Love Letter [CD-single] [Import]

The 1999 Aida, was not a studio album from Elton, but a preview from what was happen on Broadway. The various artists record contains so many different artists in the record including Tina Turner, Boyz II Men, Dru Hill, and the upcoming Heather Headley. Before Heather made it as a singer, she made it right here in Aida, on this record. The only decent song that was a hit was Written In The Stars, which Elton performed with Leann Rimes. The song was also the last song Elton cracked Billboard's Top 40. Still, there really wasn't a lot of enjoyment within most of the record, and it fell into a sleeper. Considering that Elton is already planning on making another smash musical on Broadway, hopefully he'll do better with the concept record.

When it does come to making it on Broadway, it isn't really anything exciting, unless it truly is a smash, and Aida is a smash on Broadway, just not the record. Still, if you're a die hard fan of Aida, buy this record. Otherwise, it could be a hitless miss.

Living Elaborate Lives..........2002-11-02

Aida was Elton John and Tim Rice's baby, providing a concept soundtrack album before even setting the stage on fire, the tracks are generally sweeping show ballads.
Elton teams up with several lovely and talented ladies, in LeAnn Rimes, Janet Jackson, and Lulu. "Written In The Stars" could be a vocal gladiator battle, the way LeAnn and Elton sing it. Janet and Lulu prove themselves as more mellow duet partners.
Kelly Price makes "The Gods Love Nubia" her own, the song is tied up in soul with her voice being smooth as silk. The far too short "Amneris' Letter" shows off Shania Twain's voice to perfection also. Pop culture phenomenon the Spice Girls turn "My Strongest Suit" into the most obvious pop stomper of this set. Another strong point is Heather Headley's solo "Elaborate Lives". A rich ballad, Headley recently embarked on an R&B singing career with the track "He Is". The legendary Tina Turner provides a fiery perfomance, her track being the powerful "Easy As Life" with Angelique Kidjo.
Duds are also present, Sting and Dru Hill's tracks are admitted stinkers. James Taylor, Boyz II Men, Sherie Scott, and Lenny Kravitz also deliver perfomances on the album. This album is well put together, with strong tunes and a short-list of superstars presenting them. A fun buy.

Average customer rating:

Apocalypse Here and Now
Love the movie but hate this sound track
Apocolypse: Noun
Like Napalm in the Morning
eerie and forboding...

Apocalypse Now Redux

Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Apocalypse Now Redux

ASIN: B00005M98K
Release Date: 2001-07-31

Tracks:

The End - The Doors
The Delta
Dossier
Orange Light
Ride Of The Valkyries - The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Georg Solti
Suzie Q - Flash Cadillac
Nung River
Do Lung
Letters From Home
Clean's Death
Clean's Funeral
Love Theme
Chief's Death
Voyage
Chef's Head
Kurtz Chorale
Finale

Amazon.com

In the mid to late '70s, director Francis Ford Coppola put his career on the line to complete Apocalypse Now, his quixotic attempt to variously document, deconstruct, and mythologize America's military involvement in Vietnam. The end result was a troubling masterpiece and technical tour de force whose use of sound and music influenced films for decades. As originally released, the soundtrack album was equally groundbreaking: an intriguing, dreamlike collage of dialogue, sound effects, and music that both evoked the film's artistic sensibility and underscored the innovative, Academy Award®-winning efforts of sound designer Walter Murch.

Two decades later, Coppola revisited the project, adding nearly an hour of previously unseen footage and revamping its soundtrack release as well. But while the film may have taken on fresh new dimensions, the new soundtrack album seems stripped of virtually all of Murch's key contributions. What remains is primarily music--and a telling argument for the notion that the whole is considerably more than the sum of its parts. Inspired by synthesist Isao Tomita's '70s classical adaptations, Coppola hired father Carmine to write an orchestra score, and then set about synthesizing it. The Doors' "The End" remains an iconic touchstone, but removed from the context of the film (and its original album release), much of the Coppola music all too clearly reveals its inspirations (Tomita, Holst, Wagner, Stravinsky) and the technical limitations of the relatively primitive synth technology involved (mirrored in a pair of newly recorded tracks as well). --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews:

Apocalypse Here and Now.......2005-08-07

I, too, like the other reviewers, had the original soundtrack recording (on 2 cassettes!) I enjoyed listening to it in the dark of my New York City apartment to re-experience the film and to also learn the dialogue.

However, when the Redux version came out on DVD, I also was looking forward to a newer re-issue of the soundtrack that highlighted the music and left the dialogue out.

I find the synthesized passages and some acoustic instrumentation in their impressive for their time surround sound-like quality quite amazing. The inclusion of the finale where Martin Sheen's character steps out in his "transformed assassin shadow glory" haunting and very moving. It is one of the great moments in modern cinema and in music soundtracks.

The only confusing aspect, which I eventually was able to figure out, was why this soundtrack did not include the really cool and disturbing end credits music. Then I learned that that piece and the others like it used throughout the film were recorded separately on a CD entitled, "The Apocalypse Now Sessions" by the Rhythm Devils. The end credits music appears on the end of that disc on the final track entitled "Napalm for Breakfast." Both these discs make an all around great soundtrack for what I judge as one of the great cinematic works of art.

Love the movie but hate this sound track.......2005-05-05

The sound quality sucked.... when i listen to it it seems like it can't be the REAL music from the movie.
The tracks were unnecessarily short, I understand that some of the music in the movie repeated at times, but it was still unnecessarily short. The transition from Valkyries to Suzie Q is almost as horrible as the version of Suzie Q they use in this.
The opening is okay. The ride of the Valkyries is good while it lasts. Don't waste your money on this. Just buy the songs on other CDs.

Apocolypse: Noun.......2004-06-02

Instead of paying $3.99 for a CD featuring "Ride of the Valkyries" I bought this whole CD. It was actually a gift for my Father. I think perhaps it might be improved with the addition of more songs from the era that evoke the sense of futility and dread conjured by the film itself...thus expanding the CD play time to equal the length of the Redux...which was in turn only marginally shorter than the actual war. Not necessarily songs INCLUDED in the film, but rather music you know the guys were listening too. All in all, however, it is almost worth the price...it puts you in the same place as the movie, and that's worth something.

Like Napalm in the Morning.......2003-07-31

This is an excellent CD and one that I've wanted for many years. I, like others who've reviewed the "Redux" CD, once had the soundtrack from the _original_ version of the movie, which was basically the entire movie, complete with all dialogue. I liked that "soundtrack," but what I really wanted was _only_ the music, without dialogue, because if I really wanted the dialogue I'd just as soon watch the movie. Fortunately, the "Redux" CD does indeed have _only_ the music, which is eerily beautiful and haunting. I should point out to potential buyers, as I didn't learn this until I actually listened to the CD, that the version of The Doors' "The End" is actually the interesting remix heard in the movie, complete with synthesizer enhancements, chirping jungle crickets, and Jim Morrison's Oedipal vulgarities brought to the surface, instead of buried under the instrumentation as on The Doors original recording (in which the vulgarities can barely be heard). "Suzie Q" sounds to me an awful lot like the version in the movie, though I'm unsure it's exactly the same; it doesn't matter, it's so darn close. What's really nifty is the intro and conclusion of "Suzie Q," which contains the synthesizer effects heard in the movie as a sort of musical segway. In short, if you love "Apocalypse Now," and what you want is _the music_ from the movie, this CD is perfect. To my ears, the music doesn't sound dated at all; it could've been done yesterday for a new movie.

eerie and forboding..........2001-12-17

I've noticed some griping that this new version of the soundtrack does not contain dialogue, unlike the original 2 disc version that came out originally. well, you can't please everybody. one of my other favourite soundtracks, "Blade Runner" often gets slagged in reviews because it contains some dialogue, which some people find intrusive. if you want to hear the dialogue, watch the movie. this disc is about the music, which is as dark and forbidding as any synth music i've heard, perfectly evoking the chaos and hellish atmosphere shown on screen. track seven, "nung river" has a particularly sinister feel, making that trip up river feel inexorable. "do lung" has a nightmarish carnival sound to it, appropriate to the scene's images of a place spiralling out of control. overall, if you like dark, atmospheric soundtrack music, (it is also very rhythmic) you will enjoy this, even if you haven't seen the movie.

Average customer rating:

Six Decades of Film Music
Excellent collection with fine performances
"essential film scores from 1939 to 2004 ~ Incredible Music"

The Incredible Film Music Box

Manufacturer: Silva America
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0007S687Y
Release Date: 2005-05-10

Tracks:

Gone With The Wind: Overture
Citizen Kane: Overture
Casablanca: As Time Goes By
It's A Wonderful Life: It's A Wonderful Life
The Third Man: The Harry Lime Theme
The Searchers: Suite
The Bridge On The River Kwai: Colonel Bogey March
Vertigo: Prelude
Touch Of Evil: Main Title
Ben-Hur: Parade Of The Charioteers
North By Northwest: Prelude
Psycho: Suite
The Magnificent Seven: The Magnificent Seven
Lawrence Of Arabia: Overture

Tracks:

To Kill A Mockingbird: Suite
The Great Escape: Main Title
Doctor Zhivago: Main Title & Lara's Theme
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
Once Upon A Time In The West: Jill's Theme
2001: A Space Odyssey: Also Sprach Zarathustra
Midnight Cowboy: Midnight Cowboy
Get Carter: Main Title
A Clockwork Orange: Ode To Joy
The Godfather: Waltz & Love Theme
Jaws: Jaws
Rocky: Gonna Fly Now
Taxi Driver: Suite
Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope

Tracks:

Superman: Main Theme
Alien: End Title
Raging Bull: Intermezzo From Cavalleria Rusticana
Raiders Of The Lost Ark: Raiders March
Blade Runner: End Titles
E.T.: The Extraterrestrial: Adventures On Earth
Once Upon A Time In America: Deborah's Theme
Back To The Future: Main Theme
Witness: Building The Barn
Aliens: Main Title
Cinema Paradiso: Cinema Paradiso
Glory: Charging Frot Wagner
Dances With Wolves: The John Dunbar Theme
Unforgiven: Claudia's Theme

Tracks:

The Piano: The Heart Asks Pleasure First
Schindler's List: Main Theme
Braveheart: End Credits
Titanic: My Heart Will Go On
Saving Private Ryan: Hymn To The Fallen
American Beauty: Any Other Name
Gladiator: Now We Are Free
Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring: The Fellowship
The Girl With The Pearl Earring: Griet's Theme
Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl: Suite
Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban: Suite
Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events: The Letter That Never Came
Finding Neverland: Impossible Opening
The Incredibles: Overture

Customer Reviews:

Six Decades of Film Music.......2007-05-13

This is film music for the classical music lover. The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra presents excellent arrangements of a number of classic film themes (although several pieces of the 56 film classics selected for this 4 CD set are not orchestral arrangements, but rather specialty arrangements). Besides great film composers such as John Williams, Elmer Bernstein, Ennio Morricone, and James Horner, classical composers such as Richard Strauss and Pietro Mascagni make an appearance. On several of the numbers the Crouch End Festival Chorus adds the human voice to the power of the full symphonic orchestra to create true movie magic. If you like the sound of a full symphony orchestra playing some of the most recognized themes ever written, you'll love these CDs.

Excellent collection with fine performances.......2007-03-28

Silva Screen Records, based in England, has been issuing some fine collections of film scores, more in one box than we have the right to expect. This four-CD box contains scores by many of the best writers, including Max Steiner, Bernard Herrmann, Dimitri Tomkin, Kenneth J. Alford (The Bridge on the River Kwai), Elmer Bernstein, Maurice Jarre, Ennio Marricone, John Barry, Nino Rota, John Williams, James Horner, and more. We can all think of additional film scores we wished were included, but then there's no way this collection could be all-inclusive. The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, supplemented by Crouch End Festival Chorus on some numbers, does a very competent job...The liner notes give the basic information without any commentary, and as far as I can see, contain only one error. Am I wrong or are tracks 9 and 10 on the fourth CD mislabeled? Track 9, which runs 7:33, seems to have the excitement of "Pirates of the Caribbean" (which I did not see) and track 10, which runs 4:22, the more sedate "The Girl with the Pearl Earring (which I also did not see). Listings seem to have them reversed.

"essential film scores from 1939 to 2004 ~ Incredible Music".......2005-05-16

When I think of the "Golden Age" of Hollywood, many composers come to mind...you gave the usher your ticket in the theater and sat down, knowingly you were going to get your moneys worth...when the curtain opened and you heard those first few notes...you sat back, watched and listened as the film score and orchestra worked their magic...now we have the ultimate from Silva Screen Classics "The Incredible Film Music Box", featuring a four disc set of the essential film scores of the past 60 years...covering several decades from 1939 through and up to the present 2004

There are compilations and then there are "Compilations" beginning with a classic that even the youngsters today recognize "GONE WITH THE WIND" (1939) (Max Steiner), sweeping score that captures the tragic history of the South during the Civil War, one great cue after another, it doesn't get any better than this, nominated by the Academy for Best Original Score...and closing on Disc 4 with "THE INCREDIBLES" (2004) (Michael Giacchino), the big hit in computer animation from Walt Disney & Pixar that once again pit Super-Heroes against the forces of evil...our family of five Supers prove crime doesn't pay, but box-office receipts do...gotta love it!

Silva Screen Classics as usual, has put quality into this 4-CD-Set featuring The City Of Prague Philarmonic Orchestra and the Crouch End Festival Chorus conducted by Kenneth Alwyn, Bill Ashton, Paul Bateman, James Fitzpatrick, Mario Klemens, Derek Wadsworth, and Nic Raine. Recorded in "Dolby Surround" with the new technology of "HDCD", this is a "film-score-buffs" dream, one to treasure now and years to come.

Some selections are missing, but when you think of what Silva has included, it is impossible to please everyone...was happy to see "TOUCH OF EVIL" (1958) from composer Henry Mancini, as I feel this composer deserves all the recognition that has been overlooked recently in the music world...This collection is aimed directly at the "Serious Film Score" music fans and collectors...Silva is as always, perfect in every way...just the way we like 'em!

Total Time: 4-CD-Set ~ Silva America 1181 ~ (5/10/2005)

Average customer rating:

THE BEST OF BETTE!
One of Gerhardt's Best
Simply superb!
Priceless for all old movie fans

Classic Film Scores for Bette Davis

Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000003EM2
Release Date: 1991-07-01

Tracks:

Warner Brothers Fanfare/It Can't Be Wrong [From Now, Voyager] - National Philharmon
Blindness (Judith's Theme) /Winter/Resignation [From Dark Victory] - National Philharmon
Main Title [From A Stolen Life] - National Philharmon
Elizabeth [From the Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex] - National Philharmon
Forsaken [From Mr. Skeffington] - National Philharmon
Main Title/Stanley and Roy/Finale [From in This Our Life] - National Philharmon
All About Eve
Main Title [From All About Eve] - National Philharmon
Waltz [From Jezebel] - National Philharmon
Main Title/Rosa Moline/Train, the/Rosa's Death [From Beyond the Forest] - National Philharmon
Carlotta [From Juarez] - National Philharmon
Main Title [From the Letter] - National Philharmon
Main Title/Henriette and the Children/Love Scene/Finale/End Cast [from - National Philharmon

Customer Reviews:

THE BEST OF BETTE!.......2003-11-23

For those who cherish those Bette Davis Golden Oldies as I do, you'll not want to be without this CD. All her most memorable film scores are here: Warner's fanfare introduces the exquisite "It Can't Be Wrong/Charlotte's Theme" from "Now, Voyager", Steiner's poignantly haunting score for "Dark Victory" the suitably regal score for "All About Eve" by Alfred Newman and the instantly recognizable theme for "A Stolen Life" - again by Max Steiner.

Korngold's score for "The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex" is fine as are the various scores for "Deception", "The Letter" and "All This, and Heaven Too" & "In This Our Life". When Davis made "Dark Victory" she was a bit "upstaged" by Max Steiner's score towards the final fade-out of the film. Judy Traherne ascends the staircase, says good-bye to Daffy and Don (her dogs) and quietly insists that her maid Martha leave her alone, undisturbed to die in peace: "beautifully and finely". During this shot, the angels are singing ethereally and Davis flung herself at director Edmund Goulding during reheasal and demanded: "Damn it, who's playing this scene? Max or me??" No fears. It worked. Beautifully.

One of Gerhardt's Best.......2002-07-26

This is one of the best albums from the classic film scores series conducted by Charles Gerhardt with the National Philharmonic Orchestra. Max Steiner composed most of the scores represented here. Max Steiner was one of the greats. My favorite cut is the "main title" from A STOLEN LIFE. This tune was uesd again in A SUMMER PLACE with Troy Donahue. Both films have their central settings in New England. This tune greatly captures the feeling of the land and sea and the people living on the New England coast. This is a lush and beatiful cd.

Simply superb!.......2002-01-14

This is one of about a half dozen or so recordings of classic film scores conducted by Mr. Charles Gerhardt, performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra, and produced by Mr. George Korngold (Erich Wolfgang Korngold's younger son). These recordings were made in the 1970's, and with, perhaps, one exception, have yet to be equalled much less surpassed! Almost single handedly, they have shaped the film scores of today and made CDs of same a major profit center for the recording industry. Don't just buy this one; grab anything that has Mr. Gerhardt name on it!

Priceless for all old movie fans.......2000-03-13

I have had this album for years and was thrilled to find it is out in CD. This is a must have for anyone who loves old movies, especially movies of the '30's and '40's. The music is beautiful and fully orchestrated by the National Philharmonic. Each selection elicits all of the atmosphere and attendant feelings of the film for which it was written.

Top 100 Masterpieces of Classical Music (Collectors Edition) (Box Set)

Average customer rating:

Top 100 Masterpieces of Classical Music (Collectors Edition) (Box Set)

Manufacturer: Delta
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00008L428
Release Date: 2003-02-13

Average customer rating:

Electric Love Letter
Langhorne Slim
Manufacturer: Narnack Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Gleam
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Mignonette

ASIN: B0001L3LKO
Release Date: 2004-03-23

Tracks:

My Future
Lord
One Sunday Morning
Loretta Lee Jones
The Electric Love Letter
Untitled

Album Description

Happy-go-lucky? Down-and-out? Yes and yes. Dirty, hook-enriched bluegrass for the broken-hearted features a stunning bonus track record live at the 2003 Bonnaroo Music Festival!

Customer Reviews:

HOT.......2004-09-16

I first heard some as-yet unreleased tracks from LS's next album while at a party at some kid's house who is producing it and I was immediately hooked. I promptly bought the two albums of his I could find on-line, including the Electric Love Letter. For almost a week I listened to only this album. It has this great mixture of blues, hints of zydeco, and a little bit of Brooklyn attitude thrown in. This is one of my favorite CDs of the last year and I will be on the first to buy his next album. Also, if you're in NYC he plays frequently at venues in Brooklyn and the East Village.

Average customer rating:

No lyrics enclosed
Superb
Stratas is good. Others are better.
STRATAS WALKS THE RAZORýS EDGEý
Leave Weill enough alone ...

Teresa Stratas - The Unknown Kurt Weill

Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000005IX0
Release Date: 1991-06-25

Tracks:

Nanna's Lied
Complainte de la seine
Klops-Lied
Berlin im licht-Song
Und was bekam des soldaten weib?
Die muschel von margate: Petroleum Song
Wie lange noch?
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Der abschiedsbrief
Es regnet
Oscar Hammerstein II: Buddy On The Nightshift
Schickelgruber
Je ne t'aime pas
Das lied von den braunen inseln

Customer Reviews:

No lyrics enclosed.......2007-07-09

It is a disgrace that there are no lyrics enclosed. This is NOT a budget cd.

Superb.......2007-06-27

This is one of the best recordings of Kurt Weill ever and one of the best recordings of the magnificent Teresa Stratas.

Stratas is good. Others are better........2005-10-08

'The Unknown Kurt Weill' sung by Maria Stratas is a fine recording. The problem is that there are many fine recordings of Kurt Weill songs done by Lotte Lenya and several other Weill specialists, lead by Ute Lemper and Gisela May.

So, this album may be valuable if indeed it included a lot of numbers which do not appear on other recordings, but that is not the case either. On my collection of about ten (10) disks, not including recordings from specific shows, I have other recordings of at least half of these songs.

I really think Weill's legacy is better served by recordings who do his complete works rather than 'interesting' selections of his songs.

This is a good, enjoyable recording. I listen to it at least once a year, but it is not as good as other Weill records.

STRATAS WALKS THE RAZORýS EDGEý.......2003-07-11

I don't review many classical recordings - but this one, from 1981, has always been one of my favorite Weill collections, and after reading the rather negative comments from one reviewer, I felt I had to add my two cents' worth to the fray. Everyone is of course entitled to his or her own opinion - and music in SUCH a subjective topic that this should go without saying.

I've been a bug admirer of Weill's work - particularly his collaborations with Brecht - for years. His songs tread the thin, tricky line between classical and cabaret more daringly that most. Brecht's collaborations with Hanns Eisler, for example, are closer to the theatrical than are Weill's. In my humble opinion, Stratas walks this `razor's edge' very nimbly on this recording - her voice is obviously a finely trained instrument, but she is also able of conveying a lot of feeling and emotion with these lyrics. Her choice - or perhaps the producer's - of accompanying here with only a piano is a good one. Woitach does a fine job - and the recording itself is crystal-clear.

My only real complaint with the cd version of this album is the size of the type in the liner notes - Nonesuch could have easily `sprung' for a lengthier booklet, to allow us `old fogies' the opportunity to read it without a magnifier, and also to include the lyrics and translations. I can't recall for certain if the lp version offered the lyrics, but I believe it did. At any rate, these complaints are indeed small ones - this is a timeless, beautiful recording, and one that any fan of Weill's work should at least hear.

Leave Weill enough alone ..........2000-07-08

I don't know just what Lotte Lenya said on her deathbed, but I personally feel that other singers carry the torch for Kurt Weill as well or better than Teresa Stratas. Of all my Weill albums, this one gives me the least pleasure. The German is bad, the interpretations are shrill and forced. Some of the tracks are almost unlistenable. Was Teresa Stratas simply the first world class singer to rediscover this body of work? Was Lenya giving her a sympathy vote? I love Stratas' singing elsewhere, in the Boulez recording of Lulu (for example), but she is no good here.

For a newcomer to Weill, I highly recommend Anna Sophie Von Otter (excellent in every way) or even Ute Lemper's entertaining album. For that matter, go back and pick up Lotte Lenya's remastered Threepenny Opera -- it doesn't get much better than that. This Weill album, however, is tellingly named: it deserves to be unknown.

Classical Graffiti
Average customer rating:

Nice Cross Over

Mike Batt FAILS

Great talent ruined by terrible songs

A Light Hearted Delight

Has potential, but lacks direction

Classical Graffiti
The Planets
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Born

ASIN: B00005YUGV
Release Date: 2003-03-11

Tracks:

Rodrigo
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Grassland Theme
Classical Graffiti
Love In Slow Motion
Brandenburg Variation
The Journey Of A Fool
Clair De Lune
He Moved Through The Fair
Contradanza
A Letter From New England
Bolero Fantasy
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Christmas Thingy

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The title of the Planets' debut album, Classical Graffiti, aptly encapsulates the latest project by Mike Batt, whose career has long steered a path between camp and classical, from serious orchestral concerts to pop hits, from film scores to masterminding the Wombles. Recently Batt gave the world Bond, and the Planets are even more of the same--four classically trained young women, this time partnered by four classically trained young men. The result is 16 Batt-arranged and produced tracks, both originals and covers of famous classical melodies, some acoustic, most given a polished MOR rock-dance twist. The Planets made their public debut supporting Deep Purple's 2002 UK tour and there's more than a hint of 1970s prog-rock, which, combined with an energetic feel, should go down a storm with an enthusiastic audience. Opening with an up-tempo, beat-laden "Adagio" from Rodrigo's Concerto de Aranjuez, the set includes "Contradanza", a Vivaldi-influenced Batt dance originally penned for Vanessa Mae, and a beautiful, slightly adapted version of the traditional "She Moved Through the Fair." --Gary S Dalkin

Customer Reviews:

Nice Cross Over .......2004-12-30

One can hear and appreciate the classical training of these fine musicians, and this attempt to cross over into more hip crowd. I appreciate that their attempts to do this with classical pieces did not venture too far out, e.g. Rodrigo is my least favorite piece. I do enjoy the Carmen Caprice pieces and the Brandenburg Varaitions are well done.

The pieces unfamiliar to me are quite good: The Journey of A Fool, He Moved Through the Fair, A Letter from New England.

The Christmas Trilogy is nice ending, with its swirling, winding version of What Child Is This, Holly & Ivy and In Dulce Jubilo.

Mike Batt FAILS.......2004-09-20

I guess Mike Batt can't get it right each time. Vanessa-Mae... fantastic. BOND.. Absolutely GREAT

The Planets?

....CRAP

This is just sad. If you want to hear crossover done right, get Vanessa Mae's best of and bond's born, shine, or classified.

Great talent ruined by terrible songs.......2004-08-27

It is obvious that they have a lot of talent. The first song has a lot of energy and is quite good. But after that, the tempo of all the songs is moderato at the fastest. Most of the songs that were chosen were just to slow of songs. It does not match up to the caliber of Bond, where I thought it would have.

A Light Hearted Delight.......2004-03-25

As a music teacher I found this album delightful. They seem to blend pop and classical in an interesting way. My general music students, many modern pop or rap fans really enjoyed the selections. It is generally very difficult to sneak in good quality music and have it appreciated. High school students do not listen to very much that is musical these days. After only a few tracks they kept asking to hear more. This is quite an accomplishment. I thoroughly enjoyed their reactions. I hope The Planets will record again.

Has potential, but lacks direction.......2003-07-16

The CD opens with a fantastic adaption of Rodrigo but goes downhill from there. Too many of the tracks have a generic, slow, elevator music sound to them, something I would not have expected from a CD produced and arranged by Mike Batt. Other tracks lack direction and come off as poor imitations of Vanessa-Mae. The Planets' rendition of Contradanza, a piece composed by Mike Batt originally for Vanessa-Mae, makes my ears bleed.

If you're a fan of classical crossover (as I am), this CD is still worthwhile to own. "Rodrigo" and "Classical Graffiti" show the potential of this group if they can develop more of a style and tackle some tougher material. Buy it with the caveat that you're not going to find the same creativity or dynamism as with the early albums from Vanessa-Mae or Bond.

If you're looking for more of an introduction to good classical crossover music, pick up Vanessa-Mae's "The Violin Player" and Bond's "Born" instead.

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