Laid

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Along with the more overtly quirky Pavement, James sought to bring the eccentric folk-rock of the Incredible String Band into the alt-rock era, and did an especially fine job of it on this 1993 release. Still reeling from the U.K. chart success of their "Sit Down" single and Seven album, the Manchester veterans (who started out a decade earlier on their hometown Factory label) crafted this thoroughly accessible yet thoughtful collection. Especially infectious are "Sometimes," with its headlong strumming and chanted chorus, and the title track, with Tim Booth's vocals at their mannered best. Meanwhile, "Skindiving" finds the band venturing into the kind of experimental terrain that would later gain Radiohead enormous acclaim. Laid is a fine album from a chronically underrated band. --Bill Forman --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Rapture: Opera's Most Heavenly Moments
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Opera for Aficianados as well as Newbies
  • superb!
  • beatiful music
  • Best Opera CD ever
  • Rapture
 Rapture: Opera's Most Heavenly Moments

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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  1. The Most Famous Opera Duets
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ASIN: B00006L3K2
Release Date: 2002-10-08

Tracks:

  1. Casta Diva - Renee Fleming
  2. Barcarolle - Edita Gruberova
  3. Ebben? Ne Andro Lontana - Maria Chiara
  4. Intermezzo - Herbert Von Karajan
  5. Letter Duet - Edith Mathis
  6. Che Faro Senza Euridice - Grace Bumbry
  7. Va Pensiero - Giuseppe Sinopoli
  8. Una Furtiva Lagrima - Gosta Winbergh
  9. Porgi Amor - Gundula Janowitz
  10. Humming Chorus - Ambrosian Opera Chorus
  11. Soave Sia Il Vento - Kiri Te Kanawa
  12. Overture (Excerpt) - Philharmonia Orchestra
  13. Un'aura Amorosa - Hans-Peter Blochwitz
  14. Un Bel Di - Mirella Freni
  15. Depuis Le Jour - Montserrat Caballe
  16. La Ci Darem La Mano - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
  17. Quando Le Sere Al Placido - Placido Domingo
  18. Mir Ist So Wunderbar - Lucia Popp

Tracks:

  1. Flower Duet - Joan Sutherland
  2. The Pearl Fishers Duet - Bryn Terfel
  3. Lascia Ch'io Pianga - Kiri Te Kanawa
  4. Prelude - Bayerisches Staatsorchestra
  5. O Silver Moon - Renee Fleming
  6. When I Am Laid In Earth - Tatiana Troyanos
  7. Miserere - Placido Domingo
  8. Vissi D'arte - Mirella Freni
  9. Intermezzo - Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
  10. Softly Awakes My Heart - Grace Bumbry
  11. Ombra Mai Fu (Largo) - Bryn Terfel
  12. Pilgrim's Chorus - Chorus Of The Bayreuth Festival
  13. Ruhe Sanft - Kiri Te Kanawa
  14. Flower Duet - Teresa Berganza
  15. Entr'acte - Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
  16. Mira O Norma - Marilyn Horne
  17. Hochsten Heiles Wunder - Chorus Of The German Opera Berlin

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Opera for Aficianados as well as Newbies.......2007-06-11

If you are looking for peaceful, beautiful music this is for you. It is a delightful mix of some of opera's most memorable moments. Long time opera fans will be familiar with most of the arias and newcomers to opera will recognize music that has become identified with movies and commercials.

5 out of 5 stars superb! .......2007-05-12

If you love wonderful operatic moments then this cd is a great buy for all of the wonderful and spectacular music on it. You get two cds for the price of one great opera cd, and all of the talented singers that were taken and put on these tracks do definate justice to all of the composers listed. A great cd to add to your collection especially if you are an aspiring singer or a student in music. Absolutely Fantastic!

5 out of 5 stars beatiful music.......2007-02-23

former reviews are no exaggeration, this is the most beautiful music I have come across. I have many opera CDs but this is one I never tire of.
I listen to the CD everyday and it is always soothing, uplifting and inspiring. I wish I could find another as wonderful.

5 out of 5 stars Best Opera CD ever.......2007-02-16

I have orderd plenty of classical CD's and DVD's on this webside.
Most were phantastish but this one is the best.
I listen so often to this CD that it should have grooves.
I never get tired of it.
I recommend this CD highly.
Roswitha

5 out of 5 stars Rapture.......2007-01-24

Wonderous---Melodious----
This compilation of Opera's finest moments is positively wonderful!!!!Unquestionably the best buy I have made in Opera Music..No kidding,I have trays full of CDs covering every facet of Opera,but none as beautiful...A full 2 1/2 hours of the best of the best....Heavenly Moments says it ALL...I vote 6 stars!!!!!
Laid Back
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • LAID BACK IS BEAUTIFULLY PRODUCED, ROMANTIC, AND FULL OF TEARS (It also has the slow, swampy version of Midnight Rider)
  • ****4+1/2 Stars**** Gregg's Very Best Solo Effort
  • Gregg at his best!
  • Gregg Allman Laid Back
  • Southern Rock Review
 Laid Back
Gregg Allman
Manufacturer: Polydor / Umgd
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000001FM4
Release Date: 2001-05-01

Tracks:

  1. Midnight Rider
  2. Queen Of Hearts
  3. Please Call Home
  4. Don't Mess Up A Good Thing
  5. These Days
  6. Multi-Colored Lady
  7. All My Friends
  8. Will The Circle Be Unbroken

Amazon.com

By the end of 1973, the Allman Brothers Band seemed to have it all nailed down. They'd proven their mettle with a fine synthesis of blues, jazz, folk, and country influences; expanded upon it with the definitive Fillmore East set; and moved forward after the separate losses of guitarist Duane Allman and bassist Berry Oakley. The group's myriad strengths, in fact, might've been the reason that one of their most obvious gifts--Gregg Allman's pained, growling voice--was sometimes overlooked. Laid Back, Gregg Allman's first solo disc, seems in part an effort to gain a little more recognition. It worked, particularly given the strong radio response to its opening track, a loping remake of "Midnight Rider." Likewise, much of the album's remainder finds Allman tweaking the band's blues ("Queen of Hearts") and country sides (a cover of Jackson Browne's "These Days"); horns and gospelish backing vocals add to the personal, often mournful feel. Much more coherent than its dated cover art (an either childlike or blasted-out-of-his-gourd Gregg ignoring a blazing volcano) indicates, Laid Back is an often convincing version of the man's music. For Allman, it would get much, much worse before it would be this good again. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars LAID BACK IS BEAUTIFULLY PRODUCED, ROMANTIC, AND FULL OF TEARS (It also has the slow, swampy version of Midnight Rider).......2007-06-25

In 1973 Gregg Allman went into the studio to record his first solo album, with Chuck Leavell, Scott Boyer and Tommy Talton of Cowboy, Allman Brothers Band producer Johnny Sandlin, and produced a near perfect album of reflective, sorrowful, romantic, and acoustically beautiful songs, that has been the hallmark of his solo recording career. The production is glossy, yet never overdone. The acoustics are crisp and clear, the orchestration is lush, yet never intrusive, and the musicianship is precise and professional. Gregg's voice has never sounded better as he interprets these songs of love, hope, sadness, and regretful contemplation. The opening song, Midnight Rider is done with an acoustic guitar, a dobro, an electric piano, horns, and bongo drums. It's that excellant, slow, swampy version that you've heard on the radio. Queen Of Hearts is a love song that features some great vocals from Gregg, and a jazzy tempo change for the piano and saxophone solos. Please Call Home has gospel singers and electric guitar along with the standard piano the Allman Brothers song is known for. Allman steps up and rocks a little bit on the piano boogie Don't Mess Up A Good Thing. The Jackson Browne penned These Days is a highlight here and of Gregg's solo career. With an arrangement that features a beautiful pedal steel guitar and Allman's mournful vocals, the song will send you into thoughtful rumination and it sounds just great. Multicolored Lady is an acoustic guitar and orchestra ballad that tells the tale of the singer boarding a bus and sitting "next to a broken-hearted bride". It's sentimental , and the tender story of two lonely strangers holds your interest as it unfolds. All My Friends is an acoustic guitar based song with plenty of orchestration and a nice electric guitar solo. Very moody, very contemplative, and very good. The spiritual Will The Circle Be Unbroken closes the album with a full-tilt gospel arrangement, and Gregg's most sorrowful singing ever. With the deaths of Duane Allman and Berry Oakley still recent, the song takes on a new life, once again, and sounds as sad and melancholic as it ever has. Laid Back is a beautiful album, with many moods and textures, and it's Gregg Allman's most romantic and well produced solo album. And probably his best, too.

5 out of 5 stars ****4+1/2 Stars**** Gregg's Very Best Solo Effort.......2007-06-21

"These Days" was such a fitting anthem for Brother Gregg Allman back in '73 when Laid Back was released. I remember seeing the ABB on Thanksgiving night in 1971 at Carnegie Hall. It was their first concert following the dragic death of Duane Allman. I never would have thought The Allman Brothers Band would perform Will The Circle Be Unbroken. Gospel?...The Brothers?....Yea Right! But there it was at the end of that very memerable evening. I watched Gregg as he shared with the audience his pain and his grief, and something more.

That something more manifested itself two years later with his very rewarding debut solo effort. It took those two years for him to reflect on his first five years on the road. two and half years with his big brother and two and a half years without him. Gregg was truly inspired to lay down his finest vocal performance ever. Queen of Hearts delivers just that. What feeling, what depth. Just stunning!!!! The two ABB covers Please Call Home and Midnight Rider evoke the deep loss and agonizing despair of burying Brother Duane and reopening the wound a year later with the loss a of band member Berry Oakley.

Not without it's faults, Laid Back is my favorite solo album by Gregg. It took courage and it took fortitude for Gregg to stay the course. I'm sure he knew in his heart it was what Duane would have expected of him. Till this day, when I listen to Laid Back, I can't help but see his face before me on that long ago Thanksgiving night. Hurt beyond belief, but determined to go on and go on he did. Keep on keeping on Brother and thanks for all the great music and wonderful memories along the way.

5 out of 5 stars Gregg at his best!.......2007-01-13

This CD was recorded shortly after Duane's death, and and Gregg seems to be reflecting through his music. Great choice of songs and musicians, and very well performed by Mr. Allman. Very underrated work.

5 out of 5 stars Gregg Allman Laid Back.......2006-11-02

Greggs first Solo Album. Cut in Capricorn Studios with a 19 year old Chuck Leavell on Keys is a superb LP.
Re workings of "Midnight Rider" and "Please Call Home" are instant classics as is "Multi Coloured Lady" and Greggs gospel arrangement of "Will the Circle be Unbroken". If you love your music Heartfelt and Blues/Roots soaked then this is a must have...

4 out of 5 stars Southern Rock Review.......2006-08-23

After watching a program on CMT on the history of southern rock I ordered this CD. What a pleasure it has been - even the cover of Jackson Browne's THESE DAYS - Gregg's voice is so sweet. A must have for true fans.
The East Village Opera Company
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • This is a great album
  • Great CD
  • Hooked
  • Not bad, vocals are severely lacking however
  • EAST VILLAGE OPERA CO.
 The East Village Opera Company

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000AMJE3W
Release Date: 2005-09-27

Tracks:

  1. Overture (Redux)
  2. Nessun Dorma (Redux)
  3. Flower Duet (Redux)
  4. La Donna E Mobile (Redux)
  5. Un Bel Di (Redux)
  6. Au Fond Du Temple Saint (Redux)
  7. O Mio Babbino Caro (Redux)
  8. Ebben? Ne Andro Lontana (Redux)
  9. Che Gelida Manina (Redux)
  10. Habanera (Redux)
  11. When I Am Laid Earth (Redux)
  12. E Lucevan Le Stelle (Redux)

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars This is a great album.......2007-04-26

I never liked opera before. I guess it's all about how the music is presented. The performances are top-notch, and taken from real operatic classics, but the way it is done makes it very nice to listen too. If you can only get one album of this genre, this is the one to get!!!!

5 out of 5 stars Great CD.......2007-03-16

I enjoy this different kind of opera music. Very nice and still giving you the feeling of the opera it self but in more modern way.

5 out of 5 stars Hooked.......2007-03-15

I love this CD. I have it in my car, and now know practically all of the Italian words by heart. Infectious and uplifting. Good tears and fun listening.

3 out of 5 stars Not bad, vocals are severely lacking however.......2007-02-28

I love music. I especially love classical music. When I find musicians who have taken classical music and presented it in a new way, I'm always excited. EVOC has done exactly that with these tried-and-true opera classics. The orchestrations are wonderful and the musicians obviously very talented. The vocalists, however, sometimes really don't deliver. All in all, it's a fun CD and I will certainly enjoy listening to it again and again.

5 out of 5 stars EAST VILLAGE OPERA CO........2007-02-13

I SAW THEM ON T.V. AND HAD TO HAVE IT - JUST A REFRESHING TREATMENT POF OPERA
Essential Purcell
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Mad about Baroque
  • The beauty of the songs brings tears to my eyes
  • Brilliant
  • Be Welcome then, great Sirs (and Mesdames).
  • Brilliant Purcell Disc
Essential Purcell
Henry Purcell , New College Choir Oxford , King's Consort , Robert King , Roy Goodman , Charles Daniels , John Mark Ainsley , James Bowman , Peter Buckoke , Jane Coe , Rogers Covey-Crump , Gillian Fisher , Michael George , Miles Golding , Jane Norman , Barbara Bonney , Mark Caudle , William Carter , King's Consort Choir , Helen Gough , Paul Nicholson , Angela East , Barry Guy , Tessa Bonner , Jerome Finnis , Rupert Bawden , Lucy Howard , Richard Campbell , Susan Addison , James O'Donnell , and Stephen Saunders
Manufacturer: Hyperion UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000002ZDU
Release Date: 1995-04-10

Tracks:

  1. Complete Odes And Welcome Songs Vol. 5: Welcome, Welcome Glorious Morn. Symphony And Opening Chorus
  2. Complete Odes And Welcome Songs Vol. 3: Be Welcome Then, Great Sir
  3. Complete Secular Solo Songs Vol.1: Oh, Fair Cedaria
  4. The Choir Of The King's Consort: Hear My Prayer, O Lord
  5. Great Baroque Arias: When I Am Laid In Earth ('Dido's Lament')
  6. Complete Anthems And Services Vol.1: Let Mine Eyes Run Down With Tears (Part 1)
  7. Complete Odes And Welcome Songs Vol.4: The Sparrow And The Gentle Dove
  8. Complete Secular Solo Songs Vol.1: If Music Be The Food Of Love (First Setting)
  9. Complete Anthems And Services Vol.5: Rejoice In The Lord Always ('The Bell Anthem')
  10. Complete Anthems And Services Vol.3: Hosanna To The Highest
  11. Complete Anthems And Services Vol.7: Thou Knowest, Lord, The Secrets Of Our Hearts
  12. Mr. Henry Purcell's Most Admirable Composures: Fairest Isle, All Isles Excelling
  13. Complete Odes And Welcome Songs Vol.6: Mark, How Readily Each Pliant String
  14. Complete Odes And Welcome Songs Vol.8: Sound The Trumpet
  15. Complete Secular Solo Songs Vol.3: She Loves And She Confesses Too
  16. Complete Odes And Welcome Songs Vol.8: O How Blest Is The Isle
  17. Complete Anthems And Services Vol.3: Remember Not, Lord, Our Offences
  18. Complete Anthems And Services Vol. 11: An Evening Hymn
  19. Complete Church Music Vol.2: Vouchsafe, O Lord, To Keep Us This Day
  20. Complete Odes And Welcome Songs Vol.2: With Rapture Of Delight... Hail Bright Cecilia

Amazon.com essential recording

The "Essential" Purcell? Well, you could get a bunch of critics to argue about that for a few days, but in the meantime, here is a sampler of highlights from the King's Consort's three admirable Purcell series: the Complete Odes and Welcome Songs, Complete Anthems and Services, and Complete Secular Solo Songs. There are, of course, some of Purcell's most-performed pieces (which probably are "essential"): Dido's Lament from Dido and Aeneas, "Sound the trumpet" from Come, ye sons of Art, Rejoice in the Lord alway (the "Bell Anthem," named for the string figure at the opening that sounds like pealing bells), the gently patriotic "Fairest isle, all isles excelling" (sung by a miscast James Bowman), and a selection from the funeral music for Queen Mary. There are also some delightful surprises--particularly among the little-known secular songs and church music. The plaintive "O fair Cedaria" gets a lovely performance by Barbara Bonney (a singer not usually associated with Purcell); tenor Rogers Covey-Crump (possibly the ideal high tenor for Purcell) sings the enchanting "If music be the food of love"; the church anthems "Let mine eyes run down with tears" and "Remember not, O Lord, our offences" have some startling harmonies as daring as any Monteverdi ever wrote. If you're unfamiliar with Purcell, this reasonably priced disc is a good place to start exploring without a big initial investment. --Matthew Westphal

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Mad about Baroque.......2007-02-12

This is a terrific CD. The music is breathtaking. Just buy IT !!!!!

5 out of 5 stars The beauty of the songs brings tears to my eyes.......2002-08-21

Absolutely beautiful baroque music! The arrangament, singing and instrumentation is superb. It is too bad that Henry Purcell is not as widely known as Bach, because he should be recognized equally well."The Sparrow and the Gentle dove" is alone worth the price of the album! I can not stop playing it!

5 out of 5 stars Brilliant.......2001-10-31

Like in his renditions of Handel's oratorios, Robert King manages to bring a freshness and strenght to Purcell's music that I had seldom heard before. This CD also features some of the best performers of early music in the world. My favourite tracks are Oh, Fair Cedaria, sung by the multi-talented Barbara Bonney; Dido's Lament from Dido and Aeneas, sung by Gillian Fisher; She Loves and she Confesses too, sung by the wonderful Susan Gritton; and Welcome, Welcome Glorious Morn, sung by Rogers Covey-Crump. The only track I didn't find absolutely wonderful is Fairest Isle, sung here by James Bowman. Don't get me wrong, I generally love Mr Bowman, I think that his performance in Mr Purcell's Most Admirable Composures (also conducted by Robert King) makes it another essential Purcell recording; but I find that Fairest Isle was much better done elsewhere, particularly by Christopher Hogwood and Barbara Bonney.

These songs aren't only beautiful, they're also poignant, sweet and unpretentious. I think that it will be very clear to anyone who listens to this recording that Mr Purcell was one of the finest composers that ever lived.

5 out of 5 stars Be Welcome then, great Sirs (and Mesdames)........2001-10-20

If anyone has benefitted from the reversion in the last three or so decades to period instruments and historical reconstruction, it is Henry Purcell. Before, he was merely great, the peerless word-setter in the English language, a virtuoso of boundless range, a professional composer whose offical commissions were always imbued with personality and invention. But period instrumentation has added to this a greater depth, an other-worldly texture of sound. With his intricate, multi-part vocal writing, his preference for low, rumbling instruments such as the bass viol and the strange and remarkable theorbo, as well as his often sombre and low-key subject matter and treatment, Purcell creates a round, glowing, humming sound as pregnantly full as dub reggae.

This has an extraordinary effect on the listener. Whereas Bach, with his mathematical abstractions, sounds universal and timeless, Purcell's music takes the listener back 300 years, back to different ways of thinking about, feeling about and addressing things we still think etc. about today - death, love, friendship. The emotion is timeless, but the music's beauty is alien, THEIRS, hence its preciousness.

A lot of intelligence has gone into the unity of this compilation, beginning with two Welcomes (to the dawn and to the listener, in this case a King), and ending with thoughts of evening, death and a Baroque 'Thank you for the music'. These are bright, fanfare-like works, but the predominant mood is slow, ruminative, quiet. The selection covers the wide range of Purcell's oeuvre, from opera and funeral marches to secular songs and odes, and includes his most famous vocal works - Dido's Lament from Dido and Aeneas, sung by Gillian Fisher, and never more evocative of pagan loss and death; the massive 'Bell Anthem', with its ingenious opening symphony and joyful antiphon; and a miraculously serene 'Evening Hymn', Dido's opposite, death indicating hope, the treble voice swirling over the heavy ground bass like the soul released from the inert body.

it might seem quixotic to choose highlights from an exemplary collection of highlights, but the entry of the strings washing over the serene repetition of 'Be Welcome then, great Sir' always makes my heart stop still, while the musical picture of 'Bold Honour', the 'noisy Nothing, stalking shade', blocking the poet's amorous intentions in 'She loves and confesses too', adds a chilling hint of life's transience to a bouyantly bawdy song.

5 out of 5 stars Brilliant Purcell Disc .......2000-11-30

With this album director and Purcell expert Robert King provides the listener with an excellent introduction to the composer's vocal works. The pieces presented here were taken from Mr. King's recordings of 'The Complete Odes and Welcome Songs', 'The Complete Anthems and Services', 'The Complete Secular Solo Songs' and diverse anthology discs. King, his wonderful soloists and musicians do the brilliance of Purcell's music fully justice. Whether he was commissioned by royalty, the church or theatre, Purcell shone in all areas. This disc certainly demonstrates the variety and originality of his craft, not to speak of his uncanny ability of setting words to music.

An outstanding Purcell offering. With a beautiful perfomance by Barbara Bonney of 'Oh, fair Cedaria'. Susan Gritton is equally captivating in 'She loves and she confesses too'. Gillian Fisher's rendition of the famous 'Dido's Lament' is haunting and poignant. Further an intelligent and brilliant 'Hosanna to the highest' by Michael George. James Bowman and Michael Chance sparkle in the countertenor duet 'Sound the trumpet' (from 'Come Ye sons of Art away'). And I should not forget to mention the joyous, luminous performance of the beautiful 'Bell Anthem'. To name but a few favourites, only James Bowman's 'Fairest Isle' was a disappointment.

Those who are familiar with Purcell's music will get an excellent disc with some of his most beloved works. If you are new to Purcell, this is, as already said a great introduction. Which might be the incentive to further explorations of Purcell.

by stardustraven
Laid
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • I Got Laid...
  • Prompt...
  • The best album ever - it's a toss up
  • I Got Laid....
  • Buy it right now
 Laid
James
Manufacturer: Fontana Island
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000001DZ8
Release Date: 1993-10-05

Tracks:

  1. Out To Get You
  2. Sometimes (Lester Piggott)
  3. Dream Thrum
  4. One Of The Three
  5. Say Something
  6. Five-O
  7. P.S.
  8. Everybody Knows
  9. Knuckle Too Far
  10. Low Low Low
  11. Laid
  12. Lullaby
  13. Skindiving

Amazon.com

Along with the more overtly quirky Pavement, James sought to bring the eccentric folk-rock of the Incredible String Band into the alt-rock era, and did an especially fine job of it on this 1993 release. Still reeling from the U.K. chart success of their "Sit Down" single and Seven album, the Manchester veterans (who started out a decade earlier on their hometown Factory label) crafted this thoroughly accessible yet thoughtful collection. Especially infectious are "Sometimes," with its headlong strumming and chanted chorus, and the title track, with Tim Booth's vocals at their mannered best. Meanwhile, "Skindiving" finds the band venturing into the kind of experimental terrain that would later gain Radiohead enormous acclaim. Laid is a fine album from a chronically underrated band. --Bill Forman

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars I Got Laid..........2006-08-16

and I don't regret it. Not one bit. This has some beautiful acoustic psychodelic ballads such as "1 of the 3" and "out to get you," along with some catchy more upbeat tunes such as "Sometimes" and of course, the title track, probably they're most known song in at least the states. I remember hearing that song as a high school student and never knowing who it was by. I think I was wondering if it was an early Verve song or something. I guess that just goes to show how ahead of their time James was! 2Bad I didn't know better. Oh well, thankfully, a local radio station played it again a couple of years ago and actually announced it. I'm just curious to know what some of their other stuff sounds like. I'll have to check that out too. If u like acoustic music of any kind, definately pick this up.

On Christmas day a couple of year ago, I got Laid for the first time. I suggest that you get Laid too. Not that I would get Laid more than once. I mean, who wants two copies of the same cd?

4 out of 5 stars Prompt..........2006-08-10

I received the CD in one week, and considering how the postal service works, I thought that was pretty good. I'm pleased

5 out of 5 stars The best album ever - it's a toss up.......2006-05-05

It's a choice between this and Dark Side Of The Moon...This album has better individual songs but probably DSOTM beats it on being more than the sum of the parts. A hard choice.

5 out of 5 stars I Got Laid...........2006-02-27

and I don't regret it. Not one bit. This has some beautiful acoustic psychodelic ballads such as "1 of the 3" and "out to get you," along with some catchy more upbeat tunes such as "Sometimes" and of course, the title track, probably they're most known song in at least the states. I remember hearing that song as a high school student and never knowing who it was by. I think I was wondering if it was an early Verve song or something. I guess that just goes to show how ahead of their time James was! 2Bad I didn't know better. Oh well, thankfully, a local radio station played it again a couple of years ago and actually announced it. I'm just curious to know what some of their other stuff sounds like. I'll have to check that out too. If u like acoustic music of any kind, definately pick this up.

On Christmas day a couple of year ago, I got Laid for the first time. I suggest that you get Laid too. Not that I would get Laid more than once. I mean, who wants two copies of the same cd?

5 out of 5 stars Buy it right now.......2006-01-17

I multiplied, added and then subtracted to figure out that it's been 10 whole years since i first listened to this cd. As a matter of fact, cd's weren't even that common those days,
folks were still buying tapes back home!!

This album is kind of tough. You cannot get the feel unless you listen to it (without exaggeration) a couple of years.
... As you grow older, your personal favorites will change. After a lot of back and forths, my solid best became "Sometimes"...(a.k.a Lester Piggot). The song still blows my mind when i listen to it. The lyrics and the music are in a way Yin & Yang - complementary and opposing.
I don't know any other basic way of explaining this one.

To overcome my curiosity, i did some research and found out that Lester Piggot was actually a jockey in Britain in the 1930's.
He was famous for being extremely tall for a rider (5'8") and a housewives' favourite. I remember years ago reading somewhere that the band named this song Lester Piggot because of it's "racing beat".

There's a lot of soul searching in this album.. The guitar rattles all the way from Manchester to overseas, giving you a one two punch in the face. A forceful and effective combination of songs swinging your mood.

Amazingly , it's a joyous piece of English pop which i am not a big fan of...
Watchfires
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Solid Solo Effort
  • Not that good as at Dispatch Times
  • Great Buy
  • fantastic album
 Watchfires
Braddigan
Manufacturer: Third Surfer Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0009ZHE8C
Release Date: 2005-02-02

Tracks:

  1. Walls
  2. Daggers
  3. Sweet Jah
  4. Fallin'
  5. Pura Vida
  6. Sailin'
  7. Sweet Uncertain
  8. The Crossing
  9. City on a Hill
  10. Noah's Arc

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Solid Solo Effort.......2007-06-19

Brad Corrigan is most known for his work in the band Dispatch. Let me start by saying I'm not the biggest Dispatch fan, though I have enjoyed what I have heard from them.

I think this album has a good vibe, the guest guitarists such as Phil Keaggy add a little extra "something" and the stand up bass gives a good feel to tracks like "Fallin'." However I think the first half of the album is strong, while the second half is less enjoyable, especially the two instrumentals at the end which seem unnecessary. This album is still a good listen and I would recommend it to people that like music in the vain of Bob Marley, Dave Matthews, or Ben Harper. If you get a chance check out Braddigan live, that's where he shines.

3 out of 5 stars Not that good as at Dispatch Times.......2007-01-03

Well, I really apprechiate the work of Brad Corrigan, Braddigan, but this LP isn't that good like he wrote music with Dispatch a few years ago. There are some good songs like Falling (also known on the All Points Bulletin Live Album of Dispatch) and Pura Vida, but the other stuff isn't that good like his old songs "prince of spades" or "walk with you" or "past the falls" - nevertheless it's a good lp - good quality, nice acustic music, very spiritual, sometimes relgious,... but it's not a jam!

5 out of 5 stars Great Buy.......2006-03-06

This cd is one of the best i've ever heard. The songs have great lyrics and amazing tunes. You will not be disapointed with this purchase.

5 out of 5 stars fantastic album.......2005-10-31

If you like dispatch, and are looking for something similar yet new in alot of ways, check out braddigan, I really think you will enjoy every song 'cause I know I did. MUST buy
Only Opera CD You'll Ever Need
Average customer rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars
  • Not worth buying!
  • Don't waste your money
  • Perfect for "drop the needle" style tests
  • A CD with Attention Deficit Disorder
  • This sucks...
 Only Opera CD You'll Ever Need

Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000003GA0
Release Date: 1997-10-14

Tracks:

  1. Antony & Cleopatra: 'Give Me My Robe' - Leontyne Price
  2. Fidelio: 'In des Lebens Fruhlingstagen...' - Ben Heppner
  3. Fidelio: Act II Quartet: 'Ach, du bist gerettet...' - Deborah Voigt
  4. Norma: 'Casta Diva' - Rosa Ponselle
  5. Candide: 'Glitter And Be Gay' - Harolyn Blackwell
  6. Candide: 'Make Our Garden Grow' - Jerry Hadley
  7. Carmen: Flower Song - Placido Domingo
  8. Carmen: Habanera - Rise Stevens
  9. Carmen: Toreador Song - Robert Merrill
  10. Les pecheurs de perles: Duet: 'Oui, c'est elle, c'est la deesse...' - Robert Merrill
  11. Mefistofele: 'Ecco il mondo' - Samuel Ramey
  12. La Wally: 'Eben, ne andro lontana' - ONLY OPERA CD YOU'LL EVER NEED
  13. Lakme: Bell Song - Lily Pons
  14. L'Elisir d'Amore: 'Una furtiva lagrima' - Tito Schipa
  15. Lucia di Lammermoor: 'Chi mi frena in tal momento...' - Carlo Bergonzi
  16. Lucia di Lammermoor: 'Spargi d'amaro pianto' - Anna Moffo
  17. Martha: 'M'appari tutto amor' - Jussi Bjoerling
  18. Porgy & Bess: 'Summertime' - Leontyne Price
  19. Porgy & Bess: 'Bess, You Is My Woman' - William Warfield
  20. Andrea Chenier: 'Come un bel di di maggio' - Ben Heppner
  21. Romeo et Juliette: Juliette's Waltz; 'Je veux vivre' - Ruth Ann Swenson
  22. Salammbo: Aria - Kiri Te Kanawa
  23. Hansel & Gretel: 'Suuse, liebe Susse - Helen Donath
  24. I Pagliacci: 'Vesti la giubba' - Enrico Caruso
  25. Cavalleria Rusticana: 'Viva il vino' - Jussi Bjoerling
  26. Cherubin: 'Lorsque vous n'aurez rien' - Dawn Upshaw
  27. Manon: 'Ah! Fuyez, douce image' - Richard Crooks
  28. Cosi fan tutte: 'Come scoglio immoto resta' - Leontyne Price
  29. Don Giovanni: 'La ci darem la mano' - Edith Mathis
  30. Don Giovanni: 'Deh! vieni alla finestra' - Ezio Pinza
  31. Don Giovanni: 'Non mi dir' - Carol Vaness
  32. Le nozze di Figaro: 'Non piu andrai...' - Alan Titus
  33. Le nozze di Figaro: 'Porgi, amor' - Carol Vaness
  34. Le nozze di Figaro: 'Deh vieni, non tardar' - Bidu Sayao
  35. Die Zauberflote: 'Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schon' - Fritz Wunderlich
  36. Die Zauberflote: Der Holle Rache - Zdislawa Donat
  37. Die Zauberflote: Papageno - Papageno Duet - Christian Boesch
  38. Boris Godunov: 'I v ljutomgore, nisposlannom Bogom...' - Alexander Kipnis
  39. Tales Of Hoffmann: Barcarolle - Montserrat Caballe
  40. La Gioconda: 'Cielo e mar' - Beniamino Gigli
  41. La Boheme: 'Che gelida manina' - Giuseppe Di Stefano
  42. La Boheme: 'Mi piaccion quelle cose...' - Licia Albanese
  43. La Boheme: 'Fremon gia nell'anima' - Luciano Pavarotti
  44. La Boheme: Musetta's Waltz Song - Judith Blegen
  45. Gianni Schicchi: 'O mio babbino caro' - Angela Gheorghiu
  46. Madama Butterfly: 'Ah, ti serro palpitante' - Placido Domingo
  47. Madama Butterfly: 'Un bel di' - Leontyne Price
  48. Manon Lescaut: 'Donna non vidi mai' - Jussi Bjoerling
  49. La rondine: 'Chi il bel sogno di Doretta - Anna Moffo
  50. TOSCA: 'Recondita armonia' - Placido Domingo
  51. TOSCA: 'Vissi d'arte' - Irina Oudalova
  52. TOSCA: 'E avanti a lui...' - Zinka Milanov
  53. TOSCA: 'E lucevan le stelle' - Mario Lanza
  54. Turandot: 'Signore, ascolta' - Renata Tebaldi
  55. Turandot: 'In questa reggia' - Birgit Nilsson
  56. Turandot: 'Nessun dorma' - Jussi Bjoerling
  57. Dido & Aeneas: 'When I Am Laid In Earth' - Leontyne Price
  58. Il Barbiere di Siviglia: 'Largo al factotum' - Robert Merrill
  59. Il Barbiere di Siviglia: 'Una voce poco fa' - Roberta Peters
  60. Samson et Dalila: 'Mon coeur s'ouvre' - Christa Ludwig
  61. The Bartered Bride: 'Wenn ich das einmal erfahre' - Teresa Stratas
  62. Elektra: 'Agamemnon' - Inge Borkh
  63. Der Rosenkavalier: 'Ist ein Traum' - Erna Berger
  64. Salome: 'Nicht in der Welt...' - Inge Borkh
  65. Eugene Onegin: Lenski's Aria - Placido Domingo
  66. Eugene Onegin: Tatiana's Letter Scene - Leontyne Price
  67. Aida: 'Celeste Aida' - Jussi Bjoerling
  68. Aida: 'Ritorna vincitor!' - Leontyne Price
  69. Aida: 'Gloria all'Egitto' - John Alldis Choir
  70. Aida: 'O patria mia' - Leontyne Price
  71. Un Ballo in Maschera: 'O docezze perdute! O memorie...' - Robert Merrill
  72. Don Carlo: 'Dio, che nell'anima infondere' - Placido Domingo
  73. Ernani: 'Emani, involami' - Leontyne Price
  74. La forza del destino: 'Or muoio tranquillo...' - Robert Merrill
  75. La forza del destino: 'Pace, pace mio dio' - Zinka Milanov
  76. Nabucco: 'Va, pensiero' - Oleg Reshetkin
  77. Otello: 'Credo' - Tito Gobbi
  78. Otello: Willow Song - Leonie Rysanek
  79. Otello: 'Niun mi tema' - Jon Vickers
  80. Rigoletto: 'Qesta o quella' - Alfredo Kraus
  81. Rigoletto: 'Caro nome' - Anna Moffo
  82. Rigoletto: 'La donna e mobile' - Jan Peerce
  83. Rigoletto: 'Bella figlia dell'amore' - Alfredo Kraus
  84. La Traviata: Brindisi - Montserrat Caballe
  85. La Traviata: 'Di provenza' - Sherrill Milnes
  86. La Traviata: 'Sempre libera' - Eleanor Steber
  87. La Traviata: 'Addio del passato' - Anna Moffo
  88. Il Trovatore: Anvil Chorus - Moscow Classical Chorus & Ensemble
  89. Il Trovatore: 'Di quella pira' - Placido Domingo
  90. Il Trovatore: 'Tacea la notte placido - Leontyne Price
  91. Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg: 'Morgenlicht leuchtend' - Set Svanholm
  92. Die Walkure: Ride Of The Valkyries - Staatskapelle Dresden
  93. Die Walkure: Wotan's Farewell - Lawrence Tibbett
  94. Siegfried: Song Of The Forest Bird - Norma Sharp
  95. Gotterdammerung: 'Starke Scheite schichtet mir dort' - Kirsten Flagstad
  96. Lohengrin: Bridal Chorus - Robert Shaw Chorale
  97. Lohengrin: 'In fernem Land' - Lauritz Melchior
  98. Tannhauser: 'Dich teure Halle' - Waltraud Meler

Customer Reviews:

1 out of 5 stars Not worth buying!.......2007-05-29

I found this recording basically worthless. It contains only very short excerpts of the song. Not enough to get into and enjoy!

1 out of 5 stars Don't waste your money.......2007-01-18

This is the worst purchase I have ever made. It is a truly dreadful piece of work.I was so disgusted with it that I threw it into the trash can.

5 out of 5 stars Perfect for "drop the needle" style tests.......2006-11-19

If you want to hear full recordings of arias, then this disc is not for you. It plays only tidbits of 99 arias. Contrary to the title, this is definitely not the only opera disc you'll ever need. You shouldn't take it seriously. This disc has next to no value for an opera neophyte. But for opera fanatics, there has never been a better test of your knowledge of operatic repertoire and singers. It's a great challenge for opera buffs. Sit down with your opera loving friends for an hour, play this disc, and try to be the first to identify the singer, composer, opera, and piece. If you're a music professor, this disc would make for an awesome pop quiz. Find out how well your students really know their opera repertoire.

1 out of 5 stars A CD with Attention Deficit Disorder.......2006-10-02

I don't know anyone who would enjoy this CD. It will drive opera fans nuts with a hundred exerpts that run about 30 seconds each, then fade out without the singers even finishing a single verse. It's more like an index of arias, or a volume of teasers that hucksters might use to sell opera CDs.

I never realized how much Bernstein's "Glitter and be gay" sounded like Delibes' "Bell Song" until I heard 35 seconds of one, followed 23 seconds of the other.

Maybe the TV show 'Jeopardy' could use this CD. 'What is "Hush little baby don't you..."??'

What a waste of beautiful voices and great music. 38 seconds of Enrico Caruso, followed by 31 seconds of Jussi Bjoerling, followed by 38 seconds of Dawn Upshaw.

My copy is going to go sailing into the wastebasket as soon as I finish this review.

1 out of 5 stars This sucks..........2006-03-31

I should only blame myself for not checking out more reviews... this is a CD filled with short, little snippets of great operas songs... and I mean SHORT, LITTLE snippets of 30 seconds or so, each. Don't buy this CD... it is a complete rip off... and that is saying ALOT since it is only $4.00... Again, my fault for not reading the reviews but I trusted that something called a "Music CD" would actually have complete songs... What else does this company offer? A "Music CD" that only has the intros or applause tracks to great songs...?

Move on to something else... Amazon has a great selection... just not this one.
Handel: The Masterworks (Box Set)
Average customer rating: Not rated
    		Handel: The Masterworks (Box Set)

    Manufacturer: Brilliant Classics
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

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    ASIN: B00062FLI8
    Release Date: 2004-11-30
    Leontyne Price: The Ultimate Collection
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • The Incomparable LEONTYNE PRICE: "The Stradivarius of Singers"!!
    • Leontyne Price: The Ultimate Collection
    • The true prima donna asoluta
    • Fabulous singing, Overblown orchestras
    • Fabulous!
    		 Leontyne Price: The Ultimate Collection

    Manufacturer: RCA
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

    All Works by BarberAll Works by Barber | Barber, Samuel | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
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    All Works by StraussAll Works by Strauss | Strauss, Richard | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
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    4. Verdi: Aida/Il trovatore/Puccini: Madama Butterfly/La Rondine/Tosca/Turandot
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    ASIN: B00000J912
    Release Date: 1999-05-25

    Tracks:

    1. Aida: Ritorna vincitor
    2. Turandot: Signore, ascolta
    3. Le nozze di Figaro: Porgi amor
    4. Madama Butterfly: Un Bel Di
    5. Manon: Adieu, notre petite table
    6. Manon Lescaut: In quelle trine morbide
    7. Dido & Aeneas: Thy hand...when I am laid
    8. Il Trovatore: Che piu... Tacea la notte ...Di tale amor
    9. Les Nuits D'ete: Sur les lagunes
    10. Porgy & Bess: Summertime
    11. La rondine: Chi il bel sogno
    12. Carmen: Habanera
    13. La forza del destino: Son giunta...Madre.
    14. Vier letzte Lieder: Im Abendrot
    15. Ariadne auf Naxos: Es gibt ein Reich

    Tracks:

    1. Aida: O Patria Mia
    2. TOSCA: Vissi d'arte
    3. Turandot: Tu che di gel cinta
    4. Le nozze di Figaro: Susanna
    5. Il Trovatore: Siam giunti
    6. Un Ballo in Maschera: Morro ma prima in grazia
    7. Carmen: Sequidille
    8. Il re pastore: L'amero
    9. Don Carlo: Tu che la vanita
    10. Suor Angelica: Senza Mama
    11. Anthony and Cleopatra: Give me my robe
    12. Madame Butterfly: Tu? tu?
    13. La forza del destino: Pace, pace mio Dio

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars The Incomparable LEONTYNE PRICE: "The Stradivarius of Singers"!!.......2006-08-14

    This collection is a wonderful, affordable, and welcome overview of one of Opera's greatest and beloved aritsts:the phenomenal American Superstar soprano LEONTYNE PRICE.

    For those Opera-lovers who first encountered Ms. Price's magical vocalism from the recording studio, this collection includes the the entire legendary "Blue Album" which many operaphile consider to be one of the finest recordings ever. The selections gathered here vividly demonstrate the reason why Leontyne Price is regarded as the supreme VERDI soprano of her generation (30 years to date) a renowned PUCCINI specialist, and one of the greatest artists of all time. Recorded in the early 60's, Ms. Price's instrument was, in her own words "a juicy lyric". The intrinsic lyricism of her voice was aligned to warm, lustrous tone that pulsated in the middle voice, yielded a dark, uniquely sensuous sound in the lower regions, and gleamed with a distinctive, fast, liquid vibrato in the upper voice. That unique vibrato was elemental to this diva's ability to infuse Verdi and Puccini's most dramatic phrases with surging power (without pushing), and still produce lovely pianos in alt - soaring there with an ease that was singular to her, and that continued to her retirement in the 2002. Elsewhere the listener is treated to the rewards of Ms. Price's natural vocal evolution, wherein her voice developed into a full spinto with the middle throbbing, creamy, and lush, the low voice alternately chesty or breathy, slightly weaker -but retaining its smoky quality. It is in her upper voice, already superb, however, that Ms. Price revealed the rewards of maturation. The upper voice became rounder, less vibrant perhaps but refulgent with greater strength at the top, meeting the out-sized demands of STRAUSS and WAGNER (missing in this compilation) amongst others, while spinning out soft, exquisite pianos, and luxuriating in the long phrases of any number of composers, not the least of which were MOZART, VERDI and PUCCINI.

    Leontyne Price recorded arias and scenas from every standard repertory VERDI opera with few exceptions (Nabucco/Luisa Miller/Vespri/Falstaff) in superlative fashion. Her onstage roles included the "Il Trovatore" Leonora, the role of her sensational MET debut (that resulted in a record 42 minute ovation), thrice recorded by her, and a signature role throughout her career. The selections on this recording were culled from her first complete recording of the opera. Here Ms. Price soars effortlessly to the heights repeatedly in "Tacea la notte", and sings the cabaletta fluently. "D'amor sull ali rosee" (once the sole property of Ms. Price's Verdian predecessor Zinka Milanov) is enhanced by the soprano's expert trills, musical nuances, and the glorious vibrato that carries her gossamer tones to the floated high C in alt. She was also the leading interpreter of Verdi's other Leonora -di Vargas- in "La Forza del Destino" which the diva recorded twice. There is also a Live MET performance available on DVD, recorded when the diva was nearing her retirement from Opera. (The two selections here also hail from her first complete recording of this work) "Son giunta!...Madre pietosa Vergine" is one of Verdi's most demanding scenas for soprano, but THIS soprano was a mistress of Verdian sweep, and supplies a wealth of dynamic shadings that illustrate the desperation of the hapless Leonora. Ms. Price produces silvery, vibrant, pulsing tone with amplitude that rises to the forte climaxes, riding them without overpowering the orchestra. This role was one of her most riveting potrayals from a dramatic viewpoint. The second "Forza" aria is the great lament "Pace, pace mio Dio" and is synonymous with Leontyne Price to this day. The diva sang this aria onstage more often than any other Verdi aria throughout her long career. Here she infuses the music with sorrow and despair, her voice in service to the text, and caps the aria with her stirring cries of "Maledizione!!" on a sustained forte high Bflat. Ms. Price's successful outings as Amelia are represented by the Act II aria "Morro, ma prima in grazia" from her stellar complete recording of "Un Ballo in Maschera". She sings the aria in a hushed, somber manner, climaxing on a brilliant high C, and with a lovely diminuendo at its end. One of the several operatic roles Ms. Price sadly did not assume onstage was Queen Elisabetta from "Don Carlo". We must be grateful for her warm, glowing, majesterial account of "Tu che le vanita", replete with burnished, opulent tone throughout. The leading newspaper of Italy said of Ms. Price that "..our great Verdi would have her the ideal Aida" and that sentiment has been adopted the world over. The "Aida" selections here are the first ones recorded by the American diva, and remains a revelation. In "Ritorna vincitor" the soprano's lyric instrument is indeed "juicy", declaiming her fierce opposition to the Egyptian invaders of her Ethiopian homeland with energetic and powerful vocalism. She then masterfully delineates the young princess' dilemma with fervent and youthful passion, ending with a prayerful "Numi pieta" suffused by warm, sable-colored tone. "O Patria mia" is another of Ms. Price's most revered performances, indeed the aria that garnered her a (5) five minute ovation on live television at her "farewell to Opera" performance in the same opera. The soprano injects Aida's farewell to her homeland with rich, smoky, plangent tones that rise effortlessly to a shining high C that bedeviled some of her most illustrous rivals, and would be bettered in the future only by the wonderful Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballe - and Ms. Price herself!!

    Leontyne Price performed the veristic music of PUCCINI onstage in a number of his operas that included "Manon Lescaut"/"Tosca"/Madama Butterfly"/"La Faniculla del West"/"Il Tabarro"/ and "Turandot", albeit with less frequency than with Verdi. She brought a luminous, womanly quality to all of the composer's music. Here, she sings with particular intensity and emotion as the geisha girl Cio-Cio San (her favorite Puccini role)and offers limpid, melting tone as the fiery Roman prima donna Floria Tosca -the complete opera twice-recorded and highly-acclaimed. Puccini's music for the doomed Chinese slave-girl Liu are exquisitely sung, while "In quelle trine morbide" and "Senza mamma" benefit from the voluptuous, sensuous vocalism of the more mature Price. The most outstanding qualities of this diva in Puccini's music was a femininity and humanity, inherent in all of her singing, but most pronounced with this composer. She also fearlessly sang his highest phrases with a vocal splendor and freedom unrivalled by anyone, nowhere more than as the tragic Butterfly. However, until she retired from public singing, one aria remained a trademark for this diva: Chi bel sogno di Doretta" from Puccini's rarely performed operetta "La Rondine". The performance here was her first recording of it, and is a classic in its own right. Ms. Price's voice shimmers throughout, singing the high C with astonishing purity, and caressing, velvety tone elsewhere.

    MOZART's operas also brought deserved glory to Ms. Price. Her plush-toned voice was considered to be almost too rich for some early in her career. This was amply belied by the rapturous reception her onstage performances brought her, most notably as Donna Anna, the leading lady of "Don Giovanni", ironically not included in this collection. Another aria Ms. Price enjoyed singing in concert, "Come scoglio" ("Cosi Fan Tutte") is missing here as well, though she performed the role of Fiordiligi at the MET. The soprano never performed in "Le Nozze di Figaro", but sang the scena "Dove sono" often in her live concerts, understandably, because of the smooth, elegant vocalism she lavished on this music. It is truly a pity that she didn't either record or perform the entire role. "Porgi amor" (also from Le Nozze) and "L'amero" (Il Re Pastore) were extracted from a Mozart aria recording, and are well-sung, if not as memorably as other Mozarteans.

    It is good that RCA included several French selections, for Ms. Price's talents were marvellously well-suited to the Gallic idiom. Leontyne Price sang the leading role of Madame Lidoine in the American premiere of POULENC's "Dialogues des Carmelites", a few performances of MASSENET's "Thais" onstage (both sadly missing from this compilation) in addition to her celebrated recordings of BIZET's "Carmen" and BERLIOZ's song cycle "Nuits D'ete". She lent a deliciously silken tone to the more nuanced passions of the French repertoire. The "Carmen" excerpts are exceptionally vivid in Price's hands, successfully capturing the earthy, sultry qualities of one of Opera's more mercurial creatures. Ms. Price's lower register is richly displayed in the Berlioz song, while Manon's wistful, poignant "farewell" is sung with delicacy and shimmery tone.

    The German wing is represented by music that Ms. Price sang onstage, and recorded as well. While the diva recorded Richard STRAUSS' entire "Four Last Songs" song cycle as well as the title heroine in a complete opera recording of "Ariadne auf Naxos" , the listener gets a good sampling of the potency, range, and the "dunkel" qualities she brought to this music. Fortunately, there is a CD of Richard Strauss arias sung by Ms. Price mid-career that is impressive in its breadth, and vocally sumptuous.

    Versatility was a Price by-word. In the recording studio she stylishly performed the music of composers that ranged from the early music of PURCELL's "Dido & Aneas" to the 20th Century musings of Samuel BARBER, who wrote the opera "ANTONY & CLEOPATRA" for Ms. Price to open the New MET in 1966 - another historic milestone. Both selections included here are superbly rendered by the artist. The "Dido" aria is sung with a fuller, richer tone than is usually associated with this period (though it should be noted that two great Wagnerian sopranos Kirsten Flagstad and more recently Jessye Norman have been much admired in this music), but with no loss of style, her vibrato evoking pathos and beauty in this plaintive music. The "Antony" scena is sung with all of the majesty, seductive guile, and courage of Cleopatra, one of history's most storied women - and Ms. Price shines in this music written expressly for her voice. RCA also includes the diva's inimitable performance of "Summertime" the opening aria of GERSHWIN's American opera "Porgy and Bess".

    This compilation is a superb introduction to the glories of this magnificent artist for a neophyte...and a treasure trove of musical excellence for the connoisseur of great voices, and they come no greater than America's diva assoluta soprano LEONTYNE PRICE.

    5 out of 5 stars Leontyne Price: The Ultimate Collection.......2005-07-20

    This was the first time I ordered anything from you. I was very happy with my selection. Delivery was fast and accurate, I immediately played my CD and have enjoyed it since.

    Rolande M. Collins

    5 out of 5 stars The true prima donna asoluta.......2002-05-23

    Ms. Leontyne Price is the quentisential diva. I fell in love with her when I started studying music at the conservatory level. Her phrasing, tone, quality, and endless range are breathtaking. This CD features selections from when she was vocaly at her best. Even though I could go without the Ariadne and Cleopatra, the rest of the CD is simply marvelous. I cannot stop listening to D'amor sull'ali rosee, which I think is the best interpretation and performance of the piece that I have ever heard!!! I prefer Price over Sutherland, Caballe, Freni, and Fleming any day. Her high tones give you the feeling of floating on clouds. This is one of the best CD's in my entire classical/Opera collection. Whoever purchases this CD, it will be worth your while.

    4 out of 5 stars Fabulous singing, Overblown orchestras.......2002-04-10

    When I was first getting interested in opera, during the late 1960s - early 1970s, Leontyne Price was still singing at the Met, but I could never get a ticket because she only sang five performances a year (later, three). She said this was to "preserve" the voice but, as I learned from those who actually did hear her in person, her mid-range was deteriorating at that time until it was practically inaudible (though her high notes and lower range still sounded great). Also, to be honest, as a youngster I was put off by the promotion of her albums...all those fancy pictures of her in diamonds and furs just seemed so ostentatious to me, and listening to her on records was not always a pleasurable experience. Her voice so often sounded swamped by those loud, blaring, overblown orchestras.

    But then I heard a remastering of the famous 1961 "Aida" with Vickers, Gorr and Merrill, and I realized how great a singer she was. That's when I started listening more seriously, and discovered a soprano who had a thorough command of her voice from the late '50s to the late '60s, not only in terms of vocal color but also in terms of phrasing. Listening to Price in her prime is incredible...she almost sounds as if she never breathed, her phrasing is so beautifully bound and poised. At the same time, however, I was disappointed by RCA's choice of partners for her on recordings. ...

    This set goes a long way towards restoring the legend. Stripped of her sub-par partners (with the exception of Corelli's belting in the "Seguidilla" from "Carmen"), one can listen to Price's voice uncompromised, and it is a thrill. Even when the orchestra sounds detached and uninteresting, as it often does, Price seems to be on an entirely different wavelength, giving out with passion and great musicality. As for the selections chosen, they represent an excellent cross-section of Price's best work, even though the Purcell and Berlioz sound awfully heavy by today's standards and I can live without the "Anthony and Cleopatra" selection or the Strauss song.

    One caveat I have is the lack of discographical information. No dates, orchestras or conductors are given. This is a grave injustice, even though the backup does not always meet expectations. On the plus side, all of the legendary "blue album" (her first recital discs for RCA in 1961) is presented complete, including the two selections from the July 1959 "Il Trovatore" that were on that LP...and in MUCH better, more focused sound. For this, and the heavy orchestral sound, I give the set only 4 stars...but for the singing alone I would give it eight!!

    5 out of 5 stars Fabulous!.......2002-01-19

    The only alternative to Joan Sutherland. An equally gorgeous and fabulous voice. A true diva that puts me to tears. Sensational recital of so many gems.
    A - Z of Opera (includes 762 page booklet)
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • AN OPERA OPUS THAT'S A MUST!
    • The Best
    • Superb Modestly Priced Favorite Arias Collection!!!
    • Wonderful introduction to opera
    		 A - Z of Opera (includes 762 page booklet)
    Puccini , Thomas Harper , Ingrid Kertesi , Scholars Baroque Ensemble , and Hungarian State Opera Orchestra
    Manufacturer: Naxos
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

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    Leoncavallo, RuggieroLeoncavallo, Ruggiero | ( L ) | Composers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music
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    1. A to Z of Classical Music
    2. The Most Famous Opera Duets
    3. The Most Famous Opera Arias
    4. The Best of Italian Opera
    5. Amor--Opera's Great Love Songs

    ASIN: B00004YYRR
    Release Date: 2000-10-17

    Tracks:

    1. L'Orfeo: Sinf/Ecco Pur Ch'a Voi - Cappella Musicale Di S. Petronio Di Bologna/Sergio Vartolo
    2. Dido And Aeneas: When I Am Laid In Earth - Kym Amps
    3. Rinaldo: Lascia Ch'io Pianga - Ingrid Kertesi
    4. Serse: Ombra Mai Fu (Largo) - Ingrid Kertesi
    5. Orfeo Ed Euridice: Dance Of The Blessed Spirits - Slovak State PO/Johannes Wildner
    6. Alceste: Ombre Larve - Theresa Ringhoz/Drottningholm Theatre Chor
    7. Don Giovanni: Madamina! (Catalogue Aria) - Andrea Martin
    8. Cosi Fan Tutte: Soave Sia Il Vento (Terzetto) - Joanna Borowska/Rohangiz Yachmi/Peter Mikulas
    9. The Marriage Of Figaro: Non Piu Andrai - Natale De Carolis
    10. Die Zauberflote: Der Holle Rache (Aria Of The Queen Of The Night) - Helen Kwon/Hungarian Festival Chor
    11. Fidelio: Abscheulicher! - Inga Nielsen/Hungarian Radio Chor
    12. Der Freischutz: Huntsmen's Chor - Slovak Phil Chor
    13. The Barber Of Seville: Largo Al Factotum - Roberto Servile
    14. L'Elisir D'Amore: Una Furtiva Lagrima - Vincenzo La Scola
    15. I Puritani: Qui La Voce Sua Soave - Luba Orgonasova
    16. La Traviata: Un Di Felice (Love Duet) - Monika Krause/Yordy Ramiro
    17. Nabucco: Va Pensiero (Chor Of The Hebrew Slaves) - Slovak Phil Chor (Bratislava)
    18. Aida: Grand March - Nat SO Of Ireland/Rico Saccani
    19. Falstaff: E Sogno? O Realita - Roberto Servile

    Tracks:

    1. Rigoletto: La Donna E Mobile - Yordy Ramiro/Slovak Phil Chor
    2. Die Walkure: Ride Of The Valkyries - Czecho-Slovak RSO/Uwe Mund
    3. Tannhauser: Begluckt Darf Nun Dich (Pilgrims' Chor) - Slovak Phil Chor
    4. La Wally: Ebben, Ne Andro Lontana - Miriam Gauci
    5. Rusalka: O, Silver Moon (Song To The Moon) - Jana Valaskova
    6. Gianni Schicchi: O Mio Babbino Caro - Luba Orgonasova
    7. La Boheme: Che Gelida Manina - Jonathan Welch
    8. Madama Butterfly: Un Bel Di Vedremo - Miriam Gauci
    9. Tosca: E Lucevan Le Stelle - Giorgio Lamberti
    10. Turandot: Nessun Dorma - Thomas Harper/Slovak Phil Chor
    11. Lakme: Dome Epais (Flower Duet) - Adriana Kohutkova/Denisa Slepkovska
    12. Thais: Meditation - Janos Selmeczi
    13. Carmen: L'Amour Est Un Oiseau Rebelle (Habanera) - Graciela Alperyn/Slovak Phil Chor/Bratislava Children's Chor
    14. The Pearl Fishers: Au Fond Du Temple Saint (Duet) - Janez Lotric/Igor Morozov
    15. Pagliacci: Recitar!... Vesti La Giubba - Nicola Matinucci/Slovak Phil Chor
    16. Cavalleria Rusticana: Intermezzo - Czecho-Slovak RSO/Alexander Rahbari
    17. Andrea Chenier: Come Un Bel Di Di Maggio - Thomas Harper
    18. King Roger: Roxana's Aria - Barbara Zagorzanka
    19. Die Tote Stadt: Gluck, Das Mir Verblieb (Marietta's Lied) - Katarina Dalayman/Thomas Sunnegardh/Tomtberga School Children's Chor/Royal Swedish Opr Chor

    Album Description

    A-Z of Opera is a 762-page, illustrated book, accompanied by two-and-a-half hours of opera's most glorious and moving moments on two CDs, and reflects the ever-growing Naxos catalog of recordings ranging from Monteverdi to the contemporary. A-Z of Opera provides a wide range of information on operas and their composers, from Handel's Rinaldo to Mozart's Die Zauberflote, and beyond. It features plot synopses, background details and cast lists for hundreds of operas including well-known standards as well as opera rarities. In addition, there is a wealth of information about all the great composers and a glossary of key musical and operatic terms.

    Customer Reviews:

    4 out of 5 stars AN OPERA OPUS THAT'S A MUST!.......2003-01-19

    Oh, such letter-perfect perfection! This marvel features a two-hour-plus showcase of well-known arias from "Cosi Fan Tuti," "Aida," "Carmen," "Madame Butterfly" and "The Barber of Seville." It also comes with a book --- 762 pages of remarkable facts, figures and illustrations.Encore!

    5 out of 5 stars The Best.......2002-06-09

    This is, by far, the best introduction to opera on the market. It also contains some gem performances for anyone who already has a serious opera collection. Several tracks on this collection of mostly Eastern European singers rival those of their Western counterparts. This is a collection for EVERYONE - from the opera novice to the person who has long collected all the major Western stars. At this price, it's the best opera bargain in the world. GET IT NOW!!! Thank you, Naxos! I hope that some of these Eastern European singers at last get the attention they deserve.

    5 out of 5 stars Superb Modestly Priced Favorite Arias Collection!!!.......2001-02-12

    I received this as my 20th birthday gift from my bestfriend and I was amazed at the quality and the content of this CD. Some of the arias which I am immensely fond of are included, i.e. "Habanera" from Bizet's "Carmen." And who would have guessed that the soprano on track 10 performing Queen of the Night's Aria from Mozart's "Die Zauberflote" was none other than Hellen Kwon? Amazing!

    I really love this gift from my bestfriend for it was thoughtful and well, what can I say that this makes an excellant gift for opera neophytes (though I am not an opera neophyte).

    The highlight of this CD is track 13, Rossini's "Largo al Factotum" from "The Barber of Seville." When I first heard this, I was contemplating to myself as to where have I heard this before. Then it hit me: Michigan J. Frog's signature tune! (In case people are wondering who on earth is Michigan J. Frog is, he is the Warner Brother's frog; the frog can be seen on WB network channel). I love this track! Buy this for yourself if not this makes a perfect gift for your opera neophyte friend(s)! This track brings joy and smiles on my face everytime I hear this piece!

    5 out of 5 stars Wonderful introduction to opera.......2000-12-16

    More than just a promotional sampler, the Naxos (8.555037-38) contains not only 2 CDs crammed with 39 excerpts from that company's seemingly bottomless catalogue, but also a 762 page book. The text offers plot summaries of almost every important opera and many of far lesser renown (Delius' "The Magic Fountain," Mascagni's "Iris," for example), a brief biography of the composers, a glossary, and finally a discography. The recorded examples are in chronological order from Monteverdi to Korngold. The entries in the book, however, are in alphabetical order--so be careful to look for "Zauberflote," not "Magic Flute," and so on.

    Of course, Big Names do not appear on many Naxos opera sets; but this set is an introduction to that vast area of culture and is meant to be an educational (and of course a promotional ) device. Nevertheless, many of the selections on the CDs are beautifully sung, a very few lack characterization (the arias from"Don Giovanni" and "Nozze di Figaro" for two). But at this incredibly low budget price, who can complain?

    As soon as I saw what this set had to offer, I immediately ordered a copy as a seasonal gift for a friend who wants to "get into" opera. I could think of no better gift.

    There is a sister set titled (8.555319-20) that uses the same format. There are 2 CDs with 36 selections from Gregorian Chant to Glass. The 562-page book gives us the major facts about "the Great Composers and Their Greatest Works, " a glossary, and a 45-page list of classical music heard in films. The discography is included in the composers section. Again, the value of this set as an educational tool is enormous and well worth the extremely low price Naxos is asking.

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