I Against I

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
After the first of their countless breakups, the Bad Brains reconvened in 1986 to record this, their undeniable masterwork. Fusing dub reggae and funk rhythms into the mix, and slowing the tempo down enough to appeal to hardcore's emergent metal crossover audience, the Bad Brains created one of the most powerful collections the '80s produced in any genre. On "I Against I" and "House of Suffering," the quartet suffuses traditional Jamaican spiritualism with modern urban concerns, while the soaring "Sacred Love" is guaranteed to send shivers down the spine of anyone with any soul whatsoever. An essential release. --David Sprague --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

I Against I
Average customer rating:

Stop reading and buy

I don't get it

I can't explain it, I just can't stop listening to this album..

This Ain't Your Son's Punk Rock

Awwwww Cheeezit!!

I Against I
Bad Brains
Manufacturer: Sst Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Bad Brains

Rock for Light

Quickness

Black Dots

Build a Nation

ASIN: B000000M0V
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Intro
I Against I
House Of Suffering
Re-Ignition
Secret 77
Let Me Help
She's Calling You
Sacred Love
Hired Gun
Return To Heaven

Amazon.com

After the first of their countless breakups, the Bad Brains reconvened in 1986 to record this, their undeniable masterwork. Fusing dub reggae and funk rhythms into the mix, and slowing the tempo down enough to appeal to hardcore's emergent metal crossover audience, the Bad Brains created one of the most powerful collections the '80s produced in any genre. On "I Against I" and "House of Suffering," the quartet suffuses traditional Jamaican spiritualism with modern urban concerns, while the soaring "Sacred Love" is guaranteed to send shivers down the spine of anyone with any soul whatsoever. An essential release. --David Sprague

Customer Reviews:

Stop reading and buy.......2007-07-01

In this day and age when you can get just about any music you want for free off a friend's hard drive or some online site, there are is little that I would say you should pay your money for. This is one of them.

There is no need for me to add to the plenty that has been said and written about this album. It is a classic that needs to be heard - like it or not. It is an album that will inspire! BUY NOW!

I don't get it.......2006-12-03

Lemme start off by saying I absolutely LOVE the earlier Bad Brains material -- "Rock for Light" and "Bad Brains" (ie. the CD version of their ROIR cassette album) contain some of the most ferocious and uplifting rock 'n' roll music I've ever heard. And I've been listening to BB since 1982, when a guy who lived across the hall in my college dorm first told me about 'em and I went out and bought the Alternative Tentacles EP with "Sailin' On," "I" and one of the reggae songs.

But I have to be honest, I just don't think "i against i" is very good. Maybe I'm imposing unfair expectations on the band -- I'm not saying they had to stay in "Rock for Light" mode forever, but they needed to maintain way more intensity than "iai" delivers. It sounds too much like an attempt to commercialize the BB sound. Frankly, it almost seems like Dr. Know really got into Van Halen's "Fair Warning" album and convinced the band they needed to steer themselves in the general direction of the song "Push Comes to Shove," which was VH's stab at reggae rock. That's probably not what happened, but that's what goes through my mind when I hear the midtempo, solo-heavy, innocuous material on this platter.

My sincere apologies to anyone who's offended by my criticism, but I think it's important for newbies out there to know there's at least one long-time BB fan who thinks this album is an also-ran, not a masterpiece.

I can't explain it, I just can't stop listening to this album.........2006-11-10

I'm a big Beastie Boys fan and these guys were a major reason the Beasties got into music (they were a hardcore punk band before being signed by Def Jam), so I checked them out. I was expecting something different, but I wasn't dissapointed. These guys have a very unique sound to them that I can't get enough of. The music is great and the vocals just grab you. If you're into punk rock (not pop-punk rock like Simple Plan or Good Charlotte), check this band out.

tracks worth checkin' out:
I Against I
Secret 77
Re-Ignition
Hired Gun

This Ain't Your Son's Punk Rock.......2006-10-17

I Against I is one of my oldest, most-played, best-loved CDs. I was 16 when I bought it from my "favorite" snobby Denver record store (I won't name any names, but its initials are W.A.X. T.R.A.X.), the messy-haired hipster behind the counter looked at the Bad Brains catalog written on a piece of cardboard behind all the CD longboxes and said, "OK, you want to buy 'Against'-- those 'I's on either side of it mean it's an import." Yeah, OK, record geek, don't tell me what you don't know and just sell me the CD, you fool. I truly hope he was fired for incompetence and moved to Portland, where I'm sure he thought the people were much cooler.

This CD is total punk rock, though it may strike you as metal. Don't be fooled into thinking that punk was some kind of arty, stylish or (God forbid) British thing. The two most powerful punk rock bands ever were straight out of American hardcore: Black Flag and BAD BRAINS, baby! They both evolved into a thrashy metal sound, but they never sold out, no way. If you buy only one Bad Brains CD, you really should be buying two -- this one and Rock for Light.

To make a short story longer, buy it from Amazon and avoid annoying hipster music store staff.

Awwwww Cheeezit!!.......2006-09-07

You want a GREAT rock record???..get this!!!..I would rather hit myself in the crotch with a hammer than live without it.

Tupac Rap Phenomenon II DJ Green Lantern, Dirty Harry & Vlad (Mixtape) 2Pac

Average customer rating:

CHRIS ROCK IS THE MAN!!!!!!!
Sweet!
from beyond
good idea.
Delivers what it promises.

Tupac Rap Phenomenon II DJ Green Lantern, Dirty Harry & Vlad (Mixtape) 2Pac

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
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Shady Records Presents "The Evil Genius" DJ Green Lantern - The Best of In The Lab: Volume 1 [Mixtape] [Limited Edition]

ASIN: B000F3FV2E

Product Description

Three of the illest DJs in the game pay tribute to the legendary musician Tupac Shakur in this mixtape classic! The follow-up to Notorious B.I.G. - Rap Phenomenon showcases six months of dedication creating a soundtrack to Tupac's career. This mixtape features blends, guest cameos & Tupac exclusives produced by these DJs solely for this exclusive mixtape. A TRUE MIXTAPE CLASSIC!

Customer Reviews:

CHRIS ROCK IS THE MAN!!!!!!!.......2007-07-23

This girl, i don't talk to anymore, left this album in my car when it came out. I let a friend borrow it and it came back ruined. I didn't know the name of the album or where to find it. Today, I see that Chirs Rock puts this on his 25 top album list. Every song on this alBum is awesome!!!!!!!! BUY IT TODAY!!!!!!! 5 STARS ISN'T ENOUGH

Sweet!.......2007-05-19

This CD is one of the hottest, with Tupac lyrics over beats like: hold up by dr. dre, if u dont give a damn gone throw it up by young bloodz, on my block by scarface, and much much more... the best thing is it sounds like the beats were made just for those lyrics by Pac!

from beyond.......2006-08-14

I have been a tupac fan since i was 15 and i will tell you this is a great jumpoff for a novice listener, and a great retrospective for a fan. You can say tupac was the best rapper ever give that title to a mortal like big or jay-z. Tupac was a poet of our times, even the hardest thug has to feel a not in his throught when hearing him flow on the the baby don't cry remix about a girl being atacked. This mixtape does justice to his quotes and should have been the soundtract to the movie instead of the cliche'ed one that was released. After seeing the movie and hearing this tape, if you are open minded, you will see why so many think he was assasinated and not just shot in a drive by. This man could very well have settled down and became a central figure in American politics. If ron regan can be president then Pac could have been a national figure easily. This album is a great place to start.

good idea. .......2006-04-06

i, too looked for this after reading what chris rock said about it in rolling stone. a few songs are okay, a few songs are really weak (as weak as a pac tune can get), and a few are just filler.

however, a few stand out. such as "hold up," an entire song based upon nate dogg's line in dre's "the next episode." it has this really tight beat that sounds kinda like old old snoop dogg. before he dropped the doggy. if you're blazin' phillies, its good stuff to cruise to. additionally, "fight music" is a strong track, with pac flowing over "hate me now" by puffy and nas. it's really good because the beat is prolific, powerful, and quite emotional. the particular pac lines they choose are equally as powerful, giving one the feeling as though this is the original. "me against the world" is pac over dre's "still d.r.e." beat, which is pretty cool (except for the female chorus vocals). i mean, that's a killer beat no matter who rhymes over it. i like dre's much better, but this was a good mix. "thug in me" sounds kinda like something pac would've done when he was alive. it's a decent filler track, i suppose.

the best thing this cd has to offer is tupac's personal opinion that starts the track "revolution."

he says "this country was built on gangs. you know. i think this country still is run on gangs. republicans. democrats. the police department. the fbi. the c.i.--those are gangs. you know what i mean? the correctional officers. i had a correctional officer tell me straight up 'we're the biggest gang in new york state.' straight up."

hearing these words really made me remember how great tupac was. he had a lot of strong messages that unfortunately too little of his audience could actually hear. if you're a tupac fan and have most of his cds, then yeah. add this one to your collection because you'll probably dig it. if you're not a diehard pac fan, then maybe just consider it for fact that its pac with hot new beats. sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. but definitely get this before you shell out $XX for Death Row's "nu-mixx klassics." this one is better.

Delivers what it promises........2006-03-31

I decided to pick this up after hearing that Chris Rock had put it in his top 25 Rap CD's of all time...
This mixtape does make you relise something though. All of Pac's beats on his old songs seem tailered for him, cause with his style of rapping, you cant just put any beat in, even the hottest beats may sound wack with him...
I own every pac album from when he was alive, and his greatest hits, and there was still some verses in here I hadnt hered, so it is a good buy... All the tracks flow together, so it sounds like a real mixtape. The best song is the second one, Revolution Feturing Busta Rhymes, over that one really hot P. Diddy beat ( Forgot the name ) And what is cool is that verse is from Military Minds, and even though I found the original song wack, they make it really really good, even better than some of his greatest hits... The Dj's did a good job... Bottom line, if you are a Pac fan get this! I will soon be getting the B.I.G. one too...

I denounce the explotation of premtitated schemes/
Introducin' a drug called crack to us ghetto teens/
-2pac

Average customer rating:

This needs a more articulate review...
happy music

Moondog 1 & 2
Moondog
Manufacturer: Beat Goes On
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Moondog
More Moondog/The Story of Moondog
The German Years 1977-1999
Viking of Sixth Avenue
Rare Material

ASIN: B00004YU0K
Release Date: 2000-11-06

Tracks:

Theme
Stamping Ground
Symphonique No. 3 (Ode to Venus)
Symphonique No. 6 (Good for Goodie)
Minisym No. 1
Lament, No. 1
Witch of Endor
Symphonique No. 1 (Portrait of a Monarch)
Bells Are Ringing
Voices of Spring
What's the Most Exciting Thing
All Is Loneliness
My Tiny Butterfly
Why Spend a Dark Night With Me
Coffee Beans
Down Is Up
Be a Hobo
Remember
I Love You
Nero's Expedition
No, The Wheel Was Never Invented
With My Wealth
This Student of Life
Some Trust All
Wine, Women and Song
Sadness
Maybe
Each Today Is Yesterday's Tomorrow
Imagine
You the Vandal
Trees Against the Sky
Behold
Sparrow
Pastoral

Customer Reviews:

This needs a more articulate review..........2005-12-10

To tell the truth, the only reason I even listened to this disc in the store is because I spotted the cover, and wondered what the hell a guy who looked like that could sound like. I had a gushing smile on my face as I realized there was real talent and expression behind Moondog's odd facade. The first album on this disc (there are two herein) is made up of more "orchestral" material like none you've ever heard before (one of these tracks "stamping Grounds" is in "The Big Lebowski". The second album is made up of a series of short "rounds"; cyclical songs with naturally repetitive compositions (think row row row your boat, or three blind mice). Due to the familiar nature of such song forms, and the unique compositions employed by Moondog, the second album is quite buoyant and joyful. This is an all around great and very familiar listening experience, and quite a timeless set of albums. Get it while you still can!

happy music.......2002-12-28

Moodog is a realy composer of all time. Is create a new conception of street music and universal sound
Paris, 27/12/02 France

Average customer rating:

A Composition that Missed the Mark
I generally admire Tan Dun, but this project was a misstep
Dark depths and bright voices, a shock, a whimsy
A Music Collage
Mind Opening

Bitter Love

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

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Hero
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Water Passion After St Matthew

ASIN: B00000JWBU
Release Date: 1999-08-17

Tracks:

Against Time Of Desire
I Once Dreamed
Moist With Sweat
NChiCa
Gentle Showers
How Sweet This Incense!
It Is A Ghost!
Your Solemn Vow
Can It Be True
This Is My Fear
To Come
At Peony Pavilion
Stir My Belt Ornaments
Secrecy Departing

Amazon.com

When he was a youth in his native China, Tan Dun spent a period as a fiddle player for a Beijing opera troupe. His intimate familiarity with the great Chinese epic opera The Peony Pavilion from the 16th century (produced during the 1999 Lincoln Center Festival) is evident in his own work of the same name, for which Peter Sellars collaborated as stage director. Bitter Love is a self-contained fusion of music and poetry that draws from Tan's larger opera score. The traditional love story of The Peony Pavilion--which bears some striking similarities to the Orpheus myth--comes through in floating, dreamlike fragments that reflect Chinese poet Tang Xianzu's lucid imagery like a smoky moon against water. As in his earlier and fascinatingly experimental opera Marco Polo, the New York-based Tan creates an eclectic collage of styles that mix East and West, old and new, as well as classical purity and pop energy, all with audacious imagination. This is, after all, a composer who has written music for water and stones, and he exhibits an almost childlike delight in the sensuous appeal of sounds here, in the overlay of traditional Chinese instruments such as pipa with synth beats, cross rhythms, and a panoply of percussion. Soprano Ying Huang gives Tan's fluttering threads of melody a silver sheen. However tempting it might be to label Tan's project as "crossover," it displays a depth and artistic integrity not usually associated with the term. --Thomas May

Customer Reviews:

A Composition that Missed the Mark.......2007-06-15

'East meets West' appears to be the hallmark for this work of avante garde Chinese composer Tan Dun.
Well, I love Chinese music, been listening to large volumes of Chinese operatic recordings and performances for more than 40 years - from the southern Cantonese to the north-western Qin and Yu operas, and even more the Eastern Kun operas and Huang Mei lyrics.
What is being achieved in this album? I would hesitate to call it East meeting West.
Fine, it is original. Fine again, that Miss Huang Ying is a lyrical soprano with a good voice and sound technique.
But please do not mistook the work as having any lineage with the Chinese operatic tradition: it has virtually none of such.
The choice of singer alone reveals that there is no regard to the authentic Chinese operatic tradition: a Western lyrical soprano is UNABLE to bring out the style and sonics in Chinese traditional-styled melodies. For such performer, go for the celebrated Chinese soprano Miss Wu Bixia instead, the pioneer of fusion of Chinese and Western vocal styles.
Very much unlike the more recent work of Tan "The First Emperor", this album endeavours to present music that is off the beaten track. However, the result is that it is off track. The stuff here, I dare say, accounts for more than half of the adverse criticism of that opera, a much more valid work in all respects but for these 'grey area' elements.
Chinese operatic arias are much more than wailing and whining. Musical lines are more melodious, harmonics much clearer.
The blurred effects here are not authentic Chinese style.
I envy those who are able to enjoy this album.

I generally admire Tan Dun, but this project was a misstep.......2006-03-28

BITTER LOVE is a selection of songs from Chinese contemporary composer Tan Dun's 1998 version of the classic Chinese opera "Peony Pavilion". Soprano Ying Huang has the spotlight, with the New York Virtuoso Singers and the NChiCa-Orchestra performing and the composer himself conducting. The staging of the opera, produced by Peter Sellars, was toured around the world, but no video recording was made. These fourteen songs are all we have, but make a conveniently concise single-disc presentation.

Tan Dun's updating is drastic, maintaining the text (in English translation by Cyril Birch) but with totally new music. The traditional music of "Peony Pavilion", of which "Hang the Curtain Down" might be the most well-known, is nowhere to be heard here even in brief quotation. Instrumentation consists of pipa (a Chinese flute), percussion, several midi instruments, electronic sampler, and water gong. The rhythms, the scat singing, and the electronics make this work quite outside both the Western and Chinse traditions, and lovers of chillout projects such as Thievery Corporation may find this CD to their liking. Ying Huang's singing, however, displays the mannerisms of Beijing opera, so the work is a real fusion of styles.

Were this the only work by Dun, it might seem fresh and admirable, but it compares poorly to some of his recent works like THE MAP and the WATER PASSION. Some novel ideas, such as the mix of Chinese and Western instrumentation and the use of water for sound are present, but all in all the musical material here is very limited and repetitive. Perhaps it would be another matter entirely if I were watching a live performance where the orchestra is meant to accompany action onstage, but on its own the music isn't rich enough. Furthermore, Sony's packing of the material, with very unhelpful liner notes, makes it look as if Tan Dun's talent is being used to advance some mission of world music crossover gimmickry. I regrettably cannot recommend this like I can other works by Tan Dun, who is generally one of the most interesting living composers.

Dark depths and bright voices, a shock, a whimsy.......2004-05-24

This piece of music either creeps up on you out of nowhere - like a tarantula imitating a meteor streaking out of outerspace - or it "conveys" itself to you like a waiter extending to you a glass of dark wine - or a film that seeks to shock you with an unexpected silence and a pagan cry. You must be the judge. But if you are faint hearted - quick to flee sexuality in all of its forms - you should go nowhere near this piece. And and if you are bold and brazen and hot for simplistic outrages you should probably bury your head in the sand. This work is for mature listeners only. By "mature" I mean a listener who is willing to cast to the side - as if she or he is flinging to the wind cherry blossoms in autumn - all grotesque fundamentalisms of ANY KIND. The music begins with a luminous voice slowly moving out of darkness. The voice wanders around in the dark over a deep abyss but I do not sense that the abyss is strong enough to terrify that wondrous voice. And the full piece, as it develops, may be best called "The Complicated Tales Of Incandescent Bliss". This piece of music is hideously subversive. I say that with a tongue in my cheek and a fart in my belly. The mere "subversive" is hideously dull. For a century now we have lived with a million, billion artists who wished - desperately wishing to canonize their egos - to "subvert" things. "Bitter Love" is horribly subversive. It is horribly subversive because it does not aim to be "subversive". Its power comes from a source that is not easily described. I am not a witch, but I would like to pretend that I am a witch gazing with my dark-gold eyes into a blasphemously kitsch crystal ball. I would say, gazing into profound fires, that I see a century of struggling, sick, twisted artists striving to catch up to "Bitter Love". It is dark without that pretentious quality that defines the run-of-the-mill Goth. It is bright without protestatiing itself before the blasphemously sentimetality of movies like "The Sound of Music". It plays havoc with our senses without toadying up to the most stupid features of the avant-guard. "Bitter Love" will shock you even while it consoles you.

A Music Collage.......2003-12-01

A soprano; a tenor; a monk; a baritone chorus; an infant; unconventional Chinese orchestration mixed with bits and pieces of Peking Opera; folk tunes; lots of percussions, these are the sounds with which the story of Peony Pavilion is musically revealed. Rather than an opera, it is a musical dream or a conception. Chinese traditional culture is always a rich resource for musicians (especially Chinese musicians) to tap into, and Tan Dun is one of those who know exactly where to get his inspirations. The work is a collage of various individual and seemingly disparate elements of West and East, ritual and sensual, ancient and modern, only that Tan displays them with a sense of assimilation at times, and antithesis at others. As always, Tan's unique music perspectives, distinctively modern though they are, are fulfilled by returning to the original purity and simplicity of the basics and down-to-earth folk music elements.

Ying Huang's pure soprano displays the poetry of the music beautifully. With sensuous approach, her singing is well attuned to the music's aura of longing and exotic beauty. The fabulous baritone chorus from The New York Virtuoso Singers gives a touch of the western opera and provides an indispensable layer to the otherwise rather thin orchestration.

But the music is not for everyone, nor for everyday. Despite its depth and range, it could be a strange land for the ears not tuned to its novelties and diversities, and as for that matter, one may wonder how much of the profound emotions Tan meant to deliver has actually reached the audience at general level.

Mind Opening.......2002-04-24

If you're unfamiliar with Chinese Opera this album may be shocking. But, once you take the time to listen this is a beautiful experience. Tan Dun's blend of eastern and western musical traditions is brilliant. Ying Haung's voice is clear with tones "razor sharp."

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Customer Reviews:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tracks:

Caribea
Lullaby
Tree Trail
Death, When You Come To Me
Big Cat
Frog Bog
To A Sea Horse
Dance Rehearsal
Surf Session
Trees Against The Sky
Tap Dance
Oo Debut
Drum Suite
Street Scene

Amazon.com

Louis Hardin, known to pre-Watergate New Yorkers as the blind street musician Moondog, is also a fascinating and sui generis composer. This disc collects 1969 recordings of his orchestral works and 1972 small-group recordings of the two-minutes-and-under "rounds and canons" that are his most influential work. Janis Joplin covered his "All Is Loneliness," you can hear foreshadowings of Stereolab in his "Madrigals," and you only need to hear "Theme" to hear how profoundly he influenced Michael Nyman. Simple and beautiful, Moondog's rounds owe as much to the swing he heard on the radio in his youth as to Bach's canonical structures, and they vary as little and as much as roses in a row. --Douglas Wolk

Customer Reviews:

Admirable communion with life.......2007-04-26

Blind he is our Moondog, but he does not bark for pity. He listens to and reproduces what he can capture with his ears. That means his work is a tremendous compilation of sounds from the real world, animals or just insects, his own baby and his own wife, or just some beating on a drum, or the frail dancing of a pipe along with a frog and a cricket. It is this extreme patchwork of sounds, voices, noise and music under the light enchantment from the moon that our artist is imagining in his eternal night. At least for him the moon never sets, never disappears over or behind the hills. "Surf Session" is the only piece that has some real length. The sea surf, the sea waves, the breaking of these waves we imagine along some pebbly seaside give a strange depth to the very both Asian and tremendously romantic music that manages to float forever over the rather powerful vortex of the sea, the ocean. The nearly Chinese constant grace-notes give the music a charm that is both discrete and so strong we seem to be able to imagine some Last Emperor advancing in the Forbidden City just before defeating his beleaguered wife and sons under the sign of some golden flower. The "Street Scene" is less fascinating because it is aimless, it lacks a direction and a destination? "I must never follow you and you must never follow me." He is roaming on and on, around and around, in that incessant, menacing, mechanical noise that comes up from the New York street locked up in between the walls of surrounding buildings. Can that be life? And what can it sound like to a blind man? Is it worse or less violent than what the famous Arthur Miller's Salesman felt, heard and experienced in his trapped two storied house in the middle of surrounding skyscrapers and under the crushing noise of thousands of motor vehicles? We will never know, except if we decide to do what dipus did when he realized his criminal inability to see the fate that was his. And he lived ever after like a dog in the eternal night of his blindness remembering the moonshine and the sunshine, tolerating the insults and petty assaults from those whose yes are not bleeding dead.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine & University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne

F_kin' Hardcore.......2005-12-06

Louis T. Hardin did not graduate from the Juliard. He went to a school in Iowa and Memphis, but was mostly self taught. Listen to this with your eyes closed.

Eccentric Centrist.......2003-12-14

Odd-ball individuals are more common than geniuses, but Moondog is both. Harry Partch had the highest regard for this blind graduate of Julliard, whose fantastic get-up of skins, furs and horns might have detracted from the impact of less seminal music. Since he was immensely tall, he made quite an apparition. Moondog's primitivo get-up was odd, to say the least, but since Moondog was blind, one wonders who put the costume together. Moondog, like Harry, invented most of the instruments he played standing on the corener at the Avenue of the Americas. His music reaches back into prehistory in its effect, and has a kindness to it, if that may be a reasonable thing to say. Later, Moondog became sort of a darling of the avant garde, and composed for traditional instruments, but the earlier the recorded work, the more deep down and pure it was. The later work is slicker, but just as intelligent.

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35 unmistakable tracks
Wonderful
The Different Drummer We Once Were
For those who love the music
Moondog

Moondog

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000026QJ
Release Date: 1989-07-20

Tracks:

Madrigals: Rounds And Canons: No. 12-Nero's Expedition
Madrigals: Rounds And Canons: No. 13-No, The Wheel Was Never Invented
Madrigals: Rounds And Canons: No. 14-With My Wealth
Madrigals: Rounds And Canons: No. 15-This Student Of Life
Madrigals: Rounds And Canons: No. 16-Some Trust All
Madrigals: Rounds And Canons: No. 17-Wine, Woman And Song
Madrigals: Rounds And Canons: No. 18-Sadness
Madrigals: Rounds And Canons: No. 19-Maybe
Madrigals: Rounds And Canons: No. 20-Each Today Is Yesterday's Tomorrow
Madrigals: Rounds And Canons: No. 21-Imagine
Madrigals: Rounds And Canons: No. 22-You The Vandal
Madrigals: Rounds And Canons: No. 23-Trees Against The Sky
Madrigals: Rounds And Canons: No. 24-Behold
Madrigals: Rounds And Canons: No. 25-Sparrow
Madrigals: Rounds And Canons: No. 26-Pastoral

Customer Reviews:

35 unmistakable tracks.......2005-02-24

You don't need to buy the double-disc "Moondog 1 & 2" to hear the two albums - all that music can also be heard on this (75 minute) single disc.
Even though the only cover art of this edition is the original front cover of the 1969 "Moondog" (no original back-cover thereof nor any art from the 1971 "Moondog II",) all 35 tracks are nicely crammed in here.
What's listed under "Listen to samples" on the amazon page are only the last 20 tracks of this CD and all titles are linked to the wrong tracks.

"Moondog I" (tracks 1-9) opens with "Theme" and "Stomping Ground" - two somewhat coherent pieces which a few years ago were made quite famous through the soundtrack of Coen Brothers' wonderful movie "The Big Lebowski." The album features a 50+ piece orchestra, which, among other greats, includes jazz veterans Don Butterfield (tuba) and Ron Carter (double bass.) In the list of personnel, Moondog is not credited for playing percussion, but the bass, which I assume is a misprint.
The beautiful Charlie Parker homage "Lament I: Bird's Lament" is here performed in its original form, but can also be found on the 1994 Moondog recording "Sax Pax For a Sax" on only saxes and percussion.
The orchestral performances on "Moondog I" aren't flawless, but should not be judged harshly because of the very personal, highly individual, and wonderfully eccentric form of compositions that they are. Budget, which is a very common issue when it comes to orchestral recordings, is another element that probably has not allowed much rehersing or many (if any) re-takes.

Before ordering this disc I knew that I'd love "Moondog I" since I'd heard most of it previously, but I was skeptical towards "Moondog II" because of some reviews I'd read of it. I was however curious, and listening to it when it had arrived was a very nice surprise.
Aside from performances by Louis "Moondog" Hardin (percussion, piano, vocals) and his daughter June (vocals,) "Moondog II" features 6 other musicians who, at different points throughout the album, play virginals, recorders, harpsichords, ancient organs, guitars, schom, viola de gamba, and troubadour harp. These instruments alone make a very individual sound, but the compositions (many of which are in 5/4 and 5/8) and the poetry make this the most wonderful group of rounds (short vocal canons) you've ever heard.

In my 700+ CD collection, this is among my favorites.

Wonderful.......2004-01-26

Beautiful, quirky, fascinating. A combination of classical, jazz, and improv, this collection made me close my eyes and just feel the music. Interspersed with several of Hardin's two-line poems as punctuation, the musical pieces are truly a wonder.

The Different Drummer We Once Were.......2004-01-05

I bought this album because of a memory, but the music stands up remarkably well to a more objective listening.

It was my first trip to New York City, and my father approached the wildly-dressed, tall and intiimidating figure standing on the corner of 56th St. and 7th Ave. They conversed in Norwegian long enough for me to draw nearer and realize the stranger represented no threat. In fact, I left with a book of hs canons, which remains in my collection of piano literature to this day.

I met Moondog once again--serendipitously, on Milwaukee's Wisconsin Avenue one day in the seventies. I have no idea how he got there or how he left, but this time I wanted to protect him from the insensitive pedestrians swirling around us and threatening our shared moment.

Moondog's music is as singular as he is, and offers a glimpse into his creative spirit. It begins with an idea and a form, not with an emotion or sentiment. Each piece is simple and brief, but not simplistic or fragmentary. He avoids any form of dissonance, even seventh chords and "blue" notes (flatted thirds). Music, like life, he seems to be saying, can be a straightforward, delighting adventure, providing one cherishes the quest itself above its so-called object and maintains a focused attention on the wonders of the present moment.

My only slight disappointment with this recording is that the madrigals, sung by Moondog and his daughter, are subjected to some studio effects that make them sound more artificial and commercial than they deserve to be.

For those who love the music.......2003-11-29

It is simple, it is clear, it is wonderful! I don`t know what style is this. Some people call it `jazz`, but second disc is strongly attached to european madrigal canons. I think, if we listen really good music, we never asked about styles. I heard familiar tunes from Tchaikovsky to Resident`s Duck Stab. You must have this if you`re music lover. If you`re musician (who plays music, dont `have a job`) you must have it too. Listen once or twise, if you don`t like it, simply put it on the shelf. Properly time will come.
P.S. My favorite `I love you` and `Nero`s Expedition`

Moondog.......2002-05-16

I was in the St. Thomas Boys Choir in the early 70's. We would walk to church for rehearsal, and pass Moondog, standing on the corner, usually by the ABC building. A couple of us would talk to him in our free time...he knew our names by our voices. We would listen to his poetry, and he seemed intigued by our choir, although he never heard us, I think. I got his album around this time, and have had it ever since. Fascinating pieces, very intricate, but also with "a hook"...that you find yourself humming along with. I heard he moved to Germany, where he wrote a nine hour canon. Overall, an amazing life story, and an incredible talent.

Average customer rating:

Finally a Messiah with fervor!
Great recording!
Good and Bad
This is a great recording!

Handel: Messiah

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Christmas at Trinity

ASIN: B00002R16A
Release Date: 1999-11-30

Tracks:

Messiah: No. 1 Overture
Messiah: No. 2 Arioso For Tenor
Messiah: No. 3 Air For Tenor
Messiah: No. 4 Chorus
Messiah: No. 5 Recitative For Bass
Messiah: No. 6 Air For Bass
Messiah: No. 7 Chorus
Messiah: No. 8 Recitative For Alto
Messiah: No. 9 Air For Alto And Chorus
Messiah: No. 10 Arioso For Bass
Messiah: No. 11 Air For Bass
Messiah: No. 12 Chorus
Messiah: No. 13 Pifa (Pastoral Symphony)
Messiah: No. 14a Recitative And No. 14b Arioso For Soprano
Messiah: No. 15 Recitative For Soprano
Messiah: No. 16 Arioso For Soprano
Messiah: No. 17 Chorus
Messiah: No. 18 Air For Soprano
Messiah: No. 19 Recitative For Alto
Messiah: No. 20 Air For Alto And Soprano
Messiah: No. 21 Chorus
Messiah: No. 22 Chorus
Messiah: No. 23 Air For Alto
Messiah: No. 24 Chorus
Messiah: No. 25 Chorus
Messiah: No. 26 Chorus

Tracks:

Messiah: No. 27 Arioso For Tenor
Messiah: No. 28 Chorus
Messiah: No. 29 Recitative For Tenor
Messiah: No. 30 Air For Tenor
Messiah: No. 31 Recitative For Tenor
Messiah: No. 32 Air For Tenor
Messiah: No. 33 Chorus
Messiah: No. 34 Recitative For Tenor
Messiah: No. 35 Chorus
Messiah: No. 36 Air For Alto
Messiah: No. 37 Chorus
Messiah: No. 38 Aria For Soprano
Messiah: No. 39 Chorus
Messiah: No. 40 Air For Bass
Messiah: No. 41 Chorus
Messiah: No. 42 Recitative For Tenor
Messiah: No. 43 Air For Tenor
Messiah: No. 44 Chorus
Messiah: No. 45 Air For Soprano
Messiah: No. 46 Chorus
Messiah: No. 47 Recitative For Bass
Messiah: No. 48 Air For Bass
Messiah: No. 49 Recitative For Alto
Messiah: No. 50 Duet For Alto And Tenor
Messiah: No. 51 Chorus
Messiah: No. 52 Air For Soprano
Messiah: No. 53 Chorus
Messiah: Amen

Customer Reviews:

Finally a Messiah with fervor!.......2005-10-20

I've hunted a thrilling performance of The Messiah through 240 versions so far. This is the best I've found. Some are self-conscious, dutifully singing as instructed. Some are almost childish in their lilt. Some are overblown with so much bombast that you can barely hear the heart of the music. Some are concentrated on faithfulness to the original instruments. If you want a performance that will make you shiver with the power and joy of the music, this is the one. The singers are singing about GLORY. They sound as if they are ecstatic. The musicians are at one with the music and they create a virtual cathedral wherever this CD is played, just close your eyes. Or, let your own imagery, be it celestial, or of great oceans...carry you away.

Great recording!.......2003-09-22

There are so many performances of the Messiah out there that it is very difficult to point to a difinative one, but I'd put this in the catagory of the "very good" ones. As other reviewers have said, every performance is different and has its own character. Each has stronger and weaker points. Here the conductor and musicians have made good, solid musical choices. There is an amazing attention to detail which is not so obvious the first listen through but which makes the piece shine. The tempos seem to be right on, and there is no frivolous over-embellishment by the soloists. There is no attempt to be showey. The dramatic dynamics in the first section of the overture are interesting, but seem to work after you hear it a few times. This performance also includes sections which are often omitted (Second half of "He shall feed his flock," "Thou art gone up on high," "Great was the company of the preachers," and "Death where is thy sting"). I prefer the more intimate quality of a small ensemble of musicians to the mega-performances by the London Philharmonic, Vienna State Opera Orchestra, etc.. As with this performance, the smaller group lends a clarity to the music, where the larger ensembles can get a little "muddy" at times. Just my personal preference. Overall, this is a very good performance, and certainly the low price (being on the Naxos lable) makes this a clear choice.

Good and Bad.......2000-04-09

I was more interested in "The Messiah" for the religious content than as a music critic, but this was too much. The strings are tinny. The orchestra is plodding. The soloists and choir are thankfully very good and seem to understand the meaning of the words. It is a shame the sound mix is uneven. The male parts come across loud and clear, but the poor women. For instance, No. 9 Oh thou that tellest..., the soloist sounded like she was singing in an echo chamber far from the mike. This is one of the most disappointing versions of "The Messiah" I have heard in a long time.

This is a great recording!.......2000-02-11

I was really surprised with the new that the Messiah's New World premiere was held at Trinity Church in October 1770, twenty-eight years after it was written. This fact only will make one proud in having this CD among his collection.

Anyhow, this is nothing more than a historic detail and would not count if this recording had not an outstanding first-rate ensemble of singers. Without doubt there is no definitive version of Messiah. Each one has its own distinctive touch and feeling and exploring it is always a pleasant journey through imagination.

As stated by the conductor: "we must concede that performing Messiah with twenty singers and an appropriately balanced instrumental ensemble represents, at best, an imperfect comprimise", it will be easy to understand that this recording does not stand among the greatest and will probably carry some imperfections. I will mention two that kind of disppointed me a little bit. The Overture and the Chorus Worthy is the Lamb, for some reason misses the habitual vigor and strenght. Everything else is great and this is definitely a worth buying.

I Got No Kick Against Modern Jazz: A Grp Artist's Celebration of the Songs of the Beatles
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I Got No Kick Against Modern Jazz: A Grp Artist's Celebration of the Songs of the Beatles

Manufacturer: GRP Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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