It Happens

Track Listings

1. Glen Affric

2. Finny Beck

3. Eller's Lullaby

4. Forest of Bowland

5. Tendermoon

6. Skylark

7. Gathering (Under the Stars)

8. Lyhe Dhu

9. Far Have I Wandered

10. Song of Sozan

11. No More Words

It Happens,In A Split Second,Amiata Records,Int'l & World Music,Pop,World Music

It Happens

Tracks:

Lucy's
Flirt
Save The Last Dance
As Good As It Gets
Save Tonight
Right On
It Just Happens That Way
Salt And Lime
Momo
Play
Remember
Home

Album Description

Mindi Abair's GRP Records debut, "It Just Happens That Way," is filled with in-the-pocket grooves, well crafted songs, and a decidedly pop sensibility that's unique to the current smooth jazz landscape. That's because in addition to playing with the biggest names in smooth jazz, Abair has been a fixture in the pop world as saxophonist of choice for artists including Backstreet Boys and Mandy Moore. Producer/guitarist Matthew Hager also brings his pop roots to the project having worked with such artists as Mandy Moore, Duran Duran, and Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots.

The resulting instrumental smooth-pop fusion is completely fresh, fun, and is destined to stay in your CD player once you first give it a listen

Customer Reviews:

It Just Happes That Way - Mindi Abair.......2006-12-08

As this is the first CD that I have listened to from this artist I had no idea as to her style and presentation. Like so many listeners, there are quite a number of CD's that I have purchased where only one or two cuts are worth the effort to play. This CD definitely does not fall into that category. The energy that is put into each cut is truly outstanding. We have an audiophile club here in Houston and when I played this CD at one of our meetings, the question of who is this artist? was requested by at least half of the members present. IMO, this CD is well worth the purchase and this is an artist that ones needs to have in their library of music.

re: Takes me to a far away Dream.......2006-08-18

Whenever I listen to Mindi's first album, "it Just Happens This Way", I get lost back to the good o'days...
of the days I could still walk, and of the days of great health. Her songs and saxaphone playing reminds me of nice beautiful sunny days.

Her Song "Momo", and "Save the Last Dance" just brings my entire body to a truly relaxed stage. I only get like this in a few ways, but easiest through meditation, or listening to her first album.

In many ways, listening to Mindi Abair is like that, especially when I write and pluck away at my novels.

Thank you Mindi for keeping me relaxed when I do my writing!

A Better Choice.......2006-07-22

The music on this CD all sounds the same. I bought & really enjoy her other album "come as you are" & recommend it to everyone.

I like it........2006-04-17

I've had this CD for over a year and listened to it countless times, and my experience is different than that of many of the other reviewers.

This CD is rock-solid from start to finish. I'm not a big fan of her cover of "Save Tonight" but it *is* well-done. IMHO, her sax playing is stronger on this CD than her follow-up CD "Come As You Are."

I find her style of play is varied on this CD; she has a driving-yet playful-yet almost sultry tone on "Flirt" and moves to a wide-open, trumpetesque tone on "As Good As It Gets." Both convey the feeling she must have had (based on the song titles) incredibly well. Of course, many people will recognize the theme from the movie "Save the Last Dance." Interesting movie, great song. All the other tracks are just as solid as these - the album is put together so well that almost any song could be a person's favorite, depending on their taste and mood. I know many people say certain artists' songs all sound the same. It took me years to understand their point of view, but I finally realized: they usually think it all sounds the same because they're hearing the mastering of the disc(s), despite the songs being played in different time meters, different keys, and sounding very different. I believe the same is true of this CD, but I wouldn't disagree that generally speaking many (but not all) of her songs have the same "flavor" to them. This isn't necessarily bad; looking at the pop and R&B genres, most of the popular artists have been retreading the same meters, keys, and beats for years. It gets old after a while, but I've not found that to be the case with Abair's music.

easy listening.......2006-02-27

Mindi Abair is talented. She is wonderfully relaxing specially when you want to get into the zone. She is also marketable because she is a cute blonde who can blow, any questions?? Yes, I have one, can she take a risk? musically speaking ofcourse. A lot of her songs are beautiful but are safely tucked away in the nice smooth jazz category, infact she is the staple of SoCal's most popular jazz station in the afternoon drive, The Wave. And she has a lot of following, including me. And she is also a gracious performer and a wonderful delight in the jazz circuits here in SoCal. Everyone's favorite in this CD is "Lucy's," named after one of Mindi's favorite hang out in LA. Overall, my complaint is minor, she is easy and very pleasant to listen to.

Average customer rating:

Great album, great band!
Best yet
Another great album from Hanna's Reef!
Incredible!

Deja View
Hanna's Reef
Manufacturer: Sail Away Entertainment
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Key West, Florida ...Island of Dreams

ASIN: B000297PIY
Release Date: 2004-05-21

Tracks:

Rum in Pensacola
Tropical Girl
Beer Drinkers and Sail Raisers
King of the Island
Island Time
Bitter Winds
Livin Well
Jamaica Me Smile
Have You Seen Your Rita?
Local Knowledge
Sail Away
Makin Waves
Fun in the Sun
Everythings Gonna Be Alright

Album Description

"Deja View" is the second album from the Texas-based group Hanna's Reef. The album is a follow-up to their 2002 live recording, "Reef Madness", which is also available on amazon.com . This album was recorded in-studio, and features 14 tracks of original music, all written by Hanna's Reef guitarist Jerry Diaz. Nine of these tracks were previously released by the band Key West, of which Diaz was a member. The album was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Danny Broussard, at The Control Room, in Nederland, Texas.

The inside liner notes of the Cd contain the following message from Jerry Diaz:

"This album is called "Deja View", because it contains some of our favorite songs from our past, and also some of the new music that we're making now. We hope that by putting these songs side by side on the same album, our fans can see that we intend to continue where we left off a couple of years ago. The same style, but updated as we go along. You can expect that trend to continue on future Hanna's Reef albums.

So if you've been looking for something to fill that void that only a folk, country, reggae, rockin' calypso band can fill, you've found a home here on the Reef. We'll have the crawfish and raw oysters waiting for you. Later, we're gonna break out the rum and the cold beer, and have us a party. Welcome aboard mate!"

Customer Reviews:

Great album, great band!.......2004-08-17

What a pleasant surprise this purchase turned out to be! I heard about Hanna's Reef from a friend of mine in Texas. She had seen them perform at a festival there this summer. I had not heard them, but bought the Deja View CD on her recommendation.

"Rum in Pensacola" is just awesome! I think that if this song ever gets on the radio, it will be a national hit. But it's not the only good song here. They are just one right after another. "Tropical Girl" is great, and so is "Beer Drinkers and Sail Raisers". These guys just have a great sound, and their music really makes people feel good.

I definitley recommend this CD to anyone who likes fun, uplifting, "tropical" music!

Best yet.......2004-05-25

What makes Hanna's Reef stand apart is that in their live shows they blend original music with Buffett-esque covers. They are not just another cover band. This album combines nine of Jerry's original songs that were recorded in his previous lifetime, with five new original tunes. The opening track, Rum In Pensacola, is worth the price of the CD by itself. If this song doesn't get some radio play, somebody missed the boat. The rest of the new songs are great, and the older songs have been updated and sound great also.

Another great album from Hanna's Reef!.......2004-05-25

The second CD, first studio CD from Hanna's Reef has 14 tracks, 5 new songs along with 9 re-recorded songs from back when most of Hanna's Reef played under the name Key West-The Band. Unlike many "re-recorded" songs, these nine songs have been re arranged and reworked in one way or the other, and have a new feel and "soul" to them. They're like new songs and well worth listening to again and again.
The name "Deja View" (which I'm kinda partial to) was chosen because, in Jerry Diaz' words "It contains some of our favorite songs from our past and some of the new music that we're making now."

And Hanna's Reef is making some great music! This CD has been the only one in my player for over a week now and it's not coming out anytime soon.

The CD starts with "Rum in Pensacola", a "kick yourself in the butt because you didn't realize what you had" song. I've been listening to Jerry's songs for eight years now and this song is my favorite.

The next song, "Tropical Girl" is a tropical love story with a Latin flair.

"Beer Drinkers and Sail Raisers" gets it's start from the back of a Hanna's Reef T-Shirt. This song is destined to be the "Sing Along" song on the CD, with lyrics like:
"We're Beer Drinkers and Sail Raisers
Smiles away from the old rat racers
Three sheets to the wind and goin' strong.
We're all for one, one for all
Bound for another port o' call
Doing everything I said I would
Life is good!

"King of the Island" is a story about Galveston Island in the 30's when "Victor was king of the island" and the Mob wanted to move in.

"Island Time" Sometimes the world moves way too fast and there's too much technology. You just want to slow things down.

"Bitter Winds" We've all looked back and said "what if". This song reminds you to keep moving forward, reaching for your "pot of gold".

"Livin Well" This is a song about the "rock star life" but could also apply to a mid-life crisis. Hey, either one, along with this song sounds great and is nothing but fun. Jerry Diaz gets on the mike for this one.

"Jamaica Me Smile" Sometimes you meet someone that makes you feel better than a week in the Keys or in this case, Jamaica.

"Have You Seen Your Rita" We all know or have known someone like this.

"Local Knowledge" "Local Knowledge" is information and stories that you're not going to hear in the tourist traps. You have to go where the locals are. Those memories can sometimes be the best treasures from any trip. This song is one of the treasures of the CD.

"Sail Away" Had Enough? It's time for an escape, a get away. This song is the next best thing to just walking away and heading to the nearest boat.

"Makin' Waves" Another great song about 5 people getting away and Makin' Waves.

"Fun in the Sun" Classic 60's beach song. Very Beach Boy-esque. This song is screaming for a remake with Beach Boy Mike Love sitting in. If your not tapping your feet during this song, call the doctor - You're comatose.

"Everything's Gonna Be Alright" A catchy, feel good song to wrap up the CD.... Well, almost. Here's a hidden "track"

You'll be able to see Hanna's Reef not only at Meeting of the Minds in Key West this November, but also at Riddles in the Sand in Galveston, Texas the last weekend in July.

This review, along with $.75 will get you coffee in some places other than Starbucks. It's just my opinion and you know what they say about those.

Happy listening!

Incredible!.......2004-05-25

I've been following these guys for several years, even before they went by the name "Hanna's Reef". This album is BY FAR head and shoulders above anything they've released up till now. First, the production quality is top-notch. The person credited as "the producer" (Danny Broussard) has finally captured the "feel" that this band has been needing. There are several re-makes of songs that this band recorded previously, when most of them were with "Key West-the band". But with the improved production, and an obvious re-thinking of the instrumentation, these remakes really are like new songs. Especially notable are "Tropical Girl", and "Makin' Waves". They did a fantastic job of updating those two.

Now for the best part of the album though. The five new songs recorded here are superb. The album opens with "Rum in Pensacola", which has has got "radio airplay" written all over it. It's a classic love song, with the Pensacola Beach as a backdrop. Mike Barnett's vocals, and Jerry Diaz's guitar solo at the end highlight this should-be hit. Another great new song is "Beer Drinkers and Sail Raisers". It's a catchy little song that you'll be humming all day after you hear it. As a sailor myself, I can tell you that this is sure to be an anthem for the sailing crowd, once it gets circulated.

The other new tunes include "Living Well", which is a great showcase for Diaz's lyrics. Funny stuff! Also included is another great sailing song "Local Knowledge". It is actually my favorite song on the album. It sounds like something that could have been on Buffett's "Son of a Son of a Sailor" album. And lastly, a mindless little summertime tune called "Fun in the Sun" shows that these guys must have listened to a few Beach Boys albums somewhere along the way.

The overall feel of this album is exactly what I have in mind when I see these guys perform live. It has that heavy bottom end to it, but it's complemented with a breezy acoustic guitar throughout the album, and steel drums to spice things up a bit. I'm not exaggerating when I say that this is one of the best albums I've heard in years. I'd give it a rating much higher than a 5, if they'd allow it!

The Slipper and the Rose (1976 Film Soundtrack)
Average customer rating:

I love this!

a wish come true

Memories Return

Prince Charming and Cinderella

EXHILARATING! ENERGETIC! ENCHANTING!

The Slipper and the Rose (1976 Film Soundtrack)
Richard M. Sherman , Robert B. Sherman , and Richard Chamberlain
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Cinderella (1965 Television Cast)

ASIN: B00005OC9K
Release Date: 2001-10-09

Tracks:

Overture - The Orchestra
Why Can't I Be Two People? - Richard Chamberlain
What Has Love Got to Do With Getting Married? - Edith Evans, Michael Hordern
Once I Was Loved - Gemma Craven
What a Comforting Thing to Know - Richard Chamberlain
Protocoligorically Correct - Michael Hordern, Kenneth More
Bride Finding Ball - Richard Chamberlain
Suddenly It Happens - Gemma Craven, Annette Crosbie
Waltz Theme - The Orchestra
Secret Kingdom - Richard Chamberlain, Gemma Craven
He Danced With Me/She Danced With Me - Richard Chamberlain, Gemma Craven
Position and Positioning - Christopher Gable
Tell Him Anything (But Not That I Love Him) - Gemma Craven
I Can't Forget the Melody - Gemma Craven
Secret Kingdom (Reprise) - Richard Chamberlain, Gemma Craven

Amazon.com

If one needed an object lesson in the fickle nature of Hollywood and its precipitously shifting tastes, one could do worse than to examine the career of the songwriting brothers Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman. After inventing veritable swaths of Disney's musical theme park, TV, and film legacies in the '50s and '60s (including Zorro, The Sword in the Stone, Mary Poppins, and The Jungle Book), the brothers found their talents largely underemployed in TV and film efforts after the death of Walt Disney. It isn't to say that their talents were in the least diminished, as this soundtrack to the 1976 U.K.-produced live-action adaptation of Cinderella ably attests. Fans of the Shermans' Disney canon should find this soundtrack restoration a welcome addition to their collections. The Shermans' music is a familiar, effervescent delight, even as it tackles the full emotional spectrum of romantic and familial entanglements, from Prince Edward's existential ponderings in "Why Can't I Be Two People?" through the king's Gilbert & Sullivan-esque take on royal bureaucracy in "Protocologically Correct" to the romantic pinings of "Secret Kingdom" and "He Danced with Me." The Slipper and the Rose is a musical cult favorite, and for good reason. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews:

I love this!.......2007-01-14

I love this soundtrack! If you are a fan of the movie, you will really enjoy this. There is only one disappointing thing about this soundtrack.

While all of the songs with words are there, most of the background music is missing. There is the overture and the waltz theme, but no other background music. I was particularly disappointed in the absence of the music from the wedding.

Despite this, I am very glad I have purchased this CD and high recommend it.

a wish come true.......2006-11-04

I'm so happy this soundtrack is no longer out of print. The movie is one of my favorite musicals and all the music from the movie is wonderful!

Memories Return.......2006-06-24

This has to be one of my favorite musicals. And that's saying something. I remember watching the movie with my mom when I was little. When I purchased and played the cd, that all came back. Mom and I busted out singing, "Protocoligorically correct", practically cracking up through half of it; and enjoying the romantic theme "He/she danced w/me"!
The sound recording was well pitched, loud enough to hear, and there wasn't anything fuzzy. This I was very grateful for. I look forward to one day playing it for my daughter so she'll enjoy it to.

Prince Charming and Cinderella.......2005-09-11

I know the beautiful movie and I wished to have the soundtrack. Now I bought it and I am happy. It is a great CD, the actors give the best and the music is very romantic. I recommend the CD.

EXHILARATING! ENERGETIC! ENCHANTING!.......2004-07-11

THE SLIPPER AND THE ROSE is a most EXHILARATING CD, with crisp, catchy, tunes that cause one's heart to be made cheerful! "Why Can't I Be Two People", "Protocologorically Correct", and "Position and Positioning", are songs that I have found marvelously ENERGIZING! I work in a stressful medical environment, and on a dreary day, I slipped this CD into the office CD player, to discover an amazingly, invigorating phenomenon. The stressed out office staff began whistling and humming the tunes....a few even danced down the halls of our clinic, which can be a bit disconcerting when you have specimens in both hands. As the employees got happier, attitudes and energy levels soared! It was exciting to watch the merriment as staff sang and danced along to "Suddenly It Happens", and "What A Comforting Thing To Know". The love songs sung by Richard Chamberlain and Gemma Craven, "Secret Kingdom", "He/She Danced With Me", and "I Can't Forget The Melody", are hauntingly romantic songs, guaranteed to ENCHANT even the hardest heart. This is one of my favorite CD's of all time. The Sherman Brothers outdid themselves; creating a masterpiece that EXHILARATES, ENERGIZES, ENCHANTS.......and occasionally, on a dreary, stressful day, causes the heavy hearts of listeners, to be transformed and ultimately to transcend.

Cinderella: Songs from the Classic Fairy Tale (1998 Studio Compilation)

Average customer rating:

Back to when I believed in fairy tales....
The Glass Slipper Fits!
Magical collection fit for a princess!
Fabuloso!!!! A must have!!!!

Cinderella: Songs from the Classic Fairy Tale (1998 Studio Compilation)

Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella
Cinderella (1957 Television Cast)
Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1957 Television Production)

ASIN: B00005KBB1
Release Date: 2001-06-12

Tracks:

Overture
In My Own Little Corner
Spread A Little Happiness
A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes
Raise A Ruckus
Impossible/Suddenly It Happens
The Ball
What Has Love got To Do With Getting Married
A Lovely Night/Ten Minutes Ago
Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?
Midnight
On the Steps Of The Palace
Once I Was Loved
If The Shoe Fits
Tell Hm Anything
The Stepsisters' Lament
Finale

Customer Reviews:

Back to when I believed in fairy tales...........2002-09-30

If you could, just for a moment, return to the days when fairy godmothers were real, when you really could turn four white mice into four white horses - then just buy this CD for a few smiles, a lot of memories, and the original Rodgers and Hammerstein tunes. This CD took me way back to when magic was there, and now it makes me wonder, everytime I listen to it, if maybe the magic isn't still there? Maybe I should just call on my fairy godmother..... A true heirloom of a CD.

The Glass Slipper Fits!.......2001-04-21

This is an excellent compilation of songs that express the longings, fears and exuberance of the Cinderella story. Rather than just relying of the romantic side of the myth, producer Bruce Kimmel adds depth to the story by including songs from The Slipper and The Rose and Sondheim's Into the Woods as well as the Disney and Roger & Hammerstein Cinderella versions.

When Susan Egan plans her strategy in "Promise Him Anything" and Pamela Winslow expresses her fear in "On the Steps of the Palace," the listener becomes aware of Cinderella's human side. Likewise, when Christa Moore shares her fantasy world "In My Own Corner" and Christina Noll expresses her thrill of her dream coming true in "Impossible/Suddenly It Happens," the listener is reminded of the powerful message of Cinderella's theme: dreams DO come true.

Fortunately, the compilation does not exclude humor as well. "The Stepsister's Lament" by Farah Alvin and Alet Oury is hilariously poignant; the lyrics "Why would a fellow want a girl like her? A frail and frocky beauty!" could be the alltime wallflowers' lament. And Jonathan Freeman's "What Has Love Got to Do with Getting Married?" is a droll piece of practical cynicism to his Prince son. (The song reminds me of the film Moonstruck. When Olympia DuKakis asks her daughter Cher, "Do you love him?" When Cher answered affirmatively, her mother muttered, "That's bad.")

Also, the musical bridges add to the suspense of the Cinderella story. "Midnight", "The Ball," and "If The Shoe Fits" from Prokofiev's ballet are beautifully orchestrated and remind the listener that the Cinderella myth is adaptable for many forms of entertainment.

I was a little disappointed that "So This is Love" and "The Work Song" was not included, but I guess I'm partial to the Disney version. The 1950 cartoon was my first introduction to Cinderella, and to my delight, my nephew enjoyed it as well thirty years later.

Nevertheless, this CD shows the timeless appeal of the Cinderella myth. Its beauty, humor and suspense is contained here in this magnificent collection.

Magical collection fit for a princess!.......1999-04-13

I was thrilled to come across this collection. One of my favorite movies, The Slipper and the Rose, had been out of print for many years. This CD includes 4 of the songs from that movie and though not by the original artists, just as good. The songs range from the whimsical to the romantic to a few comic gems, all from various stage and film Cinderella scores. "Tell Him Anything" from the Slipper and the Rose, a powerful song filled with longing and despair is sung movingly by Susan Egan, a nice change of pace from the cheerier, more sparkling numbers.

The score from Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella is so charming and catchy it's fun to hear it again by new artists. The performers, all apparently Broadway singers (?), are all beautifully performed with exuberance and style. The orchestration is lush and appropriate to the material.

Fabuloso!!!! A must have!!!!.......1998-08-11

This is an AWESOME cd. It has songs from the original Rodgers and Hammerstein version, the Disney version, and Into the Woods. This is a faboulos collection of songs. Definetly buy it. NOW!!!!!

Average customer rating:

Irving Berlin at his best
Get's my vote!
Jazzy and Beautiful
I love it!
Simply Dreadful

Kiri Sings Berlin
Irving Berlin , Jonathan Tunick , Abbey Road Ensemble , and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Kiri! Her Greatest Hits Live

ASIN: B000002RYP
Release Date: 1998-01-20

Tracks:

Let's Face The Music And Dance
I Got The Sun In The Morning
How Deep Is The Ocean?
What'll I Do?
Blue Skies
It's A Lovely Day Today
They Say It's Wonderful
Say It Isn't So
Cheek To Cheek
Isn't This A Lovely Day?
Always
The Song Is Ended
I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm
It Only Happens When I Dance With You
Easter Parade

Amazon.com

After several recordings of American popular music, Te Kanawa has become a very effective crooner, phrasing with heretofore missing panache. The easy, jazzy Riddle-like arrangements are bouncy and appealing. But after 15 selections, the mysterious dissatisfaction of eating Chinese food and feeling hungry an hour later remains. Tunick writes in his program notes that "the waltz ballads ... are poignant and moving, but never stray into sentimentality." But why not? A little mushiness would serve this recording well, and also contribute to a desperately lacking variety of interpretation. Still, the voice is consistently gorgeous; it would just be nice to distinguish the happy songs from the sad. --Barbara Eisner Bayer

Customer Reviews:

Irving Berlin at his best.......2007-06-26

Kiri's glorious voice interprets Irving Berlin masterpieces beautifully with expression and respect for these American favorites.

Get's my vote!.......2004-04-03

OK. Full disclosure: I'm one of those helpless souls who is just madly in love with the sounds that emanate from Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's vocal chords. I suppose there are many artists who can interpret Irving Berlin's songs with more, what's the word, authenticity?

And I've heard many of them, and I love their work.

But Kiri Te Kanawa is different. She was given one of the most beautiful instruments in the history of sound recordings. Thank God the recording companies figured out what they had and put her in front of a microphone early and often.

We have had a rare opportunity to experience a great artist from almost the start of her career clear through to what now must be it's final stages.

I, for one, feel privileged.

Thank you, Dame Kiri. The world is a little better place because of you.

Jazzy and Beautiful.......2002-09-01

This album exemplifies Kiri's amazing, vast dose of talent for musical interpretation. Though I tend to enjoy mostly classical music, this album has opened doors to a wonderful world of classical-jazz, which I find quite beautiful! Perhaps for some, it is an aquired taste...yet I was hooked the moment I heard track one...and have since become quite the "modern Kiri" fan!~Brava once again~

I love it!.......2002-05-14

If you like Irving Berlin and Kiri Te Kanawa you'll probably enjoy this album as much as I do!

I can imagine Nick and Nora Charles listening to this at one of Nick's favorite dives! It will transport you to a sophisticated time and place that may have never existed except in literature and debutante coming out parties.

Gatsby would have loved it, and surely would have invited Kiri to all his parties!

Simply Dreadful.......2001-01-17

Just terrible! Although her voice has mellowed and is quite beautiful, Ms Te Kanawa has absolutely no instinct or feel for this distinctly American music. She's just lost in her own peculiar Kiwi wonderland. She is not aided but what have to be some of the worst arrangements of this music ever recorded.

Tracks:

Digital
Spoonful
Spectre
Cat O' Nine Tails (Tex Avery Directs the Marquis de Sade)
Quartet Euphometric
Physical Property
Soliloquy from How It Happens (The Voice of I. F. Stone)
Quartet No. 2
Aba kee tayk hamaree (It is my turn, Oh Lord)

Customer Reviews:

As usual, there's always a downside........2005-12-07

If you like adventurous music then this is an excellent pick, 75 minutes of interesting sound effects and rhythms. But, as is often the case, there are no liner notes which, especially when listening to composers with whom one is unfamiliar, cheapens the offering. Borrow it from a library or buy it second hand. Maybe Kronos will eventually get the message.

impressive.......2003-12-10

but it also impresses me how new music could possibly survive without fabulous recording and explosive effects.

perhaps the furthest out of Kronos' recordings.......2001-04-26

SHORT STORIES is an outstanding collection of new music. "Digital" by Elliot Sharp is all percussion, presumably produced with violin, viola and cello. "Spoonful," the great Willie Dixon song, is arranged for strings much like "Purple Haze" before it. "Spectre," by John Oswald, probably best known for his electronic manipulations of the Grateful Dead, is a piece that starts out inaudibly, and then all of a sudden gathers into what sounds like a UFO taking off! Cowell's "Quartet Euphometric" is a short, lovely piece, the most conventional on the album.

And that leaves the 5 longer pieces, each one masterful in its own right, and adding to an amazing overall effect: 1) John Zorn's "Cat O' Nine Tails," in which he applies his quick change methodology to the string quartet to hilarious effect, 2) Steven Mackey's "Physical Property" for electric guitar and quartet, with stunning rhythms and textures, 3) Scott Johnson's "Soliloquy" featuring a tape of I.F. Stone, the radical journalist, who questions the persistence of barbarism and tribalism, and asks, "...is it necessary to repeat after 2,000 years all the things you people learned in Sunday school?! How -- how absent-minded -- how forgetful!", 4) Sofia Gubaidulina's "Quartet No. 2", which is sinuous and splendid -- Kronos have done their part to put her before the public -- and 5) Pandit Pran Nath's "Aba Kee Tayk Hamaree," with the voice of the North Indian master, and his disciple Terry Riley on tamboura, a reverent way to close, and the first chance for myself and many others, I'm sure, to hear him.

Of the Kronos releases I've heard, SHORT STORIES is the furthest out, with the least reference to the early 20th century, and the greatest risk-taking vis a vis the classical music establishment. It works! Fantastic!

Short stories greater than life.......2001-01-24

This is one absolutely brilliant collection of compositions, from the beginning to the end of this CD, offering 75 minutes of music. It starts with a vivid and pulsating Digital, continues with Willie Dixon's Spoonful, transformed here into some sort of avant-garde blues (!?) performed with an intensity of Jimi Hendrix. Cat O' Nine Tails, appropriately subtitled as "Tex Avery Directs the Marquis de Sade", is a graphic performance, and with its humor, witty references and brief genre zip-zapping throughout the piece it's characteristic for John Zorn. Steven Mackey plays electric guitar with the Kronos Quartet in his own energetic and exiting piece, Physical Property.

Scott Johnson's 13 minutes long Soliloquy makes me think that I have an advantage in not being a native English speaker because the sense of music of the foreign language always remains (at least to me it does). The inherent music in one's own mother tongue with all its melody, rhythm and texture usually goes unnoticed. By using the short edited parts, or "loops", of I.F. Stone's lecture I feel Kronos does exactly that: brings out the music of the English language and accentuates it with their own instrumental backing. It's a functional and artistically justified method, I feel, justified by the beauty of the composition and the text itself.

One of the highlights of the CD is certainly Sofia Gubaidulina's Quartet No. 2. It brings a sense of eeriness and menace, maintaining the suspense, not unlike some of impressive and disturbing compositions of Krzysztof Penderecki. It would certainly quality as "musica non grata" to the totalitarian Soviet regime of the former USSR, Gubaidulina's country of birth.

John Oswald's Spectre is an experience for itself. It is, simply, one of the most amazing, intense and breathtaking compositions I have ever heard. Like Cat O'Nine Tails, Physical Property and Soliloquy, it was written for Kronos Quartet. It was meticulously recorded in numerous but seamless layers of overdubs and in that sense it was really written for a huge string orchestra of, say, thousand string instruments all of which played by Kronos. It starts with sounds of the quartet's tuning-in out of which one single note is sustained. It sounds fragile and shallow at first but soon after subtly gains strength and depth. As its timbre becomes richer and richer, one gradually becomes aware of numerous other tones that co-exist with the first one, thousands of them, almost the same, but not quite. They start to interact, bumping into each other. And then... the pitch gets slightly higher, the sound constantly gains power in a mighty spiral, a tornado of sound that sucks you in and throws you out. Like a soul leaving the body, as in some Castaneda's novel. This is how I imagine shooting heroine must be like, as sometimes depicted in movies, where a little bit of blood is let into the syringe and then the mixture injected back. Musical Eros & Thanatos... One could say Spectre might be a musical metaphor for life itself, from birth to death with a promise of infinity or immortality.

It's the music like this, fresh and adventurous, that brings all deserved praise to the Kronos Quartet. Short stories? No. More like synopses for epic novels, greater than life.

very inconsistent.......2000-12-10

Like other Kronos releases, the music on one track will be fantastic, and on the next will be awful. I love Elliott Sharp's "Digital" (how he did that with a string quartet is beyond me), Henry Cowell's "Quartet Euphometric" and Stephen Mackey's "Physical Property." The Johnson, though, is tedious, and the Zorn piece is fantastically irritating and goes nowhere, and the Pandit Pran Nath is extremely boring. Oh well. Buy it if you can get it cheap.

Michael Feinstein Sings the Burton Lane Songbook, Vol. 2

Average customer rating:

Music of Burton Lane
Great CD!

Michael Feinstein Sings the Burton Lane Songbook, Vol. 2

Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Nostalgia | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

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Cabaret | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

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General | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music

Traditional Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Michael Feinstein Sings the Burton Lane Songbook, Vol. 1
Remember: Michael Feinstein Sings Irving Berlin
The Michael Feinstein Sings the Jerry Herman Songbook
The MGM Album
Michael & George (Feinstein Sings Gershwin)

ASIN: B000005J1G
Release Date: 1992-11-24

Tracks:

It's Time For A Love Song
The World Is In My Arms
I Want A New Romance
Medley: Everything I Have Is Yours/ Your Head On My Shoulder
Poor You
Open Your Eyes
I Hear Music
The Happiest Day Of My Life
The Lady's In Love With You
Where Have I Seen Your Face Before
Don't Let It Get You Down
It Happens EveryTime
Look Who's Here
Medley: Hurry, It's Lovely Up Here
Medley: On The S.S. Bernard Cohn
Medley: Melinda
Medley: Dancing Lesson
Medley: She Wasn't You
Medley: Tosy And Cosh
Medley: Wait Till We're Sixty-Five
Medley: What Did I Have
Medley: Come Back To Me
Medley: On A Clear Day

Customer Reviews:

Music of Burton Lane.......2006-02-18

This CD is a real delight as Michael Feinstein is one of my favorite performers. He does a great job with this music by Burton Lane. I have both Volumns of music by Burton Lane and I enjoy listenting to both of these CD's

Great CD!.......2000-11-26

It took awhile for me to enjoy the songs on this CD, but once I did, I couldn't stop listening. There are romantic songs, funny songs, powerful songs. A little something for everyone. If you don't enjoy it at the first listen - don't give up! This CD will definately grow on you!

Unsung Musicals - The Ultimate Collection

Average customer rating:

Great gems from musicals that dissapeared
some gold mixed with dross

Unsung Musicals - The Ultimate Collection

Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
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Unsung Musicals II (Studio Cast)
Unsung Sondheim
Lost in Boston
110 in the Shade (2007 Broadway Revival Cast)
The Drowsy Chaperone (2006 Original Broadway Cast)

ASIN: B00005K9SG
Release Date: 2001-06-05

Tracks:

Smile (from "Smile") (Hamlisch-Ashman) - Harry Groener et al.
Hero (from "Babe") (Menken-Ashman) - Debbie Gravitte
Didin't Leave It Here (from "Brownstone") (Larson-Rubins) - Kristine Fraelich and Jolie Jenkins
Starfish (from "La Strada") (Lawrence-Charnin) - Judy Kuhn
Sherry! (from "Sherry!") (Rosenthal-Lipton) - Christine Baranski and Jonathan Freeman
Smashing New York Times (from "A Broadway Musical") (Strouse-Adams) - Jason Graae
Silverware (from "We Take the Town") (Karr-Dubey) - Lee Wilkof and Timothy Jerome
Hundreds of Hats (from "Diamonds") (Sheffer-Ashman) - Jason Workman
At the Same Time (from "Freaky Friday") (Rodgers-Forster) - Tammy Minoff and Patrick Levis
When It Happens to You (from "The Red Shoes") (Styne-Stryker) - Lynne Wintersteller
Lawyers (from "A Broadway Musical") (Strouse-Adams) - Gregory Jbara and Lee Wilkof
At My Side (from "Welcome to the Club") (Coleman-Hotchner) - Sally Mayes and Michael Rupert
In a State (from "A Wonderful Life") (Raposo-Harnick) - Brent Barrett
Disneyland (from "Smile") (Hamlisch-Ashman) - Jodi Benson
Reveille Sun (from "Here's Where I Belong") (Waldman-Uhry) - Glory Grampton
The Memory of Tonight (from "Arthur, The Musical") (Skloff-Kauffman-Crane) - Carolee Carmello and Gregg Edelman
Stomp the Blues Away (from "Honky Tonk Nights") (Valenti-Allen-Campbell) - Melba Joyce et al.
New Words (from "One, Two, Three, Four, Five") (Yeston) - Liz Callaway

Customer Reviews:

Great gems from musicals that dissapeared.......2004-11-30

Songs from 1987's "Smile" make this well worth the price. The previously unreleased material from the late, great Howard Ashman deserves to have it's moment in the spotlight.

Also, there's Judy Kuhn's beautiful performance on "Starfish", Christine Baranski's vampy turn on "Sherry".

Finally, there's" New Words" from "One, Two, Three, Four, Five". This show has been restaged, by small theatre groups, under the title "History Loves Company". "New Words" is by far the best number of this show and Liz Callaway's voice fills with love as she sings this lullaby.

For a consummate musical theatre fan who's heard it all, this disc is a refreshing look at what has been lost over the years.

some gold mixed with dross.......2003-12-21

Some of these songs desrve to be unsung. But then you get a showstopper like Sherry and you wonder how could this show have flopped? That number alone makes this cd worth purchasing.I also enjoyed Marvin Hamlisch's toe tapping title song - Smile.There are also a few other lovely melodies which makes this cd a nice addition to a Broadway collection.

Average customer rating:

Intimate and tuneful
Underrated Previn
What happened?

Ballads/Solo Jazz Standards

Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

Cool Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Vocal Jazz General | Vocal Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Alone: Ballads for Solo Piano
After Hours
Andre Previn Plays Jerome Kern
We Got Rhythm: Gershwin Songbook
Andre Previn Plays Harold Arlen

ASIN: B000002SLK
Release Date: 1996-04-02

Tracks:

More Than You Know
It Could Happen To You/Here's That Rainy Day
My Funny Valentine
How Are Things In Glocca Morra?
Have You Met Miss Jones/Nobody's Heart
In Our Little Boat
As Time Goes By
My Melancholy Baby
It Only Happens When I Dance With You
Angel Eyes
In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning
It Might As Welll Be Spring
The Second Time Around
Dance Of Life

Customer Reviews:

Intimate and tuneful.......2005-01-14

I'm an admirer of Previn as both classical and jazz musician, and in both categories he excels. This album has the same intimate, highly musical quality that you'll find in Keith Jarrett's The Melody at Night with You. What I appreciate about both is the fact that the pianist's invention always serves the music; it's never obtrusively artful or showy. Highly recommended. Do yourself a favor and get Jarrett's disc to go along with this.

Underrated Previn.......2002-01-14

Andre Previn has always been an underrated jazz pianist. Because of his astonishing variety of successes as a classical conductor, pianist and composer; a film composer; a songwriter; and a performer of romantic cocktail music, he has been eyed suspiciously by the jazz community. In fact, his Tatum-like virtuosity, and his wildly unique and often playfully humorous piano style has made him one of the most interesting, innovative, and entertaining jazz pianists around. His many trio albums on Contemporary Records in the '50s (with Red Mitchell and Shelly Manne) still hold up as some of the best of their kind. But like Rodney Dangerfield, he never gets any respect. Thus, even his most kind critics are likely to throw darts at "Ballads" as too sweet and not swinging. Nonsense! It's not Monk, but it is nevertheless a beautiful set and a loving tribute to some of the greatest songwriters in Tin Pan Alley. Previn squeezes out every harmonic nuance of each song, yet he sounds like he's playing off the cuff in his living room late at night just to amuse himself. Previn may not swing like Teddy Wilson or Oscar Peterson on this offering, but I can't imagine any serious listener being left unmoved by his version of Burton Lane's "How Are Things In Glocca Morra?" It's simply gorgeous. Previn's amazing talents and his proficiency in many musical styles all come together in this unjustly overlooked CD. Give it a chance!

What happened?.......2001-10-03

THe magic is gone. After reading the liner notes, I learned that someone at the studio asked Previn to make an album of just ballads. BIG MISTAKE. I think he was not in the mood.

Average customer rating:

It Just So Happens to be GREAT!!

It Just So Happens
Ray Anderson
Manufacturer: Enja
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

Bebop & Post-Bop | Compilations | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000005C7W
Release Date: 1993-06-23

Tracks:

Once In A While
It Just So Happens
Ross The Boss
Elegy For Joe Scott
La Vie En Rose
Once In A While (Alternate Take)
Raven's Jolly Jump-Up
Fatelet
Fishin' With Gramps

Customer Reviews:

It Just So Happens to be GREAT!!.......2004-03-01

I must confess that I tend to dig just about everything Ray Anderson has done (well, at least musically -- and that's about all I know). My favorite cuts on the disc are the ones you can't hear samples of: "Raven's Jolly Jump Up" and "Fishin' With Gramps". Okay, okay -- so I like the twisted stuff. But it's all primo 'bone, babies. Too bad the sucka is outta print!!

Pop Music:

Pop Music

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