Thread [Limited Edition] [Import]

Thread [Limited Edition] [Import]

Track Listings

1. Cream

2. Istanbul

3. Dreamer

4. Ecoutez-Moi

5. Company B-Boy

6. Champagne Flute

7. Go Go Killer

8. Where R U

9. Who's Mad @ Who

10. Snow

11. Strung Out

12. Sax & Violence

13. Zowie

14. Easy

15. 25

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Japanese pressing features 3 bonus tracks TBA. Swamp. 2005.

Thread,Backini,3d,Heavy Metal,Soul/R & B

Average customer rating:

Beautiful!

Winged Migration CD

Beautiful Soundtrack

WINGED MIGRATION

THE RIGHT MUSIC FOR THE RIGHT MOVIE

Winged Migration
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Higher Octave
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music
Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Winged Migration

Himalaya

March of the Penguins

Microcosmos

The Chorus (Les Choristes)

ASIN: B00008V5TE
Release Date: 2003-04-22

Tracks:

To Be By Your Side - Nick Cave
Masters Of The Field - Robert Wyatt
Northern Bound
The Crossing
The Highest Gander - Robert Wyatt
Beating Drums
The Return Of The Cranes
The Blue Thread
The Red Forest - Robert Wyatt
Like A Breath Of Air - A Filetta
The Takeoff
Amidst The Factory Smoke
The Glider
After The Hunt
The Paper Parrot
The Swans Flight
Feathers
The Wounded Dove - Gabriel Yacoub
Off Camera

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful!.......2007-04-24

I've owned this CD for several years now, and it definitely remains on my short, short list of favorites! The music is beautiful and contemplative, drawing the listener into the journey of migration undertaken by the birds who inspired it. Everything is amazing on it: the writing, the instrumentation, the vocals. This albumn is definitely not just for fans of the movie, but for anyone who loves slow, calming, thoughtful music.

Winged Migration CD.......2007-02-08

Awesome, for the most part- best after watching the documentary. A couple of songs had to skip through, but the rest is a good post movie mental review- watch the movie first...

Beautiful Soundtrack.......2007-01-06

I loved this movie and the soundtrack makes it ever better. I havent bought a CD in a while and this one is reasonably priced and rare.

WINGED MIGRATION.......2006-08-29

The movie is excellent. The scenery is breathtaking, but you actually feel like you are flying with the geese. Geese are amazing birds. A must see.

THE RIGHT MUSIC FOR THE RIGHT MOVIE.......2006-06-22

Even if you haven't seen the beautiful french documentary, you'll love this soundtrack. The score captivates listeners from the very beginning and the song "To Be By Your Side" by Nick Cave gives the very special mood that the movie requires. Bruno Coulais is the same composer from HIMALAYA, thus you may understand better the sort of music you're listening: half ethnic, half new age and totally haunting. Don't miss it.

Average customer rating:

Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles
Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles
Passable copies - little to impress overall in interpretations
The Trouble With Tributes
Nearly Flawless Covers

Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Giant Records / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Contemporary Country | Country | Styles | Music

New Traditionalist | Contemporary Country | Country | Styles | Music

General | Country | Styles | Music

Honky-Tonk | Country | Styles | Music

Outlaw & Progressive Country | Country | Styles | Music

General | Compilations | Country | Styles | Music

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Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

1990s | By Decade | Pop | Styles | Music

Rhythm Country and Blues
Come Together: America Salutes the Beatles
A Tribute to the Eagles
Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin
Honeymoon In Vegas: Music From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

ASIN: B000002L1S
Release Date: 1993-10-12

Tracks:

Take It Easy - Travis Tritt
Peaceful Easy Feeling - Little Texas
Desperado - Clint Black
Heartache Tonight - John Anderson
Tequila Sunrise - Alan Jackson
Take It To The Limit - Suzy Bogguss
I Can't Tell You Why - Vince Gill
Lyin' Eyes - Diamond Rio
New Kid In Town - Trisha Yearwood
Saturday Night - Billy Dean
Already Gone - Tanya Tucker
Best Of My Love - Brooks & Dunn
The Sad Cafe - Lorrie Morgan

Amazon.com

In 1993, Nashville's biggest young stars--Alan Jackson, Trisha Yearwood, Vince Gill, and others--recorded an album of Eagles songs called Common Thread. When the disc went platinum, everyone hailed it as the rebirth of country-rock. If you listened closely, though, you heard neither the down-to-earth twang of country nor the metallic aggression of rock & roll. What you heard instead was the romantic sweetness of pop. More specifically, the Eagles represented the southern California pop tradition of harmony-drenched groups like the Beach Boys, the Mamas & the Papas, and Crosby, Stills and Nash. It's a wonderful tradition, but it's misleading to call it something else. Out there in the hinterlands you can still hear authentic country-rock, an exhilarating combination of blunt adult storytelling and blazing guitars as practiced by the likes of Joe Ely, Shaver, the Bottle Rockets, Mike Henderson, and Jason and the Scorchers. Real country-rock remains a marginal commercial force, however, and the real money is in the new Nashville version of southern California harmonies. Call it "suburban pop." --Geoffrey Himes

Customer Reviews:

Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles.......2007-01-10

This is the best. We had this on a cassette and replaced it with a CD so that we could continue enjoying the music.

Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles.......2007-01-04

A remarkable and most enjoyable CD for one's collection

Passable copies - little to impress overall in interpretations.......2006-05-01

The Eagles while they may have been country in origin were ultimately class purveyors of pop music that like Fleetwood Mac of the 1970s was an easy fit onto AM radio channels or programming. This CD in providing a number of country artistes (not all well known) the opportunity of doing covers of Eagles songs thus could have been an interesting "back to the roots" concept.

Sadly this is not reflected in the final output - what we have is a series of current popular country artises doing almost faithful note for note copies of the originals and adding very little new or different in the process on personal interpretations apart from vocal style. The only one who differs for the better is Alan Jackson on "Tequila Sunrise" where his jaded delivery catches better than the original the vacuous life style it depicts.

Overall a disappointment, though as easy background or alternative music (unless you cannot do without the originals to listen to) it is well recorded and passable. If country interpretations of pop songs as a genre is of interest then try "Come together - America salutes the Beatles" which shows how the idea can be made to work.

The Trouble With Tributes.......2006-02-26

The trouble with all-star tribute albums to past superstar artists and bands is that oftentimes they are done purely for money, attention, and a sense that certain of those artists can one-up the artists being paid the "tribute" to; and often, the results don't come close to measuring up to the originals. Such, I'm afraid, is the case with the 1993 COMMON THREADS album, where Nashville artists give their props to that renegade bunch of desperados who occupied the Hotel California for most of the 1970s, the Eagles.

The brainchild of Eagles manager Irving Azoff, who saw how revered the band had become amongst the Nashville hierarchy of the Nineties, COMMON THREADS also functioned as a charity album, whose profits went to the Walden Woods Project, of which Eagles drummer Don Henley was a particularly prominent supporter. Were it not for that one particular aspect, COMMON THREADS would be as much an aberration as a lot of other tribute albums of its type. Even as this album already stands, however, and even though it caused hell to freeze over and the Eagles to reunite, the artists here still fall well short of what the band originally did.

What seems to have happened here is that each of the artists got so caught up in the idea of doing songs from the Eagles' massively successful catalog that they thought they could get off by copying almost note-for-note and by arrangement what the band had done; one listen to Travis Tritt's version of "Take It Easy", and Vince Gill's take on "I Can't Tell You Why" seems to indicate this. In other cases, they sound terribly anemic, as in Clint Black's version of "Desperado", where he sounds like second-rate John Denver (and I think John Denver could have done this far better than Clint Black). And hearing faux-Eagles wanna-bes like Little Texas doing "Peaceful Easy Feeling" and Diamond Rio doing "Lyin' Eyes" is no substitute whatsoever for the real thing.

The womenfolk don't have it much easier either. Lorrie Morgan simply sounds out of place on "The Sad Cafe", seemingly not having any idea about the song's mournful inspiration; and Tanya Tucker's toughness on "Already Gone" is quite dull. Suzy Bogguss' take on "Take It To The Limit" is a bit better, but it won't make anyone forget the Randy Meisner-led original. And Trisha Yearwood's version of "New Kid In Town" is okay, but she sounds like she's trying to do it the way she thinks her idol Linda Ronstadt would, and it's not totally successful either.

In the end, the inability of contemporary Nashville artists to really understand the Eagles lies in the fact that there is a very wide gap between the Eagles' sound of the 1970s and the way contemporary Music Row does things. Though classified as "country-rock", the Eagles also mixed in elements of bluegrass, surf-rock, R&B, disco, and even Tex-Mex a time or two, styles that are largely alien to contemporary Nashville. As Linda herself, around whom the Eagles originally formed in 1971, has said, it is a part of the diverse spectrum of California music: "California music is a real hybrid, very specialized, and it doesn't have anything to do with Nashville." This is something that I'm not sure these artists really understand, and why I can't give this album a better rating.

Nearly Flawless Covers.......2005-12-21

I picked up "Common Thread: The Songs Of The Eagles" when it originally came out. Back then, I was a sucker for Nashville's commercial country engine and this album seemed to fit the bill. Laden with 90's Country stars, I figured this album would be great. Of course, back then I thought it was. However, my tastes have changed over the years and my love of commercial Nashville has turned into hatred. Posers like Mr. and Mrs. Faith Hill, Big and Rich, and Shania Twain have stolen the spotlight from real Country artists by cranking out easy-to-digest pop songs and passing them off as Country. Even with my transformation though, I've grown to love this particular album more over time. In fact, most of the artists on this project have either been drawn deeper into traditional Country or their careers have faded into dust. I guess Nashville got lucky on this album by picking artists that weren't molded for stardom but found it in their own right.

For instance, take Little Texas. They were probably one of the most popular commercial outfits to be plugged by Nashville. Pretty boys with long flowing hair and an "aw shucks, ma'am" mentality when interviewed, Little Texas was groomed for the spotlight. With that said, their take on "Peaceful, Easy Feeling" is one of the most honest and, in my opinion, one of the best songs on this entire album. They've been busted up for quite sometime now, but this cover will always be a gem in my book. Though they were very commercial, they were very good at what they did.

A group who also basked in the light of commercial Country even though they were solidly grounded in the old hillbilly, mandolin-drenched twang was Diamond Rio. They were and still are one of my favorite bands. They have a "high lonesome" quality in all of their songs that shows the listener that they still remember what makes Country music great. Their cover of "Lyin' Eyes" is the best song on this album. Their talent has kept them near the top of Country music to this day.

Alan Jackson, Clint Black, and Brooks and Dunn also take some solid stabs at a few of the Eagles' tunes. Jackson puts a good country spin on "Tequila Sunrise" and Black shoots straight on "Desperado." Kix Brooks handles the vocals in "Best Of My Love," and I'm glad he did. His voice fits that tune nicely.

There are plenty of other artists on this album that do a grand job. Travis Tritt's "Take It Easy" and Billy Dean's "Saturday Night" deserve special recognition as one takes a huge Eagles hit and makes it his own while the other takes a relatively unknown to the mainstream Eagles tune and gives it a wonderful rendition.

Fans of California's light country and rock should enjoy this album. This may be a little bit too soft for Southern rockers. Of course, just tell the modern Country fan that this is great stuff and just like sheep they'll probably gobble it up. Oh, and if you're into labels, this is California country, not country-rock or "pop" as the Amazon reviewer argues. Check out the Flying Burrito Brothers or the Desert Rose Band if you don't believe me.

Average customer rating:

Remarkable album
Great & It's a love song & a reach out to the world**
Beautiful songs
Let me join the chorus
Modern Folk That Gets Under Your Skin

The Red Thread
Lucy Kaplansky
Manufacturer: Red House
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Ten Year Night
Cry Cry Cry
The Tide
Every Single Day
Over the Hills

ASIN: B0001906XG
Release Date: 2004-02-10

Tracks:

I Had Something
Line In The Sand
Love Song/New York
This Is Home
Off And Running
Land Of The Living
Cowboy Singer
Hole In My Head
The Red Thread
Brooklyn Train

Amazon.com

It shouldn't be surprising that Lucy Kaplansky's music is infused with complex emotional detail when you consider that she worked as a clinical psychologist before deciding to pursue music full time. On the six songs she and Richard Litvin, her co-writer and husband, composed for The Red Thread, she never shies away from the conflicting feelings that accompany the profound moments in life. On the title track, for example, she sings movingly about the joy, wariness, and worry she felt when she and Litvin adopted a daughter from China. On "Land of the Living," which was inspired by the tragedy of 9/11, Kaplansky's sharp eye for detail creates a harrowing, but ultimately hopeful vision of that horrible day. Like many good songwriters, Kaplansky has an excellent ear for the right song to cover, and here she has chosen fine ones from Buddy Miller, Bill Morrissey, James McMurtry, and Dave Carter. The sonic territory on The Red Thread is subtle and subdued, with spare, mostly acoustic arrangements that perfectly frame the powerful emotions contained in Kaplansky's songs. --Michael John Simmons

Album Description

A powerful new CD constructed around the theme of an ancient Chinese legend that invisible red threads connect us to all of the important people in our lives. "The Red Thread" represents a turning point for this remarkable urban singer and songwriter in its depth and range of material.

"The Red Thread" contains some of the most beautiful and powerful tracks this remarkable artist has ever released. From the rootsy simplicity/minimalism of "Cowboy Singer" and :Brooklyn Train," to the sonic complexity of pop-rockers "Love Song New York" and "Line in the Sand," critics agree that "The Red Thread"is her most compelling and appealing album to date.

Produced by BEN WITTMAN (Laurie Anderson, The Story, Don Byron, Rosanne Cash), who also served as drummer, the world class musicians include singers JOHN GORKA, JONATHA BROOKE, RICHARD SHINDELL and ELIZA GILKYSON, guitarists DUKE LEVINE (Mary Chapin Carpenter, Peter Wolf) and JON HERRINGTON (Steely Dan, Bette Midler), bass player ZEV KATZ (Roxy Music, Rosanne Cash, Bette Midler) and others. The result is a riveting blend of rock, folk, country and pop that perfectly compliments Kaplansky's gorgeous, evocative vocals.

Talent and hard work continue to pay off for Lucy - "The Red Thread"is a stunning achievement!

Customer Reviews:

Remarkable album.......2006-01-08

For an understated as the album is at first listen, the emotional whallop and clarity is remarkable. Even after owning the album for a year, it is difficult for me to listen to without breaking out in tears when "Red Thread" comes on. Making this sort of emotional connection is a gift. I suggest you share in it.

Great & It's a love song & a reach out to the world**.......2005-10-05

I love Lucy K. Always have since my sister (who actually played in the same showcase once as Lucy) introduced me to her like 5 or 6 years ago. I saw her in concert with Dar & Richard for the Cry Cry Cry tour. She's great in concert, but this CD is wonderful.

It's a love song, for everyone, and for her & her husband on their journey to gather their new daughter...and bring her home. Hence, the Red Thread...ties everyone together. There's references to the horrifying events of 2001 in NY as Lucy K. lives there, but all the songs are just wonderful. You can sing along, and cry to some, and laugh. That's important...a CD has to touch you & this one does. Lucy sounds just perfect...

Beautiful songs.......2005-08-16

I bought this because Amazon reccomended it to me. The songs are great. She is a real talent.

Let me join the chorus.......2005-07-08

I agree - a wonderful album. Mature, beautiful, and accessible lyrics with nice acoustics. A nice complement, in my opinion, to similar high quality music from the likes of Dar Williams, Patty Griffin, Eliza Gilkyson, John Gorka, Kasey Chambers, etc.

Modern Folk That Gets Under Your Skin.......2005-04-06

When I first listened to this album, I thought it was OK. The lyrics were strong and intelligent and the singing and musicianship just a bit above average.

Now I've had the album, for a while, I started wondering why it's become one of the most played in our home. Basically, the emotion and intelligence gets under your skin. Lucy Kaplansky's voice is pleasant and warm, the instrumentation supportive and very professional and the lyrics are pure poetry.

I recommend the CD highly.

Average customer rating:

Less attractive than their other recordings
great music

Hangin' on by a Thread
Texas Tornados
Manufacturer: Reprise / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music

General | Contemporary Country | Country | Styles | Music

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Roots Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

4-for-3 Country | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 International | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 Pop | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 Rock | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

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

4 Aces
Zone of Our Own
Texas Tornados
Live From The Limo, Vol. 1
The Best of Texas Tornados

ASIN: B000002MG6
Release Date: 1992-11-10

Tracks:

Hangin' On By A Thread
Tus Mentiras
Guacamole
To Ramona
A Mover El Bote
One And Only
Adios Mi Corazon
La Grande Vida
Trying
Ando Muy Borracho

Customer Reviews:

Less attractive than their other recordings.......2007-02-02

The Texas Torenados are a super group, no doubt, and the essence of
conjunto tex-mex music. Most of their CD's deserve and have been given'
5 stars by me but this one is less attractive excluding the two solo
songs by Freddy Fender "Tus Mentiras" and "Trying" which are great great
great recordings and are worth the purchase of this CD. This guy was such
a wonderful artist both in English and Spanish that still today I keep
on purchasing all that's still coming out on the market both on CD and
DVD.

great music.......2001-06-29

its good music to listen too and dance, which I hav'nt done in awhile. I have listened to Feddy Fender along time ago and with this group I think there great. I have listen to other latin music, but I guess I'm the old fashion type, I grew up listening to my parents music, like the old country western as well. I like that better than the new groups. Besides I like all types of music.

Holst: The Cloud Messenger; A Choral Fantasia; Part-Songs

Average customer rating:

More than just choral works
Get This For the Hymn of Jesus
An important record of lesser known choral works . . .

Holst: The Cloud Messenger; A Choral Fantasia; Part-Songs

Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

A Cappella | Folk | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Holst: Orchestral Works
Holst: St. Paul's Suite
Holst: St. Paul's and Brook Green Suites; A Fugal Concerto; A Somerset Rhapsody
Vaughan Williams: Over hill, over dale
Holst: Hammersmith / Moorside Suite / Suite No. 1 in E flat / Suite No. 2 in F

ASIN: B00000IYN5
Release Date: 1999-05-18

Tracks:

The Cloud Messenger, H111: 'O Thou, Who Com'st From Heaven's King' - G. HOLST
The Cloud Messenger, H111: 'Tarry Not, O Cloud, Tarry Not. Rushing Northward ...' - - G. HOLST
The Cloud Messenger, H111: 'Tarry Not, O Cloud, Tarry Not.' - G. HOLST
The Cloud Messenger, H111: 'Tarry Not, O Cloud. Bow Thy Head' - - G. HOLST
The Cloud Messenger, H111: 'When The Dancers Are Weary ...' - G. HOLST
The Hymn Of Jesus, H140: Prelude - - G. HOLST
The Hymn Of Jesus, H140: The Hymn - G. HOLST
Ave Maria, H49 - G. HOLST
The Evening-watch, H159 - G. HOLST

Tracks:

Seven Part-Songs, H162: Say Who Is This? - Gustav Holst
Seven Part-Songs, H162: O Love, I Complain - Gustav Holst
Seven Part-Songs, H162: Angel Spirits Of Sleep - Gustav Holst
Seven Part-Songs, H162: When First We Met - Gustav Holst
Seven Part-Songs, H162: Sorrow And Joy - Gustav Holst
Seven Part-Songs, H162: Love On My Heart From Heaven Fell - Gustav Holst
Seven Part-Songs, H162: Assemble, All Ye Maidens - Gustav Holst
A Choral Fantasia, H177 - Gustav Holst
City Of London Sinfonia: A Dirge For Two Veterans, H121 - Gustav Holst
Ode to Death, H144 - Gustav Holst
This Have I Done For My True Love, H128 - Gustav Holst
Four Part-Songs: O Lady, Leave That Silken Thread - Gustav Holst
Four Part-Songs: Soft And Gently - Gustav Holst
Four Part-Songs: The Autumn Is Old - Gustav Holst
Four Part-Songs: Winter And The Birds - Gustav Holst

Customer Reviews:

More than just choral works.......2006-04-20

These choral works from Gustav Holst are as striking as the Planets. They are like two dozen angels singing with heavenly glory. A Choral Fantasia, The Cloud Messenger and The Hymn of Jesus are excellent; superb playing from the London Symphony, breathtaking and articulate singing from the Chorus. Ode to Death & A Dirge for Two Veterans are absolutely haunting. The Part-songs are worth the listen, and the Ave Maria and the Motets sound fresh and fabulous.

If you are a fan of Holst's Planets, then you'll be an immediate fan of his choral works once you start listening to The Cloud Messenger.

Get This For the Hymn of Jesus.......2002-09-07

How many of you are sick of the Planets! I know I am, as marvelous as I find that work. Holst was a much more varied and talented composer than that work reveals. On this disc you can hear a wide variety of Holst's choral music and judge for yourself.

I can only comment on half this disc, as I own the Cloud Messanger and the Hymn of Jesus only in an earlier incarnation. The Cloud Messanger is a massive work based on an Hindu text. It is of variable quality...Holst himself flet that it was not wholy a success and supressed further performances of it in his lifetime. But the passages that are good are stunning indeed, and Hickox and crew make a strong case for the work.

The reason to get this CD is for the Hymn of Jesus. This is the best performance of the best work that Holst composed. The Hymn of Jesus is based on Holst's own translation of a passage from the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas ( some sources claim the Acts of John as the origin of this text, but I'm pretty sure I have it in my copy of the Gospel of Thomas, which had recently been discovered at the time.)These Gnostic texts so intrigued Holst that he studied Greek just to be able to read it in the original. The work begins with a beautiful, atmospheric prelude based on two Sarum chants, Panea Lingua and a resplendant Vexilla Regis in the boy choir. Then there is a massive choral invocation to God and the Hymn is sung. This text is also known as the Round Dance of Jesus, and Holst goes for the dance in the piece, with a splendid section in 5/4 which must have frightened the Edwardian audience at the work's premiere. Tightly organized and stunning in it's choral effects, this version of the work surpasses even the fine old recording by Sir Charles Grove.

I can't comment on the performances of the other works on the second disc, but know that the Ode to Death is haunting and the Choral Fantasia is a major work worth hearing. But the reason to buy this album is for the Hymn. It's a stunning and neglected masterpiece in the English choral tradition.

An important record of lesser known choral works . . ........2000-08-08

. . . but I wish they'd used a large choral force.

My primary interest in this CD was the recording of the relatively recently re-discovered (1984) major choral work "The Cloud Messenger." From Holst's "India" period, this is a stunningly beautiful "painting" of the Khalidasa 6th Century A.D. lyric poem, "Meghaduta" ("Cloud Messenger"), the lament of an exiled yaksa who is pining for his beloved on a lonely mountain peak. When, at the beginning of the monsoon, a cloud perches on the peak, he asks it to deliver a message to his love in the Himalayan city of Alaka. Most of the poem consists of a description of the landmarks, cities, and terrain on the cloud's route to Alaka, interspersed with admonishments to the cloud to "Tarry not!" It is only at the end that we are finally aware of the message itself -- one intended to comfort the yaksa's wife in her loneliness.

I had the privilege of singing the U.S. premiere of this work in 1996 with Masterworks Chorale in San Mateo, CA, a chorus of about 150 auditioned singers. This work needs such a large choral force, and a conductor who can deal with the inherent drama in the text. We had both, and the performance was a stunning success. (It was the final work on a program that opened with Debussy's "La damoiselle Elue" for women's voices and mezzo-soprano and soprano soloists; and Brahms' "Alto Rhapsody" for men's voices and mezzo-soprano soloist. "The Cloud Messenger" also includes a mezzo-soprano soloist.)

My biggest complaint with this recording is the dynamics. The entire work seems to be performed at about mf+, occasionally venturing into f and mp. Unfortunately, this doesn't do justice to the drama. The opening, for example, needs to grow from the first ppp gentle raindrops, building as the cloud builds in strength, to a glorious ff choral introduction of the main character, the cloud: "O Thou, who com'st from heaven's king! scion of a noble race! who wearest wondrous forms at will!"

There are parts of this work that beg for a lush warm sound; what we hear on this recording is the British "boy choir" sound in the treble range, while the men have a warmer (albeit somewhat watered down) tone. This is a highly sensuous work, full of luscious ripe sensual imagery: "Where e'er thou goest, lonely wives, who pine in solitude with close-bound hair, will arise and go along the road. Thou bringest home their absent husbands, who will loosen their tresses and fill their hearts with joy!" The "flat" sound of pre-pubescent boys just doesn't do this music, or mature text, justice.

That said, however, this is an important recording of a little-known work. You'll get the feeling of the piece, a sense of the promise. Let's hope that a large chorus paired with a sensitive conductor will have an opportunity at another recording of this in the not-too-distant future (Atlanta? Chicago?).

Contrast this with "The Hymn of Jesus" -- Hickox fares much better with this material, playing up the dance rhythms (Holst knew what he was doing -- at the climax of the piece, the words are: "Ye who dance not, know not what we are knowing.") It really is a first-rate performance of this work.

Other works deserving special mention are "Dirge for Two Veterans," in which one can hear hints of "Mars" from "The Planets"; "Ode to Death," a setting of Walt Whitman's "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd," which contains allusions to "Saturn." The Four Partsongs on the second disk are among Holst's earliest works, written in 1894, when he was barely 20 yrs old and in his second year at the Royal College of Music; and the Choral Fantasia is among his later choral works, written in 1931.

Highly recommended, even with its flaws.

Common Thread
Average customer rating:

A GOSPEL LET DOWN

They are still great!

awesome piece of work by the Boys

Not Bad

Common Thread
The Oak Ridge Boys
Manufacturer: Spring Hill
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Country | Styles | Music
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Colors

ASIN: B00092ZLE4
Release Date: 2005-05-24

Tracks:

Amazing Grace
God Will Take Care Of You
How Great Thou Art
Jesus Is Coming Soon
This Little Light of Mine
I Saw The Light
Journey
You Don't Have To Go Home (But You Can't Stay Here)
You Can't Fix It
Keep Our World Safe
I Know
He Did It All For Me

Album Description

It's the mid-1940s. In the midst of a "Barber Shop Era" comes a new quartet-Oak Ridge Quartet. Their harmonies and energy transformed the music scene and quickly made them what many consider consider to be the top quartet of their day. Years have gone by...but Common Threads remain-four part harmony; love for God, faith, family and country; an ability to bring a stage to life. Enjoy an "uncommonly" successful group joined through the years by a Common Thread.

Customer Reviews:

A GOSPEL LET DOWN.......2006-09-25

Somehow the Oaks just keep re-hashing really old and over done material, and this CD is a classic example of that. If you enjoy old music, then this CD is for you!! NOT recommended for contemporary Christian listening, by any means. If you are a fan who enjoys listening to the same type of old songs, then this CD is just for you. Definitely not any fresh air here.

They are still great!.......2006-08-21

You absolutely cannot beat the harmony of the Oak Ridge Boys! And, this CD is fabulous as always. They are calming down a bit w/ age, but aren't we all.

awesome piece of work by the Boys.......2005-05-26

Previous reviewer stated the following: The only problem with this CD is that They recorded it w/ the volume to high. You can only listen to it at a low level. Other than that it's good. They need to fix this problem.
Maybe what you are perceiving on this cd is that the background music is truly in the background with the vocals standing strongly out front. That is the best way to feature the Oaks power harmony. For a devoted fan of the Oaks and their power harmony they are NEVER too loud. Any true Oaks fans would consider this cd a blessing.

Not Bad.......2005-05-25

The only problem with this CD is that They recorded it w/ the
volume to high. You can only listen to it at a low level. Other
than that it's good. They need to fix this problem.

Average customer rating:

By a Thread
John Ellis
Manufacturer: HYENA Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Contemporary Blues | Blues | Styles | Music

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music
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One Foot in the Swamp
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ASIN: B000F3UICW
Release Date: 2006-05-09

Tracks:

Ferris Wheel
Tall Drink of Water
Little Giggles
Old Man
Wishing Well
Lonnie
Umpty Eleven
Swirl
Moore's Alphabet

Album Description

John Ellis, up until recently, was best known for his work as tenor saxophonist for the widely popular Charlie Hunter Trio. However, with the release in 2005 of his own set, One Foot In The Swamp, that began to change. As a leader, Ellis drew rave reviews from the likes of The New York Times, The Village Voice, The Chicago Reader, Downbeat and Jazz Times. He toured his quintet around the U.S. packing jazz clubs and gaining new fans at every stop. Now, Ellis takes the next step in becoming a marquee jazz leader with his new album, By A Thread, a powerful and progressive collection that consistently proves his voice on tenor & soprano saxophone to be singular and inspired. And his songs are equally as compelling--and notice we say "songs," not compositions—because Ellis has a gift for hooks and melody which provides for material that's far more than a vehicle to simply improvise. His are tunes that stay with us long after the album ends and find their own little corner in our subconscious. John Ellis' By A Thread is a modern jazz record that people will talking about for years to come.

Thread of Time: The Best of the Music of Enya

Average customer rating:

Very pretty
Good intentions but no cigar.............
If you have heard Enya, then stick with the original.
Dreadful elevator muzak
This is not Enya...nor does it claim to be.

Thread of Time: The Best of the Music of Enya
Taliesin Orchestra
Manufacturer: Compendia
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | International | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Styles | Music

Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music

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Orinoco Flow: The Music of Enya
Sacred
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Amarantine
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ASIN: B000062R8L
Release Date: 2002-03-12

Tracks:

The Council of Elrond with Aniron
Orinoco Flow
May It Be
Only If
Before the Storm
Storms in Africa
The Memory of Trees
Anywhere Is
Athair ar Neamh
Evacuee
Only Time

Customer Reviews:

Very pretty.......2006-08-07

I believe this is one of the Best Tribute CD's there is for Enya, its very Soft, Refreshing and Pretty. I think Aniron is lovely (My cousin who is a big LOTR fan even said it was beautiful and she wants the CD now.) The Taliesin Orchestra have two other Enya Tributes but this is the one to get.

Good intentions but no cigar....................2006-04-27

Alot of disappointments here, I am afraid. The tracks 'The Council Of Elrond' and 'May It Be' just did not have the same impact they had on the LOTR soundtracks. 'Orinoco Flow' is straight from any department store "muzac" soundtrack.
Regardles of how avent garde 'Only Time' tries to be I just can't stomach it.
I have listened to this CD over and over hoping it would grow on me but, alas, it is going back to Egay from whence it came.
On a brighter note let me recommend the CD "Celtic Woman" (found elsewhere here on amazon). It contains two Enya tributes, 'May It Be' and 'Orinoco Flow' both songs, as is the whole CD, are excellent!
However, I would save your money on "Thread of Time."

If you have heard Enya, then stick with the original........2006-02-19

I guess you could call it pretty decent orchestra music - that is, if you have never been introduced to the original Enya music. Which is why I would give it 2.5 stars.

If you have, you will feel like saying ... these guys have no right to rip apart and put together this hodge-podge of a music and pretend they are paying a tribute to enya. There's just something dishonest about it. Maybe if they called their CD title "Music similar to Enya's" or "Best of Enya-Like Music", I might have felt better about it.

Dreadful elevator muzak.......2002-11-13

The only reason this works at all is because the underlying music is beautiful. A travesty. Yuck

This is not Enya...nor does it claim to be........2002-10-25

For those of you who are just too ignorant to read the CD details and start derailing the CD as if it were Enya's saying things like "She sounds like Britney Spears" or "This is just a bunch of her old songs with an orchestra"....please listen closely. This is not Enya. This is the Taliesin Orchestra doing orchestrated versions of her songs. This is a TRIBUTE CD. Enya is not on it and she probably never will be. Now....for those of you smart enough to realize that this is a tribute CD with an orchestra...here is my recommendation. It is a great CD, as well as any of the other Taliesin Orchesta Tributes to Enya. They do beautiful renditions of her music and fairly good interpretations. If you like Enya, you should enjoy this CD. My wife and I found it beautiful enough to be played throughout most of our wedding. But, please...don't berate Enya for doing something different. Do a little research and realize that this is a tribute CD from an orchestra and a very good one.

Average customer rating:

I like where they're going
WHOA
Gentler, Nastier
A Culmination of Effort
Better then the last...

The Red Thread
Arab Strap
Manufacturer: Matador Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
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Elephant Shoe
Last Romance
Mad for Sadness
Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain
Mad for Sadness

ASIN: B000058TAY
Release Date: 2001-02-27

Tracks:

Amor Veneris
Last Orders
Scenery
The Devil-Tips
The Long Sea
Love Detective
Infrared
Screaming In The Trees
Haunt Me
Turbulence

Album Description

Aidan Moffat and Malcom Middleton return with another intense and powerful work. Aidan's first person tales of relationships gone awry have always made for uneasy listening, but they've never had a backdrop as lush and stirring as this. Standard jewel case. 2001 release.

Customer Reviews:

I like where they're going.......2006-01-10

This group continues to astound me again and again, the melody, the sadness, the intertwining of both artists and how they crumble towards the end. I really like when the girl sings though, I'm not sure she's on this one. She might be. If you haven't heard the live one, you should, it'll make you like this more. It has a spiritual link with Mogwai. Kind of their companions and equals. It's hard for me to figure who I like more, I listen to more Arab Strap. They are top notch live too, if you get a chance to check them out.

Did I mention how good the drums are, this one and the one before it. I like when they turn it up a notch on the dance beats.

WHOA.......2002-07-07

It's lyrically heart-wrenching, seriously intricate, opaquely romantic, and musically daring. Hey they even figure out a way to loop a Yamaha Portasound PSS-570 keyboard drum preset within "Scenery", and I should know the sound because I have that old keyboard myself upstairs! Even the CD cover art is stunning. This album definitely isn't for the faint of heart. Nor is it for mainstream music fans looking for the all-mighty Top 40 radio hook and poppy dance melodies. 'The Red Thread' is for those who embrace the journey into the abyss of the human condition. It's one reflective side of true singer/songwriter music. So if you've gotten through the likes of Violet Indiana, The Cure's 'Bloodflowers' album, Ivy's 'Long Distance' album, even some Siouxsie and The Banshees, and Red House Painters' 'Old Ramon' album, then you're ready for 'The Read Thread'. Or are you? Take the plunge and immediately buy this album and prepare to see your world in new hues.

A great album for realistic and longing hearts everywhere.

Gentler, Nastier.......2001-04-17

Arab Strap's unique appeal has always lain in the juxtaposition of Malcolm Middleton's elegant instrumentation with Aidan Moffat's sinisterly laddish carnal obsessions. Occasionally their songs have an upbeat and rogueish soul quality, vocals drawled in a heavy Scottish brogue over a curious Glaswegian Motown beat, but it is the slower and more spacious songs on which Arab Strap truly shine. 'The Long Sea' is easily this album's finest, showcasing chiming guitars and meandering keyboards with a Middle Eastern quality that are later overwhelmed by a wall of rich and sumptuous feedback.

A Culmination of Effort.......2001-03-18

Everyone felt the change when Arab Strap released "Elephant Shoe" under GO!/Jetset Records. A slight change, perhaps, one that probably wasn't all that painful. It was not a big departure from their acclamined "Philophobia" album. But it felt lacking a little bit, something just wasn't there that had made "Philophobia" such a wonderful album, perhaps the best album of 1998. But all along the way, it seemed that everyone had forgotten about their first album, "The Week Never Starts Round Here." (Which I beleive to be their best album. Period.)

Those days are long over with the new release, "The Red Thread," back under Matador Records. In a simplistic way, take the best tracks off of "The Week Never Starts Round Here," "Philophobia," and "Elephant Shoe," and you have "The Red Thread." Let's go track by track to see why this assumption can be maintained.

Amor Veneris: Could anything be closer to "Philophobia"? The simple guitar and piano is saddingly beautiful (as usual with any Arab Strap Song), and Malcom's and Aidan's voices stand out surprisingly more than ever. Perhaps one of them dated a voice instructor for some time. Not that they couldn't sing before. But, we know how these guys work.

Last Orders: AKA "The Clearing" Part two. Almost satanic in is rhythmic structure, one can only feel haunted with the passage of this song.

Scenery: Something new, something......uplifting perhaps? When Malcom sings the lines "Everyone is beautiful," we either know he is stoned or, for once, happy. But alas, this is not true. Someone is no longer part of the scenery, another loss, another song about that person's loss. Yet it's set in a new tone, and the boys know exactly what they are doing with it.

The Devil-Tips, The Long Sea: Hrm. These songs haven't grown on me yet, but it makes me think of "Philophoba" a lot. Sudden crescendoes, immediately followed but a 3 second silence before an interplay of guitar strings and pianos amidst a dark rhythmic backdrop ensue.

Love Dectective: And this song is why we love Arab Strap. Let me repeat. This song is why we love Arab Strap. Who else in their right-mind can make a funkadelic-jamming out at the piano session sound so beautiful and upbeat while Aidan tells the story about how his girl boinked some guy in the park, via reading her secret sex diary?

Infared: Well, this song obviously influenced their design choice (which I think is excellent) for the cover and liner art. Par usual.

Screaming in the Trees: Definitely more "Week...Starts Here" Sounding. Once again, par usual.

Haunt Me: Strings. Classic strings. Dunk rhythms. Malcolm sounding like he's had one too many poppers while singing. Beautiful.

Turbulance: Definitley something they've toyed around with since the production of "Elephant Shoe." Their saddest sounding, most dark 'dance song' created to date. Definitley a song to play after getting groped by greasy men or women at a club, while you are driving home and thinking about the last person you slept with whose name you can't remember. (We've all had that experience, right? Right?!)

So, this album deserves in reality 4 and a half stars. But I will go ahead and give them 5. Malcolm and Aidan have definitely tried something new here, while maintaining the familiar in new and unexpected ways. So go get the album; the songs and the cutely drawn devils and well worth the investment.

Better then the last..........2001-03-01

OK, so I'm kind of new with Arab Strap, I first started listening to them with the release of Elephant Shoe and, although I enjoyed it very much, I was never pushed to research the group's earlier releases. However, seeing this new realease in stores today, I took a quick listen and was immediately taken into the Arab Starp atmosphere which, this time, is, if possible, even more bare, dark and beautiful.

Thematicely speaking, The Red Thread is very much in the same alley as Elephant Shoe. That which seperates them, something obvious from the first listen, is how much more absorbing the new release is. Please don't confuse this with accessibility, Arab Strap are not, and I doubt have ever been, an easy listen; there are no pop hooks and radio-friendly moments here. What you get is stronger material very much in line with the thoughts of artists who probably have the most serious and intersting insights on the different aspects of love and it's consequences (in rock music today at least), making it more coherent and just plain enjoyable (for those dreary) as a whole. Elephant Shoe was good, this is just incredible.

Tracks:

If God Be For Us
Where'er You Walk
So Shall The Lute And Harp Awake
What Though I Trace
How Beautiful Are The Feet
With Thee, The Unsheltered Moor I'd Tread
The Shepherd On The Rock - Schubert
Ladybug
My Sweetheart Has Rosy Lips
Down Deep In The Valley
A Tree Is Standing
The Last Rose Of Summer

Customer Reviews:

One of the greatest treasures.......2003-06-02

Fresh and supple voice, amazing breath control, incredible expressions, mature musicality. I have listened to some of the songs sung by real sopranos (meaning mature female), and I admit that they do have their own greatness, but this boy soprano seems to be far more exciting. He's got unbeatable, invincible energy and drive, which, I guess, only teenagers can possess, and the way he builds up the intensity is awe-striking.
He has a total control over the high notes also. You will hear the most beautiful pianissimo, soft, expressive, and floaty, in those otherwise ear-spliting pitches. His runs are also incomparable, very clear, driven, profound, and accurate. You will have to hear them at least once in your life time!

I have let my two teenage nephews, who knew nothing but rock music, listen to this CD, and lo and behold, they couldn't stop listening to it. We were on a trip to Yellow Stone at that time, a long boring drive, and they kept on asking me to play it over and over. We ended up listening to it several hours straight every day for 3 days! A different kind of excitement from rock music, every time the fast runs came, they couldn't stop dancing in the car mimicking them. The whole CD made them simply happy and jubilant. As a result, the otherwise boring long drive became a very happy, fun trip.

The only drawback is that his words are not very clear, and at times the accent is poor. But his musicality and mature expressions off-set it. Even if you don't understand the words, these songs will surely make your day. This is one of those CDs that proves that classical music can be much more exciting and fun than popular music. Good for kids, teenagers, and adults.

The perfect voice.......2002-12-02

Mr. Mehta is a countertenor now. When he was a boy soprano his voice was incomparable, in my view, one which answers to the myth of a Castrato's voice. Such gentle and even register throughout the range which surely arouses the jealousy of any soprano.

Mr. Mehta demonstrated sophisticated and precoscious techniques which made his gifted timbre even more unparalleled. His diction is not quite crisp. My conjecture that it's due to his nasal technique, not unfamiliar to a countertenor, the unique head voice suited to a boy's changing voice. Maybe, also because of this, the color of Mr. Mehta's voice on this CD is especially touching - woeful but never strident nor forced in high notes. The aria "If God Be for Us" is most sentimental and brings an aetheist to tears!

Wow - the range of this young man's voice!.......2000-04-18

I've listened to this marvel repeatedly and found a great satisfaction in the choice of music and personal stylistic of these pieces. I hope there are more young men inspired to give their voices a try as a result of Bejun's work here...I especially enjoyed the spiritual selctions, esp. "If God be for us..." Please don't cheat yourself of the opportunity to hear this!

Music Track:

Music Track

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