Exploration

Exploration

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Harmonies highlight this studio debut by Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion, the wife-and-husband duo who previously released albums of their own. As the daughter of Arlo Guthrie and granddaughter of Woody, Sarah Lee has deep bloodlines in the folk tradition, while Johnny was a Carolina indie-rocker with Dillon Fence. With coproduction and guitar by the Jayhawks' Gary Louris and musicianship that draws from that band and Son Volt, the album matches organic arrangements to material that shows a social conscience while celebrating domestic bliss. Highlights range from a performance of Pete Seeger's previously unreleased "Dr. King" to the poppier propulsion of Guthrie's "Holdin' Back," which could pass as a Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac outtake. Eric Heywood's steel guitar brings a lilt to Irion's album-opening "In Lieu of Flowers," and Dave Boquist's banjo drives "Gotta Prove" into a footstomping finale. In between, much of the music has the easy feel of a front-porch rocking chair. --Don McLeese

Product Description
"Authentic." "Timeless." "Harmonious." "Exhilarating." Any or all of these adjectives could describe the folk-rock sound created by Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion. The musical richness and psychological depth of their initial collaboration, the fittingly titled Exploration, is irrefutable proof that the disarming granddaughter of Woody/daughter of Arlo and the prodigious South Carolinian quite naturally bring out the best in each other.

Exploration,Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion,New West Records,Alternative Country-Rock,Contemporary Folk,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop,United States of America

Hitman: Codename 47 / Hitman 2 - Silent Assassin
Average customer rating:

Pretty Good

Hitman: Codename 47 / Hitman 2 - Silent Assassin
Jesper Kyd
Manufacturer: La-La Land Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
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Hitman: Contracts

Hitman Blood Money

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Chaos Theory: Splinter Cell 3 Soundtrack

Fable

ASIN: B000A2GP5W
Release Date: 2005-08-30

Tracks:

Intro
Main Title (Extended Version)
Hong Kong Themes
Jungle Exploration
Dark Jungle
Hotel Themes
Harbor Themes
Hospital Themes
Hotel Music (Early Demo)
Rainforest (Early Demo)
Atmosphere Demo
Main Title (Original Slow Version)

Tracks:

Hitman 2 Main Title
Waiting For Action
Action Begins
47 Makes A Decision
The Penthouse
Japanese Mansion
Japanese Snow Castle
Streets Of India
Mission In India
47 In St. Petersburg
Trouble In Russia
Desert Sun
Arabian Dance
The Setup
End Boss
Slow Ambience
Fast Ambience
H2 Exploration
H2 Action
Dreams Of Instanbul (Bonus Track)

Customer Reviews:

Pretty Good.......2006-07-29

This was a very unique item. Fans of the series will enjoy it. At times some of the tracks seem out of place when out of the game, but that's more than made up for by the many powerful and classic tracks that these CD's have. The first CD is more techno-inspired while the second is more operatic. It's good music to do push-ups to or to drive to. Especially the first track of the first CD.

Average customer rating:

ON FIRE AGAIN!
Super guitar album
Great album
Like nothing else in the genre!

Intimo

Manufacturer: Incendio Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Incendio
Dia y Noche
Seduction
Misterioso
Illumination

ASIN: B000083JS6
Release Date: 2003-01-15

Tracks:

Jaco y Paco
Espiritu
Cities of Gold
Tango para Abel
Temple of the Sun
Midnight for Maya
Los Rios
Vamos Ya
Rhythm of the Heart
Vuelo del Aguila
Barcelona
The Sorcerer

Album Description

INTIMO was recorded live in the studio and features many new songs that are not available on any previous INCENDIO recording. To date, this is the closest thing to a live recording by the Billboard charting Latin Guitar World Fusion group INCENDIO!

Jim Stubblefield ~ flamenco guitar (left channel)
Jean-Pierre Durand ~ flamenco guitar (right channel)
Liza Carbe ~ bass
Joe Shotwell ~ drums
Nicole Falzone ~ percussion

Customer Reviews:

ON FIRE AGAIN!.......2003-09-08

I am not going to call this my favorite album because I dont really have a favorite. All of Incendio's albums are AMAZING, but this is the next best thing to hearing them live.
Jim and JP play with such Passion that the listener is taken on a journey around the world and filled with the same Fire that makes Incendio what it is. Joe Shotwell brings the Heart of Incendio directly to the listener's ears with his amazing drumming. The soul of Incendio is portrayed by the amazing talent of the bassist Liza Carbe', and Nicole Falzone adds a little bit of Spice to the mix with percussion. Together the talents of these Artists create a sound that ensnares the heart and soul. Even without "Studio Magic" this CD has a magic all it's own.
All I can say is go see Incendio live it's an outing you will never forget.

Super guitar album.......2003-06-24

If you're into guitar music of any kind (I love Eric and Jimmy Page and many others) or you're into "Latin" music, you will love this album. In my dreams I can play guitar like these guys. Oh well, maybe in another life. Super, super stuff. Their live performances are better, catch them if you can.

Great album.......2003-05-09

I love this album! Incendo came to our famrmer's market in SLO and ended up convincing me to run to the atm in order to buy this cd. They were amazing to watch live. Most of the people in the crowd ended up puchasing a cd. These guys have skills, great music, and are friendly people. Highly recommended.

Like nothing else in the genre!.......2003-01-16

Incendio's new CD Intimo is incredible. Every song is great. Unlike many guitar records of this sort, there is a raw and reckless abandon to the playing of Jim and Jean-Pierre. The rhythm section does not hold back either. This music is great for driving on long road trips or background music for a hip party! Everyone I play this CD for wants it! I have all Incendio's and Jim Stubblefield's CDs and this one really shows that these guys can play without the help of any "studio magic". I hope they do more CDs like this in the future. VIVA INCENDIO!

Average customer rating:

Aquired Taste
The Trance Blues tradition continues...
FINALLY!!!! Some new Blood and innovation in the Blues!
Release the badasses!!

Record
Burnside Exploration
Manufacturer: B.C. Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Delta Blues | Blues | Styles | Music

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Live at the Mint
Under Pressure
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A Bothered Mind

ASIN: B000E6UK2I
Release Date: 2006-02-21

Tracks:

Bitch You Lie
You Don't Love Me
Poor Man's Blues
One Cold & Lonely Night
Long Haired Dony
Rambler
All By Myself
Boogie (Instrumental)
Damned If Ma Voice (Talk)
I Don't Want To Live
All Night Long (Intro)
All Night Long
Intro 8 (Instrumental)
Knockin' On Heaven's Door

Customer Reviews:

Aquired Taste.......2007-06-16

Saw this band down at NO Jazz Fest this year and then purchased this album. They have a very unique sound.

The Trance Blues tradition continues..........2007-03-09

If you thought the Trance Blues was dead the day RL Burnside died, think again. If you love that kind of music and wish the Black Keys wasn't the only band making it these days, THINK AGAIN. RL's kids are alive and well, and this record is like a window into a juke joint in Holly Springs, MS.

FINALLY!!!! Some new Blood and innovation in the Blues!.......2006-05-06

I first heard the Burnside Exploration in 2003, when they were still getting their act together;had the pleasure of performing on the same bill with them.In Them,You hear the NEXT NEW THING IN THE BLUES;rooted in the North Mississippi Hill Country Boogie of Daddy RL Burnside and Junior Kimbrough;but with strong roots in Jimi Hendrix,Cream and classic rock,Modern R&B and Soul. all they need now is to get some strong Hip hop related feel in their mix and you HAVE THE NEXT NEW THING IN THE BLUES!

Release the badasses!!.......2006-04-10

If you were wondering where rhythm comes from, you've just found the source. These guys have it. And they have tone, too. Yep. And... oh yeah, they rock!!

But seriously... There needs to be a lot more of this type of stuff going on. There's too many people playing the blues and behaving themselves. Those two things don't go together. If anyone in Amazonworld is tired of hearing some dude singing about his blues and his feeling and his Kool-aide man voice gonna break through your wall and spray a bunch of cheese whizz on you and your old lady, then take a listen to these guys. The thing I can't understand is that Cedric (the drummer) has two arms like the rest of us. I've seen him. Two arms. Not 6 or 8 or 20. 2. And Garry is gonna get arrested for playing with that dirty tone and slick style. This album breathes new life into... into what? Hell, I don't know--whoever listens to it. It's good, dangit. That's what I'm trying to tell you. Buy it if you want to. Or if you prefer, call me up, and I'll do my impression of Fat Albert singing "The thrill is gone." I bet you'd like that, wouldn't you? Why am I the first to review this album?

Canyon Drums: Exploration of Native Drumming

Average customer rating:

Hauntingly Beautiful
Great Music!
Music of the Land
"Great Music......."
Try the next one

Canyon Drums: Exploration of Native Drumming
Peter Wyoming Bender
Manufacturer: Talking Taco
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Drum Medicine
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Sacred Spirit: Chants and Dances of the Native Americans

ASIN: B0000063HD
Release Date: 1998-04-07

Tracks:

Rugged Roads
Spirit Mountain
Drums Before Sundown
Don't Ever Smoke the Right Pipe With the Wrong Man
Crow Dog's Paradise
Ax-Bi-Zha-Ye (Through the Air)
Hole in the Sky
Dedication to Chief Joseph
Flying Tomahawk
Sundown in Alaska
Return of Tatanka

Album Description

Rhythmic magic, created by Native American drums, is the focus of a series of compositions interweaving rattles and drums with chanting, Native American flutes and modern mood textures. The heartbeat rhythms played on Native drums form the basis of the compositions that draw sonic pictures of the spacious Canyons of the Southwest and sacred sites.

Customer Reviews:

Hauntingly Beautiful.......2006-05-21

I was totally blown away by this album. Pete Bender expresses his Native American heritage in a way that makes you feel what it is like to be an Indian. In a way I found this album a political expression of the sadness felt by the American Indian (over the loss of their land) that is still with them today. That sadness resonates throughout this album, it touches your soul in a such a way, that it makes you feel what it must have been like long, long ago during the Trail of Tears, The Long Walk; the tremendous emotional pain of that era is so evident yet beautifully expressed and deeply felt by the listener.

Great Music!.......2005-02-08

As I listen to this CD for the umpteenth time, I feel compelled to thank Peter Bender for it. Thank you, Peter.

Imagine sitting around the fire with others, dancing to the drums all night, as a way to honor the Creator, the Moment and celebrate the joy of shared Life. That's what this CD is like.

Favorite cuts: Spirit Mountain, Drums Before Sundown (which I regard as a true work of inspired beauty & genius), followed by Crow Dog's Paradise (even better, if it's possible, then Drums) and Dedication to Chief Joseph is unrelentingly *positive*--just try to be down after hearing this-- followed by the joy and thankfulness of "Return of Tananka"-- the celebration of the buffalo.

Music of the Land.......2004-04-16

I wasn't sure about this album when I received it as a gift, but thought I'd give it a try anyway. I was surprised by what I heard. Peter "Wyoming" Bender mixes the sounds of his Native culture with contemporary and a touch rock and other genres. The deep drums resonate under the rhythm of horse-bells while flute carries the melody either in a traditional sound, or the sound Bender has learned from his experience of music in traveling through Europe. Native chants add flavor to the songs, making them very authentic. As Enya is to her Celtic heritage, so Bender is to his Native American heritage. He takes the traditional, and colors it with beautiful music.

Several songs stand out on this album, like the deep and slow singing on "Crow Dog's Paradise". "Don't Ever Smoke the Right Pipe with the Wrong Man," has a little more of that Native feel with chanting and drums only in the middle, while the keyboard and flute hint slightly at an Enya feel. The opening "Rugged Roads" is one of the primer songs of the album, although the wind effect is a little too much. My favorite is "Ax-Bi-Zha-Ye (Through the Air)", where the drums have a strong presence in the beginning and periodically throughout as the synth strings adds a haunting color to the flute's melody. The first time I heard this song I mistook it for Enigma's, as it shares a lot of qualities with that particular band's work. "Hole In the Sky takes on a more modern feeling with a big double-bass sound and the opening reed-synthesized keyboard. The flute melody has a feeling of "If the Phone Doesn't Ring, It's Me" to it.

Bender is on the right track here combining the sounds of his ancestors with the sounds of today's music. I would like to find more of his work, but I must agree with a previous reviewer about the mixing quality of the album. The sound quality of this album is not deep and full as you would expect, and it becomes very apparent after listening to an album done properly immediately before "Canyon Drums". As Bender has said here he recorded the album with little knowledge of recording techniques. Besides the sound quality, the music is very good.

"Great Music.......".......2000-10-19

This album is fantastic! Very good music...worth buying.

Try the next one.......2000-09-05

I would like to thank all of you for your reviews. I enjoyed everyone of them-and what`s important for me is that I always learn new things that I can use for my next production.I recorded CANYON DRUMS with very little equipment and hardly any knowledge about technics. I`m a singer-songwriter-keyboarder and drummer and I`ve been at it for 40 years now and hope to go another 40. I will be moving back home to the states soon continuing there.I like to thank you again and please check out my new CD`s. "CANYON EAGLE" released about now by TALKING TACO RECORDS and RAINMAKER released by WOLFSONGS-CHEROKEE PRODUCTIONS. I hope you will like them and my future productions. my family roots are in Ft.Sill, Oklahoma and I have COMANCHE ancestry.

Average customer rating:

jazz orchestration
Some facts and a curmudgeon's suggestion
One Of The Year's Best

Exploration
Grachan Moncur III
Manufacturer: Capri
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

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New Africa/One Morning I Woke Up Very Early
Compulsion
Time Lines
The Right Touch
One Entrance, Many Exits

ASIN: B0006LINKM
Release Date: 2004-10-29

Tracks:

Exploration
Monk In Wonderland
Love And Hate
New Africa
When?
Frankenstein
Excursion
Sonny's Back!

Album Description

This recording marks the welcome return of one of the most original and distinctive voices of the early 1960s, a turbulent and exciting time in jazz. From the sabbaticals of Sonny Rollins to the recent dramatic resurrection of Henry Grimes, jazz lore includes many tales of disappearances and triumphant returns. While Grachan Moncur III never completely left the musical scene, he certainly has been out of the limelight for the past two decades.

Customer Reviews:

jazz orchestration.......2006-11-22

all of the selections were written by moncur. two of them appeared back in the sixties on albums by archie shepp. moncur appeared on frankenstein on shepp's the way ahead. he was absent on sonny's back on shepp's yasmina, featuring archie shepp and hank mobley. both pieces are rearranged for orchestra on exploration and play time is a lot shorter, cut down to under ten minutes.
it's a treat hearing these tunes in an orchestral format.
always a pleasure hearing gary bartz.

Some facts and a curmudgeon's suggestion.......2005-02-01

First, a few facts about this session. The group listed would actually be a nonet comprising of Tim Hagans on trumpet, John Clark on French horn, Gary Bartz on alto sax, Billy Harper on tenor, Gary Smulyan on baritone, Ray Drummond on bass, Andrew Cyrille on drums, Dave Woodley on trombone and Grachan Moncur III on the trombone.
For some reason, the CD sleeve insists that it is an octet for which I have no explanation other than the general degradation of math skills in this country (feel free to imagine an old curmudgeonly gentleman shaking his cane as you read that).
The main point though is that this session is the brainchild of, was produced by, the arrangements were done by and the music conducted by Mark Masters. I think that is important as will come clear. All of the songs are from the Blue Note LPs or New Africa with one song that GM3 wrote earlier.
But first my suggestion. This CD is not the place to start for those who are new to the music of Mr. Moncur III. Leave this page of Amazonia immediately and go to the listings for New Africa, Some Other Stuff, Evolution or, best of all, the Mosaic box set of the Blue Note recordings.
What follows is personal opinion. GM3's recordings that came out in the sixties were a unique body of work. Like some of Jackie McLean's work in the mid-sixties, Moncur's music suggested an inclusive middle ground between the hard bop mainstream of the time and the emerging free jazz and avant garde alternatives. As such, Moncur's music is both exploratory and wide-open to the music of others. Part of what made people like McLean and Moncur so wonderful at that time was the sense that I had that it would appeal to both Marion Brown and Sonny Stitt. Moncur was creating a musical vocabulary that everybody could use.
Those early recordings remain unchallenged. They have a muscular beauty that the present CD lacks. A lot of that has to do with the size of the group and the arrangements. Everything is very well done but it only occasionally sounds like Moncur to me in the arrangements.
However, please note that it is evident that GM3 himself seems to have really appreciated the arrangements by Masters and to have thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
The solo work by all is quite good. It is nice to hear Moncur's work being explored by Harper, Bartz and Smulyan. Hagan (again with the personal opinions!)is technically superb but I rarely connect with his work. As for Moncur, if anything, his solo voice is as terse as ever and driven by his own melodic logic.
So if you own the other CDs, by all means pick this one up. Moncur's oeuvre is not large but it is very worthy and it is very sweet to (somewhat) hear his vision again after all these years. I only hope that this CD leads to one of new material with his own arrangements. Then the curmudgeon will be dancing.

One Of The Year's Best.......2004-12-05

It's been far too long since we've heard from Grachan Moncur. For his first album as a leader in nearly 3 decades Moncur revisits his compositions of the 60's with an all-star lineup, including Billy Harper, Gary Bartz, Andrew Cyrille, Ray Drummond and Tim Hagans. Mark Masters' arrangements are swinging and tight and there's passionate playing all around. One of the top three or four albums of the year, in my opinion.

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The Inner Path
Shiv Kumar Sharma , and Shafaat Ahmed Khan
Manufacturer: Sense World Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000C6VWB
Release Date: 2005-02-15

Tracks:

Raga Kirvani: Alap
Raga Kirvani: Jor and Jhalla
Raga Kirvani: Gat in Slow Teental
Raga Kirvani: Gat in Medium Teental
Raga Kirvani: Gat in Fast Teental

To Touch the Stars: A Musical Celebration of Space Exploration

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Songs and Space for Everyone
To Touch The Stars

To Touch the Stars: A Musical Celebration of Space Exploration
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Prometheus Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Folk | Styles | Music

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General | Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00019RDRI
Release Date: 2004-01-01

Tracks:

Witnesses' Waltz (Kristoph Klover)
Big Blue Sky (Stan Clardy)
Fire in the Sky (Kristoph Klover)
Now's the Time to Touch a Star (Karl Franzen)
Hope Eyrie (Julia Ecklar)
Surprise! (Gunnar Madsen)
The Pioneers of Mars (Karen Linsley)
If We Had No Moon (Christine Lavin)
I Want to Go To Mars (The Birdwatchers)
Star Fire (Julia Ecklar)
Others Standing By (Kristoph Klover)
The Challenge (Karen Linsley)
Dog on the Moon (Garry Novikoff)
Queen Isabella (Kristoph Klover)
Legends (Julia Ecklar)
Dance on the Ceiling (Gunnar Madsen)

Album Description

Meridiani Planum, Mars - February 14, 2004

It's another cool, clear Mars morning, and the NASA Rover Opportunity is waking up to the majestic strains of "Pioneers of Mars". This song is from To Touch the Stars, the first-ever anthology CD of music celebrating space exploration. Capturing the attention of space enthusiasts worldwide, To Touch the Stars has garnered rave reviews from virtually every space-related publication on the planet.

The brainchild of best-selling author Dr. Robert Zubrin (The Case For Mars) and Prometheus Music, the project grew from the winning entries in a space songwriting contest sponsored by Zubrin, then director of the National Space Society. Zubrin repeated the contest when he moved on to presidency of the Mars Society, with Pioneers of Mars taking top honors. The anthem is "a touching piece, wonderfully encapsulating both the rewards and risks inherent in outer space travel," says Science Fiction Weekly.

Legendary Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin has endorsed the CD, quoting lyrics from the song "Fire in the Sky" in a nationally televised NBC interview after the Columbia tragedy. The album's sixteen tracks range from scientific to historic, whimsical to moving. It has found fans amongst schoolteachers and their students, planetarium directors, sci-fi fans, aerospace engineers, NASA leaders, and anyone whose heart yearns to break the surly bonds of gravity.

To Touch the Stars has been featured as part of the official Centennial of Flight celebration, created by Congress to promote awareness of the Wright brothers' achievements and the 100th anniversary of powered flight. It placed in the Top 65 most aired albums on the January 2004 folk charts with airplay in the U.S., Canada, and Australia. Yuri's Night parties all over the world - celebrating the anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's first spaceflight - have used the CD as part of the evening's audio entertainment.

Customer Reviews:

Songs and Space for Everyone.......2004-01-18

In this age when hardly anyone listens to music outside of their favorite genre, I don't know what is tougher: getting to Mars or getting people to give this terrific album a chance! Space activists will love it, of course, but if others will just take a listen, they will enjoy it too. In fact, they will be amazed at how appealing these "space" songs are.

Most of the public still greets the phrase "space activism" as a non sequitur. You might as well say NASA-Industrial-Complex activism or Giant-Faceless-Aerospace-Industry activism. The assertion that there exists a genuinely passionate grassroots constituency for space exploration and development (and not made up of employees of NASA and its contractors) is still considered preposterous by many. The Moon Race proved, did it not, that it takes a gigantic army of government and industry engineers, scientists, technicians and bureaucrats to send a handful of supermen to the Moon via a ridiculously expensive and impractical rocket system? How can any regular Joe or Joan relate to all that?

Who would possibly want to sing about all that?

Well, activists saw long ago that "space is not an agency", that space travel and development don't have to be astronomically expensive, and that someday, in a future already underway, anyone who really wants to go to space WILL get the opportunity to go.

The people who see this most clearly are the artists on this album. They see past the temporary technological obstacles to a marvelously exciting but difficult frontier that will eventually give way to the blossoming of life throughout the solar system.

So what do these artists sing about?

They sing of the glory and sacrifice on the frontier ("Fire in the Sky" and "Legends")

They sing about traveling in space themselves ("I Want to Go To Mars" and "Big Blue Sky")

They sing of the joy and fun of space flight ("Dance on the Ceiling" and "Dog on the Moon")

They sing of looking at space in new ways ("If We Had No Moon" and "Others Standing By").

They sing of the disappointment that we rushed forward and then pulled back ("Queen Isabella, Where Are You" and "Hope Eyrie")

And this diverse array of artists offers songs in many different styles. There's definitely something here for everyone.

Whether you are a space enthusiast or not, you will enjoy this album. Great music that transcends genres comes from artists genuinely inspired by their passion. Take a chance. If you do, you won't regret it. In fact, you might just be inspired to help us get to Mars!

To Touch The Stars.......2004-01-09

I _really_ liked this CD. To Touch the Stars falls into the musical subgenre called "Filk" music -- science, science fiction, and fantasy inspired folk music -- and is one of the best examples of the art. It has 17 songs in a wide variety of styles, from acoustic folk through anthem to rock and roll. Some of them are remakes of songs on the classic (and long out-of-print) "Minus Ten and Counting" tape by the long-out-of-business Off Centaur Productions. In general, the new arrangements are better than the ones on the tape (the lead-off folk-rock Witnesses Waltz is a good example). Many are by Julia Ecklar, one of the best, most exerienced filk singers in the field today, while others are by talented newcomers to the genre. I must admit I preferred Minus Ten's acapella arrangement of Hope Eyrie (AKA The Eagle Has Landed, about the first landing on the moon), but however it's arranged it still brings goosebumps. There's a new (to me) Leslie Fish song "Queen Isabella" that is just a hoot, and there's the winner of the "national anthem for Mars" contest -- "The Pioneers of Mars." It's musical, it tells a good story, and it even _sounds_ like a national anthem.

The stories that filk songs tell are for the most part stories of hope and adventure and challenge -- stories worth telling -- and this CD tells the best of them.

Tracks:

Come Dance with Me
You and the Night and the Music
Change Partners
Lookin' for another Sweetie/I'm Confessin' (that I Love You)
Unexpected Song
Everything is Possible
Will You Love Me Tomorrow?
The Thrill is Gone
Just One of those Things/Dream-Dancing
Shall We Dance
Why Shouldn't it Happen to Us?
Love is only Love
I Know Now
Life's a Dance/You're All the World to Me

Album Description

Broadway and Cabaret star Craig Rubano takes you on an exploration of partnership, featuring songs from Broadway, Movie Musicals and the Hit Parade. He is accompanied by a Trio and instrumental guest partners.

Customer Reviews:

A superb - if mellow - follow-up to his first album........2005-03-07

"Change Partners" is one of the most soothing albums I've ever bought and I bought it on the basis of Craig's first impeccable album, "Finishing the Act." While that album featured a lot of "known gems" with a few "unknowns", this album explores exactly the opposite. I doubt you'll have heard more than a few of these songs before. Even so, you'll love the introduction Craig Rubano gives them. His voice thunders when it needs to and soothes when appropriate, but throughout, he treats his material with utmost respect. This is a man who loves to sing and the variety of his song choices are delicious. Now and then some of the arrangements bordered on smaltzy in a "Kit Kat Klub" kind of way, but mostly the piano, bass, percussion trio provided an intimate feeling that was perfect for the material. Guest instrumentalists appear here and there for added flavor - an alto sax, a trombone, a clarinet - but they are never used to excess. On a few of the songs, I literally could not believe my ears at the range of this man. His baritone is absolutely pure but he also has a very high top on his range and he never hides vocal flaws with an overdone vibrato (a.k.a. Mandy Patinkin). If anything, and I'm surprised to hear myself say it, he reminds me of Anthony Warlow's perfectly trained baritone. Not that anyone can really surpass Warlow's voice, but Craig Rubano makes a legitimate claim to aspire there. If you want to hear what a great singer can do, give Craig Rubano a listen - you won't be disappointed.

Average customer rating:

Kick Back and Enjoy!
A Complete Album
The new Gram & Emmylou prove they are for real
Exploration
Classic Americana.

Exploration
Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion
Manufacturer: New West Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Sarah Lee Guthrie
Entirely Live
Black Cadillac
Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
Unity Lodge

ASIN: B00078GIAG
Release Date: 2005-03-08

Tracks:

In Lieu Of Flowers
Cease Fire
Holdin' Back
Exploration
Kindness
Dr King
Mornin's Over
Gervais
Mixed Blessing
Swing Of Things
Georgia Pine
Gotta Prove

Amazon.com

Harmonies highlight this studio debut by Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion, the wife-and-husband duo who previously released albums of their own. As the daughter of Arlo Guthrie and granddaughter of Woody, Sarah Lee has deep bloodlines in the folk tradition, while Johnny was a Carolina indie-rocker with Dillon Fence. With coproduction and guitar by the Jayhawks' Gary Louris and musicianship that draws from that band and Son Volt, the album matches organic arrangements to material that shows a social conscience while celebrating domestic bliss. Highlights range from a performance of Pete Seeger's previously unreleased "Dr. King" to the poppier propulsion of Guthrie's "Holdin' Back," which could pass as a Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac outtake. Eric Heywood's steel guitar brings a lilt to Irion's album-opening "In Lieu of Flowers," and Dave Boquist's banjo drives "Gotta Prove" into a footstomping finale. In between, much of the music has the easy feel of a front-porch rocking chair. --Don McLeese

Album Description

"Authentic." "Timeless." "Harmonious." "Exhilarating." Any or all of these adjectives could describe the folk-rock sound created by Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion. The musical richness and psychological depth of their initial collaboration, the fittingly titled Exploration, is irrefutable proof that the disarming granddaughter of Woody/daughter of Arlo and the prodigious South Carolinian quite naturally bring out the best in each other.

Customer Reviews:

Kick Back and Enjoy!.......2006-11-01

I know what I like and I liked this album the first time I heard it. The duet thing hasn't been done better than this, and I just took George Jones-Tammy Wynette out of the player.
I will say that I enjoy the laid back, easy going songs and sounds from these two (In Lieu of Flowers, Kindness, Swing of Things) the most but, sample sample sample and prepare to be impressed.
I borrowed another SLG CD and threw it back. "Exploration" is a keeper. Highly recommended.

A Complete Album.......2005-10-19

I can be a bit of a track jumper when I don't feel a whole album is on the same musical level, but this album is just so well crafted that I can put down my finger and listen to the whole thing. It is inventive and interesting with some of the best vocals I've heard in any genre lately. This album is interesting enough that you don't need to a roots music lover or a folk lover just a lover of good lyrics and strong vocals. This album is just so well crafted and fun it is worth the money to take a chance on it!

The new Gram & Emmylou prove they are for real.......2005-10-01

I agree with Amazon: this is one of the year's best and probably THE 2005 revelation in roots rock (if we must confine this album to a genre). Yet, I didn't give them much credit at first, because I had never heard of them and the fact that she is the granddaughter of Woody Guthrie doesn't imply that she can sing or play. Fortunately, I overcame my initial skepticism.

The album strength lies in its variety; you have a rock number where electric guitars and harmonica dominate (Gervais), but also an Appalachian-style dirge (Georgia Pine), a catchy folk-pop song (Holdin' Back) and a romantic track typical of country duets (The Swing of Things). Singer-songwriter material just consisting of harmonies and acoustic guitars is also there (Mixed Blessings), together with a committed social commentary in the wake of 60's political folk (Dr King).
The track penned by Pete Seeger is actually one of my favourites; it can be naïve ("They were singin' in marches, even singing in jail / Songs gave them the courage to believe they would not fail"), but it nonetheless gives me hope in the future every time I listen to it, thanks also to the final strophe connecting the events in 1955 Alabama with today situation. In passing, I believe this final addition must be the work of Irion and Guthrie, not of Seeger.
The closing track adds one more dimension to the CD variety, with the whirling duet of banjo and fiddle verging on bluegrass territory.

Yet for all its diversity, the album winning formula is how graciously Sarah and Johnny sing together. Their voices aren't remarkable on their own, but they blend perfectly together. It is an example of how the union can be more than the sum of the parts. To see how this "vocal" chemistry works a good starting point is "The Swings of Things", available here for download.

The accompanying band is also in top form; their discreet backing lets Johnny and Sarah's voices shine. Still, their contribution is evident throughout the album. Just listen to the pedal steel in the "In Lieu of Flowers" opening or the piano in the "Swing of Things" refrain to convince yourself.

In summary, if you like roots rock as it was done in the 70s or the duets of Gram & Emmylou, who Johnny and Sarah often remind me of, give this CD a try. Don't be skeptic as I was!

Exploration.......2005-08-26

Great sounding music a cross between Bluegrass and old time country with a little of the hip new sounds mixed in.

Classic Americana........2005-05-22

Wow! , what a discovery.
This wonderful album sounds like a cross between seventies era Fleetwood Mac and "tommorow the green grass" jayhawks period. Sarah lee sounds like a combination of stevie nicks and bobbie gentry.
The album was produced by jayhawks genius gary louris and the musicians are Alt-country fan's heaven. You hear louris touch in every aspect of this album , the production is open and airy and the harmonies are just wonderful (think Gram/Emmylou), The songs are all excellent, songwriting of the highest order.
If your'e a fan of high quality music similiar in the spirit to the jayhawks than you owe yourself this album.
Simply wonderful.

Average customer rating:

High Quality AfroPop

Exploration
M'Bilia Bel
Manufacturer: Terrascape
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Africa | International | Styles | Music

Zaire & Congo | Africa | International | Styles | Music

Soukous | Africa | International | Styles | Music

General | International | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music
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Bameli Soy

ASIN: B000003ZMQ
Release Date: 1997-11-04

Tracks:

Coteledon
Please Take Your Time...Don't Leave Me
Levez Les Bras
Make up Your Mind
Meke Meke
Mother Africa
Port du Bonheur

Customer Reviews:

High Quality AfroPop.......2006-02-02

If you lke Afropop, world music, dancing or just having fun, consider this excellent CD. It is well produced, clean music by great performers. With the exception of a single Hip-hop exploration, the music has its roots in traditional rythms and styles of Central Africa. It remindied me of traditional music I have heard in the Carribean, or of Juan Luis Guerra. The music remains fresh after many listenings and is well named as it plays with different styles of traditional music. It has playful beats for dancing, and is pleasant even just as background music activies of daily life.

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