Dive In

Editorial Reviews
About the Artist
Chocolate Seastorm has been a band for less than a year and have proved they can compete with the best of them. Alanna Vicente met Dave Merenda and Cathy Merenda at a pumpkin carving party where Dave and Alanna bonded over trombone (both play). Alanna and Dave started working together – Dave writing and recording and Alanna singing and learning how to play bass guitar. Once the performing bug was caught, Cathy joined on drums. "This is all about having fun", Dave says. "Yes, if it’s not fun, or if we don’t like something, we don’t do it", adds Alanna.

Album Description
On their first studio release, Chocolate Seastorm, featuring the richly voiced Alanna Vicente, create a soulful, retro-infused sort of pop and rock that bears their distinctive brand of fun and attitude. Produced by songwriter and band member, Dave Merenda ("I Will Remember You", Sarah McLachlan), "dive in" presents a slightly more sophisticated sound from their live shows but doesn't lose the element of fun and whimsy. A little punchier and a bit more rockin' here and there, but no less a classic. Release features some long lost covers of songs from the 40's through the 60's. The classic "As Time Goes By" from Casablanca winds up sounding fresh and new with a punk spin. "Whatever Lola Wants", a Sarah Vaughn hit from Damn Yankees features a terrific trombone solo along with Alanna's lilting vocals. Dave Merenda, known for his huge hit, "I Will Remember You", comes up with a collection of melodic heartfelt songs that are accessible and sincere. "Alone" is saturated with raw emotion and the chimey guitar pulls one through to the solo that features Alanna and Dave whistling in harmony. Merenda's song, "Come On" blends electronic Latin beats with a strong pop sensibility. With an eclectic mix of instruments, Chocolate Seastorm combines harmony and melody seamlessly across the board. When was the last time you heard a trio with trombone, acoustic and electric guitars, B3 organ, Fender Rhodes and even whistling! Chocolate Seastorm blends whimsy, pleasure and sophistication which makes for a very enjoyable listening experience.

Tracks:

Intro - Cle Hicot
Invincible
Coming Too Close
Chasing Rainbows
On the Outside - Karina, No Use for a Name
Straight from the Jacket
Soulmate
Not Your Savior
Don't Miss the Train
Justified Black Eye
Gene and Paul, I Hate You Most of All and Ace, You're the Ace and ...
Sara Fisher
Room 19
Answer Is Still No
Martian
Hail to the King
Feeding the Fire
Exit
6 Degrees from Misty
Redemption Song

Customer Reviews:

Mind-Blowing!.......2003-02-18

Unlike a lot of people, I prefer studio music over live music when it comes to recordings, but this is my fav NUFAN album ever. These guys are totally awesome live, and it translates remarkably well onto the CD. The song selection is great as well, and I simply can't get enough of this album.

NUFAN at its best !!!.......2003-01-27

Surely this is the best nufan cd... Lately they have been making slower songs (but it doesn't mean they are bad), but in this cd they show how hardcore they were...
This cd brought me to nufan, and it's a good choice if you're curious about this band.

A good NUFAN retrospective.......2002-11-07

In terms of technical ability you can't knock NUFAN at the time they made this live record. Despite changing lineups after every album they've ever made, the people on this record know the songs well and play them perfectly. Some real NUFAN classics are present and correct; Soulmate, On the Outside, Feeding the Fire and Justified Black Eye are all just as you'd want to hear them. The main flaws with this record are more down to the changing musical tastes of the band themselves. There are too many slow ones! When you're playing live everyone expects to hear the up-tempo danceable numbers, not the tearful slow stuff! Growing Down or Revenge would have been welcome instead of Chasing Rainbows etc. But I guess there's always songs you wish a band had played live.

Pretty good all round. If you like rock ('cos let's be honest, they're not really punk are they?) you'll like this.

Great compilation. oh ya and its live........2002-08-24

This was a great CD, however it wasn't a great live CD. For one, inbetween some songs they make conversation with the audience. I'm not sure wether they're trying to be funny or to just talk but they dont do a very good job. And also thier live music is exatly like thier CD music. I thought because its live there should be some change, some alteration of thier songs in some way. To me it was just a compilation. A compilation by a fantastic, amazing band but still nothing special.

4 and a Half Stars.......2002-06-27

I really like no use, I have two of there other albums (Making Friends and More Betterness), but IMO, this one is the best. It has a really good mix of songs (Soulmate, Straight from the Jacket, Room 19...), and they all sound as good as the actual recordings they were on. I think that the live version of "Soulmate" on this cd is better than the studio one, and that doesnt happen very often. Not all of the songs are Great, But Most of them are.

Music For Queen Mary-A Celebration Of The Life And Death Of Queen Mary

Average customer rating:

a voice teacher and early music fan
Joy and sadness perfectly combined
Good music, okay performances

Music For Queen Mary-A Celebration Of The Life And Death Of Queen Mary

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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

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

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

Kirkby, Emma | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical 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:

The Coronation of King George II / The King's Consort · Robert King
Glorious Sound of Brass

ASIN: B000002AP6
Release Date: 1995-04-04

Tracks:

Anthem: I Was Glad
Anthem: Praise The Lord, O Jerusalem
Whilst He Abroad Does Like The Sun
The Sullen Years Are Past
Stript Of Their Green Our Groves Appear
ODE FOR QUEEN MARY'S BIRTHDAY: Symphony
ODE FOR QUEEN MARY'S BIRTHDAY: Chorus: Now Does The Glorious Day Appear
ODE FOR QUEEN MARY'S BIRTHDAY: Verse: Not Any One Such Joy Could Bring
ODE FOR QUEEN MARY'S BIRTHDAY: Tenor Solo: This Does Our Fertile Island With Glory Crown
ODE FOR QUEEN MARY'S BIRTHDAY: Chorus: Now Does The Glorious Day Appear
ODE FOR QUEEN MARY'S BIRTHDAY: Bass Solo: It Was A Work Of Full As Great A Weight
ODE FOR QUEEN MARY'S BIRTHDAY: Countertenor Solo: By Beauteous Softness Mixt With Majesty
ODE FOR QUEEN MARY'S BIRTHDAY: Verse: Her Hero, To Whose Conduct And Whose Arms
ODE FOR QUEEN MARY'S BIRTHDAY: Verse: Our Dear Religion
ODE FOR QUEEN MARY'S BIRTHDAY: Tenor Solo: No More Shall We The Great Eliza Boast
ODE FOR QUEEN MARY'S BIRTHDAY: Symphony
ODE FOR QUEEN MARY'S BIRTHDAY: Chorus: Now With One United Voice
ODE FOR QUEEN MARY'S BIRTHDAY: O Dive Custos - Elegy On The Death Of Queen Mary
ODE FOR QUEEN MARY'S BIRTHDAY: Incassum, Lesbia - The Queen's Epicedium
The Queen's Farewell. March
The Queen's Farewell. March
March
THE BURIAL SERVICE: I Am The Resurrection (Morley)
THE BURIAL SERVICE: Thou Knowest, Lord (Purcell)
THE BURIAL SERVICE: Canzona (Purcell)
THE BURIAL SERVICE: I Heard A Voice (Morley)

Customer Reviews:

a voice teacher and early music fan.......2006-01-27

Purcell compositions for Queen Mary span the whole of her brief reign. He provided music for her coronation, on April 11,1689; for the formal celebraton of her birthday on April 30 each year; and for her funeral, on March 5, 1695. At the coronation of William and Mary his 'I was glad' was one of 9 anthems performed during this ceremony. Purcell, in his position as Abbey Organist had tailored the music with precision. The opening passage is in stately block chords-straightforward for the choir to co-ordinate while proceeding along the nave, and arriving in their places just in time to watch the conductor for the closing bars. Later in the service the 2nd anthem by Purcell was sung:"Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem",
The centerpiece of this disc is the Ode for Queen Mary's birthday"Now does the glorious day appear" and glorious it is!!! It is divided into 14 sections; some solos, some duets and some choruses. It was easily the finest royal ode he had as yet composed, and also the most richly scored; laid out for five part strings, the violas being divided. Thanks to this exotic scoring, the ode abounds in moments of gorgeous opulence. For Mary's funeral services (she died at the age of 33) Purcell composed 3 pieces all included in this disc and all memorable.
The performers include Westminster Abbey Choir; the New London Consort; soloists: sopranos Emma Kirkby and Evelyn Tubb-countertenor Michael Chance-tenor Ian Bostridge-basses Stephen Richardson and Simon Birchall. All of this under the direction of Martin Neary.
The notable distinction of this recording is as follows and I quote from the accompanying jacket:"Complete music for Queen Mary's funeral, newly assembled and edited, and performed in Westminster Abbey by the Abbey Choir for the first time since 1695". The recording is beautifully adorned inside and out, and the sticker on the outside proclaims that it is music featured in the Westminster Abbey Funeral service fo Diana, Princess of Wales.

Joy and sadness perfectly combined.......2000-02-19

This CD is subtitled "A Celebration of the Life and Death of Queen Mary" and it thus divides into two sections. To begin with, we hear a number of works written for the Queen during her life, among which are short songs by John Blow (including "The sullen years are past" which has never been recorded before) and a massive setting of one of many odes for the royal birthday celebrations by Henry Purcell - "Now does the glorious day appear," which is a sweeping and powerful work with a variety of ground bass arias, duets, recitatives, choruses and orchestral symphonies - all making for a fine and rewarding listening experience.

In the second section, the focus moves onto music written during the mourning period after Queen Mary's death. Purcell continues to prove himself the greatest composer of the time, in his semi-sacred songs (in Latin) mourning her death, and in the music he wrote for her funeral. This section is indeed a highlight of the disc as it attempts, in a very scholarly way, to recreate the funeral in the Abbey as it might have sounded in 1695, with the Funeral Sentences by Thomas Morley interspersed with Purcell's own material and a number of Farewell Marches for trumpets and drums only.

The members of the Abbey Choir under Martin Neary do an admirable job of stepping into the shoes of their forebears under Purcell; accompanied by the period instrument-equipped New London Consort, the sound is truly magnificent. In addition, a number of prestigious soloists appear, including Emma Kirkby and Ian Bostridge (undoubtedly key performers for capturing the purity and delicacy of this music), Michael Chance (who seems a little under-utilised), Stephen Richardson (a rich and profound bass voice if ever I heard one) along with members of the Abbey Choir itself. Of special note- one does not often find a choral CD on which all three senior musical officials at the cathedral (Organist, Assistant Organist and Organ Scholar) are heard playing, but this is one such recording: Martin Baker and Stephen Le Prevost fill in organ continuo parts in various places, as does Dr Neary himself (who also plays the harpsichord for most of the solo pieces).

Arc of Light have done it again- a recording of extreme loveliness, going right down to the packaging which features some beautiful artistry (in fact, the main cover photograph is given an explanation in the booklet notes owing to the special way in which it was produced). A true gem in all respects.

Good music, okay performances.......1999-03-26

This disc presents a somewhat eclectic collection of music devoted to Queen Mary (mostly by Purcell, but by some other contemporaries as well). Despite the common theme I couldn't get rid of the feeling that the pieces didn't "click." Neither did the soloists sound at ease. Michael Chance, perhaps, deserves the most praise. But alas, some of the pieces that he normally sings (e.g. Incassum Lesbia) were given to sopranos, who couldn't do them nearly as much justice. The voice of one of the sopranos kept cracking up (don't know which one: the past-her-prime Emma Kirkby or whoever-she-is Evelyn Tubb). Ian Bostridge is undeniably a great performer, mainly known for his brilliant lieder interpretations. I don't want to say that baroque is not his cup of tea because he is vocally well suited to this repertory. Yet I didn't think he was as great in Purcell as many of his countrymen, such as John Mark Ainsley, Charles Daniels or Mark Padmore (to the extent one recording is enough of a basis to judge, which perhaps it is not). I don't want to be unfair, but I've heard Purcell performed better. This is not a bad recording, just not the best.