Our Time

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Eric Chapelle, a Paris-born pianist-keyboardist now based in Austin, Texas, offers a self-released 1998 debut album that delivers a late-'80s New Age flashback, right down to the sunset-on-the-beach cover photo. That may sound like a put-down, but it's not. Uncomplicated, unpretentious, and sincerely played, Our Time presents a quiet, crescendo-free listening environment designed for reflective occasions. Piano and synthesizer--sometimes played solo, more often intertwined, are the only instruments Chapelle (not to be confused with pianist Jim Chappell) includes on the 66-minute disk. Traces of Yanni and improviser Michael Jones and even faint hints of Brian Eno can be detected in the album's 14 tracks. Melodies, though, are fleeting in Chapelle's work, meaning that this modest but earnest collection is best regarded as a background diversion. A highlight: the dreamy, slow-building "Enchanted Rock." --Terry Wood

Product Description
This month Chapelle released the CD "Our Time" on his own record label, Hamsa Music. This album offers fourteen original compositions that combine/ elements of classical, and contemporary music. A highly melodic collection, Our Time offers romantic and soothing sounds that appeal to listeners of all ages.

Our Time

Our Time,Eric Chapelle,Crystal Clear Sound,New Age

Our Time

Tracks:

Have You Ever Seen The Rain
Fooled Around And Fell In Love
I'll Stand By You
Still The Same
It's A Heartache
Day After Day
Missing You
Father & Son
The Best Of My Love
If Not For You
Love Hurts
Everything I Own
Crazy Love

Amazon.com

Unquestionably one of rock's greatest vocalists, Rod Stewart should have titled this album Great Rock Classics of My Time. Most of these Top 40 tunes and others like Dylan's "If Not for You" were popularized in the early to mid-'70s, when Stewart was entering his rock prime. He's perfect to croon Elvin Bishop's "Fooled Around and Fell in Love," soulfully pained on Bonnie Tyler's "It's a Heartache," and right in the pocket on the Pretenders' "I'll Stand by You." And his unmistakable raspiness puts another layer of wisdom on the old Cat Steven's classic "Father & Son." But you also have to wonder about some of the safe song choices, such Badfinger's "Day After Day" and Nazareth's "Love Hurts." Why he continues to record mossy cover songs is a legitimate question. What's stopping him from getting back in trenches with some contemporary rock songwriters and really reinventing himself? The karaoke lounge is no place for a guy this great to hang. --Martin Keller

More Great Rod Stewart

It Had to Be You... The Great American Songbook

It Had to Be You... The Great American Songbook [ENHANCED]

Thanks For The Memory...The Great American Songbook IV

Customer Reviews:

Somewhere Between Fair to Blah.......2007-07-16

Gosh darn, I was really looking forward to this CD, glad to see that the singer was getting back to roots & away from the total blah of the previous Frank Sinatra style disaster. However, I should have inspected the traks more carefully before ordering this CD. Anyway, I listened to it once & probably won't again. It's not a total waste, but geeze it's dull.

Better to get a root canal.......2007-06-11

First off, I like Rod Stewart. But this piece of dreck SHOULD be called "The tape is full, when do I get paid?". It's fun sometimes to hear a performer at a concert jump into an inspired cover. This is neither inspired, nor at a concert. It's a whole CD of, "well I need some money and I am too lazy to even add something to a cover song, let alone actually come up with something new." Bad enough it's all covers, his performance is lifeless, lethargic, and apathetic. Certainly, if I wanted to hear any of these songs, I would reach for the original first. This collection is unnecessary.

Still the Same.......2007-05-23

Rod Stewart still makes beautiful music. I recommend this CD highly.

Still has that voice, the Rod Stewart sound.......2007-05-18

Rod is still the same, he still can sing a ballad better than most rock stars, and his voice is once again unmistakably Rod. I was worried when he started singing 40s and 50s music that he'd lost his touch, or his voice after surgery. I'm glad for the success of those albums, but it's grand to hear Rod doing "our" standards.

AWESOME.......2007-05-10

LOVE IT, EVERY SONG!
Cant wait to catch ROD on Tour this summer
He's still got it!

Average customer rating:

Make room in your collection!
A Smashing Hit!
Best Compliment to My Music Collection!
An Essential CD Single!

Time of Our Lives
Paul Van Dyk
Manufacturer: Mute U.S.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Reflections

ASIN: B0000CD5G2
Release Date: 2003-09-23

Tracks:

Time Of Our Lives (Radio Edit)
Time Of Our Lives (PVD's Club Mix)
Connected (Motomix_05)
Connected (Marco V Mix)
Timoe Of Our Lives (PVD's Time To Chill Mix)
Time Of Our Lives (PVD's Berlin Electro Mix)

Album Description

'Time Of Our Lives' is the second single from Paul van Dyk's 2003 album Reflections. Includes 6 non album mixes, 4 for 'Time Of Our Lives' - The Radio Mix, PvD Club Mix, PvD Time to Chill Mix, PvD Berlin Electro Mix & 2 for 'Connected' - Motomix 05 & Marco V Mix. Mute. 2003.

Customer Reviews:

Make room in your collection!.......2004-07-23

Time of Our Lives (TOOL) is a fresh new track by PVD and Vega 4. It's not rock, it's not trance, it is totally something new and fresh. Even though rock fans would only enjoy one track from this CD (radio edit), it still a great buy. Then there is the traditional club mix from pvd where every electronic music fan would enjoy. One downside is the lyrics (Time for |this|, time for |that|, repeat, Time of our lives...).

The "b" side to this is a track done by pvd, "Connected". Featured on the motorola commercial, it was a hit! A very nice melody to it.

Buy it now, you won't regret it.

A Smashing Hit!.......2004-02-23

Another hit by PvD? How come I am not surprised? This song is absolutely fabulous and the vocals and beats are terrific. It's also quite similar to one of his previous works, "Nothing But You." If you like that song, chances are you'll enjoy this one. I am pretty sure that I heard this song somewhere else (besides from PvD), but who cares. If there is another song, PvD just made it 10x better.

Best Compliment to My Music Collection!.......2003-10-16

This single is absolutely awesome.
Played this song all the way to California and home. Definately worth the buy and I am happy to have another Paul Van Dyk single in my collection!

An Essential CD Single!.......2003-10-09

An Outstanding single! The 'PVD Club Mix' of "Time of Our Lives" rocks the house, and I feel is a better version of the original song... more Trance beats within this remix.

And, of course, the amazing remixes of "Connected" are solid material that even Paul van Dyk outdid himself on!

Tracks:

Noah's Dove
These Are Days
Eden
Few And Far Between
Stockton Gala Days
Gold Rush Brides
Jezebel
How You've Grown
Candy Everybody Wants
Tolerance
Circle Dream
If You Intend
I'm Not The Man

Amazon.com essential recording

The last album the band recorded before lead singer Natalie Merchant departed for a solo career, Our Time in Eden is the actualization of an unassuming college folk-rock band turned adult-contemporary group in the best possible way. Merchant's lullaby voice is more pure and confident than ever before. And although the music is still dominated by chiming rhythm guitar, the band incorporates an emphatic horn section on several tracks (most notably on "Candy Everybody Wants"). The best track is the sentimental swan song "These Are Days," which will evoke a distant smile and maybe even a teary eye, no matter how hard you try not to let it. --Beth Massa

Customer Reviews:

How they've grown........2006-01-22

I know alot of people love the "In My Tribe" album, and my favorite might be "Blind Man's Zoo", but I think this is their best, and is easily their most popular album. "Our Time In Eden" benefited by coming out at the height of the alternative craze, and "These Are Days" seemed to be a theme for more than a few people I knew. That was the big hit, but "Candy Everybody Wants" was another, as well as a few minor hits that made their "Unplugged" and "Campfire Songs" collections. By the time of this release, 10,000 Maniacs had really become more adult-alternative rock than college-rock, and you can hear where Natalie Merchant was headed on her first solo album in 1995. No complaint though, this is all good stuff. Personal favorites of mine would be the opener "Noah's Dove" and "Circle Dream", both beautiful and catchy. Truth is, they were/are a wonderful band, and any of the above mentioned albums are a joy to hear.

Films For Radio.......2005-03-18

Yes, to the very few of you have realized, I borrowed the title for this review from the title of a (completely fabulous by the way) album by Over The Rhine. That said Films For Radio describes perfectly, the music contained on Our Time in Eden.

Each song, both musically and lyrically is extremely emotive, Our Time In Eden is probably the Maniacs album where the disparity between the light pop-folk melodies and Natalie Merchant's dark, moody lyrics was at it's least, in part due to a slight lightening up of Merchant's subject matter, allowing for a more streamlined sound here than on previous efforts.

The album hasn't aged a day in the 13 years since it's relaese, Natalie's vocals are confident and clear and the music perhaps more experimental than previous works by the band is just beautiful

The standouts here are the lovely single These Are Days, Stockton Gala Days, Noah's Dove and Tolerence.

Sit back, close your eyes and let these songs, the melodies and the words from images in your mind.

One of my favorite bands of all time.......2005-02-22

10,000 Maniacs (with Natalie Merchant) made some of the most unique music of their time, that never achieved a great deal of commercial success...not like some of the groups you hear practically every day...Nickelback, Alice In Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, etc. I would guess that their music gets more airplay overall now than it did when it was new, especially since Natalie Merchant has had some success as a solo artist.

The fact that you didn't hear 10,000 Maniacs songs every 5 minutes on the radio is one of the things I loved most about them. I never had the chance to get sick of their music. The original 10,000 Maniacs wrote some of the best music of their time, in my opinion...rich melodies, stunning vocals, and intelligent lyrics.

Their sound changed/evolved from CD to CD, but still maintained a uniqueness of sound and style I've not heard before or since. Our Time In Eden is the most polished of the bunch. I think their most unique sounding CD was their debut CD, The Wishing Chair. A few of the songs, like Scorpio Rising and Lilydale, were never really replicated by the Maniacs again. Some of Natalie's solo work sounds similar to songs like Lilydale, but that's it.

The Maniacs wrote many great songs over the years: Can't Ignore the Train, Lilydale, Scorpio Rising, YMaddox Table, You Happy Puppet, Trouble Me, What's The Matter Here?, The Painted Desert, Don't Talk, Hey Jack Kerouac, Cherry Tree, City of Angels, These Are Days, Stockton Gala Days, Noah's Dove, Gold Rush Brides, Eden, Few

Best thing they ever did.......2004-10-24

Everything came together wiht this one - songwriting, instrumentation, production, and just that groove of a great record. You don't really tire of listening to this one. It's a pity it was their last.

Solid.......2004-10-19

This first thing I noticed about this music is its sincerity. The music is from the heart and seems to me to have been intended to please the group rather than some commercial esthetic. The result is interesting and enjoyable music where the performers are allowing us, the listeners, to share in their inner vision of who they are as artists. You can readily hear the emotion in each and every song, and I wondered whether part of that emotion was the realization that this was to be the last album from that incarnation of 10,000 Maniacs as Natalie Merchant was preparing to depart for a solo career.

The first thing I noticed when opening the fold-out for the CD is that the lyrics are written in a narrative form instead of verse form. The style of the music matches the narrative form. Many artists think and write in verse form, and to create music in narrative form is more difficult because of the difficulty and complexity of matching the syllables and pacing of the narrative to the music. The narrative form is usually the style of story tellers, and each of these songs comes across as a vignette.

The first vignette is "Noah's Dove," which comes across several ways. Noah's dove was the bird he sent out to find dry land. When at last the dove did not return, Noah knew that the dove had found dry land. Thus, the story is about someone seeking something, perhaps the something they will not find because it does not exist, but that person will continue to search, never realizing what they have in the here and now.

The second song, "These Are the Days," relates to the first song because the emphasis of this song is the here and now. The lyrics advise the listener that now is the golden time, the time that in later years the listener will look back on with fondness as one of the best times of their lives. One has to wonder whether this song was a lament at the imminent breakup of 10,000 Maniacs.

Each of these songs is full of allegory. "Eden" seems to have several allegories. The first is the allusion to the beauty on the surface of those you see, but the thorns are the reality. The song contrasts the illusions we create, even to ourselves, to our desire and willingness to be something else. How much is illusion and how much is reality is anyone's guess, because we choose, consciously or unconsciously. "Few and Far Between" continues the train of thought started in "Eden," this time from the viewpoint of accumulating the baggage of the past and regret, and not having enough room for the future.

"Stockton Gala Days," given that the singer is female, sounds a lot like a lesbian experience, particularly the line "There was no girl as warm as you." The song explains that the person she is singing about will never know how the singer felt about that experience and what it meant to the singer. "Jezebel" may fall into the same category as this song as the singer laments that she has allowed her marriage vows to cover the truth of her life and who she is.

"Gold Rush Brides" wonders where the strong women who overcame the legal limitations of the day to help win the west are documented. Most stories are of men, but women were integral to keeping everything together and often were the reason things happened. "Coming of Age" is song about how we change as we grow older. We always remember someone as the way we saw them last.

"Candy Everybody Wants" has a moral to it. Many of us consider blood, lust, hate and love of a sexual kind to be bad, yet those things are readily available in movies, books, and even song. If those things are truly wrong, the song questions who is to blame given how popular those things are. We hide behind others, blaming, but not wishing to be blamed. "Tolerance" also addresses avoidance. This time the issue is as stated in the title. When we hear of violence and intolerance, what do we do? We had away from it hoping that it will go another direction from us because we fear to take a stand.

"Circle Dream" is another wonderfully complex song. On the one hand the circle could be the world in which we live. The maze in the circle is the difficulty of living and finding our way. The face in the circle represents love and understanding, perhaps a lover. While the song has implications of an alternative lifestyle, it also implies the life we all live.

"If You Intend" is a song for lovers and loved ones, regardless of lifestyle. The song addresses commitment and love, and how the first step in realizing that love is to reach for the love, to express your intentions. Once again, the lament of the singer is for the listener to overcome their fears because the result otherwise is dreams unfulfilled.

The last song, "I'm Not the Man," caps off the running theme of intolerance and prejudice to those who are different from the "norm." In this case the victim is someone accused of the crime because of race or some similar reason. However, the singer was elsewhere, yet no one came forward. The evidence was thin, but the conviction assured. We know this scene, but it takes someone to have the power to step forward and stop it.

These songs are powerful and dramatically scrape open many of the problems of society. It is amazing that a group as well known as 10,000 Maniacs would address social issues unabashedly and ultimately create a beautiful work. Music like this dates back centuries to the days of bards. Music like this that appeals to a large audience happens all too rarely in this day of statistics and sales and station play.

Who Will Answer? And Other Songs of Our Time/My Cup Runneth Over

Average customer rating:

My Come Runneth Over With Love
Amazing Ed
Greatest Hits
mary in the morning
Enjoyable for fans of the Sixties style

Who Will Answer? And Other Songs of Our Time/My Cup Runneth Over
Ed Ames
Manufacturer: Collectables
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Release Date: 1997-10-21

Tracks:

Who Will Anwser?
Blowin' In The Wind
Yesterday
Monday, Monday
Pale Venetian Blind
Massachusetts
I Wanna Be Free
Cherish
The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener
Can't Take My Eyes Off You
There's A Kind Of Hush (All Over The World)
My Cup Runneth Over (From 'I Do! I Do!')
In The Arms Of Love (From 'What Did You Do In The War, Daddy?')
Au Revoir (From 'Sherry!')
Don't Blame Me
Watch What Happens (From 'The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg')
Melinda (From 'On A Clear Day You Can See Forever')
Bon Soir Dame
There's A Time For Evrything
True Love (From 'High Society')
Our Love Is A Living Thing
Edelweiss (From 'The Sound Of Music')
Try To Remember (From The Musical 'The Fantastiks')
Time, Time

Customer Reviews:

My Come Runneth Over With Love.......2007-06-11

I enjoyed the selections on this double album CD. The quality was very good.

Amazing Ed.......2006-08-28

A great CD that showcases the fantastic talents Of Ed Ames. Every selection is a hit. You will listen and enjoy this CD over and over again.

Greatest Hits.......2004-12-27

I'm also looking for Mary in the Morning. It is surprising the song is not on the greatest hits as it's still played on the radio.

mary in the morning.......2003-10-21

i am looking for "mary in the Morning by ed ames.. where can i find it

where can i find "mary in the morning" by ED Ames??/

Enjoyable for fans of the Sixties style.......2003-07-18

I disagree in the strongest possible terms with the reviewer who called the "But Who's To Answer" song almost laughable. In my opinion, it's the highlight of this cd. However, I was fortunate to see Ed Ames performing live in the mid 1990s where he performed this song a hundred times better than it sounds on this cd. That's not as much a criticism of the way the song sounds on this cd as much as how his voice (it was almost operatic at the live performance) improved with time and apparent training as well as what seemed to be additional or changed lyrics which were perhaps updated for the times but the socially conscious spirit of the song stayed the same. His performance and the lyrics of that song moved me so much that if I ever make it as a singer and can obtain the lyrics and music to that song, I will make it my theme song. "Watch What Happens" is an underperformed song that is another highlight of this cd. I hope Ed Ames will continue to perform and perhaps a recording of one of his later (1990s to present) will come out on cd. The other songs on this cd are nothing special, but just having the only version on cd (that I know about) of "Who's To Answer" makes this cd worth buying.

Sounds of Our Time: The Harlan County Album

Average customer rating:

Jim Ford - an instant classic from a long time ago.
The Mysterious Jim Ford
A brilliant lost songwriter found ... and a stunning reissue

Sounds of Our Time: The Harlan County Album
Jim Ford
Manufacturer: Bear Family
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000N4SHSA
Release Date: 2007-03-26

Tracks:

Harlan County
I'm Gonna Make Her Love Me
Changing Colors
Dr Handy's Dandy Candy
Love On My Brain
Long Road Ahead
Under Construction
Working My Way To L.A.
Spoonful
To Make My Life Beautiful
Big Mouth Usa
36 Inches High
Sounds Of Our Time
Chain Gang
I Wonder What They'll Do With Today
Go Through Sunday
She Turns My Radio On
Mixed Green
Happy Songs Sell Records, Sad Songs Sell Beer
It Takes Two (To Make One)
Big Mouth Usa
Rising Sign
Linda Comes Running
Ramona
Hanging From Your Lovin Tree

Album Description

The legendary ''Harlan County'' album, PLUS rare singles and previously unreleased masters! The first and last word on an underground roots music legend! Jim Ford's original album from 1969 has been described as the holy grail of country soul. Contains extensive liner notes that for the first time ever- tell the whole Jim Ford story. Includes ten previously unreleased recordings recently discovered at Ford's home. Only available here. Includes five songs from Jim Ford's ultra-rare 45rpm singles, never released on CD before. Previously unpublished photos personally supplied by Jim Ford. Jim Ford is the composer of Aretha Franklin and PJ Proby's 'Niky Hoeky', Bobby Womack's 'Harry Hippie', and - as revealed in the liner notes- he also wrote Bobbie Gentry's 'Ode To Billie Joe'. Includes a 40 page booklet.

Customer Reviews:

Jim Ford - an instant classic from a long time ago........2007-05-30

This is essential for any lover of late 60's, early 70's country-soul-funk. Amazingly, his album "Harlan County" has never received the attention it deserves. I heard of this through a friend. Nick Lowe confirms in the wonderful liner notes that Jim Ford was his biggest influence. As a huge Nick fan, it seems appropriate to dig into this stuff. The CD is in a great digipack form and includes an in-depth story and interview with Jim Ford by a guy from Sweden. So Jim is alive and well to appreciate this overdue collection.
The "Harlan County" record features a great band. It was recorded in 1969 and includes James Burton - he's played with Ricky Nelson, Elvis Presley, Gram Parsons, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Costello, Roy Orbison and tons others, Jim Keltner on the drums - who I've long adored as a drummer laying down possibly his best drum beats in 1969!! If you do a search on Keltner you'll see an incredible list or artists that he's played with and made their records better. Amazingly, not many Keltner discographies even mention this record! I've heard many Keltner performances - this is my favorite! Also features Dr. John on piano and keyboards. What's not to like with that band? Then the songs kick in. The title track is a classic romp through Jim's childhood in the coal mining hills of Kentucky. The rest of the album builds with slower tunes like "Changing Colors" which includes a lo-fi sound, but with string section and Jim singing wonderfully almost in a Glen Campbell style. Another classic is "Love On The Brain". Man, a great groove ala the Stones. Then it goes into overdrive with "Long Road Ahead", "Under Construction" and "Working My Way To L.A.". You won't hear three more soulful groovin', yet hard hittin' tunes in a row. Once again, I've never heard such impassioned drumming from Keltner! The album finishes up with a scathing take of "Spoonful" (the old Howlin' Wolf tune) and then Jim really lays out every bit of his vocal with "To Make My Life Beautiful". And that's just the "Harlan County" record. The rest of the tunes show more promise and get stuck in your head quite easily. "Big Mouth USA" is just classic country ala "Harper Valley PTA". "Ten Inches High" is a song I'd originally heard covered by Nick Lowe. Jim's version will give you chills. I'm not going song by song, but all of these rare tunes and outtakes ending with his first single "Hangin' From Your Lovin Tree" make this release ideal to any "real" lover of country-soul music! The interview and story with the CD are interesting. Sounds like a few breaks here or there - especially missing out on signing with Atlantic w/ Jerry Wexler (the classic producer of Willie Nelson etc.) hurt Jim's chances of making a great career. There may be more tapes out there with more tunes in hopes of unearthing for another lost Jim Ford collection.
This is the stuff of legends. But it's real - it's here. Pick it up. It's fantastic!

Spencer Marquart

The Mysterious Jim Ford.......2007-05-13

Friend of Sly Stone and Bobby Womack, revered by Nick Lowe and co-writer of the Swamp Rock nugget 'Nikki Hokey" should be enough to establish Jim Ford as an artist of renown. Possibly because much of his legacy can be traced to only one LP "Harlan County' it's difficult to get a proper handle on Ford. Now with Bear Family's "Sounds Of Our Time " compilation which expands on the "Harlan County" album with fifteen extra tracks ( rare 45's, abandoned album projects and demos)it's quite easy to comprehend why Lowe has such an admiration for this mystifying man. In essence Ford comes from the Country side of the Soul or R&B equation but one with a singular lyrical premise. The bonus tracks reveal Ford as a singer/writer who belongs in the same neighbourhood as Dan Penn, Eddie Hinton and Joe South. Tracks such as "Go Through Sunday" and "She Turns My Radio On" suggest a backwoods Van Morrison whereas "Rising Sign" evokes the Voodoo Swamp Funk of a Dr John. Anyone with even a passing interest in Southern white R&B needs to hear this. Also the CD's liner notes are easily the most comprehensive ever written on Ford with much input from the man himself. An essential re-issue.

A brilliant lost songwriter found ... and a stunning reissue .......2007-04-25

This CD is a revelation on several counts. Bear Family not restores the out-of-print cult classic ``Harlan County'' album in its majestic entirety and adds 15 superb, rare singles and unreleased masters, it also solves the mystery of this eccentric talent. Liner notes writer and reissue producer L-P Anderson tells the story of embarking on a search into the remote Northern California coastal hinterlands and finding the long-lost Ford living in a trailer park. Ford not only tells his fascinating story of why he disappeared from the music scene after a promising career start in the late 60s/early 70s, he reveals that he has scores of tapes of unreleased material ... enough to ``fill several future CDs with amazing stuff.'' Just getting all of the extra cuts on this disc is revelatory enough, because the additional cuts stand up so well against the Harlan County disc. How can one not become enchanted by a title such as ``Happy Songs Sell Records, Sad Songs Sell Beer.'' ``Big Mouth USA,'' presented in slow and fast tempos, is a scathing ditty on small-town religious hypocrites. The album closes with a number that leaves you yearning for more: ``Hanging From Your Lovin' Tree.'' But there are no weak tracks among the rediscovered gems, and the Harlan County cuts have already been established as underground delights.

The notion that more could be coming is almost too incredible to believe. Ford was simply an amazing songwriter in a distinctly Southern funky vein, and those who worshiped his talents were people as diverse as Sly Stone and Nick Lowe. Aretha Franklin, Bobby Womack and the Temptations recorded his songs -- he wrote an entire album for the Temps -- and Ford says he also wrote the Bobbie Gentry hit ``Ode to Billie Joe'' during a time when he had a romantic fling with her. He reveals the unknown session players on the Harlan County album and they turn out to be some of the best session men in the history of the music business -- guitarist James Burton, drummer Jim Keltner and keyboardist Mac Renneback (Dr. John).

Now 65, Ford clearly is still an eccentric -- he loves restoring old Peugeots, for one -- but he seems happy that his music has been rediscovered. Hopefully, in future years, we will hear more of what made Jim Ford so special, but for now, this is a healthy slice of evidence. Such an important reissue. Anderson and Bear Family should be commended for such a fabulous, thorough job on this remarkable archival find. Nice to someone understands why it's worth searching the ends of the earth for great music. Essential for any comprehensive pop music collection.

Average customer rating:

GREAT!
A relaxing journey into our Colonial past
Fantastic!
Cold Mountain type music that's great

Colonial America

Manufacturer: Maggie's Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000C9Z9X
Release Date: 2003-09-01

Tracks:

Rickett's Hornpipe/ Fishers Hornpipe
Maiden Lane/ Jack O' Lent/ Chestnut/Bonny Broom
Parting Friends/Primrose
Flowers of Edinburgh/East Neuke of Fife
Prelude / La Catherine
Planxty Browne/Planxty Burke
Cutie Clat Her
John Come Kiss me Now
Scots Tune
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A Port
Yeil, yeil
Kedron/Saint's Delight/Promised Land
Gird the Logie
La Belle Cavalier
La Luxillier/La Balanje
Federal Overture
Death & Life

Album Description

Spirited new sounds from across the sea to the shores of the New Land. From the first colonists to the American Revolution and the birth of our republic Hesperus Early Music Ensemble's music reflects a time of new ideas, freedom and vitality. In town and village, parlor and ballroom, from the Appalachians to the great concert halls hear the musical pulse of early American music performed on a wide variety of folk and early music instruments. Includes: lively country-dance tunes, evocative Shape Note Hymns, old time Appalachian fiddle tunes, graceful European parlor music, French cotillions, divisions and improvisations. Introduction -The English Colonies in America were a patchwork-not just of territories whose boundaries became state lines, but of people from different places and classes with widely different values and experiences. This recording presents music from that patchwork; from England, the Colonial homeland; Scotland and Ireland, the homes of the largest groups of immigrants outside England; and France, the ally of the Patriots, and music written in the United States. More recordings by HESPERUS from Maggie's Music are Celtic Roots featuring Scottish fiddler, Bonnie Rideout and Early American Roots. Hesperus Ensemble is THE sought after musical group for period music that is both authentic, and most important fun, lively and spirited. They are frequent performers at the Smithsonian's Institute of American Music and can be heard on the soundtrack or the Paramount film with Johnny Depp entitled Sleepy Hollow! Excerpts from liner notes:2.A Set of English Country Dance Tunes: Maiden Lane, Jack O'Lent, Chestnut, Bonny Broom - The visionary London music publisher John Playford first published his English Dancing Master in 1651. It was reprinted 18 times over the next 77 years and is still popular today. 3. Parting Friends/Primrose - These tunes have come down to us in choral arrangements called shape-note hymns .

Customer Reviews:

GREAT!.......2007-05-20

This cd travels everywhere with me and you can easily imagine a ball at Monticello given by Mr. Jefferson when you hear it.
Try not to daydream too much while driving as i had done several times..lol..it's hard not to with this cd..:)
Perfect for a colonial reenactment or party.

A relaxing journey into our Colonial past.......2006-03-16

I bought this CD to provide me with another dimension to my studies of period events. It truly contains a wealth of music, and takes it place as an important addition to my musical library. Living in the Mt Vernon area, I often travel with the CD playing while visiting historical places, and it provides a wonderful companion to "set the mood" for the myriad locations in the area. The quality of the sound is remarkable, the musicians superb, and the breadth of song selection provides a musical landscape for the period. Highly recommended!!

Fantastic!.......2004-03-04

I first heard the "Colonial America" CD by Hesperus when I visited Monticello recently (the home of Thomas Jefferson) where they were playing the songs in the gift shop. Imagine my dismay to find that only one cassette tape was left of the fabulous music of Hesperus; however, that tape held me spell-bound all the way home, from Virginia to North Carolina.

It was an incredible journey from the past that has stayed with me since, and every day I drive that one hour back and forth to work. This music has changed everything about the trips, and I can't wait for more.

Thanks to Amazon.com I was able to buy all three CD's, including "Early American Roots," "Colonial America" and the incredible "Celtic Roots" with the most beautiful violas imaginable.

Thank you Hesperus! Please play more!

Cold Mountain type music that's great.......2003-11-15

Novels and movies like Cold Mountain, Oh Brother Where Art Thou? and Song Catchers are showing the growing interest in traditional music and this recording hits the mark. It is music from the days of early America--the time when the first colonists come to America. You can hear the fiddle playing tunes still popular in the Appalachian mountains today and also hear shape note music arranged by Hesperus as wonderful instrumentals. The music takes you to a time when folks were making music in their homes-before TV, before the internet! This recording is good for teachers or educational purposes too- with informative liner notes. All the music is played on folk and early music instruments and it's lively and an enjoyable listen.

Average customer rating:

Return to Sanity
Have Some Madeira
British humour at its best
If you haven't heard this...
Gentle Satire

Complete Flanders & Swann

Manufacturer: EMI Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

The Songs of Michael Flanders & Donald Swann
At the Drop of a Hat
The Best of Flanders & Swan - A Transport of Delight
Beyond The Fringe (1961 Original London Cast)
Too Many Songs by Tom Lehrer

ASIN: B000006T4S
Release Date: 1997-04-30

Tracks:

Warthog, The (The Hog Beneath The Skin)
The Sea Horse
The Chameleon
Whale, The (Mopy Dick)
Je Suis Le Tenebreux
Songs For Our Time
A Song Of The Weather - Flanders & Swann
The Reluctant Cannibal
Greensleeves
Misalliance
Kokoraki
Madeira M'Dear?
Too Many Cookers
Built Up Area
In The Bath (From 'At The Drop Of A Hat')
Sea Fever
The Hippopotamus Song

Tracks:

The Gas Man Cometh
Sounding Brass
Los Olividados
In The Desert
The Sloth
The Rhinoceros
Kangaroo Tango
Jaguar
Dead Ducks
The Elephant
By Air
Slow Train
A Song Of Patriotic Prejudice - Flanders & Swann
The Humming Bird
The Portuguese Man-Of-War
Sea Fever
The Hippopotamus Song

Tracks:

The Gas Man Cometh
Sounding Brass
Los Olividados
In The Desert
The Sloth
The Rhinoceros
Kangaroo Tango
Jaguar
Dead Ducks
The Elephant
By Air
Slow Train
A Song Of Patriotic Prejudice - Flanders & Swann
The Humming Bird
The Portuguese Man-Of-War
The Wild Boar
The Ostrich
The Wompom
Twice Shy
Commonwealth Fair
P** P* B**** B** D******
Paris
Eine Kleine Nacht Musik Cha Cha Cha
The Hundred Song
Food For Thought

Album Details

Fantastic Triple CD Box Set of the Recorded Works of One of Britain's Most Popular Comedy Duos. Their Keen Observations of Everyday British Life and Abilities to Exemplify them in Song Made them the Darlings of the UK. Cleverness, Wit and Absoute Hilarity were the Order of the Day, in Just About Any Style of Music. Pure Comic Genius on Three Discs!

Customer Reviews:

Return to Sanity.......2005-07-27

Before Monty Python, before the Beatles, before "'Enery the Aigth Oi Am" there was the subtle, sweet, insdious humor of Flanders and Swann, and their lyrics remain part of the recognition rituals of Ivy Leaguers of the sixties. For any aging hippies or yuppies who find life WAY more stressful than we ever expected, and for whom the down side of alcohol, sex, and drugs has become apparent, I recommend listening several times to "In the Bath". It raises a cry for peace among the nations by inviting all the leaders to sit congenially steaming in a communal bathtub. And they reminding us of our essential self-interest when they add the proviso "as long as Swann and Flanders get the end without the taps." On those nights when we suspect that there isn't any point to it all, reach for the Flanders and Swann. They won't convince you there is any meaning to life, but they'll make it a lot easier to bear. Don't even try to do without it.

Have Some Madeira.......2005-07-06

Not every line in Flanders and Swann has become part of our 37-year marriage, but many have. As our turntables fail, we are pleased that we can relive all the fun stuff we used to collect. Nothing is like this duo, especially what you usually hear as French horn by Mozart converted into "I found that horn go(r)ne." And, of course,
"Have some Madeira, m'dear" is an all-time favorite.

British humour at its best.......2003-03-15

When I started out as a teacher of English, I had the most wonderful colleague as a mentor -- when she retired she gave me three LPs with much of what is on these CDs, and it must be one of the best gifts I have ever been given. Practically all of it makes me smile or laugh out loud (although I must admit that some, like The Armadillo and Slow Train, make me so melancholy that I can just feel my lower lip tremble and my eyes fill up). How can you beat lines like "Hail to thee, blithe Wompom", or "The English are moral, the English are good / And clever, and modest, and misunderstood"? I find they make great listening exercises for my teenaged students as well -- they consider it ancient, but incredibly funny!

If you haven't heard this..........2003-01-16

The great comedic pairing of the late Michael Flanders (vocals) and Donald Swann (piano and occasional vocals) must surely rank among the hall of fame of comic singers and songwriters. Descended from the British music hall tradition, these two men wrote and performed music which still sparkles with wit today, some 40 or more years since it was recorded.

After being told to take up singing as a means of strengthening his polio-weakened lungs, the wheelchair-bound Flanders teamed up with pianist Swann and proceeded to write such classic songs as "The Hippo Song (Mud Mud Glorious Mud)", "The Gasman Cometh", "The Gnu Song", "A Transport of Delight" and many others. As well as a gently satirical spirit, all these songs feature the sublime wordplay and interplay of both men.

The first two discs of this box set are actual concerts - "At The Drop Of A Hat" and its successor "At The Drop Of Another Hat". Recorded at the height of the duo's popularity and form, the sound quality is surprisingly good for recordings this old.

"At The Drop Of A Hat" opens with three of the Flanders and Swann classics. "Transport Of Delight", a song in praise of the "97 horsepower omnibus" features the wonderful harmonies of the duo on lines like "any more fares" and Flanders' dead-on impression of a London busdriver "Geddardait, we're full right up inside". "Song of Reproduction" deals with the new, as it was then, stereo technology and features Flanders delivering an incredible monologue using every conceivable piece of audiophile jargon. "The Gnu Song" (in which "gnu" is pronounced phonetically) is a real treat. The audience's reaction to the reappearance of the gnu is superb.
As well as this opening trio, the disc features Flanders' snippets of "Songs For Our Time" (in which he experiments with conventions of hit songs), "Song of the Weather" (a rundown of English weather throughout the year), "The Reluctant Cannibal" (featuring Swann in the tititular role and the chorus "I can't eat people/I won't eat people/eatin' people is wrong"), Swann's foray into Greek folksong "Kokraki" and the justifiably famous "Madeira M'Dear". The performance ends with a rousing version of "The Hippo Song".
Flanders is in fine voice throughout and his comments introducing each song are delivered with deadpan accuracy. The story behind "The Gnu Song" is an absolute masterpiece. Flanders' monologue about the creation of "Greensleeves" is also superb - "'Greenfleeves'. That's an interesting name for a fong" (referencing old English script) being just a taste.

"Another Hat" begins in equally fine form with "Gasman Cometh" and "Ill Wind". "Gasman", presaged as "a tale of unending domestic upheaval", is sure to have most people who've ever dealt with unreliable tradesmen nodding in agreement, while "Ill Wind" is Flanders' attempt at setting words to a French horn concerto featuring the immortal lines "I lost that horn/lost that horn/lost that horn/found that horn/gorn". The performance continues with Swann's Russian/English song "In The Desert", the ending of which is truly side-splitting. "All Gall" (a reinterpretation of "This Old Man" to fit then-French President Charles de Gaulle) is a little dated but very cleverly done. "Song of Patriotic Prejudice", with its introduction and opening lines grabbing the audience's attention is another triumph, while the "Hippo Encore" is a great end to the performance.
Again Flanders is at his peak. His loving description of the Spanish olive-stuffers ("Olividados") and his superb story about flying ("By Air") are both brilliant examples of the shaggy dog story.
My favourite from both of these discs would have to be "First and Second Law". Flanders decides to educate Swann in elementary science and picks on the first and second laws of thermodynamics ("heat is work and work is heat" and "heat cannot of itself pass from one body to a hotter body") and the repetition of these phrases in time to Swann's barely-there piano accompaniment is one of the finest moments in British comedy.

The third disc is largely forgettable. It begins with a series of animal-related songs performed in a studio and without much of Flanders' rambling introductions. "Warthog" has its moments, while the others were clearly not performed in front of an audience for a reason. "Wompom" is also mildly diverting, presenting a story about a made-up substance which is the answer to everything.
The rest of the disc is then filled out with much earlier material in a rather poorly-recorded concert. "20 Tons of TNT" (related to the calculation the pair had done which gave that as the amount of TNT per person on the planet at the time) provides food for thought, but little more.

Is this box set for everyone? No. Much of the humour both within and without the songs does require a bit of background knowledge to what was going on in Britain and Europe at the time (1960s), John Profumo is referenced a few times as well as Charles de Gaulle and the Common Market, while a smattering of classical music knowledge can help out a bit with Swann's work and "Ill Wind". The fact that my grandfather (who's in his late 70s) recalls hearing these songs and laughing may give an indication as to the age of some of the subject matter. Equally the fact that "First and Second Law" references an awful lot of physics might do the same.

Nevertheless, for anyone who loves British humour done in a gentle manner or who is interested in the source of "mud mud glorious mud/nothing quite like it for cooling the blood", give these CDs some serious consideration.

Gentle Satire.......2002-04-03

I've been singing Flanders and Swann every day In the Bath since I first heard them in 1964. If you don't know them, think Gilbert and Sullivan by way of English music hall and Noel Coward, with a bit of Tom Lehrer musical satire and classic Bob Newhart or Charlie Manna monologues. F&S commented gently on their times: "The purpose of satire, it has been rightly said, is to strip away the veneer of comfortable illusion and cozy half-truth. And our job, as I see it, is to put it back again." Quite simply the best comic songs and patter of the 20th century. Michael died in 1975, Donald in 1994. Goodnight, Mabel Figworthy, wherever you are.

Here are some samples of Michael's verbal wit.

Wordplay:
- "A Transport of Delight," their song of the pleasures of the double-decker bus "has recently been adopted as the theme song of the Underground resistance movement."
- Speculating that Henry VIII wrote Greensleeves: "and the royalties go to royalty."
- About a tennis referee late in the day: "the umpire upon whom the sun never sets."
- Explaining how he was hoisted in his wheelchair onto airliners by a fork lift: "Why they need a great machine like that to lift forks I do not know. Well, they're only plastic, now, aren't they?"
- On status symbols: "The object is to Gunga Din your neighbor: 'I'm a better man than you' is the acid test," and, "let's bang our status cymbals with the best."
- To a disenchanted cannibal: "You used to be a regular anthropophagi."
- Of a lecher: "And he said as he hastened to put out the cat, the wine, his cigar, and the lamps," while the girl "lowered her standards by raising her glass, her courage, her eyes, and his hopes."
- At the corrida d'olivas (the Andorran festival of olive stuffing, not to be confused with the Spanish corrida de toros, or bullfight): "And a great cry goes up of Ole! He has made an 'ol."
- "It's no good going up to a scientist and saying to him like you would to anybody else, 'Good morning, how are you, lend me a quid, and so on.' He'll just glare at you, or make a rude retort."

Throw-aways
- During the height of the cold war the Soviet Union sent the Moscow Ballet on a world tour. Donald sang one chorus of the Hippopotamus Song "mud, mud, glorious mud - nothing quite like it for cooling the blood" in Russian. Michael: "That should improve our cultural relations."
- During the 1963 Mandy Rice-Davies and Christine Keeler scandal: "None of that going around saying no smoke without fire. Nil cumbustibus, Profumo." Also, from "Friendly Duet," "such models of friendship are precious and rare, while the friendship of models is not."
- "Now if you're writing a musical, as I'm sure practically all of you are, . . ."
- Of Donald: "You know that no one has a higher regard for your music . . . than you do yourself. I merely meant that you are not great because you are not dead. If you wish to be great you must stop composing and start decomposing."
- "We never found a rhyme for (Soviet Premier Nikita) "Kruschev" until he was dead: Did he die or was he "pushed off"?"
- "We spent two dreadful, uh, delightful years, entertaining the Americans whose need, let's face it, is greater even than yours. Of course, when we're over there we say that the other way 'round."
- "No matter what you may say about the Germans, and who doesn't . . ."
- "Some of the songs that have made our names a household word, like slop-bucket . . ."
- "They've started testing cars now. They started at 10 years, then 5, now three. There's even some talk of having them tested before they leave the factory."

Absurdities
- "I'm delirious about our new oven fitted with the eye-level grill. This means that without my having to bend down the hot fat can squirt straight into my eye."
- A spectator during the construction of Stonehenge: "So, it's not going to be lived in. Well, that's something anyway. So what is it, then? It's a what?! A calendar?! A bit big for a calendar isn't it? You'd look pretty foolish with that on your desk."
- "Donald knocked himself out this morning. Got one of those new pop-up toasters. Nasty things."

Incredible multiple rhymes:
- "The fair hippoptama he aimed to entice from her seat on her hilltop above, as she hadn't got a ma to give her advice, went tip-toeing down to her love."
- Of Josephine: "Nonsense, said Bonaparte. She lives on her own, apart, in her own apartment."
- "Oh let us be married if our parents don't mind. We'd be happy and inseparable. Inextricably entwined. We'd live happily every after, said the Honeysuckle to the Bindweed."
- "And you'll always see a single lace-less left-hand leather boot. A bootless British river bank's a shock. We leave them there at midnight, you can track a member's route by the alternating print of boot and sock."

Sondheim - A Celebration at Carnegie Hall (1992 Concert Cast)
Average customer rating:

Great CD

Simply the Best

Inconsistent, but mostly excellent

"Celebration" is not strong enough a word

A maginificent evening, a magnificent album

Sondheim - A Celebration at Carnegie Hall (1992 Concert Cast)
Stephen Sondheim , Betty Buckley , Paul Gemignani , Patti LuPone , Liza Minnelli , and Bernadette Peters
Manufacturer: RCA Victor Broadway
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Side By Side By Sondheim (1976 Original London Cast)

Sondheim Evening: A Musical Tribute (1973 Concert Cast)

Send in the Clowns: The Ballads of Stephen Sondheim

Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall / Liza Minnelli, Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters, Glenn Close

Sondheim, Etc.: Bernadette Peters Live at Carnegie Hall

ASIN: B000003FDW
Release Date: 1993-02-23

Tracks:

Symphonic Sondheim: Sweeney Todd--orchestra, Jerry Hadley ("Johanna"), Eugene Perry,Herbert Perry ("Pretty Women")
Evening Introduction--Bill Irwin
Loveland/Getting Married Today--Ensemble, Jeanne Lehman, Mark Jacoby, Madeline Kahn
Waiting for the Girls Upstairs--George Lee Andrews, Michael Jeter, James Naughton/Love, I Hear--Michael Jeter/Live Alone and Like It--James Naughton
Someone Is Waiting--Richard Muenz/Symphonic Sondheim: Barcelona--orchestra
Being Alive--Patti LuPone
Good Thing Going--The Tonics
Losing My Mind/You Could Drive a Person Crazy--Dorothy Loudon
Our Time--Boys Choir of Harlem/Children Will Listen--Betty Buckley
Anyone Can Whistle--Billy Stritch
Water Under the Bridge--Liza Minnellli, Billy Stritch
Back in Business--Liza Minnellli, Billy Stritch, Ensemble

Tracks:

Symphonic Sondheim: Comedy Tonight--Bill Irwin, orchestra
Sooner or Later--Karen Ziemba
Pretty Lady--Mark Jacoby, Eugene Perry, Herbert Perry
Green Finch and Linnet Bird--Harolyn Blackwell
The Ballad of Booth--Patrick Cassidy, Victor Garber
Broadway Baby--Daisy Eagan
I Never Do Anything Twice--BETTY
With So Little to Be Sure Of--Jerry Hadley, Carolann Page
Not a Day Goes By--Bernadette Peters
Remember?--Ron Baker, Peter Blanchet, Carol Meyer, Bronwyn Thomas, Blythe Walker (Quintet)/A Weekend in the Country--Kevin Anderson, George Lee Andrews, Mark Jacoby, Beverly Lambert, Maureen Moore, Susan Terry, Quintet
Send in the Clowns--Glenn Close
Old Friends--Liza Minnelli
Sunday--Bernadette Peters, Broadway Chorus

Customer Reviews:

Great CD.......2006-08-06

This is a wonderful double CD of fabulous musical numbers performed by theatre greats and directed by a legandary musical director.

Simply the Best.......2005-06-29

First, to the person who criticizes the recording b/c of "Broadway Baby." Daisy Egan (who sings in in this recording) sounds like she's 10 becuase she IS young. She had just appeared on Braodway in Secret Garden and won a Tony for it. It's a joke...Broadway BABY...hello, it's a joke.

In a compilation of songs like this you're always going to have tracks that you prefer over others, but the majority of the renditions in this CD are great. This is simply one of the best collections of Sondheim out there. You get interpretations that span from "classical" (Green Finch), to bordering on insane (Anything Twice). This is to demonstrate how versatile this composer really is.

In my opinion, some of the best renditions are "Not a Day Goes By," "Anyone Can Whistle", "Girls Upstairs Medley," "Losing My Mind/Drive a Person Crazy," and "Weekend inthe Country." Makes me wish I had been there to witness it first hand.

If you love Sondheim and enjoy hearing Broadway performers, get this CD. A great recording.

Inconsistent, but mostly excellent.......2004-03-21

I am sure no knowledgeable person would deny how absolutely perfect all these songs are. However, the performances on this album are extremely inconsistent. It will go from an excellent rendition (Waiting for the Girls medley, Sunday, With So Little To Be Sure Of, Sooner or Later, Green Finch, Send in the Clowns, Pretty Lady) to the weird (I never Do Anything Twice), to the bad (Broadway Baby, Our Time). I still have absolutely no idea how they managed to butcher one of the best songs ever written--Good Thing Going--and turn it into smooth jazz elevator music. Why would they give Broadway Baby to someone who sounds like she's 10? That said, Liza Minelli, Glenn Close, Karen Ziemba, Dorothy Laudon and the "Waiting for the Girls" performers are all very good. And ending with Bernadette Peters and "Sunday" ends the set on a absolutley fabulous note.

"Celebration" is not strong enough a word.......2003-04-30

This review is by Crosley.

I have been a major Sondheim fan for quite some time, and I finally obtained a copy of this album. I was blown away by the excellent cast and phenomenal selection of music. It is obvious how much work went into this production, considering that this is the live recording of a one time show, and it's flawless. The songs cover all of his shows with the exception of "Passion," which was released 3 years after this show. Also, the shows for which he wrote only lyrics are ommited, like West Side Story, Gypsy, etc. Thus, you can find material from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Anyone can Whistle, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Merrily we Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, and Assassins.

There are two striking things about this CD (besides the music and performers themselves). First of all, some of the songs are completely stylistically reworked. The most obvious are "Good Thing Going" and "I Never do Anything Twice." Both are traditionally very ballady with a piano accompaniment, but here they have been redone as jazzy tunes. The result is excellent. Such reworkings demonstrate that Sondheim writes music for virtually any style, and in these cases, across several styles. It's a great example of his variety. The other interesting thing is how many songs have overlapping melodies of songs from different shows. Case in point, "Our Time" and "No one is Alone" are sung seperately by the Harlem Boys Choir and Betty Buckley (the original Grizabella in Webber's atrocious "CATS," although Buckley was excellent) respectively, and then combined. Putting these two songs together offer different meanings to each, and the music is only enhanced. Another example, the trio of "Waiting for the Girls Upstairs," "Love, I Hear," and "Live Alone and Like It" are sung in that order, and then the latter two are combined. Again, the meanings of the songs change, this time in an almost narrative style, and offering different takes on love in the same montage. Lastly (at least for this review, there are more), Dorothy Laudon's (the original Ms. Hannigan in Annie) combination of "Losing my Mind" and "You Could Drive a Person Crazy" is brilliant. Those who are familiar with these songs will wonder how exactly they fit, but trust me, they do. She swtiches back and forth between melodies to create a number that starts poignant and beautiful, and soon moves to become uproariously funny. Both the song reworkings and overlapping melodies of unrelated songs are all for the better.

I recommend this recording to anyone wanting to get better acquainted with some of Sondheim's best work, or those already familiar who want to hear a tour de force of phenomenal music. It has been said that Sondheim is a masterful lyricist (which he is), but lacks real talent for music. This CD is the final proof that such critics are wrong. His music may take a few listenings to get into, contrary to Webber or Wildhorn, but unlike those two, he doesn't cater to the audience. He challenges them to think outside of traditional musical theater in a glorious repertoise of shows that reach for a smarter, more sophisticated form.

A maginificent evening, a magnificent album.......2001-12-16

There's something to be said for the first concert you ever see at Carnegie Hall. I was fortunate enough to have this be my first. This entire evening was devoted to his genius and the performers did not disappoint.

This wonderful double CD shows off the best and brightest of the musical theatre composer and it is, as one person put it, "an embarassment of riches." With songs from his finest works done in amazing arrangements (listen to that harmony in "We Had a Good Thing Going"!) combined with fabulous performers this is a Sondheim lovers delight.

Tracks:

Love Divine All Loves Excelling - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
Father Hear the Prayer We Offer - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
Now Thank We All Our God - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
This Day, The First of Days - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
Stars of the Morning So Gloriously Bright - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
God Save the Queen - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
Day of Resurrection - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
God Rest You Merry Gentlemen - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
Of the Father's Heart Begotten - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
O Come All Ye Faithful - Choir Of Gloucester Cathedral
Awake My Soul and With the Sun - Choir Of Norwich Cathedral
Thine Arm O Lord in Days of Old - Choir Of Norwich Cathedral
All People That on Earth Do Dwell - Choir Of Norwich Cathedral
Good Christian Men Rejoice and Sing - Choir Of Norwich Cathedral
There Is a Green Hill - Choir Of Norwich Cathedral
Lord of Beauty - Choir Of Sheffield Cathedral
Rejoice Today With One Accord - Choir Of Sheffield Cathedral
New Every Morning - Choir Of Sheffield Cathedral
Lead Us Heavenly Father Lead Us - Choir Of Sheffield Cathedral
O God Our Help in Ages Past - Choir Of Sheffield Cathedral

Tracks:

Morning Has Broken - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
Happy Are They - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
In Christ There Is No East or West - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
Silent Night - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
Be Thou My Guardian - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
Ye Servants of the Lord - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
At the Name of Jesus Every Knee Shall Bow - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
To Thee O Lord Our Hearts We Raise - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
Behold the Great Creator Makes - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
Rejoice the Lord Is King - Choir Of Marlborough College Chapel
Creator of the Stars of Night - Ely Cathedral Choir
He Comes With Clouds Descending - Ely Cathedral Choir
O Little Town of Bethlehem - Ely Cathedral Choir
Alleluya Alleyluya Alleyluya - Ely Cathedral Choir
This Is the Day the Lord Hath Made - Ely Cathedral Choir
How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds - Ely Cathedral Choir
Lord Thy Word Abideth - Ely Cathedral Choir
Jesus Lord We Look to Thee - Ely Cathedral Choir
O Lord Our God Arise - Ely Cathedral Choir
Lord of All Hopefulness - Ely Cathedral Choir

Tracks:

Soldiers of Christ Arise - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
Lift Up Your Hearts - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
Holy Father, Cheer Our Way - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
Maker of the Sun - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
O King Most High - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
O Praise Our Great and Glorious Lord - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
Forgive Our Sins as We Forgive - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
We Love the Place O God - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
Let Us With a Gladsome Mind - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
Give Rest O Christ - Choir Of Wakefield Cathedral
Come Holy Ghost Our Hearts Inspire - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
O Thou in All Thy Might So Far - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
O Christ, Who Art the Light and Day - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
O God Thy Soldiers' Crown and Guard - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
Strife Is O'er the Battle Done - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
O Christ Our Hope, Our Hearts' Desire - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
Jesus Shall Reign - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
God of Love My Shepherd Is - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
O Jesu Saviour of Mankind - Choir Of Truro Cathedral
Immortal Invisible God Only Wise - Choir Of Truro Cathedral

Tracks:

Ride on Ride on in Majesty - Choir Of All Saints - Margaret Street, London
All Glory Laud and Honour - Choir Of All Saints - Margaret Street, London
Come Rejoicing - Choir Of All Saints - Margaret Street, London
God Is Love and Where True Love Is - Choir Of All Saints - Margaret Street, London
Magnificat: The Great Advent Antiphons - Choir Of All Saints - Margaret Street, London
Come, Christ's Beloved - Choir Of All Saints - Margaret Street, London
Children of the Hebrews (Palm Procession) - Choir Of All Saints - Margaret Street, London
Veneration of the Cross/The Reproaches (Veneratum and Reproaches) - Choir Of All Saints - Margaret Street, London
Once in Royal David's City - Choir Of Keble College
God Be in My Head - Choir Of Keble College
O Thou Who Camest from Above - Choir Of Keble College
Judge Eternal Throned in Splendour - Choir Of St Edmunsbury Cathedral
Christ the Lord Is Risen Again - Choir Of St Edmunsbury Cathedral
For All the Saints - Choir Of St Edmunsbury Cathedral
Thy Hand O God Has Guided - Choir Of St Edmunsbury Cathedral
Christ the Dawn of Our Salvation - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
I Was Glad - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Dear Lord and Father of Mankind - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Locus Iste - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Praise My Soul the King of Heaven - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel

Tracks:

Stand Up! Stand Up for Jesus! - The Choir of the Abbey School, Tewkesbury
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks - The Choir of the Abbey School, Tewkesbury
O Worship the King - The Choir of the Abbey School, Tewkesbury
O Heavenly Word of God on High - Choir Of The Collegiate Church Of St Mary
Praise to the Lord, The Almighty - Choir Of The Collegiate Church Of St Mary
Jesus Christ Is Risen Today - The Choir of York Minister
First Nowell - The Choir of York Minister
Abide with Me - The Choir of York Minister
Breathe on Me Breath of God - Choir Of Keble College
Rock of Ages - Choir Of Keble College
On This Day, The First of Days - Choir Of Keble College
Jesu Sweet and Mary - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
O Quam Gloriosum - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Ye Holy Angels Bright - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
O for a Closer Walk With God - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Prayer of St Patrick - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Lord's Prayer - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Blessed Be the God and Father - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Day Thou Gavest Lord Is Ended - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel
Jerusalem (And Did Those Feet in Ancient Times) - Choir Of Eastbourne College Chapel

Album Description

Full Title - 100 Hymns & Songs Of Inspiration. UK box-set featuring 100 tracks performed by Britain's finest Cathedral Choirs including, Gloucester Cathedral, Norwich Cathedral, Sheffield Cathedral, & many more. Five standard jewel cases housed in a slipbox. Castle Pulse. 2003.

Customer Reviews:

The picture.......2006-12-11

I haven't purchased the CD but the picture of the inside of a church on the cover is not of a British church, like one would assume since it says its a recording of British choirs. This picture is of Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Just thought i'd let you know. I'll be honest; I'm one to judge things by it's cover and if the company took such care to choose a 'British' church for their British choir CD, I'm willing to bet the music is equally well selected... I'm being sarcastic. But I gave the product 5 stars because I didn't want to hurt its ratings just because i'm cynical. But check out the church if you're ever in Montreal, it's truly beautiful... here I'm not being sarcastic.

Average customer rating:

old and still good
Not What it Claims to be
Good Memories!!
Witty, clever and a joy to listen to

At the Drop of a Hat
Michael Flanders & Donald Swann
Manufacturer: EMI Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

The Best of Flanders & Swan - A Transport of Delight
Complete Flanders & Swann
The Songs of Michael Flanders & Donald Swann
Songs & More Songs By Tom Lehrer
That Was the Year That Was

ASIN: B000026GPR
Release Date: 1999-07-15

Tracks:

A Transport Of Delight
Song Of Reproduction
The Gnu Song
Design For Living
Je Suis Le Tenebreux
Songs For Our Time
A Song Of The Weather
The Reluctant Cannibal
Greensleeves
Misalliance
Kokoraki
Madeira M'Dear?
Too Many Cookers
Vanessa
Tried By The Centre Court
The Youth Of The Heart
The Hippopotamus Song

Customer Reviews:

old and still good.......2005-02-20

I count myself a rare American who appreciates this recording. My uncle sent it to me on tape when I was quite small. my mom, ever handy with the censor's razor blade, let it go--untouched--in spite of the song about madeira, which I now know is about an old man doing the nasty to a young innocent lass. back then, of course, I thought it was about cake! with both mom and uncle passed on, I wanted to buy up what music of theirs I could locate, and I fortunately found the Complete Flanders and Swann, apparently no longer available. i bought up the copy and didn't get scalped, somehow. 45 years after the songs were sung, "Transport of Delight," "Soung of Reproduction," and "reluctant Cannibal," and yes even "Song of the Weather," still reverberate in my mind. i used to sing "The Gas Man Cometh," from the "At the drop of Another Hat" show album, in performances as a teen-ager, and sometimes even got good results. any of their albums are money well spent.

Not What it Claims to be.......2004-12-10

For those of you who grew up with the UK recording of "At the Drop of a Hat" be warned - in spite of what it says on the box this is NOT the recording of the 1959 show at the Fortune Theatre. This is the Broadway show.

The identity of the recording can be determined in the first minute from Flanders' introduction of Swann as "noted composer, pianist, linguist, also contains lanolin" - in the Fortune Theatre recording he is introduced as "noted composer, pianist, linguist, and all round egghead". There are substantial differences in the two performances, not least of which the pace which is a lot quicker in this recording, lacking the elegant timing which characterised the UK performance and which is comparable to the available CD of "At the Drop of Another Hat" (which WAS recorded in the UK).

Many of the jokes and asides are different - for instance in "Have Some Madeira", the Fortune Theatre recording includes an aside "He slyly inveigled her up to his flat, to view his collection of stamps [aside] All unperforated! ha ha ha ..." clearly this was regarded as too risqué for the US performance.

The songs are the same vintage and hilarious Flanders and Swann but the presentation, to me, is nowhere close to the quality of the earlier performance - it sounds to me like they were by this stage tired of the material and "going through the motions" for an audience that they did not relate to in the same way as an English audience.

Incidentally - Too Many Cookers, Vanessa, Tried by the Centre Court and The Youth of the Heart were not on the original LP recording and judging from the acoustics these were recorded elsewhere. The sleeve notes identify these as being recorded in 1957, 2 years prior to the Fortune Theatre performance.

Good Memories!!.......2000-12-05

My father used to work in the kitchen, cooking or cleaning, with music playing in the background. One of his favorites was this album by Flanders & Swann. He had seen the show and loved the record. I sang the songs through my childhood and now I sing them to my children, my co-workers, my friends! I only just realized that I can get the original album on CD. WHAT JOY!!!

Witty, clever and a joy to listen to.......2000-08-30

I first encountered Flanders and Swan on the LP version of this recording forty years ago. Loved it then, love it today. These two inventive and joyful British devils have delighted theatre audiences for years and their "Hippopotamus Song" has become something of a children's classic. This is the original cast recording of their first hit London show and is a marvelous performance. Can't say enough good about it but best of all my wife and I have been humming the songs and quoting the lyrics to one another now and then ever since we got the LP as a wedding present.

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