Distant Fields

Track Listings

1. Promise of Summer

2. You Can Always Come Back to California

3. Say It With Your Heart

4. Golden Gate

5. Journey and the Wind

6. Distant Fields

7. After the Rain

8. Under the Listening Tree

9. Love and the Rose

10. Home at Last

Distant Fields,Gary Lamb,Golden Gate,Adult Alternative,Jazz Music,Solo Instrumental

Distant Fields

Tracks:

When You Were My Baby
The Saddest Story Ever Told
Lovers From The Moon
Candy
Tokyo A Go-Go
Summer Lies
Old Orchard Beach
Jeremy
Dancing In Your Eyes
Suddenly There Is A Tidal Wave
(Untitled)
Railroad Boy
Smoke Signals
You Love To Fail
Kings
Babies Falling
Living In An Abandoned Firehouse With You
Tar-Heel Boy
Falling In Love With The Wolfboy
Josephine
100,000 Fireflies

Customer Reviews:

Hear the genius form.......2005-10-23

This is probably The Magnetic Fields most uneven release, but this is, of course, due to the fact that these are Merritt's first records. Most people seem to complain about the track order more than anything, but I can see why The Wayward Bus was put first. If Distant Plastic Trees were up first, most people probably would not be able to sit through the whole thing.

Distant Plastic Trees feels very different from all other Magnetic Fields releases and comes across sounding more like Enya singing folk songs. Even worse, the synthesizers sound especially fake with some really annoying sound effects. That said, the songwriting here is still pretty good. To echo a similar theme other reviewers have noted, some of these songs would have been better if Merritt had just sung them himself, but Susan Anway is able to do things Stephin couldn't have. For example, listen to the clips for "Josephine" and "Tar-Heel Boy."

The biggest annoyance here is the fact they left off "Plant White Roses" which was the best song on the album. Merge's compilation Six Rows of Teeth has a Merritt-sung version which is very good, but the Anway version is better. That was on the Harriet Records "Long Secret" compilation, which is (trust me) unavailable.

The Wayward Bus is exponentially better than Plastic Trees. It is a brilliant tribute to Phil Spector. The synthesizers are reverberated, combined with real instruments, and put through filters, so they sound much more natural than Plastic Trees. It still sounds quite muddy though, but that's how it is supposed to sound. The songs are irresistibly catchy and the lyrics are less pretentious. There isn't a bad song in the ten as far as I am concerned.

If you were wondering how Merritt's music got so good, this is an interesting start. This will help you understand just where this guy came from. Buy this for The Wayward Bus, but lower your expectations when you get to Plastic Trees.

real raw.......2005-10-01

I can't even get into a lengthly explanation - listening to all of the magnetic fields songs make me happy to be alive.
simple.

Bittersweet and lovely.......2004-10-11

I usually detest indie pop like this: low fi, precious, sentimentally gloopy songs with detached singing and little or no guts to the music. But damn if this doesn't work in an odd, magical way. The songs don't rock for sure, but the melodies and lyrics pack a delicate punch that can be either soothing, cathartic or just bittersweet. Songs for after the breakup with the love of your life.

I Know Your Secret Code.......2004-08-26

This album snuck up on me. At first I thought it was terrible, for the reasons other reviewers have mentioned (blandish vocals, messy arrangements and noise) but I listened to it a little more and got to know the songs and appreciate all of them. The quirky poetry and the entire mood the album creates has come to mean so much to me, and it has truly become one of my favorite albums- odd, imperfect, and endearing.

Susan's Vocals.......2004-04-13

Susan was hired for these two albums to sing in the manner which Stephin wanted her to sing. It's no accident that she sang on some of the tracks, in what has been termed "bland" "monotone" etc.This is the effect Stephin wanted so this is exactly how Susan sang the songs, under Stephin's explicit direction. Susan has an amazing vocal range. If you doubt this just listen to some of her early art/punk "V;" work. As I said, her vocal range is amazing.

Average customer rating:

A Great CD

Distant Fields
Gary Lamb
Manufacturer: Golden Gate
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Styles | Music

Solo Instrumental | New Age | Styles | Music

Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music
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Imaginations
Twelve Promises
Lavender Skies
Walk in the Garden
Love Themes

ASIN: B000001P3K
Release Date: 1991-01-01

Tracks:

Promise of Summer
You Can Always Come Back to California
Say It With Your Heart
Golden Gate
Journey and the Wind
Distant Fields
After the Rain
Under the Listening Tree
Love and the Rose
Home at Last

Customer Reviews:

A Great CD.......2001-07-03

Gary Lamb is a musical genius on all twelve of his albums. His excellence in composing and performing is unmatched. I have never heard anyone who can play the piano as Gary can, and his masterful use of the drums is great. I particularly like when he plays solo piano, with no other instruments. It is then that his musical genius is really shown. If you are looking for an album that is the impediment of excellent music, then this is the album for you.

Nothing is Real...: Music by Alvin Lucier

Average customer rating:

Nothing is Real...: Music by Alvin Lucier

Manufacturer: Wergo Germany
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
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Alvin Lucier: Navigations for Strings; Small Waves

ASIN: B0000TI3I2
Release Date: 2005-07-12

Average customer rating:

Okay follow-up to a great work.

Battle of the Atlantic Suite

Manufacturer: Conifer
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B0000024BZ
Release Date: 1993-11-23

Customer Reviews:

Okay follow-up to a great work........2006-05-11

Written after Roylance and Galvin recorded their Tall Ships Suite, this suite also tells a story of ships in the Atlantic Ocean; this time of a Royal Navy Warship traveling the North Atlantic in WWII during 1943. Composed of several pieces, each piece has a distinct tone, melody and emotional impact. Each piece represents a different stage of the ship's travel across the sea, which makes it similar to its counterpart; the Tall Ships Suite. The emotional and melodic range from one piece to the next is quite great; and one could listen to all the pieces in a row and think that each was composed by a different person. In this respect, it is quite different from the Tall Ships Suite, in which one could tell that they were all composed by the same person, and should be played together. Overall, this music is okay; not great and not as majestic as the Tall Ships Suite. There is singing though in the last piece, which might broaden the appeal of this work over the prior Suite.

Weill: Concerto for Violin & Wind Orchestra; Vasks: Concerto for Violin & String Orchestra 'Distant Light'

Average customer rating:

Anthony Marwood could play the phone book...
The question and the answer

Weill: Concerto for Violin & Wind Orchestra; Vasks: Concerto for Violin & String Orchestra 'Distant Light'

Manufacturer: Hyperion UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000B0XQQY
Release Date: 2005-11-15

Customer Reviews:

Anthony Marwood could play the phone book..........2007-05-12

and it would be a recording worth having. The two pieces seem appropriate for two separate CDs - and it's a somewhat jarring experience to go from one to the other. However, his musicianship - especially his passionate declamations within the Vasks piece - rises above all of the many challenges put forward. The Vasks is a piece I normally associate with Gidon Kremer - Marwood's performance is more lyrical, his tone is more sumptuous, and his fervor is just as evident. Great orchestral support - the small size of the ensemble allows the players to play out without having to artificially limit their sound production.

The question and the answer.......2006-09-13

Kurt Weill composed his violin concerto in 1924 when he was just 24, shortly before he transitioned away from the strictly classical. It shows the influence of Stravinsky and Schoenberg. There is also a noticeable jazz influence. It has been described as "wonderfully sleazy".

The violin concerto by Latvian-born Peteris Vasks (born 1946) could not be further removed from Weill's work. This work has been described as "fragile, beautiful, otherworldly", and (in Vasks' own words) "nostalgia with a touch of tragedy."

So what do these two excellent concertos have in common? For starters, I would say that they both have Anthony Marwood's inspired, devoted and flawless interpretation that infuses both with a sense of deep mystery, suggested in part by the darkly enigmatic art of Joseph Uhl which graces the cover. In addition, both works put forth a considered stance toward the existential darkness which seems to engulf modern life.

The Weill concerto seems to be saying, cope with the meaningless, embrace it, and try to find some dark humor in it. By contrast, the Vasks concerto urges a resolute inner strength that will eventually overwhelm the darkness so that the distant light, "the glittering stars millions of light years away" (Vasks) light our path and guide us forward in our quest for ultimate meaning.

These two works could not be more unalike in temperament, nor their styles more different. The Vasks concerto is elegiac, emotional, mournful, spiritual, tonal, and seering, whereas the Weill concerto is ironic, relatively atonal, cerebral, matter-of-fact, witty, urbane, and perfunctory.

Both are masterworks which produce different responses in the listener. Vasks' work grabs you by the throat, mesmerizes you, until the last ounce of resistance is wrung out of you. You grab hold and ride its emotional wave. Weill's work is dry, self-deprecating, sophisticated, and inventive. It is the product of a young man, filled with confidence, even a little cocky perhaps.

The Vasks concerto resides in a state of acute emotional crisis. It is torn between Yes and No. The great battle for Yes is fought in the fourth movement, but it is a short-lived battle. Immediately the fifth movement brings, if not resolution, then faith, earnestness, sincerety. The elegaic tone resumes, mournful, probing, touched with tragedy, reminiscence, wistfulness.

There is a sense in which the Weill concerto is a preface to the Vasks, or rather; the Weill concerto is the question - to which the Vasks concerto is the answer. Vasks' concerto gives the meditations of a composer far more mature than the twenty-four year old Weill. But Weill has asked the right question. And that is perhaps just as important.

Distant Playing Fields: 20th Century Vocal Chamber Works by Amy Beach & William Mayer

Average customer rating:

Distant Playing Fields: 20th Century Vocal Chamber Works by Amy Beach & William Mayer

Manufacturer: Newport Classic
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B0000067TI
Release Date: 1998-03-17

Tracks:

Mayer: A Lover's Lament
Mayer: Distant Playing Fields
Beach: When Soul is Joined to Soul, Op. 62
Beach: Message, Op. 93
Mayer: Ae Fond Kiss
Beach: Songs of the Sea, Op. 10: no 3, Sea Song
Mayer: Enter Ariel
Mayer: Let it Be forgotten
Mayer: The Flight
Mayer: hist-whist
Mayer: Flotsam
Beach: Night Song at Amalfi
Mayer: The Negro Speaks of Rivers
Beach: God is our stronghold, Op. 133

Average customer rating:

Distant Fields
Gary Lamb
Manufacturer: Golden Gate Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | New Age | Styles | Music

Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music

Solo Instrumental | New Age | Styles | Music

Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00008F596
Release Date: 1992-08-14

Tracks:

Promise of Summer
You Can Always Come Back to California
Say It With Your Heart
Golden Gate
Journey and the Wind
Distant Fields
After the Rain
Under the Listening Tree
Love and the Rose
Home at Last

Average customer rating:

Wayward Bus/Distant Plastic Tr

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000TLUFSW
Release Date: 1995-01-23

Average customer rating:

Singers of Imperial Russia, Vol. 3
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Pearl
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Russia | Far East & Asia | International | Styles | Music

General | International | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Sophia - Irena Bohuss
Black Skirt - Irena Bohuss
Traviata: Sempre Libera - Irena Bohuss
I Love Men - Irena Bohuss
Boh: Donde Lieta Usc Irena Bohuss
For Good Night - Irena Bohuss
Sad Song - Janina Korolewicz-Wayda
Halka: Like the Shrub in the Whirlwind - Janina Korolewicz-Wayda
Guelder-Rose - Janina Korolewicz-Wayda
Tosca: Vissi d'Arte - Janina Korolewicz-Wayda
Juive: Pour Lui, Pour Moi, Mon P Act 2 - Janina Korolewicz-Wayda
Soldiers Bride, Op. 8, N. 4 - Anna el-Tour
Zuleika, Op. 34, N. 1 - Anna el-Tour
By the Sea: Op. 46/Not a Sound from the Sea/The Wave Breaks into Spra - Anna el-Tour
Come to the Kingdom of Roses and Wine - Nadezhda Zabela-Vrubel
Sadko: Cradle Song - Nadezhda Zabela-Vrubel
Ruslan and Ljudmila: Magnificent Star of Love...O My Ratmir! - Maria Kuznetsova
Life for the Tsar: It Is Not for That That I Grieve - Maria Kuznetsova
Traviata: E' Strano...Ah, Fors' Lui - Maria Kuznetsova
Taras Bulba: Non, Je N'Ai Pas Sommeil - Maria Kuznetsova
Snow Maiden: How Painful Hre [Act 1] - Lydia Lipkowska
Snow Maiden: But What Ails Me?/Death of the Snow Maiden [Act 4] - Lydia Lipkowska
Barbiere Di Siviglia: Una Voce Poco Fa.. Io Sono Docile Act 2 - Lydia Lipkowska
Tsar's Bride: All the Livelong Day Act 2 - Lydia Lipkowska

Tracks:

Eugene Onegin: I Love You, Olga (Act 1) - Dmitrij Smirnov
Eugene Onegin: In Your House! - Dmitrij Smirnov
Eugene Onegin: Whither, Whither...Distant Echo of Youth (Act 2) - Dmitrij Smirnov
Dubrovsky: O Give Me Oblivion - Dmitrij Smirnov
Ruslan and Ljudmila: There Is a Desert Country - Dmitrij Smirnov
Rusalka: Unwillingly to These Sad Shores - Dmitrij Smirnov
Prince Igor: Daylight Is Fading, Act 2 - Dmitrij Smirnov
Dobrynja Nikitich: The Flowers Are Blooming in the Fields - Dmitrij Smirnov
Queen of Spades: Forgive Me, Bright Celestial Vision (Act 1) - Dmitrij Smirnov
Queen of Spades: What Is Our Life? - Dmitrij Smirnov
Snow Maiden: Mighty Nature, Full of Wonders Act 2 - Dmitrij Smirnov
Boris Godunov: Yet One More Page...Duet, Pimen & Gregory [Act 1] - Dmitrij Smirnov
Fair at Sorochinsk: Pourquoi, Mon Triste CUr? - Dmitrij Smirnov
Tranquillity - Dmitrij Smirnov
She Was Yours - Dmitrij Smirnov
Before My Window [Op. 26 N. 10] - Dmitrij Smirnov
Cradle Song, Op. 1 N. 5 - Dmitrij Smirnov
I Wish I Were With You - Dmitrij Smirnov
Rose and the Nightingale - Dmitrij Smirnov
O God! How Pleasant a Cool Summer Evening - Dmitrij Smirnov

Tracks:

Life for the Tsar: My Poor Horse Fell in the Field [Act 4] - Evgenija Ivanovna Zbrueva
Snow Maiden: Clouds Plotted With Thunder [Lel's 3rd Song, Act 3] - Evgenija Ivanovna Zbrueva
Dream on the Volga: Cradle Song - Evgenija Ivanovna Zbrueva
Faust: Versez Vos Chagrins (Act 4) - Evgenija Ivanovna Zbrueva
Ruslan and Ljudmila: And Blazing Heat, Pt. 1 - Evgenija Ivanovna Zbrueva
Ruslan and Ljudmila: The Wondrous Dream of Love [Ratmir's Aria, Act 5] - Evgenija Ivanovna Zbrueva
Erlk - Evgenija Ivanovna Zbrueva
Ruslan and Ljudmila: She Is My Life (Act 5) - Evgenija Ivanovna Zbrueva
Queen of Spades: Dear Friends (Pauline's Song, Act 1) - Evgenija Ivanovna Zbrueva
Doubt. -Be Still My Fears - Evgenija Ivanovna Zbrueva
Rusalka: Hark! The Trumpets Are Sounding...Days of Past Enjoyment [AC] - Evgenija Ivanovna Zbrueva
Prince Igor: Now the Daylight Dies [Konchakovna's Cavatina, Act 2] - Evgenija Ivanovna Zbrueva
Nero: Zulima's Bacchic Song - Evgenija Ivanovna Zbrueva
Carmen: C'Est Toi? C'Est Moi! ...Mais Moi, Carmen, Je T'Aime Encore - Eugene Witting, Evgenija Ivanovna Zbrueva
Life for the Tsar: My Poor Horse Fell...Open Up! [Act 4] - Evgenija Ivanovna Zbrueva
Life for the Tsar: Light the Fires! ...Saddle Your Horses! [Act 4] - Evgenija Ivanovna Zbrueva
Chant Hindou - Evgenija Ivanovna Zbrueva