Watching the Water

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
New Jam band, Groove.Org has a cool crisp sound. Psychedlic funk, organic grooves....Members of this band have a lot of varied influences, world music, jazz, rock, country, R&B, alternative rock, fusion...you can hear it in songs like Somewhere New or Fox Prints. Slow grooves, contemporary....Keyboardist Vince Welnick (Grateful Dead & The Tubes) also makes an appearance as well as jazz dudes John R Burr & Larry De La Cruz + violinist Jim Hurley. Listening to The Rave will give you a good idea of what this group sounds like and for those Beatles fans...check out this jam.

Tracks:

Pictured Within
Wait A While
Sitting In A Dream
Love Is All
Via Miami
That's Why God Is Singing The Blues
Take It Off The Top
Wring That Neck
Pictures Of Home

Tracks:

Concerto For Group And Orchestra - Movement I
Concerto For Group And Orchestra - Movement II
Concerto For Group And Orchestra - Movement III
Ted The Mechanic
Watching The Sky
Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming
Smoke On The Water

Amazon.com

Deep Purple was the first band to note that heavy metal and classical music share a certain deluded grandeur and attempted to combine the two. While what resulted--specifically, their Concerto for Group and Orchestra--was pretty fearful stuff, it did, for better or for worse, pave the way for a generation of classically influenced heavy-rock bands: King Crimson, Yes, and Queen, among others. The concerto on this live CD appears alongside a bunch of the Purple's more genteel songs they played at the Royal Albert Hall, a show that celebrated their 30th anniversary of their first appearance there. Ian Gillan, who can still do a creditable impression of a bomber revving for takeoff, shares vocals with Ronnie James Dio and Sam Brown. --Andrew Mueller

Album Description

Recorded live at two sold out shows at the Royal Albert Hall on September 25 and 26, 1999, which were benefits for the Nordoff-Robbins Trust. Two disc set contains almost the entire concert which featured the 80 piece London Symphony Orchestra and special guests Ronnie James Dio, Sam Brown and Eddie Hardin. 1999 release. Double slimline jewecase.

Album Details

Strictly limited numbered tour edition. Contains a Steve Morse track, tour poster & screensaver (live pictures).

Customer Reviews:

A must see.......2007-03-11

Even if you are not a Deep Purple fan this one is worth the investment. Whilst a little of the visual could be improved it's all there and the audio is of good quality. Butterfly Ball is a real hoot and if you don't enjoy that then you don't like music!
I reall contrast to the 1969 version of the Concertos where the conductor atually enjoys the whole experience.
Go for it!

I was VERY disappointed..........2003-08-12

The Amazon reviewer was right: the first several songs on CD 1 was very laid back, reminding me of Division-Bell-Era Pink Floyd. (Boring!) Didn't hear drums until the third or fourth track, then it was ANYTHING but rock beats. What made S & M so great is that Metallica didn't write BALLADS or NOVELTY SONGS for their production: they rocked on with what they had on hand. Deep Purple wrote some of the hardest rocking songs in the R&R/Heavy Metal library (Mandrake Root, Space Truckin, Child in Time), and so it's MHO that they should have employed them as orchestra pieces: overall, they should have rocked the whole time.

Of course, Steve Morse was an odd substitute for Richie Blackmore, but stalwarts Ian Gillian and Jon Lord was in good form that night. The record doesn't start consistently rocking until WRING THAT NECK at the end of CD 1. (Kind of thinking about it, I would have liked to wring the necks of those who made the decisions to program and preserve this somewhat idiotic concert...ha, just kidding.)

On CD 2, I thought the concerto was pretty well executed (esp. the first movement) and the last couple songs on the album (esp Ted the Mechanic and Smoke on the Water) were well orchestrated and played. I guess I would give this album 4 stars if they only released CD2 and lowered the price.

no it is not true, this band is great.......2002-09-26

the reviewers below dont know what would they say,......this cd is a remake of concerto for group orchestra what the band did in 1969. the place took in the royal albert hall london 1999. I saw the performance in germany 2000 with the george enescu orchestra.
The result is amazing,...buy the cd!

Go Back To MACHINEHEAD!.......2002-09-22

This is NOT Deep Purple nor was the experience I had listening to them in concert (Summer 2002) -Nashville. This is a watered- down version of one of the best bands to ever grace the planet.Dio is a great vocalist and "smoked" them live in Nashville. Steve Morse is a great guitarist but his bluesy rendition of the poweful rhythm guitar parts in Smoke On the Water were a joke! ... your instrumental that was a question mark for the new album was the best thing I heard that night!! ... Dio and the Scorpions were great!

a reviewer from canton massachusetts.......2001-10-29

not worth the money! just because your a fan of steve morse,dosn't mean that your also a fan of d p. here they jumped on the trendy band wagon like yngwie,kansas scorpion,etc.i paid twice the amount as the regular cd for stress fest xtra tracks only to here i xtra song,thatwasn't even written by steve.here,it's almost the same situation.the only true s m .song,is t i o a t p.how many times does he have to re-record this and play it exactly like in 1978.i wish that s m would go back to doing solo work.his music was as interessting as george lynch,satch,vai,etc.i gave this 2 stars because i like steve,but that dosn't necessarilly mean that i like orchestra music,or deep purple.

Average customer rating:

An Excellent Sampler, and the Best Place to Start
Michael Nyman RULES !
Sensations mosaic
Good start to meet Nyman
The Emperor's New Music

The Essential Michael Nyman Band
Michael Nyman , Sarah Leonard , Linda Hirst , Clare Conners , and David Roach
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

The Very Best of Michael Nyman - Film Music 1980-2001
Drowning By Numbers (1987 Film)
A Zed And Two Noughts: Original Music From The Film By Peter Greenaway
Wonderland 1999 Film Score
The Kiss & Other Movements

ASIN: B000004CVW
Release Date: 1993-01-19

Tracks:

The Draughtsman's Contract: Chasing Sheep Is Best Left To Shepherds
The Draghtsman's Contract: An Eye For Optical Theory
The Draughtsman's Contract: The Garden Is Becoming A Robe Room
A Zed And Two Noughts: Prawn - watching
A Zed And Two Noughts: Time Lapse
Drowning By Numbers: Fish Beach
Drowning By Numbers: Wheelbarrow Walk
Drowning By Numbers: Knowing The Ropes
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover: Miserere Paraphrase
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover: Memorial
Water Dances: Stroking - Synchronising
Prospero's Books: Miranda

Customer Reviews:

An Excellent Sampler, and the Best Place to Start.......2006-01-24

If you're unfamiliar with Nyman and want a broad overview of his best work, I'd start here. I actually WORE OUT a copy of this and recently bought another. When it arrived, I played it over and over-- Nyman's almost creepily insistent and precise compositions will appeal to those who appreciate minimalism and repetition in the music of other composers such as John Adams, Steve Reich, Michael Torke, and Philip Glass.

Michael Nyman RULES !.......2004-07-22

I thought there was nothing beyond Philip Glass, Steve Reich or John Adams. Suddenly, for some strange reason I bought this CD. It far exceeded my expectations.

Nyman is a excelent composer, his music is fast-paced, joyful and delicious.

I recomend this CD for anyone who is looking for a great minimalist composer.

Sensations mosaic.......2004-03-31

Today I was talking with a friend about the rainbow of feelings "Memorial" awakes in my mind. I consider this song like the exact opposite of easy-listening music, a feeling catalyst, a vehicle that can raise you to the sky and gradually take you to the deepest level in hell. As derrotista said, it is perfect to describe the meaning of a word like "death", but more than that, with an inevitability emphasis.

The rest of the compilation also honors the meaning of intensity. No one song in this disc will let your attention go away from the sensations mosaic this record constructs. Highly recommended.

Good start to meet Nyman.......2004-03-05

I was a great enthusiast of new age and minimalist music in the early 90's, when I was still a teenager. I had this as one of my favourite albums and today I consider it one of my best purchases.

Ten years later, Nyman is recognised as one of the biggest composers of late XXth century. In part with the astonishing soundtrack of "The Piano". But I think this "Essential" album has more to offer to you.

Of course, my favourite is "Memorial". It is the most tragic music I have ever listened. It's a perfect track to describe what a word like "death" can mean. "Miserere Paraphrase" is the definition of another simple word: "pain".

Some other tracks are the purity of minimalism: "Knowing the Ropes", "Chasing Sheep is best left to Shepherds", "Wheelbarrow Walk" and "The Garden is Becoming a Robe Room" are of my favourites.

Why am I not giving it five stars? The reason: "Prospero's Books: Miranda". It is a bad way to end this album. Almost the whole album is devoted to Greenaway films: "The Draughtsman Contract", "The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover", "A Zed and Two Noughts" and "Drowning by Numbers" and the referred "Prospero's Books". The only track not belonging to a film is Stroking-Synchronising, from "Water Dances" album. This is a tremendous composition and should be the great finale for this album. "Miranda" is a dull and not creative composition, which Nyman doesn't have to be proud of it: it is too complex, too changing and breaks with the minimalist spirit. I also think the soprano and the mezzo don't play a "serious" part.

But of course, it has an honour place in my discography.

The Emperor's New Music.......2002-04-11

A lot of people seem to love this guy and I just don't see why. I find it dull, intellectual (in the most pejorative sense) and defines what's wrong with a lot of "post-modernism" in music today. This guy doesn't write tunes as much as he writes concepts of tunes. The music fails to connect on an emotional level and fails to be interesting enough in purely intellectual terms to compensate for it's emotional hollowness. His craft seems a bit lacking too- filled with the trappings of minimalism without the basic musical values such as memorable melodies, logical harmony and innovative form that make a composer such as John Adams worth listening to. His often odd choices of orchestration tend to strike one as merely grotesque rather than imaginative. I'm afraid that Michael Nyman is a musical poseur and it's a shame that so many people have bought into his brand of soulless artifice.
Not recommended.