Spark

Track Listings

1. Spark

2. Happy Pills

3. Nomad

4. Wit

5. Lighthouse Prelude

6. Judith Point

7. A Gentle Beating

8. An Daingean

9. Exhale

Editorial Reviews
About the Artist
The spring of 2002 celebrates the debut release of guitarist and composer, Mark Visconti. The album "Spark" features nine original compositions written by Visconti for the steel-stringed guitar, including a rendition of William Coulter's "An Daingean", and two ensemble pieces featuring guitar, cello, and mandolin.

Mark Visconti has studied compositon with grammy-award winning composer, Joel Thome and world-reknown guitarist/composer, Benjamin Verdery. He has also studied Baroque writing and counterpoint with Anthony Newman, and paricipated in several guitar masterclasses with the likes of Sharon Isbin and Scott Tennant.

Product Description
Original works written for the Steel-Stringed Guitar, including pieces for solo cello and mandolin, as well as a album closing song in the vain of Alison Krauss.

Spark,Mark Visconti

Spark

Tracks:

Court And Spark
Help Me
Free Man In Paris
People's Parties
The Same Situation
Car On A Hill
Down To You
Just Like This Train
Raised On Robbery
Trouble Child
Twisted

Amazon.com essential recording

Painter-turned-folksinger Joni Mitchell had slipped stark saxophone solos into her prior album, For the Roses, and her singing had often hinted at a capacity for bluesier fare than her guitar- and piano-framed confessional ballads offered. None of those hints prepared fans for this sudden, expansive shift toward a much larger canvas--a sleeker, orchestrated pop style pulsing with jazz elements. Court & Spark found Mitchell casting aside her earth mother affectations and revealing herself as the thoroughly modern, thoroughly complicated woman she is; the songs sustained familiar preoccupations with relationships but replaced courtly settings and naturalistic imagery with recognizably modern locales. Deeply romantic, constantly questioning, classic tracks like the title song, "Help Me," "Free Man in Paris," "Same Situation," and "Raised on Robbery" display a more liberated Mitchell, ready to rumble with unbridled electric guitars (guest Robbie Robertson on "...Robbery"), even willing to poke fun at her own oh-so-sensitive rep with a hip cover of Annie Ross's hilarious "Twisted." --Sam Sutherland

Customer Reviews:

Love Tracks.............2007-07-04

This was a present to me for my birthday in 19...I just forget...1975, 80, 90?
Might be good for a listen this July 4th thinking here about what we find to complete us in life, our choices, our diversions, our battles, where we stand up and for what we do what we do, ultimately...with a life.
It all comes down to this.
Celebration of freedom on our 4th, I think of this album.

Young, drawing, painting, feeling, living life it fit every feeling I had at that time in my 25,30 year old life. Standing alone looking at heaven on earth, for surely nature doesn't do it better, I remember listening once on a Walkman player with ear things driving me to distortion trying to walk the trail early morning out to Point Lobos, CA. I was also in some of the worst physical pain of my life which now seems relative, my spine, with no idea the reason for the hurt that took ten more years of being told it was imagined, over the real debilitating degenerative spinal condition it actually was.....This a walk about self belief and external disapproval and the collision of something so playfully contained in Joni Mitchell's tune from this album...about one's sanity. Walking wondering how my faults could generate this as my 'other' half and medical doc were so happily stating as "obvious". Reached the limits of self loathing and external disharmony for the waste of time they are. As you move through this trail it opens onto ocean pitched as suspended above on a precipice. I stood on the edge. With that aquamarine pool far down the rocks below, this music probably stopped me from jumping, my hoping to reach the perfection of arresting time in the just then. Visual external perfection weighted against internal incapacity to meet the moment with joy, hit me. Then. Inadequate by definitions.
And this trip on my birthday this weekend brought back both songs and those silences in the past to grapple. It passed from my daily memory in days bleeding through my fingers as does water and maybe, too, passing flesh like lit kerosene...the contradictions of love, living, fire, your speck of stardust flashing, suffering...it's here in her words. Burning, quenching. Our Dualities.

And that hand she offered me and held out meant something. Then and now listening again...today. It did stop me from flying out to see those cormorants that day, to realize this was just a path I traveled/weathered. Could and would take others. Could. Would. Will. And such a lonvely path it can be sometimes. Her singing just gave me a sense there might be someone that had an understanding what life might really just be. It was a Beautiful present.
I don't think 'laughing it all away' was missed in my life then. It brought me this musical seed...growing inside.. my own Tree of Knowledge....the processing of teaching in South Central, poverty, others suffering at the hands of those unconcerned and greedy, illnesses, pain, relating, loving, failing, being reduced to clown,my loss of a baby, loss of innocent place in this world had me on my knees....actually on my back...and I remember standing listening that day long ago all the way through rather frozen....and days just passed on until I was listening again in times with my children...growing....trade-offs bargained in situations constructing many lead walls all through our personal and societal worlds..opening windows in my heart, ... I was falling in love with the notion I could live making, doing, in my own spaces and sing to a girl losing loves, finding loves, turning to work with a group of children no one ever saw, no one ever saw.... Turning around in the whirl of time passing and melodies blowing through your heart. She sang the lust, the desire, the truth of waiting for stolen moments, of wanting, of needing to push forward into meaning something, doing something of value independent of a self that burns all it touches with petty insignificance, waves I sat and watched in Malibu.
Why does it come as shock to know you have no one? She sings...
Another dream over the damn. My right to be human going over too, over the fall.....when I went in the waves at Malibu I nearly drown. In so far I was sucked under. Still trying to surface... her soul reading mine, ours. Seen.

I must have played this album a million times. Until in my dull repetitive way it blossomed into my being with that oboe playing, "It all comes down to you." And it does. Riddled now with aches, pains, limits,idiotic trivial delusions, truths and contradictions I listen to this and develop the most intense kaleidoscopic Alice vision of my days.Returning via mirror to the repelling external truths. We blow most of life.

When I do go, play this and that'll be wonderful, and know I mostly acted thinking of "Help Me"......it centered in my heart. The things contained in man's , my soul, reaching for another and love, and I turned to reach for a way to meaning, to do something with some value. Risk making meanings and loving our world. Risk it. Your mistakes will always outweigh everything. It's the human condition...but we have to try. For something.
It brought me to teach children...longing had to be contained. Caged. Knowing her call for freedom for bird, kitten, fish, all creatures great and loved mattered more...matters more .....comes inside.....slips away....floats like a melody through my soul.

Joni Mitchell on this album brought into my life a flash of enlightenment. And in my passions the fruit of loves, living ....danced....cried out.

I want to quote songs, favorites, pieces of genius. I also want to feel the words fly around in my mind so I think I will go just listen and recommend it with some fresh July strawberry-raspberry rhubarb pie.

Savor your freedoms, it was bought at a price no money changer can refund.

The other great Joni record.......2007-05-15

Between this and Blue, I'd have a tough time picking my desert-island Joni album. It's nicely balanced, and the guitar work is stellar as always, and the songs are catchy and/or lovely. "Twisted" is a wonderful work of vocal acrobatics (with guest stars Cheech and Chong!). Highly recommended.

"Star maker machinery".......2007-04-20

Now here is something startling. After the perhaps somewhat awkward ramblings and disjointedness of For the Roses (1972), Joni hits us with this - an instantly appealing pop album. Admittedly, there was a clue beforehand with her first US radio hit, aptly named "You Turn Me On (I'm A Radio)" but if the rest of For The Roses was something to go by (musically and thematically) it seemed she would drift off on a wave of free floating obscurity. That however, would come a little later. Court & Spark become a big US hit and deservedly so.

The title track is of Joni's most seductive, matched by lower range vocals and trancelike piano playing. It seems to tell the tale of a woman who falls in love with a busker, only to let him go out of fear of commitment. This `love versus freedom' struggle echoes earlier song "Cactus Tree" from Song To A Seagull (1968). "Help Me" exemplifies a similar theme in a jazzy pop number fashion and would become Joni's biggest hit single.

Many of the other songs touch on love/freedom/compromise scenarios in some sense. The character in the jazz-rock ruckus "Free Man In Paris" wants to be exactly that, then there is longing to be at ease in some way in the downplayed original version of "People's Parties" which (I think) would appear in finer form on her live album Miles of Aisles (1974). The piano lead into "The Same Situation" is more than a nice touch though. There is a nice piano led instrumental part too, on the epic "Down To You" in which Joni begins with these great lines:

"Everything comes and goes / Marked by lovers and styles of clothes"

Court & Spark seems to be aching to that sentiment because on one level it seems very timeless and on another, very much of the 70's. Joni sings of `Woman with that teased- up kind of hair" in the playful "Just Like This Train" though with "Raised On Robbery" she goes all out 50's in probably her most rockin' tune ever about a prostitute trying to make "A little money..." Things jazz up to the max with the final
two tracks; "Trouble Child" is full of Joni's exotic guitar painting a portrait of a loser in life who knows what he has to do but seems to have an inability to do it - very poetic, if a little downbeat. "Twisted" is Joni's first ever cover version and she does it with a lot of humour, and style scatting like her life depended on it.

Although brass heavy, Court & Spark is on the right side of jazz to be pop, while neither being too pop to be disposable even if belonging partly to the 70's. While "Twisted" will not appeal to everyone, songs such as "Help Me" and "Car On A Hill" are sure to be favourites of old and new fans alike. Often touted as her best, Court & Spark is engaging and at least in that running.

Court... has the spark.......2007-04-17

An excellent album by Ms. Mitchell, containing three of her biggest songs (Help Me, Free Man in Paris, Raised on Robbery) in the company of equally engaging material. The last track, Twisted, presages Joni's shift into jazz and, depending on your taste, either detracts from enhances the album or detracts from it (I'm of the latter opinion). Still, this is a magnificent album and perhaps her crowning achievement.

(Almost) unfettered and alive.......2007-04-10

There's many MANY many people who feel this one is IT, Joni Mitchell full of glamour and wit, rocking and wooing - and altering the 70's.

I'm not one of those people.

I believe Court and Spark, essential as it was for building up JM's clout, stands as a crowd-pleasing stop on the road to the BIG muse. But, it falls short - the session sharpies play too unctuously.

We all know the (lovely) radio hits, and there's little to add to the zillions of words aired. These are enchanting tunes - shrewd, warm and full of good chops. Vocals soar unpredictably like autumn breezes.

What I would like to add is "Trouble Child," rockin' yet noir, might be one of JM's first jaw-dropping masterpieces. Listen to it again (then spin the fine Travelogue version). What a dark topic (could be rehab for bipolar disorder), burnished with benevolent humanism.

Also notable: "Down To You" (which, alas, did not receive a Travelogue reincarnation) is a savvy, serpentine melody and heartfelt lyrical runimation buoyed by keen, clean orchestration - an early experiment of merit on the way to those incredible Paprika Plains.

And yeh, sure, "Twisted" is twisted; and "Raised on Robbery" rampages like Fear of Flying.

Average customer rating:

"Many A Mile To Freedom" but a short click can get you the remaster W/a bonus!
Low Spark, high marks
Original Albums
one of the great things about 1971 was this album.
The Best of the Best

Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
Traffic
Manufacturer: Island
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

Psychedelic Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

$7.99 and Under | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

Pop | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

Classic Rock | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

Rock | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

Alternative Rock | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

Jazz | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

International | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

All Blowout Music | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

$7.99 and Under | Prices | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 Classic Rock | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 International | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 Jazz | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 Pop | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 Rock | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

John Barleycorn Must Die
Blind Faith
Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory
Traffic
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs

ASIN: B0000639A3
Release Date: 2002-03-19

Tracks:

Hidden Treasure
The Low Spark Of High-Heeled Boys
Light Up Or Leave Me Alone
Rock & Roll Stew
Many A Mile To Freedom
Rainmaker
Bonus Track - Rock & Roll Stew (Single Version)

Amazon.com

Despite not even charting in the band's native England, this album became a platinum-selling American hit on the basis of three enduring FM radio staples--the expansive, jazzy impressionism of the near-12 minute title track, and the more straightforward funk of the R&B charmers "Light Up or Leave Me Alone" and "Rock & Roll Stew." Those disparate tracks perfectly underscore Traffic's rich musical appeal and its restless, sometimes problematic creative and interpersonal relationships. With now thrice-departed Dave Mason out of the mix and percussionists Jim Gordon and Reebop Kwaku Baah participating in the studio for the first time, the band's innate musicality truly takes wing. Winwood's familiar vocal phrasings nearly take a backseat to his fluid, dramatic guitar work on "Rock & Roll Stew Roll" and "Many a Mile to Freedom," while the Tull-ish, folk-madrigal sensibilities of "Hidden Treasure" and "Rainmaker" are further punctuated by Chris Wood's deft flute and woodwind flourishes. Compared with the more organic John Barleycorn album, the contrast is all the more remarkable. While many contemporary bands were experimenting with various attempts at fusion, few achieved this collection's rock-jazz-folk-R&B range or level of often subtle sophistication. Digitally remastered, this edition also contains the six-minute-plus U.S. single version of "Rock & Roll Stew, Parts 1 & 2" as a bonus track. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews:

"Many A Mile To Freedom" but a short click can get you the remaster W/a bonus!.......2007-07-21

As the author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent" and a former radio disc-jockey, I am often asked to write and or discuss various music supplies and recordings from the 60's and 70's.

Released in February 1971, "The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys" would enthrall the listener for the duration of the forty-minute journey. It wasn't another record to play but one to study, digest, and rarely file away.

From the opening notes of the beautiful "Hidden Treasures" Traffic had captured our attention. As they commandeered the ride, nobody was looking to escape. The title track is twelve minutes but the message lasts forever. Remember the first time the lyrics hit you between the eyes without warning?

The percentage you're paying is too high priced
while you're living beyond all your means.

And the man in the suit has just bought a new car
from the profit he's made on your dreams.

"Rock And Roll Stew" changes the direction. The tune is upbeat and full of power and passion. With a great mix, you can enjoy Winwood's tremendously tasty guitar.

"Many A Mile To Freedom" isn't only track four of the recording but one of the most overlooked songs of the era. The lyrics are delivered with the skill of a master artisan and the music blends flawlessly. If your original vinyl copies had holes in the grooves, you were not alone!

"Light Up Or Leave Me Alone" is well constructed. The musicianship is clearly detected. Although Dave Mason wasn't part of the session, the band took anything but a defeatist attitude.

"Rainmaker" unfortunately is the finale. The lyrics and music seem to create majestic visions. Listen intently to understand how Chris Wood enhances the recording.

The remaster with the bonus track gives you the single version of "Rock And Roll Stew." Call it a midnight snack after a 5 Star meal.

Enjoy the music and be well,
Craig Fenton
Author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent"

Low Spark, high marks.......2007-05-18

Always a pleasure to listen to. This is an album which ages gracefully, and the instrumentals are always a pleasure. Those guys really were wonderfully musical and extremely talented.

Original Albums.......2007-05-11

Ever order a "Best of..." or "Greatest Hits of..." album or set and found yourself totally bummed out. Some musicians seem to produce albums that are more like works of art that can be only viewed/heard in their entirety. In cutting them up and reeditting, they loose too much. There are a lot of examples and this album I believe is one of them. If you want "Traffic" as part of your classic rock music library, buy this album.

one of the great things about 1971 was this album........2007-04-10

1971 was a fine year in music, indeed. "sticky fingers," by the rolling stones, the fourth led zepplin album, rod stewart's "every picture tells a story," "who's next," by the who, gene clark's white light album, john prine's debut, the doors "LA woman," and this great album, traffic's "the low spark of high-heeled boys." folk-rock, prog-rock, prog-folk, this album is hard to categorize. there's some jazz fusion in here, too. in fact, several musical passages have a feeling that's similar to the textures employed by miles davis on his classic albums "in a silent way," and "bitches brew." the album starts off with the haunting enchantment of acoustic guitar and flute on "hidden treasure." it's a beautiful folk melody and sets much of the tone for what will follow. the title track is an epic prog-rock piece with surreal lyrics that starts with a saxophone intro and builds steam slowly, intently. piano chords and notes drop in on this track that very much resemble the miles davis work i mentioned. dreamy instrumental passages stretch out the landscape, making this a long, gorgeous song. great music. track 3, "light up or leave me alone," is a song with a funky beat and some hot guitar. it's followed by the bluesy rocker, "rock & roll stew." "many a mile to freedom," is a folk-rock anthem, sporting an outstanding percussion track, on which flute and some more great guitar drift. "rainmaker," has a hypnotic percussion track that the rest of the instruments ride on, as well. it's an entrancing song, and a great finish to a great album. a must have for all rock and roll collections.

The Best of the Best.......2007-01-11

This is the best "traffic jam" you'll ever encounter. Good old get-up-on-your-feet rock and roll. This could be one of the best albums of the early '70's. Excellent musicians, great music, well produced.

Average customer rating:

Darren Hayes CD
Beautiful and Haunting -Get this CD
Excellent effort!
Why do great albums like this go unnoticed...
Sparks fly from this great CD

The Tension And The Spark
Darren Hayes
Manufacturer: Sbme Import
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Adult Contemporary | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music

Pop | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Spin
Truly, Madly, Completely- The Best of Savage Garden
So Beautiful
Affirmation
Savage Garden

ASIN: B0002QCBE0
Release Date: 2004-09-27

Tracks:

Darkness
I Like the Way
Light
Pop! ular
Dublin Sky
Hero
Unlovable
Void
I Forgive You
Feel
Love and Attraction
Sense of Humor
Ego

Album Details

2004 Solo Album from the Former Savage Garden Singer. Includes the Single "Popular". This Album Has a Very Electronic Edge to it and was Written and Produced in Its Entirety by Hayes. It was Mixed by Mark Spike Stent (Madonna, Kylie Minogue). The Album is an Incredibly Honest and Open Record, Unveiling Darren's Inner Most Feelings. The Single "Popular" is a Satire on the Music Industry and Being Famous. Other Stand Out Tracks on the Album Include "Unlovable", "Darkness" and "Void" which is About Losing Someone You Love and One that Everyone Can Relate To.

Customer Reviews:

Darren Hayes CD.......2007-05-13

The cd came quick,the customer service was great and i like the cd very much.

Beautiful and Haunting -Get this CD.......2007-04-20

Like others have said, i just recently found this treasure, and wow, it blows me away. Darren has one of the best voices in the industry and it is a shame that this CD did not get released in the US on a mass scale. Darkness and Dublin Sky are standout tracks, but as you have heard, they are all great. I highly recommend this CD to anyone that liked Savage Garden or Darren's first solo release - "Spin". Also, he is releaseing a new CD in Summer of 2007 that is said to be a Double CD . Be on the look out for it as i have heard he will be releasing it himself on his own label.

Excellent effort!.......2007-03-08

This is an excellent CD by Darren Hayes! I liked it better than "Spin". I found the songs a bit more catchy than his previous stuff. Many of the songs deal with emotions and emotional issues beyond most vacant pop songs. And there is no sappy stuff like "I Knew I Loved You" or "Truly Madly Deeply" from the Savage Garden days. Good job, Darren, and congrats on coming out! Hope you keep making music!

Why do great albums like this go unnoticed..........2006-10-02

It never fails to amaze me how often that great musical work goes completely unnoticed by the mainstream and radio. This album falls into that category. Each song is great and of course Mr. Hayes' pitch-perfect vocals are always a pleasure to the ears.

If you liked his previous work with Savage Garden, you should definitely pick this CD up - it's definitely worth adding to your collection of favorites!

Sparks fly from this great CD.......2006-09-13

Of course you can't go wrong with an album produced by Darren Hayes...this one is no exception. The lyrics are relatable, intense, and very well written. This CD gives you good, quality music. The beat is infectious. I'm a big fan of #2 I Like the Way and #7 Unlovable. This CD is up there at the top!

Average customer rating:

The Pulse
Scenes from a Movie
Manufacturer: One Big Spark
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000RGSONW
Release Date: 2007-07-24

Tracks:

Just Ask Us
Save You
Irukandji
Heartbeat From Hell
If I Die
Hang Your Halo
Detective Detective
Cover-Up, The
If It's My Game, I Can't Lose
Heads Or Tails
Goodbye Reckless

Average customer rating:

Spark
Peter Searcy
Manufacturer: Toucan Cove
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Cigarettes & Gasoline

ASIN: B000P7V5XO
Release Date: 2007-05-22

Tracks:

The Summer Behind Us
I Believe
Is It Enough
Someday Song
Bird Songs
Truth Rises
Don't Let A Day Go By
Sparks
In The Morning
Overcome And Underwhelmed
Sing Like It's The Last Time
Don't Let a Day Go By

Average customer rating:

Spiritual Upliftment
4.5 stars: Bad reviews don't sway my thoughts here...
Horrible
and i MEAN 3 stars, too...
Conscious, Julie Dexter

Dexterity
Julie Dexter
Manufacturer: Ketch a Vibe
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Classic R&B | R&B | Styles | Music

General | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Funk | R&B | Styles | Music

Cabaret | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music

General | R&B | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Conscious
Peace of Mind
Transient
Strange Flower
Just Because

ASIN: B00006IVF7
Release Date: 2002-08-01

Tracks:

Intro
Ketch A Vibe
Love
Faith
How Can You Feel
God Bless the Dub
What Do I Do
That's Livin
Walk With Me
I dream
Judgement Day
How Long
Moving On
Walk Reprise

Album Description

Julie Dexter's latest creative gem and first full album is entitled, "Dexterity." Infusing the fundamental elements of soul, reggae and classical jazz, "Dexterity" is a heartfelt journey towards a musical destination that is both sublime and accessible.

Customer Reviews:

Spiritual Upliftment.......2006-10-02

To state simply marvelously done, beautifully executed and spiritually uplifting. I'm listening to it right now and quite simply it is a well thought out album. Don't believe the previously reviews. They have no ideal what they are talking about. I do because I have all of her albums. She is a very underrated artist, like most of the talented ones out there.

4.5 stars: Bad reviews don't sway my thoughts here..........2005-10-30

because I know this album to be Dexter's most accomplished to date still (and this is coming from someone who's actually listened to both Dexterity AND Conscious in their entirety). One reason why I say so is because unlike her recent sophomore release, the music on Dexterity is all thoroughly handled by first-rate musicians rather than a single person heaping layer upon layer of programmed instruments and studio-driven beats on virtually every single track. You can actually FEEL the music being laid down by the session players on the spot and to me that usually makes all the difference right there. Another reason why I feel this album to be representative of Dexter as an artist and not the other is on account of the songs themselves. The lyrics and arrangements are tightly-written and don't meander as much. I even found myself singing along to most of the tracks (something that never really clicked for me while listening to Conscious). I do agree that the sound on Dexterity is largely on the smooth side, which is why I couldn't give it a true 5-star rating. However, this is the kind of album that's gonna wind up standing the test of time unlike its more slightly generic-sounding follow-up. There's just no substitute for REAL instruments, INSPIRED songwriting, and (if any) QUALITY singers in my humble opinion.

Simply put, if you're someone who honestly appreciates music the way it used to be done before beat machines, samples, trite lyrics, amateur singers, and overdone keyboard programming began dominating much of the music scene you see today THEN PLEASE GET THIS ALBUM!!! Trust me, you won't be disappointed. I know I sure wasn't. This is pretty much high-quality work from an artist who should've gotten more props for it the moment it dropped back in '02.

Horrible.......2005-09-13

This is nothing like her Conscious CD. This one must have been rushed, or she must have been on a new age jazz trip. Yuck. Don't waste your money!

and i MEAN 3 stars, too... .......2005-07-26

my feelins are hurt.

seriously... cause i had such HIIIIGH expectations for this disc. i loved her EP and i admired 'conscious'... but this one? damn.

i bugged and badgered a friend of mine who lives in england to send me this - i couldnt find it nowhere here and she said she'd be more than happy to send it to me/i jus
chalked her disdain for this release as 'youthful unsophistication' yaknow?

this is nice... but passionless enough to almost be boring...

maybe this is TOO smooth...

not bad. just nice.

Conscious, Julie Dexter.......2005-05-03

I highly recommend this album for those who are not looking for that watered-down Ashanti/Ciara R&B. Smooth, live instrumentation and beautiful vocals, strictly for chillin' out. Julie Dexter is one of the top Neo-soul artists these days. I wish more R&B artist sound as good as this.

Average customer rating:

Beautiful, beautiful music!
A very powerful performance
Shock treatment
Doesn't quite make it
An exuberant blazing Gottchalk interpretation

Louis Moreau Gottschalk: Piano Music

Manufacturer: Naxos American
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Dances | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Galops | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Mazurkas | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Ballads | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Fantasies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Caprices | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

$6.99 and Under | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music

All Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music

Opera & Vocal | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Gottschalk: A Night in the Tropics
A Gottschalk Festival
Notes of a Pianist
Gottschalk: Piano Music for 2 and 4 hands
Piano Music of Louis Moreau Gottschalk: 26 Complete Pieces from Original Editions

ASIN: B00008OP1W
Release Date: 2003-05-20

Tracks:

Le Banjo, Fantaisie Grotesque, Op. 15
Bamboula, Danse De Negres, Op. 2
Le Bananier, Chanson Negre, Op. 5
La Savane, Ballade Creole, Op. 3
Tremolo, Grande Etude De Concert, Op. 58
La Jota Aragonesa, Caprice Espagnol, Op. 14
Manchega, Etude De Concert, Op. 38
Souvenirs D'Andalousie, Caprice De Concert Sur La Cana, Op. 22
Souvenir De Porto Rico, Marche Des Gibaros, Op. 31
L'etincelle, La Scintilla, Op. 20
La Gallina, Op. 53
Suis-moi!, Caprice, Op. 45
Pasquinade, Caprice, Op. 59
Tournament Galop
The Dying Poet, Meditation
The Union, Paraphrase De Concert On The National Airs Star Spangled Banner, Yankee Doodle, And Hail Columbia, Op. 48

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful, beautiful music!.......2007-07-07

Listening to this Gottschalk CD hs been a truly rewarding experience. We listen to it everyday, so I'm sure we will be purchasing more of his music.

A very powerful performance.......2006-12-15

June 7, 2003
This is a very powerful performance by Licad, the first in a long
while. I had a chance to compare her recording with an earlier
recording of Gottschalk's piano works by another (relatively unknown)
pianist, and I must say that the latter recording pales miserably
in comparison to Licad's. Listening to Licad play in this recording,
I can't help but be reminded of Vladimir Horowitz's piano performances
during his heyday. Licad and Horowitz have very similar touch, intensity,
technical prowess and dynamic range. There are 16 piano works works in
this recording, and I must say that all are top caliber performances,
with the possible exception of track #9, Souvenirs de Porto Rico,
Marche de Gibaros, Op.31, where Licad seems to have missed a few
notes and desynchronized the rhythm in a few places. My favorites
are tracks #5 (Tremolo, Grande Etude de Concert), #7 (Manchega,
Etude de Concert), and track #14 (Tournament Galop); in the last
one, you can almost see and hear the horses galloping around the
race track. With the price ... this recording is a genuine steal.
However, I am still waiting to hear Licad play a Liszt, Brahms,
Prokofoiev or Bartok, where I believe we can really hear Horowitz
come alive.

Shock treatment.......2005-04-11

There are plenty of other pianists who have played Gottschalk's music. These include Eugene List, Alan Mandel, John Arpin, Alan Marks, Philip Martin, and my favorite, Michael Lewin.

This disc has a very good selection of Gottschalk's music. Still, I do not always like Licad's interpretations of his works. Nor is her playing especially clean.

Le banjo, an excellent piece, is played too fast. Give this lady a speeding ticket! Bamboula is played unusually slowly, and there are even a couple of presumably intentional minor errors in rhythm in it. I think it is okay to play parts of it slowly, as Licad did, for dramatic effect, but I am not overly impressed by her performance of it.

When we reach another fine piece, La Savane, the intentional errors in rhythm get worse. I have never heard La Savane played like this before, and I don't like it.

Next is Tremolo. I think Licad does a fine job on this one, both technically and interpretively. And I also like her interpretations of Manchega and The Dying Poet.

Souvenir de Porto Rico is perhaps Gottschalk's best work, and it is technically very difficult. This would have been a great opportunity for Licad to show that she can handle the task. But she chose to do otherwise. It is disappointing.

Most of this disc is simply not Gottschalk as it ought to be played. If someone unfamiliar with Gottschalk wanted to listen to a CD with some of Gottschalk's best works on it, I'd normally recommend one with this set of pieces. But I certainly wouldn't recommend this. I'll give it two stars just for Tremolo, and one more for shock value.

Doesn't quite make it.......2003-11-11

Cecile Licad is a fine pianist, but she's not right for this. Maybe she's trying to put too much "Artistry" into these instead of virtuosic fire, although perversely she plays some pieces too fast. This is still quite nice, considering the low price, but don't throw away your old Leonard Pennario LP's.

An exuberant blazing Gottchalk interpretation.......2003-09-19

Ms. Licad's Gottchalk interpretations on her latest CD is a pioneering effort in presenting the essential Gottchalk. She could have opted for the "safe and traditional " molded from other previous interpretations. But on this CD, she has opened a whole new world about the possibilities of Gottchalk's music who typifies the wondrous cultural influences here in the United States. Her performance is riveting, exuberant, blazing,virtuosic and always with a keen individual musicality that manages to always pay homage to what is essentially Gottchalk's. That is a feat in itself. I highly recommend this CD which should be CD of the Year.
Noel

Average customer rating:

Low Spark of High Heeled Boys

Manufacturer: Island
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000QNRR7K

Product Description

Traffic - The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys. Island records release made in the USA by Capitol records, distributed by ATCO/Atlantic.

Average customer rating:

A real soul man
Spark of love is what it is
In response to the last review
Spark of Lenny
Feeling Lenny's sparks!

Spark of Love
Lenny Williams
Manufacturer: Mca Special Products
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music

Quiet Storm | R&B | Styles | Music

4-for-3 Pop | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 R&B | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

The Ultimate Collection
Ooh Child
Baby Makin' Music (Feat. Ronald Isley AKA Mr. Biggs)
The Best of Michael Henderson
Love Songs

ASIN: B000002QG6
Release Date: 1995-01-01

Tracks:

'Cause I Love You
Changes
Half Past Love
I Still Reach Out
Love Came And Rescued Me
Midnight Girl
Think What We Have
You Got Me Running
Freefall (Into Love)
Shoo Doo Fu Fu Ooh!

Customer Reviews:

A real soul man.......2007-05-20

One of the best underrated albums ever by a male soul singer, Lenny Williams is a singer that many young soul singers today should be inspired by. (Please do not take this out of context; I do not want to start hearing Lenny Williams samples popping up all over the place). The milestone of his solo career came with this album, the classic slow jam "Cause I Love You". The disco-ish songs "Changes" and "Half Past Love" are also very good.

Spark of love is what it is.......2004-12-26

Lenny Williams delivers a powerful performance on this CD. With songs like half past love, shoo doo fu fu ooh, and love came and rescued me. He really gives a stand out encore worthy performance to my favorite song "Cause I Love You." He really tells you a story about being in love.

In response to the last review.......2004-05-29

"Cause I Love You" is the name of the song.

Spark of Lenny.......2001-02-16

You have to get this! Look, for only $6 you can have the most anguished, tormented, crazy R&B love ballad that's ever been recorded. you don't need that R. Kelly, or Keith Sweat, none of that. I gotta say it: D'Angelo's got nothing on this guy. Lenny's the man with the voice that will break you down. you know that when he says "I watched television until the television went off", you know what he's talkin' about. that was before cable! this is a man who has truly loved and lost like no other. "Cause I Love You" is stone wild, man. there's nothing like it. the tears streaming down his face will be yours by the end of this song, I guarantee. "Changes" is a pretty good track, too, danceable with a Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions "we shall overcome" message of positivity. check it out.

Feeling Lenny's sparks!.......2001-01-08

My favorite of Lenny's works is the song, Cause I Love You. His delivery of this song is very soulful and powerful. His high range and holding of notes makes this song so hypnotic, that you just have to have it. I heard it in the Kings Of Comedy movie and I hadn't heard it for many years, since then. To me, buying this CD for that song, makes it worth buying. So, get it. This song is a lover's treasure pick. My word is my bond!

Kissing A Fool: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Average customer rating:

Need To See
Good
boo to the critics
Good core romantic comedy core dvd holding
ok

Kissing A Fool: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

1990s | By Decade | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Three to Tango
A Guy Thing
The Pallbearer
Since You've Been Gone
Breast Men

ASIN: B0000060EO
Release Date: 1998-03-24

Tracks:

Baby Drives Me Wild - Mighty Blue Kings
Leaving Town
The Girl Who Is
The Green Mill
Spark Of My Life - Mighty Blue Kings
Here She Comes
Visiting Natassia
Bad Date
Grinnin' Like A Chessy Cat - Mighty Blue Kings
Pure Rental
Jay Alone
Martinis
The Toast
At Last - Etta James

Customer Reviews:

Need To See.......2005-10-15

This movie didn't get a lot of press and your more inclined to see it at 3 am on HBO then you are on a Network's Primetime spot. If you like movies like "love stinks," "buying the cow," "two ninas," or "just write" then you'll like "kissing a fool." Jason Lee is a great actor as well.

Good.......2005-01-19

A fun movie to watch, and even a good chick flick, but not the greatest script. The three actors work very well together, and David Schwimmer has some of the best moments. If you enjoy these actors, then this is the movie for you.

boo to the critics.......2003-08-19

What's with the bl***dy critics?! They obviously don't know a good movie when they see one. "Kissing A Fool" is an excellent film. One of the best comedies I've seen in years. David Schwimmer, Jason Lee and Mili Avital play their roles well - they have very good chemistry. I never miss a Jason Lee film - even if it's something as lousy as "Heartbreakers". Because he never let's you down. I rented "Kissing A Fool" a couple of years ago and recently bought it on DVD so I could watch it a million times more.

Good core romantic comedy core dvd holding.......2003-05-02

This movie, hands down, is worth owning. You have a breakout performance by Jason Lee and an always solid second lead by Friends' David Schwimmer. Most importantly, this movie has very clever and well written dialogue regarding a circle of late 20 somethings in 1990's Chicago who are living the ups and downs of single dating life. You have humor, wit, unexpected lover drama and all around good cinema. This movie keeps your attention from the getgo, does not let go--based on its story telling style. I'm in my early 30's and love this film, my girlfriend is mid-20's and loves this film. And yes, even my 63 year old parents thought this film was particularly captivating over a recent family holiday weekend. Buy it. Watch it once a year. It gets better with each viewing.

ok.......2003-01-13

this movie is ok i wish david swimmer would play someone who was not i jurk but very well.

Pop Music: