Passion Play

Editorial Reviews
About the Artist
Katy Carr heralds the arrival of a fresh & unique talent. An eccentric and eclectic collection of sensual & sexy penned songs delivered with verve & humour.

Album Description
Passion Play is a sensuous ten song musing upon the highs & lows of life namely love, death, drugs, alcohol, sex, ambition and highway men.

Katy conjures a magical world of cruising sexual predators, interstellar relationships, religious junkies & erotic vampires.

Tracks:

A Passion Play - Part 1
A Passion Play - Part 2

Amazon.com essential recording

Having previously challenged their audience with the lengthy opus Thick as a Brick, Jethro Tull went back to the concept-album for the even more difficult A Passion Play. The sometimes impenetrable work is part biblical allegory, part postmodern epic poem, and part psychedelic fairy tale. Such were the machinations of 1970s prog rock. The music mixes rock, English folk, and neoclassical material, an amalgamation that somehow hangs together. Reviled by critics when it was first released, A Passion Play has been redeemed over time thanks to the devotion of Tull fans, for whom it has always been an essential work. --Daniel Durchholz

Amazon.com

Following quickly on the heels of their career-defining Aqualung and Thick as a Brick, Ian Anderson's Jethro Tull demonstrated that their musical and thematic ambitions were as muscular as ever on 1973's Passion Play. But if Thick was a bit tongue in cheek about its conceptual conceits, Passion was a dizzying example of the prog-rock era's overweening musical aspirations at their zenith. Anderson now sums up it its obtuse, theater-as-metaphor libretto as "the theme of post-death meanderings in another world," but the sheer propulsive tension of Tull's sprawling musical interplay insures its folk-rooted baroque and roll a tight orbit around this mortal coil for nearly the album's entirety. This digitally remastered, enhanced CD edition features the complete video for the album's Lewis Carroll-esque interlude "The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles," a theatrical program and typically self-effacing new introduction by Ian Anderson. --Jerry McCulley

Album Description

Digitally remastered reissue of 1973 album includes the enhanced bonus track 'The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles' & theatre programme (enhanced section taken from the album 25 Years Of Jethro Tull Longform VHS video release). Includes liner notes written by Ian Anderson. Chrysalis. 2003.

Album Details

Remastered Reissue of their 1973 Classic. Includes Enhanced Bonus Video Track of "The Story of the Hare who Lost his Spectacles".

Customer Reviews:

terrible tull!.......2007-05-11

This is the most disjointed record I have ever heard. No cohesivness whatsoever. Just when you think It can't get any worse, they throw in a nursery ryme to make things really entertaining. A big Tull throwaway!

The most underappreciated album in Tull's career up to 1973.......2007-04-12

Jethro Tull's sixth studio album entitled A Passion Play was released in July of 1973.
1973 was seen as the peak of prog commercially as ELP released Brain Salad Surgery, Genesis gave us Selling England By the Pound, Yes gave us both the classic live Yessongs and the derided Tales From Topographic Oceans and Pink Floyd unleashed their arguable classic Dark Side of the Moon.
Also that year, Jethro Tull gave us A Passion Play. The album came to be by accident. You see, initially they were to record an album full of shorter songs at Chateau D'Herouville in France but the band was not happy with the sound so the aborted the sessions (three of those tracks would appear on 1974's War Child whilst the rest of the album would emerge as disc one of the rarities set Nightcap).
Then lead singer/songwriter/flute player Ian Anderson, guitarist Martin Barre, keyboard player John Evan, bass player Jeffrey Hammond and drummer Barriemore Barlow went to Morgan Studios in London to begin work on the proper follow-up to their 1972 album Thick As a Brick (which consisted of ONE 43 minue song which was split into two halves to accomodate the record format).
Like TAAB, A Passion Play was an album length song but unlike its predecessor was mainly a dark album with some humor (or as the British call it "light and shade") throughout.
The album was the jazziest in musical terms that Tull had recorded up until 1973. The piece was more of a jazzy hard rock than its predecessor. The album saw Ian Anderson utilize more saxophones to his arsenal of instruments (in addition to his usual flute and acoustic guitar and had used some saxophones on Thick as a Brick). Also, John Evan added more synthesizers to the mix. There are plenty of great musical and lyrical passages. The lyrics were some of the darkest Ian Anderson had written to date save for the song's middle section.
The section in particular is called The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles. This is hilarious, especially if you watch the accompanying film on the enhanced part of the CD and/or the concert footage. All I can think of when I hear this is a lost Looney Tunes cartoon with Monty Python-esque humor.
Then the rest of the piece is just as good, if not better, than the first half.
A Passion Play, like TAAB, hit #1 on the Billboard album chart. However, its success was short-lived as opposed to TAAB (and even Aqualung and successors War Child, Minstrel in the Gallery, Songs From the Wood and even Crest of a Knave) and was what led the way for punk to become the rage according to rock critics in the mid-1970s (although punk would not hit commercial popularity here in the US until the 1990s, long after critics raved about it).
In 2003, the album was re-released as a remastered CD and sounds excellent.
RECOMMENDED!

Seminal work.......2007-04-03

A Passion Play is , by far , the best album the Tull ever recorded , and would have been the best album I have listened to in my life , had it not been for the Soft machine's " Third" ( although sometimes I'm still in doubt which one is the best ) .
The complexity of rhythms and textures , the incredible technique of the band's members , the immaginative , yet somehow obscure lyrics , the wittiness and the elegance of the arrangements have indeed no parallel in the "rock" universe. Closer to Bach than rock , it may appear a bit difficult at first , but is allways rewarding and revealing with repeated listenings. I , at least , have been listening to it , continuously over the past 34 years and still am amazed at the genious of Ian Anderson. I even enjoy the "Story of the Hare who lost his spectacles" as the orchestration is clever and leans more to the classical side of things .

"Invest your life in the memory bank.".......2007-03-23

Jethro Tull decided to contiune the idea of the concept album by following 1972's Thick As A Brick with the equally complex A Passion Play. Released in the summer of 1973, it was just behind the arrival of Pink Floyd's classic Dark Side of the Moon LP, and was striving for the same kind of innovative style that most progressive rock groups were trying to experiment with at the time. Pink Floyd's release faired much better in the long run and turned out to be a much stronger album. A Passion Play rose to #1 on the album charts, but soon became forgotten. The album sort of strectched the imagination with thoughts of life, death, and the afterlife with some references to the second coming of God("Man of passion rise again we won't cross you out"). Much of the lyrics are of a poetic and biblical nature, while questioning the purpose of God's existence in one of the story's best parts as is posed, "Tell us is it you who are here for our good cheer, or are we here for the story, for the glory, for the gory satisfaction of telling you how absolutely awful you really are?" Where as Pink Floyd fused rock with the blues, Jethro Tull were likely attempting a softened jazz sound as they blended the harder progressive rock with the folk rock style they always played with from the early days. The musical tones and melodies change throughout the album, leaving the listener never knowing what to expect next. Ian Anderson's flute solos are as dynamic as ever and always helped to give Jethro Tull it's uniqueness. But is this also a confusing piece of rock history? Many listeners who first purchased this album back then felt so, and had many fans questioning at the time what the group was trying to accomplish with an album they found to be much weaker than Thick As A Brick. I'd say this is one of those releases were each person is going to form their own individual opinion. Consider this an album you will either love or hate because Jethro Tull made it clear that sometimes life has no in between.

Pleasant Romp Through Heaven @ Hell..Neither Am I Good Nor Bad.......2007-03-11

There comes a time when artistic favours are granted selling artists by their record companies and by fans who savor with patience the great expectations they anticipate by some of their musical heroes.
a Passion Play, an extremely sophisticated rock musical statement for it's day was one of those albums that critics despised but fans loved.
There is no excess as each note flows seamlessly into the next..taken as a whole, as intended to be, The Passion Play, coming after thick As A Brick Ian Anderson explains in this really great remaster was to be an "similarly upbeat concept album" that turned he explains into a "darker set of tunes".
The darkness fuses into lightness, as does lightness into dark throughout the CD,as the seriousness of the subject matter of repentance hearkens back to the unconscious fantasy world (see the attached video selection) meanderings as in the "story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles" that then pushes forward into familiar Tull styles of jazzy soundscapes, brilliant accoustic sections of guitar and flute,as well as fierce (and to my ears) some of the most tuneful hard hitting music Tull recorded as evident as on the "Summoned by name I am/the overseer section on Part 2.
Intellectual musings aside, one is advised if interested to research for historical background purposes the original Passion Play and it's controveries that graced European playhouses at the time and for a more serious study look into the poetry of Goethe and Schiller as to their takes on the introvert and extrovert, the basic theme of The Passion Play and the reconciliation and balance of the two....anyway, this "Faustian" as ever Passion Play goes on and the steady mix of classical folk, gorgeous melody, fierce rock hooks makes this concept one song album, one eclectic piece of music that seams together into a whole quite nicely. A rare gem.

Average customer rating:

didn't play
Love Without Reason
I have got two defective Passion CD!!
Goregous Operetta
Original and Powerful Stuff

Passion (1994 Original Broadway Cast)
Stephen Sondheim , Donna Murphy , and Marin Mazzie
Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

Contemporary Musicals | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

A Little Night Music (1973 Original Broadway Cast)
Anyone Can Whistle (1964 Original Broadway Cast)
Follies (Highlights from the 1971 Original Broadway Cast)
Stephen Sondheim's Passion (Original Broadway Cast)
Company - A Musical Comedy (1970 Original Broadway Cast)

ASIN: B000002SLC
Release Date: 2002-11-19

Tracks:

Happiness
First Letter
Second Letter
Third Letter
Fourth Letter
I Read
Transition
Garden Sequence
Transition
Trio
Transition
I Wish I Could Forget You
Soldiers' Gossip
Flashback
Sunrise Letter
Is This What You Call Love?
Soldiers' Gossip
Transition
Forty Days
Loving You
Transition
Soldiers' Gossip
Farewell Letter
No One Has Ever Loved Me
Finale

Amazon.com

Based on the Italian movie Passione d'amore, Stephen Sondheim's Passion is a story of obsessive love. Giorgio (Jere Shea), a soldier, and Clara (Marin Mazzie), a woman with a husband and child, are deeply in love, but their idyllic happiness is disrupted when Giorgio is transferred to another post. Here, he meets Signora Fosca (Donna Murphy), a homely and ill woman who is the cousin of the regiment's commanding officer. Fosca soon falls in love with Giorgio and pursues him relentlessly, saying "Loving you is not a choice / It's who I am." He is repulsed and resists her advances, but eventually, he succumbs to the power of her love.

Rather than a succession of individual songs strung together by dialogue, Sondheim's score is a constant flow of gorgeous music. (The original theater program listed no individual songs.) The plot is conveyed by song, some dialogue, letters between the characters, and a group of soldiers that serves as a Greek chorus. The result is more of a chamber opera than a conventional musical. Passion won Tonys for Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Book of 1994, and Murphy also won a Tony for her powerful performance as Fosca. Mazzie is in glorious voice as Clara, and Shea brings a pretty voice and a wooden personality to Giorgio. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews:

didn't play.......2007-02-21

received the cd in a cracked case which is always irritating. But when the cd didn't play, it was time to start shopping locally again.

Love Without Reason.......2006-12-16

This is my favorite Sondheim musical. For me that's a big statement, but this musical is beyond brilliant. Based on a 19th century Italian novel that was later made into a film, the dark nature of this story might alienate some listeners at first. We open on a scene where Giorgio, a handsome young soldier is bidding farewell to his beautiful mistress, Clara- he has been sent to a remote outpost. They are young and in love but Clara is married. Still they are hopeful for their future. When Giorgio arrives at his new location he finds a remote, provincial town where his Colonel lives with his cousin Fosca, a repulsive, terminally ill woman. Fosca falls hopelessly in love with Giorgio and the love triange makes up the crux of the plot.

Many listeners may have a hard time understanding why Giorgio's affections turn from the beautiful young (albeit married) Clara to the sickly Fosca, but the lyrics and the score weave such a spell that you are caught up in it. Love here is not necessarily a happy thing. Yes, the opening song, a duet sung by Giorgio and Clara, is an ode to the joy of being in love, but Giorgio's idea of love progresses to something darker and deeper as he comes to know Fosca more and more. As Clara attempts to schedule her affair with Giorgio around her husband, Giorgio arrives at a conclusion that his feelings were something else:

Love isn't something scheduled in advance
Not something guarenteed
You need
For for fear it may pass you by
You have to take a chance
You can't just try it out
What's love unless it's unconditional?
Love doesn't give a damn about tomorrow and neither do I!

He comes to know his feelings for Clara as "Love within reason/ that isn't love". At the same time Fosca is literally staking him, which at first he resents and later relents to an idea of:

Love without reason
Love without mercy
Love without pride or shame
Love unconcerned with being returned
No wisedom, no judgement, no caution no blame

It is Fosca that loves him with this completeness, and he can't help but return it.

Many of the songs are letters written from one character to another and that stucture takes some getting used to. In fact it's hard to isolate individual songs here. Each one flows into the next to create the effect of a unified whole. At the end all the characters sing bits of each song in the show as Giorgio reads Fosca's final letter to him they come together in a musical climax before fading out, leaving only Giorgio and Fosca softly singing "your love will live in me"

Marin Mazzie is a gorgeous Clara who's voice shimmers in a luminious way. As Giorgio Jere Shea sounds fine but falls rather short emotionally. He hits all the notes but with little feeling (Michael Ball of the London cast is far better, I think). However as the doomed, dark Fosca Donna Murphy gives one of the most stunning performances I've ever heard. Her understated performance is devistating. Her voice is perfectly suited to the scare and we have one of those all too rare perfect combinations of actor and material.

I have got two defective Passion CD!!.......2006-07-10

I ordered a Passion CD but when I tried to play on all my players (Computer, Bose) it would "screw-up" on the first 8 or 9 tracks. I returned and Amazon quickly replaced. But when I the second CD it also did the same thing. I returned the CD and Amazon would not send a replacement due the fact that all may be defective. They did refund my money. Hopefully the manufacturer will get this fixed.

Goregous Operetta.......2006-03-26

If you're a fan of regular book musicals, this one is not for you!!! Passion is an operetta style love triangle that is complex, poignant, and beautiful. Stephen Sondheim's brillaint score ties the entrie musical together, which again helps him keep his genius status. The clever weaving of songs, scenes, and, most interestingly, letters, make for a great cast album.

As for performances, it's the females who own this show. Marin Mazzie is as glorious as ever as Clara (she's even better in Ragtime), and Tony-winner Donna Murphy brings all of the emotion forward in her portrayal of Fosca.

For those who are used to the usual Sondheim, this one may dissapoint. Others, however, will love this opera of love.

Original and Powerful Stuff.......2005-11-20

I saw "Passion" on Broadway and was angry and at the time disappointed. There aren't any set pieces. It's one act and told with a seeming simplicity that is deeper than the deep, blue sea.
As a collector of Broadway Cast recordings, I made myself buy the OBC of "Passion" and only by listening to the score did I finally get what Sondheim was striving to accomplish. Every time he takes on a new show Sondheim goes where other composers fear to tread. And, because he is the foremost world-class composer of this generation, everything he writes causes quite a stir. And "Passion" is no exception. There is nothing like it, just like there is nothing like "Follies," "Company," "Pacific Overtures," "Merrily We Roll Along," "A Little Night Music," "Assassins," "The Frogs," and "Bounce." And there never will be because as long as he continues to write Sondheim will always expand the envelope of the American Musical form.

Thank God he does.

Average customer rating:

Delightful
A Master Class in Singing
Bryn is swell, but the bombast is annoying
Surprisingly Fine Crossover from Fleming and Terfel
BREATHTAKING VOCAL MAGNIFICENCE~BRAVO!!!

Renee and Bryn: Under the Stars
John Harold Kander , Andrew Lloyd Webber , Claude-Michel Schoenberg , Richard Rodgers , Gerard Presgurvic , Jason Robert Brown , Meredith Willson , Lucy Simon , Cole Porter , Stephen Flaherty , Ralph Salmins , and David Hartley
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Classic | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music
Similar Items:

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...

Barbara Cook Sings Mostly Sondheim (Live at Carnegie Hall 2001)

Average customer rating:

Wow!
Everyone Should Whistle
An amazing intro to the body of work of a true master
Beautiful, moving concert
... and I love Barbara Cook

Barbara Cook Sings Mostly Sondheim (Live at Carnegie Hall 2001)

Manufacturer: Drg
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Nostalgia | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music

Traditional Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Barbara Cook's Broadway!
Barbara Cook at the Met with Special Guests
Tribute
It's Better with a Band
The Champion Season: Live at the Cafe Carlyle

ASIN: B000059LFF
Release Date: 2001-05-08

Tracks:

Everybody Says Don't
I Wonder What Became of Me?
The Eagle and Me
I Had Myself a True Love
Into the Woods / Giants in the Sky (Malcolm Gets)
Another Hundred People / So Many People (Malcolm Gets)
Let's Face the Music and Dance / The Song Is You (duet with Malcolm Gets)
Happiness
Loving You
You Could Drive a Person Crazy
Not A Day Goes By / Losing My Mind

Tracks:

Buds Won't Bud
I Got Lost in His Arms
West Side Story Segment: Something's Coming / Tonight (Malcolm Gets)
Move On (duet with Malcolm Gets)
Medley: Hard Hearted Hannah / Waiting for the Robert E. Lee / San Francisco
Ice Cream
Send in the Clowns
The Trolley Song
Not While I'm Around (duet with Malcolm Gets)
Anyone Can Whistle

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

Barbara Cook is one of today's most accomplished song stylists, and if you don't believe us, just listen to this live album. It's a master class in the art of singing. It documents an evening at Carnegie Hall during which Cook proved that she can dissect and extract the substance out of the simplest of lyrics. One of the best surprises is "You Could Drive a Person Crazy" (from Company), which is taken at an amiable trot and allows the singer to display its humor. Cook is not a swinging singer and uptempo is not her pace; give her a ballad, though, and she'll wring the last drop of emotion out of it. Her version of "Losing My Mind" (here paired with "Not a Day Goes By") is simply astonishing. The singer also performs songs that Sondheim has said he wished he had written, an awful lot of them by Harold Arlen. No complaints here. Guest Malcolm Gets solos on a few songs and duets with Cook on others, including "Let's Face the Music and Dance." This is classic material done masterfully by a classic singer. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Customer Reviews:

Wow!.......2004-02-20

Having read the other reviews there is little more for me to add. I have been a Barbara Cook fan for a longtime and for me, this is one of her best concerts ever. I do, however, prefer the DVD. As with some other reviewers, I do not want to hear Malcolm Gets (as much as I like him) when I want to listen to Barbara. Her flawless interpretation of music is a hard act to follow for any singer! I managed to see this concert 4 times over a year and a half. Each time I saw her the voice was stronger and more assured (I would not have thought that possible). I can't help but think we will have the pleasure of hearing Ms Cook for many years to come. For those people who enjoyed his CD I strongly recommend purchasing the DVD. Barabara's rendition of So Many People is breathtaking (literally, I don't think I breathed once during the entire song). If you ever have opportunity to see her live - go! She has an ability to make you feel as if every song she sings and every word she speaks is directed to you alone. She can take a large venue and make it feel as intimate as your own living room. Having had the pleasure of meeting her I can say she is as youthful and pleasurable in person as she is in her performance.

Everyone Should Whistle.......2003-10-11

After being privileged to attend this concert, I had to own the CD. Once a lyric coloratura and the original Cunegonde in Bernstein's Candide, Ms. Cook has become (in her 70s) a true diva, blessed with a velvety, warm sound. Every note has meaning. Her high B-flat on "Ice Cream" is still the envy of any soprano today. Everyone should whistle after hearing the superb performances on this CD. Even better, though, is the experience of having been in the concert hall for the live performance. Brava, Ms. Cook!

An amazing intro to the body of work of a true master.......2003-06-16

When I first bought tickets for the 'Mostly Sondheim' show on tour (in San Francisco) I figured it couldn't be too bad. Besides, I had only been exposed to a few of his songs (Anyone Can Whistle, Losing My Mind...) and had only seen "A Little Night Music". On the way out of the theater I immediately picked up this recording of the program. It is truly amazing. I immediately began listening to it and have barely put it down in the last few months. Furthermore, my Sondheim CD collection increased in size from an unflattering zero to five (and it's still growing)! This is an amazing introduction to the works of Stephen Sondheim, who is now my favorite modern musical composer). Buy this now if you don't already have it!

Beautiful, moving concert.......2003-04-13

This is a wonderful CD set with a great selection of songs. I do want to express a slight reservation, however. Barbara Cook has been one of my favorite singers for a number of years and the way her voice defies time is extraordinary -- for her to be singing with such bright, beautiful tone in her mid-70s with no wobble or beat in the voice is an amazing achievment.

I do have to say that by 2001, when this concert was recorded, Cook seemed to have a lost a little bit of power and intensity in her singing. This is only natural for someone of her age. Her voice is still lovely, but you can sense her keeping it in reserve a bit. She's as expressive as ever, but compare the rendition of "I got lost in his arms" on this album to the one on her previous album recorded in 1999, "The Champion Season", and there's less urgency and vocal depth in her singing here. That said, the high B at the end of "Ice Cream" is sensational.

So, despite that caveat, this is, again, a wonderful album, a must for Cook fans, especially for the gorgeous renditions of songs I'd never thought I'd get to hear her perform: "Not a Day Goes By", "Happiness/Loving You", "San Francisco", etc. Buy it!

... and I love Barbara Cook.......2003-02-11

This recording is a disappointment for me. It is not her best work, and Malcolm Gets is uninspired. My biggest complaint however is the engineering of the recording. Throughout the speaking was to soft, the singing volumes uneven, and the applause deafening. I will be passing this CD on to friends, and will later donate it to my local library.

Average customer rating:

Get This One
ympriya
All the Praise by Other Reviewers is True!
Wild Horses couldn't drag away my 'Passion Play' CD!
Phenomenal

Passion Play
Teena Marie
Manufacturer: Dead Line
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music

Quiet Storm | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Sapphire
Starchild
It Must Be Magic
Teena Marie - Wild & Peaceful (Expanded Edition)
I Need Your Lovin': The Best of Teena Marie

ASIN: B00000E9LP
Release Date: 1994-07-19

Tracks:

Warm as Mommas Oven
Main Squeeze
Wild Horses
Smooth Tip
Hypnotized Prelude
Hypnotized
Parking Music
Sweet on You
Slow Grind
Climb the Walls
Breakfast in Bed
Passion Play
Pretty Man
Air I Breathe

Customer Reviews:

Get This One.......2006-11-26

I have owned this CD since it came out. This is the best CD Teena ever made. Yes she has several hits on several CD's, but this CD doesn't have one song that I skip over. My favorites are all of them, but if I had to name a few. Passion play, Pretty Man, The air I breathe, and Warm as mommas oven

ympriya.......2006-05-27

Lady T is BAAAAD no doubt. She does not disappoint. I loved LaDona and welcomed her back. Passion Play is excellent. My favorites are Warm As Mommas Oven, Main Squeeze, Parking Music and Climb the Walls and Passion Play. All songs are GOOOD. I paid $20 for this CD and it is more than worth it. I am getting Sapphire for my birthday.

All the Praise by Other Reviewers is True!.......2006-04-14

All the positive comments in all the consistently glowing reviews of this CD are absolutely true, no matter how over the top they may sound (to someone who hasn't heard it!). Anyone who's taken the time to really listen to Lady Tee's body of work -- not just her radio hits -- knows she's a superb and unique artist, but it's true that of all the excellent albums she's made, this might just be the epitome. Ahead of its time, it sounds as fresh as anything making the charts today and is not only worth whatever price you have to pay to get a copy, it's also well worth Cash Money -- her current label -- re-releasing, maybe once her new 'Sapphire' CD runs its course (you guys at Cash Money listening? 'Cause if you do re-release this one and promote it right, cash money is what you'll be in for!)

Wild Horses couldn't drag away my 'Passion Play' CD!.......2006-02-20

Lucky for me, I lived in Minneapolis at the time and that was the location of the distributor for this CD, released independently by Lady T herself! We also had our local Sam Goody's flooded with cassingles of "Warm As Momma's Oven", which are now also highly collectable.

For me, "Passion Play" picks right up where "Ivory" (my fave LT CD of all time) left off: X-tremely sensual, sexual, romantic, and passionate. You can make love to this cd all night and never need to put another disc in! Just hit repeat!

Favorite songs for me are:
1) Hypnotized (remake of late 60s Linda Jones classic). T harmonizes with a male soul group on this one and it has a magical intro!
2) Breakfast In Bed! WOW! You've got to give it up for anyone who writes and sings the lyrics "Breakfast in bed / heavy on the cream / kisses over easy / and a side of everything". 'Nuff said.
3) Wild Horses - passionate.
4) Main Squeeze - features Lenny Kravitz on harmony vocals! They sound great together.

And there's more where all that came from! My advice for true Teena aficionados is to just fork over your 30 or 40 bucks and call your honey over for some hot lovin'! For those new to the Lady T experience, take your pick of 2 or 3 greatest hits packages to make sure you get a good sampling of both her Epic and her Motown work, preferably cds featuring LONG original LP versions, not single edits. With T you need to have the full effect as she writes mini-symphonies!

Phenomenal.......2006-02-11

This is one Teena's greatest CD's and lord knows she has had many great ones, Ivory, Lady T, Naked to the World, are some of my favorites and this CD is right up there. A fantastic production, almost every single song will blow your socks off. This CD was produced and distributed by Teena herself on her own lable, as a result it got NO AIR PLAY, like it did not happen, and now you can not buy it anywhere. It's a tragedy, one of the greatest CD's of all time, by anybody, bar none, is languishing in complete obscurity.

Magnificathy: The Many Voices of Cathy Berberian

Average customer rating:

Perfect album not to play in cafes
ABSOLUTELY THE GREATEST SOPRANO OF THE 20TH CENTURY
Greatest Soprano of the 20th Century(?)

Magnificathy: The Many Voices of Cathy Berberian

Manufacturer: Wergo Germany
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Berio: Recital I for Cathy / Folk Songs / 3 Songs by Kurt Weill
Schubert: Piano Duets
The Ligeti Project II: Lontano / Atmosphères / Apparitions / San Francisco Polyphony / Concert Românesc - Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Jonathan Nott
Osvaldo Golijov: Ayre
Peter Lieberson: Neruda Songs

ASIN: B000025QZS
Release Date: 1993-12-08

Tracks:

Claudio Monteverdi: La Lettera Amorosa
Chansons De Bilitis: La Flute De Pan
Chansons De Bilitis: La Chevelure
Chansons De Bilitis: Le Tombeau Des Naiades
A Flower
The Wonderful Widow Of Eighteen Springs
O, Atti Vocali (Aus La Passion Selon Sade)
Surabaya-Johnny (Aus Happy End)
A Ticket To Ride
Summertime (Aus Porgy And Bess)
Stripsody

Customer Reviews:

Perfect album not to play in cafes.......2004-09-30

this (...) totally rocks the mic. especially enjoyable are the monteverdi selections. i mean, if you're a dumbass little punk you're probably not gonna like it... but hey! why can't dumbass little punks be more like alex de large? you know... with some class... why do they all have to be like dim?

ABSOLUTELY THE GREATEST SOPRANO OF THE 20TH CENTURY.......2003-12-02

I had the great good fortune to hear Ms Berberian live in the early seventies perform most of the music included on this disk.
The event was one of the high points of my childhood.

As at home singing avant-garde as she was singing pop and classical music, many composers wrote for Ms. Berberian simply because there were no other singers accomplished enough to bring their musical visions alive.

This disk offers up a wonderful cross-section of all of the
kinds of music in Cathy's vast repertoire. I recommend it most highly

Greatest Soprano of the 20th Century(?).......2002-06-22

It's incredible to me that the name Cathy Berberian is so unknown today. Listen to the performance of Debussy's Chansons de Bilitis; it's the greatest recorded vocal performance I've ever heard. Throughout the disk, she lives up to the title. Rather than sing in big soprano mode, she is a vocal chameleon who adapts to the subject matter, from Monteverdi to Lennon & McCartney to John Cage. You will not be disappointed.

Average customer rating:

Review of Flute Passion CD

Flute Passion

Manufacturer: EMI Classics Imports
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00008PW65
Release Date: 2003-11-04

Tracks:

IV. Bourrees 1 & 2 - Elaine Schaffer
V. Polonaise & Double - Elaine Schaffer
VI. Menuet - Elaine Schaffer
VII. Badinerie - Elaine Schaffer
II. Siciliano - Michel Debost
Ouverture - David Munrow
Les Plaisirs - David Munrow
Sonate Pour 2 Flutes En Sol Majeur, Op.2 No.1: II. Andante - Allegro - James Galway
I. Largo - Bruno Cavallo
II. 'Fantasmi' Presto - Bruno Cavallo
III. Largo - Bruno Cavallo
IV. Presto - Bruno Cavallo
V. Largo 'II Sonno' - Bruno Cavallo
VI. Allegro - Bruno Cavallo
I. Allegro - Michel Sanvoisin
Concerto Pour Flute, Harpe & Orchestra En Ut Majeur, K.299: II. Andantino - James Galway
Romance Pour Flute & Piano En La Majeur, Op.94 No.1 - Jean-Pierre Rampal
L'Arlesienne: Menuet - Michel Debost
Carmen: Entracte (Acte III) - Michel Debost
L'Oiseau Des Bois, Idylle Pour Flute & 4 Cors, Op.21 - John Solum
Casse-Noisette: Danse Des Mirlitons - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Adagio - London Symphony Orchestra
L'Oiseau Bleu Et La Princess Florine - London Symphony Orchestra
Le Carnaval Des Animaux: Voliere - Francois Laurent
Pelleas Et Melisande: Sicilienne - Patricia Nagle
Daphnis Et Chloe: Pantomime - Michel Debost