1953

1953

ASIN: B0006OSDGS

Track Listings

1. This Is the Way

2. 'S Wonderful

3. Oo-Bla-Dee

4. Undecided

5. Way You Look Tonight

6. Stormy Weather

7. Jalousie

8. Very Thought of You

9. Fine and Dandy

10. I've Got You Under My Skin

11. Pennies from Heaven

12. Chris 'N Dizz - Dizzy Gillespie, Dizzy Gillespie Quintet

13. Purple Sounds - Dizzy Gillespie, Dizzy Gillespie Quintet

14. Girl of My Dreams

15. It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)

16. It's the Talk of the Town

17. Siboney, Pt. 1

18. Siboney, Pt. 2

19. Exactly Like You

20. I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart

Tracks:

Ah! Finalmente!
E Sempre Lava!
Sante Ampolle! Il Suo Ritratto!
Dammi I Colori...Recondita Armonia
Gente La Dentro!
Mario!...Mario!...Mario!...Son Qui!
Ora Stammi A Sentir
Or Lasciami Al Lavoro
Ah, Quegli Occhi...Quale Occhio Al Mondo
Mia Gelosa!
E Buona La Mia Tosca
Sommo Giubilo, Eccellenza!
Un Tal Baccano In Chiesa!
Tosca? Che Non Mi Veda
Ed Io Venivo A Lui Tutta Dogliosa
Tre Sbirri, Una Carrozza

Tracks:

Tosca E Un Buon Falco!
Ha Piu Forte Sapore
O Galantuomo, Come Ando La Caccia?
Meno Male!
Ov'E Angelotti?
Ed Or Fra Noi Parliam Da Buoni Amici
Sciarrone, Che Dice Il Cavalier?
Orsu, Tosca, Parlate
Floria!...Amore
Salvatelo!...Lo?...Voi!
Se La Giurata Fede Debbo Tradir...Gia Mi Struggea L'Amor
Come Tu Mi Odi!
Vissi D'Arte
Vedi, Le Man Giunte Io Stendo A Te!
Lo Tenni La Promessa
Tosca, Finalmente Mia!
Or Gli Perdono!
Andante Sostenuto
Lento (Le Campane Suonano Mattutino)
Largo - Mario Cavaradossi? A voi... - Meno
E Lucevan Le Stelle
Moderato Con Moto
O Dolci Mani Mansuete E Pure
Senti, I'Ora E Vicina
Amaro Sol Per Te M'Era Il Moire
E Non Giungono
Come E Lunga I'Attesa!
Presto! Su, Mario!

Customer Reviews:

Why 5... Find Out!.......2006-10-13

When I first got this recording, it was my first Tosca. As such, I didn't know what to listen to (or what to listen for) and really at the time the only other soprano I had heard was Cecilia Bartoli in La Cenerentola. So bascially it was my first Tosca with my only soprano. Even so, I knew after listening to the second act that this would be the best Tosca I had ever heard. Callas gives an amazingly intuitive dramatic performance of Tosca, with di Stefano matching her wonderfully as Cavaradossi. Tito Gobbi, of course, is Scarpia and gives the role an extremely insightful flair. Spoletta is played by Angelo Mercuriali, who gives, if not the most dramatic, certainly a precise interpretation of the role. As with all of Callas's Tosca recordings, the second act (i.e. from "Tosca e un buon falco!" to "E qual via scegliete?") is perhaps the best interpretation of the music and the donna Tosca that I have heard. Behind the baton is Victor de Sabata, who provides a unique insight into the music. He brings out, as Toscanini says, "what Puccini intended for the audience to hear". 5 stars.

Outstanding De Sabata! Most famous and controversial Tosca! .......2004-08-07

This is one of the few recordings in which the conductor attracted my attention more than the singers. This is not to dismiss the singers but De Sabata's conducting makes this the most idiomatic Tosca recording I've ever heard.

All three protagonists are heard here in their short-lived prime. Callas in firm voice is a capricious, nervous and furious Tosca. Many accuse her of overacting but here she controls herself and most outbreaks sound sincere. You won't hear the grandness, dignity and beauty of Tebaldi's Tosca but Callas' Tosca is a unique creation. No need to argue which one is better, they both are legendary and besides, tastes differ.

Di Stefano is all ardour and tenderness in this most beloved tenor role. I can already hear the manners that eventually ruined his instrument but he nevertheless is a memorable Mario. Gobbi's Scarpia frightens Tosca not because of what he is but because of what he can do. Gobbi doesn't have the huge voice that made Bastianini or London so scary but he uses his to great effect and creates a sinister Baron Scarpia. Luise's Sagristano is most convincing.

One of the greatest virtues of this old Tosca recording is its vitality and chemistry between the performers. No wonder that since its release it's impossible to make and accurate historical evaluation of Puccini's Tosca without taking it into account. Finally released at budget price!

The Tosca of the century.......2004-05-17

This recording has been showered with accolades and praise by critics, operafans, reviewers etc. etc. And listening to it a whole world comes to life. In a time when Puccini's masterpieces are destroyed by arrogant "directors" this golden age recording is like a breath of fresh air. Callas is in her prime, sounding fresh, loving, passionate and fascinating. She became Tosca, all her jealousies, passions, moods, fears are so real, so sublime and natural that you'll forget that you're listening to a recording. She cleared Tosca of those veristic, fish-wife tears after "Egli ved ch'io piango!" and her tears and agony are heard through her voice alone. Listen to Tosca's ardent "A come la sai bene l'arte di farti amare!" ... She sounds so gorgeous, so lucid and passionate, it'll warm your heart. Then there is act II with the never equalled clash between Tosca and the evil Scarpia sung and acted to perfection by Callas (Whose high Cs will chill you!) and Gobbi. (The only Scarpia) Listen to Callas' tearful, beautiful "Vissi d'arte" sung with exquisite legato, velvety warmth and most tearful colours. Pleading "Why, oh lord dost thou repay me thus?" she will break your heart! The chilling murder of Scarpia with Callas/Tosca ROARING "M'ai assai TORTURATO!!!!!" is too thrilling to describe. And the final duet sung with di Stefano and Tosca's suicide are portrayed hauntingly. Di Stefano, her favourite partner and part of the greatest operatic trio of the century (Callas, di Stefano, Gobbi) sounds sunny, charming and passionate. In short: It's the best Tosca ever recorded.

Wow Wow Wow Wow Wow!!!!.......2004-03-16

This is my first Callas recording. I was curious about her, of course, but I was always put off by descriptions of more or less horrendous audio problems on the famous recordings. Used to modern recordings, I didn't know how I'd react to such bad sound, so I put off trying.

No more! This is a new (12/03) EMI Remaster of the famous de Sabata "Tosca" -- yes, THE definitive "Tosca" starring Callas, Di Stefano, and Gobbi. And I can tell you it sounds WONDERFUL!

Why is this set so affordable, then? I have no idea! There is no libretto included, only a slim booklet with a track list, a short synopsis of the action for each track, and one article about the opera and this performance. There is no cardboard case, and only a simple 2-part jewelcase, not the hefty one often provided with opera CD sets.

But it's enough!! It's more than enough! I'd buy these disks if they were sold loose in a paper bag. I am totally, permanently won over. This performance is simply electrifying! The music leaps out of the speakers and grabs you. Callas as Tosca had me in tears! Scarpia scared me! It's too good to believe it happened several decades ago.

All I can say is, Buy this now before they realize what a gem this is and raise the price! You won't regret it.

Kismet (1953 Original Broadway Cast)
Average customer rating:

Kismet - Original Broadway Cast

Gone With the Jihad

Stunning in Clarity, Depth, and Dimension

The ne plus ultra of cast albums

One of the best musically directed orchestrations ever.

Kismet (1953 Original Broadway Cast)
Robert Wright , and George Forrest
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00004THLY
Release Date: 2000-05-30

Tracks:

Act I: Overture, Sands Of Time
Act I: Rhymes Have I
Act I: Fate
Act I: Bazaar of The Caravans
Act I: Not Since Nineveh
Act I: Baubles, Bangles And Beads
Act I: Stranger In Paradise
Act I: He's In Love!
Act I: Gesticulate
Act II: Night Of My Nights
Act II: Was I Wazir?
Act II: Rahadlakum
Act II: And This Is My Beloved
Act II: The Olive Tree
Act II: Zubbediya, Samahris' Dance
Finale: Sands Of Time
Stage Struck: In The Studio
Stage Struck: Interviews With Alfred Drake, Dorettta Morrow And George Forrest - Alfred Drake/Doretta Morrow/George Forrest

Amazon.com

Using themes by 19th-century Russian composer Alexander Borodin to musicalize a play set in ancient Baghdad seems the kind of harebrained idea only a crazed producer would have. And we should thank him for it. For Kismet is Broadway at its most demented--just the way we like it. Robert Wright and George Forrest reworked Borodin's music so that it would function as the basis for show songs. And what songs: "Stranger in Paradise" and "Baubles, Bangles and Beads" have become classics, and the rest of the score is delightfully kitsch. Alfred Drake equals his performance in Kiss Me, Kate in a bombastic tour-de-force, and to top it all off, Borodin got a posthumous Tony. Fans (you know who you are) will enjoy the bonus interviews with the leads. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Customer Reviews:

Kismet - Original Broadway Cast.......2007-01-10

An excellent reproduction of the original recording. Great clarity.

Gone With the Jihad.......2006-11-04

The definitive recording of this musical, with the original Broadway cast, all of whom deliver outstanding performances. The music, adapted from Borodin, is pulsating and beautiful. The lyrics: some of the most intelligent, witty, and imaginative ever written. Alfred Drake in the lead role of Haj, the beggar, is absolutely superb. Buy this one and run - you'll probably never see or hear this musical performed at this high a level of achievement ever again, given the world situation. This is a tale from the Arabian Nights, located in Baghdad. Need I say more? Buy it, close your eyes, listen, and enrich your life.

Stunning in Clarity, Depth, and Dimension.......2006-03-11

To hear this "remastered" masterpiece is truly a joy. While others have mentioned the featured actors, the chorus is nothing less than magnificent, and equal to the lush orchestration. Listen carefully to the harmonies on "Baubles, Bangles, and Beads." They just don't sing them like that anymore! This album is a total joy!

The ne plus ultra of cast albums.......2005-10-30

Let us not beat around the bush: Goddard Lieberson made this show. It opened to nearly unanimous pans from the "critics" -- but happily during a newspaper strike, and beforehand the Columbia star Tony Bennett had a hit with "Stranger in Paradise"; but if "Kismet" had to do with mere luck or its spectacle or its hoary if familiar book it would surely not have survived. Not even the inspired rewrites of Borodin by a couple of former MGM "hacks" named Wright and Forrest, or the suitably triumphal arrangements of Arthur Kay, saved the day. No, it was the sound of Lieberson's production -- a bombastic, barbaric sound, a sound even digital remastering hasn't totally wiped away -- that made it a perfect presentation of a musical already perfectly cast and sung, that made it immortal. This "Kismet" not only inspired innumerable rerecordings (the most recent, sadly, in '91) but also a sequel of sorts, the NBC spectacular "The Adventures of Marco Polo," ably set to Rimsky-Korsakov, which reunited Alfred Drake and Doretta Morrow and got a fine Masterworks studio album of its own (happily reissued several years ago by DRG), and further proved just how superb these two were, as if further proof were needed.

Possibly Vegas and political correctness have killed "Kismet" as a going property, but they can never kill this album, a supreme monument among all recordings.

One of the best musically directed orchestrations ever........2005-01-30

This recording is a masterpiece. You will be brought right back to the glory day era of "special musicals" in time. This is one that should not be missed. The original musical lasted a incredible 588 performance from 1953-1955 at the Ziegfeld theatre in NY. It is right up there with the top musicals of all time. The musical direction & condution is if not the best ever. Louis Adrian won the Tony Award for musical direction/conduction for Kismet in 1954. http://www.ibdb.com/awardperson.asp?id=97747
This is the same man who conducted the "orignal" Peter Pan and a host of others. Adrian during the period was one of if not one the biggest musical talents of the era inside the musical world. Couple that with the incredible melodies and lyrics of Borodin you have one incredible performance.
Once you listen to it you will understand.

Average customer rating:

CAN-CAN A MASTERPIECE COMPARED TO TODAY'S BROADWAY
Like the songs, liked the singers
Porter Never Fails To Entertain!!
Porter Loves Paris
A not really spectacular entry in the Cole Porter canon

Can-Can (1953 Original Broadway Cast)
Cole Porter , Gwen Verdon , and Lilo
Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000002SNN
Release Date: 1992-11-17

Tracks:

Act I: Introduction & Maidens Typical Of France
Act I: Never Give Anything Away
Act I: Quadrille
Act I: C'est Magnifique
Act I: Come Along With Me
Act I: Live And Let Love
Act I: I Am In I Love
Act I: If You Loved Me Truly
Act I: Montmart'
Act I: Allez-Vous En, Go Away
Act II: Never, Never Be An Artist
Act II: It's All Right With me
Act II: Every Man Is A Stupid Man
Act II: I Love Paris
Act II: Can-Can

Amazon.com

As Cole Porter was emerging from a severe depression in 1951, he threw himself into this story set in the Montmartre of the 1890s, turning it into a tribute to a world immortalized in the artwork of Toulouse-Lautrec. To be sure, this isn't top-shelf Porter. Too many of the songs sound like self-parodies, especially "C'est Magnifique" and "Every Man Is a Stupid Man" ("Every man is an awful fool / Every man is a nincompoop."). You also get the feeling that Lilo, who plays the lead, doesn't have much affinity for what she sings, which of course makes sense since the German-born French actress didn't speak English when she was hired and had to learn her songs phonetically. Despite all that, songs like "It's All Right with Me," "I Love Paris in the Spring," and the Gwen Verdon/Peter Cookson duet "If You Loved Me Truly" make you realize that even second-rate Porter is still vastly entertaining. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Customer Reviews:

CAN-CAN A MASTERPIECE COMPARED TO TODAY'S BROADWAY.......2007-07-09

"Can-Can", as most reviewers indicate, is second-rate Cole Porter in comparison to "Anything Goes" and "Kiss Me Kate"; but any score that includes standards such as "I Love Paris" and the stunningly beautiful ballad "It's All Right With Me" can't be dismissed lightly. This Capitol Original Broadway Cast album showcases the show's strengths (Porter's score & Abe Burrows bawdy book) and weaknesses (lackluster performances from most of the stars and indifferent orchestrations) but still is better than the 1960 film version, which cut most of the score and story, but benefits from the lush Nelson Riddle scoring and features miscast Frank Sinatra's poignant definitive vocal of "It's All Right With Me, one of the greatest vocal performances of the 20th. Century. The soundtrack can be enjoyed on its own level (if EMI ever decides to reissue it on CD) away from the mediocre film and both versions belong in any musical theatre collection. A new production of "Can-Can is opening at the Pasadena Playhouse in Southern California at the time of this review with a revised book and a superb cast which could be Broadway bound and may introduce "Can-Can" to a new generation of theatergoers. This is a good thing for, as it has been established that Cole Porter's score for "Can-Can" is second rate Porter, compared to most of what has passed for musical theatre on Broadway since the 1980's, "Can-Can is a masterpiece. It is genuine musical theatre, not a thrill ride masquerading as musical theatre. And when the audience applauds, they will be applauding the artistic aspects of the show, not the technology as is common with today's Broadway musicals.

Like the songs, liked the singers.......2007-03-09

Read the reviews (including the Amazon staff reviewer who didn't even get the song titles or lyrics right), and had to say something. This show, "Out of This World," and the revival cast recording of "Anything Goes" with Eileen Rogers and Hal Linden are my 3 favorite Cole Porter scores. When I was into Bway, I listened to them constantly. And loved it! This show produced several standards, and all the songs (except "Never Be An Artist" and "Maidens Typical of France") (did I get the titles right? it's been a long time) I think are wonderful. A pleasure. The lyrics aren't witty. And only mildly clever. But they are still better than anything anyone else except Larry Hart ever wrote. One reviewer said that paradoxically, in this Porter score, the music is better than the words. I don't agree, but I see his point. One thing I noticed however, starting with "World," Porter's sexy cleverness, while never always so subtle, borders on the blatant.

Porter Never Fails To Entertain!!.......2004-09-17

It would be easy to say, as many critics did, that Porter was not up to his usual standards. I have to disagree. "Can Can" is a wonderful score that never has been given it's due. Many popular songs came from this, but the best ones are overlooked.

The performers are all top notch. Lilo takes her material and belts it to perfection. Being a Gwen Verdon fan, I found her numbers thorougly enjoyable.

The sound quality is great considering the age of the material. Angel supplied wonderful liner notes, and the synopsis is very helpful. I can recommend this to Porter fans, and those who enjoy great music. Also for Porter fans, "Mexican Hayride" is now available from Decca Broadway.

Porter Loves Paris.......2004-05-24

Capitol Records gave the score of CAN-CAN a lively cast album in 1953. Of necessity some music had to be cut: The Garden of Eden Ballet, The Apache Dance, The Overture. Lilo has a brassy Broadway belt voice and makes the most of her songs. Peter Cookson sounds dull, though in a way that does fit in with his stuffy character. The remaster is well done and as with others in this series the liner notes are fascinating and well written. The movie sountrack version of "It's All right With Me" by Sinatra is much better but that CD is now out-of-print. Given the number of hits this score yielded plus other shows set in Paris (SILK STOCKINGS, PARIS, FIFTY MILLION FRENCHMEN) it's clear that the city served as Porter's greatest inspiration.

A not really spectacular entry in the Cole Porter canon.......2003-07-06

When "Can-Can" opened on Broadway in 1953, critics roared with approval for Michael Kidd's choreography and his fetching lead dancer, Gwen Verdon, who became a star overnight. They dismissed Cole Porter's score, for this show about the bohemian Montmarte culture of 1890s Paris, as "not up to his usual standard." Even though the score ended up producing five hits-"I Love Paris," "It's All Right With Me," "C'est Magnifique," "I Am In Love," and "Allez-Vous En, Go Away"-time and this original cast recording seem to agree with the critics of 1953. This is a rather hum-drum Porter score, most of which is not particularly memorable. Even the naughtiness of his lyrics seems to be there as a cheap shock rather than the usual sly wink. The hit songs aren't bad, but that's about it-even the best of these songs, "It's All Right With Me," is given a too-fast and not really well-sung rendition by Peter Cookson, a dramatic actor in, as far as I know, his only musical.

Thus, there isn't much to recommend this recording, except maybe its star. Not Verdon, who only appears in one song in which her trademark throaty quiver is virtually unrecognizeable (If only her spectacular dances had been preserved on film!), but Lilo, the French chanteuse for whom this show was supposed to provide a smashing American debut. Lilo actually does a pretty enjoyable job of belting out the standards and other songs she is given, but even she may not be enough to make the score seem any better than it is.

Tracks:

Barnacle Bill The Sailor
Doug The Jitterbug
At The Swing Cat's Ball
Honeysuckle Rose
The Two Little Squirrels (Nuts To You)
Pan Pan
Saxa - Woogie
Boogie Woogie Came To Town
Rusty Dusty Blues (Mama Mama Blues)
I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town
What's The Use Of Gettin' Sober
I'm Gonna Leave You On The Outskirts Of Town
Five Guys Named Moe
Ration Blues
Is You Is Or Is You Ain't (My Baby)
Mop -Mop
G.I. Jive
Buzz Me Blues
Caldonia
Salt Pork, W. Va.
Don't Worry 'Bout That Mule
Stone Cold Dead In The Market
Beware
Choo Choo Ch'Boogie

Tracks:

Ain't That Just Like A Woman
Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens
Let The Good Times Roll
Texas And Pacific
Jack You're Dead!
Open The Door, Richard
Boogie Woogie Blue Plate
Run Joe
Beans And Cornbread
Saturday Night Fish Fry, Parts 1&2
Blue Light Boogie Parts 1&2
(You Dyed Your Hair) Chartreuse
Life Is So Peculiar
Teardrops From My Eyes
Louisville Lodge Meeting
Bone Dry
Fat Sam From Birmingham
Cock-A-Doodle-Doo
Slow Down
Never Trust A Woman
Junco Partner
I Want You To Be My Baby

Amazon.com

The two-disc, 46-cut Good Times does a great job of demonstrating how singer and saxophonist Louis Jordan's music evolved from the fairly straight swing of his early Decca sides to the jump blues that made him a father of rock & roll and soul. "Ain't That Just Like a Woman," for instance, features guitarist Carl Hogan giving birth to one of Chuck Berry's signature licks, while the likes of "Beware" and "Choo Choo Ch' Boogie" balance punch and elegance like the work of few bandleaders before or since. It would've been nice to see the mightily syncopated "Early in the Morning" (later covered by both Ray Charles and Harry Nilsson) taking the place of, say, "The Two Little Squirrels," but there really are few complaints to be made about this collection. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews:

The Man Who Invented Little Richard.......2006-04-01

If i hear Little Richard Pop Off One More Time About How He Invented Rock & Roll( "i'm the the ayatolla of Rock & Rolla"!),i'll throw the cd and vid of "Caldonia" at him and tell him to SHUT UP!! The Imodest and Full Of Themselves always Steal and appropriate from others.Jelly Roll Morton also claimed he invented Jazz,and great though he was- he,Like Richard,was more concerned with self promotion and personal myth making.The Boastfull are never the first string artists.That takes sincerity and humility.And p.s. Jerry Lee Lewis(entertaining and raw as he is)got much of his deal from the Boogie Woogie piano playing-singing of Harry "The Hipster" Gibson-also from jordan's era.Why do these guys egos prevent them for giving credit to their progenitors.

The #1 R&B Artist Of The 1940's.......2004-06-29

This genius was the #1 selling African American artist of the 1940's. No one else sold more records or had more hits. He out sold The Mills Bros.,Nat Cole,Duke,Ella,Buddy and Ella Johnson,Satchmo, and Count Basie.He was the #1 R&B artist of the 40's with more top 10 hits and more #1's on the r&b charts than any other Black act of that period. Louis also had a total of 9 top 10 pop hits between 1944 and 1950 and he is the only r&b based artist to have 2 #1 hits on the country music charts(an astonishing feat back then). Those two songs are Jordan classics-1943's and early 44's classic "Ration Blues" and 1944's "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't Ma Baby".Both songs are included on this wonderful cd.The great Nat "King"Cole hit #1 on the Country charts in the mid 40's with his "Straighten up and fly right" but Nat was more of a pop singer than r&b singer. 'G.I.Jive" was a massive hit for him in 1944.It was #1 on both the r&b and pop charts that year. Some may think of Louis Jordan as a clown and that's a monumental tragedy-this cat was a musical genius and an incredible composer,bandleader,and saxophonist. The clown moniker could be easily applied to Charlie Chaplin,Jerry Lewis,Laurel and Hardy,and Harold Lloyd,but they were genuises as well. This cd is a must for any music lovers collection.

Great Compact Jive Package!.......2003-09-02

Starting as a member of the Count Basie band in the 1930s, Louis Jordan soon became known as sax player, vocalist, and jive man extraordinaire on his many solo recordings from the late 1930s until his death in the mid-1970s. This package focuses only on the years 1938 thru 1953, which is admittedly most of his best work, but it would be nice to hear some of his later recordings as well. In particular, two recordings of the classic "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens", cut in the 50s and 70s, improve by being taken at a faster tempo. Louis practically invented jump blues, and no less a giant than BB King has paid tribute with an album of all Jordan material. (Let the Good Times Roll). Building on Cab Calloway's earlier reputation as the king of jive language and music, Jordan creates an evocative, often hilarious picture of the trials and tribulations of the black performer of his day. His takes on trains ("Texas and Pacific", "Choo Choo, Ch'Boogie," and "Salt Pork, West Virginia"), drinking ("What's the Use of Being Sober?"), waitresses ("Boogie Woogie Blue Plate"), and life itself (the wonderful "Life is So Peculiar" duet with Louis Armstrong) still delight after all these years due to his irrepresible humor and jive language. So, if your budget only allows for a two-CD set, spring for this edition by one of the most upbeat, positive, and all around funny cats ever, and run, don't walk, to the nearest Saturday night fish fry.

great stuff - what a great discovery.......2002-05-14

I first heard this in a bar in New York as my wife and I were celebrating our wedding anniversary. The barman had a whole load of old music that he was playing - he was a real expert
Anyway every time we heard a tune that we really liked it turned out to be a Louis Jordan number so we went home and ordered this CD

We play it all the time: its very varied, there's some really neat period pieces which initially sound a little silly but they really grow on you - I find myself singing "barnacle bill" all the time. Great fun and a lovely change from the normal fare- try it

The True King of R&b -Essential!.......2001-06-30

DAMN Chuck Berry! LATER for Little Richard (he could just SHUT UP!) LOUIE JORDAN was the TRUE King of Rock and Roll and R&B! Listen to the wild preaching in "Beans and Cornbread" and try not to roll on the floor laughing. Dig "Open the Door Richard" and I DARE you not to sing along. Try keeping your feet still through "Salt Pork West Virginia" or "Don't Worry Bout That Mule." Trying to find a bad Louis Jordan record is like finding green snow and chicken's teeth! They don't exist!

Ride Daddy Ride: Vintage Songs About Sex 1927-1953

Average customer rating:

Awesome

Ride Daddy Ride: Vintage Songs About Sex 1927-1953
Various Artists
Manufacturer: United States Dist
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0007WL7E4
Release Date: 2005-03-21

Tracks:

Ride Daddy Ride - Fats Noel
I Want A Bowlegged Woman - Bullmoose Jackson
It Ain't The Meat, It's The Motion - The Swallows
You Put It In, I'll Take It Out - Papa Charlie Jackson
Sweet Honey Hole - Blind Boy Fuller
Doodle Hole - Charlie Lincoln
Poon Tang - The Treniers
Let Me Roll Your Lemon - Bo Carter
Good Jelly Blues - Eddie Miller
(It Must Be Jelly 'Cos You Know) Jam Don't Shake - Frankie 'Half-Pint' Jaxon
I Had To Give Up Gym - The Hokum Boys
Mule Get Up In The Alley - Cannons Jug Stompers
Let Me Ride In Your Little Automobile - Lowell Fulson
Baby Let's Go Down To The Woods - Floyd Dixon
Move Your Hand Baby - Crown Prince Waterford
Sit Right On It - Johnny Temple
She Kept On Sittin' On It All The Time - Wynonie Harris
Hucklebuck Baby - Jimmy Preston

Album Description

This 18 track collection features vintage songs about sex from 1927 to 1953 Packaged in a 6-panel foldout digipak with 8-page booklet. Buzzola. 2005.

Album Details

18 vintage songs about sex.

Customer Reviews:

Awesome.......2007-04-06

Great songs from the great years of R&B when innuendo ruled. Some funny stuff too.

Average customer rating:

At last - a release worthy of a classic "Kate"
DEFINITELY THE BEST
Fabulous STEREO recording of classic Cole Porter score
A tour de force
One of the best

Kiss Me Kate (1953 Film Soundtrack)
Cole Porter , Howard Keel , and Kathryn Grayson
Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000033MR
Release Date: 1996-11-19

Tracks:

Overture Medley: Always True To You In My Fashion/Why Can't You Behave/Another Openin', Another....
Main Title (So In Love/Wunderbar)
So In Love
Too Darn Hot
Why Can't You Behave
Electric Sign (Another Openin', Another Show)
Lilli's Cork
Wunderbar
So In Love (Reprise)
We Open In Venice (Extended Version)
Tom, Dick Or Harry
I've Come To Wive It Wealthily In Padua
I Hate Men
Were Thine That Special Face
Finale Act One (Kiss Me Kate)
And So To Wed (We Open In Venice/I Hate Men)
I've Come To Wive It Wealthily In Padua (Reprise)
Where Is The Life That Late I Led
Bianca
Why Can't You Behave
Were Thine That Special Face
Always True To You In My Fashion
Brush Up Your Shakespeare
Bianca's Wedding (We Open In Venice)
From This Moment On
Down On Kate (Includes So In Love)
Kiss Me Kate (Finale, Act 2)

Customer Reviews:

At last - a release worthy of a classic "Kate".......2005-07-18

The wizards at Rhino have put us once again in their debt for this re-release of the soundtrack to MGM's Kiss Me Kate. For anyone who loves the Broadway musical and its Hollywood incarnation, this recording is an essential part of any collection.

Musical lovers have historically been very poorly served by the "original cast" and "soundtrack" recordings. What should have been glorious mementos of the theatrical (or cinematic) experience have often turned out to be savagely butchered and indifferently reproduced shadows of what could have been. With the extended playing time of CDs and the efforts of enthusiasts who (at last) recognise the treasures lying in the studio vaults, many musicals are being re-released in greatly improved sound and including previously unreleased orchestral underscoring and extended performances.

Kiss Me Kate receives a rip-roaring outing here (listen to Wunderbar, Tom Dick or Harry or Where is the Life That Late I Led. A somewhat mangled score (if you're a Broadway purist)...but what performances! It is a dream team with everyone at their finest - Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, the MGM Orchestra not missing a beat under André Previn. And those orchestrations! Conrad Salinger and his colleagues were surely the unsung geniuses of the MGM musical sound.

This is a joy to listen to and we must be grateful to the efforts of everyone who made it possible, assembled as it has been from fast-deteriorating scraps of recordings criminally neglected in the MGM archives. Listen to this and then feast your ears on other recordings in the series. I recommend Gigi, Show Boat, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, Meet Me in St Louis, Hit The Deck and Kismet for starters.

The sound is, of course, variable and not up to the technical standards of today. But, bearing in mind the vintage, it is always good, often miraculous, and far, far better than it has ever sounded before. In fact, it is just right...just how an MGM musical should sound. It is also as complete as it is ever going to get.

Now come on Rhino - what about working the same miracles with High Society, Bells Are Ringing and Goodbye Mr Chips?

Why only a 4 out of 5 star rating? Simple; because we've had to wait so long!

DEFINITELY THE BEST.......2004-06-05

I wholeheartedly agree with every comment already posted. This recording is astonishing in its completeness. The audio quality is as superb as already mentioned. I agree that Howard Keel gives a definitive performance, and that Kathryn Grayson is heard to best advantage. Ann Miller is beyond compare in her bravura performance. The spirit of the MGM studio orchestra is also heard at the top of its game. I was lucky to see a 3D screening of this movie around 1979 or 1980. It was well worth it then, and this recording captures everything about the film that anyone could ever want.

Fabulous STEREO recording of classic Cole Porter score.......2003-01-07

The MGM film version of Cole Porter's KISS ME KATE was released in 1953. It was filmed in 3D but was not widely released in that format as it required special projection equipment and required the audience to wear eye-straining glasses. It was successful both in the 3D version, as well as the conventional "flat" version that was more widely released. It was also one of the very first films released in stereo. The cast included some of the greatest musical talents in Hollywood at the time: Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson, and Ann Miller. All are in top vocal form.

This soundtrack unquestionably surpasses any other recordings of the score, although the two original cast recordings come close. All tracks are taken directly from the original recording session masters and have been remixed for stereo (the original soundtrack album of 1953 contained only a handful of songs - compared to this - and was heard only in monaural). Not only are all cuts from the original vinyl release included here (you wouldn't expect the CD to not include them, would you?), but a HUGE amount of instrumental underscoring and additional material is here as well. The sound quality (in glorious STEREO) is fabulous. The BEST recording of the score, hands down. I also recommend, though, the 1959 stereo recording with the original cast. Fabulous.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

A tour de force.......2001-02-25

Although I tend to prefer Broadway to film scores, this is a notable exception. Howard Keel is a one man tour de force, dashing off number after number with machismo, panache, and wit, Ann Miller is splendid, and even Kathryn Grayson is much better than her usual cloying self. Porter's lyrics are the stuff of genius (how many people in the history of the world could have written Brush Up Your Shakespeare?), the melodies are uplifting and catchy, the plot is hysterical, but above all this is Howard Keel's show, perhaps his greatest performance along with Showboat.

One of the best.......2000-12-13

MGM's KISS ME KATE is a fabulous film and for a change is very faithful to the original Broadway show. It was not only MGM's first film to be released in stereo, it was originally released in 3-D! You'll see things being thrown at the audience throughout the film. Oh, to experience it that way! The soundtrack is stupendous and is one of my absolute favorites. Cole Porter's score is his overall best and the entire cast performs it to perfection. Kathryn Grayson's voice usually grates on my nerves, but here she is absolutely perfect. The soundtrack restoration is flawless and includes never before released underscoring and addition verses to "We Open in Venice." Ann Miller is at the height of her career and Howard Keel is absolutely stunning in is interpretaion of "Where is the Life That Late I Led." The orchestration of "From This Moment On" leaves me breathless. I could listen to this one every day.

Peter Pan: Classic Soundtrack Series (1953 Film)

Average customer rating:

heartwarrming songs
Brings back dear memories

Peter Pan: Classic Soundtrack Series (1953 Film)
Sammy Cahn , Sammy Fain , Frank Churchill , and Oliver Wallace
Manufacturer: Disney
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000001M4B
Release Date: 1998-02-03

Tracks:

Main Title (The Second Star To The Right)/All This Has Happend Before - Sammy Fain/The Jud Conlon Chorus
The Last Night In The Nursery - Sammy Fain/The Jud Conlon Chorus
On The Rooftop/What's A Kiss/Perturbed Pixie - Sammy Fain/The Jud Conlon Chorus
You Can Fly! You Can Fly! You Can Fly! - Bobby Driscoll/Kathryn Beaumont/Paul Collins/Tommy Luske/The Jud Conlon Chorus
A Pirate's Life - Oliver Wallace/The Jud Conlon Chorus
Blast That Peter Pan/A Pirate's Life (Reprise) - Oliver Wallace/The Jud Conlon Chorus
The Legend Of The Croc/Double The Powder And Shorten The Fuse/Follow Tinker Bell - Oliver Wallace/The Jud Conlon Chorus
Just When I Brought You A Mother/Banished - Oliver Wallace/The Jud Conlon Chorus
Following The Leader - Oliver Wallace
Hide And Sneak/No Let' em Go - Oliver Wallace
Mermaid Lagoon/Bad Day At Skull Rock - Oliver Wallace
Plotting A Pixie's Plight - Oliver Wallace
What Made The Red Man Red/Tinknapped - Oliver Wallace
Rumor Has It/Hangman's Tree - Oliver Wallace
Big Chief Flying Eagle/I Had A Mother Once - Oliver Wallace
Your Mother And Mine - Sammy Fain/Kathryn Beaumont
Good-Bye Peter/Shanghaied - Sammy Fain/Kathryn Beaumont
Captain Hook Never Breaks A Promise/The Elegant Captain Hook/A Little Surprise... - Hans Conried/Bill Thompson/The Jud Conlon Chorus
No Splash/Take That/I'm A Codfish!/Crocbait/The Hero Of Never Land - Sammy Fain/Hans Conried/Bill Thompson/The Jud Conlon Chorus
Home Again/Mermaids,Pirates, And Indians/Finale (You Can Fly! You Can Fly!/You .. - Sammy Fain/The Jud Conlon Chorus
Never Smile At A Crocodile (Bonus Track) - Sammy Fain/The Jud Conlon Chorus
The Boatswain's Song (Demo Recording) - Sammy Fain/The Jud Conlon Chorus

Customer Reviews:

heartwarrming songs.......2006-10-01

the songs warm your heart. They bring back memories of a time once forgotten, hidden beneath sad thoughts. Yet, once you listen to these songs, you forget all your sadness.

Brings back dear memories.......2005-09-18

I love the music to Disney's Peter Pan! The one that tugs at the heart the most for me would have to be "The Second Star to the Right." The harmonies and the certain style of the music just gets me teary. The rest of the songs are quite enjoyable too!

Ernest Ansermet: Decca Recordings 1953-1967

Average customer rating:

A memento of a conductor lost in the golden age
Remembering Ansermet in style
Ansermet is Awesome, and...

Ernest Ansermet: Decca Recordings 1953-1967

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Beethoven: The 9 Symphonies

ASIN: B000JU7N7Y
Release Date: 2007-02-13

Customer Reviews:

A memento of a conductor lost in the golden age.......2007-06-20

This 6-CD set gives uninitiated listeners a fair introduction to a conductor they never knew while he was alive or in his heyday. Ernest Anserment (1883-1969) was born in Switzerland and was a contemporary of both Furtwängler and Klemperer, although he was of a far different school of music than either German. Originally a mathematician, Ansermet founded Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (Swiss Radio Orchestra) during World War I, toured with them worldwide after the war, and rose to prominence after World War II when he and the orchestra developed a recording contract with Decca Records.

Ansermet was most at home in coolorful scores, 20th century French music, in the works of his countrymen Honegger (born French but spent time in Zurich) and Frank Martin, and in the Russians Stravinsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. But, as represented here, his expertise began with Bach and went well into the 20th century.

Ansermet's strengths were clarity in execution and delivery, strict adherence to original scoring (he opposed Stravinsky's tendency to revise his own works), and a romantic bent that was in vogue in the postwar years. Stated another way, Anserment's work captured the essence of what today might be characterized as a "romantic period performance" style whose chief proponent may be Martin Perlman in Boston.

For me, Ansermet's conducting in the mainstream German classics was equally engaging. He was expert in capturing the full blown romance of Brahms, Beethoven and other romantics through the rigors of exposing every instrument in the orchestra and ensuring all contrapuntal lines could be heard. His Beethoven set included a dazzling performance of the Symphony No. 2 and a draft of the "Choral" symphony most collectors would enjoy today (it's still avaiable in Japan).

While recordings of Ansermet's Rimsky-Korsakov and Stravinsky have rightly stayed in the catalog and been hailed by critics for decades, his greatest recording of romantic repertoire, in my opinion, is neither included in this box nor avaialable anywhere worldwide. That is his pairing of the Franck D Minor Symphony and the St. Saens "Organ" Symphony which Decca paired early in the CD era on a Weekends Classic recording. It has been out of print everywhere for some time and is a great loss for all of us.

Still today, I treasure Ansermet's box of Beethoven symphonies (also out of print everywehere; No. 4, is represented here) for its clarity, romance and elocution. I will never forget buying this box at my local LP store about 1972; what a revelation it was after exposure to the Beethoven of all the high cholesterol German romantics! Ansermet's combination of score adherence, clarity in orchestral detail, and blooming romance in interpretation led to my most satisfying performances of the most recorded symphonies in history during the period when the greatest conductors of the recording era were all represented in this repertoire.

The latter point is, I believe, the linchpin to Ansermet's career. I don't think there's any question that, if a conductor came along today with his combination of skills, sensitivity and technique, he or she would be regarded as a wunderkind combining the best traits of the current and bygone eras. In his lifetime, however, Ansermet was never regarded in this way. I think that's because he existed on a plane or two below all the acknowledged giants of the podium that were active or in their prime in his day.

While Ansermet was making the recordings in this box, Wilhelm Furtwangler was conducting the Berlin Philharmonic, dying, and being replaced by an up and coming German named Karajan that would go on the become the most recorded conductor in history. Klemperer was one of the giants in Germany with Bohm, Jochum and others sharing the spotlight. Among Europe's rising stars of the day were Colin Davis and Bernard Haitink, who had recently taken over for Beinum in Holland. Elsewhere, Leonard Bernstein was in the midst of his titanic career on the other side of the Atlantic and other American orchestral posts were manned by Ormandy, Szell, Solti, Mehta, Monteaux and another young, up and coming condcutor, Lorin Mazzel. Stokowski was in his prime making stereo recordings in this era, too.

This was the epoch of Ansermet's maturity. He was in the same position as a number of great conductors of his era such as Rudolf Kempe -- great men at the podium cast in the shadow of giants. While Ansermet was a member of the Decca stable, he nonetheless was cast in a secondary role as Decca also had new recordings by Solti and Maazel that were outselling anything Ansermet put forth. Simultanously, collectors could also find all the recordings of legendary conductors including Toscanini, Bruno Walter and Beecham. It was surely a crowded time in the record business and the most difficult time in history for a conductor to make his name.

In baseball terms, Ansermet had some of the affect of Sammy Sosa, whose 600 home runs came in the shadow of Mark McGwire's record-breaking season in 1998 and while Barry Bonds would first break the all-time single season record and, second, chase Hank Aaron's home run record. The metaphor may not be competely satisfactory for Ansermet was probably not the third greatest conducting home run hitter of his day.

But he was one of the great conductors with his own orchestra, a unique style, a broad repertoire, and a delivery mechanism underrated due to the shadow cast on him by other greats of the day. We are fortunate, living in the late digital era, to have this testament of his work before us. Now a new generation of listeners can hear what many did a half-century ago with new ears developed in the period performance practice era.

Of the contents of this set, my favorites are the Haydn Symphony 22, Stravinsky Pulcinella Suite, the orchestrated Schumann Carnaval (which I had never heard before), both Resphigi suites -- Pines of Rome and Rossiniana -- Honneger's Pacific 231 and Frank Martin's Concerto for 7 Wind Instruments, Timpani, Percussion and String Orchestra, an interesting, powerful and lively 20th century concerto. I agree with an earlier reviewer that said this set cherry picks certain pieces, teasing you with portions such as the Borodin Polovtsian Dances and Dukas La Peri selections. Still, there's enough here to satisfy both Ansermet enthusiasts and newcomers to the conductor.

Remembering Ansermet in style.......2007-03-01

Ernest Ansermet was one of Decca's most prolific artists, to whom they consigned dozens of Stravinsky works, the standard Russian repertoire, and all French music. We've been steadily getting reissues of this output, and here's the latest batch. Newcomers may be surprised at how good even the earliest sound is, but they should also expect less than virtuosic playing from the Suisse Romande orchestra; the lack in execution is made up for by the special tang of French winds and brass, a constant pleasure throughout.

CD 1: Ansermet conducted very good Bach and Brahms but is little known for that. Here we get a sampling of his skill in German music. The snippet of orchestral music from Bach's Cantata #31 is a prelude to a fresh, lively Haydn Sym. #22 "The Philosopher" (named for its sober opening Adagio) that's performed in the same gentle, loving style as Bruno Walter's Haydn. The same soft-grained approach applies to the Beethoven 4th Sym., but in this case the scrawniness of the string section compares badly with great German and American orchestras, and one also feels that Ansermet really should dig in more. But if you want a feminine reading of a symphony often called feminine by older critics, this is a fine one. This generous disc ends with three overtures many listeners won't already own: Weber's Ruler of the Spheres and Preciosa Over., plus the more familiar Mendelssohn Ruy Blas. The performances are lively to the point of brashness, and very enjoyable.

CD 2: This disc is Russian and Finnish. For many French conductors Russian music comes as second nature, and this is true for Ansermet. His suite of Polovtsian Dances from Borodin's Prince Igor is light, fast, and pointed. Rendering a pops staple with such detailed delicacy really refreshes it; Ansermet's version is worthy to stand beside Beecham's minor classic. In the same vein is Stravinsky's Pulcinella Suite, which as Mr. Richman points out, is different from the complete score performed by Ansermet on Decca's box set of his Stravinsky recordings. The stereo sound is rather narrow and thin, but this Pulcinella is a model of how to avoid heaviness and over-emphasis in this music. Nobody would expect the Sibelius Fourth to follow, nor is Ansermet noted for being a Sibelian. His reading is super-clear, lean, and light-textured. It works very well in this pastoral music, although for intensity and better execution one has to look elsewhere.

CD 3: From here on out the music is primarily French, the area of Ansermet's greatest renown. Decca has kindly provided some rarities to everybody but committed collectors. This disc starts out with pops chestnuts, however, including one excerpt each from Coppelia and Sylvia (why bother?) and then the more unusual Saint-Saens Chasseur Maudit tone poem. Given that the ballet snippets are sparkling, as always from this conductor, while the Saint-Saens lacks atmosphere and panache, the choice is dubious. After bits of Chabrier and Faure we arrive at a curiostiy, an orchestration under the title of Coquette (for ballet) of Schumann's Carnaval. Nobody plays these transcriptions anymore, but I msut confess to being delighted with this one, which is full of vivacity and sounds like Offenbach--you'd swear a can-can or two has been thrown in.

CD 4: When Faure's orchestral music gained a flurry of popularity in the Sixties, Ansermet led the way. This version of Masques et Bergamesques is all that anyone could desire. The mock-classic idiom isn't that far removed from Ravel's Tombeau de Couperin, music I usualy don't have much patience with--it sounds dainty and precious--but Ansermet's reading is winning in its directness. I was quite ready to leave wispy Gallic nostalgia behind, but next comes more of the same--Debussy's Petite Suite and other atmospheric bits from him. This disc was the first to lose my atention, even though on its own terms the musicmaking is expert, if not as charismatic as Beecham's way with trifles. The disc ends with a light, bright reading of Respighi's Fountains of Rome blessedly free of vulgarity.

CD 5: Honegger gained wide popularity with two religious oratorios, Joan of Arc at the Stake and this King David, even though both works have slipped out of the repertoire outside France. King David uses cinematic Orientalism and modal harmonies to describe ancient Jerusalem, a style that seems a bit cheap and slithery nowadays. But the combination of spoken narration, vocal soloists, and choruses, all in highly accessible music that never challenges the first-time listener, has its appeal. Ansermet's was one of the classic versions in stereo, and here it is, elegantly displaying Honegger's dramatic intentions. However, for me the total effect was like kindergarten Stravinsky.

CD 6: Dukas' admireres point to his opera La Peri as a minor masterpiece, and here we get a hint via the Fanfare and one dance, followed by a pops march from Rimsky's Dubinushka, a rare item for certain. More familiar is the suite of Rossini excerpts known as Rossiniana (antoher ballet), and I can't imagine anyone doing it with quite the same elegant polish of Ansermet. The recorded sound is extremely detailed in its transparency, which made it an early audiophile classic. Back to Stravinsky for a colorful but fairly leaden Scherzo a la russe, not a striking effort. But what follows is striking and perhaps the best thing in the set, Frank Martin's Concerto for 7 Wind Instruments, Percussion, and Strings, a nod to the orchestra's Swiss-ness. The playing is pointed and eager, and Ansermet conducts so well that the work is jsutified as being a minor masterpiece of Poulenc-inspired whimsical elegance.

What to say overall? This box set has no bad performances and many striking ones. I think judgment comes down to one's tastes in music. Mine don't tend toward ballet and French pops, or to Honegger's religious crossover style, so I'm not the best one to recommend what is in any case a very enjoyable listen from beginning to end.

Ansermet is Awesome, and..........2007-02-22

Generally I am a big fan of the Original Masters box sets, but with this latest collection Decca/UNI has gone too far. Don't get me wrong there are some wonderful rare recordings on "Ernest Ansermet: Decca Recordings 1953-1967" -- Haydn's 22nd Symphony, Beethoven's 4th, Sibelius' 4th, Respighi's Fountains of Rome, an entire CD of Honegger performances, and even Stravinsky's Pulcinella Suite, a different version from the full account contained on Ansermet's Stravinsky box (see my review). But way too much of the rest of this set is just repackaged previously available material. In fairness much of it has been out of print, or only available in Japan, but that won't do much to satisfy the serious collectors to whom this series is aimed, and who have gone to great lengths to track down those previous CD incarnations. What makes matters worse is the sampling is so far and wide that not only is the sequencing haphazard, but it is infuriating for those of us that have purchased other Ansermet titles in the past. For example, reprised from his "Double Decca" Rimsky-Korsakov title we get one lousy four minute selection, "Dubinushka." Why bother to include it? Just go buy the two-fer!!! They mention Ansermet's pioneering stereo recording of "Antar" in the liner notes, so why not include that here instead. The only other way to currently get the "Antar" is with an often reissued account of Scheherazade as a Decca Legend import, which no one buys because it duplicates their collections. Another example is the Debussy Six Epigraphes, which was recently reissued on Testament -- why include it? For that matter why tack on Borodin's Polovtsian Dances when they are already on his great CD with Borodin's 2nd & 3rd Symphonies? Why include another four minute track -- Stravinsky's Scherzo a la Russe -- when it is on the aforementioned Stravinsky box? I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that the Delibes, Franck, Faure, Ravel, Martin and other Debussy selections have all been available elsewhere. Of course, since Decca/UNI has only picked a couple of tracks at most from those original titles, it's not like you can just discard or sell the old CDs you own, or burn the remaining selections you need. With so many other rare Ansermet recordings lingering in the vaults or only on expensive imports -- Beethoven, Berlioz, Bizet, Brahms, Lalo, Roussel, Schumann, etc. -- surely a more cohesive reissue strategy could have been applied by Decca/UNI. If you plan on eventually giving us the "Complete" Decca Ansermet recordings over time, through various OM volumes, all of my fussing is moot, however I seriously doubt that is in their marketing plans. Next time, instead of making us an expanded "Great Conductors of the Century" title or some sort of awkward "Greatest Hits" collection, concentrate on the rare performances that a connoisseur would want, and stick them all on one limited edition box, with fewer discs if necessary.

The Copland Collection: Orchestral Works, 1948-1971

Average customer rating:

Copland's conduction of GREAT CITY is better than Slatkin's
Another masterpiece...

The Copland Collection: Orchestral Works, 1948-1971

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000027JC
Release Date: 1991-09-26

Tracks:

The Red Pony, Film Suite For Orchestra (1948): I. Morning On The Ranch
The Red Pony, Film Suite For Orchestra (1948): II. The Gift
The Red Pony, Film Suite For Orchestra (1948): III. Dream March And Circus Music
The Red Pony, Film Suite For Orchestra (1948): IV. Walk To The Bunkhouse
The Red Pony, Film Suite For Orchestra (1948): V. Grandfather's Story
The Red Pony, Film Suite For Orchestra (1948): VI. Happy Ending
Preamble For A Solemn Occasion (1949): Preamble For A Solemn Occasion
Orchestral Variations (1957): Theme: Grave
Orchestral Variations (1957): Variation I - Varation XX
Orchestral Variations (1957): Coda: Subito lento moderato
Dance Panels (1959, Revised 1962) (Ballet In Seven Sections): I. Introduction: Moderato (Tempo di Valzer); Espressivo un poco rubato
Dance Panels (1959, Revised 1962) (Ballet In Seven Sections): II. Allegretto con tenerezza (un poco rubato)
Dance Panels (1959, Revised 1962) (Ballet In Seven Sections): III. Scherzando; Moderato
Dance Panels (1959, Revised 1962) (Ballet In Seven Sections): IV. Pas de trois. Lento
Dance Panels (1959, Revised 1962) (Ballet In Seven Sections): V. Con brio
Dance Panels (1959, Revised 1962) (Ballet In Seven Sections): VI. Con moto
Dance Panels (1959, Revised 1962) (Ballet In Seven Sections): VII. Molto ritmico; Coda; come prima; Moderato

Tracks:

Connotations (1961-1962) For Orchestra
Down A Country Lane (1962)
Music For A Great City (1963-1964): I. Skyline
Music For A Great City (1963-1964): II. Night Thoughts
Music For A Great City (1963-1964): III. Subway Jam
Music For A Great City (1963-1964): IV. Toward The Bridge
Inscape (1967)
Three Latin-American Sketches: 1. Estribillo (1971)
Three Latin-American Sketches: 2. Paisaje Mexicano (1959)
Three Latin-American Sketches: 3. Danza de Jalisco (1959)

Customer Reviews:

Copland's conduction of GREAT CITY is better than Slatkin's.......2005-09-05

SKYLINE is a fun track that's based on the premise of Big City Overload. And naturally it's immediately followed by the low-key introspective NIGHT THOUGHTS.

Consider Lenny Bernstein's main theme from his MASS. I'm talking about the tune that was done klezmer-style and chorale-style. When the chorale sings it, it contains a descending 4-note phrase. Followed by a descending 5-note phrase. Okay--now listen for a certain passage in NIGHT THOUGHTS that sounds similar to Bernstein's passage. The only basic difference is that both of Copland's phrases are 5-note phrases. And let me add that Copland's NIGHT THOUGHTS was written years before Bernstein's MASS.

Another masterpiece..........2000-06-30

The third of the Copland Collection from Sony is much like the other two: Wonderful playing, orchestration, recording, and booklet. This is my favorite of the three of the CD sets though. Music is very 'Copland' like. The Red Pony is from the movie is an excellent suite. Dance Panels is the least known of the 4 ballets by Copland. But just like Appalachian Spring and Billy the Kid, it is very Copland, very exciting, and very good. Unlike the other three you may find on the 2nd CD set of this series, this is the entire ballet not just the suites. Down A Country Lane is now one of my favorite Copland works. So soothing, it can really paint the picture of a beautiful country road on a spring day. Music for a great city is actually from a movie (booklet tells all). Each of the four movements describes the big city just as we all have known it. All the other works are nothing to look down upon either. Most works are conducted by Copland with the London Symphony (he really knocked them into shape). A couple were conducted by Bernstein which are still up to standard. Great CD collection! Buy all three.

Wonderful Town (Original 1953 Broadway Cast)

Average customer rating:

Wonderful Town is a wonderful show
Light and lively musical comedy
a must-have recording for REAL Broadway fans
Leonard Bart-stein? Listen for yourself....
Quality over quantity

Wonderful Town (Original 1953 Broadway Cast)
Leonard Bernstein , Betty Comden , and Adolph Green
Manufacturer: Decca U.S.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

On the Town
Wonderful Town (2003 Broadway Revival Cast)
Bernstein - Wonderful Town / Audra McDonald, Kim Criswell, Thomas Hampson, Wayne Marshall, Simon Rattle, Berlin Philharmonic
Fiorello! (1959 Original Broadway Cast)
Redhead (1959 Original Broadway Cast)

ASIN: B00005O6KS
Release Date: 2001-09-25

Tracks:

Christopher Street
Ohio
One Hundred Easy Ways
What a Waste
A Little Bit in Love
Pass the Football
Conversation Piece
A Quiet Girl
Conga!
My Darlin' Eileen
Swing!
It's Love
Ballet at the Village Vortex
Wrong Note Rag
Opening (from the original Decca recording of "On the Town")
Carried Away (from "On the Town")
Lonely Town (from "On the Town")
I Can Cook Too (from "On the Town")
Lucky to Be Me (from "On the Town")
Ya Got Me (from "On the Town")

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful Town is a wonderful show.......2004-10-25

This is a terrific show. It has a famous composer, great tunes and a good, upbeat story. Why it has so thoroughly faded from memory is a question that puzzles me greatly.

The orchestrations are attributed to another individual, but Bernstein must have taken some substantial role in their creation, for large parts of "Wonderful Town" resemble only one other musical, "West Side Story."

Rosalind Russell is the star here, and rightly so. She sings--or rather croaks--her material very well, indeed. Only in "Swing" is she overmatched by the musical requirements and even then she fights them to a draw.

Edith Adams is very good, too, as Eileen. I think of her as Edie Adams, a sixties icon, wife of comedian Ernie Kovacs, mayhem-minded member of the Nairobi Trio and super-sexy pitchwoman for White Owl Cigars. I had no idea that she had also starred on Broadway. It was a pleasant surprise to find her here.

The men in the lead parts sing in that typical Broadway growl: perfect diction and lousy tone. They are endearingly awful. And I mean that in the best possible sense.

Five stars, no doubt about it!

Light and lively musical comedy .......2004-08-07

The first cast album of WONDERFUL TOWN sounds even better than ever in Decca's latest remastering. The sound is still somewhat flat (as are all Decca albums from the 40s/50s) but the Decca engineers have worked wonders on the 50 year old tapes making them sound as good as possible. Rosalind Russell was a perfect choice to play the acerbic Ruth. She doesn't have much of a singing voice but the songs were tailored to her limited range and she makes the character come alive. Edith Adams sounds properly winsome as her sister Eileen. In the supporing roles, Jordan Bentley comes off best as Wreck, but George Gaynes makes for a ponderous, somehwat stuffy Bob Baker.

In terms of album production, Decca eliminated the Overture and some of the dance music, and re-arranged "Christopher Street" to eliminate the spoken vignettes. Otherwise the score is presented in a faithful aural re-creation. The booklet offers a detailed synopsis to guide you through the score.

The bonus tracks are six songs from ON THE TOWN originally recorded when that show was playing on Broadway. This is NOT the definitive recording of ON THE TOWN. For that you need the 1960 album avaialble on Sony. But, the excerpts heard here provide an enjoyable bonus.

a must-have recording for REAL Broadway fans.......2002-12-26

This marvellous new re-issue of WONDERFUL TOWN is a must-have for Broadway buffs. In fact, this is really two albums in one, as it also contains the rare 1945 studio recording of ON THE TOWN as a bonus!

The story is based on the play "My Sister Eileen", written by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov; as well as the stories written by Ruth McKenney. The play was later turned into a successful Columbia film starring Rosalind Russell (as Ruth Sherwood) and Janet Blair as Eileen. Several years later Columbia released a musical version (following the success of WONDERFUL TOWN) which starred Janet Leigh and Betty Garrett.

WONDERFUL TOWN originally starred Rosalind Russell (repeating her film role) as Ruth and Edith 'Edie' Adams as Eileen. The cast also included George Gaynes (GIGI, 'Punky Brewster') as the romantic male lead.

The score by Betty Comden and the late Adolph Green is gorgeous, and features the comical "100 Easy Ways", the lilting "A Little Bit in Love" and the showstopping "Conga!" and "Wrong-Note Rag".

No Broadway-recording collection is complete without the original cast of this landmark musical.

This re-issue from the superb Decca Broadway range also includes the rare 1945 set of ON THE TOWN, which featured original cast-members Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Nancy Walker singing their songs from the show, with Mary Martin singing "Lonely Town" and "Lucky to Be Me".

Highly-recommended.

Leonard Bart-stein? Listen for yourself...........2002-09-23

Leonard Bernstein never erred on the side of subtlety, and this original-cast album contains two of his most enjoyable essays in musical near-mayhem: "Christopher Street" and "The Wrong Note Rag." The former is vastly like the theme music to "The Simpsons," and the listener can decide for himself how much of a coincidence this is or isn't. "The Wrong Note Rag" uses the tritone of the scale and a varied meter to make life difficult for the singers and anyone trying to count along. Unlike so many send-ups of the 1920s, this song ingenioulsy captures the musical and lyrical feel of novelty numbers like 1924's "Fascinating Rhythm"--or, better yet, the slightly later "Crazy Rhythm." A parody of the 1920s that shows any sense of the 1920s is a rare item, indeed. "Wonderful Town" is an interesting, enjoyable, and valuable historical piece, and I can only imagine what later performers did with it. I don't want to know.

Quality over quantity.......2002-05-19

Yes, the original 1953 cast recording of "Wonderful Town" may not be the most complete cast recording of the hit musical BUT I would wholeheartedly reccommend this CD over any other version. Why? Because of its original cast members and its original orchestrations! Rosalind Russell is peerless as Ruth Sherwood (I consider her version of "One Hundred Easy Ways" one of the funniest songs in musical theatre history) and Edie Adams shines through radiantly. Listen to her sing "A Little Bit In Love" to understand what I'm talking about. Also, the original orchestrations gtive this CD more vibrance than any of the later incarnations INCLUDING the 1999 studio recording, which to me sounds too mechanical and the British orchestrator doesn't seem to get the rhythms right. The original cast recording is A MUST for the true theatre fan, abridged score or not

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