Montréal [Live] [Import]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.ca
Jesse Cook is a worldbeat musician in the truest sense of the word; he doesn't just pick a style and repackage it, he is respected both by listeners and players alike for constantly seeking inspiration and tutelage from all over the world. A longtime fan of music from Spain, Africa, Egypt, Brazil, France and Cuba, Jesse Cook's Montreal evokes each of those countries and then some on this, his sixth CD and first live disc.

Cook has a history of hooking up with talented players; previous contributors to his million-selling catalogue include cellist Ofra Harnoy, fellow Canuck Holly Cole, and Brazillian jazz phenom Flora Purim. His choice of players for Montréal are equally talented; that point is made clear right from the opening cut, "Beloved." Fellow Canadian, Maryem Tollar sets the stage with her incredible, ghostly Arabic vocals; from that romantic, moody brilliance right to the disc's undulating climax of "Baghdad," the perpetual motion of Gypsy Kings-meets-Cirque du Soleil sounds resonate throughout the disc. The audience's adoration of the performer and his wonderfully percussive live show (recorded at Le Festival International de Jazz de Montréal) allows the feverish applause to carry the enthusiasm over to the live disc itself.

There will always be a debate among purists as to whether accessible worldbeat or jazz is too easy-listening; ultimately, Cook is one part gifted guitar player, another part masterful showman. Even in the context of listening to a live CD, the energy that he gives to and subsequently receives from his fans on Montréal is contagious and musically rewarding.--Denise Sheppard

Montréal,Jesse Cook,EMI Int'l,Adult Alternative,Contemporary Instrumental,Ethnic Fusion,Flamenco,New Age,New Age / Meditation,Pop

Montréal [Live] [Import]

Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
Average customer rating:

4.49 stars - Easily the Funnest album this year, but with a soul.

Ever-evolving Of Montreal continue to surprise

Original, stylish and hand-crafted

What it would sound like if The Beatles, Yes, and Pink Floyd had mated

Best Psychedelic/Funk/Post-Punk Album of the Naughts

Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
Of Montreal
Manufacturer: Polyvinyl Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
General | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
Neo-Psychedelia | Rock | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
General | Rock | Styles | Music
Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
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The Sunlandic Twins

ASIN: B000KWZ94U
Release Date: 2007-01-23

Tracks:

Suffer For Fashion
Sink The Seine
Cato As A Pun
Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse
Gronlandic Edit
Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsvinger, A
Past Is A Grotesque Animal, The
Bunny Ain't No Kind Of Rider
Faberge Falls For Shuggie
Labyrinthian Pomp
She's A Rejecter
We Were Born The Mutants Again With Leafling

Amazon.com

At first they were very twee. Then they were disco-punk, sort of. And now they are one. Kevin Barnes, this enigmatic band's prolific singer-songwriter, wrote and recorded much of this album alone, though he did enlist the help of a few friends (Alabee Blonde, the Late B.P. Helium and Heather McIntosh). Programmed handclaps, looped semi-funky bass and synth washes are the main ingredient on the Athens-based dude's Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?. Thankfully, he's still intent on mixing and matching disparate genres at whim, throwing Beach Boys' harmonies atop songs that sound more than a little like a Bowie-Eno collaboration. Lyrically, these might be the most personal songs Barnes has written. Sonically it's solid, but not as fully realized as the band's prior albums. As with any "growing pains" record, Destroyer might not make many new fans, but old ones will be pleased. The real breakthrough number, the song that hopefully hints at the band's next direction, is the twelve minute "Past Is a Grotesque Animal," a lovely and percolating New Wave motorik number that recalls the neon splendor of La Dusseldorf while referencing Georges Bataille. It's really good, and makes the listener fondly yearn for one's college days. --Mike McGonigal

Album Description

During the last three years of Montreal have been on a tear: releasing 2004's Satanic Panic in the Attic and 2005's The Sunlandic Twins and spreading their dance party-inducing live shows to the masses. Now, of Montreal have created their masterpiece with Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? It's an irresistible and remarkable album, sounding like a logical extension of the erratic indie-disco sounds of The Sunlandic Twins. However, Hissing Fauna is also the most personal of Montreal album to date, with Kevin Barnes, lead of Montreal songwriter, pouring tremendous amounts of emotion, heartbreak, frustration and elation into its twelve tracks. Written and recorded primarily during what he calls "an insane year," Hissing Fauna sees Barnes adopt a new writing style. It's an unabashedly autobiographical attempt from a songwriter whose early material tended towards characters and story-songs. Barnes continues down the whimsical pop funk path, while changing up its lyrical scope; and Hissing Fauna balances its poppy nature while showcasing brutal and unflinching honesty.

Customer Reviews:

4.49 stars - Easily the Funnest album this year, but with a soul........2007-07-27

At first, I really, really didn't want to like this album after hearing pieces of the songs and thinking it was going to be silly and annoying. I have gone back and forth with Of Montreal, with mixed emotions on some of their albums. I love many of the elephant 6 artists/and other related labels so much, and paid so much attention to bands such as Circulatory System, Olivia Tremor Control and Neutral Milk Hotel that I really kept Of Montreal on the shelf.

So I bought this album and braced myself for songs that sounded like psychedelic teeny-bop rollerskating music, telling myself to just have fun. Surprisingly, after listening to the album and finding the songs very catchy and fun and filled with sound, I kept wanting to listen to it and didn't feel that the songs were getting old after each listen. Usually with such a poppy feel, the songs are only a novelty and wear off after two listens, but I realized that the songs had much more depth than I originally anticipated. Every time I listen to the album I noticed things I didn't catch before and also find the lyrics very enjoyable and find heart in each song, making each song amusing and serious in nature at the same time. It's also fun that most of the song titles are impossible to remember, which sucks, because when I talk to my friends I can't remember which songs I like and have to point out my favorite track numbers.

I desperately wanted to give this album 5 stars, and it probably deserves it, but I am not that fond of the end of the album. After the 8th track, the next track really doesn't impress me and sounds like he's imitating prince having sex with himself or something like that. I wanted to like these final 4 tracks, but just didn't think the music was that good and felt like he was just taking a piss on the album. I also can't find a defense for the length of the 7th track, "the past is a grotesque animal," which I think is great for the first half or so, but after a while, it feels like he is just stretching and the material starts to get old. That said, it might be the best album of 2007 as of now.

Ever-evolving Of Montreal continue to surprise.......2007-07-02

Of Montreal (who are really from Georgia, not Montreal) celebrates its 10 year anniversary in 2007 and singer-song writer Kevin Barnes continues to take the band into new adventures and new directions.

"Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyers?" (12 tracks, 52 min.) is at first listen far less accessible than earlier albums, certainly compared to 2005's "The Sunlandic Twins" album. The album starts of tentatively with "Suffer For Fashion", but finds its groove with "Sink the Seine". "Gronlandic Edit" is an irresitable dance-along. The best of the album, however, is to be found on the second half, starting with the 12 min. blow-out "The Past Is a Grotesque Animal", which is the key track for sure. Other highlights are "Faberge Falls For Shuggie", a strange be delightful tune, "She's a Rejector" and the closer "We Were Born The Mutants Again With Leafling" (nevermind the song title!).

This album is less immediate than earlier albums, but with each listen it grows more and more, and is ultimately more satisfying. I saw Of Montreal at this year's Coachella festival, where they put on a blistering set (in the blistering afternoon heat), playing primarily songs from "Hissing". Just outstanding.

Original, stylish and hand-crafted.......2007-05-12

I've lost count of the wonderful musical influences on this CD and just started to enjoy the trip. I got to know the tunes by listening in the car, but I was missing the incredibly detailed soundscape that the careful mix has produced. What I had thought was a bad drum machine was samples of other sounds manipulated and used as percussion. Every track has sonic pearls combined with catchy hooks, inventive bridges and free-form, wonderfully original material.

The Sunlandic Twins was great, and in my book this sequel has totally delivered on its promise.

Stand-Outs:
Sink the Seine/Cato as a Pun
Gronlandic Edit
Fabergé Falls for Shuggie

'The Past is a Grotesque Animal' is more of an experience than a song!

What it would sound like if The Beatles, Yes, and Pink Floyd had mated.......2007-04-17

Much can be said for a band that joins such genre-bending sounds as Of Montreal does on Hissing Fauna. The shimmery sounds of disco, the experimental psychadelic nature of early Pink Floyd, the progressive pop-rock sound of Yes, mixed with a whole lot of Beatle-esque melody.

What is produced from that mix is an album that sounds as if it is both living in a vintage era, yet years ahead of its time. The individual songs are complex, yet not pompous, and beautiful in their patience. As an album, Hissing Fauna stands up as the best Indie Rock album of the year so far.

Best Psychedelic/Funk/Post-Punk Album of the Naughts.......2007-04-07

This album is the best of 2007 (it will be hard to beat this with later releases throughout the year!)--a truly creative, Surrealistic journey of psychological psychedelic whimsical sexual fantastical magically realistic proportions. Consider it to be a cross between Pink Floyd's 'Piper at the Gates of Dawn' and Prince's 'Controversy'--what could be more sublime than that?

Average customer rating:

Love itI!!
Americanized Beatles
Exceptionallly Tastefullll
great music
Delicious and infectious

The Sunlandic Twins
Of Montreal
Manufacturer: Polyvinyl Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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

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

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Satanic Panic in the Attic
Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse
The Gay Parade
The Crane Wife

ASIN: B0007X9TUW
Release Date: 2005-04-12

Tracks:

Requiem For O.M.M.2
I Was Never Young
Wraith Pinned To The Mist And Other Games
Forecast Fascist Future
So Begins Our Alabee
Our Spring Is Sweet Not Fleeting
The Party's Crashing Us
Knight Rider
I Was A Landscape In Your Dream
Death Of A Shade Of A Hue
Oslo In The Summertime
October Is Eternal
The Repudiated Immortals

Tracks:

Art Snob Solutions
The Actor's Opprobrium
Keep Sending Me Black Fireworks
Everyday Feels Like Sunday

Album Description

Hailing from Athens, Of Montreal have carved their own niche in the indie-pop world, establishing themselves as a uniquely twisted band that thrills fans with compelling live performances, delights critics with their constant innovations and refinements, and continually showcases their musical evolution that culls together influences as varied as Brian Eno, Television, Prince, and The Shins. "The Sunlandic Twins" is their most cohesive and adventurous record to date. It plays out like an electro pop opera. Beginning buoyant and opalescent, traversing a labyrinthine Neptune, and climaxing in blackout darkness one only discovers in warm solitude.

Customer Reviews:

Love itI!!.......2007-01-11

I love Of Montreal! This is a great CD. I can't wait for Hissing Fauna...!!

Americanized Beatles.......2007-01-09

This CD is amazing. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who loves the Beatles or british sounding artists. The lyrics are very abstract but when combined with the music they are brilliant and very soothing. My 2 favorite tracks are ''Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games'' and ''I Was A Landscape in Your Dream'', but all of them are very good. There is also a bonus disc included with 4 or 5 tracks on it including ''Everyday Feels Like Sunday''.

Exceptionallly Tastefullll.......2006-12-01

I would absolutely reccomend such a brilliant masterpiece of an album. The first of the band's albums I've listened to all the way through and fell in love with. To this day it is still my favorite album. It mixes the pshychadelic feel of the 60's with the feel good dance beats in the 70's and incorporates many 80's new wave synths in such a brilliant way all wrapped in a very modern hip innovative sound. All aspects are wonderful. The lyrics are so catchy and thoughtful and just a joy to hear. I would strongly urge you to buy this album now! Disregard the reviews on here putting the album down because THE ALBUM ROCKS.

No more explaining and reading reviews go and purchase it and see for yourself...you will fall in love!

great music.......2006-11-26

I believe Of Montreal is one of the best bands out there today, and this album further proves how good they are at writing interesting, colorful vocal melodies.

Every vocal melody is exciting, but the thing that makes the Sunlandic Twins so great is how the band knows exactly when to toss in some kind of extremely unusual and satisfying musical instrument in the background. It's really well done.

The bonus disc is only 12 minutes long, but just as good as the regular album.

Delicious and infectious.......2006-11-10

These guys must have had a lot of fun putting this album together and I can only wish I had been a fly on the wall during the recording sessions. All the songs are delightfully and originally arranged with twisted lyris cleaverly intertwined through infectious melodies. Listening to The Sunlandic Twins is a little bit like sitting in the middle of a giant revolving 360-degree kaleidoscope with new colors and new shapes jumping at you relentlessly to leave you dazed and smiling...

Average customer rating:

Simply wonderful!
quiet time reorganization of the mind
Sumptuous
You never have enough Ravel - just never.
The Best of Ravel By Master Conductor And Orchestra

Ravel: Boléro

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Minuets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Pavanes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

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The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music
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Ravel: Piano Works

ASIN: B00002MXMX
Release Date: 1999-11-09

Tracks:

Bolero
Alborada del gracioso
Ma Mere I'Oye (Complete Ballet): Prelude
Ma Mere I'Oye (Complete Ballet): 1 Tableau: Andse du rouet et Scene
Ma Mere I'Oye (Complete Ballet): 2 Tableau: Pavane de la Belle du bois dormant
Ma Mere I'Oye (Complete Ballet): 3 Tableau: Les Entretiens de la Belle et de la Bete
Ma Mere I'Oye (Complete Ballet): 4 Tableau: Petit Poucet
Ma Mere I'Oye (Complete Ballet): 5 Tableau: Laideronette, Imperatrice des pagodes
Une Barque sur l'ocean
Rapsodie espagnole: Prelude a la nuit - Malaguena - Habanera - Feria

Tracks:

La Valse
Pavane pour une infante defunte
Le tombeau de Couperin: Prelude
Le tombeau de Couperin: Forlane
Le tombeau de Couperin: Menuet
Le tombeau de Couperin: Rigaudon
Valses nobles et sentimentales: Modere - Assez lent
Valses nobles et sentimentales: Modere - Assez anime
Valses nobles et sentimentales: Presque lent - Azzez vif
Valses nobles et sentimentales: Moins vif - Epilogue
Menuet antique
Fanfare pour 'L'Eventail de Jeanne
Daphnis et Chloe (Suite No. 2): Lever du jour
Daphnis et Chloe (Suite No. 2): Pantomime
Dapnis et Chloe (Suite No. 2): Danse generale

Customer Reviews:

Simply wonderful!.......2007-01-09

If you are a music buff like myself ( and I do like all kinds of music ), than what's not to like about The Boléro, by Ravel? And I don't buy into that hog-wash of a story that Ravel wrote this piece in the beginning of dementia...gimmie a break and give that man credit where credit is due.....The Boléro is a master piece! Ok...my review: It was a pleasure to shop for this Cd on Amazon ( after a disappointing search in a main music store )I found what I was looking for, ordered it and anxiously waited it's delivery, which was only about 5 days. The Cd was delivered in tip-top shape and I have enjoyed repeated plays of The Boléro! ( if it were an LP, the grooves would have been worn down by now! ) Today...it's back to classic rock for me. I would surely order from Amazon again!

quiet time reorganization of the mind.......2007-01-05

Have listened to this over the years from a teen who couldn't understand why anyone would write something so slow and repetitive, to a young married who now understood a vehicle for passion in a world filled with disraction, to a person who hears the joy and passion and struggles of a composer and appreciates the pain as a growth process for humans. Tenderly,hot,good stuff.More please.

Sumptuous.......2007-01-04

To heck with arguments about Elvis, Chuck Berry, Bill Haley, etc. Ravel's Bolero was the first ever piece of rock music, so there. This version by Dutoit and the Montreal Symphony totally nails it, always been my favorite version. The trick is to not let things get over the top as the intensity heightens. Flawless readings of the Rapsodie Espagnole and La Valse to boot makes this an essential disc. This is all the evidence you need that Charles Dutoit is the greatest living Ravel interpreter.

You never have enough Ravel - just never........2006-01-15

This two disk set is one of those that you should add to your collection because it is wonderful music, sounds great, and is extremely affordable. Everyone knows and loves "Boléro". Commissioned by Ida Rubinstein as a ballet and premiered in 1928 was not a musical success. At another performance, led by Toscanini, Ravel complained that the tempo was too fast. Toscanini replied that it was the only way to save the work. But it soon became a mass success to Ravel's surprise and consternation. He felt they loved it for all the wrong reasons. The violinist Hélène Jourdan-Morhange relates this interesting story of one incident involving the work:

"Ravel was extremely surprised at the mass success of "Boléro" `They're going to turn it into another "Madelon", he said, rather crossly; and deep down he felt that the obsessive, musico-sexual element in the piece was probably behind its enormous popularity. But one old lady was proof against the contagion. Ravel's brother Edouard saw her, at the first performance, wedged tightly in her seat shouting above the applause `Rubbish! Rubbish!' Maurice, when informed by his brother, replied mysteriously: `That Old Lady got the message!'" from Ravel et nous 1945 page 166.

The other works on this disk are more substantive than the 15-minute crescendo and its constantly changing orchestral colors. The entire "Mother Goose" ballet - who doesn't love this? Although you usually here it performed as the suite. The "Rhapsodie Espagnol" is a favorite and delivers that wonderful Spanish flavor with a French sauce.

"Le tombeau de Couperin" and "Valses nobles et sentimentale" are orchestrations of major piano works (with some alterations in the tombeau) (there are other pieces on these disks that also began as piano works) that are probably more well known to the general public as orchestral works. However, they are very essential works in the pianist's repertoire, and I encourage you to get to know them in that form as well.

"La Valse" is really two things. There is a tribute to Johann Strauss. Ravel admitted that every composer wanted to write a very good waltz, but that it was very difficult. So, he wrote this symphonic waltz as a tribute. However, the second half is something else, is it not? There is decadence and a madness to it that seems like a nightmare to me. As if we are all trapped in this thing until everything falls apart with pain and loss into nothing. A fascinating piece.

There are other small and popular pieces on this disk that are all done well.

Recommended!

The Best of Ravel By Master Conductor And Orchestra.......2005-11-10

French-Canadian conductor Charles Dutoit and the Motneral Symphony Orchestra deliver what is the most musically satisfying collection of Ravel Bolero's French music. At a fine price, this is a fine jewel, with moments that sparkle and burn with a beautiful fire. The first track is of course the famous Bolero, with its hypnotic, singular theme that is expanded into a climatic crescendo which is overtly sexual, primal and sensuous. It was originally a ballet about a Spanish dancer (dancing the bolero of course) in a bawdy cafe. She is spurred on to dance even more erotically by the lusty men until we can assume the men can take no more. The Rhapsody Espagnole is an evocative portrait of Spain, with lyrical passages and tonal beauty. The Valse is another classic of French music of the early 20th century. Ravel's mother had died prior to the premiere. It is a slow, romantic waltz that escalates into a frenzied dance of death. In musical terms, there is nothing too different from La Valse and Bolero. They are both basically one motif that is repeated but changes in volume and pacing. The Pavane For A Dead Princess is my favorite work of his. It is possibly the most gorgeous funeral music one will ever hear. Far from being a melancholy piece, it is a stately, Renaissance-like work that pays homage to exoticism of the East and Romanticism of the West. The Dead Princess we assume is either Moorish or Spanish and the music is lilting and spiritual without ever reaching the heights of frustration or despair that Bolero or Valse take on. The Tomb of Couperin is also a funereal piece but its beauty lies in its imitation of Baroque music. Couperin was a Baroque composer of keyboard works. The music is aptly called neo-baroque or neoclassical since it was composed in the 20th century. This same style is embedded in Valses Nobles Et Sentimentales and Minuet Antique- all works that reflect the music of the Baroque and classical eras, an homage to Handel and Gluck. Daphne Et Cloe is perhaps his most ambitious work, as it expands on the Baroque classic and makes it more operatic and orchestrally grander. All fans of Ravel will want to own this recording. Dutoit knows this music down to a T and the orchestra captures nuance and subtlety in a variety of both light and dark textures. The music is brimming with life and the sound is crisp and beautifully remastered.

Average customer rating:

This guy does a LOT of drugs!
Kevin Barnes at his best
Technically, the strongest Of Montreal album
Of Montreal's Magic is Working
Exquisite

Satanic Panic in the Attic
Of Montreal
Manufacturer: Polyvinyl Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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

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

General | Rock | Styles | Music

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Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
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Cherry Peel

ASIN: B0001LYEVY
Release Date: 2004-04-06

Tracks:

Disconnect The Dots
Lysergic Bliss
Will You Come And Fetch Me
My British Tour Diary
Rapture Rapes The Muses
Eros' Entropic Tundra
City Bird
Erroneous Escape Into Eric Eckles
Chrissie Kiss The Corpse
Your Magic Is Working
Climb The Ladder
How Lester Lost His Wife
Spike The Senses
Vegan In Furs

Album Description

The sixth full-length and first for Polyvinyl from this Athens, GA band is a departure from previous releases. There's a 70's Afro beat and an 80's new wave influence, and the songs are full of danceable electro hooks. Limited edition LP version on colored vinyl includes a bonus 7-inch with two exclusive tracks.

Customer Reviews:

This guy does a LOT of drugs!.......2007-02-01

Unfortunately, I just recently got into this band. They are effing incredible; every song on this particular album is SO GOOD. There isn't one track that really lags behind.

Oh, and the singer does a LOT of drugs. I think every song has some sort of acid reference. For all of you psychedelics fans, you'll find these songs to be really funny at times :)

I listen to an insane amount of new music each week, and this band is putting me behind because there simply aren't enough hours in the day to hear anybody else!

Kevin Barnes at his best.......2006-11-10

This is most defanitely one of my all-time favorite albums to ever meet the presence of my ears. Although more of a Kevin Barnes solo album this cd will always be a favorite pick in my cd collection. Every single song is great. Every single song is fun. Every single song is PERFECT! No joke, this album is absolutely amazing. I have been listening to it non stop for about the last 5 months and it still hasn't gotten old. This even has what may be my favorite of Montreal song which is of course "Lysergic Bliss." This song can make you happy no matter what mood you're in! There's just something in this song that gives you such a happy feeling and as if nothing else in the world matters at the moment you are listening to the song. Perhaps that's where it got it's song title... I love the line though, "Wonder how I'm managing to smile oh when I can't even pay my rent," as it too just adds even more to the happy, carefree feeling this song presents. But this song is in no shape or form the only happy song. Many of the songs on the album too will make you happy! Many or just fun little story type things ("Chrissy Kiss The Corpse") and most will make you laugh for no reason at all and dance! But there are other's which are kind of sad such as "Ero's Entropic Tundra." But all the songs are really pretty upbeat except for the exception of "City Bird," but this song too is really amazing and makes you think. The accoustic guitar and flute really add to the feeling of this track. But anyways, if you ever want to listen to a fun album to pass the time away then of Montreal's Satanic Panic in The Attic will always be a good choice. This album has really changed my life and made me look at life in a different way.

Technically, the strongest Of Montreal album.......2006-11-05

Anything which may have been lacking in their earlier releases, especially in general musicianship, is overcome with a vengeance on this record. This is a much tighter sound, a much more focused band, than we heard on their earlier and more chaotic releases.

"Satanic Panic..." is the band's graduation from psych-pop to new wave, just managing to keep their music assiduously twenty years behind the times. As great as "Cherry Peel" and "Gay Parade" were, they were perhaps a bit sloppy. The grander the band's concept became, the more the music may have suffered, though gems like "Let's Go for a Walk" still made their way onto the band's LPs.

Despite an album cover that looks like the first panel on a Hieronymous Bosch triptych, "Satanic Panic..." perhaps surprising represents a break from so much of what the band stood for before now. Except for the Beatlesque "City Bird" and the intro to "Will You Come and Fetch Me" (which sounds like it was ripped from Pet Sounds), the band has a much more modern sound on this record. Here they do for 80's new wave what they've already done for 60's psych-pop. Their new sound succeeds on tracks like "Your Magic is Working" and "Spike the Senses", which could have been released in 1982 and would have blown the world's mind if they had been. The opener, "Disconnect the Dots", is perhaps the best example of this shift in sound, as the band's infatuation with Brian Wilson style harmonies remains but is combined with the more 80's style instumentation and arrangement. The drumming is particularly inspired this time, a real prize as it is so necessary to have a tight rhythm section to complete the sound they are attempting here.

Enough of the band's quirkines and remarkably memorable pop hooks remain in this style to make the album a 5-star release. The follow-up album, "Sunlandic Twins", fails to preserve this sound and may mark the end of the Of Montreal we know and love. But here, at least, they were still well on top of their game. Few bands manage to re-invent themselves and still come out sounding relevant and even innovative, and this record is the rare exception to that rule.

Of Montreal's Magic is Working.......2006-05-14

This album really captures the greatness of Of Montreal, who I first discovered from airplay on a college radio station. And this is not just a review of a good album, this is a highlight of a band that brings back quality to the current music scene. I mentioned before that they were like indie-pop infused with keyboardary and opera-like vocals...and the vocals are wonderfully original and the harmony is perfect. I have noticed that Of Montreal has a rare talent of effortlessly churning out catchy, extremely addictive, captivating tunes. "Climb The Ladder" is a great example. Even slower songs like "City Bird" are equally masterful. While I agree with others that it takes a certain musical background to like this album, I highly recommend it too.

Exquisite.......2006-04-04

Of Montreal's Satanic Panic in the Attic is one of those singular albums that is so richly dense, so unabashedly whimsical and so damned polished, a listener can't resist sweeping all other albums from his or her desk and (metaphorically, of course) consummating one's relationship with it via iPod's vastly underappreciated "Repeat" feature.

Opener "Disconnect the Dots", sated with twinkling piano chords and ethereal percussion, lulls one into a Technicolor netherworld where harmonics rule and not a spare measure passes unexploited. This is to constitute the landscape of Satanic. "Come disconnect the dots with me poppet" Kevin Barnes sings, and even as I look up "poppet" in my OED, I find myself bobbing my head like an autistic kid.

If there remains any lingering apprehension once "Dots" has faded out of one's headphones, "Lysergic Bliss", track two, quells it. Opening with warped tribal drums overlaid by the ritualistic chant "Ooo Shakka!" the momentum breaks off into the sort of twanged guitar riff we might expect on the new Loretta Lynn release, and just as suddenly disappears altogether, usurped by a harmonized Beach Boys-esque vocal riding a rag-time piano jangle. All this in the first 45 seconds. By 2:36 we hear Barnes doing a great Freddie Mercury impression amid a polyphony of overdubbed voices.

If you simply perused Of Montreal's quirky, high-browed lyrics on paper, you'd never guess they could be sung so much as spoken, but Barnes spits in the face of convention, melding his elaborate rhymes with roiling beats driven by buoyant bass lines, hyperactive drumming and well timed xylophone flourishes. "Rapture Rapes the Muses", for instance, is replete with handclaps and propelled by a warped Merry-Go-Round melody, but also features Barnes dropping lines as impenetrable as "You keep me lit like antediluvian Troy / But one always reveres what ones bound to destroy". Um, okay. Satanic bursts at the seams with such highfalutin lines, making one thing eminently clear: Barnes' done went to college and stuff.

But before you label Satanic pedantic, understand that there are moments of blistering earnestness here, as well. On "Eros' Entropic Tundra" Barnes lays it all out, singing, "All I ever get is sad love / Always falling for the ones who feel nothing for me / Sometimes I think I should just forget about love". But what about me and you, Barnes? Right now. On the desk. Repeat. REPEAT!

If one were asked to name the defining trait of Satanic, the obvious choice would be Barnes' elaborate vocal harmonies. While he doesn't possess the greatest voice, Barnes, like The Beach Boys, readily manipulates it to great effect, sometimes disguising it as a woman's ("City Bird"), a lounge singer's ("Your Magic is Working"), or baring it a cappella ("Lysergic Bliss").

As for reference points, there are almost too many to name. Acts like The Beach Boys, Ben Folds Five, Queen, Beck (circa Odelay) and even The Pixies can be found here. But clearly, Of Montreal has not aped these sounds so much as eaten them one by one like a ravenous Star Jones who happened upon a buffet, subsequently digesting the hodgepodge of influences into their own unique, irresistible brick, which, graciously, has been shat into our awaiting ears.

"City Bird" is perhaps the only misstep here, as the meek ode to the urban creature's unrealized freedom in a voice as stilted and toneless as Nico's feels out of place on such an otherwise densely textured, multifarious album.

Panic drips creativity. Listen after listen only confirms that Barnes is an indie force to be reckoned with. Just try and remember to recharge your iPod's batteries once in a while. "Repeat" doesn't last forever and there's nothing worse than sudden, chaffing silence.

Average customer rating:

Music of The Spheres
SOUNDS FINE TO ME
Goosebumps!
The way Holst was meant to be performed
...Celestial

Holst: The Planets

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Igor Stravinsky: The Firebird (Complete Ballet, 1910) / Alexander Scriabin: Prometheus - The Poem of Fire - Valery Gergiev / Kirov Orchestra, St. Petersburg / Alexander Toradze
Manuel de Falla: Nights in the Gardens of Spain / Isaac Albeniz: Rapsodia Espanola / Joaquin Turina: Rapsodia Sinfonica - Alicia de Larrocha / London Philharmonic Orchestra / Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos
Holst: Planets, suite for orchestra (or pianos) Op32
Ravel: Bolero; Debussy, Mussorgsky / Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Panorama: George Gershwin

ASIN: B0000041S7
Release Date: 1987-01-30

Tracks:

Mars, the Bringer Of War
Venus, the Bringer Of Peace
Mercury, the Winged Messenger
Jupiter, the Bringer Of Jollity
Saturn, the Bringer Of Old Age
Uranus, The Magician
Neptune, the Mystic

Amazon.com

Charles Dutoit often sounds better on disc than he does live. The reason for this is simple: he loves to play to the audience, and the result is all kinds of wild gesticulating that the orchestra knows perfectly well to ignore. Sometimes they ignore him completely, to the peril of the performance at hand. In the studio, however, there is no audience and the conductor is free to focus on the music. Dutoit has a real affection for The Planets and his performance is vital, insightful, and recorded in resplendent digital sound. The Montreal Symphony has a particularly powerful trombone section, which adds just that extra drop of energy to "Mars,"Jupiter," and "Saturn." A fine disc. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

Music of The Spheres .......2007-07-21

Gustav Holst (1874-1934) was an English composer and music teacher of Swedish heritage, he composed his most famous piece of music, the orchestral suite "The Planets"- completed in 1916. Generally I don't like classical music (I like classic and indie-rock) I find a lot of it abstruse and pompous but occasionally I have to make an exception such as with The Planets or for Igor Stravinsky's: The Rite of Spring. I'd have to say that The Planets is my favorite and most beloved composition of classical music by a long shot. I generally like the composers of the early 20th century with their thoroughly modernist sensibilities and sense of experimentation that has resulted in some truly beautiful music.

Mr. Holst composed a lot more music than The Planets alone and I think he would be rather peeved that most of his oeuvre is overshadowed by his major orchestral accomplishment, but it can't be helped. The various movements of the music (Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune) flow into one another slowly building into an exhilarating and glorious crescendo. The first movement rises up in a spirit of jubilation and triumphalism then the music slowly winds down again almost to a heartbeat. And the last movement is slow and melodic with a haunting orchestral choir singing in the background; it completes the suite on a gentle note. The Planets was inspired by Gustav Holst's interests in astronomy and astrology influenced by his long time friend Clifford Bax, he was also a student of ancient Hindu literature and language. If you are just getting interested in classical music "The Planets" is a good place to start, it is highly romantic yet thoroughly modern and relatively easy on the ears.

SOUNDS FINE TO ME.......2004-12-05

Most reviews I have read of this disc seem pretty pleased with both performance and recording. On the other hand I am just slightly influenced by some thoughtful comment I have seen that expresses a few reservations regarding the balance -- to me reviews are 'useful' if they show independent judgment, not if they support my preconceptions which are quite strong enough not to need reinforcing. What this account definitely is is vivid. The orchestral detail is very clear, but if I ask myself whether this is quite how The Planets sounds in the concert hall, then I'm not so sure. I like it this way, but this is not a piece where I am hard to please the way I am about performances of the Viennese classics or Ravel or Sibelius or Elgar or Walton. In general this is a very effective reading of The Planets. The tempi sound about right to me, no doubt because they are much what I am used to, and the playing and orchestral discipline are superb. This is the only disc of The Planets that I own or plan to own because it's not a work I'm fussy about, but connoisseurs may want to consider whether the effectiveness has been slightly overmanipulated by the recording technicians.

Goosebumps!.......2004-11-01

I get goosebumps just THINKING about this CD! I bought it almost 15 years ago, only interested in "Mars - The Bringer of War." At the time it was the only piece I was familiar with. At the time, I had also recently rediscovered the album, "Emerson, Lake and Powell" who did a rock version of "Mars...".

As I am so fond of saying in my reviews, the whole CD blew me away. There were such a wide range of moods included in these pieces from the power of "Mars..." to the sadness of "Saturn..." to the "Uranus..." which makes me feel I'm walking through a foggy wood, these songs still make me smile today.

The way Holst was meant to be performed.......2003-12-19

This is probably my alltime favorite orchestral work, and my most overplayed CD. The Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal does a superb job of interpreting Holst's most famous work.

Mars, for example, with its wide dynamic range, beginning with a very low pianissimo and hitting its climax later (as this movement should), is captured with all the tension and intensity worthy of "The Bringer of War." I played this CD at work one time, and one of my passing co-workers quipped, "boy, this sounds like Star Wars." I don't think he was aware of how appropriate of a description it was!

I also need to mention the segue between Tracks 6 and 7, the transition between Uranus and Neptune. The change is barely perceptible. Uranus ends very quietly, and Neptune begins equally so -- almost to the point where I can't tell one from the other. I have to respect an ensemble that can make this transition in this manner.

Overall, this is a very enjoyable album. If you've never heard this work before, I'd tell you to begin here.

...Celestial.......2003-04-14

Considering that this recording of Holst's most popular works is among a pioneer in digital recordings, it still outshines rival versions. Charles Dutoit and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra have a natural feeling for mood, rhythm and colour that transpire into the "Planets Suite" that have stood up through the years. The inspiration for "Planets Suite" started with just the simple facination Holst had with astrology that would transcend into music that never existed in english music before and is undoubtedly the most famous of large scale compositions and deservely so because it's a masterpiece in imagination.

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No.1 In B Flat Minor, Op.23: I Allegro Non Troppo E Molto Maestoso (Excerpt) - Vladimir Ashkenazy
Romeo And Juliet: Love Theme - Wiener Philharmoniker
Symphony No.6 In B Minor, Op.74 'Pathetique': I Adagio - Allegro Non Troppo (Excerpt) - Philharmonia Orchestra
Swan Lake: Scene (Act III) - Herbert Von Karajan
Swan Lake: Waltz (Act I) - Herbert Von Karajan
Swan Lake: Dance Of The Little Swans - Herbert Von Karajan
Il Adagio Cantabile E Con Moto Souvenir De Florence, Op.70: II Adagio Cantabile E Con Moto - Academy Of St. Martin In The Fields
Melodie Souvenir D'un Lieu Cher, Op.42: Melodie - Philip Moll
June: Barcarolle The Seasons, Op.37b: June: Barcarolle - Vladimir Ashkenazy
Eugene Onegin: Waltz - Valery Gergiev
Piano Concerto No.1 In B Flat Minor, Op.23: II Andantino Semplice - Vladimir Ashkenazy
Sleeping Beauty: Pas D'action (Adagio) - Wiener Philharmoniker
Sleeping Beauty: Waltz - Wiener Philharmoniker
Marche Slave, Op.31 - Zubin Mehta

Tracks:

Violin Concerto In D Major, Op.35: I Allegro Moderato (Excerpt) - Kyung Wha Chung
Symphony No.5 In E Minor, Op.64: II Andante Cantabile, Con Alcuna Licenza - London Symphony Orchestra
The Nutcracker: Overture - Charles Dutoit
The Nutcracker: Dance Of The Sugar-Plum Fairy - Charles Dutoit
Serenade For Strings In C Major, Op.48: II Waltz - St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra
String Quartet No.1 In D Major, Op.11: II Andante Cantabile - Gabrieli String Quartet
Eugene Onegin: Polonaise - Valery Gergiev
Capriccio Italien, Op.45 (Excerpt) - Valery Gergiev
Symphony No.4 In F Minor, Op.36: III Scherzo: Pizzicato Ostinato, Allegro - London Symphony Orchestra
Elegie For Strings - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
None But The Lonely Heart, Op.6 No.6 - Dmitri Hvorostovsky
The Divine Liturgy Of St. John Chrysostom, Op.41: Otche Nash (The Lord's Prayer) - St. Petersburg Chamber Choir
Valse Sentimentale, Op.51 No.6 - Arthur Grumiaux
The Nutcracker: Dance Of The Reed Pipes (Mirlitons) - Wiener Philharmoniker
The Nutcracker: Waltz Of The Flowers - Wiener Philharmoniker
1812 Overture, Op.49 (Conclusion) - Zubin Mehta

Customer Reviews:

Best of the best.......2004-03-14

There's something for every Tchaikovsky lover on this disc. From Swan Lake to Onegin, many of Tchaikovsky's most-known melodies are on this disc. I'd have preferred more than an excerpt of the first movement of Piano Concerto No. 1, but this disc is a great introduction to Tchaikovsky's works.

Average customer rating:

Very, very disappointing
The Logical Extension of "Hissing Fauna"
I love you volcanically

Icons, Abstract Thee
Of Montreal
Manufacturer: Polyvinyl Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
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ASIN: B000OPOAES
Release Date: 2007-05-08

Tracks:

Du Og Meg
Voltaic Crusher/Undrum To Muted Da
Derailments In A Place Of Our Own
Miss Blonde, Your Papa is Failing
No Conclusion

Album Description

Previously only available through Polyvinyl mail order and through the band on tour, this record is finally available at retail. "Icons" is considered the companion piece to Of Montreal's latest, "Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?" These five songs were recorded during the "Hissing" sessions.

Customer Reviews:

Very, very disappointing.......2007-07-23

I absolutely love both Sunlandic Twins and Hissing Fauna. This lil' EP has the charm of neither. It sounds half-finished, and the production pales in comparison to the full-length albums (as do the lyrics, for the most part). Don't waste your money.

The Logical Extension of "Hissing Fauna".......2007-06-16

NOTE: This album was not yet available on Amazon.com when I wrote this review.

Kevin Barnes and Of Montreal live for the music. Somewhere in the midst of non-stop touring around the world, Kevin still manages to find time to write and record brand new music. Of course, it's never enough to release a great LP every one or two years, as they have consistently done since their inception. No, Of Montreal is also all about the EP, ususally releasing one in conjunction with their main releases. "Icons, Abstract Thee" is the thematic companion to the group's latest release, "Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?" For those smart enough to preorder the album from Polyvinyl Records' website, you are probably the proud owner of this nice little EP. Everyone else has to either order it separately from the Polyvinyl Records website, or pick one up the next time the band comes through your town, as they will be made available on tour. Is it worth it though?

Kind of. You see, Of Montreal's EPs are largely collections of songs that didn't work on the full LP. For example, the Bonus EP that was released with "The Sunlandic Twins" was thematically similar to the album itself, but the style of the songs just didn't mesh well with the rest of the album. It's the same here. "Icons, Abstract Thee" is a collection of five songs that deserved to be heard, just not on "Hissing Fauna." There area couple songs about depression and relationship turmoil ("Derailments In A Place of Our Own" and "No Conclusion"), as well as your typically joyful songs about a band touring an evil kingdom ("Du Og Meg"). The standout track on the EP is arguably "Voltaic Crusher/Undrum To Muted Da" in which Barnes reflects on a relationship, saying, "You gave me your hand, I gave you a fist. Please don't lose any sleep over me, baby. I hardly exist." Of course, that upbeat dance track is countered quite beautifully by "Miss Blonde, Your Papa Is Failing," an acoustic guitar ballad that has Barnes singing "When I look in your eyes I see me looking back" to what I'm assuming is his own child. It's an extremely touching song that sounds like it could've been ripped right off of "Cherry Peel" due to it's lack of electronic flourishes.

Overall, the EP has a much heavier feel to it, tackling the same subject matters as their latest LP, but doing so much more bluntly this time around. On "No Conclusion" Barnes cries out "Tonight I feel like destroying myself," followed ever so gently by "I'm O.D.-ing on your c**ksucker blues." It probably wasn't a bad idea to leave these songs off of the album. None of them are really all that terrible, and most are actually really good. But musically, these songs would just be a distraction on what is otherwise a fantastic album.

The hardcore Of Montreal fans should definitely check it out, but I have trouble recommending it to anyone else.

Key Tracks:
1. "Voltaic Crusher/Undrum To Muted Da"
2. "Miss Blonde, Your Papa Is Failing"

6 out of 10 Stars

I love you volcanically.......2007-05-08

I don't know about anyone else, but I find that one of the marks of a good album is that you're left hungry for more.

And Of Montreal's latest is one of those albums, but fortunately the kooky twee-dancepop band has dropped a little EP to keep people satisfied. The "Icons, Abstract Thee" is basically a collection of songs that didn't make the "Hissing Fauna" album except as extra tracks, and they make a wonderfully weird accompaniment to the main album.

It opens with a deliciously dancy pop tune flavoured with keyboard, which basically bounces all the way through its love story. "She landed on her feet/and joined this fledgling rock group/as they toured the evil empire/selling T-shirts at the shows/she taught him what was real/she taught him he was OK/that his flaws were not just rubbish/that he had something good to give..."

It continues with the pleading "Voltaic Crusher/Undrum To Muted Da," with its retro keyboard and rollicking alt-rocky sound, only to change radically with "Derailments in a Place of Our Own." It's a slower, darker, more ominous little tune. It's a very different sound for Of Montreal ("Says she is depressed/and I am losing my mind...").

They turn out another different, tragic song in "Miss Blonde Your Papa is Falling," with its gentle guitar and mellow melody. But they get listeners dancing again with "No Conclusion," a pleasant little dancerock number, flavoured with more upbeat lyrics ("the darkness is just a suggestion") and some ripply keyboard. Ah, that's the Of Montreal we know and love.

"Icons Abstract Thee" is a bit surprising as an Of Montreal EP. Two of the songs are rather clearly depressing, and this is reflected in the music. And the final song takes awhile to warm up. But while some wouldn't fit on "Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer," these songs are nicely made and show Of Montreal's other dimensions.

Of Montreal uses a lot of guitar -- folky catchy stuff in the first few songs, but also some spare, mellow acoustic stuff that underlines the moments of pretty psychedelic synth, dancy keyboard and solid drums. The only song that stumbles a bit is the final song, which has moments of musical starkness between the catchy sprinkly dancepop.

Kevin Barnes exerts himself well in this one, when he's belting out "but there's nothing to RESPOOOOOOND" or crooning like Sufjan Stevens. And the lyrics are a mixture of mild neurosis ("I am a flaw!") and deliciously weird songcraft ("someone to love her VOLCANICALLY!... Christ knows she deserves something nice for a change").

But the peak would have to be in the songs about family breakups. One is a sad ballad to his wife, and in the Barnes sings sadly to his kid, "Was I born to give you a name/and then be erased/because I couldn't keep it together?"

"Icons Abstract Thee" is a lovely little accompaniment for the "Hissing Fauna" album. The last song is uneven, but this EP also shows off the different kinds of songs Of Montreal can make.

Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse

Average customer rating:

First listen to Oliva Tremor Control's Dusk at Cubist Castle
Plays like a movie on acid...
Good Great Got It
Amazing album!
What A Concept (Album)!

Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse
Of Montreal
Manufacturer: Polyvinyl Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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Satanic Panic in the Attic
The Sunlandic Twins
The Gay Parade
Cherry Peel
Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?

ASIN: B0001XAROA
Release Date: 2004-05-04

Tracks:

Good Morning Mr. Edminton
Peacock Parasols
Look at the Bell
Introduction for Isabell
Let's Do Everything for the First Time Forever
Coquelicot's Tea Party
Rose Robert
It's a Very Starry Night
Mimi Merlot
Butterscotching Mr. Lynn
Coquelicot, Claude and Lechithin Dance Aboard the Ocean Liner
Go Call Your Mine
Events Leading Up to the Collapse of Detective Dulllight
Penelope
Dreamy Day of Daydreaming of You
Hello from Inside a Shell (Zombies Enter the Harbor)
Lechithin's Tale of a DNA Experiment That Went Horribly Awry
It's Just So
Frozen Island
Upon Settling on the Frozen Island, Lechithin Presents Claude and ...
Let's Go for a Walk (Coquelicot Leaves the Frozen Island to Resume Her
Hopeless Opus or the Great Battle of the Unfriendly Ridiculous

Customer Reviews:

First listen to Oliva Tremor Control's Dusk at Cubist Castle.......2006-04-16

I got the Colicot Asleep in the Poppies album because Amazon.com recommended it to me and usually Amazon's recommendations hit the mark. This is not a bad album at all (I rate it 4 out of 5 stars), but being the Olivia Tremor Control fan that I am, I can't help but notice that almost each song has a direct lifting from the Dusk at Cubist Castle album. Down to the use and stylings of the instruments. For example, the sound of a track being rewound then sped up, the creepy theramin, the big fuzzy guitar. Also the choice of subject is increadibly similar.
Again, I am not saying that this a bad album at all it's just too dang similar to not notice. Really.

Plays like a movie on acid..........2006-01-17

Probably the most bizarre..."thing" I've ever heard. Not to say it's bad. I just don't think it does the album justice by calling it merely an "album". Why? Because it's so much more than just an "album". Basically the premise of the story is about a Coquelicot that falls in love with a man in one of her dreams while she's asleep. Of course, if I explained further it would probably necessitate a short essay. But while the story is intricate, and unbelievably detailed itself, the music is even moreso. Not unlistenable by any means, but perhaps bewildering on first/second/third listen. Kevin Barnes twists his poetry into fairy tales in free verse and prose. Rhymes come together in ways not thought possible. The imagination at work is far beyond comprehensible. But this makes it all the more fascinating. The melodies are there, too, but unconventionally so. Generally the melodies change quickly, creating a bizarre.... I'm ranting. It's beautiful is what it is. Totally worth your money. Check it out.

Good Great Got It.......2005-09-02

On first listen I thought "...man,this is so stupid?" but as soon as the second listen came around it was just off the hook crazy good, I don't know why I changed my mind like that about this CD but it just turned out that way. It's kinda like a Musical Play but in there style, like pretty much every song talks about the same thing although you don't get bored because with Of Montreal they do a lot of tempo changes so your more focused at the music than anything else really. 22 Songs so it's defenitly takes awhile to get through it but it's all worth it, plus there are some really funny stuff on this disc but I don't want to give it away

Buy It Or Forever Suffer The Consiquence Which Is Missing Out!

Amazing album!.......2005-06-07

My personal fav. - Let's Go For A Walk
So touching.
All of the songs are great actually.
Funny, miniature stories, too.

What A Concept (Album)!.......2005-05-08

This album is Of Montreal's Concept Piece, and it works quite effectively for about half an hour, then starts to grate a little. A triumph of style over substance, it's akin to eating a boxful of fruit loops cereal- it tastes sweet as all get out, but you feel quite sick afterwards.Nevertheless, I'm a huge fan of concept albums (Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Dark Side of the Moon, Kid A), so I give this album a more than fair four star rating. But then again I might just be on a sugar rush from listening to this album.

Average customer rating:

La Mer is one of my all-time favorites
Wonderful
Great interpretations, but the recorded sound is ok
Ravishing Debussy from a master of French music

Debussy: La Mer

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music
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Ravel: Boléro
Haydn: The London Symphonies, Vol. 1
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The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection : The 350 Essential Works
Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra; Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta; Hungarian Sketches

ASIN: B00002MXMY
Release Date: 1999-11-09

Tracks:

La Mer: I. De l'aube a midi sur la mer
La Mer: II. Jeux de vagues
La Mer: III. Dialogue du vent et de la mer
Jeux
Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien I (Fragments symphoniques): La Cour des lys
Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien I (Fragments symphoniques): Danse extatique et Final du Premier Acte
Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien I (Fragments symphoniques): La Passion
Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien I (Fragments symphoniques): Le Bon Pasteur
Prelude 'aprmidi d'un faune

Tracks:

Images pour orchestre: Gigues
Images pour orchestre: Iberia: I. Par les rues et par les chemins
Images pour orchestre: Iberia: II. Les Parfums de la nuit
Images pour orchestre: Iberia: III. Le Matin d'un jour de f
Images pour orchestre: Rondes de printemps
Trois Noctures: Nuages
Trois Noctures: Fs
Trois Noctures: Sirs
Printemps: Trmod
Printemps: Mod

Customer Reviews:

La Mer is one of my all-time favorites.......2006-01-11

There is nothing quite like Dutoit's handling of some of Debussy's timeless masterpieces. All have enormous strength and have clear sound quality. The piece that gives me the shivers the most is La Mer. It has the perfect oceanic feeling that some other conductors forget about. I can just imagine the stormy sea letting out its dangerous but majestic fury when listening to the third movement. Images for Orchestra and Printemps are also fabulous. Highly recommended for those who are interested in impressionistic music.

Wonderful.......2004-03-30

Charles Dutoit does so pretty wonderful things with this Debussy set and his orchestra is in top-notch form. Dutoit handles these works well, bringing delicacy of phrasing, sweeping crescendos, and awesome sonics. Rarely does can an orchestra sound calm, quiet, even serene AND loud, dramatic, and forceful. La Mer is particularly striking in Dutoit's hands. Decca's crystal clear sound makes this set even more attractive. Highly recommended.

Great interpretations, but the recorded sound is ok.......2002-08-30

Charles Dutoit does so pretty wonderful things with this Debussy set and his orchestra is in top notch form. However, the reason I gave this CD set only 4 starts is because the recorded sound less much to be desired. The cd sound is very "echo"y, it sounds like the orchestra is playing in a cave, not a concert hall. If that doesn't bother you then go for this set. As for me, I want Debussy with a little clearer of a sound.

Ravishing Debussy from a master of French music.......1999-12-11

Most of Dutoit's Debussy recordings were released at the beginning of the 1990s and are of the same very high standard of his Ravel and Poulenc recordings, and it is good to have the best-known of them reissued on a well-documented 2-CD bargain set. The sound quality is fantastic. This set comes into competition with Haitink's excellent Philips Duo set, and choice between the two sets will probably be determined by the minor works included. The Haitink set has long been the first recommendation in this repertoire, and the analogue sound is excellent, if not as spectacular as that of the Dutoit set. It should be noted, however, that those who buy the Dutoit set along with Martinon's "Orchestral Works II" set on EMI's Double Forte label will have obtained virtually all of Debussy's orchestral compositions and transcriptions all for not too many dead presidents.

Average customer rating:

Superb
Just Beautiful!
Hot, hot, hot!
Genius
Good Music

Montréal
Jesse Cook
Manufacturer: Narada
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0006V6TMG
Release Date: 2004-12-21

Tracks:

Beloved
Rattle And Burn
Cascada
Breeze From Saintes Maries
Jumpstart
Air
Luna Llena
Closer To Madness
Tempest
Querido Amigo
Dance Of Spring
Mario Takes A Walk
Baghdad
Fall At Your Feet

Amazon.ca

Jesse Cook is a worldbeat musician in the truest sense of the word; he doesn't just pick a style and repackage it, he is respected both by listeners and players alike for constantly seeking inspiration and tutelage from all over the world. A longtime fan of music from Spain, Africa, Egypt, Brazil, France and Cuba, Jesse Cook's Montreal evokes each of those countries and then some on this, his sixth CD and first live disc.

There will always be a debate among purists as to whether accessible worldbeat or jazz is too easy-listening; ultimately, Cook is one part gifted guitar player, another part masterful showman. Even in the context of listening to a live CD, the energy that he gives to and subsequently receives from his fans on Montréal is contagious and musically rewarding.--Denise Sheppard

Customer Reviews:

Superb.......2007-03-14

Jesse is just great and has great musicians along with him.
As always, extraordinary skill, melody, arrangement, musical sensibility, power, and rhythm plus live magic and humor.

Just Beautiful!.......2007-03-08

I adore this CD! I think that Jesse Cook sounds much better live than in the studio. You can feel the soul of his work live! I hope he produces more live works like this one.

Hot, hot, hot!.......2007-02-23

I had never heard of this guy. My wife likes flamenco music and he was in town, so we went. I LOVED their show. Never a missed note and tasty as anything. So, at intermission we bought this CD. We've listened to it over and over. Not disappointed at all. We've loved this recording nearly as much as the maravelous live show we caught. Jesse has a brand new fan.

Genius.......2007-01-17

I've seen Jesse Cook in concert 4 times (so far), and have all his CD's.
Having said that, Montreal is a special CD. Get for a first timer to start with : )

Good Music.......2007-01-04

As always, Jesse Cook is great. The live aspect of the performance is nice, but the vocals are not quite as good as the ones from the studio versions of these cuts.

Pop Music:

Pop Music

pop music

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