High Low & In Between

High Low & In Between

ASIN: B00000330M

Track Listings

1. Dollar Bill Blues (VanZandt)

2. Rex's Blues

3. Pueblo Waltz

4. Brother Flower

5. Snake Song

6. Loretta

7. No Place to Fall

8. Flyin' Shoes

9. Who Do You Love

10. When She Don't Need Me

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Packaged as two albums on one disc, these are among the best of Van Zandt's erratic studio recordings. The first is often overlooked, but it has many songs of dark, marvelous realism, true and accurate as arrows. Kevin Eggers's production is never heavy or busy: he mostly lets the songs breathe beside piano and guitar. And the poetic heights of the title track and "The Highway Kind" are remarkable by any standard. Late Great is important for a little known Guy Clark song "Don't Let the Sunshine Fool You," as well as an orchestrated "Pancho and Lefty" and the sweetly simple "Heavenly Houseboat Blues." Both records show Townes's belief in the abracadabra of words, that their magic is as primary to being human as love and death and kindness and cruelty--those intense qualities that distinguish his work. --Roy Kasten

Product Description
UK reissue of original 1972 Poppy label album. Musicians include Larry Carlton & David Cohen (ex-Country Joe & The Fish). Includes detailed sleevenotes. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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:

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.

Hidden treasure.......2006-12-06

One of Traffic's best records. No matter how many people I play this for I've yet to find someone who doesn't like it. It really IS a record that belongs in everyone's collection. This new remaster makes the album sound better than ever.

Average customer rating:

AWESOME!!
MacRae and Jones soar in this tragic R&H musical
Great Music
Response to David Pabian's review below
Gummed up an Original

Carousel (1956 Film Soundtrack)
Shirley Jones , Claramae Turner , Robert Rounseville , Cameron Mitchell , Barbara Ruick , Robert Rounseville , Richard Rodgers , Oscar Hammerstein II , and Gordon MacRae
Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Oklahoma! (1955 Film Soundtrack)
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ASIN: B00005A7XD
Release Date: 2001-03-13

Tracks:

Introduction - Gordon MacRae/William Le Massena
Main Title: The Carousel Waltz - 20th Century-Fox Orchestra/Alfred Newman
You're A Queer One, Julie Jordan - Barbara Ruick/Shirley Jones
When I Marry Mr. Snow - Barbara Ruick
If I Loved You - Shirley Jones/Gordon MacRae
June Is Bustin' Out All Over - Claramae Turner/Barbara Ruick
June Is Bustin' Out All Over Ballet - 20th Century-Fox Orchestra/Alfred Newman
Soliloquy - Gordon MacRae
Blow High, Blow Low - Cameron Mitchell
When The Children Are Asleep - Robert Rounseville/Barbara Ruick
A Real Nice Clambake - Barbara Ruick/Claramae Turner/Robert Rounseville/Cameron Mitchell
Stonecutters Cut In On Stone - Cameron Mitchell
What's The Use Of Wond'rin - Shirley Jones
You'll Never Walk Alone - Shirley Jones/Claramae Turner
Ballet - 20th Century-Fox Orchestra/Alfred Newman
If I Loved You (Reprise) - Gordon MacRae
You'll Never Walk Alone (Finale) - Shirley Jones
Carousel Waltz (LP Version) - 20th Century-Fox Orchestra/Alfred Newman

Amazon.com

Richard Rodgers always considered Carousel his favorite score, even though it didn't generate the number of popular hits of some of the other shows he produced with lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II. Their adaptation of the Ferenc Molnar play Liliom is marked by three especially sublime moments. "The Carousel Waltz," Rodgers's alternative to the traditional Broadway overture, serves as an orchestral backdrop to the opening scene and is one of the best miniatures ever written for the theater. "If I Loved You," which establishes the romance of carnival barker Billy Bigelow (Gordon MacRae, a late replacement for Frank Sinatra) and nice girl Julie Jordan (Shirley Jones), is a musical minidrama in which the pair's discussion of how they are not in love reveals just how much they are in love. "Soliloquy" is Billy's powerful solo that foreshadows the action to come in Act II. Add the inspirational anthem "You'll Never Walk Alone," and you have Rodgers and Hammerstein's most extraordinary, near-operatic score. On the soundtrack for the 1956 film, MacRae and Jones are in exceptional voice (following their success in 1955's Oklahoma) and the orchestra sounds glorious, but unfortunately some of the numbers were shortened, most notably "If I Loved You." Extensive production notes, an interview with Jones, and a synopsis are included. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews:

AWESOME!!.......2007-05-12

LOVE SOUND TRACTS FROM OLD MOVIES - SING ALONGS AND THE BEST ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU ARE TRAVELING AND CAN SING LOUD. IT IS A KEEPER

MacRae and Jones soar in this tragic R&H musical.......2007-02-11

This film adaptation of Carousel came shortly after the Oklahoma! film and reunited Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones. Although the film was not well-received at the box office, the soundtrack shows MacRae, Jones and the superb cast performing their roles to their heart's content. Their performance helps bring out the pathos in this tragic R&H musical, which Rodgers himself considered his favourite of all his works.

MacRae shines vocally as Billy Bigelow, bringing an open-hearted musicality and sincerity to his stout-hearted portrayal. MacRae stands out in Billy's pivotal Soliloquy, which some reviewers have considered one of the finest vocal performances of the 20th century. He is well-partnered by Shirley Jones, who lends her tender voice and personality to her portrayal as Julie. Listen to the chemistry they exude during the pivotal If I Loved You duet, as if they're overcoming their shyness and drawing sustenance from each other with their love. The supporting cast also gives its all in performing their roles. Claramae Turner's hearty Nettie brims with sincerity, warmth and tenderness, and she leads a rousing rendition of June is Bustin' Out All Over and renders You'll Never Walk Alone touchingly. Barbara Ruick and Robert Rounseville are superb as Carrie and Mr. Snow, although I admit I would have liked a little more humour. I also admit I would have liked Cameron Mitchell as Jigger to sound more sinister, like Fisher Stevens did in the 1994 Broadway revival recording. But even as it is, everyone sings gloriously and is given sumptuous backing from Alfred Newman's superb arrangements and the 20th-Century Fox Orchestra, when it shines out in the ballets.

If I'm adding to the praise of these critic-proof performance, you'll wonder, why am I giving only 4 stars? Well, it's because the extra sound effects from the unreleased sequences tend to jar after a while. I know some of you are complaining that the dance sequences are plagued by extraneous sound effects and noise. I share the same feelings too and also wish that the producers had utilised the original studio pre-recordings for a sumptuous listening experience. However, let us at least be grateful that Didier Deutsch and his production team have made these unreleased sequences available on a soundtrack CD reissue. At least it's a step in the right direction before the entire canon of R&H film soundtracks (yes, including South Pacific and The Sound of Music) gets its due as deluxe 2-CD sets, complete with underscore.

However, don't let this gripe dissuade you from buying this soundtrack. It offers a complete musical experience that one could only dream of in the previous CD reissues of the soundtrack. And it demonstrates the element that Rodgers & Hammerstein were discovering in their musicals.

Great Music.......2007-01-04

Rogers and Hammerstein were in a different league when it came to writing musicals. Their music, lyrics and story are never alike. These two partners were exceptional and their music shows it. Carousel is a tragic story but also shows that human nature can rise above adversity. The music is wonderful and the characters believable. A great movie.

Response to David Pabian's review below.......2004-06-30

Response to David Pabian's review:

My review was not in error, as Mr. Pabian expects. The review was for the original CD release, not this expanded version. Amazon lifted it out of that spot and dropped it here, which of course makes it anachronistic. Why they did it without reading it is certainly an inept decision.

Gummed up an Original.......2003-06-10

This overblown "completeitis" has got to stop. The original soundtrack album Carousel Waltz is now relegated to Appendix status, and terrible sonics accompany dancers' footstomping in the "new" expanded musical sequences, taken directly from the soundtrack rather than from still-existing musical tracks. There was a reason soundtrack recordings were studio performances. The proportions were right, the timings were correct for an overall BALANCED listening experience. These gawdawful expanded editions, often with dialogue thrown in, completely throw off those balances. An argument might be made for expanded sequences appropriate to a CDs longer playing time than the standard L.P. 45min., but possibly only if those sequences are from their original studio-recorded, pre release-print mix -- which could have easily been done in this case. A quick word on one of the above reviews: This is not the first time the complete Carousel Waltz is heard in stereo. There were two previous CD remasterings of the original soundtrack whereon it was included. And the reprise of "If I loved You" was part of every soundtrack release, mono and stereo.

Average customer rating:

...for a place in America
Not just a one hit wonder
A great debut album!
Where it all started
a-ha, at their finest hour

Hunting High and Low
a-ha
Manufacturer: Warner Bros / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Scoundrel Days
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ASIN: B000002L7Y
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Take On Me
Train Of Thought
Hunting High And Low
The Blue Sky
Living A Boy's Adventure Tale
The Sun Always Shines On T.V.
And You Tell Me
Love Is Reason
I Dream Myself Alive
Here I Stand And Face The Rain

Customer Reviews:

...for a place in America.......2007-07-05

You know how the story goes. Obscure European band labors in obscurity for years. Somehow, through sheer chance, has one track (which may or may not be typical of their work) hit it stateside and rocket up the charts. Make them megastars, a household name...until their one hit dies out and they never come close to striking gold again.

Yes, before Aqua, there was the strangely similar-sounding A-ha, and this was an otherwise perfectly ordinary album where their one shining star (which I always suspected became popular mainly due to the unbelievable range on the chorus part) came from.

Not much else to say. Typical, ordinary synthpop, what I'd call "waiting room music". The singer, despite his best efforts, has some trouble with the English language. I've heard a lot worse, but it's no surprise why A-ha never could find its niche here.

Not just a one hit wonder.......2007-05-21

a-ha is most known for "Take On Me", but that's not it. Hunting High and Low is a ten song half hour masterpiece. This is the way pop music should be done in the 80's, it's just as good as Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "Welcome To the Pleasuredome".

Take On ME had a breakthrough video, it's one of those that are probally labeled by _______ Thriller as one of the greatest breakthroughs. Train Of Thought is a song that belongs in the _______ future. A lot of the songs would be the music of the future, since it was released when the world was predicted would have flying cars and the other future ____ ala the Jetsons. There is a ballad song, a dark samba beat, some rock, and a ____load of electronic sounds, but dosen't totally make it sound cheesy. You will hear it at the best times you can. This is how pop in the 80's should sound, not that ________ Bangles or the horrid hair metal. In fact, the whole cd has so much _______ atmosphere, and it never sounds polished. IT's more like a totally _______ awesome space age enivronment.

IT's a bit of a shock to any _____head like Bjorn Everfrost (you call me a poser, you get the unfair comparisons too, you ___________. Calling Squash a metalhead? For shame!), but you shouldn't just forget about it. If this band would get more credit than they deserve, then I would be fine. This is one of the most underrated pop records ever. The 80's actually wasn't too bad. Just looked bad with some of the horrible ____.

9.0/10

A great debut album! .......2007-02-16

I bought the Trilogy of this, Scoundrel Days, and Stay On These Roads. So far I've only listened to Hunting High and Low and Scoundrel Days, and I'm very impressed!
I bought them because, as an artist, when I saw the music video for 'Take On Me', I just couldn't help but wanting to know more about this amazing band. This CD gave me exactly what I wanted: more fantastic music from a very talented trio!
The songs are very inspiring and sometimes a little sad, like the title track (which sounds a lot different than it does remixed on Headlines and Deadlines... I like that version better than the one on this. Oh well!) and 'Living a Boy's Adventure Tale', full of things that really make you think about life and what's surrounding you. The music in general, Magne and Pal's songwriting and instrumental skills, brings you out of this world! But then again, I do have a strong love for synthesizers and keyboards. Not to mention the angelic vocal talents of Morten! WOW! He could sing opera if he wanted to; he's that good.

Some great tracks besides the hits/singles: The Blue Sky, Living a Boy's Adventure Tale, Here I Stand and Face the Rain.

I'd definitely recommend this to anyone that wants to feel inspired and witness one of the greatest (and underappreciated) bands in history, and also to fellow artists and anyone who loves great synth music. Even 22 years later...

Where it all started.......2007-02-08

This is a great CD. Even back then they were ahead of their time. Great songs on this one. Made me love the band's music. I've been hooked for over 20 years!

a-ha, at their finest hour.......2006-08-27

introduced back in the phils. in '85, a-ha music such as "take on me", "love is reason" & "the sun always shine in tv" were the staples of new wave dance parties, such parties won't be complete without any a-ha music. but what appeals to me even back then was the diversity of their sound, ballads like hunting "high & low", and a personal fave, "living a boy's adventure tale" still linger on my mind after 20+ years. i've introduced my kid lately to the beatles & other class acts, and i wont mind my 4 year old daughter fall in love like i did with them especially with a debut like hunting high & low. their later materials like crying in the rain, living daylights & you are the one (which were single releases) were great stuff, but other songs from the respective albums won't much ring a bell. this is the best album they came out critically & commercially. 80's lives on forever!

Average customer rating:

Great introduction
other stuff to check out
Sweet writer, with a voice that grows on you...
For The Sake of the CD
Wrong track list

High, Low And In Between/Late Great
Townes Van Zandt
Manufacturer: Capitol
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000002UHX
Release Date: 1996-10-01

Tracks:

Two Hands
You Are Not Needed Now
Greensboro Woman
Highway Kind
Standin'
No Deal
To Live Is To Fly
When He Offers His Hand
Mr. Gold And Mr. Mud
Blue Ridge Mountains
High, Low And In Between
No Lonesome Tune
Sad Cinderella
German Mustard
Don't Let The Sunshine Fool Ya'
Honky Tonkin'
Snow Don't Fall
Fraulein
Poncho & Lefty
If I Needed You
Silver Ships Of Andilar
Heavenly Houseboat Blues

Amazon.com

Packaged as two albums on one disc, these are among the best of Van Zandt's erratic studio recordings. The first is often overlooked, but it has many songs of dark, marvelous realism, true and accurate as arrows. Kevin Eggers's production is never heavy or busy: he mostly lets the songs breathe beside piano and guitar. And the poetic heights of the title track and "The Highway Kind" are remarkable by any standard. Late Great is important for a little known Guy Clark song "Don't Let the Sunshine Fool You," as well as an orchestrated "Pancho and Lefty" and the sweetly simple "Heavenly Houseboat Blues." Both records show Townes's belief in the abracadabra of words, that their magic is as primary to being human as love and death and kindness and cruelty--those intense qualities that distinguish his work. --Roy Kasten

Album Description

UK reissue of original 1972 Poppy label album. Musicians include Larry Carlton & David Cohen (ex-Country Joe & The Fish). Includes detailed sleevenotes.

Customer Reviews:

Great introduction.......2007-02-16

I'm not a big fan of compilations and "best of" CDs; like a lot of music fans I prefer to hear entire albums in their original context. That's why this economically-priced two-fer from Townes Van Zandt is such a good introduction--it includes two entire albums from one of his most productive periods, and offers a wide variety of his music to get you interested in exploring more. Between these two albums, you can see what a talented songwriter, understatedly excellent vocalist, and all-around worthwhile musical personality he was. Not only that, you'll have over an hour of great country-tinged folk to listen to.

The first album included is High, Low, and In Between. It's probably the lesser of the two choices, but still very worthwhile. Van Zandt is usually accompanied by some subtle acoustic guitar, often combined with some bass, or even bigger band arrangements. He certainly has a skill for melancholy--songs like "You are Not Needed Now" and the title track really get under your skin with simple melodies and some occasionally chilling lyrics. He does include a few upbeat numbers, though, like the great and humorous "No Deal," and the groovy "Standin.'" There are a few weaker tracks, most notably the gospel tunes "Two Hands" and "When He Offers His Hand;" they lack the personality that Van Zandt is so capable of injecting into a great song. Overall, though, there are some great highlights.

The second album is even better. The Late Great Townes Van Zandt opens with "No Lonesome Tune," a very homey, heartwarming tune combined with some really cool music--the heavy bass sounds great combined with the mandolin. The singer sounds totally at ease in the relaxed "German Mustard" blues, and rips out some of his most harrowing compositions, the mysterious "Ships of Andilar," and the oft-covered "Pancho and Lefty." On both discs, he shows great skill at storytelling, and it's too bad every other country singer had a hit with "Pancho and Lefty," but its own composer couldn't. This album really shows off his deft skill at mystery, since more often the music matches his deceptively dense words. Again, though, there are also fun moments like the cover, "Honky Tonkin.'" Also again, though, there are a few weaker moments--"Sad Cinderella" sounds like a textbook paraphrased rewrite of Dylan's "Queen Jane Approximately," and "Heavenly Houseboat Blues" isn't quite a compelling closer.

All in all, though, Townes Van Zandt has made some great music, and deserves to be much better known. This disc is a steal, containing two solid albums' worth of music, with some music that's good, and some that's GREAT. If you're unfamiliar with TVZ, I recommend that this is as good a place as any to get into some great music!

other stuff to check out.......2006-06-21

I am a huge fan of catchy, quiet folk music with insightful lyrics. If you enjoy this album then I strongly recommend that you check out the following:
1) Ghosts Of The Great Highway by Sun Kil Moon
2) Kings Avenue Joe Kile
3) Subtitulo by Josh Rouse

Sweet writer, with a voice that grows on you..........2005-07-03

This single-CD collection of two of Townes' early LP's should confirm for any lover of country/folk that Van Zandt's reputation is well-deserved. People such as Guy Clark, Nancy Griffith, Emmy Lou Harris, Billy Joe Shaver, Todd Snider, Willie Nelson, Steve Earle and many others who had more successful performing careers than Townes all praise his writing. I was pleased with the writing, but pleasantly surprised that TVZ could sing so well. His voice is limited, but endearing. He is one of a long line of artists who could not survive alcohol and drugs and the stress of the music business. All of the songs on here, all 22, are worth hearing, but more than half of them deserve and reward repeated listening. Those stand up to dozens of playings without getting stale. I'm speaking of songs such as "To Live is to Fly" and "No Lonesome Tune" and "Don't Let the Sunshine Fool Ya'" and "Poncho and Lefty" and "If I Needed You." While "Sunshine" was written by Guy Clark, Townes' version is almost as good as Clark's own. Eighteen of the tracks were written by Van Zandt. These performances were laid down on vinyl in the 1970's, but they hold up pretty darn well. If you have heard about TVZ, and want a good sample of his lyrics and singing, this item is a great value.

For The Sake of the CD.......2005-03-02

Steve Earle is certainly entitled to his opinion, but comparing Bob Dylan to anyone seems kind of foolish. However, just the fact that many, myself included, consider Townes Van Zandt to be in the same league as Dylan as a songwriter speaks volumes about the late Texan's considerable talents. This is a nice pairing of two of his best albums. It's always cool to get two albums for the price of one. A great introduction to a cult hero who deserves wider recognition.

Wrong track list.......2002-10-04

High Low and in Between is a great album. But this page has the wrong tracks listed...

Bryars: Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet

Average customer rating:

excellent
Almost there (get rid of tom waits)
Unique and Magnificent
Borrow it first
Gavin Bryars Never Failed Me Yet

Bryars: Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet

Manufacturer: Philips
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Sinking of Titanic-Jesus Blood

ASIN: B0000040UT
Release Date: 1993-08-10

Tracks:

Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet: Tramp With Orchestra I (String Quartet)
Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet: Tramp With Orchestra II (Low Strings)
Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet: Tramp With Orchestra III (No Strings)
Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet: Tramp With Orchestra IV (Full Strings)
Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet: Tramp And Tom Waits With Full Orchestra
Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet: Coda: Tom Waits With High Strings

Amazon.com

This late minimalist, 74-minute piece for orchestra and tape has had, and continues to have, a near-legendary effect on its audience. It's the rare work created specifically to tug gently at one's heartstrings that actually does, and not subtly, either. It starts with a found recording of a homeless man singing a halting, simple melody looped over and over. Then Bryars builds and buttresses this with a full orchestra brought in incrementally, from the first carefully placed short pendulum string sweep to, 10 minutes from the end, the gravelly-voiced singer Tom Waits joins in. It's an obvious but effective work--appealing to all the basics of our emotional nervous system, but still tragically beautiful. --Robin Edgerton

Customer Reviews:

excellent.......2007-05-07

the item purchased is in perfect condition and it has been shipped in time

Almost there (get rid of tom waits).......2007-04-10

This is a pretty moving and relaxing piece, especially considering that a single sample is looped for 74 minutes but around it there is slow orchestral development. Near the end, it is completely destroyed by the annoying and gratuitous addition of Tom Waits. If you can, I suggest finding a shorter copy of it with no Tom Waits on it, apparently Bryars made a 60 minute version for tape and a 25 minute version for vinyl both before this one and both out of print for Brian Eno's Obscure label.

Unique and Magnificent.......2007-03-30

A fantastic work with an incredible story behind it. I originally heard an exerpt from this work which was played during a radio interview, and I was absolutely captivated. I think this CD is great, however my partner and a couple of friends have suggested it is a little too repetitive. I think the repetition, with such a subtle progression, is the key to this deeply moving album. I would highly recommend this as an interesting and unique addition to any music library. Be aware: playing the full CD may not be to everyone's liking, although I think most would enjoy some smaller portion of the 74+ minutes. I think few would not be touched by the story behind it!

Borrow it first.......2006-11-06

Buy CDs that you expect you'll want to play reasonably often; otherwise borrow them, as I did with this one, from a library - - that'd be my advice. Borrow it again if you find you want to listen to it again.

I don't think this is a religious piece; at least, to me it seems to be about experimentation (taken, as one reviewer put it, to the breaking point). It concludes with Mr. Waits sounding truly drunken.

I made it through the entire CD in two sittings.

Gavin Bryars Never Failed Me Yet.......2006-03-30

The controvery rages. Is it rubbish or a work of genius?

When I first heard the original on Sinking Of The Titanic, I thought it was really irritating, and I couldn't get the tune out of my head for days. I put the cd away for a few weeks......and then something made me pull it out and listen again. Still irritating.....but there was something about it that made me want to come back and give it another go. The third time around, I *really* started to listen -- and I was hooked. The gradual background (at first) orchestration grows into something fascinating and wonderful, and you just *have* to listen.

Forget about the religious aspect. It's doesn't detract from the music, and I don't think Bryars meant for this to be a religious work anyway. It's an extremely moving piece, simple, rich, and gloriously done. And probably unlike anything else you've ever heard.

Listening to a short clip won't do you any good, but the cd sells cheap enough to take a chance on for a complete listen. But be forewarned: even one complete listen ain't gonna do it. You'll have to stay with this one for a few more turns to appreciate it. You'll want to use the cd for an air catcher on your wind chimes at first, but hang in there, and you'll be richly rewarded.

Average customer rating:

"Lord, How Come Me Here"
WOW!
uhm......yeah right!!
scadalise my name
Broadway takes on the spiritual ...

Spirituals in Concert

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Amazing Grace: Jessye Norman
Kathleen Battle · Wynton Marsalis ~ Baroque Duet / Anthony Newman · Orch St. Luke's · Nelson
The Essential Leontyne Price: Spirituals, Hymns & Sacred Songs
Kathleen Battle & Christopher Parkening ~ Pleasures of Their Company
So Many Stars

ASIN: B000001GDC
Release Date: 1991-03-08

Tracks:

In That Great Getting Up Morning
Sinner, Please Don't Let This Harvest Pass
Over My Head/ Lil' David
Oh, What A Beautiful City
Lord, How Come Me Here
I Believe I'll Go Back Home-Lordy, Won't You Help Me
Ride On, King Jesus
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot-Ride Up In The Chariot
You Can Tell The World
Scandalize My Name
Great Day
Oh, Glory
Calvary-They Crucified My Lord
Talk About A Child
Gospel Train
My God Is So High
There Is A Balm In Gilead
He's Got The Whole World In His Hand

Customer Reviews:

"Lord, How Come Me Here".......2007-06-18

I must add, to the praises above, that Kathleen Battle's "Lord, How Come Me Here" is the best "quick" explanation of the long-lasting effects of slavery that I can think of. The line, "They sold my children away," says it all.

And the VERY funny "Scandelize My Name" is also worth the price of the total album!

Alinde O'Malley

WOW!.......2007-03-22

You know, after owning both the CD and VHS of this performance, and having been coached by Sylvia Olden Lee herself, it is no wonder why spiritual mean so much to me. And these two ladies bare their souls and bring these masterpieces to life! WOW!!!

uhm......yeah right!!.......2006-06-21

Clearly you are mistaken. I don't know who that guy is-the person below recommended-but there is NO COMPARISON to JESSYE NORMAN AND KATHLEEN BATTLE!!!! Jessye Norman herself has *30* HONARY DOCTRATES from places like Harvard, Juliard, Yale, Cambridge....I mean HELLO!!!! That guy had no where near the ease, the musicality or even the breath support as these two veterans show!! It is a beautiful CD though it came out in 1991 and I HIGHLY recommend it.

scadalise my name.......2004-10-29

this isn't that good specially after hearing William Warfeild sing it. You can find him at www.wlym.com

Broadway takes on the spiritual ..........2004-01-29

... takes it on and puts it on the canvas by the end of the first round.

I'm going to be the dissenting voice here: thank goodness I signed this disk out of the public library 'cause I'm sure not going to listen to it twice.

There is nothing wrong with the performances. Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle sing beautifully, and there's no problem with the pick-up orchestra under James Levine.

The problem, and it's huge, is the conception of the show and the musical arrangements. To make the video marketable, I suppose, the producers decided that the concert had to be big: big names, big arrangements, big effects. So we have eighteen spirituals given the musical theatre treatment, with a philharmonic chorus providing chain-gang sound effects, big brass, and big percussion -- including a chinese gong. A chinese gong in a spiritual??? Spare me! Almost every track turns out sounding like either a curtain-raiser or a big, end-of-act production number with cute and predictable modulations between some of the stanzas and the sort of curly-cue orchestral ornamentation typical of Broadway shows.

Tracks:

Overture To 'Tannhauser'
Domna, Pos Vos Ay Chausida
We Don't Merely Use Instruments, We Play On Them. And They Play On Us.
Hungarian Dance No.7
The Violin Is One Of The Most Tender And Beautiful Instruments Ever Invented.
Violin Concerto In D Major (Adagio)
But For A Long Time It Was Seen As The Instrument Of The Devil.
The Soldier's Tale: Triumphal March Of The Devil
The Manipulative Seductiveness Of The Gypsy Violin.
Csardas Music
The Violin And The Initiation Of Nature
The Four Seasons (Spring, Mvt 1)
Birds Are Again Evoked In The Second Concerto, Especially Music's Natural Favourite.
The Four Seasons (Summer, Mvt 1)
Like The Devil, The Violin Is A Master Of Disguise.
Old Viennese Dance No.3 'Schon Rosmarin'
The Menacing Sensuality Of Ravel's Tzigane: A Very Different Side Of The Violin:
Tzigane
Do We Now Have The True Measure Of This Instrument? Not Just Yet.
Caprice No.24
The Many Effects Of The String Tremolando: Brandenburg Concerto No.4 (Last Mvt)/From Joy To Fright/Quartettsatz In C Minor/The String Tremolo Practically Spells The World Agitato.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No.7)
Prokofiev's Tremolo In Romeo And Juliet Should Not Be Heard Just Before Bedtime.
Romeo And Juliet: Act IV
Vivaldi Use It To Illustrate The Shivering Of Travellers Crossing The Ice.
The Four Seasons (Winter, Mvt 1)
The Violin Muted
Clair De Lune
The Gentleness Of Muted Strings Persists Even When A Whole Orchestra Plays.
Piano Concerto No.21 In C Major, K.467 (Slow Mvt)
The Pizzicato Violin
Pizzicato Polka
In Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, The Accompaniment Is Pizzicato.
Violin Concerto No.2 In G Minor (Slow Mvt)
Varieties Of Pizzicato: Colas Breugnon (The People's Feast)/Now A Drier, Leaner, Hungrier Pizzicato. There's Not A Lot Of Comfort Here./Capriol Suite (Tordion)/The Use Of Pizzicato As 'Percussion'/Romeo And Juliet (Act I)/Mahler Used Pizzicato...
The Planets (Mars - The Bringer Of War)
The Technique Of Double-Stopping Enables The Violin To Play Duets With Itself./Sonata No.3 In C Major For Unaccompanied Violin (Fugue)/Now A Later Example Of The Same Technique
Hungarian Dance No.4
Double-Stopping Is A Standard Feature Of A Lot Of Folk Music.
The Four Seasons (Autumn, Mvt 1)
Now The Same Technique, But The Sound Might Have Come From Another World.
Bolero
Double-Stopping Can Only Approximate The Sound Of A Real Violin Duet.
Cadenza To The Violin Concerto By Brahms
Now Compare That With A Real Violin Duet.
Forty-Four Duos (No. 1: Teasing Song)
Another Duo By Bartok, Demonstrating The Violin's Rich Lower Register
Forty-Four Duos (No.2: Maypole Dance)
And Now What May Be The Most Beautiful Accompanied Violin Duet In History
Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
The Soul Of The Violin Is In Song; But What About This Weird Passage?
Violin Concerto No.1 In D Major (Mvt 2)
The Use Of Harmonies In The Orchestra Can Be Both Magical And Unsettling.
Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 1, Opening)
Tchaikovsky's Use Of Harmonics In The Sleeping Beauty Is Both Strange And Darling.
The Sleeping Beauty (Act II, No.15: Entr'Acte)
Ravel's Harmonics In Mother Goose Effect A Magical Transformation.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
Stravinsky's Harmonics In The Firebird Transport Us Almost Into Another World./The Firebird (Introduction)
The Natural Upper Notes Of The Violins Have A Unique Emotional 'Grab'.
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Of The Afterworldsmen)
Still In Their Upper Register, The Violins Unleash The Energy Of A Young Colt.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No. 4)
Elsewhere, Britten Uses The Same High Register To Create A Very Different Mood.
Four Sea Interludes (Dawn) From 'Peter Grimes'
To End This Outing With The Violins, A Charming Little Elfin Dance
Elfenreigen

Tracks:

Introduction To The Viola
Viola Concerto (Mvt 1)
Khatchaturian Gets A Very Different Sound From It: Fuller, Fruitier, More Exotic.
Gayane Suite No.1 (Armen's Solo)
Very Nearly The Whole Of The Violin's Upper Register Is Also Available To The Viola.
Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'
The Viola Can Bring A Special, Rich Twanginess To Pizzicato That The Violins Lack./Don Quixote/Berlioz Drew Sounds From It That Retain Their Metallic Strangeness Even Today.
Harold In Italy (Mvt 4)
The Muted Viola: Intimate, Gentle, Poignant In Dvork
Cypresses (No.9)
The Massed Violas Of The Modern Symphony Orchestra In Mahler
Symphony No.4 (Mvt 3)
The 'Period' Viola In Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No.6 (Last Mvt)
The Cello: A Voice Of Unique Nobility
Suite No.1 For Unaccompanied Cello (Prelude)
Brahms And The 'Soul' Of The Cello
Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat Major (Mvt 3)
Most Orchestral Composers Tend To Emphasize The Cello's Lower Register.
Cantata 'Herz Und Mund Und Tat Und Leben', BWV 147 (Soprana Aria: Bereite Dir, Jesu)
In The Time Of Beethoven The Cello Remained As Fundamental As Ever.
Symphony No.3 'Eroica' (Finale)
But The Cello Is Not Condemned To Spend Its Life In The Basement.
Elfentanz, Op.39
Not Only In Recital Showpieces Like That Is The Cello Is Used In Its Highest Register.
The Protecting Veil (Opening)
A Cello With An Identity-Crisis: The Pizzicato Flamencan
Flamenco
Double-Stopping In The Lower Reaches Of The Cello's Range
Solo Suiet For Cello And Piano (Sardana)
It's In The Middle Register That The Cello Really Comes Into Its Own.
Oriental Dance, Op.2 No.2
It Was To The Cellos That Beethoven Gave Two Of His Most Famous Themes./Symphony No.5 (Mvt 2)/Still More Famous Than That Theme Is This One From The Ninth Symphony.
Symphony No.9 (Finale)
Introduction To The Double-Bass
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Elephant)
But The Double-Bass Can Be Intensely Expressive And Graceful.
Elegy No.1 In D Major
The Range Of The Double-Bass Is The Greatest Of All The String Instruments/Allegro Di Concerto, 'Alla Mendelssohn'/And It's Also Capable Of Very Considerable Virtuosity.
Capriccio Di Bravura
Double-Bass Solos In Orchestral Scores Are Rare But Often Memorable./Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 3)/In His Third Symphony Mahler Makes A Very Different Use Of The Instrument./Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1)
The Double-Bass Muted In Prokofiev/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Kije's Wedding)/In Another Work Prokofiev Uses The Double-Bass To Enhance The Winds./Romeo And Juliet (Act III)/And He Combines The Bass Clarinet With A Shivering Tremolo From The Double-Basses....
Symphony No.5 (Mvt 3)/So Much For The Strings/On Now To The Winds

Tracks:

The Antiquity And Magic Of The Flute
Prelude A L'Apres-Midi D'Un Faune
The Versatility And Agility Of The Flute
Orchestral Suite No.2 In B Minor (Badinerie)
The Flute In Fifteenth-Century Spain
Sa'Dawi
Other Flutes: The Bass And Alto
Chamber Music No.II
The Piccolo - Aptly Named
La Naissance D'Osiris (Mvt 6)
From A Piccolo Of The Eighteenth Century To One Of Its Descendants In The Twentieth
Suite No.1 For Small Orchestra (Valse)
A Variety Of Techniques
Chamber Music No.II
Flutter-Tonguing. But Tchaikovsky Got There Eighty Years Before.
The Nutcracker (Act II, No.2: Scene)
From The Transverse To The Vertical: The Baroque Recorder
Recorded Suite In A Minor (Menuet II)
An Unfamiliar, Early Vision Of The Instrument
Naelden, Naelden
The Bachian Oboe
Cantata 'Ein Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott', BWV 80 (No.7: Duetto)
Introduction To The Cor Anglais Or 'English Born'
Symphony No.9 'From The New World' (Mvt 2)
The Loneliness Of The Cor Anglais
The Swan Of Tuonela
The Cor Anglais Joins The French Horn In Haydn.
Symphony No.22 'The Philosopher' (Opening)
Introduction To The Oboe D'Amore, Beloved Of Bach - But Also Of Ravel
Bolero
The Clarinet Family: Boxing The Compass, From The Depths Of The Bass Clarinet.../The Egyptian (Violence)/...To The Raucous And Squealy.../Taras Bulba (The Death Of Ostap)/...To The Shrill And Complaining...
Petrushka (No.8: Peasant With Bear)/...To The High Sprits Of A Playful Puppy./Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)/And To The Downright Jazzy/Romeo And Juliet (Act II)
As The High Clarinets Tend To Be Loud, So The Bass Tends To Be Soft:
Gayane Suite No. 1 (Mvt 5)
The Bass Clarinet Is Used By Most Composers Mainly As A Colouring Agent.../Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/...But It Does Occasionally Get A Whole Tune To Itself./Iberia (Almeria).
The Range Of The Normal Clarinet Parts Goes Quite High...
The Snow Maiden (Scene 5: Melodrama)
...And Quite Low.
Peter And The Wolf (The Cat)
The Clarinet As Concerto Soloist
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
But That's Not The Instrument Mozart Wrote It For; This Is:
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
Introduction To The Saxophone
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 4)
The Soprano Saxophone Has Quite A Different Feel To It.
L'Arlesienne Suite No.1 (Minuet)
The Little Sopranino Sax Goes Even Higher.
Bolero
The Most Famous Use Of The Saxophone Is In An Orchestration By Ravel.
Pictures At An Exhibition (The Old Castle)
The Saxophone Can Be Quite Contagiously Good-Humoured.
Sax-O-Phun
The Puffa-Puffa Image Of The Bassoon
Peter And The Wolf (Grandfather)
The Bachian Bassoon, In Accompanimental Mode
Cantata 'Weichet Nur, Betrubte Schatten' ('Wedding Cantata'), BWV 202 (Aria No.1)
Bizet Leaves The Puffa-Puffa Image Out, Allowing The Bassoon To Sing./Carmen Suite No.1 (Les Dragons D'Alcala)
And Ravel, Also In Spanish Mode, Does Likewise.
Bolero
The Bassoon As A Voice Of High Seriousness, Indeed Desolate Loneliness
Symphony No.3 (Opening)
The Eerie Bassoon In Its Highest Register
The Rite Of Spring (Opening)
Stravinsky Now Draws On Its Lowest Register, Lonely And Melancholy.
The Firebird Suite (1919, Berceuse)
The Bassoon As Concerto Soloist, Avoiding All Exaggeration
Bassoon Concerto In G Minor (Finale)
The Deep-Voiced Contra-Bassoon, As A Fairy-Tale Beast
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
The French Horn Under Its Woodwind Hat
Wind Quintet, Op.43 (Last Mvt)
Now A More Prominent Role, In A Woodwind Quintet From An Earlier Era
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Mvt 2)
The Horn In Harmonious Blend With Strings In Another Quintet
Horn Quintet, K.407 (Finale)

Tracks:

The Trumpet As Virtuoso Soloist
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Last Mvt)
The Special Brillance Of Paired Trumpets
Concerto In C For Two Trumpets, RV537 (Mvt 1)
The Ceremonial Trumpet
Fanfare For The Common Man
Trumpets And Drums - An Incomparable Alliance
Messiah (The Trumpet Shall Sound)
The Versatility Of The Trumpet, From The Most Public To The Most Lonely
Piano Concerto In F (Slow Mvt)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of The City/An American In Paris/The Trumpet As Recruitment Officer/The Soldier's Tale (The March)/The Trumpet As Swaggerer
Carmen Suite No.2 (Habanera)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of Strength And Courage
Carmet Suite No.2 (Toreador's Song)
The Trumpet Muted/Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Opening)/The Trumpet As The Voice Of Weariness
Billy The Kid
The Trumpet As Character Actor
Pictures At An Exhibition (No.6)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of God
Mass In B Minor ('Et Exspecto')
The Birth Of The Trombone
Aenmerckt Nu Hier
The Birth Of The Brass As A Family
Canzon 12 In Double Echo
The Trombone In The Eighteenth Century
Trombone Concerto In B Flat Major (Finale)
The Tone Of The Tenor Trombone/Romance For Trombone And Organ/The Memorable Voice Of The Bass Trombone/Requiem (Mvt 2)/But The Bass Trombone Is More Than An Instrumental Bullfrog.
Hosannah
The Trombones Become Part Of The Orchestra.
Symphony No.5 (Finale)
The Wagnerian Trombone:/Overture To 'Tannhauser'
The Trombone As Caricaturist
Pulcinella (No.19: Vivo)
The Trombone As Raspberry/Concerto For Orchestra (Intermezzo)
The Horn And The Hunt
Horn Concerto No.4 In E Flat, K.495 (Finale)
The Challenging Horn Of The Baroque
Abaris Ou Les Boreades (Menuet)
The Scarcity Of First-Rate Players In Handel's Time
Walter Music (Minuet 1)
The Horn As Magician/The Firebird Suite (1919, Finale)
Horns And The Sound Of Nobility
Overture To 'Tannhauser' (Opening)
The Special Sound Of The Horn In Its Higher Register
Mass In B Minor ('Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus')
The Trumpet-Like Sound Of Massed Horns
Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1, Opening)
The Tuba - Unfairly Maligned?
Symphony No.6 (Mvt 3)
The Tuba Perfectly Cast By Ravel
Pictures At An Exhibition (Bydlo)

Tracks:

Introduction. And We Begin With A Bang.
Fanfare For The Common Man/The Bass Drum On The Battlefields/Wellington's Victory, Op.91 (Opening)
At The Opposite Extreme Is The Triangle.
Piano Concerto No.1 In E Flat (Scherzo)
Categories Of Percussion: Tuned And Untuned. The Side Drum
Overture To 'La Gazza Ladra' - The Thieving Magpie (Opening)
The Side Drum In An Effective But Unexpected Role/Clarinet Concerto (Mvt 1)
The Tambourine. One Of The Oldest Instruments In The World
Den Hoboecken Dans
Even Older Is The Originally Oriental Gong.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
No Single Instrument Can Match The Gong In Evoking The Breaking Of Waves./Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'/But Gongs Don't Have To Be Struck To Be Effective.
Gymnopedie No.2
The Cymbals Are Generally Discovered Early In Life./The Sanguine Fan/And They Do More Than Clash Together Loudly. They Can Be Clashed Together Softly./Studio Example: But They Needn't Be Clashed Together At All/Studio Example: They Can Be Lightly...
Other Untuned Percussion Instruments Include The Whip.: Piano Concerto In G Major (Opening)/And Here Are No Fewer Than Twenty, Cracked By Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Act I, Scene 5)
More Versatile Than The Whip Are The Wood Blocks.../Studio Example/...Which Crop Up All Over The Place In Twentieth-Century American Music.
Rodeo (Hoe-Down)
Related To The Wood Blocks, By Sound, Are The Castanets./Jota Aragonesa/But The Castanets Were Also Used By Monteverdi Back In The Seventeenth Century.
Scherzi Musicali (Damigella Tutta Belle)
A Still Earlier Example From Fifteenth-Century Spain
Yo M'Enamori D'Un Aire
The Birth Of The Bongo
Symphonic Dances From 'West Side Story'
From The Streets Of New York To The Blacksmith's Shop/Il Trovatore ('Anvil Chorus')
Desert-Island Decibels: Grand Canyon Suite (On The Trail)/Arcana
From One Vegetable To Another: The Humble Squash, Or Marrow/Huapango
Onwards To The Tuned Percussion. First, The Timpani
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Introduction)
But The Drum Roll Can Be More Effectively Frightening Than The Big Bang.: Symphony No.2 'Resurrection' (Mvt 3)
Not One Drum Roll, But Many/Grand Canyon Suite (Sunrise)/Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)
Taking Advantage Of Tunability
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Mvt 2)
The Russian Composer Rodion Shchedrin Takes A Downward Turn./Carmen Suite (Changing Of The Guard)/Tuned, Yes; But For The Truly Melodic We Must Look Elsewhere.
Introducing The Glockenspiel/Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Saint-Saens And The Xylophone
The Carnival Of The Animals (Fossils)
Ravel And The Xylophone
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
Introducing The Marimba/Carmen Suite (First Intermezzo)
Introducing The Vibraphone
The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Narange Dolce)
The Vibraphone Goes Russian.../Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)/...And Is Joined By The Marimba./Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Introducing The Hungarian Cimbalom
Folk Dances
The Cimbalom And The Symphony Orchestra
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 3)
Introducing The Tubular Bells
Hary Janos Suite (Viennese Musical Clock)
A More 'Up-Front' Approach From Rodion Shchedrin
Carmen Suite (Introduction)
But The Bells Can Also Make The Sinister Even More Sinister./Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
Introducing The Celeste
The Nutcracker (Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy)
Magic, In The Use Of Collective Percussion
Miroirs (La Vallee Des Cloches)
Plucked Instruments: The 'Undercover Percussion'/Carmen Suite (Scene)
A Prime Case In Point Is The Harp, Irresistible To The Romantics./The Nutcracker (Act II, No.1: Scene)/The Non-Solo Harp As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Hungarian Rhapsody No.1
The Traditionally Subservient Role Of The Harpsichord In The Baroque Orchestra
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Slow Mvt)
The Piano: King Of The Tuned Percussion/Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Mvt 3)/And A Quarter Of A Century After That:
Petrushka (Russian Dance)
The Anti-Romantic Piano As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Last Mvt)

Tracks:

Keyboard Instruments In The Orchestra - The Most Powerful Of Them All:
Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Finale)
But Things In Handel's Day Were Very Different.
Organ Concerto In B Flat, Op.4 No.3 (Last Mvt)
The Organ Is Difficult To Classify.
An Unexpected, Organ-related Guest
Concerto Pour Zampogna (Last Mvt)
Peasant-Fancying... And A Touch Of The Roaming Cowboy
Les Miserables (Drink With Me)
Outside Artefacts And The Power Of Association
Mahler's Sleighbells
Symphony No.4 (Opening)
A Roll-Call Of Some Unusual Guests/The Typewriter/Parade
Chains, And More/Integrales/An American In Paris/Sandpaper Ballet
Purpose-Built Oddities: Wind Machines/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Opening)
Don Quixote (Variation VIII)
National Calling Cards: The Guitar For Spain/Concierto De Aranjuez (Finale)
And The Guitar's Poor American Relative, The Banjo/Washington Breakdown
And Poorer Still, The Mouth Organ/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Packing Up)
The Balalaika For Russia/Romeo And Juliet (Act II: No.14)
The Maracas For Mexico/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (El Desayuno)
The Bongos And Congas And A Whole Wealth Of Other Drums For Africa And Central America/Studio Example
The Sitar Of India/Evening Raga: Bhapoli
The Accordion For France (Especially Paris)/Paris Canaille
The Zither For Vienna/The Third Man (Theme)
The Cimbalom For Hungary/Folk Dances
The Guitar As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Rondena
There Are Whole Orchestras Of Balalaikas./Sveit Mesiats
The Effect Of The Wordless Human Voice, Used Purely As An Instrument/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
Nocturnes
Instruments And the Imitation Of Nature. The Clarinet As Cuckoo
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Cuckoo)
The Flute As An All-purpose Aviary
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aviary)
The Oboe As Duck
Peter And The Wolf (The Duck)
The Recording Of Reality. Does It Work As Well?
The Pines Of Rome (The Pines Of The Janiculum)
The Recording Of Reality Electronically Reborn In New Guises
Cantus Articus - Concerto For Birds And Orchesra (Mvt 2)
Beethoven Turns Avian: Cuckoo, Nightingale, And Quail
Symphony No.6 'Pastoral' (Andante Molto Mosso)
Some Improbable Casting: The Violin As Braying Donkey
The Carnival Of The Animals (Persons With Long Ears)
A Truly Orchestral Hee-haw To Be Reckoned With
Overture To 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
A Thunderstorm In A Million
Symphony No.6 'Pastoral (Allegro-Allegretto)
the Instrumental Depiction Of A Silent World
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aquarium)
Saint-Saens' Menagerie Takes A Curtain Call.
The Carnival Of The Animals (Finale)

Tracks:

The Grouping Of Instrumental Families. An Additive Approach. First, Two Violins
Forty-Four Duos (No.4)
A Great Contrast, Of Both Pitch And Character: Violin And Viola
Duo For Violin And Viola In B Flat Major, K.424 (Finale, Vars 1 & 2)/Studio Example
Arrival Of The Standard String Trio: Violin, Viola, And Cello
String Trio In B Flat (Menuetto)
The String Quartet: Two Violins, Viola, And Cello
String Quartet In F, Op.18 No.1 (Mvt 3)
The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Viola
String Quartet No.5 In D, K.593 (Adagio)
The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Cello
String Quintet In C (Mvt 3)
The String Sextet: Two Violins, Two Violas, And Two Cellos
String Sextet In B Flat (Mvt 2)
The String Octet: The Standard String Quaret Times Two
Octet In E Flat, Op.20 (Mvt 1)
Double The String Octet: A Fully Fledged String Orchestra
String Symphony No.2 (Finale)
The Massed Strings Of A Symphony Orchestra
Fantasia On A Theme Of Thomas Tallis
Contrasts Of Pitch And Instrumental 'Colour' In The Woodwind Section
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Theme)
In The First Variation It's The Horn That Gets The Lion's Share.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 1
In Variation Two The Torch Is Handed To The Bassoon.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 2
In Variation Three The Oboe Leads.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 3
Variation Four: Conversation Before Returning To A Solo-dominated Texture
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 4
And Variation Five is Dominated By The Clarinet.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 5
The Next To Be Featured Is The Virtuoso Flute.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 6
Individual Farewells And A Closing Chorus
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 7
A Mixed Group: Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, String Quartet, And Double-Bass
Octet In F (Mvt 3)
The Early Classical Symphony Orchestra Of Haydn And Mozart
Symphony No.29 In A, K.201 (Finale)
Strings, Wind, But No Brass. What Haydn And Mozart Never Knew
Canzon 28
Beethoven's Fifth: Two Horns, Two Trumpets, And Three Trombones Join The Team.
Symphony No.5 (Finale)
From Beethoven To The Massive Orchestras Of Berlioz, Wagner, And Mahler
Beethoven Changed The Face Of The Symphony And The Orchestra Forever
Symphoy No.6 'Tragic' (Mvt 1)
The Cult Of Orchestral Elephantiasis Reaches Its Peak.
Symphony No.1 'Gothic' (VI: Te Ergo Quaesumus)
When Large Doesn't Necessarily Mean Loud: Debussy
Images (Gigues)
A Crisis Of Confidence; The Orchestra's Survival Hangs In The Balance, But It Still Develops. The Ondes Martenot:
Turangalila Symphony (Chant D'amour 1)
The Advent Of The 'Early Music' Movement Brings A New Vitality And Freshness.
Balle De Xerxes (Gavotte En Rondeau)
Computer And Synthesiser: Friends Or Foes?
Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
A Speculative Look Ahead/Mass In B Minor ('Dona Nobis Pacem')

Customer Reviews:

Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material!.......2007-04-04

This set lends itself to greatly enhancing one's knowledge of the orchestra, instruments in it, and their usage. I am a huge music buff, and I still picked up a great deal I previously did not know. I highly recommend this for all who wish to understand the origin of music, as well as the processes that are employed to create music!

Beginner or Expert.......2007-03-12

This CD is excellent for the beginner or expert! To be able to haear the instrumets separately and then together really provides a good education. and/or refresher. The book thaty comes with the CD is alomost worth the price by itself!

Very Informative and Enjoyable.......2006-11-20

Whether you're a music novice or pro, "The instruments of the Orchestra" is a very worthwhile purchase. The 7 CDs, with a total of 8 hours, are expertly narrated by Jeremy Siepmann. He's a great speaker, very much like the late Leonard Bernstein was. Mr. Siepmann takes you on an unforgetable musical journey covering the origins and use of the various orchestral instruments throughout musical history. The balance between his narration and a wealth of musical examples, which range from snippets to entire movements, is superb. The comprehensive enclosed booklet is excellent and faithfully follows the 7 CDs in content. Even with my 40+ years of music training I still learned new things from this wonderful collection. Considering the excellence of the content, and a cost that translates to about $5 per disc, this collection is a great value. Grab it, you won't regret that you did. Five solid stars!

Frank's view.......2006-08-19

This boxed set of CD's with booklet achieved all I had hoped that it would. There are good samples of individual instruments and well done commentary on each. The only drawback was that some of the samples were too brief and could have been longer, hoiwever I guess this fits in with time constraints of the medium. It has given me a lot of clues as to future purchases of CD's for listening to individual instruments. Altogeth a satisfactory purchase and a welcome addition to my collection.

Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra.......2003-11-08

I've listened to classical music for years and am interested in composition. I bought this CD set to learn how an orchestra and its instruments work. I thought the CDs would be a nice but boring lecture. They aren't! Not only are they FUN but they are informative as well. I learned a huge amount from each CD and couldn't wait to listen to the next one.

The narrator and writer is a great speaker and holds your attention well. He is definitely knowledgeable. He provides musical examples for each point he makes, so you get to "hear" what he just talked about. I'd say the CDs are about 65% music and 35% narration. You'll learn about the range of instruments, some history, different ways to play them, how they sound, and how they are used in the orchestra. This CD set was a great learning experience and is sold at such a low price!

I recommend this CD for those who want to learn about classical music and those who know about it but are interested in learning more about the inner workings of an orchestra. You'll learn much useful information. For instance, the Rite of Spring (with that eerie start) is written for bassoon! I never knew a bassoon could sound like that but now I do.

Tracks:

Time To Change
Yeah
Fragile Heart
That Name
In The Midst Of It All
The Things We Do
Open My Heart
Wherever You Are
He'll Arrive (Coming Back)
Continual Praise
Already Alright

Amazon.com's Best of 1999

On her major-label debut, accomplished singer Yolanda Adams effortlessly mixes the sounds of deep gospel soul and smooth R&B with contemporary jazz and rap. Not just updating black gospel music, she fearlessly revives it with contemporary music--and not in any hokey way, mind you--and a timeless, unassailably intense spirituality. --Mike McGonigal

Amazon.com

Recognized in the last decade as one of modern gospel's seminal voices, Yolanda Adams is clearly poised to take up the torch from foremothers such as Mavis Staples and Aretha Franklin with her Elektra debut, Mountain High... Valley Low. Adams brings her music to a wider audience not by watering down her message, but by making a record of supreme power, conviction, and glorious beauty, incorporating elements of traditional gospel, hip-hop, jazz, and R&B into daring arrangements. "The Things We Do" is a gorgeous ballad with samples of JFK and MLK speaking some of their most famous words of commitment. And "Yeah," easily one of 1999's best R&B singles, is a masterfully ebullient song of praise and dedication marrying thick, funky beats with divinely soulful vocals. A bright and shining testament to faith in a higher power, Adams uses her extraordinary vocal prowess to uplift her listeners and to elucidate the pure joy of spiritual and musical flight. She not just crosses but banishes lines of separation. --Paige La Grone

Customer Reviews:

Loving it.......2006-11-03

Somebody gave me a tape some years ago and I fell in love with it. I ordered a CD to add to my collections, I love all the songs so this gets 5 stars from me.

Great CD!.......2006-03-09

This CD has a wonderful array of worship and contemporary gospel songs. My favorite song is 'In the Midst of it all'. Therefore, if it were the only song on the CD I would be thrilled.

Buy it, it's worth your investment!

AWESOME AWESOME .......2005-10-20

THIS IS JUST AWESOME. ALL OF THE SONGS ARE GOOD AND FILL WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT. THIS NEEDS TO BE IN EVERYONES GOSPEL COLLECTION. THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST CD THAT I HAVE. THIS CD IS AWESOME. YOLANDA ADAMS DID AN EXCELLENT JOB ON THIS CD. THIS IS GREAT. EVERY SONG ON THIS SONG IS NICE HAVE NICE BEAT AND YOU GET A BLESSING EVERYTIME YOU HEAR IT.

Breathtaking.......2005-08-06

This is Yolanda Adams at her very best! "Open My Heart" is breathtaking, but just as stellar is "The Things We Do", with audio footage of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the background. This song lets you know that it's the little everyday things we do for the people we love that matter. Yolanda, the things YOU do and the things YOU say are the greatest gifts you'll ever give away!!!

Yolanda "Opens Her Heart" on this album!!!.......2004-12-16

Yolanda is one of the great gospel artists of our time. Her voice is amazing. Which makes this album one of her best. This album fills you with joy, love, and the praise for God. The album opens with the song "Time To Change" which explains "It's been too long it's time to change, you can't get away with everything. Which is a true message, I really love that song. Another song "In The Midst Of It All" says that throughout your storm Jesus will be with you in the midst of it all. The lord will never leave you. Her amazing song "Open My Heart" is a great song that says when you open your heart to Jesus and let him in he will heal you of your problems. I really love that amazing song from Yolanda. Following this song is "Whever you Are" which is saying wherever Jesus is where I wanna be. I love the beat on that song and the message is a strong one. Well that's my review on the album. I really think this album is one that's worth buying. Yolanda really opened her heart in this inspirational gospel project.

Average customer rating:

Review(How original huh?)
Music that transcends simple meaning...

A River Runs Through It

Manufacturer: Milan Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music
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Legends Of The Fall: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
The Horse Whisperer: Original Score
A River Runs through It and Other Stories, Twenty-fifth Anniversary Edition
Dances with Wolves
A River Runs Through It

ASIN: B0007NFL54
Release Date: 2005-03-01

Tracks:

A River Runs Through It
Casting Presbyterian Style
A Land Filled With Wonder
Down The Alley (With You)
A Summer Of Lumber And Fishing
Shooting The Schutes
Three Fishermen
A Trip To The Unknown
A Four Count Rhythm
The Shiek Of Araby
Bye Bye Blackbird - Prudence Johnson
Je Ne Sais Quois
Swing Me High, Swing Me Low
A Place Remembered
A Remark Was Passed
Rugged Cross
Muskrat Ramble
Rawhide
The Wild Ride
Early Departure
The Splendor In The Grass
Jessie And Norman
Lolo's
The High Road
Yes, Quite A Day
A Fine Fisherman And The Big Blackfoot River
The Moment That Could Not Last
Too Deep For Tears
Without Complete Understanding
In The Half-Light Of The Canyon
Haunted By Waters - A River Runs Through It (Reprise)
Exclusive Interview With Mark Isham

Album Description

A River Runs Through It features Mark Isham's Grammy-and Academy Award-nominated score, plus the songs "The Sheik of Araby" written by Harry B. Smith, Ted Snyder & Francis Wheeler, "Bye Bye Blackbird" written by Mort Dixon & Ray Henderson, and "Muskrat Ramble" written by Ray Gilbert and Edward 'Kid' Ory.

Customer Reviews:

Review(How original huh?).......2007-01-25

Personally, this is one of the absolute BEST soundtracks I have ever listened to. The music is calming, soothing, and truly wonderful. The music is so well put together and nicely coordinated and I feel like I am watching the movie again...it also makes great to read the Laura Ingalls Wilder books too. Try it...you might be suprised how well it fits. :)

Music that transcends simple meaning..........2006-07-16

Mark Isham's score for the motion picture A River Runs Through It is one of the most memorable and emotionally captivating film scores of all time. The arrangements of strings, piano, woodwinds create a meditative and reflective range of music throughout the film capturing all the emotions of this powerful drama about an American family in rural Montana. It is at once deeply haunting, moving, nostalgic and sentimental and captures the innocence and beauty of nature and childhood, as well as darker themes of rebellion and tragedy. There is a profound sense of emotion that is embedded within the music that sweeps over me every time I hear it. A combination of happiness, sadness, excitement, and reflection. There is something simply sweeping and majestic within his music. I couldn't think of anything else that would better compliment the film. Highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

High Quality Power Pop/Alterno-Rock
Slightly above generic
Nada Surf's Shining Moment.
strong stuff
The one that started it all

High/Low
Nada Surf
Manufacturer: Elektra / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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

Punk-Pop | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Post Grunge | American Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

4-for-3 Alternative Rock | 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
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The Proximity Effect
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ASIN: B000002HM6
Release Date: 1996-06-18

Tracks:

Deeper Well
The Plan
Popular
Sleep
Stalemate
Treehouse
Icebox
Psychic Caramel
Hollywood
Zen Brain

Customer Reviews:

High Quality Power Pop/Alterno-Rock.......2006-07-06

This is a really good album of punchy rock... while it is labeled "alternative" by some, Nada Surf is so straightforward and refreshing on HIGH/LOW, they seem to be channeling the best parts of Jimmy Eats World and Weezer at the same time. The songwriting quality is excellent, and the lyrics are often meaningful, witty, or poignant, hinting at the moments of genius to come on future CDs like LET GO.

So if you like quality power pop/alterno-rock, give HIGH/LOW a spin. "Zen Brain" alone is worth the price of admission.

Slightly above generic.......2006-03-20

With few exceptions, this album sloshes through with pretty mechanical inclanations..Nada Surf were obviously just starting out, and by no means is it a bad debut rock alternative album, but it is definitly the wrong place to start, hardly hinting at their greatness to come..

Nada Surf's Shining Moment........2006-01-08

High/Low.

Released in 1996 this LP caused quite the stir in the rock world. Mostly for the smart and sassy tune "Popular." You might still hear that tune occasionally on a alternative rock station.

People who looked past that one hit and picked up this gem were treated to one of the perhaps most overlooked rock albums of the 1990s. Some accused it of being a poor Weezer rip off. I argue its superior in so many ways and its an essentual 90s rock album.

Its an album with Umph. It picks you up, and at least in my case inspires me. When you hit play "Deeper Well" starts pumping and sucks you right into the album. The vibe and the swagger of the record are infectious.

The pacing and song layout are almost perfect.

Ric Ocasek does a masterful job getting a great power sound out of the band. It sounds like a clean garage band recording. For a loud heavy album, its intimate sounding which is quite an accomplishment. All the instruments sound great.

Standout Tracks:
Psychic Caramel
Deeper Well
Stalemate
The Plan
Popular
Zen Brain (a perfect closer)

Sadly after this, Nada Surf changed musical directions. Unhappy with this direction shift they were dropped by Elektra Records. I honestly can't blame Elektra Records. When I shelled out $30 plus dollars for "Proxmity Effect" (AU import only in those days) because I was dying to hear it - I was extremely let down. It wasn't what I was expecting. The fun & inspiration was gone, as was the swagger. "Proximity Effect" is a morose, depressing, angsty and even preachy record. I listened to "Let Go" a couple of years ago, which didn't appeal to me either.

Fans of newer Nada Surf releases tend to look down at this effort. This is because it being a louder, brasher, faster, sassier record while having this b*tchin' swagger. Thats not what Nada Surf is today.

This album proudly stands on its own compared to the subdued material that came later.

I'll take this album over anything they've done since. It still inspires me on multiple levels and its brillance still shines brightly.

strong stuff.......2005-11-30

a decade after its release, this album still touches me. it brings back a lot of memories. if you think nada surf is just about "popular," you're missing out. every song is frustrated and melancholy. "deeper well" voices frustration at a romantic partner. "the plan" seems to be about feeling trapped in life and trying to find a plan, a way out and what to do. stalemate, treehouse and icebox are all great songs that lament a dying relationship. "psychic caramel" is the weakest, i think it's about the environment. "hollywood" is a surprisingly emotional song about trying to fit in with the cool people in every phase of life. and "zen brain" closes with sadness over aging and things not changing. this is great, original alternative rock music. the guy who says they're trying to be weezer doesn't have a clue. i'm a huge weezer fan too, and though they are similar to weezer in some ways, such as making catchy pop-rock and quirky lyrics, nada surf has NO interest whatsoever in being weezer, and prove it even more with their follow-up to this, the proximity effect. i recommend that one too. but if i had to pick only one to take to a desert island, it would definitely be this one.

The one that started it all.......2005-03-13

Yes this album will probably always be remembered for the hit signle "popular", but this album has some damn good tunes. The opening track "Deeper Well" sucks you right in and pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the album. Right after that is "The Plan" which keeps the rock going. The album continues to pick up steam as it rolls along, and "Psychic Caramel" and "Zen Brain" are the 2 best tracks in my opinion.

This album is enjoyable and easy to listen to, and I would highly suggest checking out Nada's other efforts to see how much they have grown from the days of High/Low.

Album Review:

Album Review

Album Review