Nightbird [Import]

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Japanese pressing of the synth-pop duo's 2005 album, scheduled to include one bonus track. Details TBA. EMI.

Tracks:

No Doubt
Here I Go Impossible Again
Let's Take One More Rocket To The Moon
Breathe
I'll Be There
Because Our Love Is Real
Don't Say You Love Me
All This Time Still Falling Out Of Love
I Broke It All In Two
Sweet Surrender
I Bet You're Mad At Me

Amazon.com

This album arrived shortly after singer Andy Bell's revelation that he had been living with HIV for more than six years, suffering from debilitating pain. It's no wonder the music carries a more somber tone than the sugar-smacked synth-pop of '80s hits "Chain of Love" and "Blue Savannah." But it's hardly a gloomy affair. Yes, there is a more ominous tone to lyrics like "The tears that are falling, there's no room for doubt." And yes, the choruses aren't quite as chaotic. But for the most part this is vintage Erasure, right down to the Casio-sounding keyboards that permeate tracks like "Here I Go Impossible Again" and the ABBA imbued cheek of "Don't Say You Love Me." Erasure is clearly a band too engrossed by life to be knocked down by its mundane realities. --Aidin Vaziri

Customer Reviews:

Great Album!.......2006-11-11

This is another excellent Erasure album. I do not think this is a comeback album. Erasure has never released a bad album...it is just that all of the albums haven't necessarily gone mainstream. It is understandable that not everyone likes that Erasure still has an 80's sound. I think that good music is good music no matter what the time or sound is. They don't necessarily fit in with a lot of the junk that is currently on the radio and that is not really a bad thing. Erasure is not a band that will release an album with one good single just to make a million dollars like many of today's artists. I await every new Erasure release with the same excitement that I did 20 years ago.

The Erasure I Know and Love........2006-11-10

This is a really good album and I would definitely recommend it to any Erasure fan. It's not as good as their very best, but definitely as good as their second best albums. It has about three memorable songs and the others are enjoyable too.

Best in years.......2006-10-20

This album is the best stuff they've put out in years. "Sweet Surrender" is truly on my top-three list of ANY Erasure songs. I can happily listen to it over and over.

A Must Listen!.......2006-05-05

For anyone ever interested in Erasure, or for anyone curious, Nightbird is simply the best! Through the years, Erasure has released a dozen or so CDs, some very good, and some pretty bad, but with Nightbird, the duo have redeemed themselves 10-fold! The melodies are fresh, something Erasure has had trouble with in the past. Ther lyrics are real and I defy anyone listening to these songs to not identify with the touching, and often sad feelings sung beautifully by Andy Bell.

You will not go wrong with this wonderful assortment of original songs, but like most CDs of new music, it must be given a chance to 'catch on'. Listen to Nightbird 2 or 3 times, and it will become a part of your listening experience for years to come!

Got me hooked..........2006-04-28

I had never paid much attention to the music of Erasure. Odd, considering that I love Depeche Mode and Erasure derived from Depeche...

I was surfing through Amazon.com a couple of nights ago and this comment I read about Erasure's most recent album caught my eye:
"This album arrived shortly after singer Andy Bell's revelation that he had been living with HIV for more than six years, suffering from debilitating pain." It amazed me, truly. So I decided to listen to it through Napster... and the album was indeed brilliant! I haven't felt the same way about an album since I first discovered Depeche Mode many, many years ago.

It's actually kind of fun on many levels: highly danceable (think early eights new wave dance beats) and with music that makes you feel good about yourself (Latinamerican readers, think Moenia). The lyrics take on such an incredible meaning when you read them knowing what Bell is going through. Such as this one, from the song "Let's Take One More Rocket to the Moon" (one of my favorite tracks):
"A keychain in your pocket just for luck
I hold it in and close my eyes to hide a tear..."

The album is a masterpiece that I know I will be listening to for years to come. I am glad I discovered it... I hope you enjoy it every bit as much as I am.

Average customer rating:

THE NEW YANNI!
You HAVE to HAVE THIS ONE
BUY IT!!
Great!!
Inspiring, passionate, soothing, majestic

Nightbird
Yanni
Manufacturer: Bmg Special Product
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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In Celebration of Life
Dare to Dream
Reflections of Passion
Snowfall
In the Mirror

ASIN: B000001U4S
Release Date: 2002-01-15

Tracks:

North Shore Of Matsushima
Point Of Origin
Within Attractiion
Dance With A Stranger
Chasing Shadows
Days Of Summer
Nightbird

Amazon.com

This seven-track budget sampler seems to exist for no other reason than to showcase three compositions--"Point of Origin" (from Out of Silence), "Days of Summer," (from Chameleon Days), and "Dance with a Stranger" (from Niki Nana)--that never found home on one of Yanni's seven other samplers. --Terry Wood

Customer Reviews:

THE NEW YANNI!.......2001-02-09

I have been a fan of Yanni's for years until I ran across Bradley Joseph's music (Yanni's former keyboardist). If you like Yanni you will LOVE Bradley as he writes beautiful melodies and takes music were Yanni left off. Check him out at http;//www.bradleyjoseph.com

You HAVE to HAVE THIS ONE.......2001-01-24

I just got this C.D. this past week.....

WOW! I absolutely love it!

I typically am a "shower" kind of person but have taken a few bubble baths just to lay back and enjoy the C.D. So relaxing yet so invigorating mentally!

Translation: I really, really, really like it!

BUY IT!!.......2000-10-18

This CD is great! If you liked Port of Mystery, you'll like Nightbird too. The only reason I rate it four stars is that some songs, like Chasing Shadows (Marching Season) are (to me) alittle boring. But the others are ones you want to listen to over and over. Even if it is collected from other good CDs', it's still worth buying. I like 'Days of Summer' because of it's unique instrumentation and uplifting rhythm. 'On the Shores...' is also worthy of praise for the good orchestration and powerful theme. You certainly won't regret buying it!

Great!!.......1999-01-02

Hmm..let's see..the songs in this collection are plucked from this and that previous albums and they are all very nice. I don't see any common theme or concept among them, so I guess this is just another meaningless collection of "good" Yanni songs. Don't get me wrong, it's still fantastic. Just note that "Chasing Shadows" is actually "Marching Season". Just a small printing error, no big deal..

Inspiring, passionate, soothing, majestic.......1998-12-29

I have nearly all of Yanni's CD's & have been to 4 of his concerts. He moves me as no other performer can. Hopefully he will come out with some new music soon!

Average customer rating:

ERASURE RETURN IN STYLE
BACK TO THE OLD ERASURE

Nightbird
Erasure
Manufacturer: Mute
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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I Say I Say I Say

ASIN: B0006A86QO

Tracks:

No Doubt
Here I Go Impossible Again
Lets Take One More Rocket To The Moon
Breathe
I'll Be There
Because Our Love Is Real
Don't Say You Love Me
All This Time Still Falling Out Of Love
I Broke It All In Two
Sweet Surrender
I Bet You're Mad At Me

Customer Reviews:

ERASURE RETURN IN STYLE.......2004-12-23

Having received a promo CD early last week, I was very much looking forward to hearing new material from the boys.

I am delighted that Erasure has gone back to their style in writing and producing.

Andy & Vince have created one of their best albums to date with this album, I cannot fault it in anyway, I was hooked the minute I heard it.

Erasure doing what they do best, classic pop songs and melodies. It's a rollercoaster of emotions. The songs are some of the finest the boys have created, stirring emotions of Love, Hate & Tragedy....

Don't Say You Love Me, Lets Take One More Rocket to the Moon & Breathe are the best tracks and I look forward to the single releases.

Well done Andy & Vince on creating this album, you have restored faith in your fans. A great start to 2005, with undoublty one of the `BEST ALBUMS' of the year.

BACK TO THE OLD ERASURE.......2004-12-22

If Erasure's last album, "Other Peoples Songs" left you wanting something original from Erasure then this album is for you. Although this album sounds similar to the "Chorus" album from years ago, there is enough newness to this cd that will prevent you from saying, "I've heard all this before." Also note that the remixes for the first single "breath" are really good, with the "LMC extended club mix" as my personal favorite. Although no new ground is broken on this cd release, Erasure is back to their true form with beautiful melodies and original heartfelt lyrics. Out of the eleven songs on this set, there are several standouts such as "sweet surrender" and "all this time still falling out of love." If you are an Erasure fan, buy this album now, it's the best they have done is about a decade!

Average customer rating:

Awesome
Haunting, moody, beautiful, inspiring, meditative
Midnight on the delta / desert
I can't believe I'm about to say this, but...
deep, soulful

Nightbird
Markus James
Manufacturer: Firenze
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Blues | Styles | Music

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World Dance | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Blues | Indie Music | Stores | Music

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Timbuktoubab
Calabash Blues
Where You Wanna Be
Where You Wanna Be
Markus James: Timbuktoubab

ASIN: B00005V6GB
Release Date: 2002-02-26

Tracks:

Goin Home
Child, See the Rider
Are You Thirsty (Land of Plenty)
Midnight
Rain
At the Well
Nightbird
Pharaoh's Daughter
One Drop
River Risin
Awo

Amazon.com

It's a bold man who rides into Mali with a guitar and the notion of recording music alongside indigenous players playing indigenous instruments. After all, the small West African nation has produced a truckload of global superstars, among them Habib Koité, Salif Keita, Ali Farka Toure, Boubacar Traore, Rokia Traore, and Ali Hasan Kuban. In Mali, blues and pop seem to be in the blood, so right away, American singer-guitarist Markus James seems to set himself up for potential failure and claims of cultural tourism, popularly known as Ry Cooder syndrome. That he pulls things off so well on Nightbird is proof that James's ambition to add the supple sun-bleached elements of calabash and njarka to a clutch of songs that cleave to a standard blues blueprint is on target. It's also a testament to the willowy beauty of African rhythms, particularly spooned slowly over James's ginger guitar playing and distinctly Jaggeresque voice. Songs like the haunting, percussive "Midnight" seem to murmur from a distant dune, while the closing track, "Awo," sails lazily past on a chorus of chants. As goosebumpy music goes, Nightbird ranks. --Kim Hughes

Album Description

On Nightbird, San Francisco singer/songwriter successfully finds the parallels between Malian pop, rock, and the blues, specifically, the sort of dusky, haunting blues that worked so well for John Lee Hooker and Lightnin' Hopkins. Recorded in Bamako, Mali, during the summer of 2000, this excellent CD isn't easy to categorize. Blues, rock, and Malian pop are all influences, and on Nightbird, slide guitar sounds perfectly natural alongside traditional African instruments like the calabash, the njarka, and the tama. The people joining James (whose earthy vocals have a Mick Jagger-ish quality) range from Malian musicians (including Afro-pop artist Mama Sissoko) to American singer Sarah Baker. Bring all of these different artists and influences together and the end results are as enriching as they are intriguing. Nightbird could be described as Mick Jagger meets John Lee Hooker meets Habib Koite (who is one of Mali's top pop singers and is best known for his early-'90s hit "Cigarette a Bana"). Obviously, James sees the parallels between Hooker's blues and Malian pop: both can be very moody, not to mention soulful. And the word soulful certainly describes this excellent CD, which blues, rock, and Afro-pop enthusiasts should all be aware of.

Customer Reviews:

Awesome.......2005-11-02

This cd along with "Calabash Blues" are two of the most wonderful, beautiful, and unpredictable cds to come along in years. James' blending of his raw voice with the intriguing sounds of the instruments takes the listener on a journey of blues and jazz influences. Even a hint of Curt Cobain co-mingled in there. James should be a star shining brightly thruout the world. He is shining so brightly in MY world!

Haunting, moody, beautiful, inspiring, meditative.......2005-03-11

This is a unique album. It defies categorization, a wonderful meld of world music, singer-songwriter guitar playing, blues and other influences. Definately worth checking out.

Midnight on the delta / desert.......2003-03-03

I love this original sound of traditional Malian instruments
and blues influenced singing and guitar playing. Great songs, which often feel like mesmerizing soundscapes. Highly recommended.

I can't believe I'm about to say this, but..........2002-11-03

...if you buy no other CD this year, buy this one. I heard one song from it on my fabulous independent local radio station (way to go WKZE!) in the car, and immediately had to seek out the nearest record store to buy it. This is one of the most sophisticated and moving albums I've heard in years. For those of you who are thinking, "Yeah right, Damon Albarn went to Mali and all we got was that lousy 'Mali Music,'" fear not. Unlike certain parties who should have stuck to the bland Britpop they're best at, James' musical maturity actually matches that of his Malian collaborators. And in this case they ARE collaborators rather than the window dressing non-Western musicians usually wind up being on Euro-American artists' albums. The result is an album that is anthropology rather than tourism: it represents a relationship between two creative worlds rather than "look at this nice souvenir I picked up and plunked on my CD." We are in the presence of something entirely new, in that it is hard to see where James' influence as a songwriter ends and the Malian influence begins. The songs are textured, understated, with the spare lyricism of the blues and the dignified polyrhythms of the West African griot tradition. As a collection they are more than the sum of their parts - the album seems to be one long meditation rather than 11 distinct songs. The Biblical imagery James deploys actually works here, as we have the sense that this effort represented something akin to a religious pilgrimage. For me at least it was a religious experience, as I have finally had a glimpse of what a true "world music" could look like. Hallelujah.

deep, soulful.......2002-03-18

I read about this in several places, and am pleased to report that it lives up to the rave reviews. These are sultry, moody songs, set to minimal arrangements featuring Ali Farka Toure's percussionist (calabash), among other great Malian players. MJ
has pulled off something unique, and very soulful. My top picks:
"goin home", "midnight", "at the well", "one drop".....these are songs that really cast a spell. Never heard anything like it.

Crumb: Songs, Drones And Refrains Of Death

Average customer rating:

For Crumb enthusiasts

Crumb: Songs, Drones And Refrains Of Death

Manufacturer: Bridge
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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Complete Crumb Edition 9; Ancient Voices of Children, Madrigals Books I-IV, Eine Kleine Mitternachtmusik
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ASIN: B000003GIM
Release Date: 2001-06-01

Tracks:

Songs, Drones And Refrains Of Death: Part One, Refrain One: I. The Guitar/Refrain Two: II. Casida... - George Crumb/David Starobin/Donald Palma/Aleck Karis/Daniel Druckman/Eric Charlston
Songs, Drones And Refrains Of Death: Part Two, Refrain Three: III. Song Of The Rider/Refrain Four... - George Crumb/David Starobin/Donald Palma/Aleck Karis/Daniel Druckman/Eric Charlston
A Little Ste For Christmas: 1. The Visitation - Lambert Orkis
A Little Ste For Christmas: 2. Berceuse For The Infant Jesu - Lambert Orkis
A Little Ste For Christmas: 3. The Shepherd's Noel - Lambert Orkis
A Little Ste For Christmas: 4. Adoration Of The Magi - Lambert Orkis
A Little Ste For Christmas: 5. Nativity Dance - Lambert Orkis
A Little Ste For Christmas: 6. Canticle Of The Holy Night - Lambert Orkis
A Little Ste For Christmas: 7. Carol Of The Bells - Lambert Orkis
Apparition: I. The Night In Silence Under Many A Star - Jan DeGaetani/Gilbert Kalish
Apparition: Vocalise 1: Summer Sounds - Jan DeGaetani/Gilbert Kalish
Apparition: II. When Lilacs Last In The Dooryard Bloom'd - Jan DeGaetani/Gilbert Kalish
Apparition: III. Dark Mother Always Gliding With Soft Feet - Jan DeGaetani/Gilbert Kalish
Apparition: Vocalise 2: Invocation To The Dark Angel - Jan DeGaetani/Gilbert Kalish
Apparition: IV. Approach Strong Deliveress! - Jan DeGaetani/Gilbert Kalish
Apparition: Vocalise 3: Death Carol ('Song Of The Nightbird') - Jan DeGaetani/Gilbert Kalish
Apparition: V. Come Lovely And Soothing Death - Jan DeGaetani/Gilbert Kalish
Apparition: VI. The Night In Silence Under Many A Star - Jan DeGaetani/Gilbert Kalish

Customer Reviews:

For Crumb enthusiasts.......2006-11-19

The three works on this disc are somewhat "typical" Crumb. "Songs, Drones, and Refrains of Death" is not Crumb's greatest work, even if it has his signature gestures -- a combination of speaking and singing during songs, shouting from the percussion players, among other techniques. It's a little contrived and more than a little dated (it's unmistakably 1960s avant-garde), but it's not a bad work. The recording's vocal performance by both the ensemble and the soloist sounds very muddled, which is unfortunate.

The Suite for Christmas has never been my favorite work. Crumb's other works for piano, such as the Makrokosmos books, are so much better it makes this work really look kind of anomalously amateur, even though I'm sure it's extremely hard to play. Orkis makes the most of this work, it's as good as I've ever heard it.

Apparition is by far the best work on this disc. It focuses on death just like the Songs and Drones, but Apparition also has some of the most delicate music found in any of Crumb's works. And the singing is sharp and clear, even with the transparent textures of the music. It uses Walt Whitman's Death Carol as its text and really captures the mysticism, light, and darkness that surrounds death that Whitman conveys in his poem.

Overall, it's a good disc. It's definitely a great disc for people who like Crumb, but I know I wouldn't have explored much more of his music if this were my introduction.

Average customer rating:

THE NEW YANNI!
You HAVE to HAVE THIS ONE
BUY IT!!
Great!!
Inspiring, passionate, soothing, majestic

Nightbird
Yanni
Manufacturer: Unison Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | New Age | Styles | Music

Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music

General | Adult Contemporary | Pop | Styles | Music

Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music

Electronic | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

In Celebration of Life
Dare to Dream
Reflections of Passion
Snowfall
In the Mirror

ASIN: B000005T7L
Release Date: 1998-03-03

Tracks:

North Shore Of Matsushima
Point Of Origin
Within Attraction
Dance With A Stranger
Chasing Shadows
Days Of Summer
Nightbird

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

THE NEW YANNI!.......2001-02-09

You HAVE to HAVE THIS ONE.......2001-01-24

I just got this C.D. this past week.....

WOW! I absolutely love it!

I typically am a "shower" kind of person but have taken a few bubble baths just to lay back and enjoy the C.D. So relaxing yet so invigorating mentally!

Translation: I really, really, really like it!

BUY IT!!.......2000-10-18

Great!!.......1999-01-02

Inspiring, passionate, soothing, majestic.......1998-12-29

I have nearly all of Yanni's CD's & have been to 4 of his concerts. He moves me as no other performer can. Hopefully he will come out with some new music soon!