Take the Air [Import]

Take the Air [Import]

Track Listings

1. Ríleanna (Reels): London Lasses/Coast of Austria

2. Poirt Shingile (Single Jigs): Take the Air and Walk About/Old Legacy

3. Poirt (Jigs): Coughlan's/The Frost Is All Over

4. Fonn (Air): Banks of the Suir

5. Ríleanna (Reels): Broderick's Galway Rambler

6. Sleamhnáin (Slides): Scattery Island/Miko Doyle's/Going to the Well for

7. Poirt (Jigs): Tatter Jack Walsh/Connie O' Connel's

8. Válsaí (Waltzes): Saturday/Seven Hops/Cascade

9. Ríleanna (Reels): Belles of Tipperary

10. Fonn (Air): Fairy Child

11. Poirt (Jigs): Clancy's Whistling Postman

12. Cornphíopa[Hornpipe] Polcaí[Polkas]: Dan Sullivan's Favorite/Ryan's/Ker

Tracks:

The Harp That Once
Red is the Rose
Off to Philadelphia
Golden Jubilee
Little Brigid Flynn
Fields of Athenry
I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen
My Heart Will Go On
The West's Awake
Danny Boy
Song for Ireland
Dublin Medley (Dublin Can Be Heaven/Rocky Road to Dublin)
South of the Border
Whiskey in the Jar
The Parting Glass
God Bless America

Customer Reviews:

Not the best........2005-03-02

I bought this CD with high hopes. I absolutely loved the first one, the one recorded live. This one was a disappointment though. The guys songs are good and their voices are in good form but it was missing something...feeling, I guess. The live concert version can make me cry and laugh it's so sung with feeling, but this is just singing. I just felt it lacked feeling. I guess that's why I was disappointed with it.

What a magnificent Heritage.......2005-01-22

I highly recommend this album to all fans of Irish music. This is the last album with Ronan as a memember and it is one of their best. Ronan's "I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen" is wonderful, so too is Finbarr's "South of the Border". The theme from the Titanic "My Heart Will Go On" is the best version since Celine Dione's. My favorite track is Anthony's "The West's Awake" . One point to note is that this group is one of the few out there who can perform live with an equally good recorded sound. Having listened to them at Meadowbrook NH the night of Ronan's farewell I can assure you that live or recorded they have a fantastic sound. I highly recommend this CD to all fans of Irish music.

Isaac Chute

A Review .......2004-10-30

I have never really been a fan of Traditional Irish Music and had never even HEARD of the Irish Tenors....That is until a friend of mine introduced me to the recording of "Live In Belfast" Instantly, I was hooked. I have become addicted to a lot of these songs. Especially the goofier ones they sing. like "Phil the Fluther" and "Courtin in the Kitchen" When Heritage was released I was estatic....As I had loved all the songs they had released before. Even though they recycled some of their songs. I loved the way they re recorded "Red Is The Rose" with Finbar in place of John and also "Fields Of Athenry" I Found this version to be better than the other one. I found it really bizare that they would sing "My Heart Will Go On" as that is not an Irish Song...Ireland was where the Titanic sank. but still. I really enjoyed listening to it. "South of the Boarder" and "Golden Jubilee" along with "Little Brigid Flynn" were quite entertainingly cute. I really enjoyed Anthony's "The West's Awake" and "The Parting Glass" and "The Harp That Once Through Tara's Halls" I would, too also love to see Anthony put out a solo album.

Heritage, The Irish Tenors.......2004-09-30

This is another delightful effort by Anthony, Finbar and Ronan.
My favorite songs were "Off to Philadephia" (Anthony) and "My Heart Will Go On" (Finbar). I didn't even mind the repetition of some songs heard on past CDs - but wondered about it, until I learned of the departure of Ronan Tynan. I am curious to see the kind of arrangements they have included on their new CD, due to come out later this year, which they made upon the return of John McDermott. John is a Canadian of Celtic descent, whose voice, though pleasant in a folksy way, does not seem to blend as well with Anthony and Finbar as did Ronan's trained vocals. I would be very pleased to see Anthony make a solo CD, including such ballads as (my all-time favorite) Bantry Bay and some of the wonderfully playful Irish ditties he sometimes performs at his solo concerts.

Tattered Tenors.......2004-08-20

When the Irish Tenors burst upon the public scene not too many years ago, they were heralded as a refreshing change in the sea of musical mediocrity. The original trio of McDermott, Kearns and Tynan thrilled us with their exuberance and vocal virtuosity and frankly, I miss that. (Please note: since I originally wrote this review the threesome has changed to McDermott, Kearns and Wright with Tynan having left the group).

As one of their latest efforts, "Heritage" is an "okay" album, but it certainly lacks the freshness and fun of the Irish Tenors' earlier efforts. Of course, there are notable exceptions such as Kearns' roguish "Off to Philadelphia", the sprightly "Golden Jubilee" and the beautiful "The West's Awake" solo by Kearns. Wright's "Little Brigid Flynn" is downright fun but his "South of the Border" is oddly out of place. With too many recycled songs and a little too little Anthony Kearns, I personally found "Heritage" to be the weakest effort in the generally stellar Irish Tenors' discography.

Average customer rating:

a floydian wedding
Don't Expect Pink Floyd
A must have.
Just awful
Suck

String Quartet Tribute to Pink Floyd
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Vitamin Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Compilations | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

The String Quartet Tribute to Pink Floyd's the Dark Side of the Moon
String Quartet Tribute to Led Zeppelin
The String Quartet Tribute to Queen
The String Quartet Tribute to Jimi Hendrix
Us and Them: Symphonic Pink Floyd

ASIN: B000069KDX
Release Date: 2002-07-23

Tracks:

Echoes
Have A Cigar
Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk
Hey You
Comfortably Numb
Money
Breathe
Another Brick In The Wall
Wish You Were Here
A Floydian Slip

Product Description

1. Echoes
2. Have A Cigar
3. Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk
4. Hey You
5. Comfortably Numb
6. Money
7. Breathe
8. Another Brick In The Wall
9. Wish You Were Here
10. A Floydian Slip

Format: CD

Customer Reviews:

a floydian wedding.......2007-04-19

I was searching everywhere for a way to include Pink Floyd in my very traditional wedding. Instead of walking down the aisle to "Here Comes the Bride", I'm using this version of "Comfortably Numb". I love this CD, but should warn you not to expect the "mind trip" that was Pink Floyd. And yes I am a huge Pink Floyd fan. This is a CD you could put on at dinner at your grandmother's and have her think it is beautiful. Worth giving a chance.

Don't Expect Pink Floyd.......2006-02-08

I enjoy string quartets and looked forward to this. Whereas Mozart, Beethoven and other classical or romantic composers are the masters of quartets due to their counterpoint and fugue, Pink Floyd music does not translate into string quartets. There is no power here, no dynamics; all necessary to Pink Floyd music. I kept wanting some electrification! The piano is capable of power, but not allowed to sound off in this recording and only provides an accompaniment to the mellow strings. It was boring. Does not have the complexity of the masters to maintain interest. Go to the classics with all their structure to enjoy string quartets for listening pleasure. Or, this could be a nice change for background at a dinner or reception where it's not cool to blast the speakers with real Pink Floyd.

A must have........2005-10-23

Pink Floyd is my favorite band, but this is my favorite CD! The quality of the music is excellent. Even if you are not a Pink Floyd fan, this is still an excellent CD.

Just awful.......2005-06-15

I am an avid collector of all things Pink Floyd, including tribute albums. Of course none of them live up to the real thing, but this 'tribute' really does a terrible disservice to their music. For something of this ilk, go with either the Symphonic Pink Floyd "Us & Them" or the Royal Philharmonic Tribute. Only buy this one if you own EVERY other tribute CD ever made for Pink Floyd's music.

Suck.......2004-07-12

Well, poor forgery of Pink Floyd. Just slight resemblence of
past Pink Floyd.

Average customer rating:

Fine reissue of a classic set

Purcell: Theatre Music

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Odes | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Cantatas for Solo Countertenor
Purcell: The Fairy Queen
Purcell: Songs & Airs / Argenta, North, Boothby, Nicholson, Toll
Monteverdi - Madrigali guerrieri ed amorosi / Concerto Köln, Jacobs
Lawes: The Consort Setts for 5 & 7 viols and organ

ASIN: B0001Y4JHA
Release Date: 2004-10-12

Customer Reviews:

Fine reissue of a classic set.......2006-05-24

Think about the stupidest, most formulaic Hollywood movies you can think of: cheesy action pictures, fluffy, unfunny comedies, big but stiff epics. Now imagine that one of the greatest living composers was working in Hollywood, turning out astonishing, hauntingly beautiful and stirring musical scores for these throwaway movies. That's what you get with this set: music Henry Purcell composed for some two dozen often utterly forgettable plays (trust me--I've read a number of them!) Occasionally, when he teams up with a playwright worthy of his stature, such as John Dryden, Aphra Behn, or William Congreve, the results are even better, but for the most part you can enjoy the music here without knowing anything about the original plays.

This set originally appeared as separate LPs in the 70s and 80s, and has been long out of print. That's a pity, since Purcell spent a good deal of his short professional life in the theatre, either writing the incidental music contained on these CDs, or the music for his larger works, the semi-operas (King Arthur, The Fairy Queen, and the like). Almost all of these works are enjoyable gems; certainly, they represent a pinnacle of English 17th century music. Purcell had a genius for spinning musical gold out of the most leaden lyrics (check out his Odes and Welcome Songs on Hyperion if you don't believe me), and he does the same with the song texts in these plays.

Hogwood and the AAM offer clean, listenable performances, and the sound on these old analog discs has been cleaned up and brightened--although they were pretty good, even in the late 70s. As with most Hogwood, emotional extremes are kept to a minimum, so the "otherworldly" nature of late 17th century music, so often emphasised in more recent Baroque performances, doesn't come across here. It would be interesting to see what a group like The King's Consort would do with this music, but this set fills the major gap in the Purcell canon quite nicely.

My only beef with the reissue, as with many reissues, is that the liner notes are rather thin for a 6-cd set--the lyrics to the songs, for example, are especially missed. Still, it's a worthwhile set, and a must for fans of Purcell, English Baroque music, or anyone who just wants to experience a taste of the last days of the Restoration stage.

Average customer rating:

enjoyable

Guitar Classics

Manufacturer: Golden Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Solo Instrumental | New Age | Styles | Music

4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Brouwer: Guitar Music: Danza Caracteristica/Elogio De La Danza/El Decameron Negro/Tres Danzas Concertantes/Rito De Los Orishas

ASIN: B00013D5EO
Release Date: 2004-02-10

Tracks:

Bach Recital: Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006 "Gavotte on Rondeau" - AndrSegovia
Bach Recital: Partita No. 2 in D Major, BWV 1004 "Chaconne" - AndrSegovia
Bach Recital: Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012 "Gavottes I & II" - AndrSegovia
Bach Recital: Lute Suite in E Minor, BWV 996 "Sarabande" - AndrSegovia
Bach Recital: Lute Suite in E Minor, BWV 996 "Bourree" - AndrSegovia
Bach Recital: Prelude in C Minor, BWV 999 - AndrSegovia
Bach Recital: Suite No. 6 in C Major, BWV 1009 "Courante" - AndrSegovia
Bach Suite No. 1 in G Major: Prelude - John Williams
Bach Suite No. 1 in G Major: Allemande - John Williams
Bach Suite No. 1 in G Major: Courante - John Williams
Bach Suite No. 1 in G Major: Sarabande - John Williams
Bach Suite No. 1 in G Major: Minuetto I & II - John Williams
Bach Suite No. 1 in G Major: Gigue - John Williams
Bach Suite No. 3 in C Major: Prelude - John Williams
Bach Suite No. 3 in C Major: Allemande - John Williams
Bach Suite No. 3 in C Major: Courante - John Williams
Bach Suite No. 3 in C Major: Sarabande - John Williams
Bach Suite No. 3 in C Major: Bouree I & II - John Williams
Bach Suite No. 3 in C Major: Gigue - John Williams

Tracks:

Lovely Memories - Alvaro Pierri, Rias Orchestra
Slow Flow - Alvaro Pierri, Rias Orchestra
Romantic Affairs: Symphony No. 4, 2nd Movement - Alvaro Pierri, Rias Orchestra
Lachrimae Antiquae Pavan - Alvaro Pierri, Rias Orchestra
Two Guitars - Alvaro Pierri, Rias Orchestra
Teen's Ballad - Alvaro Pierri, Rias Orchestra
Venetian Boat Song, From "Songs Without Words" Op. 30/6 - Alvaro Pierri, Rias Orchestra
Kalinka - Alvaro Pierri, Rias Orchestra
Air for Guitar & Strings - Alvaro Pierri, Rias Orchestra
Valse Pour Madame - Alvaro Pierri, Rias Orchestra
Take My Word - Alvaro Pierri, Rias Orchestra
Fantasia E Minore - Alvaro Pierri, Rias Orchestra
Venezia E Napoli - Alvaro Pierri, Rias Orchestra
Nostalgic Air - Alvaro Pierri, Rias Orchestra
Berceuse - Alvaro Pierri, Rias Orchestra
Nocturne Op. 37/1 - Alvaro Pierri, Rias Orchestra
On the Road to Romance - Alvaro Pierri, Rias Orchestra
Melancholy Song - Alvaro Pierri, Rias Orchestra
Sweet Liberty - Alvaro Pierri, Rias Orchestra
Pavane - Alvaro Pierri, Rias Orchestra

Customer Reviews:

enjoyable.......2003-12-23

This CD is pretty good. It has some nice classical guitar music. I like disk #1 better than disk #2, but I guess that is just a personal preference.

Average customer rating:

The Essential Wedding Collection

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Cantatas | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Classical Wedding
Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings
25 Wedding Favorites
Call Me Irresponsible
Night at the Museum (Widescreen Edition)

ASIN: B0001U0GCG
Release Date: 2004-05-11

Tracks:

Sheep May Safely Graze - Stuttgarter Kammerorchester
Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring - Stuttgarter Kammerorchester
Aria (Air On The G String) - Stuttgarter Kammerorchester
Air - Academy Of St. Martin-In-The-Fields
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling - Richard Farnes
Canon in D major - Stuttgarter Kammerorchester
Bridal Chorus - Stephen Cleobury
The Prince Of Denmark's March - Michael Laird Brass
Trumpet Tune And Air - Peter Hurford
Panis Angelicus - Luciano Pavarotti
Ave Maria - Wandsworth School Boys' Choir, National Philharmonic Orchestra and Luciano Pavarotti
Exsultate, Jubilate, K. 165 - Leontyne Price
Water Music - Stephen Cleobury
Wedding March - Peter Hurford
The Lord's My Shepherd - Huddersfield Choral Society
Laudate Dominum - Wren Orchestra
Let The Bright Seraphim - Dame Joan Sutherland
Abide With Me - Anthony Way
Ombra Mai Fu - Anthony Way
On Wings Of Song - Utah Symphony Orchestra
Toccata - Stephen Cleobury
Praise, My Soul, The King Of Heaven - Richard Farnes

Tracks:

My Heart Will Go On - James Horner
I Will Always Love You - Dolly Parton
Love Theme - Nino Rota
Up Where We Belong - Will Jennings
As Time Goes By - Herman Hupfeld
Take My Breath Away - Giorgio Moroder
Can You Feel The Love Tonight? - Elton John
Evergreen - Barbra Streisand
Love Is All Around - Reg Presley
Maid Marian At The Waterfall (Everything I Do) I Do For You - Seattle Symphony Orchestra
Moon River - Henry Mancini
Where Do I Begin - Francis Lai
When A Man Loves A Woman - Andrew Wright
The Way We Were - Marvin Hamlisch
Unchained Melody - Hollywood Bowl Orchestra

Charles Ives: Piano Sonata No. 2 'Concord'; The Celestial Railroad

Average customer rating:

Excellent Performance of Great Music
Ives's "Hammerklavier"
A Transcendent 'Transcendental' Sonata

Charles Ives: Piano Sonata No. 2 'Concord'; The Celestial Railroad

Manufacturer: Naxos American
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Ives: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1-4
Charles Ives: Emerson Concerto; Symphony No. 1
Improvisations
Charles Ives: Three Quarter-Tone Pieces; Five Take-offs; Hallowe'en; Sunrise
Ives: Concord Sonata; Barber: Piano Sonata

ASIN: B0002KQO8U
Release Date: 2004-08-17

Tracks:

Readings From 'Circles' (R.W. Emerson) And Ives On 'Emerson'
'Emerson'
Reading From Ives On 'Hawthorne'
'Hawthorne'
Reading From Ives On 'The Alcotts'
'The Alcotts'
Readings From 'Walden' And Journal Excerpts By H.D. Thoreau
'Thoreau'
Varied Air And Variations
The Celestial Railroad
Transcriptions From 'Emerson', No. 1

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Performance of Great Music.......2006-08-23

The "Concord" Sonata is one of Ives' greatest works, and this is an excellent performance of it. To my ear, it lacks the very last touches of Ives' American humor and unsentimental transcendentalism, though it does manage to avoid egregious Romanticism and antiseptic "classicism." I may be romanticizing myself in imagining that the best performance of this great music was that of Ralph Kirkpatrick, Ives' student at Yale, which I heard years ago on CBS vinyl (still not available on CD, as far as I know). I have not heard the other recent recordings of this work, so my review cannot offer comparisons. This disc offers excerpts from Ives' excellent "Essay Before a Sonata," read by a professional actor between the movements. The readings betray several failures of understanding on the part of the actor but give at least a taste of Ives' ideas in prose.

Ives's "Hammerklavier".......2004-09-13

In its size, ambition, difficulty, breadth, and seriousness of purpose, Charles Ives's Piano Sonata No. 2, "Concord, Masachusetts 1840-1860" reminds me of Beethoven's great piano sonata op. 106, the "Hammerklavier". The work includes extensive quotation from Beethoven, not from the "Hammerklavier" but rather the motto of the Fifth Symphony, a work much in the spirit of the "Hammerklavier". With the Concord sonata, Ives wrote a truly monumental work; difficult but a mainstay of American music. One of the early reviewers of the Concord, Larence Gilman, wrote in 1939:

"This sonata is exceptionally great music-- it is, indeed, the greatest music composed by an American and the most deeply and essentially American in impulse and implication. It is wide-ranging and capacious. It has passion, tenderness, humour, simplicity, homeliness. It has imaginative and spiritual vastness. It has wisdom and beauty and profundity, and a sense of the encompassing terror and splendor of human life and human destiny -- a sense of those mysteries that are both human and divine" (Quoted in Jan Swafford's "Charles Ives: A Life with Music, p. 411)

Not all critics, then or now, share Gilman's enthusiasm for the Concord. But I listened several times to this CD, performed by pianist Steven Mayer, and was transported. The United States has indeed produced great art music.

The Concord has the traditional four movements of the classical or romantic sonata. Each movement celebrates a great figure who lived in Concord during the early American Renaissance. The music looks backward to the achievements of these figures and forward to what America collectively and the individual listener might become. On this CD, each movement is prefaced by short quotations from the subject of each of movement, or by Ives himself. I found this helpful in approaching the work. It also encourages the listener to approach each movement separately, which is a reasonable way of becoming acquainted with the Concord.

The first movement is the most difficult in the work and is titled "Emerson". The movement opens with dominant chords in the bass accompanied by high,rising passages in the upper register of the piano. These passages become the basis of the entire work. As befitting Emerson, (and Ives) the work is visionary, questing, searching, and quirky all at once. Large agressive heavy chords and dissonances alternate throughout with slow and meditative moments.

The second movement, "Hawthorne" is a scherzo. It emphasizes Hawthorne's romantic, fanciful side while down-playing Hawthorne's puritan sense of sin. The music shimmers and swirls and, as it progresses, contrasts brief sections of lyricism with burly dissonant writing. A march lights up the concluding sections of this work. Ives' short piece "The Celestial Railroad", also included on this CD, is a variant of the Concord's "Hawthorne" movement.

The third movement "the Alcotts" stresses the domestic tranquillity of the family rather than Bronson Alcott's transcendent philosophical speculations. The movement opens slowly with a chorale, simple theme and gradually builds to an intense climax. This movement makes great use of the motto from Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.

The final movement, "Thoreau", is the slowest of the work. It opens with soft-upward arpeggios, grows in intensity, and ultimately works to a quiet close. This movement is based upon a hymn-like theme that, in fact, appears throughout the entirety of the Concord.

In addition to the Sonata itself, the CD includes three works that are associated with the Concord and that are built from its music: "The Celestial Railroad" which I mentioned earlier, the first of a set of transcriptions that Ives prepared from the "Emerson" movement, and a sardonic work titled "Varied Air and Variations."

The Concord is music uniquely modern, spiritual, and American. The sense of the work shines through its bristling idiom. Jan Swafford has written that:

"Rarely in music have the unseen and unspoken mysteries of life seemed so imminent-from Emerson's heroic journey, to Hawthorne's "ghost of a man who never lived, " to the Alcott's "conviction in the power of the common soul, " to Thoreau's melody that "runs into such depth and wildness as to be no longer heard." ... The Concord Sonata is another Ivesian signpost pointed toward the ultimate millenium." (Jan Swafford, Charles Ives: A Life with Music", p.266)

This CD is part of the Naxos "American Classics" series and, more specifically, is the fifth CD in this series devoted to the music of Charles Ives. The CD sells at a budget price. Ives appears to me the essential American composer. Ives captured his sense of our country and combined it with a personal spiritual vision in music in the way that Walt Whitman endeavored to capture the United States, the sense of the personal, and a spiritual vision in his poetry.

A Transcendent 'Transcendental' Sonata.......2004-09-06

I've never heard a bad performance of Ives's 'Concord' Sonata, except perhaps for my own fumbling attempt at the 'Alcott' movement at a musical soirée many years ago. (Ruth Laredo, when she heard I was working on the sonata, said that she would have assumed it was beyond me, and she was right, alas.) Further, I've never encountered a bad recording of it, and I've heard them all except for the one by Alexei Lubimov. All have their strong points and one simply won't go wrong with any of them--John Kirkpatrick, Gilbert Kalish, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, the one by Marc-André Hamelin from the early 1990s. Not long after this review appears here at Amazon, Hamelin will have released a new recording of it (coupled with the Barber Sonata) and I would be willing to make book that it is a corker. So, what could Steven Mayer bring to this piece that others haven't? Well, first of all, he has the chops to pull it off--his playing of Art Tatum's music would have led one to expect that--but, more, he has the musicianship to breathe life and import into these notably dense movements. The knotty 'Emerson' movement is written largely without bar lines and on three staves; it is scary for a pianist to contemplate, much less understand and then make music of. Mayer does this at least partly by maintaining a steady pulse from which he can vary as needed and then return to; some pianists don't manage this, but Mayer's approach to tempi gives the movement a cohesion that is difficult to convey. He takes Ives's direction to play 'Hawthorne' as fast as possible with a grain of salt, and that is a plus; it allows the music to make an appropriate blur without being a scrambled mess. 'Alcott' is played with love and nostalgia but without saccharine sentimentality. The hymn tune 'Jesus Lover of My Soul' ('Martyn') makes an appearance and is somehow connected harmonically with the quotation from Beethoven's Fifth that pops up all through the Sonata. 'Thoreau' is played with quiet intensity and in the long final section Ives does what he does so often: he presents a fairly straightforward rendition of a tune that has been hinted at all through the sonata, but never quite stated as such until the conclusion, a sort of variations-leading-to-a-theme, a kind of 'coming home.' In this case the theme is original with Ives and he himself referred to it as the 'human faith melody.'

The Sonata is followed by pieces that are mostly related to it. 'Varied Air and Variations'--the suggestion has been made that this odd title is Ives's pun on its pronunciation: 'Very Darin' Variations'--does not appear to have motivic relation to the sonata, but it is speculated that this angry-sounding piece, written not long after the Sonata, is his response to the Sonata's failure to secure performances. 'The Celestial Railroad' is a major recasting of the 'Hawthorne' movement inspired by Hawthorne's short story of that name. And the 'Emerson Transcription, No. 1' (one of four such tinkerings with the Sonata's first movement) is based on the movement's first page or so and includes material from his orchestral 'Emerson Overture.' Mayer plays them all marvelously. I particularly enjoyed his hearty abandon in 'The Celestial Railroad'; simply superb pianism!

Well, what should one do with so many good recordings of the 'Concord'? The simple answer is to buy them all. But I recognize most music-lovers won't go that far. Is there anything that sets this release apart, aside from the remarkable playing by Mayer? First, there is the attractive Naxos budget price. And, second, there is the reading by actor Kerry Shale, before each of the Sonata's four movements, of appropriate excerpts from Ives's own writings about the people who inspired the work. Attractive in themselves, these selections are probably not something one would want to listen to each time one hears the Sonata, but fortunately they are tracked separately and thus can be programmed out of a straight listen-through of the Sonata itself.

Strongly recommended.

TT=79:09

Scott Morrison

Average customer rating:

Take This!
Mick Ralphs
Manufacturer: Angel Air
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

It's All Good
That's Life

ASIN: B00000I39X
Release Date: 1998-11-27

Tracks:

All It Takes
Hey Baby
Take This
Give You My Love
Fast Traveling Man
On The Run
Last Chance Saloon
Rock Fever
When The Revolution Comes
Another Lonely Day
Rock N Roller (Previously Unreleased)
All Across The Nile (Previously Unreleased)
All It Takes (Working Mix)
Give You My Love (Working Mix)
On The Run (Working Mix)
Last Chance Saloon (Working Mix)
When The Revolution Comes (Working Mix)
Another Lonely Day (Demo)
Rock N Roller (Working Mix)
All Across The NIle (Working Mix)

Album Description

Reissue of the Bad Company/ Mott The Hoople guitarist's 1984solo album with 10 bonus tracks added, the previously unreleased cuts 'Rock N Roller' & 'All Across The Nile', a demo version of 'Another Lovely Day', and working mixes of 'All It Takes', 'Give You My Love', 'On The Run', 'When The Revolution Comes', 'Rock N Roller', 'All Across The Nile' & 'Last Chance Saloon'. 20 tracks total. 1998 Angel Air release.

Album Details

1984 Release from from the Ex Bad Company / Mott the Hoople Guitarist. contains Rarities and Unreleased Recordings.

This Is the Army / Call Me Mister / Winged Victory

Average customer rating:

Fine music, tone-deaf pricing from Vivendi
At long last and timely to boot

This Is the Army / Call Me Mister / Winged Victory
Irving Berlin , Harold Rome , and Moss Hart
Manufacturer: Decca Broadway
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Mexican Hayride (1944 Original Broadway Cast)
Inside U.S.A./The Band Wagon
Those Were Our Songs: Music of World War II

ASIN: B0000A9D1N
Release Date: 2003-07-29

Tracks:

Overture - Irving Berlin
I'm Getting Tired So I Can Sleep - Irving Berlin
I Left My Heart At The Stage Door Canteen - Irving Berlin
Ihe Army's Made A Man Out Of Me - Irving Berlin
The Army's Made A Man Out Of Me - Irving Berlin
What The Well Dressed Man In Harlem Will Wear - Irving Berlin
How Bout A Cheer For The Navy - Irving Berlin
American Eagles - Irving Berlin
Oh, How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning - Irving Berlin
Going Home Train - Harold Rome
Along With Me - Harold Rome
Little Surplus Me - Harold Rome
The Red Ball Express - Harold Rome
Military Life - Harold Rome
Yuletied, Park Avenue - Harold Rome
When We Meet Again - Harold Rome
The Face On The Dime - Harold Rome
South America, Take It Away - Harold Rome
Call Me Mister - Harold Rome
Winged Victory - Sgt. David Rose/ Winged Victory Chorus And Orchestra
My Dream Book Of Memories - Sgt. David Rose/ Winged Victory Chorus And Orchestra
The Whiffenpoof Song - Sgt. David Rose/ Winged Victory Chorus And Orchestra
The Army Air Corps - Sgt. David Rose/ Winged Victory Chorus And Orchestra

Customer Reviews:

Fine music, tone-deaf pricing from Vivendi.......2007-05-09

"This is the Army" is the first, and by far the greatest. When the word historic has lost all meaning this revue truly was -- perhaps the biggest show-biz charity fundraiser ever (for the Army Emergency Relief, which exists to this day), an incalculable morale booster on two fronts, a show whose too-small number of black players nonetheless helped break down the military's color barrier. It also sired the first major-label musical cast album; Decca rushed it into production at the end of July, 1942 to beat the AFM's notorious recording ban. That (and perhaps some reticence with an untested genre) may explain why the public only got four 10" 78s, shorter than they should have been. (Victor rushed its own studio recording into print as well, with mediocre arrangements and Fats Waller.) The following year Decca atoned for its mistake when it declared peace with the musician's union to record "Oklahoma!", making the cast album a permanent part of our musical lives. If we got only a fraction of what must have been it must have been tremendous. On the evidence this was Irving Berlin's finest score to date, and after the slog through multiple continents with a war hardened company he dug deep and wrote "Annie Get Your Gun." The tragedy is that no one tried to revive this show when enough of the boys were still alive, say in the eighties; perhaps Berlin, by then a hopeless recluse, turned it down. As touching and as stirring as these songs are it is preposterous that this score has remained all but buried since the last production in 1945. That this show is inextricably tied to a war is no excuse; the memory of a brave generation deserves better.

We go inevitably downhill from there, starting with the first track of "Call Me Mister", a postwar show with a lighter touch, and a lighter songwriter in several ways. Harold Rome could write a mean lyric, and he was good at the sort of situational humor that worked with topical shows, but despite his ambitions -- at the end of his career he foolishly adapted "Gone with the Wind" -- he just could not write the fine ballad that would have put him in the first rank. So where "This is the Army" can move the soul "Mister" just sits there, despite a haunting tribute to the "Face on the Dime." Its comic relief saves the day and it's pretty good as a recording too, as it's from 1946, and gives us a flavor of the old-time Broadway sound that makes these early albums so appealing. The four concluding sides of incidental music from Moss Hart's play "Winged Victory" are negligible. These are from David Rose, author of "Holiday for Strings" and patron saint of easy listening (until he wrote "The Stripper" and no doubt caused Red Skelton to swallow his kaddidlehopper). As might be expected from a man Spike Jones parodied he writes the most self-important music with the most showoffy grandiose charts, undercutting whatever patriotic feeling it had. His orchestral yelling even makes "The Army Air Corps" ("Off we go into the wild blue yonder") tiresome, a true negative achievement. It's easy to see why this has never been revived -- and never could be.

Despite its shortcomings of production (and in the last two works of inspiration), this is a fine and valuable recording. Which brings us to Vivendi. When the company revamped its cast-album catalog it decided to price these completely amortized albums at full-line-plus. It's especially galling here as all the selections from "This is the Army" and "Winged Victory" and at least one from "Call Me Mister" have enough surface noise and distortion to indicate they're likely from commercial pressings. Maybe Mr. Bronfman Junior needed the money for his ultimately failed investment; but such gouging underscores the contempt the record business has for its customers, whom it sees as saps whose pockets will empty endlessly when it grabs them face down by the ankles. The public is now richly returning the favor by tuning itself out to the majors and its endless parade of tunelessness. For all the gold-chained clan's howls of denial it isn't good for the record trade -- and in the end, by eviscerating the one stable source for new music, it isn't good for us.

At long last and timely to boot.......2003-09-01

Having scored a triumph during World War I with his "Yip Yip Yaphank," Irving Berlin was a natural to be asked to create a similar revue for World War II, and the all-male "This Is the Army" did very well. An original cast recording came out in 1942. The very next year, the Air Force got its chance with Moss Hart's "Winged Victory." Four of the songs appeared in boxed set of 78 rpm discs. When it was all over, the returning GI was saluted in yet another revue called "Call Me Mister." That original cast album appeared in 1946. Now you can hear them ALL on a single Decca CD (BOOOO831-02).

There is a soundtrack recording from the film "This Is the Army" that is extremely fuzzy, making this Decca release far preferable, all the more so because it does give us the original all-soldier cast that included Irving Berlin himself singing (more or less) his immortal "Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning." Other songs include "I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen," "How About a Cheer For the Navy," and "American Eagles."

The focus here is how men made the transition from civilian to military life, and most of the problems they faced are mentioned in the opening number, "This Is the Army, Mr. Jones." We must also note with some sadness that the real problems of joining an army are never explicit, but the purpose of the show was to reassure and not to look at the "dark side of the force."

"Winged Victory" originally contained only two discs holding four songs: "Winged Victory," "My Dream Book of Memories," "The Whiffenpoof Song," and "The Army Air Corps." That last one thrilled my generation whenever it was played over the radio and especially during the wartime films; and it has lost none of its potency over the years. (The line about going "down in flame" still chills.) This was also the first military revue that included women, a fact which makes it even more of an historical document.

In 1946, Harold Rome lent his talents to putting together a revue for those returning to civilian life. Early in the war, Dinah Shore was able to praise "A Boy in Khaki," but Vaughn Monroe later in the war sang about looking forward to wearing "Just a Blue Serge Suit." I have a particular fondness for this set, because I owned a copy as a boy, played it to death, and eventually lost track of it. I never knew there was a 1950 LP version which included "This Is the Army," and I spent years trying to find the company that held the copyright that would get it onto a tape or (later on) a CD. So 57 years after the album first was released, my prayer has been answered!

The first number, sung by Lawrence Winters (a great portrayer of Porgy, by the way), takes place aboard a "Going Home Train" and is replete with optimism. A sketch in which a group of men are waiting to be assigned work for the day included Winter's rendition of "The Red Ball Express" on which the Black GIs carried supplies to the troops. He is the only one denied work at the end of the scene. We had an even older enemy than the Nazis to face.

A young newcomer named Betty Garrett delighted audiences with "Little Surplus Me" and "Yuletide, Park Avenue" in which many of the New York shops are mentioned in Christmas carol style. But it was her rendition of "South America, Take It Away" that brought down the house and raised her to stardom.

You get the expected comic number, "Military Life," sung by Jules Munshin (remember him from the film "On the Town"?) and two other men, while Winters sings "A Face on a Dime," a song that needs some explaining to those who were born after the minting of the "Roosevelt Dime." "Along With Me" and the full version of "When We Meet Again" are the ballads, while the title song acts as a finale number.

Tracks:

Rondoletto - Margaret Lion
I Dreamt That I Dwelt in Marble Halls (The Bohemian Girl) - Patricia Sabin
Come into the Garden, Maud - Graham Titus
Prithee, Pretty Maiden (Patience) - Michael Goldthorpe, Patricia Sabin
Londonderry Air - Mary Kennard
Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes (The Gondoliers) - Michael Goldthorpe
Slumber Song: The Widow to Her Child - Mary Kennard, Patricia Sabin
Arab's Farewell to His Favourite Steed - Graham Titus
Let Me Dream Again - Patricia Sabin
Silver Threads Among the Gold - Patricia Sabin, Graham Titus
Simple Aveu (Romance Sans Paroles) - Mary Kennard
Man That Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo - Michael Goldthorpe
Warblings at Eve - Margaret Lion
Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charmes - Michael Goldthorpe, Patricia Sabin
Young Girl's Prayer - Margaret Lion
Comin' Through the Rye - Patricia Sabin
Mia Canzone - Michael Goldthorpe
Meditation - Mary Kennard
Love's Old Sweet Song - Mary Kennard, Patricia Sabin, Graham Titus

Customer Reviews:

Excellent program selection, but overblown performances.......2006-03-27

This was a disapointment. After reading the list of songs included, I looked forward to hearing this CD. The instrumentalists are wonderful in interpretation and presentation, but the vocalists, though technically very good, seem overblown for these songs. Their performances border on the operatic, with just not the right amount of nuance for the repertoire. The soprano fares better than the male voices, but when there is a duet, they never seem to truly blend, but just compete with one another. I remember the great period recordings of Joan Morris and William Bolcolm, some of which are still available on CD(including a relatively new one- see Amazon for title and details), and this CD, though well-intentioned, never approaches that level of sophistication and purity of performance.

Music Review:

Music Review

music review

Recommended Music:

Tracid Traxx 2: Three Years of... [Import]

El Madrid de Chueca, Zarzuela Orchestral Arrangements

CORBETTA: La Guitarre Royalle - William Carter

Music: 1965

DJ's Choice: Proud to Be American

Dedicated to You: Golden Carnival Classics, Pt. 1

Gotham Gospel, Vol. 2

Definition of Ill [Explicit Lyrics]

Discanto [Import]

Cinema Classics 2004

Catalogue: Live in East Germany [Live]

Coração, Voa! [Import]

Deliver the Weird! EP [EP]

J. S. Bach: Das Orgelbüchlein, Vol. 2

Live at the Jazz Corner