Wheels

Bryn Terfel - Something Wonderful (Bryn Terfel sings Rodgers & Hammerstein)
Bryn Terfel - Simple Gifts
Bryn Terfel - If Ever I Would Leave You (Songs from My Fair Lady, On a Clear Day, Camelot, The Little Prince, Brigadoon)
Bryn Terfel Sings Favorites
Bryn Terfel - Opera Arias / MET, Levine

ASIN: B000088E7D
Release Date: 2003-02-11

Tracks:

"Not While I'm Around" (from Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim)
"Moonfall" (from The Mystery of Edwin Drood by R. Holmes)
"I Don't Remember You The Happy Tim" and "Sometimes a Day Goes By" (from Woman of the Year by Kander & Ebb)
"All the Love I Have" (from The Beautiful Game by Ben Elton & Andrew Lloyd Webber)
"I Wish I Could Forget You / Loving You" (from Passion by Stephen Sondheim)
"Stars" (from Les Misirables by Boublil & Schvnberg)
"All I Ask of You" (from The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber)
"Hello, Young Lovers" (from The King and I by Rodgers & Hammerstein)
"Pretty Women" (from Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim)
"Aimer" (from Romio et Juliette by Presgurvic)
"All the Wasted Time" (from Parade by J. Brown)
"Seventy-Six Trombones" (from The Music Man by Willson)
"How Could I Ever Know" (from The Secret Garden by Simon and Norman)
"So In Love" (from Kiss Me Kate by Cole Porter)
"Wheels Of a Dream" (from Ragtime by Ahrens & Flaherty)

Amazon.com

In these days of the crossover, it is hardly surprising to find two great opera singers making a foray into numbers from Broadway musicals by such composers as Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim, and Andrew Lloyd Webber. What's remarkable is that they seem completely at home in this music. Both say they grew up listening to it, and indeed they approach these songs with no less care and seriousness than they'd give the most demanding operatic arias, and without a trace of condescension. However, their vocal, expressive, and interpretive styles are very different, both in the solos and the duets. Terfel projects assertive manliness, tender, intimate affection, and rollicking humor without external effects, using only his incomparably sonorous voice and powerful personality. His diction is impeccably clear, and though he has sometimes let his theatrical flair spill over into Schubert songs, he is the soul of simplicity here. This is in stark contrast to Fleming's tendency to exaggerate colors and dynamics and to turn sentiment into sentimentality. Moreover, though she claims a background as a jazz singer, her "crooning" sounds artificial and unnatural. However, her top notes, culminating in a triumphant high C at the end of the final number, ring gloriously. Her voice glows and shimmers with irresistible luster, soaring from seductive whispers to thrilling climaxes. The program features a great variety of love songs, and includes an antiwar protest (from Beautiful Game), a celebration of the American dream (from Ragtime), and a rousing fun piece (from The Music Man). Unfortunately, even the best songs are marred by thoroughly corny arrangements. Listeners will find their own favorites, but the real "stars" on this record are the two singers. --Edith Eisler

Customer Reviews:

Delightful .......2006-07-24

I truly enjoy Terfel's vocal talent and found it to be well suited for this genre. Fleming's impeccable soprano voice is a bit overpowering for this style of music. (I own this CD)

A Master Class in Singing.......2006-06-20

This CD is a must-have for any person interested in the singing art. Ms. Fleming and Mr. Terfel gives new light to these Musical Theatre classics. Their fine vocalism in the musical theatre genre coupled with the depth of musicality and dramatic phrasing in each of the selections is truly a breath of fresh air. This recording is indeed a Master Class!

Bryn is swell, but the bombast is annoying.......2006-05-03

Love Bryn Terfel, the finest bass-baritone in Opera. Love Renee Fleming's luscious soprano. But the arrangements! Kettle drums and bombast and bang, bang, bang! Once Renee starts swooping, things go downhill, with little redemption.

It starts out beautifully. "Not While I'm Around" has never sounded more intimate to me than Terfel's caressing pianissimo. Fleming's "Moonglow" is stunningly good. Terfel makes a medley out of "I Don't Remember You and Sometimes a Day Goes By" that makes you want to cheer, and Fleming does a lovely Sondheim medley as well. Bryn sings "Stars" and makes me long for him in Les Mis. And then...things tend to go downhill. The bombast takes over and gets to you - it overwhelms two of the biggest voices now recording. Then Fleming begins to swoop and scoop, over-coloring and often coming off as simply self-indulgent, reminding one of a kid who makes a point of putting his face in a camera shot.

I don't mind Bryn as Prof. Harold Hill - I frankly think the Welsh accent is kinda cute - and it doesn't bother me on "Wheels of Dream," either, but Fleming seems to have lost her mind on that great song, and rather than indulging her, it would have simply been better left off the album. Ditto "All that Wasted Time" which is pretty much unlistenable. Ms. Fleming needs to stop thinking she is a jazz singer.

The four stars are because this album does contain some truly GLORIOUS moments, particularly in the duets, and in Terfel's solo's which are warm and memorable. Without him, the kettle drums and Fleming's self-indulgence would have made the whole endeavor unbearable.

Surprisingly Fine Crossover from Fleming and Terfel.......2006-04-18

Bryn Terfel and Renee Fleming are two of the most acclaimed opera singers of our day. But the musical theatre fan who puts on their Broadway CD, RENEE AND BRYN: UNDER THE STARS, expecting to hear a carelessly compiled hodgepodge of songs sung by voices ill-suited to them is in for a big surprise, beginning with the first phrases of the duo's warmly sung "Not While I'm Around" from SWEENEY TODD. True, these singers' beautiful voices have greater power and range than even the best of the Broadway stars', but this is an asset in these songs, most of which are either semi-operatic in nature or call (like THE MUSIC MAN's "Seventy-Six Trombones") for such an outsize personality as Terfel's. Fleming's sensuous and tonally gorgeous rendition of "Moonfall" from THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD can be placed among her very finest recordings, operatic and otherwise. And Terfel is ideally suited to both "Pretty Women" from SWEENEY TODD and "Stars" from LES MISERABLES; few if any Broadway Javerts could match the impact of his "This I swear by the stars!" Kander and Ebb's "I Don't Remember You" and "Sometimes a Day Goes By" make a perfect medley here, as do Sondheim's "I Wish I Could Forget You" and "Loving You" from PASSION. And though I don't care for the Andrew Lloyd Webber selections (ersatz Puccini) or the Jason Robert Brown one (which sounds too much like a pop song), Terfel and Fleming's singing of them is beyond reproach. The program ends with a bang: a rendition of "Wheels of a Dream" worthy to stand beside the now-classic one by Brian Stokes Mitchell and Audra McDonald on the original cast album of RAGTIME. Welshman Terfel's natural accent is noticeable here; but if one imagines him as, say, an Irish immigrant married to an African-American woman (as Fleming here sounds uncannily like McDonald or like Leontyne Price) his accent is appropriate and his voicing of the "bridge" section ("Oh Sarah, it's more than promises/Sarah, it must be true...") especially moving. Fleming's ecstatic final high note makes one want to applaud and cheer, both for the song and for the successful "crossover" effort.

BREATHTAKING VOCAL MAGNIFICENCE~BRAVO!!!.......2004-10-11

So captivating are these incredible singers in the glorious live concert "Under The Stars" creating an unforgettable musical masterpiece of epic proportions that is so moving and great to watch that I ran out and purchased this studio recorded Compact Disc the next day!! The brilliance of the live broadcast carried over into the recording studio capturing Renee and Bryn at the peak of their incredible powers emotionally and vocally making them the most effective crossover artists since the great Barbara Cook who like Miss Cook sing with emotion that is accurate for this type of material which is usually not the case with classical voices. Renee Fleming sings with genuine passion and stirring emotions and her timing is absolutely flawless and this lady has alot of soul and the Torrie Zito arranged "Moonfall" is a stunning masterpiece that clearly illustrates this. A dazzling medley each show both singers in glorious peak form with Bryn splendid in the enchanting "I Don't Remember You/Sometimes A Day Goes By" and Renee spellbinding and haunting in the gorgeous "I Wish I Could Forget You/Loving You" which will make anyone who loves a great voice fall in love with this amazingly gifted singer. "Stars" features a commanding performance from Bryn that raises the roof and this is so refreshing and inspired in these musically tired times!!! This superb showcase is full of wonderfully exciting performances which are capable of making people feel again and this is what is sorely needed in music today and BRAVO to Bryn Terfel and the gorgeous Renee Fleming for achieving this with complete artistic brilliance. Captivating duets fill this wonderous collection and never have classics such as "Not While I'm Around" or "All I Ask Of You" been sung more brilliantly than here. Renee is magical with "Hello, Young Lovers" while Bryn is commanding and winning with "Pretty Women". Renee's stunning "All The Wasted Time" is a vocal and emotional tour-de-force that is like a wild roller-coaster ride that you won't want to end as this is one of the most riveting songs that I have ever heard from a Broadway score and this certainly must be the definitive performance of this great song. This lady can really really sing and this is some deeply serious singing~WOW!!! Gorgeous together again in the beautiful "How Could I Ever Know" which is hair-raising and wonderfully soulful and sophisicated together in Cole Porter's "So In Love". A grand finale by these two awesome vocal wonders lives up to expectations being a complete blowout vocal festival and they definitely do not disappoint here!!! "Wheels Of A Dream" is mesmerizing and soars to magnificent heights with Bryn and Renee in peak form singing to the skies and hitting notes that I swear I have never heard before~BRAVO!!!!!!! You are both magically inspired and simply put as good as it gets!!!! Highly recommended if you love two awesome vocal wonders at their absolute peak in a magnificent beautifully orchestrated setting!!! Thank you Bryn & Renee...

Average customer rating:

METAL
Classic British METAL!!!!!
it cost me $30 at a cd store, but it was worth it
STAND UP
Forever a classic-this album will never age

Wheels of Steel
Saxon
Manufacturer: Caroline
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

New Wave | New Wave & Post-Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

British Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Hard Rock & Metal | Imports | Stores | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Denim and Leather
Strong Arm of the Law
Power & the Glory
Saxon
Crusader

ASIN: B000005RTD
Release Date: 1998-11-17

Tracks:

Motorcycle Man
Stand Up And Be Counted
747 (Strangers In The Night)
Wheels Of Steel
Freeway Mad
See The Light Shining
Street Fighting Gang
Suzie Hold On
Machine Gun

Customer Reviews:

METAL.......2007-01-09

This is an example of a band that played pure heavy metal without copying IRON MAIDEN. Yes, every goddamn heavy metal band in the 80's copied IRON MAIDEN. Examples? LIEGE LORD, FATES WARNING, GRIM REAPER, HELLOWEEN, etc.
SAXON, instead, had their own style, and Wheels of Steel is a great piece of heavy metal!

Classic British METAL!!!!!.......2004-12-10

Saxon's "Wheels of Steel" was my introduction into saxon and NWOBHM era bands. I really have to say that this album was mindblowing! it blew the windows out of my house, Saxon really knew what true heavy metal was! This is an alternitive to other british metal bands like def leppard, iron maiden and judas preist that have been consumed by the commercail sickness and have had been repeating the same formula for over 20 years. Saxon is all out kick @$$ metal. the first track of the album will get you right in the action,"motorcycle man" is a fast paced rocker simular to deep purple "highway star" but much heavier. other mentionables include "747,stangerinthenight" which is about a 747 low on gas with no place to land. the title track is a mid paced heavy tune that is pretty good but can get repeatative with its lyrics at time. "freeway mad" is another fast driving song like"motorcycle" is. my favorite song on the album "see the light shining" is probably the center piece of the album, words can't describe it, must listen. "street fighting gang" is a awesome song as well. this is one of the best heavy rock albums i'v listend to, i espessicaly like pete gills druming techniques on this one, he is a solid time keeper and has some interesting double bass techniques as well. and as always i love paul quinns guitar tone as with any saxon album. awesome disc...

SAXON RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it cost me $30 at a cd store, but it was worth it.......2004-10-15

this was the first saxon album i ever got, years before i got this i have heard of saxon, and even knew one or two of there songs, but i could never find any of there cds,and whenever i would mention a band called "saxon" people would look at me dumbfounded. i found a saxon album finally and this was it, (...) i decided to bite the bullit because it was the last copy and i always wanted to get into saxon. i really loved this album, its better than anything by any well known american band (kiss, aerosmith, metallica, van halen). i guess saxon was never a big band in america, they were definatly more popular in the u.k. and europe. you could really call saxon a band for real metalheads, no one who causally listens to metal would know of them. i would reccomend you find this one.

STAND UP.......2002-01-26

Stand up and be counted! One of two discs that I definitely declare must haves by Saxon, the other being Strong Arm of the Law. Much music is meant to be played loud, roaring down the road in your car. Wheels of Steel is one of those albums. From "Motorcycle Man" to "Machine Gun" this discs races from begining to end. The intensity never lets up!

My favorites are "747" and "Freeway Mad", but there is nothing to scoff at here. Discover why Saxon still draws crowds to their live shows with this masterpiece of metal. This is a great start up disc for those who don't know Saxon, although I would suggest spending the extra couple bucks and get the Wheels of Steel/Strong Arm compilation. You will pat yourself on the back for such genius and some lady in leather might just love you for it!

Forever a classic-this album will never age.......2000-06-11

This album is that rarest of things- a truly 5 star album.Look , just buy it ,alright?

Songs of Free Men/ A Paul Robeson Recital

Average customer rating:

Robeson on wax
The voice, the sound quality and the interpretation
A Voice from the 40s, often dated, often moving
Robeson at his best
some of the greatest songs of the last century

Songs of Free Men/ A Paul Robeson Recital

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Gospel | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Baritones | Voices | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Traditional Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

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

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

Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Paul Robeson Live at Carnegie Hall
Ballad for Americans
Ol' Man River: His 25 Greatest
Paul Robeson - Here I Stand
Spirituals

ASIN: B0000029YJ
Release Date: 1997-12-09

Tracks:

Balm in Gilead
Chassidic Chant
Quiet Flows The Don: From Border To Border
Quiet Flows The Don: Oh, How Proud Our Quiet Don
Elijah, Op. 70: The Lord God Of Abraham
The Purest Kind Of Guy
Joe Hill
The Peat-Bog Soldiers
The Four Insurgent Generals
Native Land
Song Of The Plains
Cradle Song
Within Four Walls
By An' By
Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child
John Henry
Water Boy
My Curly Headed Baby
Mah Lindy Lou
Wagon Wheels
The House I Live In
Showboat: I Still Suits Me
Sylvia
Showboat: Ol' Man River
Porgy And Bess: It Ain't Necessarily So

Amazon.com

There was nothing like the Robeson sound, ever. To describe his deep, rich, perfectly equalized instrument is futile. Go instead to "Balm in Gilead," the opening track, and see if you can listen to the last pianissimo phrase without falling to pieces. Robeson was at his best when the music was slow and the words contained spiritual or social messages. Faster, lighter fare like Kern's "I Still Suits Me" or Gershwin's "It Ain't Necessarily So" find the serious-minded singer out of his element, lacking irony and swing. "Old Man River," though, gets a simple, dignified treatment. It's Songs of Free Men, though, that will just keep Robeson's artistry rolling along, especially in Sony's astonishing transfers. --Jed Distler

Customer Reviews:

Robeson on wax.......2007-06-19

I found this album in a thrift store last week, for a couple of dollars. It's the original pressing on four 78 RPM records, in a gatefold format. It's in pristine condition. I really bought it for the incredible cover art, although I hope to be able to listen to it in this format at some point.

The voice, the sound quality and the interpretation.......2004-09-24

Put this on your stereo and if it is good enough the depth and richness of Robeson's voice will make your fillings rattle and your chest rumble. The power of his voice is awesome. This CD is superbly recorded with no audible noise at normal listening levels.

A Voice from the 40s, often dated, often moving.......2002-09-01

"Red diaper babies" have greeted this disc with nostalgic joy, and it captures a time and an aesthetic and a political belief with precision. Anyone interested in the emotional life of the pro-Soviet left of the 1940s should buy this disc. It's something like Henry Wallace set to music. There is much more to Robeson than that, however, and Sony has given us Robeson whole: there are songs by American masters of the musical, there are labor songs, religious songs, as well as the kind of faux-folk songs which the butcher supreme Josef Stalin encouraged and which were not taken seriously inside the USSR (except at gunpoint!!) but which were taken up by dupes around the world. This is Robeson at his least savory - willing propagandist for a vile mass murderer. Songs such as "Native Land" (fittingly, Robeson is referring to the Soviet Union) and the Red Army song are the equivalent of the "Horst Wessel Song", anthems of murder, and it is difficult to listen to the worst of them without retching. On the other hand, Robeson's commitment to American folk culture was real. "Balm in Gilead" is deeply beautiful; "John Henry" is heroic; "By an' By" is both resigned yet hopeful. "Joe Hill" captures an era in labor history. Anyone interested in American popular song should hear these. Turning to Broadway, his "Old Man River" is very fine, though Robeson changed the lyrics for political reasons and Leonard Warren has done the song better. I disagree with the editorial reviewer: "I Still Suits Me" is wonderfully playful and shows Robeson using his gorgeously rich voice to tease and poke fun. However, Marc Blitzstein's "Purest Kind of a Guy" is beyond saving - another example of Robeson recording an unworthy song by a political fellow-traveller. Ugh. But for every miss there are two hits. Robeson performs Mendelssohn's Elijah with nobility, and sings his favorite song, "Water Boy", with joyous pride: "There ain't no hammer that's on these mountains that rings like mine, boys, that rings like mine."
No one need have any fears about the mono sound quality. The orchestra in the second half of the program is at times a little dwarfed by Robeson's voice, but it generally sounds clean and colorful, and the great artist's voice rings like no other.

Robeson at his best.......2000-05-12

It's hard to believe that most of these recordings pre-date the advent of magnetic tape: the CD transfer is superlative. The songs and performance are beyond reproach. Notable is the imaginative packaging in miniature 'record album' format, complete with the original cover art, and a replica of the original Columbia record label applied to the CD.

In response to a previous question: Robeson's performance of Danny Boy (Londonderry Air) can be found on the Vanguard LP entitled "Robeson" (VRS-9037).

some of the greatest songs of the last century.......2000-05-05

In the 1940s, before rabid McCarthyism and racism had taken its toll on him, Robeson made these wonderful recordings of spirituals, classics and pop tunes. Accompanied by the solo piano of the incomparable Lawrence Brown, or by an orchestra, the songs ring out with pride, dignity, skill and unmatched integrity. The shameful treatment that Robeson was subject to from American authorities certainly seem grotesquely absurd to a modern listener. The wonderful version of "The House I Live In" included on this cd should forever kill off any suspicion that Robeson did not love his country deeply. This album ought to be heard by millions of people, world wide. Robeson's voice is nothing less than a glorious high point in 20th century music, and it's hard to think of any recording capturing it to greater advantage.

Music: