Woman of the House

Woman of the House

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The all-female Irish-American ensemble, on their second release for the Rounder label, have fashioned an uncluttered, forward-looking yet tradition-based and unabashedly sentimental set. Recorded between Scotland, where producer Phil Cunningham resides, and the United States, with guest stints from Irish accordionist Sharon Shannon, British folk star Kate Rusby and Karen Matheson of the Scottish supergroup Capercaille, this may well be their personal best to date. Bandleader Joanie Madden's dulcet tone and precise yet lyrical phrasing on various flutes and whistles remain world-class and are clearly still evolving; very few players can remotely approach her degree of virtuosity. Sweet Thames Flow Softly, one of Ewan MacColl's most wistful love songs, is given an especially lovely interpretation. Fronted by lead singer Heidi Talbot's bittersweet vocal, it is youth-recollected-from-age personified. Of course, as so much Irish music is meant for dancing, there are several medleys of lively jigs and reels, performed with the unflagging rhythmic brio and melodic dispatch CTL fans have come to expect. And any crusty misogynist laboring under the delusion that no gathering of ladies could ever rock HIS house is in for an abrupt change of life! --Christina Roden

Product Description
Cherish the Ladies is one of the finest ensembles of Celtic musicians on either side of the Atlantic. The American-based group, winner of the Glasgow Celtic Connections Festival's "International Group of the Year" award, recorded Woman of the House in Scotland with many of their talented friends from the festival including Kate Rusby, Sharon Shannon, Eddi Reader, Karen Matheson, Liz Kane and Laoise Kelly. The resulting combination of reels, jigs and heart-rending ballads is a glorious celebration of a thriving musical tradition.

Tracks:

Reels; The Jolly Seven/The Rascal On The Haystack/Bonkers In Yonkers
Song: Sweet Thames Flow Softly
Jigs: Carolan's/Favorite Jig/The Rakes Of Cashel/Highland March In Oscar & Malvina
Song: Bogie's Bonnie Belle
Woman Of The House Medley: The Fairy Queen/The Gooseberry Rush/Paddy Kelly's/Woman Of The House
The Hills Of New Zealand
Song: Betsy Belle And Mary Gray
Song: Fair And Tender Ladies
Slip Jigs: Paddy O' Snap/Robin Kellegher/The Cove Of Cork
Song: The Green Fields Of Canada
Reels: The Old Maids Of Galway/The Sunny Banks/The Flooded Road To Glenties/Free & Easy

Amazon.com

The all-female Irish-American ensemble, on their second release for the Rounder label, have fashioned an uncluttered, forward-looking yet tradition-based and unabashedly sentimental set. Recorded between Scotland, where producer Phil Cunningham resides, and the United States, with guest stints from Irish accordionist Sharon Shannon, British folk star Kate Rusby and Karen Matheson of the Scottish supergroup Capercaille, this may well be their personal best to date. Bandleader Joanie Madden's dulcet tone and precise yet lyrical phrasing on various flutes and whistles remain world-class and are clearly still evolving; very few players can remotely approach her degree of virtuosity. Sweet Thames Flow Softly, one of Ewan MacColl's most wistful love songs, is given an especially lovely interpretation. Fronted by lead singer Heidi Talbot's bittersweet vocal, it is youth-recollected-from-age personified. Of course, as so much Irish music is meant for dancing, there are several medleys of lively jigs and reels, performed with the unflagging rhythmic brio and melodic dispatch CTL fans have come to expect. And any crusty misogynist laboring under the delusion that no gathering of ladies could ever rock HIS house is in for an abrupt change of life! --Christina Roden

Album Description

Cherish the Ladies is one of the finest ensembles of Celtic musicians on either side of the Atlantic. The American-based group, winner of the Glasgow Celtic Connections Festival's "International Group of the Year" award, recorded Woman of the House in Scotland with many of their talented friends from the festival including Kate Rusby, Sharon Shannon, Eddi Reader, Karen Matheson, Liz Kane and Laoise Kelly. The resulting combination of reels, jigs and heart-rending ballads is a glorious celebration of a thriving musical tradition.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful!.......2006-11-12

This is a wonderful collection of new Celtic music. It is not a beer-chugging sing-along, but rather a refreshing assortment of reels, jigs and ballads sung by the beautiful voices of these Ladies...I do cherish them!

Calms the Dogs.......2006-02-02

This is NOT a bad review! CTL's beautiful vocals and instrumentation/arrangements soothe the savage beast(s). My 2 dogs, Henry (boxer/whippet mix) and Sophie (shepherd/huskie combo platter) come in from the other room to listen when I put this on. They settle right down and don't bother me when I have this on at home when I am working or when it's "quiet time" at night. The pitch must be just right to them to make them so relaxed. Celtic Twilight 3: "Lullabies" has a similar effect. Thanks, CTL!!!!

The Ladies do not dissappoint.......2006-02-01

I have bought every Cherish album I have come across. This one is especially good. The selection of tracks, the voices, and music is wonderful. I will cherish this album.

They never fail to impress..........2005-12-06

Once again, Cherish the Ladies has come out with a beautiful and incredibly well-made album. They are one of the most consistent Celtic groups on that front: each album they've made is equally as satisfying as the last. Beautiful harmonies, fiery fiddling and rock-solid rhythm make these ladies stand out among the crowd.

This is a perfect gift for fans of Celtic or Folk music, or women's music in general. Slainte!

"finest ensemble of Celtic musicians on the planet ~ Cherish the Ladies (2005)".......2005-10-31

Rounder Records presents Cherish the Ladies and their 10th album beginning in 1992 with the latest release "Woman of the House", featuring Joanie Madden (flute/alto flute/low&high whistles/harmony vocals), Mary Coogan (guitars/mandolin/banjo/banjitar/octave mandolin), Heidi Talbot (vocals), Roisin Dillon (fiddle), Mirella Murray (accordion)...with their special guest Sharon Shannon (accordion), Liz Kane (fiddle), Kate Rusby (vocals), Eddi Reader (vocals), Karen Matheson (vocals), Donna Long (piano/harmony vocals), Phil Cunningham (piano/keyboards), Laoise Kelly (harp), Triona Ni Dhomhnaill (piano), John Joe Kelly (bodhran), Phil Bowler (upright bass/bowed bass), James MacIntosh (drums/percussion), Ewan Vernal (bass on "Betsy Belle"), Donald Shaw (Wurlitzer on "Betsy Belle").

One can only soak up the Celtic vibes that spew the air of magical enchantment with this lineup of tunes and artists...all the selections traditional arranged by Cherish the Ladies..."BETSY BELLE AND MARY GRAY"..."CAROLAN'S FAVORITE JIG/THE RAKES OF CASHEL/HIGHLAND MARCH IN OSCAR & MALVINA"..."THE FAIRY QUEEN/THE GOOSEBERRY BUSH/PADDY KELLY'S/WOMAN OF THE HOUSE"..."THE GREEN FIELDS OF CANADA"..."THE OLD MAIDS OF GALWAY/THE SUNNY BANKS/THE FLOODED ROAD TO GLENTIES/FREE & EASY"..."FAIR AND TENDER LADIES"..."PADDY O'SNAP/ROBIN KELLEGHER/THE COVE OF CORK".

Some of the highlights are "THE JOLLY SEVEN/THE RASCAL ON THE HAYSTACK/BONKERS IN YONKERS" (composed by Joanie Madden)..."THE HILLS OF NEW ZELAND" (composed by Joanie Madden)..."FAIR AND TENDER LADIES" (arranged by Cherish the Ladies and Phil Cunningham)..."SWEET THAMES FLOW SOFTLY" (words & music by Ewan Maccoll)...all in all this is the exploration of five ladies digging deep into their roots and musical heritage of Ireland and this land of ours America.

Want to thank Phil Cunningham (producer) and Rounder Records for this wonderful release...if you ever wanted to sample the Celtic genre of music...this is the one to pick up...these musicians and performers are without a doubt the most popular Irish group right now on the planet...Cherish the Ladies!

Total Time: 52:00 on 11 Tracks ~ Rounder Records 617063 ~ (9/27/2005)

Scent Of A Woman: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Average customer rating:

Atmospheric Music to a Memorable Screenplay
Good original score, though better old melodies
Nicely done, Thomas, nicely done.
Newman is On and Off, as Usual
Contains a GREAT song

Scent Of A Woman: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Thomas Newman , and Jose Padilla
Manufacturer: Mca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Green Mile: Score from the Motion Picture
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ASIN: B000002ON6
Release Date: 1993-01-19

Tracks:

Main Title
A Tour Of Pleasures
Tract House Ginch
45 In 25
Balloons
Cigars Part Two
Por Una Cabeza
Long Gray Line
The Oakroom
Park Ave.
Witnesses
Beyond Danger
La Violetera
Other Plans
Assembly
Fleurs De Rocaille
End Title

Customer Reviews:

Atmospheric Music to a Memorable Screenplay .......2006-03-21

Everything about this excellent score is pure America. The tempo corresponds to the changing moods of the film from the rolling road rhythm to the erotic tango and the college flaky beat during the practical joke which misfires. I am the only member of my family who hasn't visited the USA but I am hoping to one day make the trip and experience the multitude of cultures which inspired Thomas Newman, the composer, to produce such musical imagery in the changing scenes.
Sylvia (UK)

Good original score, though better old melodies.......2002-10-08

As a matter of fact I bought this CD not as much due to Mr. Newman's original scrore, but since I liked very much the treatment of the beatiful Spanish song "La Violetera" in key moments of the film. Mr. Newman's music is very good, but the Spanish and Argentine music he used was much better. The performances of "The Tango Project" are superb. "La Violetera" is probably the nicest Spanish song, talking of a florist; it is widely known in its original version in Spain and Latin America, and moreover, came to international light thanks to Charles Chaplin's "City Lights" where it was the Leitmotif of the blind florist girl (a very adequate use indeed). The tango "Por una Cabeza" is probably the highlight of the score, because it is the piece danced by Al Pacino; unfortunately the other tango "Caminito", played by the orchestra at the restaurant, does not appear here. It is a petty. As a whole, I like the CD very much, especially the two performances of "The Tango Project", but just because they are more touching to my cultural heritage. Nonetheless, I praise both Mr. Newman's personal compositions as well as his perfect use of other's melodies.

Nicely done, Thomas, nicely done........2002-08-15

This cd is worth price of admission for one huge reason, the main theme music. It comes at us twice during our listening journey of Scent Of a Woman. It is likened to a kid finally learning to ride a bike for the first time, flying down his neigborhood road with a look of pride and surprise smudged neatly on his face. It is a delightful melody that will continue to stick in your mind for a long, long while.

Other notable tracks on this score are tracks 45 in 25, Balloons, Beyond Danger, and End Title.

This is a must cd for Newman fans and a very nice addition for any fan of film scores. Enjoy!

Newman is On and Off, as Usual.......2001-10-16

Scent of a Woman is 50% of a truly great film score...and 50% of a truly bad film score. It's obvious to the listener from which category a particular track comes from. Newman either gives the listener a vibrant, exciting, "new age" melody, or something that can only arguably be defined as music.

The fact remains, however, that when this score is on, it is REALLY on. The Main Title is an exciting track and the more emotional themes can really grab you by the heartstrings (though they undoubtedly hearken back to other works by Newman).

All in all though, for anyone familiar with Newman, two other scores better exemplify his talents. If you are looking for the unorthodox, "new age" Newman, go with American Beauty. If it's lush strings and sentiment you're after, go with Meet Joe Black (my personal favorite Newman score to date). Both will leave you with a much better idea of this talented composer.

Contains a GREAT song.......2000-01-19

Por Una Cabeza is a great song. I could listen to it all day. This is the first cd I found with a good version of it.

Average customer rating:

Excellent Material for Ms. Upshaw.
Keeps Getting Better
The Barber alone is worth five stars
Buy this disc...twice!
Dawn Upshaw, vocal actress extraordinaire

Knoxville Summer of 1915

Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Barber: Knoxville Summer of 1915/Dover Beach/Hermit Songs/Adromache's Farewell

ASIN: B000005IZ3
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Knoxville: Summer Of 1915
The Old Maid And the Thief: Act I, Scene 6: What A Curse For A Woman Is A Timid Man
Mirabai Songs: I. It's True, I Went To The Market
Mirabai Songs: II. All I Was Doing Was Breathing
Mirabai Songs: III. Why Mira Can't Go Back To Her Old House
Mirabai Songs: IV. Where Did You Go?
Mirabai Songs: V. The Clouds
Mirabai Songs: VI. Don't Go, Don't Go
The Rake's Progress: Act I, Scene 3: No Word From Tom

Amazon.com essential recording

Barber's Knoxville, Summer of 1915 is a setting of a lovely chunk of prose text by James Agee describing an evening from his childhood. An accomplished singer himself, Barber's vocal writing is expert, and this work must rank as one of the finest examples of the art of word-setting in any language. Barber perfectly captures the conversational quality of the text, while at the same time clothing the words in an atmosphere of gentle nostalgia. It's a masterpiece that Dawn Upshaw sings with keen insight and lovely tone. The remainder of the program is creatively chosen as well, making this one of the finest vocal recitals available by an American singer. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Material for Ms. Upshaw........2006-04-26

'Knoxville: Summer of 1915' is a performance of a selection of operatic pieces by Americans such as Samuel Barber or Europeans transplanted to the United States, such as Igor Stravinsky. Ms. Upshaw shines with material, which is good for her, since she is just slightly out of her league with the material covered by the likes of Renee Flemming on the operatic front and Ute Lemper and Lotte Lenya on the Euro/American popular musical stage.

Like any good sampler, this recording's strongest draw is the fact that it makes one interested in tracking down the complete works by Barber, Menotti, Harbison, and Stravinsky. And, while the package includes all lyrics, everything is in perfectly clear English. A perfect addition to other American classics such as 'Porgy and Bess'.

Keeps Getting Better.......2005-03-02

I have had this disc for years, and I'm more impressed with it as the years roll by. I bought it for Barber's "Knoxville, Summer of 1915" which is a glorious piece of music caught here in a luminous performance. I didn't initially warm up to the Harbison songs, but they have grown on me over the years to the point that I listen to them far more often than the Barber now. I think it just took me a while to absorb Harbison's style and understand how deftly and ingeniously he uses it to take the listener into Mirabai's world. Not to be missed!

The Barber alone is worth five stars.......2004-01-16

People are always saying that they find a particular piece of music is "haunting." For me Barber's "Knoxville: Summer of 1915" is such a work. Dawn Upshaw's reading of this great American masterwork is the best I have yet heard. She won her first Grammy Award for this recording - and deservedly so. If you're a fan of either Upshaw or Barber you'll want to add this beautiful CD to your collection.

Buy this disc...twice!.......2002-07-20

Extraordinary!! This has got to be the definitive Knoxville--rich, touching, elegant and as close to perfect as it can probably ever be. Upshaw has the perfect voice for this work, and she gives it all the loving attention that it requires. This is a performance of Knoxville that will make you weak in the knees. For the Knoxville alone, buy this disc....twice! There is, however, just a little bit of downside here. The other works on this disc just aren't very captivating.

Dawn Upshaw, vocal actress extraordinaire.......2002-01-01

This is the CD that made me fall in love with Dawn Upshaw's singing. I had heard her before and admired her work, but this disc made me a real fan. As it's one of her early recordings, her voice is somewhat "fuller" than on later work; she later started moving the voice "forward," simplifying the sound. Either way, her immense talent for communicating the essence of the text is the outstanding aspect of all her work. It's amazing how she can sound angry, desperate, hopeful, melancholic, all while producing a beautiful sound and tackling all the vocal challenges of the music she's singing. She inhabits the characters, the narrators, of each of the pieces on this disc, and makes it more than just a collection of songs or arias.

I want to make special mention of the Harbison _Mirabai Songs_, as it seems to have been maligned somewhat in other reviews here. This was the work that most kept me coming back to this disc when I first bought it. I think it is a masterpiece, and one of Harbison's best and most important works. (Apparently I'm not alone in my admiration of the piece, because I've heard it on a number of live concerts in recent years, so it seems to be having a successful performance life.) Harbison's song cycle is by turns exciting, sensual, driving, longing, beautiful. The orchestration for the small ensemble is masterful (as Harbison's efforts at scoring always are), and Upshaw expresses all of Mirabai's complex emotions enchantingly.

The _Rake's Progress_ aria also deserves individual comment. In this engrossing example of Stravinsky's neoclassical style, Upshaw assumes Anne's air of fierce determination, and brings the disc to an absolutely thrilling climax on a concluding high C.

Tracks:

No Wonder
Baby Plays Around
Go Leave
Rope
Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)
Broken Bicycles / Junk
The Other Woman
Like An Angel Passing Through My Room
Green Song
April After All
You Still Believe In Me
I Want To Vanish
For No One
Shamed Into Love
Just A Curio
This House Is Empty Now
Take It With Me
For The Stars

Amazon.com

At a time when popular music has been micro-marketed to the far side of ad nauseam, Declan MacManus, a.k.a. Elvis Costello, has traded on his reputation as the brightest songwriter to emerge from the new wave era to foster any number of delightful, cross-genre/generation musical surprises, including soundtracks and collaborations with the Brodsky Quartet, Paul McCartney, jazz artist Roy Nathanson, and songwriting legend Burt Bacharach. The latest fruit of that generous, insatiably curious artistic spirit is this elegant partnership with Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne-Sofie von Otter. Though an admitted pop novice, Otter couldn't have picked a better confederate than Costello, an artist whose taste in songs has seldom been tainted by trend.

Together, they weave material from disparate sources--including a slate of compelling Costello material, a pair of Brian Wilson's evocative "Pet Sounds" confessionals, a Tom Waits song from Francis Ford Coppola's One from the Heart (oddly, though effectively, coupled in medley with McCartney's "Junk"), an Abba song, and the Beatles' "For No One"--into a musical tapestry of stately power and grace. Costello sparingly uses his voice as seasoning throughout, though his masterful touch is everywhere. Otter's novice pop singing reveals an easy knack for jazz phrasing that should tempt further explorations and a warmth that belies the rigidity that's so often a byproduct of classical training. Most gratifying of all, this album ultimately achieves what's become one of the loftiest plateaus in Pop music: common ground. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews:

Loved this CD .......2006-06-13

Who would pair Costello and an opera singer?? Elvis, and somehow it works. I really love the tone and moodiness of it and lyrics that talk about love and life, failure and success. It's soulful, in a contemplative way, music for those tucked away, rainy days .

I LOVE this CD!.......2005-09-01

Finally, an opera singer who knows how to channel her Classical training into a sound that is, as one critic aptly described it, "what pop singers would sound like if they could actually sing"! Although Elvis Costello does not join Ms. von Otter very often in the vocals, when he does they harmonize beautifully. With great melodies (some beautiful, some catchy) and sensitive (but not sappy) lyrics, this album makes a fine addition to any CD collection.

Costello Partners with Hubris and Yields Variable Results.......2005-05-08

Having just heard Elvis Costello's masterful collaboration with Burt Bacharach, "Painted from Memory", for the first time this past month, I had high hopes for this equally unusual partnership with mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter released in 2001. This time, however, Costello acts as arranger and producer, and it is von Otter who is front and center on vocals. She is among the most revered of singers on the opera and recital stages, and she has impressed me in the past, in particular, with her Dejanira in the 2002 Marc Minkowski-led performance of Handel's "Hercules", among many other roles she has embodied. Here she is called upon to be a pop chanteuse, and while the beauty of her voice is inarguable in any setting, her ability to interpret the diverse lyrics in these songs is far more debatable. This is where a Marianne Faithfull, a Blossom Dearie or even a Joni Mitchell could capture more of the underlying feeling with a fraction of the vocal power von Otter can provide but with twice the nuance. There is a rather sterile sameness to the performances here, somewhat jazz-inflected in a cocktail lounge manner at times and at other times, rather morose and dirge-like.

Take, for example, her rendition of Brian Wilson's "Don't Ask (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)" from the legendary "Pet Sounds" album. It moves so glacially that it actually extricates the romantic subtext almost surgically. The same can be said for Jessie Mae Robinson's "The Other Woman", which has at least Magnus Persson's vibraphone to provide relief from the tedium. She's better on the other "Pet Sounds" classic, "You Still Believe in Me", where she cannily soars with the chorus, though Costello damages it by adding some odd, muffled rapping in the background. Ironically, it is on the Costello compositions where the recording most noticeably flails. The opener "No Wonder" starts as a "Greensleeves"-like madrigal and then turns into Beatlesque pop; "Baby Plays Around" seems to suffer from exhaustion by all parties; the two Fleshquartet collaborations, "Rope" and "Just a Curio", sound somewhat like extraterrestrial hymns done in a series of minor keys; and the closing title track, "For the Stars" includes peppy, Beach Boys-sounding harmonies which escape her grasp. In fact, "Just a Curio" would have been a more appropriate title for this entire recording.

On the other hand, the Gallic flavor of Benny Andersson's accordion effectively informs her rendition of Tom Waits' "Broken Bicycles", which melds perfectly with Costello's vocal on Paul McCartney's "Junk". Speaking of Andersson, a fellow Scandinavian, von Otter admirably covers a piano-led ABBA ballad, "Like an Angel Passing Through My Room". She also displays a meticulously casual bounce on Lennon-McCartney's "For No One", though it stops rather abruptly. Von Otter acquits herself surprisingly well on the jazzy "Shamed into Love", written by another unlikely duo, Costello and Rubén Blades, and performed as almost a smokier variation of Bacharach's "Alfie". And speaking of Bacharach, she does a nice turn on the lovely "This House Is Empty Now" from the 1998 Bacharach-Costello disc. Costello and von Otter are masters of their craft, but I think some of the collaborations reflect simply irreconcilable differences. While Costello seems to have an insatiable desire to expand musically, his hubris here appears to constrain the often preternatural vocal skill von Otter displays on the opera and recital stage. Consequently, what we have here is a nice album, a generous one with eighteen tracks, that doesn't seem to capitalize on either contributor's talent fully.

what's so funny about peace, love, and understanding?.......2004-04-22

Nothing's funny about this boring duo. I picked this up FREE at my library and it didn't take me too many tracks to see why it was donated. The musical arrangements are hapless and dull, and her voice is Dion without the Vegas power finale. Come to think of it, the lyrics remind me of Dion; they are as saccharine as anything Dion has ever sung. I wasted a blank CD on this limp, sleepy pairing of two otherwise good artists.

No life in her (pop) art.......2004-03-15

I am a big fan of both artists and wanted very much for this combination to work. It avoids the traditional trap of "oversinging" the pop material. But a few years after its release, in these American Idol era, is that really such a terror for pop music any more? So-called oversinging seems pretty popular these days!

The big problem is that von Otter has not found a way to communicate any emotion in this scaled-down form of singing. All her classical techniques are stripped away, and there's nothing to replace them. Sure, her voice is gorgeous, but it sounds exactly the same no matter what the lyrical content. The songs could have been made up of nonsense syllables for all the emotional life she communicates.

Deeply disappointing - but someone, somewhere, will figure out how to bring classically trained singers to the wonderful pop song repertoire that has been composed over the past 50 years. Elvis may very well be the person to do it, but not on this album.

One Woman's Insanity
Average customer rating:

Just Pure Enjoyment!

The album that made me a fan forever

A+++

One Woman's Insanity
Ultra Naté
Manufacturer: Warner Bros / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Situation: Critical

Blue Notes in the Basement

Found a Cure

Stranger Than Fiction

Free

ASIN: B000008LV5
Release Date: 1993-10-05

Tracks:

How Long
You're Not The Only One
Show Me
I'm Not Afraid
Incredibly You
Joy
I Specialize In Loneliness
One Woman's Insanity
Feelin' Fine
Love Is A Many Splendored Thing

Customer Reviews:

Just Pure Enjoyment!.......2004-01-23

There I was in a camlot music in late 1993 buying this single called "Show Me" and it was most excellent. Strange to this day how I didn't find myself attempting to buy the album until November of 1995 when I was told it was no longer in print. What made this even stranger was that at the time I found this out she had a single on Billboards top 40 dance chart! It just goes to prove you need not have an album in print to be popular. With nice touches of Soul and a little jazzy, it's excellent house music to dance to. Good to listen to on the road or around the house. Truly unique. Never heard anything quite like it before or since. Thanks Nate!

The album that made me a fan forever.......2003-11-05

This is the album that took Ultra Nate to the top of the dance charts with every single release. This album is superbly produced and offers a wide range of material from soul, to funk, to floor-stomping house. Every track is good, but my favorites are "Joy", "One Woman's Insanity" and "Incredibly You". The Basement Boys produced most of it, but there are some excellent tracks produced by Nellee Hooper, and D-Influence. "Incredibly You" is the first song she did with D-Influence. It's lush, sweeping string arrangement, horn section and funky bassline make this my favorite song on the album. I feel in love with Ultra Nate after ONE listen to this album, and have been a hard core fan ever since. This album represents a wide range of musical styles and emotional range, and is tied together in a neat package of Ultra's vocals and great album art

A+++.......2003-07-09

Ultra churns out some real upbeat house-y tunes here. I've owned this album four times, and I highly recommend it to anybody who likes her sound, or her type of sound, which at the point this album was released, had a "progressed house" type of vibe to it. "Show Me" is my favorite track.

Average customer rating:

Gypsy Woman
Crystal Waters
Manufacturer: Polygram Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Gypsy Woman

ASIN: B00005AUOU
Release Date: 2001-09-11

Tracks:

Gypsy Woman (La Da Dee) (She's Homeless - Radio Mix)
The Boy From Ipanema
Ghetto Day
100% Pure Love
In Da Ghetto
Markin' Happy
Relax
Surprise
What I Need
You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)
100% Pure Love (Erick More Vocal Mix)
Just A Freak (Hex Hector Club Mix)
Makin' Happy (Basement Boys Happy Club Mix 12in)
Relax (Todd Terry's Frozen Mix)

Album Description

Budget-price 'Best Of' compilation for the pop/dance artist best known for her 1991 hit 'Gypsy Woman'. 14 tracks, 'Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless-Radio Mix)', 'Boy From Ipanema', 'Ghetto Day', '100% Pure Love', 'In Da Ghetto', 'Makin' Happy', 'Relax', 'Surprise', 'What I Need', 'You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)', '100% Pure Love', 'Just A Freak (Hex Hector Club Mix)', 'Makin' Happy (Basement Boys Happy Club 12 Inch Mix)' & 'Relax (Todd Terry's Frozen Mix)'. 2001 release.

Average customer rating:

Artifact from an early 90's Chill Out room...
Wrong rating :/
Underrated classic of an underrated group
an absolute ambient classic...
Very soft and rythmic, very nice.

Every Man and Woman Is a Star
Ultramarine
Manufacturer: Chameleon / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ambient | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Techno | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

United Kingdoms
A User's Guide
Ex:El
Chill Out
Vertigo

ASIN: B000004BCC
Release Date: 1992-11-17

Tracks:

Discovery
Weird Gear
Pansy
Honey
Stella
British Summertime
Saratoga
Geezer
Nova Scotia
Panther
Lights In My Brain
Gravity
Canoe Trip
Skyclad

Customer Reviews:

Artifact from an early 90's Chill Out room..........2003-12-24

I own a vinyl release and believe it was originally distributed on Rough Trade. The album is based on an imaginary canoe trip across America. It was one of my first chill out/ambient house records.
The best tracks are British Summertime and Saratoga.
Saratoga contains the sampled bassline from the Eagle's One of These Nights. The other tracks are all pleasant and light hearted electronic songs that will make you feel good.

Ultramarine's other albums are also good but do not sound alike. The styles of their follow albums range from folk/acid to trip hop.

Other records I felt went hand in hand with this release were The Orb's Blue Room 12" and UFOrb, KLF's Chill Out, and Higher Intelligence Agency's Colourform.

Wrong rating :/.......2001-12-08

Sorry for the rating in my review from Madrid: I meant it was a masterpiece, a classic, a 5 star record :)

Underrated classic of an underrated group.......2001-12-06

In fact, this Ultramarine's album is considered as a classic of the gentle techno; it is similar to orb's or other ambient groups in the early 90's, but their songs here are optimistic and vital, they seem to talk about nature and joy of life.

What I don't like is that most of the critics consider the later work as dissapointing: "united kingdoms" is a nice folk/electronica album with great vocals by Robert Wyatt, "Bel Air" (my favourite) is weird unique mixing of jazz and electronic sounds, bossanova and beeps, whose only flaws are sometimes when they approach trip-hop; "A users guide" is their amazing work in 1999, with a sound that you hardly have heard before, disonant but gentle. So check this group if you haven't do it before.

an absolute ambient classic..........2001-11-07

...up there with anything from Future Sound of London and the first 2-3 Orb lps. So underrated next to those guys. Still a favourite after all these years and a must-have. Better than most anything new. Melodic and beautiful, love it all the way through... great to chill to. Fave trax include Saratoga and British Summertime. Pity about the rest of their career, though. But this one NOW.

Very soft and rythmic, very nice........1999-08-20

My friend said that this song FELT fantastic as he tripped on his porch

Average customer rating:

TRACK LISTING

Gypsy Woman
Crystal Waters
Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

House | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

We Got a Love Thang
Show Me Love
Hit by Love
Pump Up the Jam
Someone to Love Me

ASIN: B00000E5O4
Release Date: 1991-05-16

Tracks:

Gypsy Woman (Strip To The Bone Radio Edit)
Gypsy Woman (Basement Boy Strip To The Bone Mix)
Gypsy Woman (Red Bone Club Mix)
Gypsy Woman (Hump Instrumental Mix)
Gypsy Woman (Give It Up Vocal Mix)
Gypsy Woman (Give It Up Bonus Beats)
Gypsy Woman (Original Demo Mix)
Gypsy Woman (Acapella)

Customer Reviews:

TRACK LISTING.......2004-06-30

1. Gypsy Woman (Strip To The Bone Radio Edit) 3:47
2. Gypsy Woman (Basement Boy Strip To The Bone Mix) 7:32
3. Gypsy Woman (Red Bone Club Mix) 7:10
4. Gypsy Woman (Hump Instrumental Mix) 4:53
5. Gypsy Woman (Give It Up Vocal Mix) 8:10
6. Gypsy Woman (Give It Up Bonus Beats) 2:46
7. Gypsy Woman (Original Demo Mix) 7:10
8. Gypsy Woman (Acapella) 2:39

1964: Shakin' All Over (Time Life Music Classic Rock)

Average customer rating:

1964: Shakin' All Over (Time Life Music Classic Rock)
Major Lance , Brenda Holloway , The Hondells , Jumpin' Gene Simmons , The Velvelettes , Jimmy Hughes , Bobby Bland , The Impressions , The Searchers , and Gerry and the Pacemakers
Manufacturer: Time-Life Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000FPHJBS

Product Description

Song listing: 1 Roy Orbison Oh, Pretty Woman (2:58) 2 Major Lance Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um (2:22) 3 Peter & Gordon I Don't Want To See You Again (2:01) 4 Chuck Berry Nadine (Is It You?) (2:34) 5 Brenda Holloway Every Little Bit Hurts (2:53) 6 Beach Boys, The Don't Worry Baby (2:49) 7 Hondells, The Little Honda (2:05) 8 Jumpin' Gene Simmons Haunted House (2:35) 9 Velvelettes, The Needle In A Haystack (2:26) 10 Dionne Warwick Walk On By (2:53) 11 Gerry & The Pacemakers Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying (2:37) 12 Diana Ross & The Supremes Baby Love (2:39) 13 Searchers, The Don't Throw Your Love Away (2:17) 14 Ventures, The Walk, Don't Run '64 (2:25) 15 Marvelettes, The Too Many Fish In The Sea (2:30) 16 Little Anthony & The Imperials I'm On The Outside (Looking In) (3:09) 17 Jimmy Hughes Steal Away (2:28) 18 Bobby Bland Ain't Nothing You Can Do (2:31) 19 Jan & Dean Drag City (2:17) 20 Martha Reeves & The Vandellas Quicksand (2:36) 21 Impressions, The Talking About My Baby (2:32) 22 Bobby Vinton Mr. Lonely (2:39)

Average customer rating:

Failed Ideas
Simply Exquisite

Out of This World
Harold Arlen , Herbert/ Arlen, Harold ("Hal") Stothart , Allan Schwartzberg , Joe Beck , Cyro Baptista , James Saporito , Jeffrey Harris , and Mike Renzi
Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Classic | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

The Music Never Ends - The Lyrics of Alan & Marilyn Bergman
Naughty Baby
20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Maureen McGovern
With a Song in My Heart: Greatest Songs of Rodgers & Hart
Another Woman in Love

ASIN: B0000TAZ5Q
Release Date: 2003-11-18

Tracks:

Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home
Come Rain or Come Shine
Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive/Get Happy
It's Only a Paper Moon
Let's Fall in Love [*]
Sleepin' Bee
Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead
Optimistic Voices [*]
Over the Rainbow
Let's Take a Walk Around the Block
Don't Like Goodbyes
Right as the Rain
Out of This World
Man That Got Away/Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time)/Blues in
My Shining Hour

Customer Reviews:

Failed Ideas.......2004-12-09

Maureen McGovern is a national treasure. Her Naughty Baby CD to me is the 2nd coming of Christ. By comparison Out of this World is quite disappointing. Mostly either Harold Arlen or MM's uninspiring interpretations and/or Renzi's arrangements don't seem to suit MM on this CD. The drums and percusion are sometimes schlocky. The screechy sax is always terrible. Also not working for me are the electric keyboard/synthesizer, the electric guitar and the cello. Even Renzi's piano playing is sometimes a let down. Jay Leonhart's great bass work seems to be the only thing that you can depend on here. Did MM do this to herself or is Renzi mainly responsible? Spend your money instead on: Naughty Baby, The Music Never Ends, The Pleasure of his Company and Christmas With MM. All wonderful music.

Simply Exquisite.......2003-12-01

I'd forgotten what a beautiful, supple vocal instrument McGovern has. Here, she sings blues- and jazz-flavored tunes, torchy ballads, and more--all Harold Arlen--including "It's Only a Paper Moon," "Over the Rainbow," "Let's Take a Walk Around the Block," "The Man That Got Away" and "Come Rain or Come Shine." Her "Optimistic Voices" (from The Wizard of Oz) is worth the price of the entire CD. It is simply exquisite, like a fine jewel, polished and gleaming with feeling.

Music Review:

Music Review

music review

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