Rarities III

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
The third rarities album of rare tracks provided by members of the band. A mixture of B-sides, demo's and unreleased tracks, which will appeal to all Big Country aficionados. Compilation & sleeve notes by band members Tony Butler and Bruce Watson. BCR. 2003.

Customer Reviews:

A fantastic quadripartie recital by lisztian Leslie Howard.......2004-07-04

If you're a fan of this series, then you will be interested in hearing these first drafts and fragments. It is intriguing to see how several of the Album-Leaves' tunes were to later become the main themes of some of Liszt's popular works.
In this volume, I especially value the solo piano transcriptions of some of Liszt's symphonic poems (Mazeppa being my favorite, although as Mr. Howard explains, all these transcriptions were actually done by Liszt's pupils, with the master reviewing each transcription and then giving his approval).
My most favorite piece, of sheer delight, is on disc 4, the Pasztor Lakodalmas. Many thanks to Leslie Howard for discovering this utterly charming piece and making it available for us to hear!

Liszt you won't hear anywhere else.......2001-07-12

Four CDs of unpublished or recently discovered Liszt piano music, much of it very very nice indeed. Some first drafts, fragments, discarded pieces...a hodgepodge! But if you're a Liszt completist like me you won't want to be without it. Many thanks to Leslie Howard for his scholarship (and playing, of course) in this volume.

Helen Traubel Rarities on Radio (Unpublished Broadcasts from 1937 to 1944)

Average customer rating:

A wonderful recording
Helen Traubel Rarities On Radio 1937-1944

Helen Traubel Rarities on Radio (Unpublished Broadcasts from 1937 to 1944)

Manufacturer: Enterprise
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Renaissance (c.1450-1600) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000040T0
Release Date: 1995-05-23

Tracks:

Just The Way You Look Tonight
Whether By Day
Adios Grenada
Oklahoma!: Oh What A Beautiful Morning
I'm Wearin Away Jean
Das Land Des Lachelns: Dein Ist Mein Ganzes Herz (Sung In English)
Die Lustige Witwe Waltz Pot-Pourri (Sung In English)
The Lost Chord
Ave Maria (Sung In English)
The Lord's Prayer
Greensleeves
The Lonesome Road
Alceste: Divinites Du Styx
The New Moon: Stout-Hearted Men
Die Walkure: Walkurenritt Und Szene

Customer Reviews:

A wonderful recording.......2005-07-25

This is truly a wonderful document of this singer's talents. Before talking about the recording itself, it has to be said right out that the transfers were not that great, the sound is sort of "boxy" and well, it does sound like something old and from an ancient and dingy era. That said, it does give a great deal of pleasure. It must be remembered that although Traubel was noted for her singing of Wagner, she loved to sing show tunes and also in nightclubs. For most of us, that sounds super strange as it is obvious from her Wagner recordings her voice is super huge and well suited to opera.

Obviously, the radio people knew that she was liked by the public and used her for the purpose of entertaining others. One must NEVER see her presentation as pandering down to the masses, for she never does that, even if she is singing music the public may like. Each piece is sung well, in tune (not as some have said, like a recording played at the wrong speed), and in her very well prepared way. She sings with the talent she has.

Unlike a later singer who would excel in both opera and blues, Eileen Farrell, Traubel does not have an "opera voice" and a "popular voice." While Farrell did sound almost like a different singer when singing the two types of music, diction and all perfectly atune to what she was singing, and never crossing one type of singing into the other, Traubel is more like the "modern operatic crossover singers" (Domingo, Cararrass, etc) we hear today. She sings what she sings with a very obviously "operatic studied sound."

Once you get over that fact, what she does is really quite lovely. Obviously, since she was popular on the radio, audiences of that time really didn't mind hearing that "cultured sound" when listening to popular music they enjoyed. Maybe that is because even Broadway at that time required the voice to be produced naturally and didn't rely on mikes as it does today to make its impact.

Her selection of music is quite unusual, for she doesn't confine herself to music written for the female voice (I won't even say the Soprano voice, for she even sings music for Contraltos). The notable pieces for male voice are "Oh What a Beautiful Morning", "Yours is My Heart Alone" (Land of smiles), and "Stout Hearted Men." The first is forever in our minds as sung in the MGM movie adaption of Oklahoma (which Shirley Jones, though I believe McRay sings the piece), every operatic tenor imaginable singing the piece from Land of Smiles, and well, Nelson Eddie doing "Stout Hearted Men." How does Traubel fair singing those "Male Leads?" Well, not bad at all. She makes no attempt to be "manly" (and we are all glad for that) and just lets her own love of the music shine through. Her diction in English is exceptional.

Her renditions of many English songs (Greensleeves, The Lord's Prayer, and the Lost Chord) are all well sung with excellent diction, and she is actually convincing in the later which is written for contralto. Yet, one is left wondering what is missing in all of them. To me, the real thing missing in these arrangements, and in her performance of this music, is the fact her huge voice really has nothing to do. It sings the music, but that is about all. The music just doesn't give her room to shine.

Her "Adios Grenada" is wonderful, charming, and touching. I first heard the piece sung by Caballe, and I have to admit, I much prefer her singing of this piece (which could be also because she speaks Spanish as her native tongue), yet, Traubel handles the delicate touches of the music just wonderfully, and with more finesse than I thought possible in such a huge voice.

Once we get to the operatic numbers we hear Traubel as we expect to hear her, once again with all the force, power, ring, and well, excitement she puts into her operatic roles.

She may have loved to sing all sorts of music, but whether she liked it or not, her real forte was opera, and most especially grand opera for a large grand voice. That is where she was allowed to be her complete self. Sadly, she never figured that out. If she had, maybe she would have given up singing in nighclubs, for she would have realized her voice, as much as she loved the music she would sing in a club, just didn't serve that music well. And conversely, that music didn't serve her voice well.

In spite of the poor quality of the recording, it is still quite wonderful to listen to, and gives great pleasure at every turn. It also shows us what this woman was all about as far as her talents were concerned and as far as she saw them. Seldom do we get to hear an operatic singer singing popular music on the same disk she sings opera. Here we get to, and well, I would say, she was definitely an opera singer par excellence, and a very good and enjoyable popular singer but sadly not anywhere near on the level her operatic singing was.

A super recording for anyone really interested in this singer and what she had to offer us. Sadly, she didn't record much, so buying everything you can that she did record is necessary to form a true opinion of her incredible talent, must too underrated and far too seldom appreciated in her day and even in ours.

Helen Traubel Rarities On Radio 1937-1944.......2000-07-19

This CD sounds like an old, old worn out record. Not quite on the wrong speed - but definitely not on the right speed.

Average customer rating:

As good as any studio album
Excellent songs
Living on in style

Rarities III
Big Country
Manufacturer: Track (Navarre)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Rarities VI
Rarities II
Rarities V
Rarities IV
Singles Collection, Vol. 2

ASIN: B00008BX57
Release Date: 2003-03-18

Tracks:

Ages of a Man
Hardly a Mountain
What About Peace
Time for Leaving
You Lose Your Dreams
1000 Yard Stare
Golden Boy Loves Golden Girl
I Am a Small Republic
Everything I Need
Mary - Stuart Adamson, Mark Brzezicki, Tony Butler, Kellin Watson
Send You
In Your Homeland
Troubled Man
Peace in Our Time

Album Description

The third rarities album of rare tracks provided by members of the band. A mixture of B-sides, demo's and unreleased tracks, which will appeal to all Big Country aficionados. Compilation & sleeve notes by band members Tony Butler and Bruce Watson. BCR. 2003.

Customer Reviews:

As good as any studio album.......2007-03-09

Right from "Ages of a Man" to the end this rocks. Even as a "Rarities" collection, I think it stands up as a pretty fine album. A little rough at times it shows a slightly different view of the band. Of particular note is the alternate version "1000 Yard Stare" which I personally like better than the commercial version. This version is stark and even more haunting. Highly recommended to all Big Country fans (especially if you don't know which "Rarities" to jump into)and for anyone looking for a great album with rough edges.

Excellent songs.......2005-06-27

Although some songs have been heard on other albums, two of the songs are spectacular. "You Lose Your Dreams" and "Golden Boy Loves Golden Girl" are some of my favorites on this album, plus "You Lose Your Dreams" is one of my top favorite Big Country songs.

Living on in style.......2003-02-12

The description above mentions aficionados, but I reckon any music lover would take this to their heart. In the five days that I've owned this album it's been the ONLY one I've played - it's that distinctive. Stuart's voice is just magnificent on some of the most wondrous tracks (not simply Big Country songs) that you'll ever be lucky enough to experience. So why only 4 stars? Because the reworkings or demos of old songs are not that special, we've heard them before and some are too weak to even endure. But, at the end of it all, this work underscores the point that, like Offspring, Big Country are too innovative and certainly too awesomely talented to ignore. If Tony Butler's going to drip feed us albums of this class then I can't wait for Rarities IV.

Average customer rating:

Art vs. Voice
An interesting CD

Maria Callas Rarities

Manufacturer: Capitol
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

The Unknown Recordings, Vol. 2

ASIN: B000002RSQ
Release Date: 1992-09-29

Tracks:

Scene & Aria: Ah! perfido, Op. 65
Don Giovanni: Non mi dir (Atto II)
Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail: Tutte le torture (Matern aller Arten, 2.Akt)
Oberon: Ocean, Thou Mighty Monster (Act II)
Armida: D'amore al dolce impero (Atto II)
Lucrezia Borgia: Tranquillo ei posa....Com'e bello (Prologo)
Don Carlo: O don fatale (Atto IV)
Arrigo! ah parli ad un core (Atto IV)
II Trovatore: Vanne...lasciami...D'amour sull'ali rosee (Atto IV)
I Lombardi: Te, Vergin santa, invoco (Atto I)
Aida: Pur ti riveggo, mia dolce Aida (Atto III)

Customer Reviews:

Art vs. Voice.......2007-07-13

The instrument was never beautiful. The art was always relevatory. There are tracks recorded late in her time, that are vocally painfull, such as the Aida duets, but amazing works of art. Nature often plays games with us. Callas was given a sublime genius for art, while she was given a flawed instument. It is kind of Heifetz playing on a student instrument. The art would be overwhelming. I think of people like Netrebko with perfect instruments and sublime technique and the artistry of a stick. (Guys, sex and art, are not the same.) Think of Dorothy Kirster and Zinka Milanov: One with a beautiful voice and the artistry of a genius the other a perfect voice and exquisite technique and little else. Callas was Mozart with a bad quill! And this recording shows the voice with all its flaws and all of its art. What a treasure!

An interesting CD.......2001-12-24

This is an interesting CD with many of the tracks appeareing here for the first time. There is a good range of music and there's the chance to hear Callas in some different roles. Her performance of "Arrigo! Ah! Parli ad un core..." is incredible and she displays her floorless technique once more. The final duet with Franco Corelli is also a highlight. Be careful though - many of these pieces are so well performed that they might either spoil your enjoyment of the versions you currently own or of any versions you might buy in the future! Its hard to measure up against her. A great buy, the sound quality is mostly good with just a couple of the tracks of poorer quality due to the live nature of the performances.

Music:

Music

music

Music

Use Once and Destroy

Couperin: Trois suites pour Clavecin

Come on Come On

It's a Jungle in Here

Busted [Import]

E-Town Live Two [Live]

Dare to Dream

Book of Chorale Settings for Advent & Christmas

Cheeky Chappie Sings [Import]

Clasicas de Jose Alfredo Jimenez

Calling Out of Context

Amores Dificiles

Best of Real Mccoy [Import]

Ride in My Cadillac

Uncensored