Kansas City

Kansas City

ASIN: B00005YTVP

Track Listings

1. Singing The Blues

2. Make The World Go Away

3. Boogie Back To Texas

4. Don't Worry Bout' Me

5. Louisiana Saturday Night

6. I'm Taking Back The Me In Me And You

7. When Did You Stop Loving Me

8. Kansas City

9. Sea Of Love

Editorial Reviews
About the Artist
The Starlight Review Band is a Mostly Country Band with 5 members that are all second generation regional players. Each with a minimum of 30 years of experience in their background. The band consists of founder Ted Kauffman, vocals, rhythm guitar and saxophone, John McCall, vocals and 2nd lead guitar, Joe Flowers, vocals, 1st lead guitar, Tommy Dunn, drums, and Kenny Poole, Bass, steel guitar and keyboards. The band has existed for over 20 years. John has been a member of the band for over 13 years. Joe and Tommy have been with the band for 10 years and Kenny is the newest member with 1 year.

The band opens for Nashville, TN acts several times per year at some of the regions nicer venues. Always bringing great response from the audience and the Nashville Artists.

The CD is getting some local airplay on some of the AM Stations and is currently being submitted to some of the FM Stations as well.

Each Member brings great talent and conviction to the stage. John is the writer of the New Original Tune "I'm Taking Back The Me In Me And You". I'm sure you will enjoy it. It is true Country Music in a Classic Style.

Product Description
"Kansas City" is and Album featuring the Original Song "I'm Taking Back The Me In Me And You", written and performed by John McCall. The early feedback on this song at the venue's where we are performing it is excellent.

The album also features great covers of some Classic Tunes. Most are Country, one is 50's (Sea Of Love).

Tracks:

Overture - Rodgers & Hammerstein
Main Title - Rodgers & Hammerstein
Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin' - Gordon MacRae
The Surrey With The Fringe On Top - Gordon MacRae/Shirley Jones/Charlotte Greenwood
Kansas City - Gene Nelson/Charlotte Greenwood/Men's Chorus
Kansas City Ballet - Rodgers & Hammerstein
I Cain't Say No - Gloria Grahame
Many A New Day - Shirley Jones/Girls' Chorus
Many A New Day Ballet - Rodgers & Hammerstein
People Will Say We're In Love - Gordon McaRae/Shirley Jones
Pore Jud Is Daid - Gordon MacRae/Rod Steiger
Out Of My Dreams - Shirley Jones/Girls' Chorus
Out Of My Dreams Ballet - Rodgers & Hammerstein
Entr' Acte - Rodgers & Hammerstein
The Farmer And The Cowman - Gordon MacRae/Charlotte Greenwood/Gene Nelson/J.C. Flippen/James Whitmore/Gloria Grahame...
The Farmer And The Cowman Ballet - Rodgers & Hammerstein
All Er Nuthin' - Gloria Grahame/Gene Nelson
All Er Nuthin' Ballet - Rodgers & Hammerstein
People Will Say We're In Love - Gordon MacRae/Shirley Jones
Oklahoma - Gordon MacRae/Shirley Jones/Charlotte Greenwood/Gloria Grahame/Gene Nelson/Rod Steiger...
Finale: Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin' - Gordon MacRae/Shirley Jones/Charlotte Greenwood/Gloria Grahame/Gene Nelson/Rod Steiger...
Overture (LP Version) - Rodgers & Hammerstein

Customer Reviews:

MacRae and Jones head a superb and O.K. adaptation.......2007-03-16

The film adaptation of Oklahoma heralded a technological breakthrough in widescreen cinema just as the original stage musical ushered in the integrated book musical. As such this film adaptation was treated as a special occasion, well-supervised by the creators themselves. The soundtrack, featured here, boasts sterling performances from MacRae and Jones making the most of their portrayals of Curly and Laurey, backed by a charismatic cast and superb orchestrations. And of course let's not forget the enveloping stereo sound that holds up well even today.

Despite being a Hollywood star, Gordon MacRae performs the part of Curly as if he was born to play it even on the stage. He shines vocally in his renditions of Oh, what a Beautiful Mornin' and Surrey with the Fringe on Top. He is well-partnered by Shirley Jones as a fresh and pert Laurey, lending her beautiful voice to the part. Although we don't hear much of her on this soundtrack, her partnering MacRae in People Will Say We're in Love exudes a masterful chemistry, as if they were setting sparks off at each other in their rendition of the song. Gene Nelson makes a dashing Will Parker and is equally well-matched by Gloria Grahame as Ado Annie. Grahame renders I Cain't Say No splendidly and partners Nelson in All er Nothin'. The supporting cast is filled out by Charlotte Greenwood's suitably caustic Aunt Eller and Rod Steiger's Jud. It's a pity that the film cut the song Lonely Room, otherwise Steiger would have better demonstrated the dark hues of the character of Jud. Yet it all adds up to a wonderful renditionh of this classic musical, enough to elicit a spontaneous YEOW! during this year of the Oklahoma centenary.

This EMI-Angel reissue offers one the advantage of the dance music and the main titles. This means that the listener gets the Kansas City and Farmer and the Cowman dance sequences, as well as the extended Dream Ballet. The only downside is the extraneous sound effects lifted from a DVD copy of the movie. Yes I share many of your sentiments that these sound effects tend to grate, and long for Didier Deutsch to have used the original untainted studio vault versions. However, let's at least be thankful that the CD producers have offered us a more comprehensive version of the Oklahoma soundtrack that we could only have dreamt of in the past.

In short, this is a wonderful and valuable addition to the R&H discography, and is an equally celebrated rendition of the score like the original Broadway cast recording. Warmly recommended to those who seek even their first version of Oklahoma.

Broadway in a movie setting at it's very best!.......2007-03-06

I have the original Broadway version, but prefer this movie selection.
The CD is flawless and, in my opinion, there's nothing better than a Rodgers
and Hammerstein musical for music, lyrics and pure joy! This is the best!

Wonderful.......2007-01-30

A great way to introduce oneself to the world of the nearly extinct Hollywood musical.

Beauiful.......2006-06-05

A true musical theater classic. Wonderful melodies that will last for years to come.
Other classics not to forget about are:
Mary Poppins
My Fair Lady
The Wizard of Oz
Chitty Chitty Bang Band
The first Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The Sound of Music
Oliver
West Side Story
Fiddler on the Roof
Singing in the Rain
The Wiz
Little Mermaid
Aladdin
Beauty and the Beast
Grease
The King and I
Oklahoma
The Music Man
South Pacific

My Voice Students are always asking me for recommendations so I though I'd post it for all! We can't forget about these great musicals!

Oh, what a beautiful sound!.......2006-03-26

Oklahoma has never sounded better as sung by Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones in the 1955 movie version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's unforgettable Broadway musical. The memory of MacRae's beautiful voice lives on with this CD. I never tire of hearing this wonderful music. From the opening overture to the finale you will feel as though you're right in the theater.

Average customer rating:

Ravishing A Cappella Choral Singing of a Russian Liturgical Masterpiece

Grechaninov: Passion Week [SACD]

Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Eternal Rest - Phoenix Bach Choir, Kansas City Chorale
Tic, Toc, Choc
Piano Concertos by Tchaikovsky & Medtner [Hybrid SACD]
Carl Nielsen, Orchestral Music
Handel - Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno

ASIN: B000N39HC6
Release Date: 2007-04-24

Tracks:

Behold The Bridegroom
I See Thy Bridal Chamber
In Thy Kingdom
Gladsome Light
Let My Prayer Be Set Forth
Now The Powers Of Heaven
At Thy Mystical Supper
The Wise Thief
Thou Who Clothest Thyself
The Lord Is God...The Noble Joseph
Weep Not For Me, O Mother
As Many Of You...Arise, O God
Let All Mortal Flesh

Customer Reviews:

Ravishing A Cappella Choral Singing of a Russian Liturgical Masterpiece.......2007-05-25

For starters, this CD contains some of the finest a cappella singing I've ever heard. Its sumptuous choral tone must be heard to be believed. It is done by two professional choirs from seemingly unlikely places, the combined Kansas City Chorale and Phoenix Bach Choir. I have raved about their prior recordings both separately and in combination but this release possibly tops anything they've done, at least in terms of ineffably beautiful a cappella choral sound. The Grechaninov 'Passion Week' is a setting of thirteen pieces with texts in Church Slavonic meant to be sung individually over the period of Passion Week, the days leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. (And, frankly, I would suggest that listeners ration their listening to one or two sections of the work at a time, in order to experience the unique effect of each individual piece, although there is something to be said for listening to the whole thing -- 74-plus minutes -- to experience its almost hypnotizing cumulative effect.) The Russian Orthodox Church has a tradition of morning and evening services during Passion Week when the passion week's events are recalled almost in 'real time.' The music itself is generally slow, meditative, largely monophonic and almost trance-like. It must be incredibly difficult to sing. One can only imagine the kind of breath support required. One notices that the usual number of singers in these two choirs has been supplemented by several additional basses, no surprise considering the long legato lines required of that section. Their low C's and even B's resound like the tolling of great bells throughout the work. One could almost surmise, if one didn't know, that this was the singing of a Russian choir, so noted for their deep basses, except that the blending and rounding of the choral tone is so very much more subtle than is generally heard from Russian choruses. The work is entirely choral, but there are occasional soprano, tenor and baritone solos which consist mostly of chants sung against the main body of massed sound.

Aleksandr Tikhonovich Grechaninov (1864-1956) was a few years older than Sergey Rachmaninov and his sacred music is in many ways similar in style to that of the better-known composer. Grechaninov's 'Passion Week' was written in 1912, shortly before Rachmaninov wrote his well-known 'Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom' which has also been recorded by the Kansas City Chorale in a lauded release which unfortunately is not easily availabel these days but worth seeking out. After the Revolution Grechaninov emigrated from the Soviet Union and eventually wound up in the US where he became a citizen. He continued, even after leaving Russia, to write music for emigré congregations of the Russian church although he also began writing liturgical works for the Roman Catholic Church as well. His sacred music is what he is best known for, although he also wrote operas, songs and orchestral works.

There is no question that Charles Bruffy, the conductor of both the Phoenix Bach Choir and the Kansas City Chorale, is one of the most talented choirmasters currently working anywhere in the world. He may very well be the US analog to Eric Ericson of Sweden or Laurence Equilbey of France. Certainly his choruses' style is more European than English, and it is to the English Chandos label's credit that they have added these two Bruffy-directed choirs to their roster. One looks forward to any and all future releases from these marvelous groups.

This is a hybrid SACD disc which means it can be played on both a regular CD player or on SACD equipment. In either format the sound is rich, warm and true.

The previous release of the combined Phoenix Bach Choir and the Kansas City Chorale, featuring mainly the Mass for Double Choir by Frank Martin, is here: Eternal Rest - Phoenix Bach Choir, Kansas City Chorale

Scott Morrison

Eternal Rest - Phoenix Bach Choir, Kansas City Chorale

Average customer rating:

brief correction
Exceptional...a Reference CD!!
The Best Choral CD I've Heard This Year

Eternal Rest - Phoenix Bach Choir, Kansas City Chorale
Phoenix Bach Choir , and Kansas City Chorale
Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Grechaninov: Passion Week [SACD]
Eric Whitacre: Cloudburst and other choral works
Morten Lauridsen: Nocturnes
Shakespeare in Song [Hybrid SACD]
Fern Hill

ASIN: B000IB0JSE
Release Date: 2006-11-21

Tracks:

Andante, Rubato. 'Lux Aeterna Luceat Eis, Domine' - Andante Pesante. 'Domine, Miserere, Domine - Andante Pesante. 'Domine, Miserere, Domine' Con Moto...
Tempo Rubato
Kyrie. Lent
Gloria. Calme Sans Tratner
Credo.
Sanctus
Agnus Dei. Andante
Sostenuto

Customer Reviews:

brief correction.......2007-06-08

Just a brief correction to a previous review: Clausen's "In Pace" was written in 1996-97. Clausen says about the piece:

"I composed 'In Pace' initially in response to ... the Holocaust, following a visit to the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz, Poland, by the Concordia Choir in 1996. Rather than portray the horrible drama of those events, I chose a tone poem which is a supplication for peace and rest for those who lost their lives there."

However, the official dedication is "In Memory of Cantor Stuart Pittle of Temple Jedea of Coral Gables, Florida" (commissioned by the University of Miami Chorale, Jo-Michael Scheibe, Conductor.)

There is another wonderful recording with this piece called "In the New Moon" by the Concordia Choir (all around wonderful recording).

About this disk: Very fine choral singing, and wonderful literature!

Exceptional...a Reference CD!!.......2007-05-11

Since the break up of the Dale Warland Singers, I have been looking for my next benchmark choir and I believe I have found it in Mr. Bruffy's combined Kansas City Chorale and Phoenix Bach Choir. Perhaps not quite up to the Dale Warland standard, but very close- blend, intonation, balance is absolutely spot on. Occasionally (and this is a nit pic), attacks are not exactly together; by this I mean that if you turn the volume up very high a section of the choir may come in a half second before the rest of the group, however, this does not detract from the music at all and I only mention it here because they are already close to perfection.
As for this disc, I was blown away. I sat, spellbound for an hour. Never once does the choir lose its balance or intensity -difficult to do when the music gets quiet, and rest assured with a title like eternal rest miles and miles of soft singing exists here. In essence this disc includes the best performance of Ticheli's piece I have ever heard and the Martin is a strong contender for best. On a side note, Chandos has some fantastic engineers working for them as every Cd I have heard recorded by them has been phenominally done and this one is no different. Do yourself a favor and buy this disc, I will be snapping up all their other material as well.

The Best Choral CD I've Heard This Year.......2006-12-21

There is little question that I'll run out of superlatives before I get to the end of this review. I was so taken by this CD that features the combined forces of the Phoenix Bach Choir and the Kansas City Chorale that I was actually daunted by the prospect of writing a review that would do it justice. I finally decided I had to jump in and let the plaudits fall where they may, even if the review risks sounding breathlessly sophomoric.

If nothing else this disc proves the assertion that one doesn't have to live in the largest metropolitan centers to hear absolutely top-rank choral singing. Both these professional choirs are directed by Charles Bruffy who, over the last twenty years, has made a real name for himself in American choral circles. This CD can do nothing but elevate his and the choirs' status further.

The disc contains four relatively unknown works. Probably the best known, but hardly known for all that, is the Mass for Double Choir by the Swiss composer Frank Martin, written when he was fairly young and before his harmonic language became more advanced. It is a half-hour work that magically combines Renaissance polyphony with post-impressionist harmonies. It was obviously written with the resonant acoustics of a cathedral in mind; harmonic motion is generally slow, with the ethereal harmonies hanging in the acoustic space and occasionally blurring ecstatically. The Gloria is especially striking in this regard; instead of being a spirited song of praise, it is a musing, introspective meditation on the glory of God. The 'et incarnatus' section of the Credo is mystical, hushed, ecstatic. The Sanctus is quiet, incorporating a haunting descending figure on the words 'sanctus, sanctus, sanctus' ('holy, holy, holy') but when the text reaches 'pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua' ('Heaven and earth are full of your glory') the choral sound, rarely above a mezzo forte up to this point, bursts forth in exuberant praise, all the more effective for the previously sparing use of loud dynamics. The beginning of the Agnus dei has a medieval ars antiqua feel that becomes, at 'miserere', a veritable wail of pain, before it resolves into quiet acceptance at 'dona nobis pacem.' This is a powerfully effective work that deserves to be better known. It must be exceedingly difficult to sing, however, partly because it is a cappella (as is all the music on this CD), harmonically difficult to tune (although very easy for the listener to grasp), and requiring extraordinary breath control, especially for the lower voices who much of the time provide an organum, a harmonic plane supporting the sometimes seemingly disconnected upper harmonies. This is a gorgeous performance; it is hard to imagine it being bettered. I had heard a performance of the Martin Mass only once before, many years ago, and it made a lasting impression. I am thrilled to become reacquainted with it.

The CD begins with the Canticum Calamitatis Maritimae by Finnish composer Jaakko Mäntyjärvi (b 1963). It commemorates a 1994 Estonian maritime disaster in which 852 lives were lost. The work, 13 minutes long, combines the Latin words from Psalm 107 ('They that go down to the sea in ships') with words from the Requiem Mass and a Latin translation of a news report concerning the tragedy. This first track on the CD starts with over twenty seconds of silence out of which grows the quiet voice of a single woman's voice (alto Kira Z. Rugan) intoning what sounds like an Estonian folksong of mourning. Again, harmonic motion is extremely slow and the dynamic generally quite soft; the ability of the combined choirs to maintain pitch, centered tone and extremely long note values is eerily expert. A haunting work.

René Clausen is a choral composer and conductor well-known in American choral circles. His 'In Pace' concludes the disc. It is an eight-minute work honoring the victims of 9/11. The opening line, sung in Latin, is 'In peace I shall lay me down and take my rest' from Psalm 4, followed by 'If I surrender my eyes and eyelids to slumber, I shall sleep and rest' from Psalm 132. Harmonic language is not all that different from that of the Martin and the first time I listened to the CD I was not aware that the Martin had ended and the Clausen begun.

For me the most immediately appealing work (after the Martin) on the disc is Frank Ticheli's 'There Will Be Rest', written in 2000 after the death of the child of some friends. Its text is a lyrical poem by Sara Teasdale and Ticheli has used consolingly lush harmonic language. It is an immensely popular work these days, having aready been recorded several times. I am familiar with the recording of the Austin, Texas choir called Conspirare (whose most recent disc was just nominated for a Grammy) and I have to say that I much prefer the performance presented here by the Kansas City and Phoenix choirs largely because the work requires subtle blending and unending breath support at very soft dynamics, which these choirs provide in abundance. Indeed, one of the amazing things about these combined choirs is that even at the softest dynamics their tone always has body, a center and a spin, a very hard thing to do consistently. [In checking the Internet for more about Ticheli, I noted this from the composer about the present performance: 'Of the half dozen or so recordings of my piece, "There Will Be Rest", this is by far the best of them.']

Finally, a word about the sound on this hybrid SACD from Chandos. The engineering here is absolutely first-rate. In SACD the sound is spectacular, possibly the best choral sound I've ever heard on disc, and frankly sound on the plain stereo layer is not discernibly inferior to the SACD sound. I'm delighted to note that these two choirs are now recording for Chandos because one can rely on the label to give them top-notch production values. I understand that they will have a new release of music by Gretchaninov coming out some time in the next few months. Given the glorious blend (and the marvelous basses, particularly, so necessary for Russian choral music) of these combined choirs, I can only imagine it, too, will be marvelous.

Urgently recommended.

Scott Morrison

Rodgers & Hammerstein: Songbook for Orchestra (Orchestral Suites)

Average customer rating:

Irresistible
"Some Enchanted Evening" with Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops
Excellent!
Great Arrangments

Rodgers & Hammerstein: Songbook for Orchestra (Orchestral Suites)

Manufacturer: Telarc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Musical Theater | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music

Orchestral Pop | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Lerner & Loewe Songbook for Orchestra
Rodgers & Hammerstein - The Complete Overtures ~ Opening Night / Hollywood Bowl Orchestra · Mauceri
Puttin' on the Ritz: The Great Hollywood Musicals
The Sound Of Music (1987 Studio Cast)
Classics of the Silver Screen

ASIN: B000003CXQ
Release Date: 1992-01-28

Tracks:

Oklahoma!
Carousel
State Fair
South Pacific
The King And I
Cinderella Waltz
Flower Drum Song
The Sound Of Music

Customer Reviews:

Irresistible.......2005-07-29

From beginning to end this CD is pure delight. A great recording has great music, a great performance, and great sound; this one scores on all three counts.

Rodgers and Hammerstein's musicals dominated Broadway in the 1940s and 1950s, and American musical theater has produced no more consistently eloquent and durable voice than Richard Rodgers. From his fertile genius flowed a surprising number of memorable songs, many of which have passed into and become an accepted and beloved part of modern American culture.

This well-filled CD (77:36) features symphonic arrangements (all but two by Robert Russell Bennett) of the music from Oklahoma (1943), Carousel (1945), State Fair (1945), South Pacific (1949), The King and I (1951), Flower Drum Song (1958), and The Sound of Music (1959). All the great tunes are here in suites from each musical that average 10-12 minutes in length. The arrangements are expert: rich, varied, and colorful. The performances are polished, idiomatic, and irresistible; Kunzel and this orchestra are thorough masters of this kind of material. And Telarc's sound (recorded 1991) is state-of-the-art (engineer Michael Bishop deserves to take a bow).

In short, there's nothing here to cloud your listening pleasure (the only quibble I can imagine is that some of your favorites may not last long enough), so it's hard for me to envision anyone with ears and a taste for music who wouldn't enjoy this CD. Warmly recommended. Finally, if you like this one as much as I do, you might want to know that the same team has produced a companion volume, the Lerner & Lowe Songbook for Orchestra.

"Some Enchanted Evening" with Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops.......2003-12-26

Erich Kunzel's Rodgers and Hammerstein anthology with the Cincinatti Pops Orchestra is one of the best and most ravishing instrumental Rodgers and Hammerstein albums of all time. With sumptuous arrangements and warm, natural Telarc recording, this glorious 77-minute CD presents sweeping, melodic arrangements of over 60 Rodgers and Hammerstein selections, spanning eight scores, and Kunzel allows the Pops to play with a characterful and polished understanding of the Rodgers and Hammerstein idiom. The disc is enough to cheer you up on a dull day and make you smile, and it might even want to make you feel like a convert to Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals.

This CD has all the scores arranged chronologically. The OKLAHOMA! suite that opens this disc promises a feast for the senses, Kunzel ably evokes the territory's "bright, golden haze" in the way he conducts the various excerpts, until you feel the atmosphere of the country charm of the show, and the love-affair between Curly and Laurey. Then, in CAROUSEL, he ably evokes the pathos of this tragic R&H masterwork, especially in the truncated Waltz, but he leads a wonderfully melodic "June is Bustin' Out All Over" and a devotional "You'll Never Walk Alone." Although this suite does not include Billy's pivotal Soliloquy, it includes "If I Loved You" as an expression of his love for Julie, and within minutes you could be soaked in the ups and downs of the show's mood.

After a brief STATE FAIR suite, with sweeping renditions of "It Might As Well Be Spring" and "It's a Grand Night for Singing", we are brought into the disc's showstopping highlights. These highlights are the excerpts from SOUTH PACIFIC, THE KING AND I, and THE SOUND OF MUSIC. But yet Kunzel conducts the rest of the disc until the various suites amount to a series of showstoppers. These three suites present wonderfully-arranged versions of their many familiar classic songs, with well-played solos. The SOUTH PACIFIC suite presents the songs in chronological order, yet preserves the atmosphere of the show at the same time. Kunzel ably brings out the romance in "Some Enchanted Evening" and "Younger than Springtime," and contrasts it with the exotic and dreamlike "Bali Hai'i" and the comic "There is Nothing like a Dame" and "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair". Although the suite ends quietly with a reprise of "Dites-Moi" rather than the reprise of "Some Enchanted Evening," within minutes we are swept into the KING AND I suite. Kunzel ably brings out the Oriental pathos in this score, and he captures the warmth of Anna's rapport with the King's Siamese children in "Getting to Know You", and with the King himself in "Shall We Dance." There is also romance in the love ballads "I Have Dreamed" and "We Kiss in a Shadow." Similarly, in the selection from THE SOUND OF MUSIC, Kunzel conducts this until the orchestra soaks itself in the atmosphere of this Austrian R&H score. This SOUND OF MUSIC suite has more of a feel of the score compared to the bonus track on Sony's reissued version of the Broadway recording. You can almost feel as if you are following the progress of the Trapp family and how it lifts its spirits with the joy of music. Kunzel gives us a soaring version of the title song, and spirited versions of "Do-Re-Mi" and "My Favourite Things." He balances it with the open-air quality of "Edelweiss" and "The Lonely Goatherd." Although this suite could have included "Something Good," the love ballad written for the film, the three recollections of the songs that were cut from the movie only last for a while. And, the towering version of "Climb Every Mountain" crowns this portion of the disc, and this sumptuously-produced recording. But, I should also mention the infectuous FLOWER DRUM SONG medley, where Kunzel turns this underrated score into a work of art, until it convinces you to buy the cast recording. And, don't forget about the brief CINDERELLA WALTZ, too, when Kunzel conducts it magically, until you feel like you are in the company of Cinderella and the Prince. He is able to show how this R&H score marked a comeback for R&H after the failiures of Me and Juliet, and Pipe Dream.

Overall, this glorious Rodgers and Hammerstein recording is guarunteed to make you want to pucker your lips out for a whistle or sing along (to paraphrase another revew for Kunzel's Disney Spectacular disc) - even if this recording is music only, and as long as you know the words to the songs (and you might know a large handful of them already.) There is always a certain magic in this fine CD that makes you feel like you're sitting in the theatre watching these musicals, until it makes you feel like it is truly, to borrow two R&H song titles, "Some Enchanted Evening" and "Something Wonderful" to be in Kunzel's company for this R&H offering. It would certainly be one recording that could make you feel willing to buy the complete cast recordings of the shows. And I guaruntee that it will make you feel willing to pull out your existing copies of the cast recordings to listen to them again. I also guaruntee that it will be a cornerstone in any Rodgers and Hammerstein collection, just as it is in mine. Recommended heartily to any Rodgers and Hammerstein enthusiast and to fans of Erich Kunzel's work. And, you can play it while reading the Richard Rodgers biography, Musical Stages, until Rodgers himself would count this as his favourite disc in the afterlife.

By the way, most of the arrangements for the suites on this CD were done by the veteran R&H orchestrator Robert Russell Bennett, and it surely adds to the appeal of this recording. This itself is enough to amount to the icing on the cake, since Kunzel conducts them well on here, and since this recording still allows the suites to have the original theatrical atmosphere. And, although this recording is like the Mauceri collection of the Rodgers & Hammerstein overtures in compiling orchestral suites of Rodgers & Hammerstein, I think that I like the Kunzel recording even more because Kunzel has more magic in his conducting of these suites.

Excellent!.......2003-04-08

This is one of the best Erich Kunzel/Cincinnati Pops collections we own! A must for Rodgers and Hammerstein fans, too.

Great Arrangments.......2001-09-02

This is a first rate album with great arrangments and orchestrations. If you're a Rodgers and Hammerstein fan, you can't afford to miss this specatacular album

Kansas City: A Robert Altman Film - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Average customer rating:

Hang Out at the Hey Hey Club
MUSIC FOR THE MUSIC LOVERS
I love this type of jazz, full of soul and blues...
I ALMOST FELL DOWN
Amazing! Amazing! Amazing!

Kansas City: A Robert Altman Film - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Hal Wilner , Kevin Mahogany , and Olu Dara
Manufacturer: Verve
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Swing General | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

1990s | By Decade | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Verve | Verve Music Group | Specialty Stores | Music
Similar Items:

KC After Dark: More Music From Robert Altman's Kansas City
Kansas City
The Real Kansas City
Weird Nightmare - Meditations on Mingus
Standard Time, Vol. 6: Mr. Jelly Lord

ASIN: B00000470T
Release Date: 1996-05-07

Tracks:

Blues In The Dark - James Carter/Joshua Redman
Moten Swing - Jesse Davis/James Carter
I Surrender Dear - James Carter/Nicholas Payton/Cyrus Chestnut
Queer Notions - David Murray/Russell Malone/Cyrus Chestnut
Lullaby Of The Leaves - Jesse Davis/Clark Gayton/Geri Allen
I Left My Baby - Mark Whitfield/David 'Fathead' Newman/Craig Handy/Curtis Fowlkes
Yeah, Man - Craig Handy/Joshua Redman
Froggy Bottom - Geri Allen/David 'Fathead' Newman/Mark Whitfield
Solitude - Joshua Redman
Pagin' The Devil - Don Byron/Olu Dara/Clark Gayton
Lafayette - Nicholas Payton/James Zollar/Olu Dara
Solitude (Reprise) - Don Byron/Christian McBride/Ron Carter

Amazon.com

Robert Altman's Kansas City is basically a 1930s gangster film, but much of the action takes place in the Hey Hey Club, a black-owned nightclub and gambling den where an all-day, all-night jam session is in progress, featuring such figures as Lester Young (played by Joshua Redman), Hawkins (Craig Handy), Ben Webster (James Carter), Basie (Cyrus Chestnut), Mary Lou Williams (Geri Allen), Hershel Evans (David Murray), Freddie Green (Mark Whitfield), Walter Page (Ron Carter), and Jimmy Rushing (Kevin Mahogany). Kansas City in the mid-1930s was a thriving jazz center and home to legendary bands led by Basie, Bennie Moten, Andy Kirk, and Jay McShann. The music here comes from that period and is done in that style. Producer Hal Willner and music director Butch Morris encouraged a loose atmosphere, with lots of give and take, even shouts of approval, and the musicians respond by playing for the immediate moment, rather than for some dimly imagined history. --Geoffrey Himes

Customer Reviews:

Hang Out at the Hey Hey Club .......2006-02-08

I didn't like Altman's movie at all. But my God, this soundtrack is amazing. Between the swing and bebop eras of jazz was Kansas City -- and you can hear strains of both genres in this album. The music can be loud, racuous -- and a hell of a lot of fun. It also can be soulful and sweet.

This is what jazz is all about. And, like other reviewers, I've put this on at parties and people have also asked me what this was. It stands out that much musically and it's worth every penny.

MUSIC FOR THE MUSIC LOVERS.......2005-09-26

NOTHING SUPER SPECIAL TO SAY EXCEPT THAT ONCE VIEWING THE MOVIE AND LISTENING TO THE SOUND TRACK, I HAD TO FIND OUT IF IT WAS AVAILABLE ON CD'S. IT WAS, I BOUGHT, I LOVED IT! ENOUGH SAID !

I love this type of jazz, full of soul and blues..........2004-10-17

Current musicians like Joshua Redman, James Carter and Mark Whitfield do a wonderful recreation of the music of Lester Young, Count Basie, Jimmy Rushing, Coleman Hawkins, etc. It all takes place in a bar in K.C. and the audience enhances its authenticity. I love this type of jazz, full of soul and blues.

I ALMOST FELL DOWN.......2004-04-16

While channel surfing one day I saw the documentary about this music and nearly fell on the floor. A mixture of eager young jazz musicians (Redman, Mahogany, Dare etc) teamed with seasoned ones like David Newman making music of an earlier generation. The background "noise" takes a good 3 or 4 seconds to get used to, then you realize it's all part of the free flowing atmosphere that makes this such a brilliant recording.

The recording is a great collaboration and shows just how great jazz can really be. The musicianship, the spirit, the.. oh hell.. everything is top notch.

I've put this on during parties and people stop and go "what's that?"

Mahogany's vocals and individual solos on "I left my baby"and the dueling saxes on "Yeah, Man" are just incredible.

Just buy it, you'll be so glad you did.

Amazing! Amazing! Amazing!.......2004-03-10

The playing on this album is virtuosic, and powerful, and moving, and just wonderful. This is one of the rare jazz recordings in which you can really hear how much fun the musicians are having. These guys are monsters, Craig Handy, Josh Redman, James Carter, Don Byron, Olu Dara, Nicholas Payton, Dave Newman, David Murray, Curtis Fowlkes; just killer, in your face playing from master musicians. And Kevin Mahogany, on 'I Left My Baby', is fantastic; and the 'bone solo, and the sax cadenza at the end - WOW. In my opinion, if you only own 2 jazz recordings, make it Kind Of Blue, and this one. This is the kind of expression jazz is all about. Dig it.

Average customer rating:

not Prez's best
History on CD, fun, joy what music is for Now and Then
OK - now I've heard the extra material- what a difference
I'm fascinated with these 5-star ratings here
Quickly proves that L.Y. was one of the Greats...

The Kansas City Sessions
Lester Young
Manufacturer: Verve
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Cool Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Swing General | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Verve | Verve Music Group | Specialty Stores | Music
Similar Items:

The Complete Aladdin Recordings
Pres and Teddy
Complete Savoy Recordings
Lester Young with Oscar Peterson Trio
The Complete Decca Recordings

ASIN: B0000001NN
Release Date: 1997-01-28

Tracks:

Way Down Yonder In New Orleans #2
Way Down Yonder In New Orleans
Countless Blues
Countless Blues #2
Them There Eyes #2
Them There Eyes
I Want A Little Girl
I Want A Little Girl #2
Pagin' The Devil
Pagin' The Devil #2
Three Little Words #2
Three Little Words
Jo Jo
I Got Rhythm #3
I Got Rhythm #2
I Got Rhythm
Four O'Clock Drag
Four O'Clock Drag #3
Laughing At Life
Good Mornin' Blues
I Know That You Know
Love Me Or Leave Me

Amazon.com

Though known as the "Kansas City sessions," Milt Gabler taped these proceedings in New York City for his Commodore label. The musicians, however, represented the soul of the Kansas City influx. The first 10 tracks--five tunes with one alternate each--come from September 1938 and feature a group drawn from the Count Basie Orchestra's ranks. It's the great Basie rhythm section of bassist Walter Page, drummer Jo Jones, and rhythm guitarist Freddie Green (who also sings on "Them There Eyes"), with a frontline of Lester Young, trumpeter Buck Clayton, and Eddie Durham, who's heard far more prominently on electric guitar than trombone. A master of half-valve smears, Clayton sounds superb, whether elegantly muted or expressively open, but it's Young who will rivet a listener's attention, both on tenor sax or playing clarinet with a strikingly original sound and conception.

Young's clarinet virtually defines the sonority of later "cool" alto saxophonists like Lee Konitz and Paul Desmond, and the blend with the transparent textures of the two guitars is particularly advanced. The second session is by a very different Kansas City Six from 1944, with Young and Jones the only returning members. It's a far more conventional setting, with trumpeter Bill Coleman and trombonist Dicky Wells competing in brashness and pianist Joe Bushkin in place of the guitars. The sometimes aggressive cast to the band only highlights Young's superbly relaxed phrasing. His opening solos on the three takes of "I Got Rhythm" are textbook example of relaxed swing, and their inspiration to Wells is apparent in his solos that follow. The CD concludes with four tracks by the Kansas City Five from March 1938, the earliest session here. It's the first Kansas City Six without Young present, still well worth hearing for the superb play of Clayton, Durham, and the rhythm section. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews:

not Prez's best.......2006-02-25

historically important, but not necessarily my favorite; Lester Young recorded much greater music, both with Basie and on his own, later..Buck Clayton is in good form; Jo Jones sounds great, it's good to be reminded how great Walter Page could be; the two takes of
"Pagin' the Devil" are extraordinary. And Freddie Green, of all people, sings, and very nicely. but Eddie Durham's trombone playing is annoying, frankly; though, again, it's extraordinary to hear Durham's electric guitar work, before Charlie Christian got rolling.

History on CD, fun, joy what music is for Now and Then.......2004-02-13

This is a historic session, I am talking about the 1938 set. One thing here is that this about the first, if not the first Jazz recording, and among the first ever recordings to feature an electric 6 string standard guitar, or an electric guitar as we say in English (all that other stuff is just for certain record keepers i dialog with who claim wanna county amplified Hawaiian guitars). This is loose and mellow, a jam session of the finest kind, made for a record shop label that back in that day was only going to be discovered by the hippest of the hip, musicians and their true lovers.

Lester is superb and more understated and relaxed than on Basie tracks from the same period. The clarinet playing is a gem. Lester complained that Basie tried to minimize clarinet playing by himself and Herschel Evans, the band's soloists on the sax, although they trade clarinet solos on some of the Decca Sides, Jumpin' at the Woodside and Texas Shuffle, I think.
Lester played clarinet wonderfully all the way to his clarinet blues on his last Verve session when he was too weak to lift the tenor.

Getting back to this CD, what is also outstanding here is the rhythm. We have the Basie's All-American rhythm session without Basie for contractual reasons--Freddie Green, Joe Jones, and the great Walter Page. They are augmented here and there by Eddie Durham's electric guitar that comes back into rhythm mode when he is not soloing. (Eddie had been playing solos on a National steel guitar in the Moten, Lunceford, and Basie bands until he went electric. He passed the idea of playing electric lead guitar on to a young former drummer he had known in Oklahoma and convinced to switch to guitar. The man's name was Charlie Christian!)

Everything is the quintessence of swing, where how the band rides the rhythm and dances with it and the rhythm dances back with them is more important than the excellent solos and the not bad mellow singing Mr. Clayton contributes.

The 1944 sides are part of the great work that Lester recorded in small group settings in the mid 1940s including some with Basie sitting in on piano that are attributed and a few where it is obvious Basie is playing piano even if the liner notes claim otherwise. They swing and jumb and move, but there is nothing else that really relates them to these sessions other than Lester and the name.

If you like this music, check out the newest multi CD version of the Spirtuals to Swing Concerts. It seems that a number of the cuts that John Hammond put on the original LP and Tape releases of the "concerts" were really from similar small group sessions of Basieites he recorded in 1938 and faked onto the concert records together with introductions by Hammond with Hammond's voice sped up to sound higher and younger. The new edition removes them from the concerts, but includes the whole batch, about 6 or 7 songs, as a separate heading that swings just like these sides.

Thank goodness for the record shop owner who wanted to put these sides out.

OK - now I've heard the extra material- what a difference.......2003-09-03

In my last review on this LP (not CD), I mentioned that there were extra tracks on the CD that Commodore left out of the LP. What a crime. All of them are minus Eddie Durham and with the Kansas City Six - 8 more tracks in all, and all top shelf. I still don't go for the Eddie Durham stuff, as good as the surrounding band is, but these 8 tracks could comprise a CD all on their own. I got hoodwinked by Commodore in 1979 with the LP. Shame on them! How dare they leave out the best stuff. The LP, by the way, was called "Lester Young". An extra star for the CD.

I'm fascinated with these 5-star ratings here.......2003-08-30

Hey - there are great moments here - such as Lester playing clarinet, and playing the hell out of it: BUT BUYER BEWARE...the Kansas City Five sessions Do NOT even have Prez on them! That's right. Commodore Records released this as an LP in 1979, and while many tracks are in fact really well recorded, and Buck and Lester, and Freddie play great, many of the tunes are marred by Eddie Durham's totally out-of-place electric guitar "work". That's why there are so many alternate takes - and he never does get them right. How frustrating! "Good Mornin' Blues", "Laughing at Life", "I Know That You Know", and "Love Me or leave Me" are all minus Lester - now that is simply unacceptable when the CD is titled Lester Young. They do include some other tracks not on the original LP...they better, to make up for the lack of Prez on the others. There are some great moments here, but you really need to preview them. Maybe you'll like Eddie durham's quirky playing, but it ruins an otherwise wonderful line-up for me.

Quickly proves that L.Y. was one of the Greats..........2003-06-30

A friend sent this to me as a gift recently. I own a lot of jazz, but no Lester Young CD's until this one. My gosh, this is fun, and the sound quality is surprisingly good for 1938 and '44 sessions. Lester uses the clarinet in about half the tunes, and the sax in the rest, and he is foot-tappin' fascinatin' on either instrument. The other players are also excellent. Read the eight reviews which came before mine to learn more, then buy this if you are a fan of the jazz of that era. Of the dozen or so jazz albums I have owned or heard from that same time frame, this one just might be the most satisfying. That's quite a compliment since the competition in my collection includes Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Glenn Miller, Gene Krupa and Duke Ellington.

CHIN, Gordon Shi-Wen: Double Concerto / Formosa Seasons

Average customer rating:

A Modern Classic
Composer's Note

CHIN, Gordon Shi-Wen: Double Concerto / Formosa Seasons

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Hailstork: Symphonies 2 & 3
Alan Hovhaness: Symphony No. 60; Guitar Concerto; Khrimian Hairig
Carson Cooman: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3
Huang Ruo: Chamber Concerto Cycle
Stephen Albert: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2

ASIN: B000LC4WTM
Release Date: 2007-02-27

Tracks:

Drifting Shadow
A Flowering Sacrifice
In Expectation
Yearning: A Sweet Torture
Summer
Autumn
Winter
Spring

Customer Reviews:

A Modern Classic.......2007-06-04

I love to "discover" modern composers writing great classical music. This is one such example.
The playing of Lin, Fan, and the Kansas City Symphony is wonderful. In my opinion, Lin is the greatest living violinist, and one of the best ever. I haven't heard a disappointing recording done by him.
And, as usual, the Naxos quality is evident in the great sound.
Highly recommended for classical music lovers.

Composer's Note.......2007-03-09

Commissioned by Mr. and Mrs. Chris Fan and Ms. Judy Lee and completed in 2002, my Double Concerto was especially written for the violinist Cho-Liang Lin and cellist Felix Fan. There are four movements to the concerto. Each movement has an appropriate title inherently tied to the music. The integrity of the music is perhaps accomplished more through an establishment of emotional connection than analytical cohesion. To clarify, I should like to draw a parallel between music and poetry. In his 1973 article The Anxiety of Influence, John Hollander said literary critic Harold Bloom's interest has never been in the formalist study of poetic language and structure. "In all the years I have known him (Bloom)," Hollander observed, " he has responded to and worked with what we might call the deep structure of poetry, with intentions, impulses, envisionings and desires, rather than with the linguistic surface, which for most of us -- poets and critics and readers alike -- is all there is to talk about." The "deep structure" Hollander pointed to is the kind of emotional connection that I alluded to, the kind of connection to be realised by not only analytical and structural designs, but also, more importantly, underlying emotions and spirits of the human heart. For that, the connectedness can only be made when the composer, performers, and listeners alike experience the same level of emotion.

Drifting Shadow: This movement has an A-B-A structure. Two soloists represent conflicting mind-sets of one person or a brief documentation in that debate between the body and the soul. In both A parts, a brief and unstable state of peace/compromise is expressed, and in the B part conflict is magnified.

A Flowering Sacrifice: When flowers wither and scatter on the ground, the earth becomes an altar. To atone for the pain of losing oneself, not unlike that of the alchemist, for all our expenditure of physical and emotional energy, we are left with nothing but piercing pain. With the sin of false promises and further deception, we continue to witness the flowering sacrifice until the day we are united with the flowers on the altar.

In Expectation: This movement has a style of a Rondo. Rhythm is crisp, musical phrases are easy going, and the tempo is fast-moving. Life is full of joys, even if it is only serendipitous. For some it is nothing but a vain bubble, for others the elixir vitae does exist.

Yearning: A Sweet Torture: "It is that of an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction." I thought quoting C.S. Lewis should be the best way to explain the title of this movement. Unlike Love Alchymie, which ignored the discrepancy between his expectations and actuality, C.S. Lewis thinks the form of the desired is in the desire. C.S. Lewis is talking about joy, and since it is of an "unsatisfied desire", to use it to explain "a sweet torture" should be appropriate. Musically I use accelerated tempo to symbolize an ever increasing intensity of the yearning. Since the tempo is almost always changing, it is very unsettled. The movement starts with a slow tempo, and always works its way back to the original tempo between and after two large scale accelerations.

Formosa Seasons was commissioned by Joan and Irwin Jacobs (Founder of Qualcomm) and dedicated to Cho-Liang Lin. The original idea of the piece came about five years ago, when Cho-Liang Lin asked me to write a concerto for violin and strings that could be performed without a conductor. Lin wanted to include the piece in a programme with Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Well, there had been quite a few performances of Formosa Seasons since it was completed, but there was only one occasion when Cho-Liang Lin appeared with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra that Formosa Seasons was actually paired with Vivaldi's Four Seasons.

Formosa Seasons is based on a set of poems that I wrote under the same title. Except the 'summer', which is my own childhood remembrance in my hometown Dou-Liu, in Yun-Lin County, Taiwan, the other three poems are reflections on the short trips my family took to the National Yang-Ming Park in Taiwan. These poems are depictions of the time my family shared throughout the changing of the seasons. I could remember the sound of the wind, and the smell of the trees; I can easily recall the beauty of the twilight, the intense loneliness in gazing at it, the joyful laughter of my children, and their for ever happy footsteps. My children's enthusiastic embrace of nature, their childhood and time has always served as a source of comfort and inspiration to me.

The first movement is 'Summer' and not 'Spring', mostly because I do not want the work to culminate in the nostalgic elements that come with 'Winter.' Below is the translation from Chinese to English of each season.

1st Movement: Summer

Southern wind blows the wild grass off the road
An old house sank into slumber beside a tree
An ice-bar selling
Girl sits on a bamboo chair

Listening to the crickets

2nd Movement: Autumn

Returning from a mountain hike with
A lonely wild flower, that recaptures
A song collected in childhood, made me
Gaze backward and listen
To the decayed wilderness

An intense shrill tails after tenderness
Tramples into the heart
Abruptly

3rd Movement: Winter

In the wind
Withered leaves tremble with men
The afterglow of Mt. Datum
Cooled, and hardened into a
Sickle that slashes across the
Fading coastline
Leaves behind
A single

Darkened homeward road

4th Movement: Spring

Skipping, skipping
Children's dancing steps follow the swinging
Rhythms of cherry flowers
Naughty with childish sound

The sky is running, like
Dreams

As not-so-young a composer, I think finally that most of the elements of showboating are dismissed in my works. As the poet Robert Hass described poems of Bishop and Schuyler, I hope I am also beyond that 'impulse'--the exuberance of young artists coming to the medium. In a way I am returning to the primitive instinct in my composition, relying on heart and ears to engage in the process of imaging new patterns and making sense of these patterns. To determine the meaning of music, especially new music, I think one must strip off unnecessary gestures, extravagant outer shells, and return to the essentials with confidence.

I recall with gratitude my meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Irwin Jacobs, who graciously commissioned the work, at its première in San Diego. I am most impressed with their warmth and their genuine love for music. This concerto was also funded in part by the Taiwan National Culture and Arts Foundation. The dedication to Cho-Liang Lin is a tribute to his incredible musical gifts, his enthusiasm for new music, and his inspiration, without which this work would not have been possible.

Gordon Chin

Oklahoma!: From The Soundtrack Of The Motion Picture (1955 Film)

Average customer rating:

Love it
Oklahoma soundtrack
Wonderful Romantic Musical
OKLAHOMA! st is a classic corner stone to every collection!
Wish there was more music from the film

Oklahoma!: From The Soundtrack Of The Motion Picture (1955 Film)
Oscar Hammerstein II
Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Musical Theater | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Oklahoma! (50th Anniversary Edition)
South Pacific (1958 Film Soundtrack)
The Music Man (1957 Original Broadway Cast)
The King and I (1956 Film Soundtrack)
My Fair Lady (1956 Original Broadway Cast)

ASIN: B000002SNW
Release Date: 1993-01-19

Tracks:

Overture - Orchestra
Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin' - Gordon MacRae
The Surrey With The Fringe On Top - Gordon MacRae/Shirley Jones/Charlotte Greenwood
Kansas City - Gene Nelson/Charlotte Greenwood/Men's Chorus
I Cain't Say No - Gloria Grahame
Many A New Day - Shirley Jones/Girl's Chorus
People Will Say We're In Love - Gordon MacRae/Shirley Jones
Pore Jud Is Daid - Gordon MacRae/Rod Steiger
Out Of My Dreams - Shirley Jones/Girl's Chorus
The Farmer And The Cowman - Gordon MacRae/Charlotte Greenwood/Gene Nelson/Jay Flippen/James Whitmore/Gloria Grahame...
All Er Nothin' - Gloria Grahame/Gene Nelson
Oklahoma - Gordon MacRae/Charlotte Greenwood/James Whitmore/Shirley Jones/Jay Flippen/Mixed Chorus

Amazon.com essential recording

In the years before rock (and even for a few years after), the album charts were full of original Broadway cast LPs and soundtracks of the film versions of those Broadway musicals. And the soundtrack to 1955's Oklahoma! was one of the biggest--hitting No. 1 for a month that year--and becoming part of the consciousness of darn near every Baby Boomer whose folks owned a record player over the next five or so years. Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones (in her film debut) were so good together, they repeated the formula (well, after Frank Sinatra dropped out) in the following year's film version of another Rodgers & Hammerstein classic, Carousel. Every song here--from "Oh! What a Beautiful Morning " to the closing title track--is a gem, and whether it's "People Will Say We're in Love" or "The Farmer and the Cowman," these are the most familiar--and definitive--versions. You even get the rousing overture. --Bill Holdship

Customer Reviews:

Love it.......2000-05-18

Not very well known in my country, but I love it. I know the whole musical by heart. Timeless

Oklahoma soundtrack.......2000-02-23

The movie Oklahoma was perverted, but the songs are really cute

Wonderful Romantic Musical.......1999-10-09

I think it's a very touching Romantic Music. The songs want you to get up and dance. Even though I'm 9 and a half I still know that it has wonderful Music. If you like this music you will like other Rodgers and Hammerstiens Music such as Carousal,King and I and Sound of Music. Thank you for reading my review and bye.

OKLAHOMA! st is a classic corner stone to every collection!.......1999-07-04

OKLAHOMA! was on best selling lists for years. It seems that everyone who grew up with LPs during 50s and 60s had a copy. It is the best recorded version of the show. JONES, McGRAE and the rest were all great. As is the full bodied Oscar winning scoring by Jay Blackton (although one wonders what someone like Alfred Newman would have done with this score). One of the earliest 12 inch stereo Lps unfortunatly has its downside. Because of space limitations some songs are edited. Other selections (reprises, finale, etc)are excluded all together. It would be wonderful if the original tracks could be recovered and a new expanded release be prepared. It would easily fill a 70 minute cd.

Wish there was more music from the film.......1999-05-29

Oklahoma! as a film was quite entertaining, but the record could include only small portions of some songs, such as Kansas City and Out of my Dreams. As presented in the film these numbers were great.

Average customer rating:

Still great..even without Mo Tucker
Live and loud
A CLASSIC "OFFICIAL" BOOTLEG
Five and half new tracks! Get me a double Pernod!
High Quality Official Bootleg

Live at Max's Kansas City
The Velvet Underground
Manufacturer: Atlantic / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Proto Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Alternative | Live Albums | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Live Albums | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Alternative Rock | Live Albums | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Live Albums | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Live Albums | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

1969: Velvet Underground Live, Vol. 1
1969: Velvet Underground Live, Vol. 2
Bootleg Series, Vol. 1: The Quine Tapes
Another View
Loaded (2-CD Fully Loaded Edition)

ASIN: B0002BK9GW
Release Date: 2004-08-03

Tracks:

I'm Waiting For The Man
White Light White Heat
I'm Set Free
Sweet Jane (Version 1)
Lonesome Cowboy Bill (Version 1)
New Age
Beginning To See The Light

Tracks:

Who Loves The Sun
Sweet Jane (Version 2)
I'll Be Your Mirror
Pale Blue Eyes
Candy Says
Sunday Morning
After Hours
Femme Fatale
Some Kinda Love
Lonesome Cowboy Bill (Version 2)
Track 11

Album Description

In the 1970s lower Manhattan's Max's Kansas City was the place to be, a perpetual meeting place for scene-makers and their satellites. In the summer of '70, The Velvet Underground was the house band, and their nightly gigs, propelled by Lou Reed's mesmerizing vocals, are the stuff of legend. Documented on a cassette player by one of the Velvet's entourage, this recording has since become the most famous "bootleg" ever, capturing one of Reed's last-some say final-performances with the band before going solo. It both immortalizes a precise moment in pop culture history, and also spotlights one of rock's most influential bands at the peak of their extraordinary powers.

Customer Reviews:

Still great..even without Mo Tucker.......2005-12-31

Though I miss Mo Tucker's drumming on this concert recording (she was too pregnant at the time!) the sound quality is noticeably improved over the original edition. You also get an extended version of 'Some Kinda Love' and nice live versions of 'Candy Says' and 'I'm Set Free' on this remastered deluxe version. Sell your copy of the old version and get this!

Live and loud.......2005-06-03

It seems appropriate that rocker-muse Bebe Buell once wrote and sang, "Cut my teeth at Max's Kansas City/My soul is pure rock." It was the original rock'n'roll club, with drag queens, actors, hit singers and underground hits in the same room. It had Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger and then-waittress Debbie Harry hanging out in the same place.

Alas, there hasn't really been a place like Max's Kansas City since. So it seems appropriate that a momentous rock occasion took place there: Lou Reed did his final show with the Velvet Underground. Fortunately, a pal named Brigid Polk taped the whole thing, and this "legitimate bootleg" is a rough-cut little slice of what that night was all about.

It opens with drums being clattered, instruments being tested, and a lot of background chatter. Then Reed offers a dignified intro ("you're allowed to dance, in case you don't know"), before launching into several songs that are primarily from "Loaded" and "White Light/White Heat," with stage chatter between songs.

Apparently Reed unexpectedly changed the second set (on the second disc), including material from the "Nico days," early in the band's existance, including a spare, stripped-down version of "I'll Be Your Mirror," a gentle "Candy Says," a suitably hungover-sounding "Sunday Morning," and the way-too-long "Some Kinda Love."

The album is bootleg quality, especially since they didn't have digital recording then, and Polk used a tape. So it's very fuzzy around the edges, a little incoherent here and there; "Femme Fatale" is downright murky. But it's all in remarkably good shape when one considers that it is from 1970.

And to some degree, its rough quality can be seen as a blessing. People like me -- who were born way after Max's Kansas City faded away -- can get a brief taste of what the nightlife at Max's was like, when fashion, art and pop all collided. So the background voices and clattery tuneups just add to the "you are there" quality.

It's also noteworthy because the songs included are among their best, and because Reed delivers them with so much emotion. There's a certain poignancy to his introduction when one realizes that it would be his last show with the Velvets. And it gives a bit of extra oomph to certain songs like "I'll Be Your Mirror."

"Live At Max's Kansas City" is not the best-quality live album there is. But it is a small slice of the psychedelic nightlife for anyone who wasn't lucky enough to actually go there.

A CLASSIC "OFFICIAL" BOOTLEG.......2005-03-26

This is SO WORTH IT!! The Velvets at nearly their greatest live and a classic NYC-sleaze-nightlife document. The ambience is perfect. The band sounds wonderful. The only better Velvets live documents are the CDs, "Live 1969 Vol 1" & "Vol 2". This is a very close second. Stay away from the "Quine Tapes" - awful sound quality. This DELUXE version of "Live at Max's Kansas City" is the one to have!! (Rather than the old single disc version.) It is a HUGE improvment!! If you're even thinking of getting it, GET IT!!

Five and half new tracks! Get me a double Pernod!.......2005-01-31

Wow! There have been so many upgrades and additions to the Velvet Underground catalog over the last 7 or 8 years that it's difficult to keep up with all of them. Here's another worthy upgrade for us completists who must have every mix and every note of recorded tape available. While *every* album in the VU catalog can be considereed "essential" for different reasons, the revision and remastering leads this one ahead of LIVE 1969 as well as The Quine Tapes, as the best live document of the band (prior to the 1992 reunion).

THIS remaster offers an additional set's worth of material. It seems that the original producers 'cherry picked' the 'best' tracks for the original LP. Here you will find both sets, more or less complete (less in the case of the 2nd set, which picks up at the beginning of the second verse of "Who Loves The Sun.")

However, I wouldn't wish to imply that the material orginally deleted is in any way inferior-- it's not, these are performances that are as strong as anything on the album.

This set is historically significant for several reasons. The most immediate sonic reason being this is the first LP appearance of then 17' year old drummer Billy Yule. Billy's drumming is completely different from Moe Tucker's (who left temporarily to have a child), it's Rock n' Roll drumming with lots of drum rolls, fills and flash, a great departure from Moe's more sparse and primitive style. Personally, I find young Billy's style ameteurishly over the top, but it's not so detracting or distracting to take away from the overall ambience of the album. This is also Lou Reed's last night with the Velvet Underground-- Doug Yule and Tucker (rejoining the group after her pregnancy) soldiered on for another year and a half touring, but it wasn't really the Velvet Underground by that point.

The remastering of the sound for this CD is quite amazing. For those of us that grew up with the original LP release, it's hard to believe they were able to pull the sound quality up to this degree.

High Quality Official Bootleg.......2005-01-20

For those of you who have the old vinyl (1 album) version of this you might as well throw it away or better yet trade it in if there's a store around that takes them still. The job they've done on remastereing the sound is superb. Even better than some studio releases I've heard. Really! Not to mention it's a 2 disc set with another whole set thrown in. I was at that show & remember it well. You might not know that this is a bootleg recording if it wasn't for the crowd talking. But you can overlook that because the music sounds more up front now than before. I won't get into reviewing all the songs because this would be too long. Besides those of you who own the old version already know how good the show was anyway. Those of you who don't will really appreciate this too. The last performance with Lou Reed and leaving on a high note at that. One of the most underated bands of all time. They only got their recognition many years later. A must have for all fans. P.s. Even the vinyl has been out of print for many years. One last note, the crowd really makes you feel like you're right there on the floor or at the bar.

Average customer rating:

An amazing sound

For the Second Time
Count Basie and the Kansas City 3
Manufacturer: Ojc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Swing General | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Classic Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Contemporary Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

For the First Time
Kansas City 5
Kansas City 6
Basie Jam 2
Basie Jam #3

ASIN: B000000YRZ
Release Date: 1991-07-01

Tracks:

Sandman
If I Could Be With You One Hour Tonight
Draw
On The Sunny Side Of The Street
The One I Love Belongs To Somebody Else
Blues For Eric
I Surrender, Dear
Racehorse

Customer Reviews:

An amazing sound.......2002-12-29

This is the second time that Count Basie meets Ray Brown and Louis Bellson to record a disc that is realy a gem.
The sound is cristal clear, the three musicians are at their best and the compositions are always played at the best tempo, giving a sound and an atmosphere that capture you from the beginning to the last note.
Ray Brown here surpasses all the records he had done before: he alternates with lavish bass lines and incredible solos...
Louis Bellson's brush work is very subtle.
And Count Basie shows here that he is not only a conductor of genius but also, and above all, a pianist of genius.

Music is a dream that can become reality if you get this disc.

Album Review:

Album Review

Album Review