Modern Art

Modern Art

ASIN: B000005HDO

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Personnel: Art Farmer (trumpet), Benny Golson (tenor saxophone), Bill Evans (piano).

Tracks:

Ring Around the Rosary
San Diego
She Comes to Me
Waring Street
Your Nation Will Die
Unglued
Poor House
Feel No Shame
Hang Love
And I'm Free

Customer Reviews:

Prepare to be blown away!.......2007-06-25

Burning Brides have outdone themselves with this new album! I got goosebumps from the first strum of Dimiti's mighty axe! This band continues to produce new and amazing music. Each song on this album leaves an impression that will NOT be forgotten. What I feel is most different on this album, as compared to the first two releases, is an obvious L.A. feel to the sounds that I hear. It is almost as if the band has become more comfortable with themselves as artists...thank goodness for that ocean air! Props to Burning Brides for creating their best album yet!

Back With A Vengance.......2007-06-24

Hang Love is The Burning Brides 3rd record, and it is amazing. To me it takes all the best parts of their two previous records Fall of the Plastic Empire and Leave No Ashes, and then adds a whole heaping of Heavy. Having been a fan for a long time, its great to see them continuing to push themselves to make their songs better, and not rest on their laurels. My picks for top song are: Waring Street, Your Nation Will Die, and Poor House.

Average customer rating:

Yes, folks, it's yet another great Frank Zappa album...are you gettting tired of the excellence?
Fabulous...
A favorite meal
W's for White, the P is for Port, L is the Lemon, the J is the Juice
Worth The Calories

Burnt Weeny Sandwich
Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention
Manufacturer: Zappa Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

The Grand Wazoo
Uncle Meat
Weasels Ripped My Flesh
Waka/Jawaka
Hot Rats

ASIN: B0000009S5
Release Date: 1995-05-02

Tracks:

WPLJ
Igor's Boogie, Phase One
Overture To A Holiday In Berlin
Theme From Burnt Weeny Sandwich
Igor's Boogie, Phase Two
Holiday In Berlin, Full-Blown
Aybe Sea
The Little House I Used To Live In
Valarie

Customer Reviews:

Yes, folks, it's yet another great Frank Zappa album...are you gettting tired of the excellence? .......2007-02-04

This is a sister album to Weasels Ripped My Flesh. Zappa had disbanded the Mothers by this time, and this album is left over material from the Mothers. Despite that, it has an incredibly coherent feel (much like Weasels), and the material here is superb. I love the song WPLJ, showcasing Zappa's love of doo-wop ballads. A lot of the songs here are really intricate, and would probably be fantastic in an orchestral setting (like Overture to a Holiday in Berlin and Igor's Boogie, probably named after Igor Stravinsky, a good buddy of Frank's who was his roadie in the 1960's, and one of Russia's foremost composers). I love the way Zappa handles a heckler in The Little House I Used to Live In (and the song is good too). The title is one of Zappa's most memorable as well. Another superb album in the cannons of Zappa.

Fabulous..........2006-09-21

The only Frank Zappa Recording I like better than this is Hot Rats...but this a very close second. Fabulous from start to finish...

A favorite meal.......2006-07-26

I've been a Zappa fan for a very long time. I've owned Burnt Weeny Sandwich (on LP) for a long time. The odd thing is that I didn't figure out until just recently that Burnt Weeny Sandwich is one of my favorite Zappa albums. I think that part of the problem is that I didn't really understand the album when I was a kid--although I certainly didn't dislike it. It was one of the last ones I picked up on CD, so that after not really hearing it for years, I mostly heard a song at a time in isolation with the disc in my CD changers on random shuffle.

But as someone else mentioned, this is really a concept album of sorts, and needs to be listened to in its entirety to "get it". It's an odd concept, because it's not linked by lyrics or music so much as it is by a structural meta-concept--that of a sandwich. The first and last tracks, two pseudo-doo-wop songs, serve as the bread. All the songs up to "Little House I Used to Live In" are the toppings, condiments, and so on, and "Little House I Used to Live In" is the meat . . . well, er, the big burnt weeny. What's remarkable is that the basic tracks consisted of Mothers of Invention "outtakes", but Zappa, being a skilled Dadaist/collagist, could turn "outtakes" into beautiful, cohesive, seemingly composed from scratch works faster than you can say "Max Ernst". At any rate, let's look at the tracks.

Track 1: "WPLJ" 5/5
This has been performed live on a number of occasions--it appears on the Does Humor Belong in Music? disc, for example--but without a doubt, this is my favorite version of the song. Zappa achieves an appropriate 1950s-sounding production, including the female backup singers, and the music has a great, grooving looseness, including the horns. Roy Estrada's falsetto makes it even better, as does the Cheech-Marin sounding chicano dialogue over the end.

Track 2: "Igor's Boogie, Phase One" 5/5
No one, not even Zappa, loves/loved Stravinsky more than I do, plus I love Zappa just as much, so this "L'Histoire du Soldat" tribute/spoof works brilliantly for me.

Track 3: "Overture to a Holiday in Berlin" 5/5
. . . and it leads beautifully to this severely bent-intonation wonder. God I love that brief sax solo. And the outtro melody is gorgeous and orchestrated gorgeously.

Track 4: "Theme from Burnt Weeny Sandwich" 5/5
It begins as a guitar solo track, but with an extension of the orchestration from the previous track creating multiple layers underneath. It segues to some tape-speed manipulation percussion, ala that heard accompanying the Bruce Bickford animation in Baby Snakes. There it piqued your interest, but here it grows perfectly, organically out of the composition until it consumes everything in its path. Something like a melodic Tony Williams-on-a-ton-of-acid-and-speed drum solo.

Track 5: "Igor's Boogie, Phase Two" 5/5
The bookend (within a larger bookended work) that matches Track 2. Shorter, but just as good, and not just because of the added honking, although that rocks.

Track 6: "Holiday in Berlin, Full Blown" 5/5
Later used again on 200 Motels. Here it's a bit like "Peaches en Regalia's" mellow cousin. Gorgeous melodies, wondrous orchestration, and an amazing soprano sax solo leading to more tape-speed manipulation percussion. It ties a lot of the elements of tracks 2 through 5 together very nicely, then moves to one of Zappa's more lyrical extended solos.

Track 7: "Aybe Sea" 5/5
Speaking of lyrical guitar work, this is a mostly delicate, almost kinda traditional classical piece for guitars, keyboards and a bit of percussion. Of course, there's lots of twentieth century stuff in there, too, and in a surprising change for this album, the piano solo that closes it gets pretty quiet, sparse, and not so surprisingly, increasingly "outside", as it segues to--

Track 8: "Little House I Used to Live in" 5/5
In a very smooth transition, the continuing solo piano is suddenly more jazzy--kind of a cross between Gershwin and Copland's (underrated) piano pieces. It's contemplative and moving. Then the whole band joins in a Zappa-ish fusion groove. After the drum break, there's a great 11/8 groove that turns into some wicked carousel orchestration. Then more complex, fusiony, uptempo 3/4 stuff becomes some extremely skilled interplay between Zappa and his drummer (probably Art Tripp) before the extended, burning and soulful Don "Sugarcane" Harris violin solo, interpolated by a typically odd Don Preston piano solo. There is a couple of short, interesting "stomping" vamps to listen for here--one halfway between 3/4 and 5/8, one halfway between 4/4 and 7/8. I love those kinds of "in-between" grooves. It's difficult to say how intentional they were here, but they work. The end of this track becomes composed 20th Century classical again. The transition between a melancholic hurdy-gurdy block chord structure and a spastic carnival-gone-haywire groove is primo. Although the ending pretty much remains in 4/4, there is a lot of creative rhythmic and playing-with-tempo stuff between the keyboards and drums. After the track is over, we get the Zappa's infamous quote, "Everybody in this room is wearing a uniform, and don't kid yourself".

Track 9: "Valarie" 5/5
This is the bottom piece of bread, the second pseudo doo-wop song. It has an appropriate and enjoyable lazy, sloppy--maybe even "skanky"--groove, enhanced by the guitar fluttering through Leslie speakers. Especially with the vocals, it sometimes sounds like we're trudging through molasses. In other words, holy cow we're pleasantly stuffed after eating all of that Burnt Weeny Sandwich!

W's for White, the P is for Port, L is the Lemon, the J is the Juice.......2006-07-11

This is my personal all-time favorite FZ album and makes a perfect one-two punch with the seminal "Hot Rats," which came out around the same time... those two together are almost the perfect showcase for Zappa's compositional skills ("The Little House I Used to Live In"), his guitar prowess (Hot Rats' "Willie the Pimp"), as well as the mind-shattering instrumental talents of reedsmith Ian Underwood and violin madman Sugarcane Harris.

I agree with the assessment that this one is more the classical side of FZ and Hot Rats is more the jazz-rock avenue, but there is ample crossover on each from one to the other in terms of style and compositional intent. Anyway you slice it this is top-drawer, truly Progressive Rock in every sense of the word, wherein many styles and forms are united under the inclusive rubric of Rock, making a whole that is, at its best, greater than the sum of its parts.

I love everything about this album, from the almost modern-classical feel of the instrumentals to the fantastic doo-wop numbers that are the bookends of this most tasty Sandwich, which manage that rarest of accomplishments in that they sound like parodies AND tributes to the genre at the same time. Perhaps best of all is the concert interlude near the end where Frank defends the cops providing security at the show from screaming, disapproving hippies, with the admonishment that "every one in this room is wearing a uniform, and don't kid yourself...".

Again, there is no excuse not to own both this and Hot Rats, they are FZ at his apogee and worthy contenders for his best recordings ever.

Worth The Calories.......2006-07-07

Collecting Zappa is treacherous business, even for the die-hard fan - for the uninitiated it is on a par with sticking your head into a bucket of piranha fish. Even his very best work, (Uncle Meat, Freak Out, Hot Rats, We're Only In It For The Money, and Weasels Ripped My Flesh, to name just a few), is replete with dreadful flaws and grandiose missteps. The best rule of thumb is to seek out the earlier material, steer towards the more musically oriented work, and avoid the infantile humor and curmudgeon-ish political rants. This is harder than it sounds.

Fortunately, you can save yourself a lot of pain by going straight to Burnt Weeny Sandwich, easily one of Zappa's best, and most musically satisfying efforts. You'll have to sit through WPLJ and Valerie, two short satirical bits of ersatz pop fluff. These numbers are intended to be funny but get lost on the way, something that happens rather a lot in the wonderland of Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention. But everything beyond that it smooth sailing.

The standout here is Little House I Used To Live In, 18:41 of mercurial magic that builds and builds, constantly switching gears, instruments, moods, and time signatures. The piece is a showcase for Ian Underwood and Don "Sugar Cane" Harris, whose virtuoso fiddling also appears on Hot Rats and Weasels Ripped My Flesh. Underwood, a musical prodigy, plays at a level of sophistication more at home in Carnegie Hall than in the dreadful arenas frequented by rock groups. His expressiveness and versatility are spellbinding. As is often the case with Zappa's better work, Little House I Used To Live In is a "movie for your ears," it seems to suggest a gallery of pictures you alone can provide. All other tracks are also orchestral and, though not as dazzling as Little House I Used To Live In, deliver the freight to the right address. Highly recommended because it's so darn tasty.

Average customer rating:

My Favorite Zappa, the best of all the rest in one neat package
Uncle Meat
A sprawling journey through The Mothers' career...
Uncle Meat and Electric Aunt Jemima
The most original and absurd work ever

Uncle Meat
Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention
Manufacturer: Zappa Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000009S1
Release Date: 1995-05-02

Tracks:

Uncle Meat
The Voices Of Cheese
Nine Types Of Industrial Pollution
Zolar Czakl
Dog Breath, In The Year Of The Plague
The Legend Of The Golden Arches
Louie Louie
The Dog Breath Variations
Sleeping In A Jar
Our Bizarre Relationship
The Uncle Meat Variations
Electric Aunt Jemima
Prelude To King Kong
God Bless America
A Pound For A Brown On The Bus
Ian Underwood Whips It Out
Mr. Green Genes
We Can Shoot You
If We'd All Been Living In California...
The Air
Project X
Cruising For Burgers

Tracks:

Uncle Meat Film Excerpt Part 1
Tengo Na Minchia Tanta
Uncle Meat Film Excerpt Part II
King Kong Itself
King Kong II
King Kong III
King Kong IV
King Kong V
King Kong VI

Amazon.com

The soundtrack for a film that remained incomplete for over a decade, Uncle Meat is one of the finest albums produced by Zappa and the original Mothers of Invention. Showcasing every facet of the band, Uncle Meat is filled with quirky Zappa instrumentals like the title track and the "Dog Breath Variations," rock staples like "Cruisin' For Burgers" and "Mr. Green Genes," and an epic suite of instrumental fervor centered around the jazz-rock forerunner, "King Kong". This double CD edition also contains audio excerpts from the movie and a later song called "Tengo Na Minchia Tanta." --Andrew Boscardin

Customer Reviews:

My Favorite Zappa, the best of all the rest in one neat package.......2007-05-17

Listening to this today, I began to go down memory lane a bit... why was I informed several years ago not to bother with Uncle Meat? Someone told me it was collage-type noise. Another time, I got the impression from some online article once that it was almost unlistenable. Neither is true. All the FZ fans I met in college (or in my life) seemed to overlook it. Or, at least, I never heard anyone play it and I never saw it lying around as part of anyone's collection. People talked about Joe's Garage a lot, the first three Mothers albums and some of the 70s and 80s live stuff, but I never heard much about Uncle Meat.

I can't figure it out, really. It's a classic FZ album. Apparently, Frank added some crappy dialog to the 2nd disc, but that can be skipped easily enough by simply going straight to track 4 on disc 2 (which I always, always do!)

As for the rest of it, it's fantastic. The sort of cool instrumentation that came out on later albums like Jazz from Hell and the classical discs is done here with a real live feel that sounds old and smokin' with the sort of production on old jazz classics and still-classic recordings of classical music of around the same time period. It certainly sounds better than many of the early FZ cd remasters! Or the plastic/dry sound of his early 80s albums. At times, this sounds downright ethereal. Looking at the liner notes, I see that this was a Zappa-approved master in 1993. I guess that is what people are talking about when they complain about the pre-93 remasters. I never bothered to look until just now. Maybe I'll replace some of my other FZ cds (although I doubt You Are What You Is was remastered after 93 and that features the dry/plastic sound I'm thinking about right now... I can't listen to that album anymore because the sound annoys me too much. The ultra-pristine sound of much of the live 80s stuff kind of annoys me, too, but not as much). Anyway, point being: this album has a cool sound which is not too ancient sounding and not too dry. It has the organic, warm feel of a 60s record without sounding like it was recorded in an oil drum.

It sure would be hard to pick a favorite FZ album, but this one certainly fills a lot of needs. You'd think it might be a bit self-indulgent since it's experimental, but the fact is these songs are really tight and focused. The only overdone thing on it are the added-for-cd-release first 3 tracks on disc 2... but, like I said-- just skip those. Very easy to do! Tje rest of disc 2 (King Kongs) is like a bonus _classic_ jazz record right up there with the funkiest avant jazz you can think of. But, this is probably cooler.

Thinking more about it, this one album was like the "key" to a whole bunch of other FZ albums I just didn't really like that much. Somehow, it made everything else take on a new light. In many ways, it's more accessible than even the early Mothers albums, which were more straight "rock"-- what Uncle Meat offers that those don't is less cynicism, less "music concrete" (aka "noise"), less doo-wop, less bad/meaningless storytelling/lyrics and more beautifully cool and utterly unique musicianship. When you see what Frank and his gang were capable here, it makes you wonder why they did some of the stuff they did later. I could appreciate 4 or 5 more albums like this.

Uncle Meat.......2007-04-03

WOW!!! nothing compares to the original MOI! Uncle Meat is probably the most under-rated Moi album. It focusses mostly on chamber music and avant garde instrumentals. There is also rock, jazz, experimental, and of course doo-wop!!! The only down side of the album is the first three tracks on disc two. The film excerpts are intensely boring and Tengo Na Minchia Tanta does not at all fit in the album, but the album is still a five! The album contains brilliantly written chamber music such as the two part Uncle Meat, The Legend Of The Golden Arches, Dog Breath Variations, Sleeping In A Jar,and Pound For a brown On The Bus. It also contains some fascinating avant garde, such as Nine Types Of Industrial Pollution, Zolar Cyskal, The Voice Of Cheese, Louie Louie, Our Bizarre Relationship, God Bless America, Ian Underwood Whips It Out, We Can Shoot You, If we'd All Been Living In California, And Project X. The album also contains some rock influenced chamber music such as Dog Breath: In The Year Of The Plague, Mr. Green Genes, And Cruising For Burgers. The album also has some awesome doo- wop songs like Electric Aunt Jemima, and The Air. The jazz songs are the intense multi part King Kong. The whole album is brilliant, there is plenty of songs, plenty of variety, most of it listenable but all of it extraordinary. Very high recommendation

A sprawling journey through The Mothers' career..........2007-02-21

This is one of the more bizarre records in popular music. The original release was four sides of vinyl, covering many genres and styles. The CD is expanded to include a long sequence from the film, the official release, and outtake sequences, which isn't really necessary, but it does help put the concept of the finished film into context. Despite the rambling nature of the complete release, if you listen to it in its entirety, you do have a sense of going on a journey through sound, compliments of contemporary music's true pioneers, the Mothers Of Invention. Even though Frank Zappa was the group's spear-head, it becomes obvious that this particular group's sound and image were unique, even in the Zappa catalogue. At the time, he needed these musicians, however much he may have since said otherwise, and I don't believe this would have the sound, mood, and appearance that it has if other players were involved. Proof of this would be one of the tracks on the later release, "Tengo Na Minchia." Not the original band, and there is a night-and-day difference between this and the rest of the soundtrack. I am one of the world's biggest fans of FZ and The Mothers, but I think he messed with an ideal-sounding and ideally-paced release by including this. Just an opinion.

There is typical Mothers-style humor here, as with them playing the Whiskey-A-Go-Go in Los Angeles, a kazoo-accompanied "God Bless America," and the treatment they gave to "Louie Louie" at the Albert Hall, desecrating the "mighty, majestic Albert Hall pipe organ" in the process. Some serious pieces offset this, such as "Project X," and "Legend Of The Golden Arches." You get the definitive treatment of "King Kong," and no later band has played it with the fire of the original band performing this.

It's odd, this is a band that sometimes plays badly on purpose, and it sounds RIGHT. Proper technique can sometimes be a detrimint, and "Uncle Meat" proves this. It takes a little concentrated listening, but once you enter, you probably won't want to leave.

:)

Uncle Meat and Electric Aunt Jemima.......2006-10-05

What I love about Uncle Meat is the unpredictability in the music and the collages of music and dialogue with Suzy Creamcheese and Ian Underwood. The music sounds like something from outer space. Zappa makes it seem easy the way he arranges collages and composes the jazz-rock masterpieces. Where does the music come from? Zappa is a genuis and should be compared to the greats like Mozart, Ravel, Beethoven, Grieg, John Cage, Schumann, Prokofiev, and Varese. Great listen!

The most original and absurd work ever.......2006-05-10

Uncle meat is a soundtrack to a film of the same name, which Zappa finished almost two decades later. It is definately the weirdest soundtrack ever. My five star rating goes to original Uncle meat vinyl that doesn't contain film excerpts. The power of Uncle meat seems sometimes to be completely beyond any analysis. First of all it works better as whole than separate pieces. The album flows perfectly from instrumentals to vocal pieces to conversations to musical jokes. Uncle meat is full of complex instrumental music that is quite enjoyable, but still very experimental and unclassifiedable. There are many jazz, classical, doowop, psychedelic rock and even opera influences. I think the vocal pieces are real meat of this album. The vocals are even more hilarious than usually in Zappa's work.

This work is full of absurd humour, which probably only the band members truly understand, but musical jokes like God bless America can still be funny or at least make you smile. The whole album sounds like that Frank Zappa had a very weird dream and he put it on the album. I think this album is more mysterious than many psychedelic albums and this album actually contains one of the best psychedelic songs of all time Mr.Green Genes. The album has a tight absurd atmosphere, if you listen it throught. It contains some of the most imaginative and brilliant popular music ever Electric aunt Jemina, Uncle meat, Mr.Green Genes, Uncle meat variations and Dog breath in the year of plague. It breaks many barriers of popular music and turns everything upside down. It is not perfect. Some of the material is absolutely crap, but it is the brilliant and the most unique work ever. I'm a poet and this work has inspired me more than any other. In Uncle meat Frank Zappa has once again created a new musical universe. Certainly not a starting point for your Frank Zappa collection, but if you already own some Frank Zappa albums, give it a try. I highly recommend this for you.

Average customer rating:

Choral work at it's finest.
Love it
Light and shadows
Cambridge Singers = Quality
American Gramaphone, please reissue this title.

Brother Sun, Sister Moon
Gregorian Chant , William Byrd , John Taverner , Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina , Samuel Scheidt , John Sheppard , Maurice Durufle , Robert White , Cambridge Singers , Gerald Finley , and John Rutter
Manufacturer: American Gramaphone
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000005MF
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Music Of The Morning Rite: a. Alleluia - b. Haec Dies
Music Of The Morning Rite: Easter Sequence
Dum Transisset Sabbatum
Sanctus
Exsultate Deo
a. Easter Acclamations b. Surrexit Christus Hodie
Music Of The Evening Rite: Before The Ending Of The Day
Music Of The Evening Rite: In Pace
Music Of The Evening Rite: Into Thy Hands, O Lord
Music Of The Evening Rite: Ubi Caritas
Music Of The Evening Rite: Keep Me As The Apple Of An Eye And Nunc Dimittisa
Music Of The Evening Rite: O Christ, Who Art The Light And Day
Music Of The Evening Rite: a. We Will Lay Us Down In Peace b. Libera Nos, Salva Nos

Amazon.com

A brief glance at the packaging for this recording might make you think New Age, and indeed this label normally offers recordings in that vein. The disc's cover tells nothing about the music inside--all we see are the ruins of an ancient abbey, the moon in the sky on the front, the sun on the back. But wait. If you get far enough to listen to the recording, you'll find one of the most beautiful and beautifully programmed choral recordings in the catalog. The compositions, organized into the categories "Music of the Morning Rite" and "Music of the Evening Rite," are mostly from 16th- century composers--Byrd, Taverner, Sheppard, White--with a few Gregorian chants and a gorgeous rendition of the 20th-century motet by Duruflé, "Ubi caritas." Conductor/choral music legend John Rutter has assembled a program that's both uplifting and restful; the performance is faultless. One could only complain about the short (39 and a half minutes) playing time. --David Vernier

Customer Reviews:

Choral work at it's finest........2007-06-03

I really enjoyed this work. I was first introduced to this title through American Gramophone's website and was also my first introduction in the works of John Rutter and the Cambridge Singers. You do not have be religious to enjoy this work. I find the music uplifting and very sublime. I have listened to it many times, and I find that my favorite period to play it is in the morning hours. .

I have since purchased many other Rutter titles including "Images of Christ", and more recently "Lighten our Darkness"

Love it.......2007-05-02

13 years ago, I had the tape of brother sun, sister moon and as a teenager and I would play it every night as I slept, I loved it. I dont know what happened to it and I have ever sence been looking for it, and I just baught the CD and am so excited.

Light and shadows.......2003-07-29

Recorded in the Great Hall of University College School, London, the Cambridge Singers under the direction of John Rutter produced a true masterpiece in 'Brother Sun, Sister Moon' in 1988. The title derives from a famous prayer by St. Francis of Assisi, and is inspired by liturgical music from (or derivative of) the Middle Ages and Renaissance polyphony and Gregorian chant. The music is meditative, uplifting, and elegant in simplicity and stunning vocal quality.

--Brother Sun--
The first half of the disc is largely composed of pieces from the liturgical Morning Prayer cycle, concentrating on texts from Easter, the most important of Christian days. From the Alleluia to the Acclamations and Surrexit Christus Hodie (Christ is risen today), the flow from Gregorian Chant to compositions by Byrd, Taverner and Palestrina (giants of this type of music) in increasing energy and glory, as befits both a Morning service (time to wake up!) as well as a celebration of the resurrection of Christ. Perhaps of particular note here is the cantoring of bass Gerald Finley in the Easter Acclamations.

--Sister Moon--
The second half of the disc concentrates on music of the evening; in particular, the Compline service, a service of unwinding and sombre meditation with which monastic communities conclude their days of work and worship. Many churches have reincorporated Compline into a regular cycle of services; some have even done so as a result of exposure to this recording. The music here is softer and less energetic than that of Morning prayer. This includes music from Whyte and Sheppard (also masters of the Medieval-to-Renaissance liturgical polyphony) as well as a brilliant motet by twentieth century composer Duruflé for the Ubi Caritas.

--Liner Notes--
The notes for this recording include the titles and words, in both Latin and English, for each of the pieces recorded here. It has an excerpt from a prayer by St. Francis, and a basic introduction to the music relating it historically and liturgically. One thing conspicuously missing is any biographical information about John Rutter, or any descriptive information about the Cambridge Singers apart from the basic listing of singers.

--John Rutter--
Rutter was born in London and educated at Clare College, Cambridge. This was where his career as a composer, arranger and conductor began. His early work was with groups at King's College Chapel at Cambridge as well as the Bath Choir and Philharmonic Orchestra. He has worked for the BBC providing music for educational series such as 'The Archaeology of the Bible Lands', until in 1979 he began forming the Cambridge Singers, and has continued a remarkable career of performance and recording as their director ever since.

--The Cambridge Singers--
The Cambridge Singers are a mixed choir of voices, many of whom were members of choir of Rutter's college, Clare College, Cambridge. While they specialise in English and Latin liturgical pieces, they have a wide range of recordings that span from modern compositions (including a remarkable requiem by Rutter) to English folk songs of the Middle Ages. For this particular recording, the choir consisted of eleven sopranos, six altos, six tenors, and six basses.

Cambridge Singers = Quality.......2002-05-23

I do love this cd, but tend to play certain tracks as my first love is chant. I play the Victimae Paschali Laudes in the car and sing along - it is so very beautiful that this rendition of this Easter Chant is worth purchasing this cd alone. I love that one track so much, my only criticism of the cd is that I wish they'd centered the entire cd on chant - and I hope they will do one like that in the future because the quality of the voices is stunning.

American Gramaphone, please reissue this title........2000-03-30

I originally obtained this CD through Minnesota Public Radio. The first time I listened to the Ubi Caritus, I was moved to tears. The CD became my favorite to play at Christmas and other times. I gave the CD to a friend who has moved to Oregon, deeply regret that it is no longer in production.

Tracks:

Carol
Sirens Of Titan
What's Going On?
Not the One
Next Time
Apple Cider Reconstitution
The Dark And the Rolling Sea
Modern Times
Swallow Wind
A Sense Of Deja Vu
Willie the King

Customer Reviews:

One of his best albums.......2007-07-03

This album is sandwiched between the heavy historical content of "Past, Present and Future" and the more pop content of "Year of the Cat" and "Time Passages". Songs like "Carol" and "Apple Cider Reconstitution" could have been big hits but Stewart just wasn't that well known yet. There are still traces of history with "Sirens of Titan". This is an excellent album with a preview of the hits to come as well as a nod to his past. It's taken a long time for this to reach CD but this is definitely one of his best.

Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention

Average customer rating:

It iz what it iz
Mixed Bag
Great!
My FIRST FZ purchase.
The Machine vs. Zappa's band?

Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention
Frank Zappa
Manufacturer: Zappa Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Man from Utopia
Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch
Jazz From Hell
Broadway the Hard Way
The Perfect Stranger

ASIN: B0000009TD
Release Date: 1995-05-16

Tracks:

I Don't Even Care
One Man, One Vote
Little Beige Sambo
Aerobics In Bondage
We're Turning Again
Alien Orifice
Yo Cats
What's New In Baltimore
Porn Wars
H.R.

Customer Reviews:

It iz what it iz.......2007-05-21

Good later Zappa. It ain't Joe's GarageJoe's Garage: Acts I, II & III, but there's some classic Zappa here.

Mixed Bag.......2003-12-19

The impetus behind this album was, of course, the PMRC hearings on labelling/censoring offensive rock lyrics. The album is a mixed bag of material -- 5 studio tracks with a band, 3 synclavier compositions, and 2 collage tracks. They're somewhat hapharzadly thrown together, making the album extremely disjointed -- but there is a lot of great material on this album, nevertheless.

The opener, "I Don't Even Care," is a waste of 5 minutes. Its essentually a groove set down in studio by Zappa's band, with "I don't even care" sung in the background while Johnny "Guitar" Watson (not credited?) ad libs some lines. No solo, though you keep waiting for one. The song goes nowhere and is extremely repetitive.

Then follows 3 synclavier compositions, "One Man One Vote," "Little Beige Sambo," and "Aerobics in Bondage." These are pretty good. "One Man One Vote" is the least interesting, but the other two are extremely worthy compositions that measure up to the best material on Jazz From Hell.

The next 4 tracks are all Zappa classics that rank among his best work. "We're Turning Again" is a hilarious swipe at hippie culture, brilliantly arranged with a great hook. There's a great re-mix of this, and "Yo Cats" on the Have I Offended Somebody? compilation. "Alien Orifice" is a jaw-dropper. Get the Make A Jazz Noise Here album to hear the '88 band perform this sucker live! Zappa at his best.

"Yo Cats" is a great Ike Willis crooner, taking a shot at professional musicians. "What's New In Baltimore" is the best track on the album -- rarely can Zappa's work be desribed as "beautiful," but the opening guitar/percussion run on this song deserves the charge. The solo is one of Zappa's greatest.

"Porn Wars" and "H.R. 2911" (a bonus track) are both sound collages, mixing sound effects, synclavier, guitar, and looping the taped hearings of the PMRC in congress. Its amusing -- especially the extra clips from the people in the piano from the Lumpy Gravy album (one of my favorites!). Also, you'll get to hear Al Gore profess to be a Mothers fan, which is PRICELESS. But it drags on far too long.

Doesn't work as an album, since it has no cohesive direction, but some of the material on this album is great.

Great!.......2003-10-26

This cd is amazing, the only downside is "Porn Wars" which can get a little old after repeated listens. The other tracks hold up well though!

My FIRST FZ purchase........2003-06-07

Simply the greatest. Little Beige Sambo, Aerobics in Bondage, what's new in baltimore, We're turning again, alien orifice, and PORN WARS make this a verifyable GREATEST HITS package for the latter part of FZ releases. And it all on one release. I was totally blown away in 1986 when someone gave this to me to listen to. I just had to get more from this artist, then started my big chase to get them all.

This recording is just simply FZ full of passion, blasting ideas like a torch into steel. He was full of fire and ideas and it was most likely his last release of all new music until his death. Great stuff.

GET THIS CD.

The Machine vs. Zappa's band?.......2002-10-31

Whereas one of the very latest albums, "The Perfect Stranger", had seen Zappa's Synclavier music computer used "against" a chamber orchestra (Pierre Boulez's), here it meets Zappa's own electric band. Oddly - Zappa's highly brilliant musical companions-in-arms of the day certainly had little to fear of such competition - the gap seems wider here, for some reason. I have no problem with the alleged "coldness" of the Synclavier material, which might just be an irrelevant issue. I find just as much coldness in some of the humanly performed pieces from that era, whether by Boulez's group or FZ's, than in most of the Synclavier tracks from the Perfect Stranger album. However, in this here "FZ meets the M.O.P", most electronic pieces have a lot of passion, mystery and humor to them (esp. "Aerobics in Bondage" [one of Zappa's most beautiful and moving pieces ever recorded IMO], "H.R. 2911" and "Little Beige Sambo"), and this tendency was to continue with the next Synclavier album ("Jazz From Hell", 1986). Maybe I lack concentration power for the very abstract pieces from the previous one ("Love Story", "Jonestown", "Girl in Magnesium Dress"), but I find the newer electronic compositions somehow more focused, with better "hummable" themes.
Some of the rock band tracks are from the studio, others are apparently live stuff from the much acclaimed '81/'82 group, cleaned up of all audience noises. AFAIAC, same thing as always with the 80s Zappa's electric combo music: dangerously brilliant compositions (listen to the FZ solo spot in "Alien Orifice"!) share the space with very dated ("We're Turning Again") or barely relevant ("Yo Cats") satires. Pretty witty all right, but absolutely lacking any "meat" of any sort in the melody. Compare with "America Drinks and Goes Home", from "Absolutely Free", or better still, with the Zappa-produced Jean-Luc Ponty version!

Average customer rating:

Bad haircut + great music = terrific album
It is what it is.
A collection of classic hard classics from long haired dudes
The Long and The Short Of It
This CD is A Lifesaver

Mullets Rock!
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Goin' South
Mullets Rock! Too!
Ultimate Southern Rock
Goin' South, Vol. 2
Power of Rock: 16 Classic Rock Hits

ASIN: B00008J2QP
Release Date: 2003-03-11

Tracks:

Mississippi Queen - Mountain
Smoke On The Water - Deep Purple
Hot Blooded - Foreigner
Slow Ride - Foghat
The Stroke - Billy Squier
Free-For-All - Ted Nugent
Smokin' In The Boys Room - Brownsville Station
Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo - Rick Derringer
Surrender - Cheap Trick
Working For The Weekend - Loverboy
Any Way You Want It - Journey
Two Tickets To Paradise - Eddie Money
Hold The Line - Toto
Roll With The Changes - Reo Speedwagon
No One To Run With - Allman Brothers Band
Voodoo Child (Slight Return) - Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble
Bad To The Bone - George Thorogood & The Destroyers
Simple Man - Lynyrd Skynyrd

Tracks:

Smokin' - Boston
Flirtin' With Disaster - Molly Hatchet
Living After Midnight - Judas Priest
I Wanna Rock - Twisted Sister
Metal Health (Bang Your Head) - Quiet Riot
Godzilla - Blue VYster Cult
Frankenstein - The Edgar Winter Group
Carry On Wayward Son - Kansas
We're An American Band - Grand Funk Railroad
Don't Bring Me Down - Electric Light Orchestra
Takin' Care Of Business - Bachman-Turner Overdrive
Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress) - The Hollies
Rockin' Down The Highway - The Doobie Brothers
Black Betty - Ram Jam
School's Out - Alice Cooper
Bat Out Of Hell - Meat Loaf
Hold Your Head Up - Argent

Customer Reviews:

Bad haircut + great music = terrific album.......2006-05-13

You don't have to admit that you wore a mullet (or still do) to enjoy the 35 cuts from "Mullets Rock". This 2-CD set is a great compilation of some of the finest head-banging music from the late '70s through the late '80s. Each selection (while not new to aficionados of Classic Rock) is a hit in its own right and memorable for more than a few reasons. Rarely, does a compilation like this have so many great songs one after another. There are no "filler" songs that simply take up space on "Mullets Rock"!

While it's true that most of the performers featured in this CD were not wearers of that infamous hairstyle, that's of little importance to the listener because it is the music that drives this album. Some of the biggest hits from Kansas ("Carry on My Wayward Son", Boston ("Smokin'"), BTO ("Takin' Care of Business"), The Doobie Brothers ("Roll On Down the Highway"), Deep Purple ("Smoke On the Water"), Stevie Ray Vaughan ("Voodoo Chile" and REO Speedwagon ("Roll With the Changes") just to mention a few are all present.

Meant to be played loud, this is one CD that you will crank up over and over.

It is what it is........2005-03-16

It's hard not to be a little Zen when reviewing this album. It doesn't exactly cover new ground, introduce you to a new way of living, or stretch your understanding of a particular type of music. Simply: It is what it is. It is culture-bound, enslaved in time, redneck rock and roll, and I really, really like it. Face it: You're not going to update your CD collection with very many of the original albums sampled here, but you do wish you had bought them at the time. In the end, you're going to get this and listen to it alone on long car trips, and then when your long lost college friends come over, and they are going to be SO jealous of the fact that you have this album, because YOU can relive a past that is never, ever coming back, and with good reason, but we can still enjoy what was, through this, that is. I think it's awesome.

A collection of classic hard classics from long haired dudes.......2004-07-15

"Mullets Rock!" is a 2-CD collection that decides that if you want a rationale for putting together 35 hard rock songs from the 1970s and early 1980s, then groups where guys wore the infamous mullet haircut makes as much sense as anything else. Were their actually guys wearing mullet haircuts in Journey, Toto, Argent, and the rest of these groups? Darned if I know because I was not paying attention to their hair and I am not really inclined to do a Google search to find pictures of all these groups to check their bone fides. What matters here is that this is a more than solid collection of the core classics of bombastic hard rock from his period: Mountain's "Mississippi Queen," Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water," Foghat's "Slow Ride," Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein," Kansas' "Carry on My Wayward Son," Grand Funk Railroad's "We're an American Band," Bachman-Turner Overdrive's "Takin' Care of Business," and Meat Loaf's magnum opus "Bat Out of Hell."

Not everything here qualifies as hard rock and that includes some of the better tracks, such as REO Speedwagon's "Roll With the Changes," Cheap Trick's "Surrender," the Hollies' "Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)," and Argent's "Hold Your Head Up." You will also find a few tracks that you can live without, which only underscores the only serious problem with this album: how many of these classic tracks are you missing? Of course you have Alice Cooper's "School's Out" and "Bad to the Bone" by George Thorogood and the Destroyers. But I have over 1200 CDs and I did not have half the tracks on this one and there are certainly enough gems to make it worth the addition. Ultimately, "Mullets Rock!" is an album that requires to be played loud with the windows down (or open, whatever works best for you).

The Long and The Short Of It.......2003-04-17

The mullet haircut at the root of this generous 2CD classic rock collection first appeared in the 1950s as a barber's mistake which became a regional, then nostalgic phenomenon. The illustrations gracing the front and inside covers (football, pro wrestlers, muscle cars and monster trucks, character rejects from "Beavis and Butthead") tell the whole story as to who wore and wears the cut called anything from "rattail" to "party in the back."

Still, "Mullets Rock" is a surprisingly robust set which gets most of the bands if not always the songs right over three decades. Foreigner's "Dirty White Boy" might have been better chosen over "Hot Blooded," Foghat's "Fool For The City" over "Slow Ride," Judas Priest's "Breaking The Law" over "Living After Midnight." Moreover, Toto and the Hollies' polished rock had little to do with the hair or lifestyle of the time, and George Thoroughgood's "Bad To The Bone" and BTO's "Taking Care of Business" are commercial and cliche now more than rockers.

But mullet wearers Journey, REO Speedwagon, and the late Stevie Ray Vaughn are well represented with album-length versions of songs often left out of collections like this. (Vaughn's epic 1984 take on Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child" ducktails, um, dovetails nicely from the Allman Brothers chugging 1994 radio hit "No One Left To Run With." Southern rockers (the Doobie Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ram Jam's infamous hard rock take on Leadbelly's "Black Betty" get their due beside some early 80s metal hair bands (Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot, Billy Squier). Overall, "Mullet Rock" works as weekend barbeque or drive collection for those wanting to comb through some classic rock's highlights.

This CD is A Lifesaver.......2003-04-16

As you may or not know, tornado season has official begun here in Arkansas. Well, one of those dang ol' twisters got me and the woman's trailer. We got the dogs out, and most of the kids, but my whole 45 collection went to the used record store in the sky. I just bought this CD, and it totally and completely replaced all that we lost. I'm proud of my mullet, I'm proud my woman's mullet, and Mullets do Rock!!!

Average customer rating:

interesting first listen, but do you want to hear this again?
Muzak for Aging Proggers
CONTEXT BEING THE THING
Excellent Prog-Rock Interpretations for Jazzy but not Jazz Piano Trio
Great CD! Bring on Volume 2

King Crimson Songbook, Vol. 1
The Crimson Jazz Trio
Manufacturer: Voiceprint UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Pictures of a City: Live in New York
Love Cannot Bear
The Brondesbury Tapes (1968)
Live in Japan
Exposure

ASIN: B000B865DM
Release Date: 2005-10-17

Tracks:

21st Century Schizoid Man
Three Of A Perfect Pair
Catfood
Starless
Ladies Of The Road
I Talk To The Wind
Red
Matte Kudasai

Album Description

Very, very few players have covered King Crimson repertoire and no-one of prominence (other than The Schizoid Band and Andrew Keeling's orchestral arrangements) has attempted more than one or two pieces. There have been honourable renditions & representations but, until now, without significantly adding to my understanding of Crimson material.

The CJ3 have respectfully & irreverently taken 8 Crimson classics, repositioned them in the musical spectrum, and delivered their first Songbook with superb musicianship in service to wit & invention. I have heard, as if for the first time, Schizoid, TOAPP, Catfood, Starless, Ladies Of The Road, I Talk To The Wind, Red & Matte Kudasai.

Ian Wallace provides personal hotline & Crimson-juice authority to the Trio, although anyone unfamiliar with Ian's jazz passion & experience may be surprised by what is going on here. O for a shabby & smoke-free jazz club to sit back & savour The CJ3 in living sonic colour. O for someone to persuade Ian, Jody Nardone & Tim Landers to climb into the back of a van and travel.

Album Description

CJ3 have respectfully & irreverently taken 8 Crimson classics, repositioned them in the musical spectrum and delivered their first Songbook with superb musicianship in service to wit & invention. Featuring well known King Crimson members Ian Wallace and Mel Collins. Sleeve notes by Robert Fripp.Voiceprint. 2005.

Album Details

Very, Very Few Players have Covered King Crimson Repertoire and No-one of Prominence (Other Than the Schizoid Band and Andrew Keeling's Orchestral Arrangements) Has Attempted More Than One Or Two Pieces. There have Been Honourable Renditions and Representations But, Until Now, Without Significantly Adding to My Understanding of Crimson Material. The Cj3 have Respectfully and Irreverently Taken Eight Crimson Classics, Repositioned them in the Musical Spectrum, and Delivered their First Songbook with Superb Musicianship in Service to Wit and Invention. I have Heard, as If for the First Time, Schizoid, Toapp, Catfood, Starless, Ladies of the Road, I Talk to the Wind, Red and Matte Kudasai. Ian Wallace Provides Personal Hotline and Crimson-juice Authority to the Trio, Although Anyone Unfamiliar with Ian's Jazz Passion and Experience May Be Surprised by What is Going on Here.

Customer Reviews:

interesting first listen, but do you want to hear this again?.......2006-08-09

Being a big fan of the King Crimson material chosen for this disc and of good jazz piano (Evans, Jarrett, Tyner, Charlap, Gustavsen,....), I had high hopes. Sadly, this just doesn't work for me.

Faster tempo sections lack grit or aggression, and the quieter passages frequently descend into a Hilton lounge vibe.

Do the guys have musical chops? Certainly. And drummer Ian Wallace brings Crimson bandmate experience to the plate (the drums are the highlight of this set). I would have preferred an acoustic bass instead of the "front of the mix" electric that was chosen, but ability and instrumentation are not the problem. Soul and innovation are.

Despite an ever-changing band line up (sans Fripp, the only always-present member), King Crimson was always filled with musicians who had a lot to say and the ability to say it (even if you didn't didn't necessarily enjoy every incarnation or album).

Sadly, this CD doesn't live up to its concept. Great Crimson "standards" were chosen, but (unlike a great jazz trio tackling a stanard tune and building something new and exciting) these interpretations don't go very far.

I DO recommend checking this disc out. It's interesting to hear these pieces in a different context. The question will be whether or not you would like to hear them more than once.

Muzak for Aging Proggers.......2006-03-19

A few years ago, following the dubious success of "The Orchestral Tubular Bells" we were treated to a rapidly-descending series of lugubrious orchestrations of the music of Jethro Tull, Yes, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd (Oh, the humanity!) and several other Baby Boomer favorites. Thankfully, the trend died out as fast as it arose and elevators all over the world have gone back to "Tiny Bubbles" and "Raindrops."

Or maybe not. Is the Crimson Trio a harbinger of the next wave of bowderlization, where everything sacred is turned into Lounge Jazz this time? Can Nick the Lounge Singer, crooning "Aqualung" in airport lounges to blue-haired travelers, be far behind?

Oh the Trio is tasteful -- Landers is one hell of a bassist and Wallace is underappreciated -- but the first signs of the Apocalypse always are.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

CONTEXT BEING THE THING.......2006-03-11

The equation is pretty simple: The Crimson Jazz Trio is to jazz somewhat less than King Crimson is to rock. But the real import here is a dramatic change of context, one that shifts the rhythmic and melodic components from an often clinical glare into a warm and generous new light. By allowing us to recognize these now familiar pieces in a completely new setting is a great way to demonstrate just how compelling, flexible and open-ended the music of King Crimson is. Even more interesting is the way in which the music of various generations of KC, each with its own distinct stylistic signature and aesthetic preoccupations, adapt to the here "standardized" jazz form.

More than an exercise, the first volume Songbook shows us that no matter what the form, interpretation is a critical aspect of making music. The interpretations here are uniformly worthwhile and exhibit the outcomes of what must have been some difficult decisions. Just consider untying the Gordian Knot that is "Starless", absent of Alexander's sword. Music such as this, with its strictly metered progressions built on razor-fine divisions and subtle, clockwork variations would seem impossible to adapt to the freer shadings of jazz. Yet, the Crimson Jazz trio accomplishes just that, to great effect.

Listening, however, proves to be equally demanding and rewarding, especially when compared to a spate of comparatively onanistic "mash-ups" of the original work. Anyone interested in music and its seemingly infinite pliability and potential should spend time with this Songbook.

Excellent Prog-Rock Interpretations for Jazzy but not Jazz Piano Trio.......2006-03-05

This disc is almost an instant classic, give or take a few minor reservations. Exceeded all my expectations that's for sure.

Landers & Wallace need no introduction but it is the unknown Nardone who is the revelation here. He's unfailingly tasteful in the slower and medium-tempo sections, really catching the immortal spirit of classic KC but he also tends to overplay and overstate and bang on the keyboards and take the song through some sort of climax, unnecessarily ruining his own extended state of grace, apparently thinking he has to do this just because this is the mighty King Crimson after all that they're interpreting and a bit of loudness and 'rocking out' is called for! Not so. By riding out the entire song in a perfect state of understated balance which is what cool jazz is all about and with fresh inventiveness each step of the way, he creates a masterpiece whereas whenever he bangs on the keyboards he creates only annoyance since no piano can match the power of Fripp's guitar.

That criticism aside, the great thing about Nardone is that when he's flying improv he's flying strictly with the 'beyond' feel or 'transcendent' feel of a tune, the mysterious spirit that makes it great and he's all about that 100% and where that takes him and not at all tied into a jazz idiom. In other words, if Keith Jarrett or Chick Corea or Herbie Hancock improvised on these same tunes, it would sound too jazzy and they would take a jazz approach and subordinate the feel of the tune to the jazz approach which tends towards homogeneity. Not Nardone, he takes the improv approach but leaves the jazz patterns or feel out because it would take away from the superior classic KC feel. The Jazz or be-bop derived style of playing with its established patterns of approach has been run down into the ground by hundreds of players over the years so it's great to hear a guy who likes the freedom of improvisation but likes the transcendence prog aims at at its best better than the very different type of transcendence jazz tries for. You could say that this is cool-jazz played with equal parts cool-jazz spirit & prog-rock imagination but without any be-bop dervied stuff thrown in that you hear in all standard jazz albums from Pat Metheny to Keith Jarrett.

Excellent job recording the CD as well, super-thick very nice piano sound, a killer deep electric bass that stands in for an upright and the classic Wallace drum tone.

Great CD! Bring on Volume 2.......2006-03-03

While this is not officially King Crimson, it's definitely a must for any Crimson fan. This is even a great jazz CD for those who aren't (yet) fans of KC. I really enjoy the very melodic fretless bass guitar. I definitely hope they stay together and record a Volume 2. I'd love to hear some more arrangements from the '80s Fripp/Belew/Bruford/Levin line up as well as the '90s Double Trio.

Average customer rating:

A Modern Times Trip Down Memory Lane
Does Anybody Have A Better Voice?
Modern Times
Modern Times- Maybe Al's Best
If you are and Al fan, buy it now

Modern Times
Al Stewart
Manufacturer: Bgo - Beat Goes on
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Past, Present And Future
Time Passages
Year of the Cat
A Beach Full of Shells
Last Days of the Century

ASIN: B0000248M1
Release Date: 2000-10-16

Tracks:

Carol
Sirens of Titan
What's Going On?
Not the One
Next Time
Apple Cider Re-constitution
Dark and the Rolling Sea
Modern Times
News from Spain [*]
Elvaston Place [*]
Swallow Wind [*]

Album Description

Reissue of 1975 album for the folk/rock singer/songwriter. Includes fully updated sleevenotes from Colin Irwin. Musicians include, Simon Nicol, Tim Renwick, Peter Wingfield and Gerry Conway. Produced by Alan Parsons. Includes three rare bons tracks, 'News From Spain', 'Elvaston Place' and 'Swallow Wind'. 2000 release. Standard jewel case.

Album Details

Originally Released in 1975. Includes Rare Bonus Tracks 'swallow Wind', 'News from Spain'(The Remix Single Version) & 'Elvaston Place'.

Customer Reviews:

A Modern Times Trip Down Memory Lane.......2006-06-23

There are certain tracks on this album that are still being sung by Mr. Stewart at age 60 in concerts around the country, as his fans want to hear them. Since the issue of what is now not so modern times, I wonder at the effectiveness that "Carol" still presents. Al did not consider this album among his best work. Several people have waxed nostalgic about the old cover but if you look closely in the light there was that image of a guy dressed as Doctor Strange (one of my favorite Marvel comic characters!) and there is little wonder why it was changed. The Cord convertible, Mansion and Bonnie and Clyde outfits try to convey a certain English mystique that did not work. The songs on the album are worth hearing but our troubador was not as artistically creative in this work as he has been with past and future projects. "Down in the Cellar" , the Wine-Piano bar album comes to mind as a creative example. Still, a lot of fans rate this very highly and it has atmospheric qualities of mood that can place you in a dark and rolling sea. Recommended for diversity in the Al Fan club (and we are many!)

Does Anybody Have A Better Voice?.......2006-05-08

Al Stewart may very well have the best voice i have ever heard. He shows it well on this album that has 8 absolute classics as well as 3 new ones on the remastered version. He can sing about anything and make it sound remarkable such as upbeat fun songs such as Apple Cider or dark eerie songs like the Dark and the Rolling Sea. I have yet to find anybody make me feel the way I feel when listening to Al. It is an outstanding experience and i strongly urge you to buy this. My favorite songs are Carol, What's Going On?, Apple Cider, The Dark and the Rolling Sea & Modern Times.

Modern Times.......2004-06-24

This is im my mind the best album Al Stewart recorded. My favorite, as I wore it out on the album was "What's Going On", but the whole album is great and it flows. Whoever decided on which tracks should go together was a mixdown genious. When I fist heard this album I was working as a DJ in the American Forces Radio And Television Service. This fit in nicely with jazz, soft rock or AOR (Album Oriented Rock) which was the Rock format of the time. Righteous CD. Glad they re-released it! Can't believe "What's Going On" was never released on a Best Of CD. But then again this was early in Al's career!

Modern Times- Maybe Al's Best.......2004-06-13

Modern Times is an album that sounds just as good in 2004 as it did when I first got it in 1975. Every song tells an indepth story that seems so familiar to me (and probably most people). Who hasn't experienced the sadness of "Not the One"? Can you look back to your teenage/young adult years and not be touch by "Modern Times"? Don't we all know a "Carol" from somewhere?

Modern Times, looking at it historically, was the major battle just before the pinnacle (Year of the Cat and Time Passages). it is the album that every thought was Al's best up to the moment. But no one at that time ever foresaw the popularity right around the corner with his next two albums.

I guess I was a victim of circumstance (as are we all) when I bought the LP. All my friends and relatives have gotten the LP/Cassette/or CD as a gift from one time or other. They too sing the praises of this most wonderful album.

If you are and Al fan, buy it now.......2003-12-10

Do yourself a favour Al Stewart fans, if you don't have this album buy it now. This is a superb album from Al, possibly his best (though I also love Past, Present and Future and Orange). The writing, production and musicianship is great, every song is good. This one is for Stewart fans who fall into the category of thinking everything Al did prior to Year of the Cat was great and everything after sucked because he went from serious songwriter to going for the bubblegum, meaningless pop hit(yes I am in that category).

Modern Art: The Complete Art Pepper Aladdin Recordings, Vol. 2

Average customer rating:

Art Pepper at his best
Masterpiece
One of the best jazz albums
Consummate West Coast Cool Jazz
Great Album

Modern Art: The Complete Art Pepper Aladdin Recordings, Vol. 2
Art Pepper
Manufacturer: Blue Note Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Art Pepper Meets The Rhythm Section
Intensity
Winter Moon
Art Pepper + Eleven
Smack Up

ASIN: B000005H5O
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Blues In
Bewitched, Bothered, And Bewildered
Stompin' At The Savoy
What Is This Thing Called Love
Blues Out
When You're Smiling
Cool Bunny
Diane's Dilemma
Diane's Dilemma (Alternate Take)
Summertime
Fascinating Rhythm (Alternate Take)
Begin The Beguin (Alternate Take)
Webb City (Alternate Take)

Amazon.com

Art Pepper made a name for himself in the early 1950s as a West Coast alto saxophonist who could play the complex harmonies of bop, but was not a slavish imitator of Charlie Parker. Pepper's intelligently-structured soloing was the epitome of California cool. Modern Art, recorded after he had served time in jail on drug charges, is a reissue of 1956 and 1957 sessions recorded for Alladin with either Russ Freeman or Carl Perkins on piano, Ben Tucker on bass, and Chuck Flores on drums. "Blues In" opens the session with a fine example of Pepper's soloing style. The swing classic "Stompin' at the Savoy" is an unbridled joy. "Cool Bunny," the two takes of "Diane's Dilemma," and alternate takes of "Fascinating Rhythm" and "Begin the Beguine" are other highlights. --John Swenson

Customer Reviews:

Art Pepper at his best.......2007-05-26

If you like the dreamy, smoothe style of Art Pepper, don't miss this one. I am now searching for Volume one, but so far, no luck.

Masterpiece.......2007-04-28

Pepper here is light years ahead of most in the business at the time. All you need to do is listen to his cover of SUMMERTIME and you'll see. It's probably one of jazz's most unrecognized masterpieces. His duets with Tucker are also far ahead of time. Pure pleasure, Modern Art.

One of the best jazz albums.......2005-03-21

I own hundreds of jazz cd's, and sometimes someone wants to know if I have a favorite. I can't say I have one favorite, but this is up there in the top 5. I recommend this CD to any serious jazz fan who somehow has overlooked one of the most talented sax players ever, anyone interested in "cool" jazz, anyone trying out jazz for the first time, and any jazz musician looking to hear some inspiring solo work. It's a true album, where every track belongs, and it plays well, in order, from start to finish, over and over again.

Consummate West Coast Cool Jazz.......2000-09-06

The cover can tell you a lot about this CD. I think the photograph exactly typifies a time, a life-style, a mood. This is the late-Fifties West Coast jazz world we're in. A good-looking young man dressed in a sharp suit, white shirt and understated tie, sits at a table with his faithful saxophone at his elbow, an abstract painting hanging on the wall behind him. His expression is a mixture of cool, detached concentration, with maybe just a hint of the assured, almost surly, "who-gives-a-s**t" rebel. I don't know who took this photograph or whether others from the same session were ever used, but it is an image that I think matches the music to perfection. It seems unfair to single out a track for special mention - the whole mood of the album just cruises along at a very high standard. It sounds like a bunch of musicians who are just enjoying themselves, confident they are excelling at their craft on the day. "Hey guys, we're good, and we don't care who knows it." The only minor negative I would offer is the recording sound. This isn't hi-fi demonstration material. If you're a real hi-fi enthusiast it may seem a bit shallow and with slightly unnatural tones to some of the instruments. However, it is clean and dynamic, and the tracks are played with such enthusiasm and ability that the quality of the music shines through. This is great listening and thoroughly recommended.

Great Album.......1999-11-16

this is a wonderful album, my first venture into Art Pepper and I can't get enough! For those still new to Jazz, this is a great album to get your feet wet with.

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