deserved more commercial success. Well, duh! But I will say that I think Ringo's lack of a consistent stream of singles never helped him. I do believe in the late 70's he would have had more success if he'd released more than one single per album. But so many of the older artists are suffering from that these days. It all seems centred around who's the most lastest most hottest artist around now. I mean here we are in 2004 and do popstars from 1995 still get publicity. No. It's really depressing. Ringo Rama is ****ing awesome, but will it ever get much commercial success? Not a chance. But it's awesome, so go and get a copy. Vertical Man is also pretty good. On Vertical Man, Ringo brings together a few styles, folk, rock n roll, choir music, Indian, a bit of other stuff, to He kidn of creates a hymnal folk-rock 'n' roll. It quite a fresh sounding record. I think 'Without understanding' would sound better on Ringo Rama, and woudl have made that a perfect record for me but it's still a brilliant song. It's like a cross between Beach Boys, heavy metal and Indian music, if you imagine that. I'll be fine anywhere and I was walking are fun, Puppet is really groovy, I'm yours is a sweet ballad, What in the world is perfect pop and La de da is a great singalong piece. But the best song is 'One', a brilliant fusion of sldie guitar laden blues-rock, pop and folk. It has a haunting melody and theme. It's one of the best songs of his career in my opinion.I don't love every song but we're all different.

Average customer rating: One of the best albums of all time. The best cd

Vertical Man Ringo Starr Manufacturer: Import [Generic] ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music General | Pop | Box Sets | Stores | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Box Sets | Stores | Music General | Rock | Box Sets | Stores | Music Rock | Imports | Stores | Music Pop | Imports | Stores | Music ASIN: B000009RQJ Release Date: 1999-03-23

Tracks:

1. One
2. What In The...World
3. Mindfield
4. King Of Broken Hearts
5. Love Me Do
6. Vertical Man
7. Drift Away
8. I Was Walkin'
9. La De Da
10. Without Understanding
11. I'll Be Fine Anywhere
12. Puppet
13. I'm Yours

Album Description

Unofficial release in a 3' x 9' x 9' generic cardboard boxfeaturing: his 1998 Mercury Records CD album 'Vertical Man',a pair of drum sticks with 'Vertical Man' printed on each inred, an XL 100% cotton black t-shirt with 'Ringo StarrVertical Man' embroider

Customer Reviews:

One of the best albums of all time........1998-11-08

Ringo is truly one of the greatest rock and roll drummers of all time. Come to think of it he is the best. This album goes to prove that Ringo still has the power to put out great records and still rock.

The best cd.......1998-10-25

Ringo is the 4th, but he is a good singer and the best drummer in the world. I love him and the other three.(JOHN, PAUL AND GEORGE).And God save the BEATLES 4ever.

Average customer rating: Enraged Very Fine A fun CD for listening

Classical Jazz Quartet Plays Bach Classical Jazz Quartet Manufacturer: Vertical Jazz ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: The Classical Jazz Quartet Play Rachmaninov Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker ASIN: B00006JCGU Release Date: 2002-09-24

Tracks:

1. Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring
2. Oboe Concerto In A Major, 2nd Movement BWV 1055
3. Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 In F Major BWV 1047, Ist Movement
4. Invention No. 4 BWV 775
5. Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 In F Major BWV 1047, 2nd Movement
6. Air

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This foursome consists of pianist Kenny Barron, vibraphonist and marimba virtuoso Stefon Harris, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Lewis Nash. Modeled on the Modern Jazz Quartet, this ensemble's first CD featured jazz takes on Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker. On this disc, the CJQ delve into the contrapuntal coolness of J.S. Bach. Like Dave Brubeck, Bud Powell, George Shearing, and of course, John Lewis, the CJQ swing through several Bach masterpieces. While they don't have the MJQ's telepathic interplay, this unit brings out the best of the American and European musical idioms. The chorale, "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" and "Air" (a torrid take on "Air on the G String") swing in a clean postbop fashion. The Oboe Concerto in A Minor sashays with a zesty Latin lilt, while the first and second movements of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 are rendered in dreamy Afro-Asian and no-nonsense, straight-ahead styles. With Carter's deep and dependable bass lines, Harris's Milt Jackson/Bobby Hutcherson-inspired improvisations, Barron's lean and lyrical lines, and Nash's articulate drum work, the CJQ does swinging service to Bach and the music we call jazz. --Eugene Holley Jr.

Customer Reviews:

Enraged.......2003-10-08

Quite possibly one of the single most offensive albums I have ever heard in my life. All the subtlety and genius of Bach is erased and what we are left with is a fragment of a theme placed over Rhythm changes (!). Where is the integrity of these musicians? It may be cliche to say but I am sure Bach is rolling over in his grave. It is thoughtless, shallow ideas like THIS that give jazz a bad name when it comes to depth and substance. I hope that anyone with a slight appreciation of music will be able to see through this transparency

Very Fine.......2003-08-27

Jazz versions of classical music do not usually appeal to me, but I heard one of the songs on the radio and loved it. This CD is beautifully played and recorded.
Stefon Harris is one of the finest young musicians today. Kenny Barron is, as always, brilliant and tasteful. Ron Carter and Lewis Nash are perfect. If you like intelligent and beautiful music that swings, this is the disc for you.
To "Enraged": Lighten Up! This music is so easy to love. Just leave aside your prejudices and enjoy it. I'm sure Bach does! I've just ordered the Complete Recordings of the Classical Jazz Quartet and I can't wait to listen to it.

A fun CD for listening.......2002-10-23

My former piano teacher, who was born before jazz was invented, often said that classical music and jazz were different--too much so for him to appreciate jazz. Oh, how he would have loved this CD! I headed straight for the music store as soon as I heard the first track of the CD (Jesu, Joy of...). Every person who has overheard the CD has asked to borrow it, and all rave about the intriguing, yet not distracting, music.

I am going to buy several copies as stocking stuffers. I wonder what the group's version of The Nutcracker sounds like....

Average customer rating: He is on FIRE! Ringo at his best ringos best album ever as a solo artist Oustanding!! This is the best he's done since the Beatles! 'Vertical Man' is an unexpected and stunning achievement.

Vertical Man Ringo Starr Manufacturer: Import [Generic] ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Rock | Imports | Stores | Music Pop | Imports | Stores | Music ASIN: B0000089AH Release Date: 1999-01-12

Tracks:

1. One
2. What in the... World
3. Mind Field
4. King of Broken Hearts
5. Love Me Do
6. Vertical Man
7. Drift Away
8. I Was Walkin'
9. De Da
10. Without Understanding
11. I'll Be Fine Anywhere
12. Puppet
13. I'm Yours
14. Mr. Double-It-Up
15. Everyday

Album Description

Japanese edition of his 1998 solo album with 'Mister Double It Up' & 'Everybody' added as unmarked bonus tracks. The album features a diverse array of guests, including Paul McCartney, Steven Tyler, George Harrison, Ozzy Osbourne, Alanis Morrissette & Brian Wilson. George Martin provided the string arrangements. 15 tracks total, also featuring thesingle 'La De Da'. 1998 Mercury Records release.

Album Details

Japanese Version featuring Two Bonus Tracks: Mr Double it Up, and Everyday.

Customer Reviews:

He is on FIRE!.......2000-05-27

TIME TAKES TIME was a fantastic CD and VERTICAL MAN is another fantastic CD. I must say that the problem with Ringo's sales are because of the fact that when he plays out live he only plays one or two songs from the new CD's. When I saw him on tour for VERTICAL MAN the only song he played was LOVE ME DO! I could not believe that was it! When you go see a band do a tour you expect to see the artist do about six or so songs from the new album. NOT ONE! Back up even further. When I went to see Ringo on the TIME TAKES TIME tour he played only two songs. WEIGHT OF THE WORLD and DON'T GO WHERE THE ROAD DON'T GO. That CD like VERTICAL MAN is chock full of some incredible and I mean INCREDIBLE songs. He certainly in my mind has given Mssrs. McCartney and Harrison (new CD soon please, PLEASE!) something to be reckoned with. My advice to Ringo is to dump the All-Starrs and get some people together and play all of Ringo's stuff. Wouldn't it be nice (sounds like a good song title!) to hear Goodnight Vienna, A Dose of Rock 'n Roll, Six 'o Clock, Down and Out, Early 1970, Don't Know A Thing About Love, Wrack My Brain, etc. etc. etc. LIVE! Come on Ringo, shine a little light on your fans and play only your own songs. You do not hear Paul playing everyone else's songs live! Have confidence Ringo! We want to hear your songs, enough of the All Starrs. We want to hear your new stuff and old stuff. The songs on VERTICAL MAN should be played live, everyone last one of them!

Ringo at his best.......1999-03-02

I never thought that Ringo would better Time Takes Time, but with this cd he not only betters it but goes a step further to staking his claim to having made the best two post Beatles albums of the last ten years.This is a wonderful fun cd,get it,turn it up and enjoy some classic rock music.

ringos best album ever as a solo artist.......1998-08-25

all the songs are top notch ringos drumming and singing are at an all time high plus mark hudson is ringos jeff lynn not to mention georges great guitar and pauls b\g singing an overall great job.

Oustanding!! This is the best he's done since the Beatles!.......1998-07-23

I think this is one of the best post-Beatles albums from any of the 3 surviving members yet." What in the World" is a great song and it's so good to hear Paul's vocals on backgrounds. I love "King of Broken Hearts" and "Without Understanding" is not the kind of song you would normally hear from Ringo. I have to say that I love just about every song. "Drift Away" is a little dry; Alanis sounds good but isn't doing anything out of the ordinary and Tom Petty sounds the same as always. (Personally I think they could have done without that song) "La De Da" is such a feel good song and talk about an all-star crew on backgrounds. I think Mark Hudson did a fabulous job of producing and really adds that extra little edge to the finished product. Overall it's a great accomplishment and it'll bring great listening enjoyment.

'Vertical Man' is an unexpected and stunning achievement........1998-06-30

``Life is life . . . this was just a record,'' advises Ringo Starr, mindful of fans' high hopes, often disappointed, on the release of new music by a Beatle. But who expected ``Vertical Man'' to be so much fun?

Starr's first studio album in six years fairly brims with the kind of exuberant, soulful power pop he helped invent all those years ago. And while the album boasts the usual All-Starr lineup -- Paul McCartney, George Harrison, George Martin, Brian Wilson, Tom Petty, Steve Tyler, Alanis Morissette and others -- it's Ringo himself who shines as never before with his best drumming since the Beatles, and his finest singing ever.

The subject, as always, is peace, love and understanding, from the hello (the charmingly Beatlesesque ``What in the . . . World,'' with the McCartney-Starr ryhthm section intact and in mid- 1960s form) to the goodbye (a breezy read of Dobie Gray's ``Drift Away,'' with standout vocals by Morisette, Petty, Tyler and Starr) and everything in between (the music-hall singalong ``La De Da,'' a worthy successor to ``With a Little Help From my Friends'').

But the centerpiece is the astonishing ``Vertical Man,'' an epic romp through the Beatles and everything after that twists and turns and climbs as Starr makes his essential boast: He's still standing.

Average customer rating:

Vertical Man - Limited Edition Deluxe Package Ringo Starr Manufacturer: Mercury ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music ASIN: B000LXZ1Z0

Average customer rating:

Vertical Man Bonus Music Manufacturer: Mercury Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music ASIN: B000GKRQDS

Product Description

Very rare release only available at Best Buy Stores to the first few buyers of the CD "Vertical Man" on the day it was released. Includes 3 tracks: 1. Mr. Doubleitup; 2. Sometimes; 3. Good News.

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