The Season [DualDisc]

The Season [DualDisc]

ASIN: B000BC8T8M

Track Listings
Disc: 1

1. This Christmas

2. Merry Christmas Darling

3. Man with the Bag

4. Moonlight in Vermont

5. Sleighride

6. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

7. Medley: I Love the Winter Weather/I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm

8. Christmas Waltz

9. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

10. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

See all 11 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. This Christmas [DVD]

2. Merry Christmas Darling [DVD]

3. Man with the Bag [DVD]

4. Moonlight in Vermont [DVD]

5. Sleigh Ride [DVD]

6. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas [DVD]

7. Medley: I Love the Winter Weather/I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm [DVD

8. Christmas Waltz (Introduction) [DVD]

9. I Hear the Bells on Christmas Day [DVD]

10. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town [DVD]

See all 15 tracks on this disc

Tracks:

In The Arms Of This Low
Sleeping
Falling Slowly
Drown Out
Lies
When Your Mind's Made Up
The Swell Season
Leave
The Moon
Alone Apart

Album Description

Frames front man Hansard has teamed up with classically trained Czech vocalist and pianist, Irglova to produce this album of affecting songs and compositions. From straight songs to piano instrumentals, "The Swell Season" affords an insight into a whole other side of Glen/The Frames, as well as offering a perfect introduction to this very talented newcomer. The record takes its name from author Josef Skvorecky's book of the same name. Set in Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia, the story centers on one man's love of music and his pursuit of unattainable women as a country comes unglued. Like the book, the record deals with the pains and hopes of those struggling to make sense of their lives.

Customer Reviews:

The Swell Season.......2007-07-04

Having seen the movie-"Once" I wanted to get this recording. This recording by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova is quite pleasing to the senses. It touches me deep inside. I play this over and over.

The Frames "The Cost" is a great record too!.......2007-06-05

If anyone here does not know that Glen Hansard is the lead singer for The Frames, you are missing out. "The Cost" is an amazing record, you owe it to yourself to check it out!

Buy this CD!!!!!.......2007-05-19

Love Irish music, Indie bands or just want to explore a new sound? Buy this fabulous CD, with many songs from the low budget, highly entertaining Irish film Once.

great Accoustics.......2007-03-09

Most of these CD songs are in the movie "Once". I loved the story line in the movie,and the accoustical songs give meaning and feeling to the near love relationship of the two characters. Listening to this CD, reminds me of the possibility of "What could have been". Easy listening.

Loved the movie, Love the soundtrack.......2007-03-09

After seeing the movie "Once" at the Sundance Film Festival and meeting Glen & Marketa I rushed to my computer to order The Swell Season. The Swell Season contains most of the songs featured in the brilliant Irish musical film written and directed by John Carney. The songs on The Swell Season are beautiful and evocative and the melodies will sweep you away. Glen's voice is like a fine Irish whiskey at it's best and Marketa provides the perfect counterpoint.

Average customer rating:

Constantine

Manufacturer: 6th Place Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
Similar Items:

Growing Up With Loukoumi (includes narrated CD)
Safe in Sound
Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris
Elliott Yamin
My December

ASIN: B000SQKZ92
Release Date: 2007-08-07

Tracks:

Girl Like You
Several Thousand
Everybody Loves
Child Of The Revolution
Right To My Head
Favorite T-Shirt
Sister, Sister
Fading Into You
I Thought It Was Something
So Long
Heaven Help The Lonely
Midnight Radio

In Season: The Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons Anthology

Average customer rating:

It doesn't get any better than this
Great Set List, Great Sound, Great Packaging! What Else Is There?
Great Memories
This collection made me a fan!
Great Collection

In Season: The Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons Anthology
Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons
Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Jersey Boys (2005 Original Broadway Cast)
Come a Little Bit Closer: The Best of Jay & the Americans
Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
Very Best of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons
Dion & Belmonts - Greatest Hits

ASIN: B00005BC9O
Release Date: 2001-05-15

Tracks:

Sherry
Big Girls Don't Cry
Connie-O
Peanuts
Alone (Why Must I Be Alone)
Walk Like A Man
Ain't That A Shame
Candy Girl
Marlena
Stay
Little Boy (In Grown Up Clothes)
Dawn (Go Away)
Silence Is Golden
Ronnie
Rag Doll
Save It For Me
Big Man In Town
Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby, Goodbye)
Betrayed
Toy Soldier
Girl Come Running
Let's Hang On (To What We've Got)
Don't Think Twice (It's All Right) - The Wonder Who?
The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)
(You're Gonna) Hurt Yourself
Working My Way Back To You
You're Ready Now
Opus 17 (Don't You Worry 'Bout Me)
I've Got You Under My Skin

Tracks:

Can't Take My Eyes Off You
C'Mon Marianne
The Proud One
Tell It To The Rain
Beggin'
Lonesome Road - The Wonder Who?
I Make A Fool Of Myself
Watch The Flowers Grow
To Give (The Reason I Live)
Will You Love Me Tomorrow
Idaho
The Girl I'll Never Know (Angels Never Fly This Low)
And That Reminds Me (My Heart Reminds Me)
Patch Of Blue
My Eyes Adored You
Swearin' To God (Single Version)
Who Loves You
Our Day Will Come (Single Version)
December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)
Silver Star (Single Version)
Fallen Angel
Grease

Amazon.com

At three CDs, Rhino's 25th Anniversary Collection may have featured just a little too much. But at one CD, Rhino's distillation of that box set--also titled Anthology--may have been just a tad too short, neglecting cuts ("The Proud One," "Peanuts") that true aficionados wanted on CD. The label remedies the situation with its 2001 Anthology, which, at two CDs, is really only three songs shorter than the 25th Anniversary Collection. Thus, the casual fan may still get a bit more than necessary (including a very vanilla take on Fats Domino's "Ain't That a Shame"). The tradeoff is you'll also get everything you could possibly want by this wonderful group, including the great obscurities (although the label also released a new rarities package, Off Seasons, to coincide with this compilation). It prominently features those amazing '60s radio hits that merged Spector-ish production with East Coast street-corner doo-wop to produce epic miniature rock operas. Much of the imagery in those very class-conscious love stories would turn up in the songs of another great Italian rock star from New Jersey named Springsteen. And to this day, the music and production still sound passionate and glorious. --Bill Holdship

Customer Reviews:

It doesn't get any better than this.......2007-06-17

I've been a long time fan of The Four Seasons-The smash Broadway musical "Jersey Boys" has rekindled a lot of interest in the group & its music-You get all the key hits:"Sherry","Big Girls Don't Cry","Walk Like A Man","Rag Doll",& "December 1963 (Oh,What A Night)"-Those five songs all topped the Billboard "Hot 100" at one time-You also receive an informative booklet,which gives a lot of vital information-If you're a die hard Four Seasons aficionado,you must buy this.

Great Set List, Great Sound, Great Packaging! What Else Is There?.......2007-06-06

Set list is perfect. No useless bonus cuts that I won't listen to. All tracks are in perfect chronological order.

Great Sound. Volume and mixing is perfect. I even put this on a Wave Editor and the volume is near 0db with terrific dynamic range.

Great Packaging, with a nice booklet with photos, a detailed set list with dates and original stock numbers, and nice information about the group.

I wasn't a huge fan of the Four Seasons, but if you want to buy a really good sounding CD set of their stuff with a great set list and packaging, this one is for you.

Great Memories.......2007-03-14

If you are a Four Seasons fan, this is the CD(s) for you. All of their best songs are here as well as Frankie Vallie's "disco days" songs. You won't be disappointed!

This collection made me a fan!.......2007-03-02

I've known of Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons for many years. They're typically that really screeching band you hear a few bars from the chorus of one or two of their hits on one of those late night commercials for the "fab fifties hit collection" CD.

Anyway, that's what I thought until out of a desperate attempt to wean my young children off the Beach Boys that they seem to need to listen to every evening and have been for the last two years or so, I went ahead and ordered this anthology.

Well, a whole new world of pop music opened up to me. Guess what, when you play a beatifully remastered CD on a high-end stereo system (one of those systems where the transformers are in separate boxes), they actually sound rather good! I was totally amazed at this band that I had pre-judged as being a bunch of 50's throwbacks that are only good for a screech or two during a CD commercial on late-night TV.

And, the stuff between the hits sounds good too. Sure, not all the tunes on this collection have the hooks of the great hits, but to me it's more interesting to hear a full range of what a band is/was capable of, not just the absolutely greatest hits.

One of my kids liked it too. So, if you're already a fan of this band I don't see how you could go wrong, unless you own all these tunes already, but if you're not a fan this CD set just might make you one.

And once you've digested this anthology, go get the "Let's Hang On and 11 Other Hits". It's got a different version of "Workin' my Way Back to You" and the brilliant "Beggars Parade" and a lot of other great tunes that didn't make it to their greatest hits albums.

Great Collection.......2007-02-17

This collection beats any of the others that are on sell at this time.
It has very hard to find singles that were released in the 60s and 70s. One of my favorite selections is FALLEN ANGEL, that is featured in the Broadway play JERSEY BOYS. Buy this!!

Average customer rating:

Great Album, even for nonfans!
Moody and Moving
Great follow-on soundtrack to Season 1
Choosing Between Season One or Two? Choose Two.
Fantastic

Battlestar Galactica: Season 2

Manufacturer: La-La Land Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Battlestar Galactica: Season One
Battlestar Galactica
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Battlestar Galactica - Season 2.0 (Episodes 1-10)
Firefly (Original Television Soundtrack)

ASIN: B000FCUYKO
Release Date: 2006-06-20

Tracks:

Colonial Anthem (Theme from Battlestar Galactica) (4:02)
Baltar's Dream (2:45)
Escape from the Farm (3:09)
A Promise to Return (3:03)
Allegro (4:59)
Martial Law (1:51)
Standing in the Mud (1:45)
Pegasus (2:46)
Lords of Kobol (2:50)
Something Dark is Coming (8:51)
Scar (2:26)
Epiphanies (2:43)
Roslin and Adama (2:49)
Gina Escapes (2:00)
Dark Unions (2:53)
The Cylon Prisoner (3:51)
Prelude to War (8:22)
Reuniting the Fleet (2:45)
Roslin Confesses (2:09)
One Year Later (1:43)
Worthy of Survival (3:35)
Battlestar Galactica - Main Title (0:45)
Black Market (5:48)

Amazon.com

In its own way, this soundtrack to the cult SciFi Channel series embodies all the trends of film and, to a certain extent, TV-scoring circa 2006. Alien universes and mysterious plots are suggested by exotic instruments like gamelans and taikos; an otherwordly woman comes in at regular intervals to vocalize esoterically ("Lords of Kobol"); and thundering percussions suggest action ("Scar"). It's as if cult band Dead Can Dance were on the required listening list for American screen composers ("Gina Escapes"). Composer Bear McCreary pulls off the mix better than some of his contemporaries because, this being TV, he probably doesn't have the budget of a big Hollywood composer and so he can't rely on a ginormous orchestra to do the work for him (i.e., he can't just pile on dozens of violins to suggest mood). Look for ex-Oingo Boingo member Steve Bartek (who's orchestrated many of Danny Hellman's finest scores) on guest guitar on the final track, "Black Market." --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Album Description

Acclaimed composer Bear McCreary builds on his impressive Season One accomplishments with this new original soundtrack from the second season of the Sci-Fi Channel's critically praised, top-rated television series starring Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, James Callis, Tricia Helfer and Katee Sackhoff. Once again, composer McCreary delivers a sensational, emotionally rich score that ingeniously melds orchestra, vocals, percussion and synthesizer in a variety of exciting motifs. Simply put, it's an amazing compilation that trancends the genre and brings sci-fi television music to new heights! Former Oingo-Boingo member Steve Bartek plays featured guitar on "Black Market". CD Booklet contains exclusive liner notes from McCreary and executive producer Ronald D. Moore.

Customer Reviews:

Great Album, even for nonfans!.......2007-07-10

This is a great album of music from one of the greatest scifi series ever. I've shared it with family and friends, who loved it, even those who normally don't enjoy orchestral music. The earthly nature of the music reflects more of a humanity than any of the pompous trumpet-driven garbage of other scifi series. Basically, its as great as the show, hands down.

Moody and Moving.......2007-07-08

I've been pining for this album ever since Final Cut aired. When the original Galactica theme burst into fanfaire as the "Colonial Anthem" at the end of the episode, I was sold! It's a very moody soundtrack with some great and iconic BSG music.

Great follow-on soundtrack to Season 1.......2007-06-27

An outstanding compilation of music from Season 2 of Battlestar Galactica. I also own Season 1, and this CD picks up where Season 1's left off. An interesting item to note is that some of the Season 2 songs are derivations of Season 1 songs. Highly recommend for Battlestar Galactica fans!

Choosing Between Season One or Two? Choose Two........2007-05-15

Although the Season One soundtrack has the wonderful "The Shape of Things to Come", I give the edge to this Season Two soundtrack for being a more cohesive whole. And there are hints of "The Shape of Things to Come" in the Season Two track "A Promise to Return", anyway. So if you're choosing between the soundtracks for Season One or Season Two, I'd suggest Season Two. Of course you'll also want the miniseries soundtrack!

Fantastic.......2007-05-12

Well, the music from BSG is fantastic in general, but this album was particularly wonderful, in my opinion. I really love Prelude to War, such a moving peace, the huge drums going off like cannons and the astounding strings just blew me away. I also really liked Baltar's Dream, Martial Law, amongst many others. I definitely recommend this soundtrack.

Average customer rating:

Knee deep snow
Beautiful

Open Season
Feist
Manufacturer: Interscope Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Let It Die
The Reminder
Volta
Keren Ann
Release the Stars

ASIN: B000F39MEM
Release Date: 2006-07-18

Tracks:

One Evening (Gonzales Solo Piano)
Inside & Out (Apostle Of Hustle UnMix Live At The BBC)
Mushaboom (Mocky Mix)
Gatekeeper (One Room One Hour Mix)
Lonely Lonely (Frisbee'd Mix)
Mushaboom (K-Os Mix)
Snow Lion
Tout Doucement
The Simple Story
Lovertits
Mushaboom (Postal Service Mix)
Gatekeeper (Do Right Mix)
One Evening (VV Mix)
When I Was A Young Girl (VV Mix)
Mushaboom (VV Mix)

Album Description

Exclusive French pressing features a different track listing to the Canadian version. This 14-track album features songs, remixes, collaborations and songs that were recorded around the Let It Die sessions and either appeared as B-Sides, promo only releases or on other artist albums. Exclusive tracks to this French version include, 'Mushaboom' (Mocky Mix), 'Gatekeeper' (One Room One Hour Mix), 'Snowlion' (with Readymade FC), 'Tout Document' (Remix) and 'Mushaboom' (VW Mix). Universal. 2006.

Album Details

A Stop Gap Release to Satisfy her Fans Between the Canadian Singer/Songwriter's First and Second Albums that features All-exclusive Remixes, Live Recordings and Previously Unreleased Material. Song Collaborators Include Jane Birkin and Gonzales (Covering a Peaches Song) and Readymade Fc.

Customer Reviews:

Knee deep snow.......2006-10-16

Folk-popster Leslie Feist garnered a lot more attention with her second solo album, "Let it Die." Now she follows it up with "Open Season," which is basically a lot of odds and ends -- remixes, B-sides, and alternate versions. Sure, not everything is absolutely perfect, but it's a good little album of bits and pieces.

It opens on a quiet note with a piano version of "One Evening," which is basically a pretty, downbeat little instrumental. Things start to kick off with the acoustic-driven "Inside and Out (Apostle of Hustle Unmix," which brings it down to gritty guitar-driven melodies. Okay, whatever, but not exactly my cup of tea.

But the remixes are good stuff -- "Mushaboom" gets done over and over, whether it's a perky pop melody, a heavier techno-laced one, an almost wordless mix by VV, or the peak of the album -- Postal Service's delicate trip-hop remix. There's also the murky "Lonely Lonely (Frisbee'd Mix)," a jazzy "Gatekeeper" remix, and a funky redone "When I Was a Young Girl."

There are also some songs that haven't been heard on her regular album: the dreamy "Snow Lion" with Readymade FC, the trippy French "Tout Doucement," the taut ballad "Simple Story" with Jane Birkin," and the naughty-edged "Lovertits" (well, what did you expect with that title?) with Gonzales.

Most albums of B-sides and remixes are pretty much half-and-half. Fortunately, Feist scores higher with an almost perfect array of remixes, and four excellent individual songs. Don't expect the same sound as "Let it Die," though -- the folkpop sound can only be found in a couple of songs here, like the full mix of "Gatekeeper" and the unmix of "Inside and Out."

Instead, we get all sorts of remixes -- jazz, funk, trip-hop, hard electro, and even "One Evening" pared down to a single piano melody. And the songs get a bit of a twist, with everything from skipping vocals to crunching snow to scratching vinyl. Sometimes you'd hardly even know they were the same song, except for the occasional cry of "Mushaboom!"

And fortunately Feist never gets lost in all this remixing, unmixing and reworking. Her clear, fresh voice cuts through all the beats and extra instruments. But she sounds best in the four original songs, with rippling piano, harp and some blippy sound effects. "Tout Doucement" is especially charming -- it sounds like a French cafe at happy hour.

"Open Season" won't give anyone reason to fire at Feist. Her odds and ends sound wonderfully polished, with only a few rough diamonds left over.

Beautiful .......2006-09-08

"The evening was long
My guesses were true
You saw me see you
That something you said
The timing was right"

Playful in beauty, Feist's Open Season is a mingling of richly orchestrated sounds and remixes. One Evening (solo piano) is striking in its ornate textures even in the straightforward solo version. The Remix later in the album is hardly recognizable and the mood more sultry.

Inside and Out has dreamy lyrics, but is edgy in acoustic musical exploration. Snow Lion reminds me of Magnet's laid-back albums and the beauty melts into a subtle discordance on a moonlit landscape. The Mushaboom Mocky remix seems the best of the versions on this album, but I still prefer the original song from the Let it Die album recorded in Paris.

"You treat me like a vision in the night
Someone there to stand behind you
When your world ain't working right
I ain't no vision, I am the girl
who loves you inside and out"

A better introduction to Leslie Feist would be the Let it Die album, but this one might make you curious and interested enough to listen to all her music.

~The Rebecca Review

Average customer rating:

Good companion for Battlestar Fans
Captures the feel of the show
Awesome Soundtrack
BSG
Agree with everyone else

Battlestar Galactica: Season One
Daniel McGrew , Ken Stacey , Lillis Ó Laoire , Melanie Henley Heyn , Michael Now , and Raya Yarbrough
Manufacturer: La-La Land Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Battlestar Galactica: Season 2
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Battlestar Galactica - Season One
Battlestar Galactica - Season 2.0 (Episodes 1-10)

ASIN: B0009Q0F5U
Release Date: 2005-06-21

Tracks:

Prologue
Main Title (US Version)
Helo Chase
The Olympic Carrier
Helo Rescued
A Good Lighter
The Thousandth Landing
Two Funerals
Starbuck Takes On All Eight
Forgiven
The Card Game
Starbuck On The Red Moon
Helo In the Warehouse
Baltar Speaks With Adama
Two Boomers
Battlestar Operatica
The Dinner Party
Battlestar Muzaktica
Baltar Panics
Boomer Flees
Flesh And Bone
Battle On The Asteroid
Wander My Friends
Passacaglia
Kobol's Last Gleaming
Destiny
The Shape Of Things To Come
Bloodshed
Re-Cap
Main Title (UK Version)

Album Description

Presenting the original soundtrack from the first season of Sci Fi Channel's critically acclaimed, top-rated television series starring Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, James Callis, Tricia Helfer and Katee Sackhoff. Composer Bear McCreary's dynamic score ingeniously melds orchestra, vocals and synth into an emotional experience that ranges from full-throttle action to soul-stirring drama. Packed with more than 78 minutes of music, this is a comprehensive collection of the very best musical moments from this amazing sci-fi drama's first season. Features both U.S. and U.K. main title themes and includes exclusive liner notes.

Customer Reviews:

Good companion for Battlestar Fans.......2007-05-07

If you're a Battlestar Galatica Fan, this audio is an excellent companion to your collection. Passacaglia, Forgiven, and The Shape of Things to Come are emotional and addictive orchestral soundtracks. Not every song from the first season is included in this CD. The opening credit songs for the UK and the US versions and the battle songs (The Thousandth Landing, Battle on the Asteroid) are included. Battlestar Muzaktica is quite odd and doesn't fit with the collection of songs.

Captures the feel of the show.......2007-04-11

Has a great selection of songs from the 1st season. I like show/movie CDs that you can picture the scenes and emotion of the actors when you hear the song. The Celtic underlays are great, and the Taiko drumming style is very well used for building intensity in the music. If you really like the series, you should probably really enjoy the music as well!

Awesome Soundtrack.......2007-04-11

If you like the music in a scene that just blends in and makes the scene even more emotional or suspenseful, that is what the scores from season one do on this cd. I initially bought it to for the prologue (cylon music) and the two main titles (U.S. and U.K.) but after listening to the entire cd, I have become completely addicted to it. The titles of the scores usually give you a hint of the scene and the liner notes also tell you the episode that they are from but the soundtrack has definitely made rewatching season one an even more intriguing experience. The scores with words, are written by Bear and are in various languages, but the words, especially the opera piece, are actually so dead one with the scene and in this specific scene hilarious. I love this soundtrack. If you are someone who is addicted to really grasping everything that happens in this show and watch and analyze it beyond face value, this is an added bonus to have in your collection. I highly recommend it!!!

BSG.......2007-04-10

Man I love the Classic and the Present BSG's So Inaturally find the SoundTrack/Score A joy and very relaxing. They tend to sound very similar but they are very diffrent.

Agree with everyone else.......2007-03-28

There have been lots of raving reviews of this album, as well as the equally sensational season 2 soundtrack. I just wanted to add my opinion on one track, "Destiny". An earlier review describes an Arabic string instrument being used, but it is actually a biwa, a traditional Japanese instrument that has such a distinct sound that it's hard to imagine it being used for anything other than traditional gagaku music. I don't know if anyone but McCreary has ever tried to use this instrument for something else, but it hardly matters. The fact that McCreary managed to use it so effectively in a piece that is so different from gagaku music is a perfect testament to his unique genius. I'm really looking forward to following McCreary's career.

Average customer rating:

Jack's Music Show
Jack's Fabulous CD from Season 1
If It Has Laurie Berkner It Can't Be All Bad
GREAT CD.... MY KIDS LOVE IT~!!
A Great Sing-Along CD!

Jack's Big Music Show, Season 1
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Nick Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000HEWGMY
Release Date: 2006-09-26

Tracks:

Jack's Big Music Show Theme Song
Grumpy
Under A Shady Tree
Music Is The Best
Number 1
I'm Gonna Catch You
Me Dance
Bugs Are Really Swell
I Like It That Way
Music Everywhere
I'm Not Perfect
Space Explorers
B3
Bottle Of Sunshine
Jack's Big Music Show End Theme/Close

Customer Reviews:

Jack's Music Show.......2007-06-27

My son absolutely loves this cd. It makes him want to get up and dance. He listens to it over and over. We are glad that he enjoys it so much. This cd really get his heart pumping.

Jack's Fabulous CD from Season 1.......2007-06-27

Terrific CD - both my daughter and I love it! Great CD for in the car.

If It Has Laurie Berkner It Can't Be All Bad.......2007-06-09

Actually, it is a great cd, but my daughter wouldn't even have listened to it if Laurie wasn't on it. Laurie's upbeat, fun songs are a delight, even for parents.

If your child loves Jack's Big Music Show, Laurie Berkner, or just silly songs, he will love this.

GREAT CD.... MY KIDS LOVE IT~!!.......2007-05-17

My kids and I love this CD.... we love going to school or shopping, or.. just anywhere and listening to it!! I'm so glad they came up with a group of Noggin's songs instead of having to buy every single one of them!

A Great Sing-Along CD!.......2007-05-16

My daughter says "This is my favorite song" as each one starts up. I can't help but sing along. I keep it in my car and everytime we go somewhere, we sing the whole way. She wants Season 2 now! This is a wonderful CD.

Average customer rating:

Not amazing, but has AMAZING moments
it's unnerving
There Isn't a Single Bad Song.
Awesome Album!
Crossing the Threshold From Pop Success to Serious Artist Expression

Mad Season
matchbox twenty
Manufacturer: Atlantic / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Third Eye Blind
Dizzy up the Girl

ASIN: B00004SVM8
Release Date: 2000-05-23

Tracks:

Angry
Black & White People
Crutch
Last Beautiful Girl
If You're Gone
Mad Season
Rest Stop
The Burn
Bent
Bed Of Lies
Leave
Stop
You Won't Be Mine

Amazon.com

Sell 10 million copies of your debut album and you might find yourself putting on a few airs. Evidence that it's happened to matchbox twenty can be found in the new, spelled-out format of their all-lowercased name and the pretentious insertion of that name into the title of this, their sophomore set. The level of popularity achieved by their 1996 debut, Yourself or Someone Like You, posed a more profound problem, though--should they follow in the footsteps of that smash effort, or strike out in a different direction? To their credit, the Orlando quintet puts their massive popularity on the line by opting mostly for the latter course: there are no obvious retreads here of earlier hits such as "Push," "3 a.m.," and "Real World"--or of "Smooth," the multiple-Grammy-winning Santana hit penned and sung by matchbox frontman Rob Thomas. Instead, the album sports a nice mix of material that is catchy, but may take a little longer to settle into your memory banks, such as the moody yet intense "Bent," the horn-driven rocker "Black & White People," and several songs examining various aspects of relationships, "If You're Gone," "Rest Stop," and "Bed of Lies." Whatever the members of matchbox twenty want to call themselves, these guys may yet be able to have it all--artistic growth as well as massive sales. They're not headed for Hootieville just yet. --Daniel Durchholz

Customer Reviews:

Not amazing, but has AMAZING moments.......2007-01-25

Okay, maybe I'm not really authorized to write a review on this album. I don't even really own it, I just borrowed it from the library. However, I loved a few of the songs so much I bought them from iTunes. Songs like "Leave", "If You're gone" (the hit frequently heard on the radion), and, most importantly, "You Won't Be Mine". This song is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. It's one of my very favorite songs. It's SO pretty, and I love the orchestral arrangement. Rob Thomas does a fantastic job on the piano in this number. The bad thing about the version that you can purchase from iTunes is that the end is cut off, in order to make the song shorter, because the song on the album seems to end, but then there are three minutes of silence, and the orchestra comes in again. Rather strange, maybe, but a beautiful part of the song that you cannot get on iTunes.
Apart from these songs, there are none that particularly stand out to me. I do enjoy "Bent", "Angry", "Bed Of Lies", and "Crutch", but not enough to go out and buy the CD. They are nice in small doses, but not worth the money. The chord progressions seem not quite finished, almost, but the lyrics are very meaningful, which makes up for it in part, but not entirely.
In conclusion, my final rating for the album is three stars for several outstanding numbers ("You Won't Be Mine"!!!), and a whole lot of okay ones.
P.S. "Black and White People" is not, as I thought at first, a rather racist title-it's refering to the minds and/or souls of people... Black and white as opposed to technicolor, you might say. :)

it's unnerving.......2006-12-25

It's not coincidental that Mad Season begins with the hard-driving rock & roll and the suppressed, denied, explosive anger of 'Angry'.

Not coincidental. Rather an announcement that the fabulous band Matchbox Twenty is back and is still who they were. Only better, if that's possible.

They're still remembering:

'So scream you, out from behind the bitter ache
Heavy on the memory, you need most'

'Black and White People' continues this heavily-caffeinated album, with its brass back-up, upbeat tempo, and enigmatic lyrics:

'If it's just that you're weak
Can we talk about it
It's gettin' so damn creepy
Just nursing this ghost of a chance
The fiction, the romance
And the Technicolor dreams
Of black and white people'.

OK, then. I think we need some color commentary.

Or not. Because the anger resumes with highly intelligible clarity on the next track, 'Crutch':

'Man I feel like hell so come on over
Be a love machine and I could be your friend
Ain't no shame feel strong for one another
Make a real true color come end to end then
God damn, change of pace
I think there's still a piece of my heart on your face
It's a shame to let it waste
How does it taste? How does it taste?

I don't want to be the crutch
One step from down
I don't want to be the crutch
One step from down, down, down, down, down'

It's too earlier to tell how this emotionally raw self-disclosure will wear. Will we hum 'Crutch' in 2025?
But for now, the golden appeal of Matchbox Twenty derives from the fact that they write this stuff down as the feel it. And then they sing it to really, really good music.

One hopes, for their sake, that they find some mutuality, some enduring reconciliation of love and self-interest, some peace. One hopes for the music that they don't make this discovery too soon. Not, say, before one more album like this one.

Alas, the boys of Matchbox Twenty are only sure of one thing: that hearts will continue to break. In this, they are the quintessential children of their generation:

'It won't be the first heart that you break
It won't be the last -- beautiful girl
The one that you wrecked wont' tak you back
If you were the last ...

This will all fall down
Like everything in the world
This too must end
And all the words we said
We can't take back.'

But they were only words, or at least words is all that's left because the stuff of those words has gone. Again. Leaving only loneliness and a sing-able melody line. Good grief, guys, didn't it ever go right, just once? Didn't it last?

No? OK, then. Please keep writing, singing, recording. We need to hear more of this.

No relenting. 'If you're gone' continues what looks like a MAD SEASON theme if not a Matchbox Twenty dominant motif. Only this time, the loss comes with a hint, a whisp, a remote possibility of reconcilation:

'If you're gone, maybe it's time to go home
There's an awful lot of breathing room
But I can hardly move
If you're gone, baby, you need to come home
Cuz there's a little bit of something me
In everything in you'

But not too much hope:

'I bet you're hard to get over
I be the room just won't shine
I bet my hands I can stay here
I bet you need more than you mind'

Good grief, they captured the loss, didn't they?

The eponymous song of the album is actually quite forgettable. It's kind of a foil to the hauntingly beautiful 'Rest Stop', arguably the song we *will* be humming in 2025:

'Just three miles from the rest stop
And she slams on the brakes
She said I tried to be but I'm not
And could you please collect your things ...

She said: while you were sleeping
I was listening to the radio
And wondering what you're dreaming when
It came to mind that I didn't care
So I thought - hell, if it's over ...

Jus three miles from the rest stop
And my mouth's too dry to rage
The light was shining from the radio
I could barely see her face
But she knew all the words that I never said
She knew the crumpled-up promise of this
Broken-down man, and as I opened the door ...'

This is the selective verbiage of abandonment that isn't supposed to come to men's pens until they've turned forty-five and suffered enough for poignance.

But it keeps on flowing out of the tracks of this magnificent CD. Hear 'The Burn':

'I thought about
Leaving but I couldn't even get outa' bed ...

Thought about
Singin' but I couldn't remember all the words ..

So I wonder how I ever got the burn
Everything and everyone I needed before
Tryin' to get a handle on a reason to shine
Pickin' up the pieces that are falling behind takes time'

There's a sad, almost dissolute self-absorption in all of this, but one that finds its way quickly outward to the lips and hips of Matchbox Twenty's fans and followers. Like the biblical psalms (though these work there way more quickly towards hope), the typical ballad in this CD is intensely personal, yet offered up to a wider community to words that they can instantly claim as their own. There is *almost* not a miss on this entire album, the headline track laid aside for one moment.

'Bent' comes closes to describing the trauma of their voices in a way that takes some degree of responsiblity:

Yet even the confession of being 'bent' ('So can you help me, I'm bent // Im' so scared that I'll never get put back together') is a plea for community, for togetherness, as though the solution to bent-ness is not one to be found in solitude or self-reform:

'If I fall along the way
Pick me up and dust me off
And if I get too tired to make it
Be my breath so I can walk

If I need some other love
Give me more than I can stand
And when my smile gets old and faded
Wait around, I'll smile again'

There are other deeply soulful tunes. 'Bed of Lies'. 'Leave'. 'Stop'. 'You Won't be Mine'. In fact, one rattles on from one emotionally draining track to the next, marveling that MT can keep up the pace.

But they do. These dudes have articulated a life, a throbbing, mobile, abandoned, wishful, painfully memorable pain.

Embedded in this sea of music, listening to it over and over, one hopes for the men of Matchbox Twenty that they truly are 'marking it down to learning'.

There Isn't a Single Bad Song........2006-07-05

Out of the Some odd 200 CD's I own and listen to, this ranks in the top five. Rob Thomas' vocals draw you into each and every song and demand your attention. There are some awesome guitar riffs and the beat to every song is original and catchy. I enjoy the full band sound on "Black and White People", the lyrics to "If You're Gone", and who can NOT like the funky beat in "Mad Season"? With hits such as "Bent" and "Crutch", this CD is too great not to own. Like another reviewer said. "Go buy this. Now."

Awesome Album!.......2006-04-15

I bought this CD after hearing "If You're Gone".
I'd never heard of Matchbox 20 before that track. I absolutely fell in love with the whole album. Great listening!

Crossing the Threshold From Pop Success to Serious Artist Expression.......2005-12-02

The fact that these guys hit the charts with their debut release "Yourself or Someone Like You" with such Pop appeal didn't impress me enough to run out and buy this second release; I received it in a bulk buy on eBay. One listen to this artful, soulful expression of the guy's take on relationships, sudden success and enduring sense of innocence and vulnerability made this a 'score'.

Forget the cut by cut commentary - this music reflects an artistic maturation process that is awe-inspiring and stunning; they've become tighter in their delivery and, perhaps that is reflected by the truly talented arraingments and writing. They make it sound easy.

The last cut, "You Won't Be Mine" signals very good things to come. Indeed, it does it's job so well that you will simply sit and contemplate it's delicacy until, perhaps four minutes after it has ended you will get another surprise and a variation of the arraingment floods the senses with the promise of what talent and sensitivity can mean to such an art form as this.

Average customer rating:

RIP layne staley
Gooaasch
Good as hell, all the way through
Great experience
Layne's voice still echoes from Above

Above
Mad Season
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Temple of the Dog
Jar of Flies
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Facelift

ASIN: B000002B2T
Release Date: 1995-03-14

Tracks:

Wake Up
X-Ray Mind
River Of Deceit
I'm Above
Artificial Red
Lifeless Dead
I Don't Know Anything
Long Gone Day
November Hotel
All Alone

Amazon.com

Alice in Chains vocalist Layne Staley teams with Seattle pals Mike McCready (Pearl Jam) and Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees) in the tradition of other part-time grunge aggregations like Brad and Hater. These 10 numbers--mostly somber, acoustic-hued ballads like the single "River of Deceit"--are a therapeutic soul-cleansing for the troubled Staley. Core fans of any of the aforementioned bands will rank this with the solo work of Screaming Tree frontman Mark Lanegan (a guest vocalist here). --Jeff Bateman

Customer Reviews:

RIP layne staley.......2007-06-05

mad season was a side project of layne staley (former frontman for alice in chains) along with one of the guitar players from pearl jam and a no-name drummer. all of the songs are playable but only 1 or 2 really stand out with artificial red being my fav. i would recommend buying a used copy for a few bucks if you are a fan of AIC and are curious about this music. the cover art is really cool too.

Gooaasch.......2007-05-05

...honestly, this to date, it is in my top 10 albums of all time.

And, I like it all. Electronica, Jazz, Funk, Hard Rock, Trip-Hop, 50's 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and current, etc. Classics as well as new. This album makes you feel.

Sure, since it's release 10+ years ago, it has found itself not on my "go-to" list more than once. That's the nature of music though.

Yeah, Alice fans will dig, but it's bigger than that.

Where it hits hard...Staley. The man was obviously pained. That in turn produced a moving experience. Although he did the same with Alice, this seems more poignant.

"Wake Up" is THE most memorable cut. Starts out mellow, Layne crying out, a blues/rock riff, and leads to McCready getting off...just amazing.

The combo of musical influences is evident. Staley, McCready, Lanegan, et al just make beautiful, rocking music.

Not one song disappoints. From beginning to end it messages the soul. Whether a soothing effect or a punch in the the kidney...it's perfect.

Led Zeppilin III is in my top 5 of all time...and this rivals.

Good as hell, all the way through.......2007-04-04

This is a mellow, artsy kind of album, but man does it RULE. I love Layne's range. He does Facelift, Dirt, and the Self-Titled while releasing the acoustic CD's in between (SAP and Jar o' Flies). The guy was just a musical genius. This record show that. Having the super backing band also helped, with vocals from Screaming Tree's Mark Lanegan (THE single most UNDERRATED vocailist to ever emerge from Seattle) and Mike from Pearl Jam's excellent 70's style guitar is the icing on the cake. River of Deciet, Lifeless Dead, I don't know anything, and Im alone are my fav's. There isnt a bad track on this CD.

Great experience.......2007-03-22

My husband and I have both been looking for this CD for awhile- We found it cheaper on Amazon than the music store and we got it within 4-5 days. THANKS

Layne's voice still echoes from Above.......2007-03-12

This is the most beautifully artistic outpouring I've ever tried to soak in. The lead singer, Layne Staley(Alice in Chains), attempts to unburden his troubled soul with this emotional tour de force.
His voice on every track is completely mesmerizing. Many of the songs contain a small hint of anger that has been overwhelmed by an infinite sadness. The lyrics are so painfully searing, you get a real feel for the agony behind the words. This entire journey is a therapeutic attempt for Layne to overcome his inner demons.

I love every song on this album. The first track, Wake Up, is a soft, mellow song that really showcases his amazing voice. With the accompaniment of a very basic, throbbing bass guitar and some xylophones, Layne acknowledges his need to wake up from his nightmare.
On X-Ray Mind, Layne admits his need to step away from the grind of his regular life, and how he can tell some of his so called friends might not have his best interest in mind.
The third track, River of Deceit, is the only song that received any radio play. It's about anguish and about choices. Mike McCready (Pearl Jam) skillfully adds to Layne's undeniable energy with his acoustic guitar.
The fourth song is my favorite poem, titled I'm Above. It is the only song that doesn't have elements of personal suffering in it. It basically is stating what comes around, goes around. It demonstrates the power to take the higher ground.
Artificial Red is next, filled with abrasive guitars that control the pacing. Lyrically it seems to be about isolation and recovery. Kind of the entire theme of this album.
Lifeless Dead apparently torments over a lost love. Layne sings this song with a monotone voice, which signifies the drainage of emotion. The guitar riffs are simplistic in their execution plus rigid in their delivery.
Next, the song I Don't Know Anything builds up quickly and then evens out with it's repetitive chorus. The guitars really battle it out.
The final poem, Long Gone Day, is a heartfelt recollection of times gone by. There are sounds of desperation, mistakes, and regret.
Mike closes out this phenomenal collaboration with an awesome instrumental, November Hotel. He demonstrates his remarkable talent even more here at the end. This is followed by kind of an eerie, angelic goodbye.

Mad Season's lone output is one of my most treasured CD's. It's as good as Dirt(Alice in Chains) or Ten(Pearl Jam). That is some lofty praise. We can always still hear Layne's voice, and sometimes I can still feel his tears raining down from Above...

Average customer rating:

They Put The Jingle-Jangle In Mr Tamborine Man
Full Circle
One Of The Best Box Sets This Year
Second Box Set Is Indispensable
IF IT AIN'T ON HERE, THEY DIDN'T SING IT

There Is A Season
The Byrds
Manufacturer: Legacy
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000HEWGEW
Release Date: 2007-01-16

Tracks:

The Only Girl I Adore
Please Let Me Love You
Don't Be Long
The Airport Song
You Movin'
You Showed Me
Mr. Tambourine Man
I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better
You Won't Have To Cry
Here Without You
The Bells Of Rhymney
All I Really Want To Do
I Knew I'd Want You
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She Has A Way
It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season)
It Won't Be Wrong
SZet You Free This Time
The World Turns All Around Her
The Day Walk
IF You're Gone
The Times They Are A-Changin'
She Don't Care About Time
Stranger In A Strange Land

Tracks:

Eight Miles High
Why
5D (Fifth Dimension)
Wild Mountain Thyme
Mr. Spaceman
I See You
What's Happening ?!?!
I Know My Rider
So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star
Have You Seen Her Face
Renaissance Fair
Time Between
Everybody's Been Burned
My Back Pages
It Happens Each Day
He Was A Friend Of Mine
Lady Friend
Old John Roberston
Goin' Back
Draft Morning
Wasn't Born To Follow
Tribal Gathering
Dolphin's Smile
Triad
Universal Mind Decoder

Tracks:

You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
I Am A Pilgrim
The Christian Life
You Don't Miss Your Water
Hickory Wind
One Hundred Years From Now
Lazy Days
Pretty Polly
This Wheel's On Fire
Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man
Candy
Child Of The Universe
Pretty Boy Floyd
Buckaroo
King Apathy III
Sing Me Back Home
Lay Lady Lay
Oil In My Lamp
Tulsa County
Jesus Is Just Alright
Chestnut Mare
Just A Season
Kathleen's Song
All The Things

Tracks:

Lover Of The Bayou
Positively 4th Street
Old Blue
It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
Ballad Of Easy Rider
You All Look Alike
Nashville West
Willin'
Black Mountain Rag
Baby What You Want Me To Do
I Trust
Take A Whiff (On Me)
Glory, Glory
Byrdgrass
Pale Blue
I Wanna Grow Up To Be A Politician
Nothin' To It
Tiffany Queen
Farther Along
Bugler
Mr. Tambourine Man
Roll Over Beethoven
Full Circle
Changing Heart
Paths Of Victory

Amazon.com

A newcomer to the musical progression and legacy of the Byrds could hardly expect to find a better crash course than this: four discs with 99 songs, a DVD of ten previously unissued television performances, extensive annotation. Yet longtime fans of the band might wonder what the point is. Any riches buried in the vaults have long ago been mined--first in 1990's definitive four-disc Byrds box, then on Columbia's series of extended editions of every Byrds album in the catalog, replete with previously unreleased bonus tracks. By this late date, all possible revelations have been revealed, with the five previously unissued performances here of interest mainly to completists. The familiar music is glorious, of course--the chiming guitars and soaring harmonies that brought Bob Dylan and folk-rock to the top of the charts and then soared into the stratosphere with "Eight Miles High" and all but invented country-rock with Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Yet except for the DVD, anyone who wants this much Byrds probably already has most of it. --Don McLeese

More Byrds

Mr. Tambourine Man
Turn! Turn! Turn!
Fifth Dimension

Younger Than Yesterday
The Notorious Byrd Brothers
Sweetheart of the Rodeo

Greatest Hits
The Essential Byrds
The Preflyte Sessions

Customer Reviews:

They Put The Jingle-Jangle In Mr Tamborine Man.......2007-04-06

It's just about impossible to overstate the influence The Byrds had on contemporary pop music in the sixties and early seventies. After putting the tweleve string jingle-jangle into Bob Dylan's Mr Tamborine Man, one could hear that sound clear across the Atlantic as The Beatles, particularly George Harrison picked up on it on Rubber Soul. Listen to Harrison's composition If I Needed Someone and you can't help but think of The Byrds. The love affair continued on into Revolver. The Lennon/McCartney song And Your Bird Can Sing owes a debt to Roger McGuinn's It Won't Be Wrong. Listen to George Harrison's compostions I Want To Tell You and Taxman, both are indelibly stamped with The Byrds signature tweleve string sound.

The influence dosen't end with The Beatles. It continued to be felt and heard by everyone from Van Morrison on Brown Eyed Girl to Donovan's Sunshine Superman to The Kinks A Well Respected Man and The Turtles I Only Want To Be With You and eventually back to Dylan himself as he embarked on his classic Nashville Skyline album. And the most obvious Byrd devotee Tom Petty kicked off his career with American Girl, a song that many thought actually was recorded by The Byrds.

This box set gives both first time listener and Byrd afficianado an in-depth overview of their vast and varied body of work. From their PreFlight orgins to their folk-rock emergance of Mr. Tamborine Man and Turn Turn Turn to the raga-rock thunder of Eight Miles High and Fifth Diminsion to the Nashville West incarnation of Sweetheart of The Rodeo and Dr Byrds & Mr Hyde. It's all here. Listen and think back to the days when McGuinn and company were blazing a new path and so many were born to follow.

Full Circle.......2007-04-03

A lot has happened to the Byrds' body of work since 1990's Byrds Boxset, a collection which has long been unavailable and which There Is A Season sets out to replace. Starting in 1996, as befits a band of such stature, the entire Byrds Columbia/CBS catalogue has been digitally remastered and each album re-issued complete and expanded with a feast of bonus tracks - singles, outtakes, alternate takes and mixes, live performances - and a new album, Live At The Fillmore - February 1969, was dusted off from the archives and released in 2000.

These extra tracks and the copious booklet notes gave a fresh extra insight into the history of the band, which had probably more changes of line-up and musical direction than any other major band, and gave the compilers of this 4CD spin-off vast scope to draw from in telling the musical story of the band. This it does from its pre-Columbia inception in 1964 to its disbandment nearly a decade later, and, as a coda, one of four pieces the band reformed to record for the 1990 box set. As a fulsome introduction to the band it would be hard to better in value for the clarity of the recordings and the illustrative overview it provides. If a particular year or album should particularly chime, rest assured there is plenty more left to discover to warrant a separate purchase covering that section of the band's life.

Disc 1 includes the earliest known recordings by the fledgling band in 1964, from when they were known as the Jet Set and the Beefeaters onwards, and 18 of their ground-breaking 1965 folk-rock tracks, their most prolific and arguably most successful year. Disc 2 covers their psychedelic explosion in 1966 and the subsequent come-down in 1967, the last contemporary recordings of the original classic line-up.

Disc 3 launches the re-invented band featuring Gram Parsons on the seminal Sweethearts Of The Rodeo album in 1968, including some with Gram's lead vocals that weren't used after he left the band; and the following period up to 1970 with master guitarist Clarence White. These include Dr Byrds And Mr Hyde, Ballad Of Easy Rider and (Untitled). Disc 4 continues the same period with a dozen live 1970 New York performances, then fragments with various recordings from the Byrdmaniax/Farther Along era (1971), all with the same line-up of McGuinn, White, Skip Battin and Gene Parsons. Two live recordings from January 1973 (with John Guerin on drums) for the film Banjomen; a reunion of the original line-up a month later featuring two Gene Clark songs; and finally, a 1990 reunion recording by McGuinn, Crosby and Hillman complete the 99-track smorgasbord.

If you should already own the expanded re-issues there is far less to tempt you to part with your money. The first disc does include a rare Jet Set recording, both sides of the Beefeaters' Elektra single and some of the readily available so-called Pre-Flyte sessions. The rest are from the 1996 re-issues (Turn! Turn! Turn! turns up in mono again, peculiarly, as it was on the expanded album). The second disc includes the authentic mono mixes of Why? (single version), Lady Friend and Old John Robertson, and a mono Swedish radio session version of He Was A Friend Of Mine.

On disc three Candy is the remixed soundtrack version, but Lay Lady Lay is again not the official version as released as a single. Contrary to the booklet information, Kathleen's Song is the standard Byrdmaniax version. Disc four fares better with 4 1970 live recordings previously unreleased and 2 only from the 1990 box set. It also has their instrumental contribution to a 1971 Earl Scruggs album; the two Banjomen soundtrack live recordings; and the 1990 box set recording. Fittingly, since their career kick-started with Mr Tambourine Man, this final track is Dylan's Paths Of Victory.

Perhaps the juiciest carrot is the fifth disc: a truly evocative DVD with 10 1960s TV appearances showing the band miming to their hit singles as go-go dancers in cages gyrate the way only sixties dancers could.

One Of The Best Box Sets This Year.......2007-02-06

Many others have talked about the importance of the Byrds and the influence of their music. If you are interested at all, buy this set. I won't repeat all of that, but I did want to add my vote for this being a great set. It is much more than a history of the Byrds, a time piece about the 60's and 70's, or a tribute to the members. It is exceptional and quintessentially American music, most of which has aged very well. Ii have the original Byrds boxed set and I bought this anyway for the new tracks on it and the DVD. I am not disappointed! It is a great set and a bargain for new or old fans.

Second Box Set Is Indispensable.......2007-01-22

During the Byrds' all too brief career (less than 10 years in all it's various incarnations through their 1973 reunion), they didn't enjoy the kind of commercial success of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, or even the Kinks or the Who for that matter. (Even Chad & Jeremy had as many Top 40 singles as the Byrds!) But history has rightly bestowed the status of legends on one of America's most influential bands. Does this justify a second box set? The answer is an unqualified, yes. While the 1990 BYRDS box set is an equally essential collection, THERE IS A SEASON includes 37 songs not on the first box set and an additional 15 songs presented in different versions (alternate takes, mono, or live). So nearly half the tracks here are new to this box set. And the bonus DVD (although brief at under 30 minutes) is a treasure trove of full song performances--all lip-synched--from a variety of TV sources.

Here's the complete rundown on what's new to the THERE IS A SEASON box set:

Disc One (64:51) - Where THE BYRDS box set began with "Mr. Tambourine Man," this set begins with six tracks from 1964. The first track is the folky "The Only Girl I know," written by McGuinn and Clark and recorded as The Jet Set. The next two tracks, "Please Let Me Love You" and "Don't Be Long," were recorded as The Beefeaters. The next three tracks, "The Airport Song," "You Movin'" and "You Showed Me," still showed the Byrds still looking for their own distinct voice, experimenting with blending folk, pop and rock. In addition, the compilers have put more emphasis on Gene Clark's songwriting this time. "You Won't Have to Cry" (co-written with McGuinn), "Here Without You," "I Knew I'd Want You," "She Has a Way," "Set You Free This Time," "The Day Walk" and "If You're Gone" are all Clark tunes. Also added are Dylan's "Chimes of Freedom" and Crosby's instrumental "Stranger in a Strange Land" (taken from the expanded edition of TURN! TURN! TURN!). In addition there are the mono single versions of both Clark's "She Don't Care about Time" and Dylan's "All I Really Want to Do." Also, "The Times They Are A-Changin'" is the mono "withdrawn version" taken from the expanded edition of TURN! TURN! TURN!

Disc Two (66:20) - This disc adds tracks to focus on David Crosby's songwriting talents. Several tracks from FIFTH DIMENSION are new to this set: "Wild Mountain Thyme," "I See You" and "What's Happening?!?!" along with the single mono version of "Why." The last three were all written or co-written by Crosby. Then there is the Crosby-Hillmen "Tribal Gatherings" from THE NOTORIOUS BYRD BROTHERS. Also included is a 1967 live radio broadcast version of "He Was a Friend of Mine" (previously unreleased) and a bonus track from the expanded edition of THE NOTORIOUS BYRD BROTHERS, "Universal Mind Decoder," which is a fascinating instrumental demo which later became "Change Is Now."

Disc Three (78:45) - There are alternate versions of "Lazy Days" and "Pretty Polly" from the Legacy Edition of SWEETHEART OF THE RODEO; "This Wheel's on Fire" from the expanded edition of DR. BYRDS & MR. HYDE; "Pretty Boy Floyd," "Buckaroo," "King Apathy III" and the Merle Haggard classic "Sing Me Back Home" all from LIVE AT THE FILLMORE; and "All the Things" from the expanded edition of (UNTITLED)/(UNISSUED). Also new to this set is "Candy" from DR. BYRDS AND MR. HYDE and "Child of the Universe" from the motion picture soundtrack CANDY.

Disc Four (71:24) - There are four previously unreleased live recordings from 1970: "You All Look Alike," "Nashville West," "Baby What You Want Me to Do" and "I Trust." There are two live tracks from the movie soundtrack BANJOMAN: "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Roll Over Beethoven" (both recorded in 1973). Also new to this box set are "Take a Whiff (On Me)," "Glory, Glory," "Byrdgrass," "Pale Blue" and "Nothin' To It," the latter from EARL SCRUGGS: HIS FAMILY & FRIENDS. And finally there are perhaps the two finest songs from the 1973 BYRDS reunion album: the countrified "Full Circle" and the melancholy "Changing Heart," both written and sung by Gene Clark.

Bonus DVD (26:00 approx.) None of these TV performances are live recordings and only "All I Really Want to Do" gives a broadcast date (1965). It's obvious that producers didn't know how to film rock musicians. For example, there's way too much attention paid to the dancers during Clark's terrific "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better." Some of the songs have abruptly truncated fades (to eliminate announcer voice-overs?)--it's especially irritating on "Set You Free This Time." The first seven songs feature the original 5-man lineup. Tracks 8 and 9 are after Clark had exited the group. Track 10 is the only color video (from a Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour broadcast) and has the group performing "Mr. Spaceman," and though Crosby is now gone from the group Clark is back on board (although his return lasts less than two months). [This lineup dates the "Mr. Spaceman" clip to October or November of 1967.] While you are only hearing the recorded versions of these songs, it was great fun to see videos of the band at their peak. [Wasn't there any concert footage available to augment this bonus disc? As such, there are no additional features on this DVD.]

Overall this is an amazing box set. Not only are there 99 songs on this box set (compared to 90 on the previous box), the booklet is 100 pages with essays by Tom Petty, Gary Louris (of the Jayhawks) and Roger McGuinn himself, along with liner notes by David Fricke that include new interviews with surviving members McGuinn, Hillman and Crosby, and dozens of photos--the most poignant is the 1991 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame picture. (It would be the last time they shared a stage together; two years later Gene Clark and Michael Clarke would both be dead.) This box stands as a testament to their greatness as singers, songwriters and musicians. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

IF IT AIN'T ON HERE, THEY DIDN'T SING IT.......2007-01-18

exhausting as well as exhaustive, this is a completist set for real completists, with no filler, no several lame takes a la Elvis Costello of songs you didn't want to hear once. Nope, this is the real deal and covers every single reason why in the Sixties, there really were only 2 bands, and these guys were the North American one.
They came a long way from a bunch of beach bums assembled around two protean talents (McGuinn and Crosby) who didn't even play their own instruments on the first record. In fact, I'm still not certain Michael Clarke can keep time. Nonetheless with Crosby and McGuinn at the controls and Gene Clark and Chris Hillman coming up fast, the Byrds took off. In no uncertain terms, Dylan would be some Minnesota shlub suffering from verbal diarrhea had not McGuinn taken his interminable paeans and turned them into iconic classics. In almost every case, these are still the best renditions of Dylan out there, bar none, by a long shot. When the original band fell back to earth (something about McGuinn telling Crosby he'd never amount to anything), McGuinn proved the master of his own destiny, assembling Gram Parsons and his colleagues into the finest Country Rock outfit ever, and yes, had it not been for the Byrds, the other birdies from Southern California would never have found their wings either.
Dylan recently said in ROLLING STONE. "The Sixties? I own the Sixties! You want 'em, I'll sell 'em to you." Well, that's as maybe. If you do buy the Sixties from Zimmy, then he'll have enough to payback the mortgage McGuinn, Baez and Harrison gave him.
For this record set, buy it! You'll understand why this band in each of its lineups was so seminal. And if you don't, go tune your iPod to Clap Your Hands and leave the rest of us to the really good stuff - almost all of it is here or in Abbey Road.

Jazz Music:

Jazz Music

Jazz Music

Mr. Tambourine Man	Turn! Turn! Turn!	Fifth Dimension
Younger Than Yesterday	The Notorious Byrd Brothers	Sweetheart of the Rodeo
Greatest Hits	The Essential Byrds	The Preflyte Sessions