Swimming

Swimming

ASIN: B0000296SV

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
You would be hard-pressed to find a musician more virtuosic than Tom Varner, in part because his instrument is a French horn, but also largely thanks to his path-cutting imagination. Varner's 1998 work, The Window Up Above, shows how wide his interests range, from country great George Jones to squirrelly, creative improvisation that squiggles and bursts. His Swimming ranks with Window and Martian Heartache as some of Varner's most accomplished, sprawling work. His extended, seven-part suite for violinist Mark Feldman is a stunning instrumental display, weaving Feldman's violin into a bustle of twining saxophones, trombone-fat French horn, and Tom Rainey's mix of sledgehammer solidity and windblown breeziness on percussion. Varner's solos are more slippery than most trombone ventures (this comparison comes from the frequent transcription of trombone parts for French horn and vice versa), favoring an aquatic motion that helps concretize the album's title. With saxophonists Steve Wilson and Tony Malaby, Varner is able to knit a sometimes furrowed, sometimes crazy, quilt that resonates powerfully with the post-bop, post-free camp. He's got an impeccable melodic sense, making songs that ring memorably long after they've departed. --Andrew Bartlett

About the Artist
Born in New Jersey on June 17, 1957, Tom Varner has distinguished himself as both the foremost jazz French horn player of his generation and also as a highly creative arranger breaking new ground in small-group jazz. Influenced on his instrument by the great Julius Watkins (with whom he studied privately), Varner got a degree from the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Ran Blake, George Russell, and Jaki Byard, which helps explain his music's eclectic character, which thrives on stylistic crossbreeding. His compositions can partake of the serialism of Berg and Webern as well as Thelonious Monk's angular bop structures, Ornette Coleman's pantonal melodicism, and funky 12-bar blues.

Varner formed a group with saxophonist Ed Jackson while in Boston, and they worked together regularly when Varner moved to New York City in 1979. Varner has performed at the Parallel Worlds (Vienna Koncerthaus), Vancouver, Moers, and Groningen Jazz Festivals and is a regular at the Knitting Factory and Fez in New York City with such guests as Lee Konitz, Bobby Previte, Ellery Eskelin, Mark Feldman, Mark Dresser, Lindsey Horner, Drew Gress, Dave Tronzo, and Tom Rainey. As a sideman he has performed and recorded with, among others, Steve Lacy, Dave Liebman, George Gruntz, John Zorn, Bobby Watson, LaMonte Young, and Miles Davis with Quincy Jones at Montreux ‘91, appearing on over 40 albums. He has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and has won polls in Down Beat (1983, 1998) and Jazz Times (1990, 1993).

Varner's recordings, his newest, Second Communion and Swimming appear on OmniTone.

Swimming,Tom Varner,Omnitone Records,Avant-Garde Jazz,Jazz,Jazz Music,Pop,Post-Bop

The Swimming Hour
Average customer rating:

Very Stylish

a depressing change

Great Album

Discerning the Core From the Rind

Only Andrew can rock out with a violin!

The Swimming Hour
Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire
Manufacturer: Rykodisc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
General | Rock | Styles | Music
Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Weather Systems

Oh! The Grandeur

Thrills

Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs

Armchair Apocrypha

ASIN: B00005ARFB
Release Date: 2001-04-03

Tracks:

Two Way Action
Core And Rind
Why?
11:11
Case In Point
Too Long
Way Out West
Waiting To Talk
Fatal Flower Garden
Satisfied
Headsoak
How Indiscreet
Dear Old Greenland

Customer Reviews:

Very Stylish.......2007-01-09

This is a great album. I recommend it highly. I will say that on the strength of this album I went back and checked out some of Bird's other albums and was disappointed. Some of his other stuff is...well...weird, and lacks the groove that this one does.

I'd like to see him do more stuff like "Satisfied". That track hits like a hammer.

a depressing change.......2006-06-03

oh how very depressingly bad this cd is! I bought it on pure faith after being thrilled with his previous efforts, only to be very sadly disappointed with it. It lacks the passion and creativity the Oh! The Grandeur and Thrills held. I get shivers of revulsion just thinking of some of the songs. I respect his desire to grow stylistically, but I just don't care for the boring songs he's produced. It honestly does depress me, because his previous combination of modern meets swing was exactly to my liking. People might suggest I turn to Squirrel Nut Zippers, but their poppish shallow jazz is no consolation -- not even worth comparison. I'll look into his other cds, but he's lost my trust.

Great Album.......2005-03-16

I'm admitting up front- This is the only album I have heard from Andrew Bird, (no rhyme intended) but I'm very impressed. Borrowing from many different musical genres- traditional pop, jazz, latin, country, etc, he can be critcized for sounding derivitive/contrived. However, from my perspective he suceeds at borrowing elements, but at the same time introducing something uniquely Andrew Bird in each song. After all music is not created in a vacuum. Its obvious that he is a gifted songwriter, singer, and musician from hearing this, but I noticed that there are a couple 1 star reviews. They read a bit like the pretentious 'he fell off/ sold out after he released his first album.' I can never understand this type of stupidity. Its as if some people want the same album released over and over again. Or maybe its the ol' "I listened to him way back before he was born"

Update- Now that I've listened to his other albums, this one still stands up as very good. Its not the first of his albums that I'd reach for today (that would be Oh! The grandeur), but its the most accessible and is solid throughout. He has changed his approach dramatically from album to album, but the quality remains for all of them. The albums before "Oh! the Grandeur" are weaker than the rest

Discerning the Core From the Rind.......2004-10-18

How could anyone think that Oh! The Grandeur and Thrills are better than this CD? Even Andrew admits on his web site that this is his favorite. I couldn't agree more. This album is far more creative than his previous work and it is much more ambitious - and it succeeds magnificently. His previous work is adept and shows a tremendous amount of musical talent - but it was pretty anachronistic, and didn't really offer anything new or terribly interesting. If you own one SNZ album you really don't need any more CDs like it. Hell, you probably don't even really need one SNZ CD since it's all been done before too. This album, on the other hand is a modern classic. There's nothing shallow about this music. As if music from the jazz era wasn't often shallow and silly. And there's plenty to like here if you like his older music or the SNZ. It doesn't stray completely from that music. I'm sorry some of you think that Andrew didn't make a CD that is appropriate to dance the Charleston to in a coat-tailed tux with a young flapper. It's the 21st century. Get over it. Andrew's moved on. We should too.

On another note, if you ever get a chance to see this man perform live DO IT! It's a life changing experience. MUCH more moving and enjoyable than listening to the CDs. I saw him a couple nights ago here in town. He lives on a farm about an hour from where I live so, I expect that I will have many opportunities to see him in the future and I don' t plan on wasting them. Make sure you visit his website ( http://www.bowloffire.com ) and purchase his two homemade live CDs (Fingerlings, and Fingerlings 2) which include some songs you won't find anywhere else. You'll get a taste of the amazing work he does whistling and singing to his violin, guitar, glockenspiel, and a Line 6 DL4 delay pedal that allows him to perform as a one-man orchestra. It's amazing to see in person.

Only Andrew can rock out with a violin!.......2004-04-18

I love this Cd. I'd listened to "Oh, the Grandeur" nonstop for weeks, so I'd been eagerly awaiting "the Swimming Hour." Initially, I listened to S.H. and was appalled. How could this be the same Andrew Bird I had grown to love!? This was rock and not jazz! And now he has backup singers?!

So I put the CD back in the case and didn't listen to it for a year. DO NOT MAKE MY MISTAKE! (How many hours of pleasure had I denied myself in that year...?) I'd only listened to it once, but eventually I slipped this CD into the player again... and after some listening, I adored it!

At first, it's shocking to hear Andrew play pop/rock, but then it grows on you and it's hard to take the CD player off "repeat one" to hear another song. His use of the violin in modern-sounding (yet unclassifiable) music is ingenious. Andrew has pulled off the impossible and made a violin a rock instrument.

This Cd is perfect for driving down the expressway with the windows rolled down and the car stereo cranked way up. It's fun, beautiful, and thought-provoking (what lyrics!) all at the same time. 11:11- oh! What a song! soothing violin with his signature strumming over the top melts away and is replaced by rhythm guitar accenting some hardcore sawing at the fiddle, in that way that only Andrew can play. Amazing. You need this CD!

This album is *not* a sell-out effort. We are talking about a man who had never listened to anything but classical music until directly before he made this CD. All of his albums are different, and show off how versatile he truly is. I am fond of saying, "Andrew has a CD for every mood!" This is the crazy, hyper album.*

And do yourself a favor and see him play live! I drove 3 1/2 hours to see him and he was absolutely stunning! He is in his element on stage; so if you think this recording is something, you ain't see nothin' until you go to a live show. *swoon*

*A note about his albums: Music of Hair is ethnic, folksy and soothing, Thrills is hot jazz with Euro influence, Oh! the Grandeur is dark, brooding, and unlike anything you've ever heard, this is rock, Weather Systems is floaty, serene New Age and indicates a move back to the more obscure jazz of Grandeur. If you can find Fingerlings or any other live recording of his, you should snatch it right up.

Tracks:

Lilah (Instr.)
Potion
I Know You (Pt. III)
Early To Bed
Wishing Well
Like Swimming
Murder For The Money
French Fries w/ Pepper
Empty Box
Eleven O' Clock
Hanging On A Curtain
Swing It Low

Amazon.com

Morphine's music, which connects with listeners on a very physical level, is so simple it's amazing no one's done it before. Using exclusively low-register instruments, Mark Sandman's two-string bass and baritone voice, and Dana Colley's bass and baritone saxophones, the band's songs actually reverberate in the chest, treating listeners to a low-impact massage. And anything that feels this good can't be bad.

But Morphine's blessing--that distinctive low rock sound--is also their curse. Not only do they bind themselves to an instantly recognizable sound, but they also limit themselves in their arrangements: Voice and sax can each hit only one note at a time (though Colley sometimes manages to honk two saxes at once), while the bass can manage a two-note interval at best. It's hard being dynamic using only three or four sounds.

So where does that leave Like Swimming, Morphine's fourth album (and first since signing on with the big boys at DreamWorks)? Pretty much where the band started, it seems--with a blessing and a curse. As with past records, Like Swimming is easy to appreciate, full of loping bass lines and slithery sax riffs that strut through jazzy rock numbers like "Wishing Well" and "Empty Box." But while newcomers may be happy with the band's warm swing, others will pine for the first time they heard the band's earlier breakthrough on Cure For Pain. Only with the album closer "Swing It Low" (a title that could be a band manifesto) does Morphine hint at changes to come: With guitar, keyboards, programmed drums, and no saxophone, the song (first released as a Sandman solo project) proves it possible to capture Morphine's noir moods in midrange as well. --Roni Sarig

Customer Reviews:

Morphine Best of the Best.......2006-01-07

Being a huge Morphine fan for years now, and having all of their albums I figured it was time for me to share my thoughts (finally!)

If I had to order the albums in terms of least to most favorite I'd go Good, Yes, Cure For Pain, The Night, & Like Swimming...Like Swimming is their best album in my opinion. Take for example the song Like a Curtain totaly symbolizes what Morphine was about. Drawing beauty from things that seem dark simplistic. The song only has one "riff", but as it progresses it seems to become more and more complex. It might be my favorite Morphine song...period.

I Know You (PartIII) strong enough to carry the album by itself. Billy Conway could not have added a more perfect drum beat during the Chorus ("I know you, you know me too, I know everything that you're gonna do")

French Fries w/ Pepper is another song that proves Mark to be an absolute genius. For those true music lovers (and even more so for bass players), the bass riff itself is amazing. The lyrics are also very good.

I have to end this review a little abruptly, but I definately recomend this album to everyone, as I'm sure you Morphine fans already own it. Bottom line, this is just a very cool album.

this album has everything..........2004-08-31

it's sexy, it's soft, it's hard, it's jazzy, it's rock, it really is a complete package. however, i understand why a lot of people don't like it, it really isn't for everyone. morphine is a unique sound that incorporates a lot of different moods and music types into one album. give it a listen, or three, and it'll grow on you. i promise, you wont be disappointed.

I feel like swimming right now...........2004-06-06

Being from Boston, and being friends with Mark, i can say that i thought he was a man with a vision...well...anyway... I loved this album, and actually found it to be my favorite. Yes I do like all of his albums, but i especially like Like Swimming, for his haunting lyrics and saxaphone sounds. I thought it was a brilliant balance of jazz and rock with poetic verse to bring this album to a life of its own. I love every song but my favorite is Empty Box for its words, they're very meaningful, and whatever one person thinks, another thinks something completely different which brings perspective, that is brilliant... I don't think i have anything more to say except for the people that found it monotonous and boring, or so drawn into the "Morphine Style" get a life, because you completely miss the point Mark wanted and so you just think about what sounds good rather than what's interesting and different and how it continues on as such....

yes and cure for pain are better, but this one's good.......2003-12-20

as i alluded to in the title, cure for pain and yes have more standout tracks, and flow as albums better than like swimming. 'swing it low' is a nice touch on the end, very low and mellow, but also melodic. 'like swimming' was originally going to only be a cd5, with the title track, 'early to bed,' 'french fries with pepper,' and a live version of another song. glad they decided to release these sessions as a full album. not their greatest, but still much better than 95% of other groups' best albums.

a good one.......2003-05-30

I am still a huge fan of "Yes" but I do like this one too...Morphine's sound is bluesy and jazzy...cool and calming...you will love them...once you heard them you're hooked!! A great band from Boston!

Average customer rating:

Rob with amazing support creates his finest album to date!
haven't even heard it yet
excellent stuff. you'll be pleased rob crow fans!
" I hate you Rob Crow!"

Wake Up Swimming
Other Men
Manufacturer: Robcore Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
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Nautical Antiques
The Amazing Undersea Adventures of Aqua Kitty and Friends
There's No 666 in Outer Space
Mirrored
New Moon

ASIN: B000NA2V0O
Release Date: 2007-03-20

Tracks:

Other People
Strapped
Kind Of Off To The Side A Bit
Self-Fulfilling Boss Coffee Vending Machine Prophecy
In This Wind
Uhhhh...
Anaglyphic
Indiscriminate Proposals Of Little Marcy
Total Nutcase
False Positives
Bullet Train To Jimbo's

Album Description

Sprung from the fertile musical ground of the early '90s San Diego scene, Heavy Vegetables stood out and apart from their contemporaries with hyperspastic mood-swings mixed with complex melodies and baffling dynamics that made their performances the stuff of legend. After yielding two groundbreaking records and while at the top of their game, they called it quits. Now, 11 years after their last studio album, the band have reformed as Other Men and seem to have picked up directly from where they left off. Instead of treading the sounds of the past, Other Men seem intent on creating new sounds from the depths of a played-out genre.

Customer Reviews:

Rob with amazing support creates his finest album to date!.......2007-04-10

I've followed Rob Crow's many music endeavors since the early 90s. Rob and friends were and are an integral part of the absolutely amazing and very influential San Diego rock scene. It's great to see one of my favorite Rob Crow projects (Heavy Vegetable) get resurrected. Elea, someone who accompanied Rob's voice perfectly, giving way to some of the most spot on melodies is the only member that didn't return. With this loss comes Other Men, consisting of Rob Crow (Bass and Vocals), Travis Nelson (Guitar), and Manolo Turner (Drums), who made up the remainder of Heavy Vegetable.

Before I had a chance to hear the album I was excited to see what life, age, and the reunion of the original members would produce. In typical Rob fashion, he gives you exactly what you would expect...and that is a very mature, melodic, sporadic, off kilter, focused, tight and overall fantastic record.

With every new album/project you find Rob becoming finer at what he does. Couple this with the reunion of the two musicians I enjoyed him collaborating with most, and you have an album that is the perfect balance of elements from projects past and present...and Rob's finest album to date.

For those of you who may have limited knowledge of his past, you can find Rob injecting his genius in the following projects:

Aspects of Physics, Goblin Cock, Heavy Vegetable, Optiganally Yours, Physics, Pinback, Rob Crow (Solo), The Ladies, Thingy, and many other contributions and collaborations.

haven't even heard it yet.......2007-04-09

Because it's Easter I am unable to purchase this album, otherwise I would go RIGHT NOW and buy it. But I just wanted to say this: why hasn't anybody mentioned in their reviews that Elea Tenuta is not a member of the Heavy Vegetable reincarnation? You CAN NOT deny that she played a major role in the brilliance that was call Heavy Veggie. Regardless, I am going to buy this album tomorrow at the crack of noon and I will still love it because Rob Crow is the s%#t. ROCK ON!

excellent stuff. you'll be pleased rob crow fans!.......2007-04-01

I think this reviewer (krakatoa 1883 over here) has had little experience with discord and melodic tension, because this is relatively straightforward, well crafted and excellent music that never takes you over that cliff of noise and chaos at all (there is NO atonality here, folks. I fail to see the Coltrane comparison.). It is melodically in line with all of rob crow's work, meaning: angular, complex and sharply turning, but catchy, sing-along-able, and enjoyable. I just wanted to clarify that this is NOT Don Caballero or Hella or anything....it is just another excellent Rob Crow project which, while technically and artistically improved, sits nicely next to the original Heavy Vegetable (and Thingy) albums. Oh, and I would also point out that the work of the other two musicians here (Rob plays bass, Travis Nelson takes guitar, drummer is Manolo Turner) is more than worthy of the beloved Robcore stylee we are all here for. Turner's drumming, in particular, is just perfect and, for me at least, a large part of the ticklish enjoyment of this album. The liner notes give writing credit to all members of Other Men, and it sounds that way, too.

" I hate you Rob Crow!".......2007-03-25

Other Men Wake Up Swimming, is Rob Crow's first Robcore release, and the reuniting of the former line up of his original band Heavy Vegetable. Some are going to say that this CD continues right from where they left off, but I would have to say that there is a significant improvement in both power and profoundness that was not fully matured when the band broke up 11 years ago. This is a musical experience that reminds me very much of John Coletrane's Sun Ship album. It is not music that you will probably like the first time you hear it, in fact, the initial reaction will probably be one of shock due to the aggressive dissonant contents. Indeed, there really isn't any of those familiar chord changes that one has come to expect from standard rock albums, if anything, it feels down right atonal and nearly unmelodic the first few times through. There is no knowing what is around the next turn, and thus no comfort zone to hang your hat on. As one deals with the relentless attack of brooding darkness that is being inflicted on their bruitalized senses, it becomes very difficult to stop yourself from muttering that Rob Crow sure has a weird perverse opinion of springtime.

The clincher here however is that there is a monster sized reward for continuing to listen to this CD untill clarity finally arrives. The truth is that like the Sunship album by Coletrane, this disc is a new musical language that requires the listener to grow first before they are able to truly comprehend what they are actually hearing. As such, one will realize that the overall impact of this music will reach the very depth of their soul and last a life time. In short, this CD presents the very best kind of musical experience that a person can possibly have, in two words, profound power. It is only when the clarity finally comes that you truly realize what you actually have in your CD player. It is not some unpleasant atonal nightmare, but is instead your very own nuclear reactor, snarling and hissing out steam, while it charges at you like a renegade bull, and pounces on you like a growling mountain lion. I will go out on a limb here and say that this is Rob Crow's ultimate masterpiece to date, ( which is saying a lot) and that it is a album that one can up hold side by side with any rock album in existence. Other Men Wake Up Swimming is an album that challenges you where you live, and ultimately changes your musical perspective for all time. It is just that its impact is not felt immediately because it takes effort on the part of the listener to really hear it.

I am not going to attempt to give you much of an in-depth blow by blow discription of the music, just a general one. It is not so much an act of laziness on my part as it is an act of great respect for this sublime work of pure genius. I am humbled by the fact that a hack like myself can not really describe the overall beauty of this album with mere words....but here it goes.

The first track, " Other People" is shaped just like an ocean wave. It builds up momentum, rises to a high fine crest, only to crash headlong into the beach, breaching its considerable momentum, it then draws itself back out to sea in a set of long inhales. Nice start to an album EH? From then on the album only gets better. Track 2, "Strapped" is where the CD really bears its mighty fangs, it is here that one will realize that there is no mistaking the hard charging power of this album for anything other then a force of nature. Track 3, " Kind of off the side a bit" is the first track that hits you with a surprise ending. It is a track that would of been completely satisfying without it, but Rob Crow is not playing any games here, once the listener is against the ropes he goes for the knockout punch. This surprise ending reaches an even more contrasting and striking force at the conclusion of the fifth track, " In This Wind", which is the long slow melodic song on this disc. That is, until all hell breaks lose and the listener is pushed without warning into an enraged mosh pit. Track 6, "UHHH" continues where the ending pace of "In This Wind" left off, as it travels like a rocket and catapults the listener higher and higher, and then even higher. It may be a short song, but one needs to catch ones breath after being shot out of that cannon. Track 7, "Anaglyphic" is that much needed breather, but don't worry, because track 8, "Indiscriminate Proposals of Little Marcy" brings the momentum all back again with ferocious gusto. When Rob Crow yells out the line "I won't say anymore" the cascading guitar and bass riff becomes a wickedly evil animalistic growl that blows your socks off and sends them across the street into your neighbors living room. Track 9, "Total Nutcase" is weightless, the entire song is seemingly suspended by hidden filament wires. It is just before the two minute point that the sound descends like an elevator from the sky with a set of self imploding chords. It is as if this song was really a hovering spacecraft that had decided to suddenly land like a demonic threat in your back yard. Track 10, "False Positives" is the track that caps off the CD, its driving momentum rivals any point in this CD, and yet there is a conclusive sadness that tells you that it is all coming to an end. Is it the passion in Crow's voice mixing with the pathos of this enthralling high flying melody? All I know is that every hair on my arms stand on end durring this song. I don't ever want it to end, except for the fact that sooner or later I need to breath again. The last track, "Bullet Train To Jimbo's" works as a final coda to the tenth track, proving once and for all that what I wrote in my review of Rob Crow's last release is completely accurate and true. Rob Crow is only getting better, his maturity has only sharpened his ability to constuct and polish his gems into an organic and uncompromising whole. My only worry now, is how in the world is he ever going to top this masterpiece?

Average customer rating:

Swimming in the Make Believe - Jeff Larson
Jeff Larson changes style
Jeff is a treasure....
Another good one
Ear Candy of the Highest Order!

Swimming in the Make Believe

Manufacturer: New Surf North
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Horizontal Fall
Here & Now
Sepia
Two Part Confessional, pt 1
Fragile Sunrise

ASIN: B000FFL0MM
Release Date: 2006-06-06

Tracks:

You Remind Me Of The Sun
Play Through
A Faraway Girl
Southaways
I'll Be Gone
Summer Fades
Hand Me Down
Something Of Magritte
Under The Weather
Rain On Me
She Has To Know By Now
Leaving California

Product Description

Twelve new tracks for the Summer of 2006, completing a trilogy that started with 2002's "Fragile Sunrise" and followed by 2004's "Sepia". Guest include Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell (America), Robert Lamm (Chicago), Jeff Foskett (Brian Wilson Band), Randell Kirsch (Beach Boys Band) among others.

Customer Reviews:

Swimming in the Make Believe - Jeff Larson.......2007-06-14

Refreshing to hear a collection of music that I don't have to skip over songs to get to the good ones! You can definitely hear the influence of America's Beckley and Bunnell. Great listening for that weekend afternoon, with friends on the deck sipping Mohitas, or on the beach. Have recommended this one to many friends and family and all love it! If this was played on the radio, could be another John Mayer. Best sampling is #7 Hand Me Down, and #3 A Faraway Girl. Also recommend his other CDs for more of same style.

Jeff Larson changes style.......2007-03-08

I had previously purchased two prior cds of Jeff Larson, and I must admit, I wasn't thrilled with his earlier work. I had heard him on an FM syndicated radio show playing his work acoustically, and really liked what I heard. Once he donned the electric guitar and was joined by his badn, I felt his music lost the crispness and clarity I had originally heard.
But his new work has grabbed my attention. I found it on Amazon and listened to two or three tracks, and was amazed as the direction sounded much more along the lines of what I prefer personally. While somewhat more mellow, he still sounded contemporary and clear; there was a message to what he had to say. Swimming In The Make Believe has received repeated plays on my cd player, with many more to come.

Jeff is a treasure...........2006-09-22

There's something about the music of Jeff Larson that sets it apart from the rest of the noise out there. Exactly what it is besides the obvious (great voice, brilliant songs, tastefully creative arrangements, and sweet layered harmonies) is hard to put into words. But for me, this guy simply 'has it'. His music has 'magic'. There is an authenticity in his voice, that when combined with the beauty of the music itself, has the power to trancend life itself.

I happend to first stumble on Jeff's music during the summer of 2005, and he definatley became 'artist of the year' in my book, although I realize he's been making recordings for several years now. I joyfully soaked in his entire catalog of superb music within the subsequent months. In his past work, there have been so many truly outstanding tunes: (A place where I belong, Half Moon Bay, Windblown Mind), so when I got wind of this release, I didn't hesitate to purchase it.

On this offering he continues to deliver in a variety of creative and diverse musical expressions and actually surprised me with a continued maturity and exploration of new music. This is an artist that takes his art seriously and takes care to make each track an authentic reflection of himself and where he is at in that moment. It really shows.

Jeff Larson's music contains alot of subtlety. And he's a master at what I would call 'sonic layering'. This is very listenable, sophisticated pop music, disguised in songs that feel like they have always been around, yet they are refreshingly new. Does that make any sense? His layered harmonies are simply gorgeous and are arranged like a work of art. Like several reviewers have expressed here, his music grows on you the more you hear it. The art really is in the subtlety. By the 3rd or 4th listen, the songs really sink into your soul and you really start to 'hear' what he's saying.

I suggest you give this one several listens and allow that to happen. I am still discovering new things about this recording to marvel at. Jeff is also uniquely 'california', in the very best sense of the term. If you ever spent time out there on the west coast and felt the crisp cool wind blow through your hair at Big Sur or Mendocino, then you know how well this music and Jeff's whole persona fits that delicious ambience.

Its obvious where Jeff draws inspiration from: (Beach Boys, America, among others). In fact, I understand the he and Gerry Beckley of America are good friends and Gerry sings harmony and 2nd vocals on many of Jeffs tracks. Also, Beach Boy stand-in vocalist/guitarist and Brian Wilson Band's musical Director, Jeffrey Foskett is also known to collaborate with Larson, so he's in good company with the likes of these guys.

But this is an artist in his own right as he has evolved a sound and style that has the unique imprint of his own signature on it. And, it's beautiful. Don't miss any of Jeff Larson's albums, especially this one. Buy it. Artist like him truly deserve the support.

Another good one.......2006-08-24

So I'm not the only guy from across the pond who has found Jeff Larson. I agree with all the other reviews, this man is a treasure, I wasn't too impressed with my first hearing but just kept playing it. It just gets better & better the more you play it, it's a pity we will never see him live over here. So I might have to come over there.

Ear Candy of the Highest Order!.......2006-06-22

Jeff and Producer Hank (Linderman) continue to amaze me! According to them, this CD completes the triumverant "Fragile Sunrise", "Sepia" though you could include "Room For Summer" in this genre also (same players, similar feel). The up-tempo songs are wonderful, make you think you are in the early 70's and the Eagles/Beach Boys/Byrds just released a killer CD. The only "solo" artist who has ever come close to this I can recall is Dan Fogelberg. I also can't believe Jeff is not a "rock star" with quality of material like this. Buy this CD, you won't be disappointed!

Average customer rating:

The vinyl version is better
Do some research!
Missed oportunity!
Two classic scores!
Missing the Best

Patton/The Flight of the Phoenix

Manufacturer: Film Score Monthly
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B0006SSQH0
Release Date: 2005-01-11

Tracks:

Main Title [From Patton]
Battle Ground [From Patton]
Cemetary [From Patton]
First Battle [From Patton]
Funeral [From Patton]
Hospital [From Patton]
Prayer [From Patton]
No Assignment [From Patton]
Entr'acte [From Patton]
Attack [From Patton]
German Advance [From Patton]
Eloquent Man [From Patton]
Pay-Off [From Patton]
Change in the Weather [From Patton]
Pensive Patton/End Titles [From Patton]
Airborne [From the Flight of the Phoenix]
Main Title [From the Flight of the Phoenix]
Windy/Heartbreak [From the Flight of the Phoenix]
Brave Sargent [From the Flight of the Phoenix]
Harris Leaves [From the Flight of the Phoenix]
Senza Fine [From the Flight of the Phoenix]
Gabriele's Death [From the Flight of the Phoenix]
Water [From the Flight of the Phoenix]
Let's Get Back to Work [From the Flight of the Phoenix]
Caravan [From the Flight of the Phoenix]
Naughty Boy [From the Flight of the Phoenix]
Model Planes [From the Flight of the Phoenix]
Difference [From the Flight of the Phoenix]
Propeller [From the Flight of the Phoenix]
That Big Pull [From the Flight of the Phoenix]
Rest Stop/The Ground Run [From the Flight of the Phoenix]
Going Up [From the Flight of the Phoenix]
Swimming Hole/Finale [From the Flight of the Phoenix]

Customer Reviews:

The vinyl version is better.......2006-02-19

This is the film version, and it is inferior to the original album release. Often times, soundtrack releases differed from their film versions because composers could tweak passages here and there and get a relaxex, dedicated recording, away from the harsh deadlines of film making. The result was often glorious, as was the case for Jerry Goldsmith's Patton.

Add the famous George C. Scott speeches as prologue and epilogue and you have a classic. But only on vinyl. The vinyl version has better audio quality and is a better performance. It is a shame we are stuck with this dubbed version, which ironically is available on the Patton DVD as well.

Do some research!.......2006-01-14

This is a great CD for collectors. This is the ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK to the film. These arrangements are the ones that were ACTUALLY USED in the film, NOT the ones that were on the album with the speeches. So, if you are looking for the opening and closing speeches, you won't find them here.
Why?
Because there are actually THREE different versions of the score for this FANTASTIC film.
There was another version conducted by Jerry Goldsmith in 1997.
And.... there was ANOTHER one that was recorded in 1970. THAT is the one with the speeches. As far as I know, it has NEVER been released on CD. Hopefully, at some point, someone will see fit to release that version. Personally, I feel those are the best arrangements of the music used in the film. Or, better yet, make a special edition using all 3 versions.
So, you should be HAPPY to have THIS version as well.
By the way, I believe this info is in the liner notes of this CD.

Missed oportunity!.......2006-01-06

While I can appreciate that this release is a very competent recreation of the musical content of the original vinyl, I too was totally dismayed at the absence of Patton's speeches(as delivered by George C Scott) which are virtually inseparable from the music for anyone who owned the original vinyl release.All of which subsequently leaves this release a rather hollow experience.

Two classic scores!.......2005-11-22

This cd includes Frank DeVol's score for the Robert Aldrich classic, "Flight of the Phoenix"; an exciting score for an equally exciting movie. Goldsmith's justifiably famous score for Patton features the original recordings, including the haunting "echoplexed" trumpets. Also, the previous reviewer's one-star rating is rather inexplicable considering this is FILM SCORE release. Why would soundbites from the film be included? Bizarre. All-in-all a great package and a limited edition (only 3,000 copies). Get yours while you can - you won't be disappointed!

Missing the Best .......2005-06-25

This album does not have Patton's opening speech or the closing "All Glory is Fleeting" speech. It misses the two most important segments of the original soundtrack.

Average customer rating:

Varèse Sarabande à son meilleur!
A copy in every household . . .
A sampler feat. some of the greatest film scores in history.
"the man behind Varese Sarabande ~ Robert Townson"

In Session: Film Music Celebration
Robert Townson , Joel McNeely Jerry Goldsmith , and Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00005ABOI
Release Date: 2001-03-27

Tracks:

2001
Rebecca
Citizen Kane
That Hamilton Woman
Anna and the King of Siam
Captain From Castille
A Streetcar Named Desire
Viva Zapata!
The Trouble With Harry
Peyton Place
Vertigo
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
The Twilight Zone
Psycho
The 3 Worlds of Gulliver
Breakfast At Tiffany's
To Kill A Mockingbird
Marnie
Hamlet

Tracks:

The Agony and the Ecstasy
The Sand Pebbles
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Born Free
Fahrenheit 451
Patton
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Jaws
Midway
Superman: The Movie
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Somewhere In Time
Body Heat
Out of Africa
Platoon
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Taras Bulba
Agony and the Ecstacy (Main Title) - Jerry Goldsmith, Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Sand Pebbles (Overture) - Jerry Goldsmith, Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Moon and Main Title) - Jerry Goldsmith, National Philharmonic Orchestra
Playtime [Born Free Dub Mix II] - Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Frederic Talgorn
Road [From Fahrenheit 451] - Joel McNeely, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Seattle Symphony Orchestra
Patton (Entr'acte) - Jerry Goldsmith, Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Tora! Tora! Tora! (Main Title) - Jerry Goldsmith, Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Man Against Beast - Joel McNeely, Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Midway (Main Title and End Title) - Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Rick Wentworth
Superman The Movie (Love Theme) - John Debney, Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Enterprise [Star Trek: The Motion Picture] - Jerry Goldsmith, Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Somewhere in Time (Theme) - John Debney, Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Body Heat (Main Title) - The London Symphony Orchestra, Joel McNeely
Out of Africa (Main Title) - Joel McNeely, Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Platoon (Theme) - Georges Delerue
Shadows of the Empire (Xizor's Theme) [Star Wars] - Joel McNeely, Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Ride of the Cossacks [Taras Bulba] - Cliff Eidelman, Seattle Symphony Orchestra

Customer Reviews:

Varèse Sarabande à son meilleur!.......2003-04-17

Robert Townson célèbre ici le 500ème cd à être édité par Varèse Sarabande en créant une compilation receuillant les nombreux réengistrements que Varèse Sarabande sut faire au travers des dernières années. Regroupant du matériel de Jerry Goldsmith, Bernard Herrmann, John Williams, Alex North et plusieurs autres, In Session propose un parcours éclectique au travers des années de compositions de chacune des bandes sonores présentées au sein de la compilation. Le voyage commence à avec la musique rejetée de 2001 d'Alex North, pour faire un parcours passant par Rebecca, Citizen Kane (Félicitons ici le FABULEUSE voix de la soprano Janice Watson et la direction impécable de Joel McNeely), Viva Zapata!, Psycho, The Sand Pebbles, Patton, Jaws, Platoon (Autre musique rejetée du regreté Georges Delerue, pastiche du célèbre Adagio pour cordes de Samuel Barber), Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (Musique composée par Joel McNeely pour le livre se déroulant entre The Empire Stricke Back et The Return of the Jedi) pour finalement clore avec Tara's Bulba. Il s'agit ici d'une sélection très riche, des morceaux d'une durée appréciable et d'une direction et d'une sonorité incroyable. Il s'agit ici d'un merveilleux cadeau de Robert Townson et Varèse Sarabande (Label qui célèbre en 2003 son 25ème anniversaire. Surveillez aussi la compilation de Varèse Sarabande (4 cds pour le prix de un!) qui verra le jour le 22 avril 2003) et c'est une compilation que toute personne sensible à la musique doit posséder! Chapeau Varèse!

A copy in every household . . ........2003-02-09

This disc is so chock-full of classic scores from classic films that every movie-and-music lover should own a copy. Thanks to Robert Townson for producing this collection and the entire Varese film score catalog. My favorite tracks from this disc are "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf"; "Star Trek: The Motion Picture"; and "Midway".

A sampler feat. some of the greatest film scores in history........2001-09-06

Words cannot convey what a collection like this means to a film music collector such as myself. Varese Saraband has been releasing quality film scores and music for the last 20 plus years. My vinyl and CD collections burst with so much great stuff from Varese. One day I was looking in the bins of my local record store and noticed this little gem of a collection. I looked at it and saw a virtual cornucopia of the great film score cues for only $ (and 2 discs). So I purchased it and opened it up. Much to my surprise, the booklet is chock full of information about each scoring session and pictures to boot. I also learned more about some of these wonderful pieces as well. Well thanks to Mr. Townson and this nice collection, I plan to purchase some of the recordings these cues were released on since I don't own classics like Viva Zapata, Alex North's 2001, Superman (not the Varese version, I do have the other release), and Patton. Guess I will have to save a few pennies, but it will be worth it. I recommend this collection to anybody who wants to discover and learn about the history of film music. I also think it's a great listen from the first song to the last on both discs. My compliments to Varese on a great collection of classics (and keeping it under $).

"the man behind Varese Sarabande ~ Robert Townson".......2001-04-06

The music that this label releases is without a doubt in a class by themselves, always perfection. Here we have the 500th CD release from ~ "The Man Behind The Music" ~ Mr. Robert Townson. So much care is taken with each album, that you feel you are witnessing the birth of a newborn baby, and that may be just what it is.

For those of us who buy each album ~ people who work to create them ~ the artwork ~ musicians ~ and a list of some of the most talented composers and conductors ~ John Barry, Elmer Bernstein, John Debney, Georges Delerue, Cliff Eidelman, Jerry Goldsmith, Bernard Herrmann, Michael Lang, Henry Mancini, Joel McNeely, Alfred Newman, Alex North, Miklos Rozsa, Dimitri Shostakovich, Frederic Talgorn, Franz Waxman, Rick Wentworth and John Williams ~ and as always the sound quality and performances by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and National Philharmonic Orchestra is dynamically flawless and simply superb.

This economically priced 2-CD-Set ~ pure film score sampling ~ is worth it's weight in gold. One should not have a favorite from this vast collection, but if asked ~ it would be "TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD" (1962) composer Elmer Bernstein took it to the limit and beyond, the story-line, cast and score was the perfect marriage.

A big, big thank you to ~ Matthew Joseph Peak (cover/session photography) ~ Jonathan Allen, Geoff Foster, Bernie Kirsh, Mike Ross, Mike Sheady and Al Swanson (recording engineers) ~ Rich Breen (mastering engineer) ~ and for the extensive 28 page liner-note booklet featuring "behind the scenes" memories of these past 500 albums, may we look forward to future classics on the next 500 CD's from producer...ROBERT TOWNSON!

Tracks:

Th
Writing
Fausse Piste
Rlation
Journal Intime
Mance
Soups
Flashback Meurtre
Ouverture
Apparition de Jean
Sur le Sable
Grique
Adagio
Grique Fin

Tracks:

Bang Bang, Extrait de une Robe d'
Tanze Samba mit Mir (A Far l'Amor Comincia Tu), Extrait de Gouttes ...
Traeume, Extrait de Gouttes d'Eau Sur Pierres Bres
Septembre (Quel Joli Temps), Extrait de Sous le Sable
Toi Jamais, Extrait de 8 Femmes
Papa T'Es Plus dans le Coup, RMX - Int Extrait de 8 Femmes
Gorecki, Extrait des Amants Criminels
Undenied, Extrait de Sous le Sable
Mirrorball, Extrait de Swimming Pool
Promised Land, Extrait de Swimming Pool

Customer Reviews:

great CD.......2007-03-11

I watched the movie that this soundtrax goes with had to have it found it on amazon at a real good price

Pleasing to the Ears.......2006-02-11

After getting this Cd as a gift, I was very interested in hearing the other scores that Francois Ozon had done for his other very interesting films. Each song on the first Cd is very somber, mystery enriched songs. Gives a similar backdrop to what Ozon has to offer in his earlier works, maybe making "Swimming Pool" the sophmore contender in his career.
The second Cd is highly inviting, and makes me curious about his other wonder film, "8 Femmes". Each song is catchy, whether it be the Cher influenced remake of "Bang, Bang", or the cutesy pop tune, "Papa t'es plus dans le coup" remix sung by Ozon's starlet, Ludvine Sagnier. Of course there was the song that I had lucked out on finding which was, Steve Everitt's "Mirrorball (let's do it)". I took a screenshot of the credits and saw that it was Koka Atmos 126, so I searched for that on the internet to find some more of Mr. Everitt's works. However Koka media was in french, so like the American I am I waited for this purchase and made sure that I told everyone about it and the movie. I recommend this to those who like independant and foriegn films.

Swimming Pool Soundtrack - dance song.......2005-12-30

The song is called 'Lets do It' and is perfromed by Mirror ball and composed by Steve Everitt.
It is featured on the second disk of the 'Swimming Pool' soundtrack
which you can purchase at the Amazon France.
www.amazon.fr
Its all in french though so just type in Swimming Pool at the search bar at the top and should be ok.
The 'Lets Do It' track is a little shorter than the one featured in the film but i think the version in Swimming Pool was deliberately lengthened do last the scene appropriately.
hoped this helped and happy hunting.

anyone.......2005-11-17

one song that i like on this movie, a really cool dance,trance song..is being played when there getting stoned...if anyone knows the name please post it.

Average customer rating:

Classic Vintage Punk!
one of the best albums you've never heard
3 & 1/2 Stars: Good But They Got Better
There Is A Reason You Never Heard Of Them
Southern Fried Fun

The Deep End
Swimming Pool Q's
Manufacturer: Db Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

New Wave | New Wave & Post-Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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World War Two Point Five

ASIN: B00005UOPK
Release Date: 2001-08-14

Tracks:

Little Misfit
Big Gat Tractor
Stick In My Hand
The A-Bomb Woke Me Up
Rat Bait
Restless Youth
Stock Car Sin
Walk Like A Chicken
Black Bug
Overheated
I Like To Take Orders From You
Model Trains (Are Better Than Rock & Roll)
Tussle (I Wear Glasses)
Stingray
White Collar Drifter
Home-In
Working In The Nut Plant
Walk Like A Chicken
Going Through The Motions
Short Stuff
1789
Building A Clock On Top
I'm A Q

Customer Reviews:

Classic Vintage Punk!.......2006-10-27

If you never saw the Q's live, I'm so sorry!

I saw them twice while attending Clemson University during the early 80's.

I'm a musician, and I still enjoy playing some of their stuff!

My seven-year-old daughter (dancer) loves "Big Fat Tractor" just to name one!

The musicianship is excellent, and the lyrics are what they should be - totally unapologetic!

If you like classic punk, buy this. If you don't, hey, why are you reading this?

one of the best albums you've never heard.......2004-04-28

i was really impressed by this album. it's worth every cent.

3 & 1/2 Stars: Good But They Got Better.......2002-05-18

This is early, energetic, and now somewhat dated Q's. Although lyrics like "Your baby is a big fat tractor" never get old in my book. What needs to be reissued is their excellent, underrated, '86 recording 'Blue Tomorrow.' It's not as much fun, but the songs are better: more serious, a little darker, less B-52's-influenced, at times Springsteenian-with-a-Southern-twist (and I love the cover with the ponies). Their '89 finale, sans Boston, 'World War 2.5' is also very good but misses Boston.

There Is A Reason You Never Heard Of Them.......2002-04-21

The band is just as inexplicable and uninteresting as their name would imply.

Southern Fried Fun.......2002-02-21

Imagine the hoot you get from an unexpected gift and that's what the Q's give you. From the rodent's rocking raucous Rat Bait to the farmer's female fixation Big Fat Tractor, these guys and gal belt out wretched tales of lust, fear, perversity and pure redneck ignorance over a pulverizing off-road beat. The party-picker-upper Stock Car Sin: "monkey number one took the senator's niece, caked her thighs with axel grease, laid her on a prestressed bench and tightened his lugs with a socket wrench" and "the preacher's wife was in stock car sin, they know it's evil, can't help but like it". The peon pounding pulsar Working in the Nut Plant: "and on my skull from the front to the back, they say I'm living with a six inch crack-OUUUUUUUUUWH". Now my head is cracked.

Average customer rating:

World War Two Point Five
Swimming Pool Q's
Manufacturer: DB
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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Royal Academy of Reality
The Deep End

ASIN: B0002JB0BW

Tracks:

1943 A.D.
I'd Rather Feel This Pain (Than Be Nowhere)
You Don't Wanna Grow up to Be Like That
In the Place of Milk and Honey
Lord of Wiggling
Common Years
Broken Pieces
Sweet Reward
More Often Than Never
Good Money Gone Bad [*]
Firing Squad for God [*]

Average customer rating:

Looking For A Good Time - Give EH A Call
Surprise debut from Country/Rockabilly guitarist
Album of the Year
Really good C.D.
Great CD from a promising newcomer

Swimming in Champagne
Eric Heatherly
Manufacturer: Mercury Nashville
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Lower East Side of Life
Flowers on the Wall
Ten Feet Tall and Bulletproof
Time Marches On
Michael Peterson

ASIN: B00004ST58
Release Date: 2000-04-18

Tracks:

Someone Else's Cadillac
I Just Break'em
Didn't Mean A Thing
One Night
WhyDon'tCha
Flowers On The Wall
Let Me
Swimming in Champagne
Wrong Five O'Clock
Freedom Chain
She's So Hot

Amazon.com

As the latest honky-tonk revivalist to emerge from Nashville, Eric Heatherly sounds like more of a rebel and less of a retro novelty than BR5-49. He brings a rockabilly swagger to roadhouse shuffles such as "Someone Else's Cadillac" and "Wrong Five O' Clock," while his falsetto-laced balladry on the title track has an otherworldly dreaminess to it. Produced by Keith Stegall, this cocksure debut presents Heatherly as the complete package: a videogenic singer who had a hand in writing every song but the first single--a revival of the Statler Brothers' "Flowers on the Wall"--and plays a lead guitar that echoes classic Creedence and Neil Young. At a time when mainstream country is floundering for direction, Heatherly seems to know exactly where he's going. --Don McLeese

Customer Reviews:

Looking For A Good Time - Give EH A Call.......2004-03-23

A flat out good time. This CD is all about a fun alt.country artist with Stratocaster routes way back to rockabilly. His cover of "Flowers On The Wall" makes you realize how the song was supposed to be recorded the first time around. From the title cut to "The Wrong Five O'Clock" we get a real good idea of Heatherly's range and abilities.

Oh yeah, he also features a very cool shirt in the artwork and some equally cool cars.

Surprise debut from Country/Rockabilly guitarist.......2002-01-27

Heatherly's rockabilly-tinged honky-tonk debut was probably no surprise for the hundreds of fans who turned up for his weekly gig at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge in Nashville. But for those of us not lucky enough to haunt lower-Broadway's clubs, the assuredness of his debut, and the abandon with which Mercury lets the guitar slinger go at it, are pleasant, unexpected surprises.

With his sideburns, neo-50s shirts and two-tone shoes, Heatherly fits the retro mold carved out by fellow lower-Broadway players, BR-549. But where the latter stretch back to the 40s, Heatherly's sound reaches back to the 50s hybrid of country and blues. His green Stratocaster (the only survivor of a near-fatal car-wreck) adds a twangy sting that's equal parts rockabilly and honky-tonk roadhouse, with blues influences (both guitar and vocal) from Stevie Ray Vaughn.

Ten originals, including power-ballads, two-step shuffles and blues-rockers, are complemented by a tunefully updated, rhythm-heavy remake of the Statler Brothers' "Flowers on the Wall." Several of the originals have a pop melodicism that brings to mind Rodney Crowell, and only the crossover ballad, "One Night," replete with piano and strings, gives in to the current Nashville tide. Perhaps the label thought it could break "One Night" if the upbeat tracks failed.

While none of the originals live up to the brilliance of the Statler's cover, Heatherly shows a talent for writing, picking and singing. Unlike so many of the clones churned out by the Nashville music factory, he has an actual vision for his music, and, more importantly, the ability to get a major label to share it.

3-1/2 stars, if Amazon allowed fractional ratings.

Album of the Year.......2001-12-16

This is, without a doubt, one of the best albums of 2001. I'm loathe to take this rollicking debut out of my CD player! I am not sure that the "country" moniker fits Heatherly's style -- "rockabilly" is closer to the truth -- and to be honest, most die-hard country fans probably won't like it, but rock 'n rollers certainly will. A fine addition to any CD collection, "Swimming in Champagne" is destined to become a must-have in years to come.

Really good C.D........2001-05-20

This is a pretty good C.D. and I don't even like country music! Specificly I like "Flowers on the Wall". This song was done by three generations of musicians and I think this one is the best. So if you like soft rock, with a pinch of country, this C.D. is the one for you.

Great CD from a promising newcomer.......2001-01-15

The other day I decided to compile all of my favorite songs onto a cassette that I could play in my car. While choosing the songs I realized it would be more time efficent to just go out and buy "Swimming In Champagne" in cassette form. Every song on it is now one of my favorites. "Someone Else's Cadillac" is a great, up-tempo and funny kick-off to the album. "I Just Break 'Em" shows that Eric is a real rockabilly artist and not just a cookie cutter. I don't know what to say about "Didn't Mean A Thing," but it's one of the best on the album. I can't really describe it, it's so good. "One Night" is a beautiful and haunting ballad. "Why Doncha?" is reminescent of the 50's. (In a good way.) Of course, you've already heard "Flowers On The Wall" so I don't need to tell you it's great. "Let Me" is a fun song. "Swimming In Champagne" is the best on the album. It's beautiful, well-written, haunting, and memorable, all with a pitch-perfect delivery from Eric. I would pay the full price just for this song. "Wrong 5 O'Clock" returns to "Cadillac" territory, in a humorous song about a guy who really screws up. You'll see what I mean. "Freedom Chain" is a great song, and finally "She's So Hot" is awesome. It's not quite country, it's not quite rock n roll, but it is a hot song that hooks you in from the first blast of that power chord and doesn't let you go until the end. Kind of like the album itself. So, turn up your volume all the way when you play this one. If it doesn't get you dancing nothing will.

Jazz Music:

Jazz Music

Jazz Music