Take Care
Track Listings
|
|
|
1. Watch. Take. Care.
|
|
2. A.B.C. Dicks Love
|
|
3. Could You
|
|
4. Tongueties
|
|
5. Screen
|
|
6. Not a Soul
|
|
7. Half Way House
|
|
8. Get Out of That Rain
|
|
9. He Said: She Said
|
|
10. Hole in the Sky
|
|
11. A.B.C. Dicks Love (Soft)
|
|
12. Suzanne
|
|
13. Could You? (Too)
|
Take Care,He Said,Old Mute,Electronic,Pop,Rock
Take Care
Average customer rating:
- Nice Voice
- a voice teacher and early music fan
- Sumi Jo- coloratura supreme
- Prayerful and beautiful
- A spectalce of voice and vocalization
|
Sumi Jo - Prayers / James Conlon
Gioachino Rossini , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Richard Strauss , Giulio Caccini , Maurice Ravel , Gabriel Fauré , Anonymous , Franz Schubert , Charles Gounod , Gaetano Donizetti , Zbigniew Preisner , Leonard Bernstein , Johann Strauss II , Frederick Loewe , James Conlon , Sumi Jo , and Susan Graham
Manufacturer: Erato
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
All Works by Bernstein
| Bernstein, Leonard
| ( B )
| Featured Composers, A-Z
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
All Works by Donizetti
| Donizetti, Gaetano
| ( D )
| Featured Composers, A-Z
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Fauré, Gabriel
| ( F )
| Featured Composers, A-Z
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
All Works by Gounod
| Gounod, Charles
| ( G )
| Featured Composers, A-Z
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
| Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus
| ( M )
| Featured Composers, A-Z
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Ravel, Maurice
| ( R )
| Featured Composers, A-Z
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
All Works by Rossini
| Rossini, Gioacchino
| ( R )
| Featured Composers, A-Z
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
All Works by Schubert
| Schubert, Franz
| ( S )
| Featured Composers, A-Z
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Strauss Jr., Johann
| ( S )
| Featured Composers, A-Z
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
All Works by Strauss
| Strauss, Richard
| ( S )
| Featured Composers, A-Z
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Classical (c.1770-1830)
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Requiems
| Forms & Genres
| Early Music
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Chamber Music
| Forms & Genres
| Modern, 20th, & 21st Century
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Vocal & Song
| Modern, 20th, & 21st Century
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Chamber Music
| Forms & Genres
| Romantic (c.1820-1910)
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Vocal & Song
| Romantic (c.1820-1910)
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Sacred & Religious
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Opera & Vocal
| Styles
| Music
Romantic (c.1820-1910)
| Historical Periods
| Opera & Vocal
| Styles
| Music
German
| Languages
| Opera & Vocal
| Styles
| Music
Italian
| Languages
| Opera & Vocal
| Styles
| Music
Oratorios
| Vocal Non-Opera
| Opera & Vocal
| Styles
| Music
Requiems
| Vocal Non-Opera
| Opera & Vocal
| Styles
| Music
Similar Items:
- Sumi Jo - Virtuoso Arias ~ Verdi, Rossini, Donizetti, Meyerbeer
- Sumi Jo sings Mozart
- Sumi Jo - La Promessa / Vincenzo Scalera
- Sumi Jo - Only Love
- Sumi Jo - Bel Canto / Arevalo · ECO · Carella
ASIN: B0000560N6
Release Date: 2001-03-20 |
Tracks:
- Kaddisch
- Laudate Dominum
- Ave Maria
- Amazing Grace
- Breit' Uber Mein Haupt
- L'assedio Di Corinto: L' Ora Fatal S'appressa... Guisto Ciel !
- Pie Jesu
- Der Vierjahrige Posten: Gott! hore Meine Stimme!
- Sanctus
- Maria Stuarda: Preghiera Di Maria
- Lacrimosa
- 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: Take Care Of This House - Sumi Jo/Phil Chor Koln/Susan Graham
- Nun's Chor/Casanova: Laura's Song
- Gigi: Say A Prayer For me Tonight
- Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child
Amazon.com
This program seems designed primarily to display soprano Sumi Jo's fabulous singing and famous stylistic eclecticism. However, it also exhibits an admirable religious inclusiveness, encompassing expressions of faith from the Latin liturgy to Negro spirituals; there is even a Richard Strauss song that is essentially a paean to love. An incongruous note is struck by a nun's song from an operetta by Benatzky that is a corny Viennese waltz and by a soundtracklike arrangement of a 16th-century Ave Maria. Ranging from Mozart to Broadway, this musical mix is held together by Sumi Jo's ravishingly beautiful, pure, warm voice and the way she can color and inflect it, and by her mastery of every style (though not every language; her German in particular is unintelligible). Her intonation is impeccable, her breath control incredible. Jo's top notes soar triumphantly, and she can sustain them indefinitely, with enough power left to make a crescendo at the end. Highlights include Ravel's "Kaddisch," which sends shivers down the spine; arias from operas by Rossini and Donizetti; and arias from sacred works by Gounod and Fauré. Of two spirituals, the second one is simpler and more convincing. The accompanying forces are excellent; James Conlon doubles as pianist when not conducting. Susan Graham also makes an appearance in the moving invocation "Take Care of This House" from Bernstein's 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. --Edith Eisler
Customer Reviews:
Nice Voice.......2007-05-06
Sumi Jo has a beautiful voice but her renditions of Motherless Child and Amazing Grace were not impressive at all. The vibrato was too uncontrollable. The Ave Maria was so,so. I did not hear the richeness others have declared in their assesments. Don't get me wrong, the instrument is quite beautiful but only in some selected selections.
a voice teacher and early music fan.......2007-02-17
"Music and poetry emerge from man's desire to give thanks, to praise and to pray to his gods. One of the magical powers of the human voice is that it can fly, on the wings of songs (a la Mendelssohn) to heaven and appear to be in direct communication with God." Therefore, it is no surprise that prayer is omnipresent throughout the history of music. Sumi Jo has chosen an excellent representation of songs including most styles and periods which include : Baroque (Caccini)-Classical (Mozart)-Contemporary (Preisner)-Romantic Opera (Rossini,Donizetti)-German 'Singspiel'(Schubert)-Lieder (Richard Strauss)-French church music (Gounod ,Faure)-traditional music (spiritual)-Jewish melodies (Ravel)-Viennese operetta (Johann Strauss) and the American musical (Bernstein).
Sumi Jo, born in Korea,is a much sought after coloratura soprano, having triumphed on stage, and in recitals all over the world. Not being fond of coloraturas, I make an exception for her voice, because of its depth along with the very high register. She shows a great deal of sensitivity to all of her varied selections on this disc, and each delivery is a 'gem' unto itself.
I must personally comment on those works that I particularly enjoy. Hearing her sing Mozart's 'Laudate Dominum' was a real treat; it doesn't matter how often one hears that lovely piece, just like all of his music, it 'wears' well. The 'Pie Jesu' was absolutely stunning as Sumi Jo sang it, and it is a pleasure for me to hear the selection from "GIGI" by Lerner & Loewe; not being a great broadway fan, I have always liked that specific musical. I think because it was well-done when I saw it years and years ago.
This disc is abolutely totally enjoyable. There is something for all musical tastes, and the conductor/pianist James Conlon does a great job pulling it together!!!!!
Sumi Jo- coloratura supreme.......2006-04-09
One word: Lacrimosa. It haunts you and will stay with you long after you hear it. I actually forced several if my coworkers to listen to it many of which are not opera fans and even they could not argue the beauty of it. One of my coworkers was actual on the verge of tears by the end of the song.
The rest of the album is enchanting as well as breath taking. I am a harsh critic when it comes to singers so I do not give those compliments very often, nor am I easily moved by singers but Sumi Jo has certainly done that with this album.
My only complaint is that I would have liked to hear her take of "Ave Maria" by Schubert which, while recorded many times over, would complimented her voice perfectly due to it's simplicity. "Sing low sweet chariot" would have been another great one to hear but as far as spirtuals are concerned I was very happy with her acepella version of "Amazing Grace." I was never a huge fan of "Amazing Grace" since it's been done a thousand times over but she brought such seetness and emotion to it. Of course I am kind of biased becuase I offically hate the "belting" version of this song and that's how it's usually done. It's nice to hear a simple, straight forward version.
My last comment is that it's nice to hear Sumi Jo sing less operatic pieces considering most opera singers are rarely bold enough to sing anything other than classical pieces, excluding Renee Fleming of recent.
Prayerful and beautiful.......2005-11-14
It is a refreshing change to have a collection of arias on a CD with a title that actually bears some relevance to the contents. This is indeed a prayerful collection. That means, of course, that you have to be in the appropriately contemplative mood in order to appreciate it.
Another nice change is that the orchestral accompaniment enhances the singing rather than just tagging along as an afterthought, which often seems to be the case. It is fitting that James Conlon gets equal billing here. This is splendid singing to splendid music.
Sumi Jo is comfortable in any language and in a broad range of styles. I was uncertain how she would tackle songs like Amazing Grace and Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child. I need not have worried. In the latter she reveals a soulfulness that fits the lyrics perfectly.
The only track not worthy of this collection is Bernstein's Take Care of This House. I suppose, as it is a prayer, it was an obvious song to include, and Jo sings it very well, but it is just a very poor song. That still leaves 14 excellent tracks that, if you are a lover of good singing, you will want in your collection.
A spectalce of voice and vocalization.......2004-12-29
I bought this used from an Amazon.com dealer and it came with a cutout on the left side of the CD box. Can this specacular CD possibly have gone out of print by Christmas 2004? If so we have lost one of the benchmark recordings of this splendid artist.
Never is there a weak moment in this incredibly beautiful collection of classical bleeding chunks and spirituals. I don't think you'll confuse Sumi for your favorite spiritual singer in "Amazing Grace" and "Sometimes I feel like a motherless child" but she is magnificent singing the complete and incomplete tunes elsewhere on the CD by famous classical composers including Mozart, Richard Strauss, Rossini, Schubert and Donizetti, to name some of them.
She is in wonderful voice and fresh-faced for the Loewe-Lerner "Say a prayer for me tonight" and does an equally nice job with Susan Graham accompanying Leonard Bernstein's "Take care of this house" from "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue". I'm not much for this kind of music -- I bought this exclusively for her rendition of Mozart's "Laudate Dominum" -- but it adds a dimension to the concert that brings it into the realm of popular Broadway tunes.
This is a wonderful concert of familiar and not so familiar songs from a singer whose voice is eloquent, beautiful and rich, with significant range and span from PPP to FFF. Sumi Jo controls her voice well throughout the concert, giving everyone something to think about regardelss of musical preference. This might have been improved if she'd included a Beatles tune -- maybe "Elenor Rigby" or "Yesterday" -- accompanied by the orchestra and James Conlon's direction. But it stands with any similar collection by any singer as it is.
Average customer rating:
- My Musical Epiphany....
- A musical god
- Good Job, Bad Plan
- Old time music
- Oh yes,
|
There Is No-One What Will Take Care of You
Palace Brothers
Manufacturer: Drag City
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Alternative Rock
| Styles
| Music
Indie Rock
| Indie & Lo-Fi
| Alternative Rock
| Styles
| Music
Alt-Country & Americana
| Country
| Styles
| Music
General
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
Pop Rock
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
General
| Alternative Rock
| Indie Music
| Stores
| Music
Alt-Country & Americana
| Country
| Indie Music
| Stores
| Music
Similar Items:
- Arise, Therefore
- Hope
- Viva Last Blues
- I See a Darkness
- Guarapero: Lost Blues 2
ASIN: B0000019PU
Release Date: 1993-06-07 |
Tracks:
- Idle Hands Are The Devil's Playthings
- Long Before
- I Tried To Stay Health For You
- The Cellar Song
- (I was Drunk At The) Pulpit
- There Is No-One what Will Take Care Of You
- O Lord Are You In Need?
- Merida
- King Me
- I Had A Good Mother And Father
- Riding
- O Paul
Amazon.com
It sounds as if it were recorded in the back of a barn or on the front porch of a farm in Kentucky with a single microphone to simulate the feel of an old Folkways field recording. The ensemble cast mixes and matches banjos and poorly strummed acoustic guitars with the occasional synthesizer piercing through the mix. The songs have an odd old-world fascination about them ("Riding," "I Had a Good Father and Mother," "I Tried to Stay Healthy For You") and the singer's delivery is untutored by pitch. --Rob O'Connor
Customer Reviews:
My Musical Epiphany...........2006-04-19
Ahem, I have some glorious memories attached to this record. I had just moved to Atlanta, Ga for school when it came out. I went into Wuxtry records(still the best record store ever!!) and was looking for something new, since the small town I had moved from had no indie stores. I was already a fan of Royal Trux, so I spotted the Drag City logo on the back and decided to buy it. I listened to that CD religously every day for about a year. I love everything about it. How the band sounds like they might fall apart at any second, but never really does. I imagined them playing in a barn on a red-dirt floor with only one mic to record into and the guitarist having to step up to the mic for his solo's. Will channels the southern-gothic ambience of Flannery O' Connor and Carson McCullers perfectly. This made me a life-long fan of Mr. Oldham and I have purchased every release of his since. But since this is the one that hooked me, I always find myself going back to it. Besides, in my opinion, he hasn't recorded a finer song than "Merida" since. I remember seeing him on the "I See A Darkness" tour and I asked him to play it, and he said he didn't remember how too, I was so shocked!! Will is still turning out the great tunes, I recomend this one first since it is one of the most primitive, if you enjoy it, then you will love them all!!
A musical god.......2005-01-16
Well, well. One can spend a lifetime searching for music like this. If you're ready, this album (and most of his others) will beckon you into a new state of being. Raw and alive, it simply issues from a depth of subtlety few artists even touch.
Good Job, Bad Plan.......2003-04-08
Pavement may have invented Indie but The Palace Brothers perfected it. The goal of Indie bands, of course, is to sound amateurish, and the Palace Brothers have it down to a science. From the crudely painted cover to the unwieldy album title to the ever changing name of the band, the Palace Brothers ooze that unfinished mastery that all Indie bands strive for. This album really sounds like a live album of a concert in your living room recorded with your old mono cassette deck. Even the vocals are to strained to be real, as if the vocalist blew out his voice singing in the parking lot of the Dairy Queen the night before. It really sounds like a tape you made when you were ten, but you have to ask yourself, do you really want to listen to that? The quandary of Indie is simply this, does amateurish equal good? In the end amateurish is just amateurish, and there is a reason that bands strive for `studio perfection'. If you're into Indie, you'll love it, no doubt, but if your into a more polished sound this album will not convert you. I did like the fiddle. Best tracks are `Idle Hands Are The Devil's Playthings' and (I Was Drunk At The) Pulpit'.
Old time music.......2001-03-27
Oldham tacks a "Brothers" onto the Palace monicker, perhaps intentionally harking back to a time when groups were thus forthrightly named. And indeed, the music this time around is more Bill Monroe than Sonic Youth - there's even a sort of yodel, or a feeble hooting anyway, on "I Had a Good Mother And Father." A more gloomy and daunting track is "Riding," a throwback to the darkest of folk ballads, voices from the grave that tell of incest, abductions and worse. Oldham relies on these old tales and draws deeply from the hillbilly's Pentacostal fear of God. God, sin, prayer, and walking with Jesus are the foundations of the album. "Idle Hands Are the Devil's Playthings" is told as a straightforward morality tale; "(I Was Drunk At the) Pulpit" is a rambling, breathless first-person tale of debauchery though "I knew it was wrong." However, Oldham is not a hick, but has a poet's gift of language. "The sunlight was stronger to my Church-dark
widened eyes," runs an early line in "Pulpit." It aptly encompasses Oldham's struggle with man's baser and nobler urges.
Oh yes,.......2000-12-01
This is good. Simple, honest, and nothing more. Very few people I know truly enjoy this album, most of the time I end up listening to it alone. "I Was Drunk at the Pulpit" proves that one can write a song using only one chord...
Average customer rating:
- A great "first step" to the magic of "The Great White Way"
|
The Bernstein Songbook
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
All Works by Bernstein
| Bernstein, Leonard
| ( B )
| Featured Composers, A-Z
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Incidental Music
| Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music
| Forms & Genres
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Chamber Music
| Forms & Genres
| Modern, 20th, & 21st Century
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Vocal & Song
| Modern, 20th, & 21st Century
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Opera & Vocal
| Styles
| Music
Modern & 20th Century
| Historical Periods
| Opera & Vocal
| Styles
| Music
English
| Languages
| Opera & Vocal
| Styles
| Music
General
| Broadway & Vocalists
| Styles
| Music
Similar Items:
- Peter Pan (2005 Studio Cast) - Leonard Bernstein
- Kurt Weill: The Centennial
ASIN: B0000026OU
Release Date: 1990-10-25 |
Tracks:
- On The Town: New York, New York
- On The Town: Lonely Town
- On The Town: Carried Away
- PETER PAN: Build My House
- PETER PAN: Plank Song
- Trouble In Tahiti: I Was Standing In A Garden
- Trouble In Tahiti: What A Movie!
- Wonderful Town: Conga
- Wonderful Town: Ohio
- Wonderful Town: Wrong Note Rag
- Candide: Best Of All Possible Worlds
- Candide: Oh, Happy We
- Candide: Glitter And Be Gay
- Candide: Make Our Garden Grow
- West Side Story: America
- West Side Story: Maria
- West Side Story: Tonight Quintet
- West Side Story: Somewhere
- Mass: Hymn And Psalm: A Simple Song
- FINALE: ON THE TOWN: Some Other Time
- ENCORE: 1600 HUNDRED PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE: Take Care Of This House
Customer Reviews:
A great "first step" to the magic of "The Great White Way".......2006-11-26
With the Thanksgiving passing of songwriter Betty Comden, I recalled that I had, in my album collection, this album, not just featuring her songs but Comden singing on "Carried Away" and "Some Other Time" from the Tony-award-winning "New York." Two other songs from the play are featured, culled from a 1960 recording.
This compilation has some of the best of Broadway, not just the songs but the performers as well. Familiar names like Boris Karloff, the legendary Rosalind Russell, Nancy Walker, Chita Rivera, and Carol Lawrence are showcased in various selections from the likes of "Peter Pan," "Trouble in Tahiti," "Wonderful Town," "Candide," "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," and, in this writer's opinion, the best musical in the history of the stage, "West Side Story."
The liner notes provide brief but insightful descriptions of the various plays, including an introduction from Comden and her longtime collaborator Adolph Green, also heard on the album.
The music is definitely Bernstein with his uniquely American style, coupled with Old World influences.
Average customer rating:
- A Little Sentimental
- Another brilliant Mark Lanegan album
- I'm looking for the light
- Cigarretes, Whiskey and Lanegan
- Taking care of your late night needs...
|
I'll Take Care Of You
Mark Lanegan
Manufacturer: Sub Pop
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Alternative Rock
| Styles
| Music
Indie Rock
| Indie & Lo-Fi
| Alternative Rock
| Styles
| Music
Singer-Songwriters
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Pop Rock
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
General
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
Singer-Songwriters
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
Singer-Songwriters
| Rock
| Indie Music
| Stores
| Music
Similar Items:
- Buzz Factory
- Hit the City
- It's Not How Far You Fall, It's the Way You Land
- Clairvoyance
- Uncle Anesthesia
ASIN: B00001OH2G
Release Date: 1999-09-21 |
Tracks:
- Carry Home
- I'll Take Care Of You
- Shiloh Town
- Creeping Coastline Of Lights
- Badi-Da
- Consider Me
- On Jesus' Program
- Little Sadie
- Together Again
- Shanty Man's Life
- Boogie Boogie
Customer Reviews:
A Little Sentimental.......2007-08-02
I bought this album because I really liked Scraps at Midnight, which was so good and dark. I was kind of disappointed by I'll Take Care of You, though, it was kind of less consistent in tone, and the songs were a little more sentimental and less satisfyingly growly. So I only ended up listening to the album a few times before stowing it on the shelf where it will be gathering dust until the next time I'm culling my CD collection.
Another brilliant Mark Lanegan album.......2007-05-13
I've been a big Mark Lanegan fan since the eighties when he was the driving force behind the Screaming Trees. He has mellowed considerably since he produced some of the best hard rock in the world and in fact all of his solo albums are been more acoustic than electric (with the occasional but glorious exception like "Hit the City" from BUBBLEGUM). A substantial part of his appeal has been his gifts as a songwriter. Mark Lanegan is a great performer, but his songwriting is an integral part of who he is as a performer. Which makes I'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU, a album of covers, all the more shocking. He literally takes these songs and makes them his own.
I'm not sure that Lanegan is paying tribute to his roots. Some artists do that, but I get the sense here that he is simply choosing some marvelous, but neglected songs. Most are unfamiliar. The ones that are more familiar are perhaps the most surprising, like the Bobby Bland classic title track or mildly shocking inclusion of the Buck Owens's (pre-HEE HAW) "Together Again." I was delighted to see him cover the late Jeffrey Lee Pierce (of The Gun Club) song "Carry Home." It is a remarkably diverse body of material, but somehow Lanegan masterfully blends it all together.
My lone complaint with the album is that it is short. It may be the shortest album Lanegan has ever released apart from EPs. Nevertheless, this is one of his crucial albums. His greatest solo album is unquestionably WHISKEY FOR THE HOLY GHOST, but several others are definitely worth getting immersed in, in particular this fine album, BUBBLEGUM (with some of his best individual songs), and SCRAPS AT MIDNIGHT, though I also very highly recommend the great Isobel Campbell album on which Lanegan provides magnificent support (Campbell writes most of the songs, but Lanegan is magnificent throughout, especially in helping her cover Hank Williams's "Ramblin' Man" and singing Campbell's great "The Circus is Leaving Town").
I'm looking for the light.......2007-02-20
Lanegan's tribute to his roots follows the successful template of his solo albums: spare acoustics, tastefully brushed drums, moody flourishes of vibes and the occasional reverbed electric guitar stitched lovingly and intoxicatingly through songs by ...Buck Owens? It works, trust me, it works.
Boasting a superb song selection that covers everything from traditional folk songs to soul chestnuts to re-wired punk, Lanegan and company craft a moody, smokey, ultimately satisfying cover album that -- like the most comfortable beds -- sounds slept in.
Cigarretes, Whiskey and Lanegan.......2005-02-08
.......And a long nigth listening to this poet and his deep and rough voice delivering deligthfull cuts such as "ill take care of you" "consider me" "on Jesus program" "together again" after a while you will not be able to figure if you fell drunk because of the alcohol or because of the music, you gonna feel yor troath burn but you will not be able to tell if its because of the cigarrete or because song after song you will try to emulate Lanegan s voice since once you listen to him and his words you gonna feel related with his feelings and this is due to Lanegan thoughs are like the point of view of every intelligent man. the songs contained in this particular album are basically covers from bands and composers that have influenced Mark Lanegan and that in one way or other have had some effect in his music as well southern environments and grunge years, as a result Lanegan s album have becoming unique in composing and musical terms
HM
Taking care of your late night needs..........2004-08-04
Mark Lanegan has spent years honing his sound on his solo projects, and that sound has drifted further and further away from his previous band, The Screaming Trees, and is miles apart from his work with Queens of the Stone Age. With each subsequent album, Lanegan has become earthier and rootsier in his stylings. This album represents a break between albums and a chance to focus on some influences and to work on some favourite songs. The album is all cover songs but Lanegan has a way of making them sound like original compositions. The standout track on the album is the title song ''I'll Take Care Of You''. I wish I knew who did the original cause I'd love to hear it. If it's as good as this one, then I owe that singer a debt of gratitude. I've put this track on many times before and chicks just melt. It's a song filled with a weariness that comes out in every note, but it's a song of understanding. The song everyone would like sung to them. The arrangement is gorgeous, and the instruments evoke images of smoky, neon lit rooms. There's even a vibraphone and flute which take it beyond mere blues and add a touch of jazz. I am, however, familiar with Eddie Floyd's version of 'Consider Me' which Lanegan takes from a sweet soul lament and turns it into a sad, but hopeful plea. The album as a whole is a tribute to past masters long forgotten in the annals of popular music history. It spans the whole rich spectrum of Americana that's, thankfully, being noticed again these days. The album spans folk, country, blues, western, R & B; soul, rock n' roll and jazz and strips them all down to their basic root, proving that they all come from the same vein. Lanegan's voice is top notch, a deep, rich baritone with a damaged scratchiness that suggests pain, loss and weathered experience. 'Creeping Coastline Of Lights' is a spooky little track that would be perfect to listen to along a deserted Southern California highway. I like how Lanegan takes different singers and songwriters and connects them through his interpretations. An outstanding album that really should be in everyone's collection. File under 'mellow'.
Average customer rating:
- Great singing
- Only Roberta
|
Leonard Bernstein: Songs
Manufacturer: Et'Cetera
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
All Works by Bernstein
| Bernstein, Leonard
| ( B )
| Featured Composers, A-Z
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Incidental Music
| Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music
| Forms & Genres
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Chamber Music
| Forms & Genres
| Modern, 20th, & 21st Century
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Vocal & Song
| Modern, 20th, & 21st Century
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Opera & Vocal
| Styles
| Music
General
| Songs & Lieder
| Vocal Non-Opera
| Opera & Vocal
| Styles
| Music
Similar Items:
- Copland Songs
- Songs by Roger Quilter
- Just-Spring: Art Songs of John Duke
- Mozart: Songs
- Susan Graham - Songs of Ned Rorem
ASIN: B0000000NK
Release Date: 2004-03-22 |
Tracks:
- I Hate Music! (A Cycle Of Five Kid Songs): My Name Is Barbara
- I Hate Music! (A Cycle Of Five Kid Songs): Jupiter Has Seven Moons
- I Hate Music! (A Cycle Of Five Kid Songs): I Hate Music!
- I Hate Music! (A Cycle Of Five Kid Songs): A Big Indian And A Little Indian
- I Hate Music! (A Cycle Of Five Kid Songs): I'm A Person Too
- La Bonne Cuisine (From 'La Bonne Cuisine Francaise' ): Plum Pudding
- La Bonne Cuisine (From 'La Bonne Cuisine Francaise' ): Queues De Boef
- La Bonne Cuisine (From 'La Bonne Cuisine Francaise' ): Tavouk Gueuksis
- La Bonne Cuisine (From 'La Bonne Cuisine Francaise' ): Civet A Toute Vitesse
- La Bonne Cuisine (English Version): Plum Pudding
- La Bonne Cuisine (English Version): Ox-Tails
- La Bonne Cuisine (English Version): Tavouk Gueunksis
- La Bonne Cuisine (English Version): Rabbit At Top Speed
- Two Love Songs: Extinguish My Eyes
- Two Love Songs: When My Soul Touches Yours
- So Pretty
- Piccola Ser
- Silhouette (Galilee)
- Mass: A Simple Song
- Mass: I Go On
- 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: Take Care Of This House
- Candide: It Must Be So
- Candide: Candide's Lament
- Peter Pan: My House
- Peter Pan: Peter, Peter
- Peter Pan: Who Am I?
- Peter Pan: Never-Land
Customer Reviews:
Great singing.......2006-03-01
Roberta Alexander is stunning in these songs of Bernstein. Her voice simply shimmers. Really beautiful.
Only Roberta.......2003-12-02
Roberta Alexander is right on top of this recording. She has a beautiful and strong voice, but more importantly, she has perfect command of the music and idiom of these and Ives' songs. The emotional range of the songs is very wide, ranging from playful to thoughtful to sorrowful but she makes all of them sound very natural.
The Five Kid Songs express the imagination of a small child (Jupiter has seven moons, or is it nine? Saturn has a million billion trillion sixty-nine) and it would be very easy to perform them in a childish way, talking down as many adults do - the composer expressly stated that they should not be performed this way and in fact Alexander sings them with a perfectly natural innocence. La Bonne Cuisine is sung with a strong drive, and although it's hard to imagine what anyone should do with excerpts from a cooking book it's still compelling music. The other songs are also nice but not as memorable - as for the songs from Candide, they are beautiful but get the complete recording on Deutsche Grammophon, directed by Bernstein himself (there are two; I prefer the live version, ASIN B000001GD2).
Tan Crone does more than just provide a background; she adds her own interpretation on piano to add even more feeling to the music.
Bernstein's songs do not have the depth of Ives', but this is still a very nice collection. I will have to check out the Barber and Copland recordings on the same label as well.
Average customer rating:
|
Wish Someone Would Care / Take A Look
Irma Thomas
Manufacturer: Collectables Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
New Orleans Blues
| Regional Blues
| Blues
| Styles
| Music
General
| R&B
| Styles
| Music
General
| Soul
| R&B
| Styles
| Music
Similar Items:
- Hello Stranger / Workin' On A Groovy Thing
- After the Rain
- The Queen Alone
- The Motown Anthology
- How Much Can a Man Take
ASIN: B000K7UFNA
Release Date: 2006-12-05 |
Tracks:
- Wish Someone Would Care
- I Need Your Love So Bad
- Without Love (There Is Nothing)
- Please Send Me Someone to Love
- Another Woman's Man
- Sufferin' with the Blues
- Time Is on My Side
- While the City Sleeps
- Straight from the Heart
- I've Been There
- I Need You So
- Break-A-Way
- Take a Look
- Teasing, But You're Pleasing
- I Haven't Got Time to Cry
- You Don't Miss a Good Thing (Until It's Gone)
- Some Things You Never Get Used To
- Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)
- It's Starting to Get to Me Now
- Times Have Changed
- He's My Guy
- Baby Don't Look Down
- What Are You Trying to Do
- Wait, Wait, Wait
Average customer rating:
- Exceptionally moving
- Horne brings these wonderful masterpieces to life!
|
Marilyn Horne - I Will Breathe A Mountain ~ Songs of Barber, Bernstein & Bolcom / Martin Katz, Tokyo String Quartet
Samuel Barber , William Bolcom , Leonard Bernstein , Marilyn Horne , Martin Katz , Tokyo String Quartet , Kikuei Ikeda , Kazuhide Isomura , Peter Oundijian , and Sadao Harada
Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
All Works by Barber
| Barber, Samuel
| ( B )
| Featured Composers, A-Z
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
All Works by Bernstein
| Bernstein, Leonard
| ( B )
| Featured Composers, A-Z
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Bolcom, William
| ( B )
| Featured Composers, A-Z
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Incidental Music
| Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music
| Forms & Genres
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Baroque (c.1600-1750)
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Chamber Music
| Forms & Genres
| Modern, 20th, & 21st Century
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Vocal & Song
| Modern, 20th, & 21st Century
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Arias
| Opera & Vocal
| Styles
| Music
General
| Opera & Vocal
| Styles
| Music
Horne, Marilyn
| Divas
| Opera & Vocal
| Styles
| Music
General
| Songs & Lieder
| Vocal Non-Opera
| Opera & Vocal
| Styles
| Music
ASIN: B0000064Y9
Release Date: 1998-03-10 |
Tracks:
- The Daisies, Op. 2 No. 1
- A Nun Takes The Veil, Op. 13 No. 1
- Bessie Bobtail, Op. 2 No. 3
- The Secrets Of The Old, Op. 13 No. 2
- Sure On This Shining Night, Op. 13 No. 3
- Barber: I Hear An Army, Op. 10 No. 3
- Dover Beach, Op. 3
- I Will Breathe A Mountain: Pity Me Not Because The Light Of Day
- I Will Breathe A Mountain: How To Swing Those Obbligatos Around
- I Will Breathe A Mountain: The Crazy Woman
- I Will Breathe A Mountain: Just Once
- I Will Breathe A Mountain: Never More Will The Wind
- I Will Breathe A Mountain: The Sage
- I Will Breathe A Mountain: O To Be A Dragon
- I Will Breathe A Mountain: The Bustle In A House
- I Will Breathe A Mountain: I Saw Eternity
- I Will Breathe A Mountain: Night Practice
- I Will Breathe A Mountain: The Fish
- My House
- So Pretty
- Greeting
- Take Care Of This House
- Rabbit At Top Speed
- Sonnet: What Lips My Lips Have Kissed
- Nachspiel
- Dream With Me
Amazon.com
Though Horne is audibly at the end of her long and rich career, she did a good deed for American music with this disc, which consists of songs by Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein, and a new song cycle by William Bolcom, from which the disc takes its title. Horne's voice has a quiver, a lack of center, almost as if it refuses to stop singing Rossini (Horne's lifelong specialty). However, it's worth buying for the Bolcom cycle, which is one of his best vocal works, typically an eclectic, natural outgrowth of Bernstein's style with Horne gamely employing a wide range of vocal techniques with more eloquence than one could hope for. --David Patrick Stearns
Customer Reviews:
Exceptionally moving.......2003-10-16
This is AMERICAN SONGS at their most moving and emotional best, not to mention with great melody. Unlike a lot of American song literature (not broadway type, but "serious classical art songs"), these songs are actually quite beautiful, melodic, and can touch the heart of the listener easily. There is no strain to enjoy them. There is a bit of "sameness" between them, which is my only complaint about this recording; one piece starts to sound like another, especially if you are not listening carefully while listening. Even then, it is still very lovely.
It has been mentioned that Horne is now far past her prime, and that may be, but even far past her prime she is far better than most singers half her age. There is still vibrancy, life, and depth to her voice. It communicates on a very deep level. Martin Katz, her life long accompanist, is, as usual, a revelation as an accompanist. Unlike people think, the accompanist just doesn't play in the background, he is a very vital part of making a performance work. Accompaning singers is a very new art form, and many performers of earlier ages simply had very bad accompanist. With Gerald Moore we started to have people who knew how to support the singer, actually adding to the performance giving it depth and helping the singer shine. Now we are so used to good accompanist, and are so accustomed to their high level of performance, it is very easy to forget what they add.
Katz knows Horne well, and is fully aware of when she is having troubles supporting a phrase, or when she is in best voice. He gives so much to her awesome performance through his very sensitive way of playing this music.
I would recommend this for anyone to buy: fans of modern art songs, fans of Marilyn Horne, and simply fans of good singing.
Horne brings these wonderful masterpieces to life!.......1999-07-17
Throughout the Barber, Bolcom and Bernstein, Marilyn Horne uses her ability to combine technical definition with artistic movement and expansion. Having had the opportunity to see her perform this literature live was an emotionally elevating experience. The way Horne and Katz have reworked a few of the Berstein pieces brings new life and perspectuve to these already wonderful pieces. I highly recommend this recording for the casual classical listener, as well as, for the student that enjoys learning from a master through their art.
Average customer rating:
|
Shakespeare's Songbook, Vols. 1 & 2
Manufacturer: Azica
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Opera & Vocal
| Styles
| Music
General
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Similar Items:
- Shakespeare's Songbook
- Songs and Dances from Shakespeare
- Shakespeare Songs
- Shakespeare's Musick (Songs & Dances from Shakespeare's Plays) / Pickett, Musicians of the Globe
- William Shakespeare's Hamlet (Two-Disc Special Edition)
ASIN: B0002IQL08
Release Date: 2004-07-06 |
Tracks:
- Ah Robin (Round)
- And Let Me The Cannikin Clink
- And Will He Not Come Again
- Be Merry, Be Merry
- Black Spirits
- Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind
- Bonny Sweet Robin
- But Shall I Go Mourn
- Can'st Thou Not Hit It
- Come Away
- Come Away, Hecate
- Come Live With Me
- Come O'er The Burn
- Come Thou Monarch (Version 2)(Round)
- Come Unto These Yellow Sands
- A Cup Of Wine
- Farewell, Dear Heart
- Fathers That Wear Rags
- Fear No More
- Fie On Sinful Fantasy
- Fill The Cup (Round)
- Flout 'Em And Cout 'Em (Round)
- Fools Had Ne'er Less Grace
- For I'll Cut My Green Coat
- The Friar And The Nun
- Full Fathom Five
- The George Alow (Version 1)
- Get You Hence
- The God Of Love
- Hark, Hark The Lark
- Have I Caught My Heavenly Jewel
- Heart's Ease
- Hold Thy Peace (Version 2)(Round)
- Honor, Riches
- I Am Gone Sir
- I Loathe The I Did Love
- It Was A Lover And His Lass
- Jepha
- Jog On
- Jolly Shepherd (Round)
- King Stephen Was A Worthy Peer
- Lawn As White
- Love, Love, Nothing But Love (Version 2)
- The Master, The Swabber (Version 2)
- No More Dams
- An Old Hare Hoar (Version 1)
- O Mistress Mine (Version 1)
- Orpheus With His Lute
- O Sweet Oliver
- Pardon Goddess Of The Night
- Roses Their Sharp Spines
- Sigh No More, Ladies
- Some Men For Sudden Joy (Version 1)
- Take, O Take Those Lips
- Tell Me, Where Is Fancy Bred
- That Sir Which Serves
- There Dwelt A Man In Babylon (Version 1)
- There Was Three Fools
- Three Merry Men (Round)
- Tomorrow Is St. Valentine's Day
- Under The Greenwood Tree
- Up And Down (Round)
- Urns And Odours Bring Away
- Walsingham
- Was This Fair Face
- Wedding Is Great Juno's Crown
- What Shall He Have (Round)
- When Arthur First In Court
- When Daffodils Begin To Peer
- When Daisies Pied
- When Griping Grief
- When Icicles Hang By The Wall
- When That I Was And A Little Tyne Boy
- Where The Bee Sucks
- While You Here Do Snoring Lie
- Who Is Silvia
- Why Let The Strucken Deer
- Willow, Willow (Version 1)
- Will You Buy Any Tape
- The Woosel Cock
- You Spotted Snakes
Tracks:
- Awake, Awake
- Battle Of Agincourt
- Bride's Goodmorrow
- Broom
- Callino
- Carmen's Whitle
- Chi Passa
- Come Kiss Me, Kate (Round)
- Come Thou Monarch (Version 1)
- Cup Of Wine (Version 1)
- Damon
- Daphne
- Diana (2 Versions)
- Dulcina
- Eglamore
- Eighty-Eight
- Fortune My Foe
- George Alow (Version 2)
- Glass Doth Run
- Goddesses
- Go From My Window
- Greensleeves (2 Versions)
- Guy Of Warwick
- Hem Boys (2 Versions)
- Hey Ho for A Husband (2 Versions)
- Hobbyhorse
- Hold Thy Peace (Versions 1 & 3)
- Hunt's Up
- I Cannot Come Every Day (2 Versions)
- In Crete
- In Peascod Time
- Jack Boy (Round)
- King Cophetua
- King Lear
- King Solomon
- Light O Love
- Loath To Depart (2 Versions)
- Love, Love (Version 1)
- Master, Swabber (Version 1)
- Mounsier Mingo
- Mounsieur's Almaine
- My Mind To Me
- Nutmegs (Of All The Birds)
- Nutmegs (Wooing Of The Baker's Daughter)
- O Death (2 Versions)
- Old Hare Hoar (Version 2)
- O Mistress Mine (Version 2)
- O' The Twelfth Day Of December
- Oyster Pie
- Peg A Ramsey (2 Versions)
- Phillida (3 Versions)
- Please One
- Pyramus
- Queen Dido (2 Versions)
- Ratcatcher
- Rich Jew
- Robin Goodfellow
- Robin Hood
- Rogero
- Rowland
- Sellenger's Round
- Shore's Wife (2 Versions)
- Sick, Sick (3 Vesions)
- Some Men For Sudden Joy (Round)
- There Dwelt A Man (Version 2)
- Titus Andronicus
- Tom A Bedlam (2 Versions)
- Troilus
- Troy Town
- Wellady
- Whenas We Sat In Babylon
- Where Is The Life
- Whoop
- Why Let The Strucken (If Care Do Cause)
- Willow, Willow (Version 2)
- Will Ye Buy A Fine Dog
- With A Fading
Average customer rating:
- The essence of a great entertainer catpured.
|
At The Hollywood Bowl + Encore
Manufacturer: Collectables
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
All Works by Chopin
| Chopin, Frédéric
| ( C )
| Featured Composers, A-Z
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
All Works by Gershwin
| Gershwin, George
| ( G )
| Featured Composers, A-Z
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
All Works by Debussy
| Debussy, Claude
| ( D )
| Featured Composers, A-Z
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Concertos
| Forms & Genres
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Character Pieces
| Short Forms
| Forms & Genres
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Incidental Music
| Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music
| Forms & Genres
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General Modern
| Modern, 20th, & 21st Century
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General Contemporary
| Modern, 20th, & 21st Century
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Chamber Music
| Forms & Genres
| Romantic (c.1820-1910)
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music
| Forms & Genres
| Romantic (c.1820-1910)
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Vocal & Song
| Romantic (c.1820-1910)
| Historical Periods
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Keyboard
| Instruments
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Piano
| Keyboard
| Instruments
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
General
| Opera & Vocal
| Styles
| Music
General
| Easy Listening
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Orchestral Pop
| Easy Listening
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
General
| Vocal Pop
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Easy Listening
| Pop
| Indie Music
| Stores
| Music
Similar Items:
- Live in London
- 16 Biggest Hits
ASIN: B00005Y8VW
Release Date: 2001-01-30 |
Tracks:
- I'll Be Right Back
- Alouette - Liberace, George Liberace, Los Angeles Philharmonic
- Theme and Welcome Back
- Gershwin Medley: Rhapsody in Blue/Embraceable You/Love Walked ...
- Hillbilly Music
- Hey Liberace
- Intro
- Liberace Boogie
- Intro
- Rosary
- George and His Hot Fiddle
- Sweet Sue, Just You
- How About Another One?
- Tea for Two
- Sometimes I'm Ashamed to Take the Money
- Alexander's Ragtime Band/Old Folks at Home
- Taking Requests
- Hollywood Bowl Concerto: Jalousie (Jealousy)/Star Dust/Walkin' My Baby
- Closing Theme and Good Night
Album Description
2 CD set includes-At The Hollywood Bowl & Hollywood Bowl Encore. These two albums comprise a memorable 1954 performance including, for the first time, the entire concert, complete with Liberace's colorful monologues. Highlights include 'Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out The Barrel)', 'Bumble Boogie' and 'Twelfth Street Rag'. 2002.
Customer Reviews:
The essence of a great entertainer catpured........2004-05-03
Liberace was a great showman and entertainer. This double CD is the best record of his classic act and demonstrates what Liberace was all about. Although recorded in 1954 the sound quality is fine and many of the elements from that period remained part of Liberace's act over more than 30 years. Interestingly - he was not yet using "I'll Be Seeing You" as his exit music. If there is anything you like about Liberace - get this CD.
NB Amazon (on 2/5/04) was only listing the tracks on the second CD.
Average customer rating:
- English is an asset and a drawback
- You Will Love Opera After Hearing Carmen In English
- A wholly credible "Carmen" -- finally!
- I love Carmen!
|
Carmen (Sung in English)
Bizet , Bardon , Gavin , Plazas , Magee , and Parry
Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Opera & Vocal
| Styles
| Music
Operettas
| Opera & Vocal
| Styles
| Music
General
| Classical
| Styles
| Music
Similar Items:
- Mozart: The Magic Flute
- The Barber of Seville / B. Ford, D. Jones, A. Opie; G. Bellini [in English]
- Verdi: La Traviata
- Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro
- Mozart - Don Giovanni / Garry Magee · Cullagh · Banks · Plazas · Shore · Tierny · PO · David Parry
ASIN: B00007JGRN
Release Date: 2003-03-11 |
Tracks:
- Prelude
- In The Plaza
- Just Look At That Delicious Morsel
- Here Come Our New Soldier Boys
- Jose! There Was A Girl Here Looking For You Just Now
- Off With You Old Soldier Boys
- Corporal! Sir!
- We Have Heard The Bell Summon Us To Meet Here
- Ah, Just Look!
- But Why Hasn't She Come, Our Carmencita?
- Love's A Bird Wild As Any Rebel
- Carmen! We Will Follow You High And Low!
- The Cheek Of It!
- Give Me News Of My Mother!
- Your Dear Mother And I Were Leaving Church This Morning
- I See My Mother's Face!
- Wait A Moment - I'm Going To Read The Letter
- Come And Help
- So, Corporal: Tell Me What Happened
- Well, Carmencita: What Do You Have To Say For Yourself?
- Where Are You Taking Me?
- There's An Old Bar In The City
- Careful - It's Lieutenant!
- Entr'acte
- From Far Away Mysterious Sounds
- Bravo, Bravo! More! Keep Dancing!
- Hurrah! Hurrah! The Torero!
- Who's That? It's Escamillo, The Bullfighter From Granada
- Hurrah! Hurrah! The Torero!
- You're Most Kind
- We'll Come With You, Senor Torero
- Toreador, Be Ready!
- At Last! We Got Rid Of Them As Quickly As We Could
- There's A Little Job That We're Starting!
- Being In Love Is Not A Reason
Tracks:
- To Bid You Welcome To Our Bar
- La La La La La La La La...
- Back To Camp!... Go At Once!
- That Flow'r You Threw To Me I Treasured
- No, It's Not Love At All!
- Hello! Carmen!
- Lieutenant Fair, It's True
- The Sky Above The Open Road
- Entr'acte
- Keep Going, Dear Old Friend, Kep Going!
- Right! Let's Stop For A While
- Shuffle! Cut Them!
- In Vain You Would Avoid The Bitter Things They're Saying
- You're Back!
- As For That Man, It Should Be Easy!
- Is This The Place?
- I Say That There's Nothing To Fear
- It's Him! I'm Sure It's Him Over There!
- Escamillo Is My Name, And I Come From Granada
- She Had A Lover Here
- Hola! Hola! Jose!
- You Should Take Care, Carmen
- Alas! Jose, Your Mother Is Ill
- Entr'acte
- A Few Cuartos! A Few Cuartos!
- Here They Come! Here They Come!
- If You Love Me, Carmen
- It's You! It's Me!
- Viva! Viva! What A Corrida!
Customer Reviews:
English is an asset and a drawback.......2004-07-20
The best thing about this recording of Carmen is the libretto. Conductor David Parry penned this facile and dramatic English translation. He avoids the pitfalls of literal translation to achieve an idiomatic flow that matches the rhythm of the original lyrics. I use this as a reference libretto for any of the French Carmens.
Unfortunately, the performance suffers from being sung in English. The singers declaim their parts with such proper British diction that Carmen comes across as a school marm. The spoken dialog is delivered beat for deliberate beat and is dripping with reverb. It makes the plaza, tavern and mountain pass all sound like a sewer pipe.
This is a good first Carmen for someone trying to understand the work. The libretto itself is a good investment for further listening. For an enjoyable performance with an emphasis on character and action, I recommend Regina Resnik on the London Double Decker set.
You Will Love Opera After Hearing Carmen In English.......2004-02-09
What a perfect introduction to opera. This newly released recording will surely get you hooked into opera. Carmen, a French opera by Georges Bizet, is the most recognizable and most popular in the opera world. It's famous melodies- the overture, the Habanera, The Toreador Song have all been featured in everything from cellular phone ring tones to Superbowl Commercial (last year's Superbowl with The "Opera In English" label has been making Italian operas into English for a number of years now. Also on the market are Verdi's La Traviata in English (with soprano Valerie Masterson as Violetta) Handel's Julius Caesar with Janet Baker and even Wagner's epic Ring Of The Nibeling sung in English. This is a terrific recording and I highly recommend it if you want to get into opera. Listen to this version first and then try the real, original French version Bizet had written. Patricia Bardon is sensational, sexy and dramatic as Carmen.
The real strength of this version is the dynamic drama. With the advantage of being sung in English, we get better insight on characters' emotions and motives, and we understand the drama a lot better. Carmen is all about great drama. Bizet drew the plot from the French writer Prosper Merimee's dark short story. Carmen is the ultimate femme fatale- a devil-may-care, sexy Gypsy living in Spain, seduces the conservatively raised soldier Don Jose, stealing him away from his fiancee, the passive Micaela, living a life of underground smuggling and rowdy taverns. "Habanera" and "The Gypsy Song and Dance" are very expressive of Carmen's extraordinarily liberal lifestyle. Don Jose, however, has fallen deeply in love- as he shows us in his song/aria "The Flower Song". But Carmen soon becomes tired of his constancy. Don Jose wants a committed, monogamous relationship with Carmen. But Carmen will not submit to love, since she is first and foremost a carnal creature. Eventually, she falls for the handsome Toreador Escamillo. Don Jose, consumed by jealousy, stabs Carmen at a bullfight after Carmen declares her love for Escamillo and rejects Don Jose's love. Don Jose's crazed, obscessive personality shines through in the English version as well. This tragedy has been done in English before so don't think this is the first time. Back in the 50's, there was a film, starring black actors "Carmen Jones" which was treated the same way as this opera- more like an English Broadway musical and with the dubbed singing voice of Marilyn Horne as Carmen. All in all, this recording is excellent.
A wholly credible "Carmen" -- finally!.......2003-09-17
This recording really sells "Carmen" as a drama. Although I have two other recordings of this opera and have seen it performed several times, it never quite worked for me dramatically. But thanks to the fine performances, conducting, and translation here, I've become a "Carmen" convert. Producing a good English-language performance of a foreign opera, especially a warhorse like "Carmen," is much more difficult than it might appear. You need performers who not only can sing the parts (of course) but also can sing *English* and make it halfway intelligible and make it sound like English and make it dramatically convincing to English-speakers. The singers on this recording do an excellent job all around. Don't be put off if you don't recognize their names -- they are up to the task musically and (especially) in their acting. Admittedly, as with *all* English-language recordings, some passages are very hard to understand without reading along, but most of the time the words are clear and effective. I would recommend this recording to any opera beginner or opera lover, even those who normally turn up their noses at performances in translation.
I love Carmen!.......2003-08-15
I do. I can think of no other opera with more melodic inventiveness, and few others with so sure a dramatic pulse. Carmen is popular and it thrills me to say that it is also a very good opera - not always true of popular things.
And what of this recording? Carmen sits well in English, so it is good to hear in translation, although some of the detais in the text jar. Escamillo refers to Jose as "my dear", which sounds rather peculiar, and the guide's line to Micaela: "it's not exactly inviting, is it?" sounds distinctly Middle England rather than Rural Spain. Some of the performers, not least Carmen herself, make the words work, although there are long tracts, especially with the chorus, where the language is distinctly indistinct.
The soloists are, by and large, strong. Patricia Bardon's deep, Handel-friendly voice adapts well to Carmen and she colours the music with phenomenal detail, sounding sexy and provocative from the start with an edge of pride and anger that emerges as the show goes on. She is out of her depth above the stave, though, and some extra top notes in the second act don't show her off to her best advantage. I have previously said that Julian Gavin is poorly served by recordings, though here he sounds much more even and gives a thrilling and musical performance (but his wooden spoken lines let him down). Mary Plazas is a lovely Micaela, rich-voiced and sincere (and word-perfect), but Garry Magee sounds miscast as Escamillo, lacking the ballast at the bottom of the voice to do justice to this tricky role.
The supporting cast is good (Mary Hegarty seems to do nothing but Frasquita these days!) but the really treasurable thing is the conducting. Stepping out of Italian Ottocento, David Parry turns his hand to this French Comedie with an appropriate lightness of touch. His pacing and handling of the set pieces is exemplary and the enrtractes go with a real swing.
A pleasure, then, for the Carmen naive or a novelty for the Carmen-acquainted. I nearly wrote Carmen-weary - but I don't think it's possible.
Pop Music:
- Terra Angelica
- The Crackdown [Import]
- The Nutcracker Suite
- The Path to You
- The Storm
- Tibet
- Tibetan Meditation
- Tingri
- Tranquil Cove
- Weather Report
Pop Music
pop music
Recommended Music:
The Best of Renee Geyer [Import]
Symphonie
Souvenirs Collection [Original recording remastered]
Music: Greatest T*ts [Explicit Lyrics] [Enhanced] [Explicit
RU Ready
Star Catching Girl [CD-single] [Import]
Terra Africa [Box set] [Import]
The Flock/Dinosaur Swamps
Sky Moves Sideways
Sweet Seraphic Fire
The Escapist
Sunny Side of the Street [Import]
Que Me Siga la Tambora
Guitar Legends
Special Occasion