Before After [Import]

1. Japanese Title

2. Inscrutable Battle

3. Toccatina

4. Close To Your Heart

5. Rumanische Polka

6. Schnell-Tanz

7. Syn-Phony No. 2 - Aya-

8. Pianist Op. 16

9. Pheonix

10. Japanese Title

11. Takumi

12. Japanese Title (Pizzicato Version)

Before After,Suguru Matsutani,Sony,World Music

Average customer rating: In These Metal Days four and one half stars. A diamond in the rough of transition Man in transition. Another Eno World

Before and After Science Brian Eno , Bill MacCormick , Brian Turrington , Paul Rudolph , Brian Eno , Achim / Moebius, Mobi Eno Brian / Roedelius , Dave Mattacks , Jaki Liebezeit , Phil Collins , Fred Frith , Phil Manzanera , Robert Fripp , Achim Roedelius , and Percy Jones Manufacturer: Astralwerks ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Experimental Rock | Rock | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Electronic | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music | Computer Ambient | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music General | New Age | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Similar Items: Another Green World Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy Here Come the Warm Jets Discreet Music Ambient 1: Music for Airports ASIN: B00022LRXA Release Date: 2004-06-01

Tracks:

1. No One Receiving
2. Backwater
3. Kurt's Rejoinder
4. Energy Fools The Magician
5. King's Lead Hat
6. Here He Comes
7. Julie With...
8. By This River
9. Through Hollow Lands (For Harold Budd)
10. Spider And I

Customer Reviews:

In These Metal Days.......2007-06-11

With this album, Brian Eno left behind pop songwriting to embark upon his "ambient music" period. B&AS makes a wonderful farewell to pop music and stands as his most complete pop album. Although the structure of the original album has been lost with the move to CD format, it is worth remembering that the first 5 songs appeared on side 1 of the album and the remainder on side 2. Viewed from this perspective, it is tempting to relate the title to the album structure: side 1 is wild and manic, while side 2 is calm and melodic. There are parallels in the number of songs and the number of instrumentals. Although Eno never considered hiself a musician, his underrated singing is put to great use on this album, and his songwriting skill is clearly in evidence. Others have given detailed descriptions of the songs, so I will restrict myself to the highlights: the typical lyrical silliness of "Backwater," hearing Kurt Schwitters's infamous "Ur Sonata" -- and more silly lyrics -- on "Kurt's Rejoinder" (presaging Eno's found music experiments of "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts") and the placid beauty of "Spider and I."

Fans of Eno's ambient music will find much to like here and fans who come by way of Roxy Music and/or "Here Come the Warm Jets" will find a quieter, more thoughful and complex album in "Before and After Science." This is music that rewards repeated listening and which, nearly 30 years after its debut, still seems timely and interesting.

four and one half stars........2007-02-25

quirky funk (no one receiving), fingerpoppin' pop (backwater), early leanings toward ambient sounds (energy fools the magician and through hollow lands), and a generous helping of gorgeous slow-tempo numbers have this album from 1977 jumping all over the place, which is fine with me. this is creative music that is easily accessible, completely listenable. "another green world" seems to be the eno album from his song-based (pre-ambient) period that most people latch onto as his masterpiece, but i would argue that "before and after science" gives that outstanding lp a run for its money. great art-rock. highly recommended.

A diamond in the rough of transition.......2006-06-03

Most reviewers have pointed out the presence of upbeat songs, ethereal lyrical explorations, and all out ambience on this album, and it's definitely full of gorgeous examples of all three. Although this is often classified as a transitional album because it houses so many varieties of songs, I think they work stunningly well together; While his first two solo albums are truly wonderful, the constant up-tempo pace was a bit relentless. "Another Green World" introduced the ambience to stunning effect, but I think the amalgamation of each style is fully realized on this album. The styles of song are interspersed just enough to balance the album out, and really "take you places". Plus, the songs in each style on this album can certainly rival the best of Eno's previous three albums: "Backwater" and "kurt's Rejoinder" match any highlight off "Warm Jets" or "Tiger Mountain", while "Here he Comes" and "Spider and I" easily match "Another Green World" in pure ethereal aesthetic. Moreover, everything on this album is quite catchy, and almost certainly mood-inducing. Just get it already!

Man in transition........2005-06-14

Brian Eno's "Before and After Science", his last song-based album until the about-to-be-released (June, 2005) "Another Day on Earth" is in many ways the album you would hope it would be, reflective of his past, pointing in some ways to the future, very much texture-oriented music. On the other hand, while it has its moments, it fails to capture the immediacy of "Here Come the Warm Jets" or the beauty of "Discreet Music", but its still a great listen.

The album is really two sides, the first being more energetic, the second being a bit more ambient in feel. On the first side, there are three things that immediately draw you in-- the first is an overt use of vocal harmonies-- Eno's vocals are almost always in a harmony form with two or three voices singing the line ("No One Receiving", melodic pop song "Here He Comes"). The second is bassist Percy Jones, whose playing on a few of the tracks, in particular "Kurt's Rejoinder", is nothing short of astonishing. The third is the use of space-- look no further than standout "Energy Fools the Magician", where the four piece (Eno, Jones, drummer Phil Collins back when he was a drummer and guitarist Fred Frith) manipulate space as a fifth instrument to amazing effect.

The second side is much more in line with the ambient work of Eno's most recent albums-- a overwhelming feel of haunted ambient with vocals dominates. The entire side is full of fantastic material, from the haunted "Julie With..." to the lyrically brilliant and dark "Spider and I".

Overall, its a rewarding album that finds an artist caught in between forms, but even in transition, his brilliance shines through. Recommended.

Another Eno World.......2005-03-24

The last in Eno's series of quirky, unique albums from the 70's before he moved totally into ambient music and expored his "rock" side only through production of other artists.

Like the titles that came before, Before and After Science finds Eno stringing together a series of offbeat numbers ranging from rock to pop to ambient and everything in between. This record was sequenced with most of the more ambient numbers at the end, unlike Another Green World's free admixture of styles. I personally liked the AGW way better, but fortunately we have the option these days of programming the songs in any order we want, so problem solved.

Eno's star-studded array of collaborators had become as legendary as his skewed sense of pop by this point, with everyone from Phil Manzanera to Phil Collins to Robert Fripp sitting in on this one. They were Eno veterans, but Eno's concurrent interest in German art-rock brings Can's Jaki Liebzeit and Moebius and Roedelius from Cluster to the table on Before and After Science.

My favourite moments: The atmospheric but too-short "Energy Fools the Magician" with the Brand X rhythm section of Percy Jones and Collins, with Fred Frith. The frantic new wave single "King's Lead Hat" (an anagram of Talking Heads) with Fripp. And all of the old "side 2" especially the beautiful "By This River" with Cluster. The piano has haunted me since I first heard it way-back-when, and I enjoy playing it myself. The closing "Spider and I" summons up a massive wall of synths-n-bass, and Eno's resigned vocal is quite fitting as he was about to leave the rock world (as a performer) for a very, very long time.

I have the earlier CD edition and to tell you the truth I don't notice anything radically different about the remaster, so the cheaper original CD might be a good bargain unless you're a real audiophile.

Average customer rating: excellent but uncomplete To call it music may be a bit limiting. A worthwhile collection OhMyGodHowDreadful Kid Stockhausen

OHM: The Early Gurus of Electronic Music Various Artists Manufacturer: Ellipsis Arts ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music Cage, John | ( C ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Messiaen | Messiaen, Olivier | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Reich, Steve | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Riley, Terry | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Stockhausen, Karlheinz | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Tchaikovsky | Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyich | ( T ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Electronic | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music | Computer General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Ambient | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Electronica | Compilations | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | New Age | Styles | Music Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music Experimental Rock | Rock | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music General | Dance & DJ | Box Sets | Stores | Music Electronica | Dance & DJ | Box Sets | Stores | Music General | Dance & DJ | Indie Music | Stores | Music Electronica | Dance & DJ | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: An Anthology of Noise & Electronic Music, Vol. 3: 1952-2004 Manhattan Research, Inc. Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music Roxy Music Profiler - Season 4 ASIN: B00004T0FZ Release Date: 2000-04-25

Tracks:

1. Valse Sentimentale - Clara Rockmore
2. Oraison - Ens D'Ondes De Montreal
3. Etude Aux Chemins De Fer - Pierre Schaeffer
4. Williams Mix - John Cage
5. Klangstudie II - Herbert Eimert/Robert Beyer
6. Low Speed - Otto Luening
7. Dripsody - Hugh Le Caine
8. Forbidden Planet: Main Title - Louis Barron/Bebe Barron
9. Elektronische Tanzste: Concertando Rubato - Oskar Sala
10. Poem Electronique - Edgard Varese
11. Sine Music (A Swarm Of Butterflies Encountered Over The Ocean) - Richard Maxfield
12. Apocalypse-Part 2 - Tod Dockstader
13. Kontakte - James Tenney/William Winant
14. Wireless Fant - Vladimir Ussachevsky
15. Philomel - Milton Babbitt
16. Spacecraft - MEV

Tracks:

1. Cindy Electronium - Raymond Scott
2. Pendulum Music - Sonic Youth
3. Bye Bye Butterfly - Pauline Oliveros
4. Projection Esemplastic For White Noise - Joji Yuasa
5. Silver Apples Of The Moon, Part 1 - Morton Subotnick
6. Rainforest Version 1 - David Tudor
7. Poppy Nogood - Terry Riley
8. Boat-Woman-Song - Holger Czukay
9. Music Promenade - Luc Ferrari
10. Vibrations Composees: Rosace 3 - Francois Bayle
11. Mutations - Jean-Claude Risset
12. Hibiki-Hana-Ma - Iannis Xenakis
13. Map Of 49's Dream The Two Systems Of Eleven Sets Of Galactic Intervals: Drift Study '31/69 c.... - La Monte Young

Tracks:

1. He Destroyed Her Image - Charles Dodge
2. Six Fants On A Poem By Thomas Campion: Her Song - Paul Lansky
3. Appalachian Grove - Laurie Spiegel
4. En Phase/Hors Phase - Bernard Parmegiani
5. On The Other Ocean - David Behrman
6. Stria - John Chowning
7. Living Sound, Patent Pending Music For Sound-Joined Rooms Series - Maryanne Amacher
8. Automatic Writing - Robert Ashley
9. Canti Illuminati - Alvin Curran
10. Music On A Long Thin Wire - Alvin Lucier
11. Melange - Klaus Schulze
12. Before And After Charm (La Notte) - Jon Hassell
13. Unfamiliar Wind (Leeks Hills) - Brian Eno

Amazon.com

Opening with Clara Rockmore's reworking of Tchaikovsky with the theremin, and finishing with one of Brian Eno's ambient soundscapes, OHM artfully succeeds in its goal of giving a representative (as opposed to the impossible, comprehensive) overview of the first several decades of electronic music. Over 3 discs, 42 compositions, and 96 pages of notes and photos, OHM clearly illustrates the producers' and contributing writers' point that early electronic music is much of the foundation of contemporary music. Herein lies the connective tissue bridging musique concrète, 20th-century classical, electronic experimentation, and the theoretical avant-garde to psychedelia, ambient, dub, techno, electro, and synthpop and the globalization of sound. The groundbreaking uses of loops, sampling, drones, remixes, and cut-and-paste technology are put fully into context. The diversity of music included makes any sort of summation impossible, but that is also the point: electronic music is not really a genre, but an open field of endless possibility. From John Cage's famous "William's Mix" of tape snippets to Karkheinz Stockhausen's electronic orchestral compositions, from David Tudor and Holger Czukay's experiments in unrelated blendings of audio elements to David Behrman's supremely peaceful duet between computers and musicians, the aural renegades on OHM tread where none (save a few of their contemporaries) had gone before. The liner notes convey the incredible amount of hard work and experimentation it took to stitch together many of these pieces in the predigital era. Putting aside the inevitable quibbles about what's missing (much of it due to legal and/or logistical issues), a more complete collection of musical eggheads, eccentrics, and visionaries is hard to imagine. --Carl Hanni

Customer Reviews:

excellent but uncomplete.......2006-11-12

Althought most of the music here is an excellent collection of electronic music history, this 3 CDs lack of the important contribution given by the RAI phonology studios of Milan, Italy in the 50s
(which was bigger than Koln's WDR studios) with Bruno Maderna, Luciano Berio and Luigi Nono.
This is a big mistake. Milans studios were the biggest of europe and produced many important electroacoustic pieces.
If the collection aim to describe faithfully electronic music history, it should include this artists too.

To call it music may be a bit limiting. .......2006-10-24

Some of the tracks on here are "music". That is that they contain all the bits we're trained to experience as music -- melody, etc. Some are not, and the composers would be the first people to tell you that. A lot of these works are reactions to ingrained rules, so they're bound to be jarring.

A more successful way to approach such a broad and varied collection of audio experimentation is to think of it as curated sound. This isn't something to wash the dishes to, or to seduce someone to (although if you did manage to seduce someone with the recordings on this anthology, HOLD ON TO THAT PERSON, because they've got to be a keeper). These are unique sound textures that deserve a close, probably solitary listen, and I think if you're in the right frame of mind, it can be a very rewarding listen.

My main complaint is sequencing: each dicrete piece follows it's own internal logic, so there are more than a couple rough gear changes. However, since each piece is so different, and the collection is so varied, I'm not sure that you could totally escape that.

A worthwhile collection.......2006-01-11

The OHM collection contains some of those ground breaking electronic compositions that have shaped today's styles, from the early electronic instruments of Theremin and Martenot, through Pierre Schaeffer's Music Concrete tape music and the electronic music of Stockhausen and Subotnick, to the mainframe computer output of Risset and Chowning.

It is unfair to mark this collection down due to the production quality and 'musicality' of its contents, to do so would be to staggeringly miss the point of the development of electronic music through the 20th Century. What this collection shows is the ideas behind those at the cutting edge of the genre before many could even conceive of such output. That said it is hard going at points, as experimental music can be.

Highlights for me are no doubt Olivier Messiaen's 'Oraison' on CD 1, David Tudor's 'Rainforest Version 1' on CD 2 and on CD 3 David Behrman's 'On the Other Ocean' and Maryanne Amacher's 'Living sound Patent Pending'.

OhMyGodHowDreadful.......2005-08-15

Ok, this collection is supposed to be early works and, thus not expected to be very sophisticated or polished. But the OHM collection sounds like the first attempt of a spastic cat turned-loose on a Moog keyboard. When it is not boreing, this collection of random and dissonant sounds (I can't call it music) is without any redeeming qualities to make it worth while. Don't get me wrong, I am a long-time fan of Wendy (nie Walter) Carlos and some other real pioneers of electronic music. However, I find that the Ohm collection has no similar qualities and is a major disappointment.

Kid Stockhausen.......2003-01-17

This is required listening for anybody interested in the history of electronic music. Although implicitly aiming for the techno music audience, this audio history is overwhelmingly focused on the classical avant-garde of electro-acoustic composers. The closest you'll get to pop electronica is the Brian Eno track at the end of the third disc. No Kraftwerk, no Moroder, etc. Instead "OHM" manages to point to the continuities between, say, John Cage and artists currently working at the experimental edges of electronica (so-called IDM). It seems to be saying, "You think Kid 606 is visionary? Well check out this Stockhausen track from '59!"

Admittedly, some of the songs are much more interesting to think about than they are to listen to. Some of the early pieces that were made through thosuands of hours of pains-taking tape-splicing could be made today in an afternoon with a digital audio editor and a few effects plug-ins.

It is a beautiful package, containing a 90 page booklet of essays, quotations from the featured artists, and photographs. What all music should be: an education in daring.

Average customer rating: Wore out the cassette

Before & After Tim Finn Manufacturer: EMI Int'l ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Australia & New Zealand | International | Styles | Music General | Pop | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Rock | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Tim Finn Escapade Say It Is So Feeding the Gods Imaginary Kingdom ASIN: B000008FM1 Release Date: 2004-08-30

Tracks:

1. Hit the Ground Running
2. Protected
3. In Love With It All
4. Persuasion
5. Many's The Time (In Dublin)
6. Funny Way
7. Can't Do Both
8. In Your Sway
9. Strangeness and Charm
10. Always Never Now
11. Walk You Home
12. I Found It

Customer Reviews:

Wore out the cassette.......2005-04-07

I discovered Tim Finn through Crowded House and since I loved Neil's work, and Tim's with the group, I took a chance with this record. First bought it on cassette, and I fell in love -- I was devastated when the tape actually broke. I finally picked up the CD recently and was very glad I did; it remains on high rotation in my collection.

Tim's strong songwriting is complimented by his marvelous voice, which soars or growls but always seems to be perfect for the moment. Every song on this record is such a classic to me that it's hard to pick out favorites, but "Persuasion", "In Love With It All", "In Your Sway", "Strangeness and Charm", and "Many's the Time (in Dublin)" come to mind for their powerful melodies and compelling lyrics. Fans of Neil Finn will also enjoy the two songs he collaborated on (perhaps this was a precursor to the incredible Finn Brothers records), "In Love With It All" and "Strangeness and Charm". And another guest star, Liam O Maonlai from Hothouse Flowers, appears on "Many's the Time". I'm also fond of "Hit the Ground Running", which reminds me, oddly, of Stephen King's The Stand.

Listen to it a few times and it'll get under your skin -- in a very good way.

Average customer rating: One of the Worst MXPX Albums MXPX Excellence Not that great The black sheep not the best but good

Before Everything & After MxPx Manufacturer: A&M ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Punk-Pop | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Christian Alternative | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Life in General Teenage Politics Pokinatcha Ten Years and Running Let It Happen ASIN: B0000C52ER Release Date: 2003-09-16

Tracks:

1. Before
2. Play It Loud
3. Well Adjusted
4. It's Alright
5. Brokenhearted
6. First Day Of The Rest Of Our Lives
7. Everything Sucks (When You're Gone)
8. Quit Your Life
9. More Everything
10. Kings Of Hollywood
11. The Capitol
12. On The Outs
13. Don't Walk Away
14. You Make Me, Me
15. You're Not Alone
16. After

Customer Reviews:

One of the Worst MXPX Albums.......2007-03-13

As an avid MXPX fan (I've been there from Pokinatcha and have every album since), I could not like this album, no matter how hard I tried. It's manufactured power-pop, no edge, nothing original, and not even close to anything near MXPX's true potential. It's clear that Mike & gang were really struggling lyric-wise, because the songs are the same rehashed lyrics. While they have very few catchy melodies and guitar progressions, this album is worth passing by.

MXPX Excellence.......2007-03-08

My favorite MXPX album of all! I've been a fan for over 10 years and own nearly all their albums. If I was forced to choose one MXPX cd to play everyday, I'd choose this one. Unique style - each song with a different sound - still that signature punk band freedom.

Not that great.......2006-06-15

Okay, I love MxPx, but this album dissapointed me. The only good songs are Play It Loud, Well Adjusted, and a few others which get old really quick. I also don't see any of their amazing lyric writing on this album, and the music just sounds like Relient K. Luckily, the new MxPx album Panic has returned to the good stuff. Unless you are a die hard fan who just must own every MxPx album, go ahead and skip this. Instead buy Panic or one of the older albums.

The black sheep.......2005-12-31

This cd isnt good at all.It sounds almost as if they tried to sell out but failed miserably.I think that even they realize that it wasnt a very good cd.If you listen to their newest release "Panic" you'll realize that they had to take a step back and take a second look at things.If this cd didn't exist then I could say that MxPx is flawless.

not the best but good.......2005-12-10

This cd is on the pop-punk side. I dont like pop-punk but this albums still pretty good. I like mxpx's old stuff when they were actually kind of street punk. That music was fast and it made you want to jump around and go crazy. Well as i said this cd is still worth buying, but I would recomend their older albums over this one.

Average customer rating: Good to see these people still making music Wonderful collection of music Blown away Better than expected... Awesome Music/Remarkable Reunion

Before Became After (Special Edition) Proto-Kaw Manufacturer: Inside Out U.S. ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: The Wait of Glory Early Recordings From Kansas 1971-73 Shadowman The Best Of Kerry Livgren Somewhere to Elsewhere ASIN: B0001HN5UE Release Date: 2004-09-13

Tracks:

1. Alt. More Worlds Than Known
2. Leaven
3. Axoloff (For Lack Of A Better Name)
4. Quantum Leapfrog
5. Gloriana
6. The Occasion Of Your Honest Dreaming
7. Heavenly Man
8. It Moves You
9. Theophany

Album Details

Original Pre-kansas Line-up, featuring Later Kansas Member Kerry Livgren who Played the Big Creative and Composing Part in Both Line-ups: Proto Kaw and the Later Multi Platinum Line-ups from Kansas.

Customer Reviews:

Good to see these people still making music.......2006-03-24

I'm glad these talented people are still making music. When they broke up Kansas I was really disappointed, eventhough the radio stations around where I live don't usually play any of the classic Kansas tunes anyhow. This is a good change of pace record from the screaming hair band music of the 80's where the band members really have to know how to play the instruments.

Wonderful collection of music.......2006-02-28

This was a gift for my husband's birthday and he has thoroughly enjoyed it. It stays in his CD player. He is an avid Kansas fan and he loves this CD.

Blown away.......2005-08-16

Being a long-time Kansas fan I can honestly say that this one simply blows me away. Knowing a bit about the recording industry, how this group did not make it is of little surprise, but THAT they did not make it is a mixed set of emotions. These guys are amazing, but if they had made it, would the classic Kansas that we all know and love exist? Inversely, where would these guys had gone if they had been given the opportunity to continue? ..... which begs the question ..... will they continue? My vote is to write more songs (Kerry, get busy!) and get back into the studio. You guys are amazing and should be proud of this fantastic collection of extrememly high quality and well crafted music. If you are a fan of the early and classic Kansas, or simply a fan of progressive rock, or simply a fan of good music, I would highly recommend this CD.

Better than expected..........2005-06-17

4.25 stars.

This *way* more than makes up for Monolith and Audio-Visions. (No offense Kerry; those just weren't canonical Kansas' best works). Major kudos to Mr. Livgren and company. I didn't have high or low expectations for this album. But I was pleasantly surprised. It's a notch above great, and a smidge below masterpiece. Who'd have known that most of the Proto-Kaw members lived workaday lives for the past 30 years? This is the Kansas album that never was but could have been... and finally is.

I listened to this for the first time today--sequentially on an iPod Shuffle (yea you can listen sequentially on a Shuffle)--and found myself rewinding to "Gloriana" repeatedly. Solid production, impressive skills and satisfying compositions. And by "satisfying" I mean it in the "satisfying meal" sense. It goes down like a really tasty dinner.

Before Became After ventures into territory I haven't heard in years--reminiscent of classic Kansas. Some songs reveal the extent of Kerry's influence during the "Kansas III" years. I don't think Proto-Kaw sounds like Kansas, but I found myself going "Ah, okay. I definitely hear the connection."

I also wanted to mention that iTunes (which I love; I'm an iPod junkie... I own 3) originally featured a Kansas band biography that bordered on offensive. The first version claimed that Steve Walsh was the primary songwriter, and basically dissed anything non-Walsh-related. I checked again and I'm glad to see that they cleaned it up. Much better! It reads like actual history now. I'm a Walsh fan too, but please. Anyway, I mention it because perhaps there really are people out there who honestly don't realize the extent to which Kerry Livgren influenced the direction of Kansas. Listen to the classic Kansas hits, then listen to Proto-Kaw/Before Became After. I'm sure you'll hear the connection.

Great album. Worth the price.

Awesome Music/Remarkable Reunion.......2005-04-06

The Editorial Review is incorrect in describing Proto-Kaw as "original pre-Kansas line-up." The band is neither the original Kansas nor pre-Kansas. Proto-Kaw is primarily comprised of Kansas II, i.e. the second version of Kansas before the third version hit the big time. Incidentally, Proto-Kaw means 'early version of Kansas' (Proto=early version & Kaw=Kansa, the name of a tribe of Sioux native Americans that once dwelled along the Kansas and Missouri Rivers, i.e. obviously the origin of the name Kansas). Proto-Kaw members Kerry Livgren, Dan Wright and Lynn Meredith, however, were also members of Kansas I.

Anyway, what a remarkable reunion! To me this music is meaty and as such very satisfying! At the same time, it leaves you wanting more. Lynn Meredith's voice is amazing and shows a splendid maturity since the early seventies! Kerry Livgren's ongoing freshness and originality as a composer/musician is astounding. `Can't wait for the upcoming new album slated to release some time this summer ('05)!

Average customer rating: Lousy - don't buy it! Lackluster Great music; forgettable setting Fun, but not the best of PDQ Bach Some good tracks

P.D.Q. Bach: The Short-Tempered Clavier Manufacturer: Telarc ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Bach, P.D.Q. | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Comedy | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music General | Comedic Music | Comedy | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Similar Items: 1712 Overture & Other Musical Assaults Music for an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussion The Wurst of P.D.Q. Bach Ill-Conceived PDQ Bach Anthology Oedipus Tex & Other Choral Calamities ASIN: B000003D0T Release Date: 1995-08-29

Tracks:

1. Opening And Introduction
2. I. C Major
3. II. C Minor
4. III. C-Sharp Major
5. IV. D Major
6. V. D Minor
7. VI. E-Flat Major
8. VII. F Major
9. VIII. G Minor
10. IX. G Major
11. X. A Major
12. XI. A minor
13. XII. B-Flat Major
14. Introduction
15. I. Toccata Et Fuga Obnoxia
16. II. Chorale Prelude (Ave Maria Et Agnus Dei)
17. III. Fantasia Sopra
18. IV. Lullaby And Goodnight
19. Introduction
20. I. Spiel Vorspiel
21. II. Entrada Grande
22. III. Smokski The Russian Bear
23. IV. Toccata Ecdysiastica
24. Calliope Frustration
25. Introduction
26. I. Chorale 'Orally'
27. II. Chorale Prelude On An American Hymn For The Last Sunday Before The Fourth Day Of The Seventh Month After New Year's Eve
28. III. Chorale Variations On 'In Der Nacht So Hell, Der Petrus Ist Mein Freund'
29. Epilogue

Customer Reviews:

Lousy - don't buy it!.......2007-05-04

My boyfriend listened to the whole disc, and hated every bit of it.
I heard a couple tracks, and wanted to turn it off after two songs.
Not anywhere near as clever or entertaining as his ILL-CONCEIVED album,
which is the first PDQ we've listened to.

Hello, hello hello howdy do,
my name is Zinging-able-nessedly,
but my frrrrrieeeeeeeeennnndddsss, just call me Zing!

Lackluster.......2003-03-07

I agree with most of the other individuals who have written comments. The first piece, "The Short Tempered Clavier" is, by far, the best piece on the CD. The other works seem oddly derivative of it. There isn't the usual variety in the pieces which Schickele includes (one or two instrumental, one or two vocal). My personal suspicion is that since, years ago, Schickele announced his intention to stop his P.D.Q. Bach work in order to focus on serious compositions, this CD may have been part of a contractual obligation, or, perhaps, just an effort to get the last of the P.D.Q. Bach pieces recorded.

While the "Short Temepered Clavier" is a good piece, its probably not worth the price of the CD. If you were looking for a good P.D.Q. Bach album, I'd buy "Oedipus Tex" or "1712 Overture" or even the lesser-known (but really funny) "Lieberslieder Polkas and Twelve Quite Heavenly Songs".

Great music; forgettable setting.......2003-02-14

I'll get the bad news out of the way first. The "setting" for this performance is allegedly a Senate committee hearing room, where they are debating some ridiculous amendment to the Constitution. All of the sections of the CD where the Professor is just talking to the Senators are rather dull -- I guess Schickele was trying to get in his verbal jokes, like he does in his (hilarious) live performances, but it just falls flat here.

On to the good stuff. The Short-Tempered Clavier is some of PDQ's most inventive writing yet. Of all the solo piano PDQ music that Schickele has put out, this is some of the most cerebral ... There are quotes from other works that you don't hear until you've listened 3 or 4 times -- they're deeply imbedded. The fugue subjects are all quite ridiculous -- Beethoven's 5th, "The Worms Crawl In...", etc. (except for the last), and they are given the full PDQ treatment. The last one (in B-flat) is notable in that the fugue subject is B-A-C-H (see J.S. Bach's "Art of the Fugue", Liszt's treatment, etc.), which PDQ also manages to *invert* (something that old J.S. did once in a while, to show off his stuff). But as soon as you think the fugue might be getting serious, there is an outburst of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow". Then back to the fugueing. Marvelous stuff.

PDQ does the same thing in the Toccata -- it starts out with the theme of Dad's warhorse Toccata & Fugue in D minor -- only the subject is inverted (it goes up instead of down). This is an example of the oft-mentioned principle that the more you know about music theory and history, the funnier PDQ's stuff is.

Not PDQ's best work, but some of it is close. Not Schickele's best CD, but not bad, either.

Fun, but not the best of PDQ Bach.......2002-04-18

Others have written here of the slight difference between Peter Schickele's "early" and "late" PDQ Bach performances, hence it is slightly surperfluous to say that the more recent Telarc recordings (of which this is one) lack the sparkle and 'zany' character of the earlier ones from the 1970s.

They are certainly still as clever: "The Short-Tempered Clavier" is of course a spoof of J. S. Bach's "Well-Tempered Keyboard", laced with quotations from other areas of the pianists repertoire as well as having the odd snatch of a very familiar tune here and there.

The whole disc is set out as the document of a lecture given by Peter Schickele to a group of skeptical, 'unmusical' US senators, with the PDQ Bach keyboard works woven in as musical examples. Hence, as well as the title work (played on piano), the programme also features appearances by a theatre organ (on which is played the "Pochelbuchlein" - "The Little Pickle Book"), a calliope (used for the "Sonata da Circo" - "Circus Sonata" - the rendition of which is cut short by the explosion of the instrument!) and the organ of the King Congregational Church (get it?!) which is little more than two synthesisers stacked on top of each other.
Each piece is fun, although the impact of the musical jokes will vary depending upon how musically-minded the listener is. In other words, musicologists, pianists and organists are likely to get the most laughs out of the programme. The liner notes add an extra dimension to the fun by containing, as well as a "scholarly essay" on the history, discovery and publication of the music, various quips about those involved in the production of the recording, with in-jokes including a 'specification' of the King Congregational Church organ...

Take it or leave it ... as a Christmas or birthday gift for a musical friend or family-member, it wouldn't be a bad choice.

Some good tracks.......2002-03-01

I enjoyed the Short-Tempered Clavier pieces tremendously. Played masterfully by Christopher O'Reilley, they are witty and delightful. A new suprise is always around the corner, and upon my first listen I found myself grinning and sometimes laughing out loud.

Then comes the rest of the album.

In the succeeding pieces, Schickele uses the same jokes, the same tunes, and crummy synthesized instruments that become so annoying that I just want to turn the thing off.

Do yourself a favor and leave after the first act.

Average customer rating: FOR A HIGH CHOLESTEROL ORCHESTRAL DIET Not much Stokowski there. A Naxos Triumph! Leopold, Leopold, Leopold Extraordinary recording by the Bournemouth Symphony and José Serebrier

Mussorgsky-Stokowski: Pictures at an Exhibition Manufacturer: Naxos ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Mussorgsky | Mussorgsky, Modest | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Tchaikovsky | Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyich | ( T ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Tone Poems | Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Romances | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Russian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music 4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Cecilia Bartoli ~ Opera Proibita (Handel · Scarlatti · Caldara) / Les Musiciens du Louvre · Minkowski William Alwyn: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 Haydn: The Paris Symphonies Nos. 82-87 Nielsen: Aladdin Suite; Pan and Syrinx; Saga Deam; Maskarade Overture; Helios Overture William Alwyn: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 5; Lyra Angelica (Harp Concerto) ASIN: B0009JVOKM Release Date: 2005-06-21

Tracks:

1. A Night On Bare Mountain
2. Entr'Acte To Act IV Of Khovanshchina
3. Symphonic Synthesis Of Boris Godunov
4. Promenade
5. Gnomus
6. Promenade
7. Il Vecchio Castello
8. Bydlo
9. Promenade
10. Ballet De Poussins Dans Leurs Coques
11. Samuel Goldberg And Schmuyle
12. Catacombs - Sepulchrum Romanum; Con Mortuis In Lingua Mortua
13. La Cabane Sur Des Pattes De Poule
14. La Grande Porte De Kiev
15. Solitude, Op.73, No.6
16. Humoresque, Op.10, No.2
17. Traditional Slavic Christmas Music

Customer Reviews:

FOR A HIGH CHOLESTEROL ORCHESTRAL DIET.......2006-11-17

Comparing the arrangements of Pictures at an Exhibition by Ravel and Stokowski is a fascinating exercise. They both seem so characteristic of the two arrangers. The cool French aesthete (though with his own hidden daemons just like Mussorgsky) paints with precision but with impressionist or even post-impressionist hues. Here is Monet, Cezanne or, in the bolder pieces, even van Gogh. The Londoner who liked to assume the persona of some sort of Slavic shaman/maestro is given to bolder, brasher colours - Kandinsky perhaps? Both are masters of the orchestra. Both remain true to the essentially Russian spirit of Mussorgsky - perhaps even more so in the case of Stokowski. Which perhaps explains why he developed the bizarre suspicion that the two 'French' pieces in the Suite - Tuileries and the Limoges Marketplace - were by Rimsky Korsakov and therefore left them out altogether. Maybe it was because Ravel had, naturally, succeeded in making them sound so French in his earlier version. For the rest, Stokowski is more than up for the grotesqueries of the Gnome, the deep Russian darkness of the catacombs, the wildness of Baba Yaga and the splendours of the Great Gate. But it is Ravel who gets closer to the heart of the old castle and Bydlo.

As for the performance, Serebrier was the Sorcerer's Apprentice, having been Stoky's assistant for some years, and he elicits truly Stokowskian sounds from the Bournemouth Symphony whose strings almost (but not quite) approach the velvety richness of the Master's Philadelphians.

The rest of their programme is equally rich fare. The orchestration of Night on the Bare Mountain, made famous in Disney's Fantasia, seems to me far superior to Rimsky Korsakov's and (un-PC though it is to say it) even to Mussorgksy's own. Serebrier rightly brings out the OTT string glissandi and biting brass. The Symphonic Synthesis of Boris is a cousin to the similar syntheses Stokowski made from Tristan and Parsifal and, like them, provides a rewarding distillation of the opera's music in purely orchestral garb. Here, Stoky seems to stay closer to Mussorgsky's original sound than Rimsky or Shostakovich. The disc ends with a trio of Beechamesque lollipops, all predictably gorgeous, especially Stokowski's own Traditional Slavic Christmas Music where his youthful experience as an organist seems to come through in the tiered orchestration.

Maybe this disc will not tax the listener's intellect overmuch, but it will provide him with enormous dollops of orchestral pleasure. And at a budget price.

Not much Stokowski there........2005-12-28

Compare to Stokowski's own interpretation, I just wonder how Serebrier change these intense transcriptions into dull, flat, and boring experience. His speed is so mechanical, and wash a lot of drama out of the work. If you don't want to be Stokowski, fine, but remember this is Mussorgsky, not Bach-Stokowski.

Although no one can be like Stokowski himself, Bamert still trying hard to sound like Stokowski in these transcriptions. Serebrier, on the other hand, trying to offer his own view. Pitifully, he falls far behind Stokowski.

One good thing about this recording is its wonderful sound. Rozhdestvensky did show us how harsh sound can ruin Stokowski's Pictures at an Exhibition. The good sound quality here makes the Pictures at an Exhibition still a valuable viewpoint. Ironically , it is the superb recording reveal how flat the interpretaions of Boris Godunov, A Night on Bare Mountain, and Entr'acte to ActIV of Khovanshchina are.

If you don't have Stokowski's own interpretion on your collection, I would like to stop you from buying this recording because of lack of the Stoki's excitement here. If you looking for a Stoki-like modern recording of Mussorgsky-Stokowski, I would recommend Bamert on Chandos over this. However, if you already have Stoki's own interpretion, Serebrier can still offer a different viewpoint of these transcriptions.

Some additional information..
A similiar viewpoint of Stokowski's Mussorgsky can also be found in Oliver Knussen's interpretation. The DG issue with a better orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, and probabily better sound effect, too. The sound there is more tense.

A Naxos Triumph!.......2005-10-25

For half the price of at least two competing labels that I know of, you can have this recording of Stokowski's most beloved transciptions. I bought this release mainly for the "Symphonic Synthesis" which Stokowski created to bring more popularity to the massive complete opera. You get 24 minutes of shimmering sound, competing with anything in the symphonic genre. In fact everything sounds great on this disc. Meastro Serebrier,(a protege and life long friend of Stokowski) the Bournemouth Symphony, and the engineers are all in top form and dedicated. It is interesting to compare the differences of the Stokowski arrangements. He comes off more horrific than Rimsky-Korsakov on "Night on Bare Mountain", just have a listen to those exagerated screeches of brass. In "Pictures" Stokowski in his own words stated he wanted to take Ravels French out of the work and give it a more Russian feel. Balance, tempo, and detail in specific passages of each picture may or may not achieve this. I do think his version is more spacious overall, and less congested in the concluding "Great Gate of Kiev". Stokowski eliminates two annoying pictures stating he didn't think the composer wrote them in the score anyway! Recall that Rimsky-Korsakov's original piano version included them. Were they genuine? Three miniature bonus works are included. Most interesting is the Stokowski composition "Tradional Slavic Christmas Music" based on Slavic themes, is brief leaving one wanting for more.

Leopold, Leopold, Leopold.......2005-10-20

One of my favorite episodes of BUGS BUNNY (perhaps my only favorite, I was never a big LOONEY TOONS fan) has Bugs getting in trouble while singing the song "April Showers" in the presence of an opera star. The man finds the rabbit annoying, and Bugs being Bugs decides to get the best of him. On an evening when the buffoon is singing, Bugs dons a wig that resembles the hair style of a great conductor, a caricature of Leopold Stokowski. As soon as Bugs enters the area everyone is all a buzz because Leopold has arrived. Bugs grabs the baton and begins conducting. I was probably twelve or thirteen at the time, and I felt rather sophisticated because I knew who Leopold was other than one of the husbands of Gloria Vanderbilt.

Stokowski was one of the most famous conductors of his day, and he was a well known musical arranger as well. His day was a time when symphony orchestras had regular arrangers who transcribed famous keyboard pieces for orchestra. They somewhat fell out of fashion in the 1970's but today there seems to be a renewed interest in some of transcriptions, recognizing the contributions of the musical arrangers. This release by Naxos has some of Stokowski's arrangements of some of Mussorgsky's music as well as a few pieces by Tchaikovsky and an arrangement of Slavic Christmas music.

Overall, this is an interesting disc. The arrangement of "Night on Bald Mountain" is not as fulsome as the more familiar Rimsky-Korsakov orchestration, but the differences in the two do illustrate the interesting tidbits on the score. The same can be said for his orchestration of "Pictures at an Exhibition." The Ravel orchestration, today's performance standard, has more power, and perhaps because of its familiarity more of an appeal, but some of Stokowski's arrangements have a smoother sound which seems to be in keeping with an art gallery exhibit. His orchestral arrangement of music from BORIS GODUNOV plays like a symphonic poem and does capture the mood of the work.

Listeners will find this recording both interesting, enjoyable, and since the "Bald Mountain" arrangement is the same as the arrangement used in FANTASIA, perhaps a bit nostalgic. It will also give people a new appreciation of Mussorgsky as a composer. Maybe Naxos can release another Stokowski transcription disc with his arrangements of Bach's music.

Extraordinary recording by the Bournemouth Symphony and José Serebrier.......2005-08-28

This is one of the most extraordinary recordings of the decade, as announced by Felipe Marsans in his review in Diario Las Americas. The sound of this demonstration recording is spectacular! The performances are extraordinary, inspired,
magnificent from the opening track (Night on Bold Mountain) to the unexpected final track: an "original" work by Leopold Stokowski, based on a known ancient Christmas tune. The little Tchaikovsky item is something to make the listener cry, as is the Entre'Acte from Mussorgsky's opera Khovantchina. The Boris
is a masterpiece, and the performance is incredible in every sense. The Stokowski orchestration of Pictures at an Exhibition, quite different from Ravel's and more Russian and tru to the original, will blow you off the room. I can't wait for the multy-channel versions to be released, on SACD and DVD Audio.
Extraordinary!
Stephen Bradbury
Oxford, UK

Average customer rating: GREAT CHRISTMAS MUSIC Fresh stuff --- for Christmas, anyway. A Great Pops Companion CD

Sleigh Ride Manufacturer: Boston Pops Rec. ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Handel | Handel, George Frideric | ( H ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Respighi | Respighi, Ottorino | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Tone Poems | Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Contemporary | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Holiday | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music | General Christmas | Today's Deals | Box Sets | Children's Music | Classical Instrumental | Halloween | Hanukkah | Kwanzaa | Opera & Vocal | Pop Instrumental & Easy Listening | Pop Vocal General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music Orchestral Pop | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Holiday Pops America Pops Christmas Party The Celtic Album My Favorite Things: A Richard Rodgers Celebration ASIN: B000B2WK78 Release Date: 2005-10-04

Tracks:

1. Joy to the World - A Fanfare for Christmas Day (After Handel)
2. Sleigh Ride
3. 'Twas the Night Before Christmas
4. Messiah, Oratoria/Hallelujah Chorus
5. Three Botticelli Pictures/The Adoration of the Magi
6. Songs from the Hill Folk; I Wonder as I Wander; the Seven Joys of ...
7. Do You Hear What I Hear?
8. Kije Takes a Ride (After Prokofiev)
9. Winter Weather Melody (I. Berlin: I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm; T.
10. O Holy Night
11. Joy!
12. Happy Holidays (I. Berlin: Happy Holiday; K. Thompson: The Holiday ...)

Album Description

SLEIGH RIDE features conductor Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Orchestra in their 9th album together. Chock full of glittering holiday favorites, SLEIGH RIDE includes "Joy to the World", the Hallelujah Chorus (from The Messiah), "Twas the Night Before Christmas", "O Holy Night," and many others, performed by the Boston Pops Orchestra and featuring the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, John Oliver, conductor.

Customer Reviews:

GREAT CHRISTMAS MUSIC.......2007-01-10

A VERY WELL-DONE ORCHESTRAL CD OF CHRISTMAS CLASSICS,AND HARD TO FIND IN MY LOCAL STORES. SO HAPPY TO PURCHASE IT.

Fresh stuff --- for Christmas, anyway........2005-12-23

Christmas music is, for the most part, terribly cliché--- quadruply so if you're a musician of any flavor. So I suspect that many Boston Symphony/Pops musicians are weary of playing the tunes on this album. But I'm pretty confident in saying that this album is the least cliché holiday album you're likely to come across for a while.

Yes, yes, they dig up some old standards, "Sleigh Ride" included. And while we don't really need another recording of it, at least it's a NEW recording, with (to my amateur ears) some detectable Lockhartness in it. The other "traditional" tracks include solo vocal settings of "O Holy Night" and "Do You Hear What I Hear", plus others.

The fresher stuff is what makes the album worth the price. The Joy to the World arrangement by Randol Alan Bass is fantastic -- which is remarkable, since most Joy to the World arrangements are the very definition of Christmas cliché. "Songs from the Hill Folk: Carols of Appalachia" is yet another Christmas medley, but it's a GOOD one, and its set of tunes is good a mix of sounds as well as of familiarity. "Kije Takes a Ride" is a jazz version of a Prokofiev tune that only orchestral buffs are likely to know, from a film that only hard-core film buffs are likely to have heard of. (But it's still unmistakeably Christmas.) "Winter Weather Medley" is a clever mix of three popsier tunes; it's got some weak spots, but it's a keeper nonetheless. "Joy!" is the Sebesky jazzish medley that was the "centerpiece" of "Holiday at Pops!" a few years back. It's nice, and most people eat it up. (I personally think it needs work, but I'm picky with stuff that tries to be jazz.) And the last track is "Happy Holidays", a straightforward arrangement of the Manhattan Transfer chart. Nothin' fancy, but a very listenable specimen of orchestral jazz (which is usually awful).

As far as recording quality goes, I /think/ you can tell that they're under their own label now, and aren't having their sessions mixed by guys from Sony anymore. But almost all the places this is detectable, it's not egregious at all -- in fact, it almost makes me think it's a superior recording model. (Almost.)

Overall, you're likely to have your own set of skippable tracks and repeat-'em-over-and-over tracks. But I think, for anyone curious enough to read these reviews in the first place, you won't go wrong for your money with "Sleigh Ride".

A Great Pops Companion CD.......2005-12-19

When it comes to Christmas and the Boston Pops, it's easy to wonder if this ensemble really needs another Christmas recording. We have multiple discs with the great Fiedler renditions of holiday music, and there are two fine discs under the direction of Conductor Laureate John Williams. Keith Lockhart has also released a holiday music disc. Why another? Well, when it comes to the Pops, creativity and reinvention are two of their trademarks, so this ensemble can always be counted on for something unique and enjoyable, and this newest Christmas CD SLEIGH RIDE will become a beloved part opf the Pops Christmas music library.

This disc has the new sound of the Pops under Lockhart's direction. There are new arrangements that are fresh and lively, and bound to become future "classic" Pops favorites. There is a mix of the traditional (the arrangement of "Joy to the World" "O Holy Night" and the famous chorus from Handel's MESSIAH "Hallelujah." The original "Kije Takes a Sleigh Ride" based on the "Troika" Prokofiev's LT. KIJE. There are three medleys: one of winter weather songs, a second of general holiday songs, and a third called JOY which is an addictive arrangement of Christmas carols. Any time I listen to this disc I find myself listening to this track again and again.

I'm giving these recording five stars due to the quality of the musical performances. It is a flawless set, but for me it would be a supplementary Boston Pops Christmas disc. The first I'd select would be any of the discs under the direction of Arthur Fielder that include Leroy Anderson's "A Christmas Festival," Leopold Mozart's "Sleigh Ride" and Anderson's "Sleigh Ride" without vocals, and the classic Pops renditions of "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers," "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer," "Santa Claus is Coming To Town," "Winter Wonderland" and "The Toy Trumpet." I'd also purchase William's JOY TO THE WORLD which includes some of his tracks from HOME ALONE and Lockhart's HOLIDAY POPS. These recordings give a true Pops Christmas. SLEIGH RIDE would be a companion CD, but like all Pops CD's, it's a great investment.

Average customer rating: Everything is not great Outstanding with some rare vocals Juxtaposition as Art The Whole Is Slightly Less than the Sum of Its Parts Beyond essential...

Before and After Science Brian Eno Manufacturer: E.G. Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Experimental Rock | Rock | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Ambient | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Electronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music General | New Age | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music General | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music Ambient | Dance & DJ | Indie Music | Stores | Music General | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music Progressive | Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Another Green World Here Come the Warm Jets Discreet Music Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy Neu! ASIN: B000003S0Z Release Date: 1990-08-31

Tracks:

1. No One Receiving
2. Backwater
3. Kurt's Rejoinder
4. Energy Fools The Magician
5. King's Lead Hat
6. Here He Comes
7. Julie With...
8. By This River
9. Through Hollow Lands
10. Spider And I

Customer Reviews:

Everything is not great.......2004-12-06

but then again, it's still Eno. Did you know "Kings Lead Hat" is an anagram for Talking Heads?

Outstanding with some rare vocals.......2004-03-25

Even though I enjoy the ambient music genre, this is my favorite Eno ensamble with a broad mix of songs from begining to end which make the entire album great enjoyment to listen to over and over .. Particullarly "backwater" and "Julie with.." which have surprisingly excellent vocals that blend with the music and almost allow it to remain AMBIENT LIKE but less extreem. if you are just getting into ENO, I would suggest this CD and "Another green world"

Juxtaposition as Art.......2003-07-10

In this, which I believe to be his seminal vocal work, we are treated to searingly intelligent lyrical manipulation and groovy, catchy, but still mysteriously progressive instrumentation. "Backwater" recalls some of the lyrical style of Here Come The Warm Jets, but has an electric piano driven bass line that still hits you even after 25 years. I grew up listening to everything from Eno to Cream to the Clash and back again, and this album is easily in the top ten for me. Eno uses the foreshadowing of the album title in very subtle ways throughout the work, allowing you to relax and enjoy or stare avidly at the album cover as you seek to discover all the marvelous nuances in the music, even down to track order. Remember this was released BEFORE CD's, so it was an album, with a front and back side to it. That simple knowledge alone enhances the experience. If you don't have the whole album, and just downloaded a few songs, you can't truly appeciate it as the stylized work of art that it truly is. Better yet, purchase the LP and play it on your tube amp system for that wonderfully warm sound from the "Days before Digital"!!

The Whole Is Slightly Less than the Sum of Its Parts.......2003-04-03

This was Eno's fourth and final "song" album, and the only one that I would not give five stars. It is still a very good album, however. My favorite tracks are "Here He Comes" (smooth pop bliss), "No One Receiving" (indescribably funky), and "Kurt's Rejoinder" (the bassline will give you whiplash).

There are no bad tracks here, and it is probably Eno's most eclectic work. "King's Lead Hat" sounds like something from the first album, "Backwater" would have fit right in on "Tiger Mountain," and some of the quiet material on side two is reminiscent of "Another Green World."

I agree with the earlier reviewers who said that this album makes more sense on vinyl because of the radical difference between side one and side two. I have it on vinyl, along with the three other "song" albums, and though I listen to it less often than "Tiger Mountain" and "Another Green World" (my favorites), I do enjoy it.

But it seems that Eno's weariness with songwriting was beginning to show, not in the songs themselves but in the album's lack of cohesion. I think of "Before and After Science" as a very good collection of singles with tracks 7-9--the quiet ones--fitting together to form a mini-suite.

Beyond essential..........2002-11-26

The masterpiece of Eno's "rock" period, "Before and After Science" brings all the elements of earlier albums together: quirky, catchy rock tunes, picturesque lyrics, ambient atmospherics, unique arrangements and timbres. Eno had mastered it all by this stage and having achieved it, left the genre of rock albums for immersion in ambient territory and production work for others.

But like all great music, "Before and After Science" is somehow more than sum of its parts: an aura of melancholy and longing pervades the album (especially what was side 2 of the LP, tracks 6-10 on the CD), transcending the clever production to create a work of lasting beauty and emotional connection.

Beyond essential.

Average customer rating:

A Total Embrace: The Composer Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Bernstein | Bernstein, Leonard | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Incidental Music | Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Ballets & Dances | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Clarinet | Reeds & Winds | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music New York Philharmonic Orchestra | ( N ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Psalms | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Classical Instrumental Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Leonard Bernstein - A Total Embrace: The Conductor ASIN: B0000AQS3U Release Date: 2003-09-09

Tracks:

1. Concert Works: I. Psalm 108 (Verse 2) & Psalm 100 (Complete) - Camerata Singers
2. Concert Works: II. Psalm 23 (Complete) & Psalm 2 (Verses 1-4) - Camerata Singers
3. Concert Works: III. Psalm 131 (Complete) & Psalm 133 (Verse 1) - Camerata Singers
4. Concert Works: III. Lamentation - Jennie Tourel
5. Concert Works: IV. Agathon (Adagio) - Isaac Stern
6. Concert Works: B. The Masque: Extremely Fast - Philippe Entremont
7. Concert Works: C. The Epilogue: Adagio; Andante; Con Moto - Philippe Entremont
8. Concert Works: IV. ' A Big Indian And A Little Indian' Con Brio - Leonard Bernstein
9. Concert Works: IV. 'Civet A Toute Vitesse (Rabbit At Top Speed)' - Leonard Bernstein
10. Concert Works: I. Prelude For The Brass - Benny Goodman
11. Concert Works: II. Fugue For The Saxes - Benny Goodman
12. Concert Works: III. Riffs For Everyone - Benny Goodman
13. Concert Works: I. Invocation. Kaddish 1 - Camerata Singers
14. Concert Works: Film: Love Theme - New York Philharmonic

Tracks:

1. Theater Works: Opening: 'New York, New York' - Adolph Green
2. Theater Works: 'Lonely Town'/Dance: Lonely Town - John Reardon
3. Theater Works: Dance: Times Square - Leonard Bernstein
4. Theater Works: 'Some Other Time' - Betty Comden
5. Theater Works: Dance: The Real Coney Island - Ensemble
6. Theater Works: I. Enter Three Sailors - Leonard Bernstein
7. Theater Works: IV. Pas De Deux - Leonard Bernstein
8. Theater Works: VII. Finale - Leonard Bernstein
9. Theater Works: 'The Pirate Songs' - Boris Karloff And The Pirates
10. Theater Works: 'Ohio' - Rosalind Russell
11. Theater Works: 'A Little Bit In Love (Never Felt This Way Before)' - Jacquelyn
12. Theater Works: 'A Quiet Girl' - Sydney Chaplin
13. Theater Works: 'Conga!' - Ensemble
14. Theater Works: 'Wrong Note Rag' - Ensemble
15. Theater Works: Overture - Original Broadway Cast
16. Theater Works: 'Best Of All Possible Worlds' - Chorus
17. Theater Works: Mazurka - Barbara Cook
18. Theater Works: 'Glitter And Be Gay' - Barbara Cook
19. Theater Works: 'Make Our Garden Grow' - Ensemble

Tracks:

1. Theater Works: Prologue - Orchestra
2. Theater Works: The Dance At The Gym - The Jets
3. Theater Works: 'Maria' - Larry Kert
4. Theater Works: 'Tonight' - Larry Kert
5. Theater Works: 'America' - Marilyn Cooper
6. Theater Works: 'Cool' - The Jets
7. Theater Works: 'Somewhere' (Ballet) - Reri Grist
8. Theater Works: 'The Community' - David Johnson
9. Theater Works: 'Part II: Allegretto' - Leonard Bernstein
10. Theater Works: Scene III/IIIa: 'I Was Standing In A Garden/Then Desire Took Hold Of Me' - Nancy Williams
11. Theater Works: I. Devotions Before Mass - Hymn And Psalm: 'A Simple Song' - Alan Titus
12. Theater Works: V. Meditation No. 1 - Alan Titus
13. Theater Works: VI. Gloria - Alan Titus
14. Theater Works: XIV. Sanctus: 'Holy! Holy! Holy!' - Alan Titus
15. Theater Works: XVII Pax: Communion - Final Hymn (Excerpt) - Alan Titus

World Music:

1. Best of [Import]
2. Cajun Hot Stuff 1928-1940
3. Coplas De Espana [Import]
4. Domenica Bestiale E Altri Successi [Import]
5. Doppio Lungo Addio [Import]
6. E Al Que Quebra a Rocha [Import]
7. Eden - Klezmer Acoustic Music
8. Enguico [Import]
9. Fernando Martins Trio [Import]
10. Fernando Martins Trio [Import]

World Music

world music

World Music

Rock Music rock-music-37

Die Sizilianische Vesper (I Vespri Siciliani)

Complete Piano Sonatas 8

Nature's Serenade

Child, Vol. 2 [CD-single] [Import]

I Do Cherish You [CD-single] [Import]

Fake Loser

Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind

Good Rockin' Tonight/Live in Memphis, Tennessee [Import]

British Rock, Vol. 3-4

Facts of Life

Die Großen Erfolge [Box set] [Import]

Con Canciones

Red Hot Jazz: The Dixieland Album

20 Best of Glenn Miller Orchestra