Court & Spark

Amazon.com essential recording
Painter-turned-folksinger Joni Mitchell had slipped stark saxophone solos into her prior album, For the Roses, and her singing had often hinted at a capacity for bluesier fare than her guitar- and piano-framed confessional ballads offered. None of those hints prepared fans for this sudden, expansive shift toward a much larger canvas--a sleeker, orchestrated pop style pulsing with jazz elements. Court & Spark found Mitchell casting aside her earth mother affectations and revealing herself as the thoroughly modern, thoroughly complicated woman she is; the songs sustained familiar preoccupations with relationships but replaced courtly settings and naturalistic imagery with recognizably modern locales. Deeply romantic, constantly questioning, classic tracks like the title song, "Help Me," "Free Man in Paris," "Same Situation," and "Raised on Robbery" display a more liberated Mitchell, ready to rumble with unbridled electric guitars (guest Robbie Robertson on "...Robbery"), even willing to poke fun at her own oh-so-sensitive rep with a hip cover of Annie Ross's hilarious "Twisted." --Sam Sutherland

Court & Spark,Joni Mitchell,Elektra / Wea,Pop,Popular Music,Rock,Rock/Pop

Court & Spark

Average customer rating:

"I've Been Here And I've Been There/ And I've Been In Between"
Whimsical Progresive Rock
Back in the day
Sophisticated progressive rock!
Let me join in the chorus of praise for this album, one of the greatest prog rock albums ever....

In the Court of the Crimson King
King Crimson
Manufacturer: Discipline Us
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00065MDRW
Release Date: 2004-11-22

Tracks:

21st Century Schizoid Man (Including Mirrors)
I Talk To The Wind
Epitaph (Including March For No Reason/Tomorrow And Tomorrow)
Moonchild (Including The Dream/The Illusion)
The Court Of The Crimson Song (Including The Return Of The Fire Witch/The Dance Of The Puppets)

Customer Reviews:

"I've Been Here And I've Been There/ And I've Been In Between".......2007-07-20

One can only imagine what it was like to hear King Crimson's debut album back in 1969 (unless you're at least 38 years old, I guess. Okay, I probably I could have picked a better sentence to start this review. Moving on...). In the Court of the Crimson King was a bold, dramatic statement, an uncomprimising record that seamlessly combined hard rock (in the 60s sense of the word. Think Blue Cheer and Cream) with psychedelia and elements of jazz and high-minded poetic grandeur. The eye-popping cover art and suite-style song structures sealed the deal, and a new style of music was born: Progressive rock. Indeed, just about every act that has ever been labled "prog," from Pink Floyd to Yes to Jethro Tull and onward through the likes of Radiohead and the Mars Volta can trace the basis of their sound back to the 'Crim's first record. Robert Fripp's slashing guitar chords and nimble melodies bridged the gap between hevy metal and art rock (before either style was really a full-fledged genre, Black Sabbath and the Velvets notwithstanding), while multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald gave the music a jazzy, textured complexity, weather he was playing the flute, the vibes, or the mellotron, and Greg Lake's vocals were quintessential prog: Technically acomplished, dramatic, and high-minded. Michael Giles' drumming picked up where Fripp's guitar left off, spanning the (not all that wide) space between rock and jazz. Topping the whole shebang off were Peter Sinfield's lyrics, which were abstract and poetic in the extreme, a set of textures and images rather than coherent statements.

But you probably want to know if the music's good. Well, here's the deal: No matter how good a progressive rock band is (and believe me, King Crimson were very, very good), they (pretty much) inevitably succumb to a few pitfalls. The most common is pretention. On this particular record, the most obvious victim of that malady is "Epitaph." The song's eight minutes don't produce a single memorable melody, and Sinfield's lyrics are obtuse in the extreme. They amble through a series of references to men being "torn apart/ with nightmares and with dreames" and "the iron gates of fate" without producing a single good line. It doesn't help that Lake seems to think he's singing scripture, stuffing each sylable with forced drama and unreasonably present passion. The song does have a sort of lumbering majesty (created, pretty much, by sheer force of will), but it's far from a classic. And its typically bloated length insures that it'll overstay its welcome. And then there's the notorious "Moonchild," which features a ten-minute instrumental "freak-out" section, the only truly interesting aspect of which is its odd quietness. Otherwise, it's every bit as overblown and indulgent as the very worst of 60s sound "experiments."

Otheer than that, though, this is a really great listen. My personal favorite track is the achingly beautiful "I Talk To The Wind," a haunting dreamscape with some of Sinfield's most poignant lyrics. The chorus shows off the subtleties of Lake's considerable voice, as he twists his vocal chords over and around the words, enunciating them with an uncanny grace and power. Good stuff. In a similar vein, the first two minutes or so of "Moonchild" (pre freak-out) are a gorgeous accoustic rumination, full of imagery and joyous sound. Of course, there's also the eternal "21st Century Schizoid Man," which foreshadows Rush, only without the nerdiness. Fripp's brutal, slashing bar chords fuse with McDonald's white-hot trumpet and Giles' thundering drums to form the ideal bed for one of Lake's most uncharacteristic and awesome vocal performances ever. He spits pure venom, snarling the lyrics (a rush of fiery, apocalyptic imagery) with menace and boundless energy. The song then breaks off into an awesome intrumental section, which sees Fripp and McDonald spitting melodies at eachother. It's a lava-spewing jam that dazzles the listener with its polymelodic ferocity, its shape shifting intensity. Crank it up, dude. And then there's the title track, which closes the proceedings with a burst of endearing bombasm (that is almost certainly not a word, but I can't think of a noun form of "bombastic") and shape-shifting insanity.

So, the end result is one of the coolest debuts of the sixties, a fantastic rock album, an introduction to some really gifted musicians, and the Rosetta Stone of prog. Neat!

Whimsical Progresive Rock.......2007-07-17

The debut album of King Crimson is one of their finest (though not their best; see Red if you want their top recording). This is the only Crimson album that features Greg Lake (of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer fame) on lead vocals. Although there are only five tracks, each one is rather lengthy and showcases the hallmarks of progressive rock as a whole.

My favorite two tracks are 21st Century Schizoid Man and The Court of the Crimson King, the first and last tracks respectively. Both are epic progressive songs, and are essential for any progressive rock fan; well worth the price of admission for this album.

Back in the day.......2007-06-28

I had a fairly adequate stereo which was centered on a Thorens transcription turntable with an excellent stylus. It always cheered me up to hear this album played at moderate to somewhat loud volume levels. I won't get into the progressive rock chicken and egg debate, for I also appreciate many of the other groups mentioned but KC has a very special place in my hierarchy of rock bands. They made several other good recordings, again duly noted in several reviews but I always have liked this one the best.

For those who have not heard this I would suggest attempting to hear part of it at least prior to buying as I realize this particular genre of rock can be considered an acquired taste.

Sophisticated progressive rock!.......2007-06-24

I knew this album of course before buying it, but it really amazes you when you listen to the whole thing song by song in your home stereo.

Let me join in the chorus of praise for this album, one of the greatest prog rock albums ever...........2007-06-12

This is arguably one of the greatest debuts in rock history (alongside The Velvet Underground and Nico). It is an almost perfect album, a feat that doesn't happen very often. Every song is so beautifully written, crafted, sequenced, and performed by some of the greatest musicians the rock world has ever heard or seen. The starter, 21st Century Schizoid Man, is amazingly intricate. It's one of the best songs from Crimson's library, and the middle section is blistering in its intensity. The quieter songs (just about the rest of the album) are so mellow, moving, and haunting, with lyrics (courtesy of prog rock's greatest lyricist, Pete Sinfield) that still hold up today. There are only 5 songs on the album (all running epic length), but they're pretty much perfect. The only one that gives me a slight problem is Moonchild. The last 10 minutes of the song (after a beautiful introduction) are kind of aimless. But then, maybe a few more listens, and the song will finally kick in. This is one of my favorite albums ever.

Average customer rating:

Love Tracks......
The other great Joni record
"Star maker machinery"
Court... has the spark
(Almost) unfettered and alive

Court and Spark
Joni Mitchell
Manufacturer: Elektra / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Accessories:

Dead Reckoning

ASIN: B000002GXL
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Court And Spark
Help Me
Free Man In Paris
People's Parties
The Same Situation
Car On A Hill
Down To You
Just Like This Train
Raised On Robbery
Trouble Child
Twisted

Amazon.com essential recording

Painter-turned-folksinger Joni Mitchell had slipped stark saxophone solos into her prior album, For the Roses, and her singing had often hinted at a capacity for bluesier fare than her guitar- and piano-framed confessional ballads offered. None of those hints prepared fans for this sudden, expansive shift toward a much larger canvas--a sleeker, orchestrated pop style pulsing with jazz elements. Court & Spark found Mitchell casting aside her earth mother affectations and revealing herself as the thoroughly modern, thoroughly complicated woman she is; the songs sustained familiar preoccupations with relationships but replaced courtly settings and naturalistic imagery with recognizably modern locales. Deeply romantic, constantly questioning, classic tracks like the title song, "Help Me," "Free Man in Paris," "Same Situation," and "Raised on Robbery" display a more liberated Mitchell, ready to rumble with unbridled electric guitars (guest Robbie Robertson on "...Robbery"), even willing to poke fun at her own oh-so-sensitive rep with a hip cover of Annie Ross's hilarious "Twisted." --Sam Sutherland

Customer Reviews:

Love Tracks.............2007-07-04

This was a present to me for my birthday in 19...I just forget...1975, 80, 90?
Might be good for a listen this July 4th thinking here about what we find to complete us in life, our choices, our diversions, our battles, where we stand up and for what we do what we do, ultimately...with a life.
It all comes down to this.
Celebration of freedom on our 4th, I think of this album.

Young, drawing, painting, feeling, living life it fit every feeling I had at that time in my 25,30 year old life. Standing alone looking at heaven on earth, for surely nature doesn't do it better, I remember listening once on a Walkman player with ear things driving me to distortion trying to walk the trail early morning out to Point Lobos, CA. I was also in some of the worst physical pain of my life which now seems relative, my spine, with no idea the reason for the hurt that took ten more years of being told it was imagined, over the real debilitating degenerative spinal condition it actually was.....This a walk about self belief and external disapproval and the collision of something so playfully contained in Joni Mitchell's tune from this album...about one's sanity. Walking wondering how my faults could generate this as my 'other' half and medical doc were so happily stating as "obvious". Reached the limits of self loathing and external disharmony for the waste of time they are. As you move through this trail it opens onto ocean pitched as suspended above on a precipice. I stood on the edge. With that aquamarine pool far down the rocks below, this music probably stopped me from jumping, my hoping to reach the perfection of arresting time in the just then. Visual external perfection weighted against internal incapacity to meet the moment with joy, hit me. Then. Inadequate by definitions.
And this trip on my birthday this weekend brought back both songs and those silences in the past to grapple. It passed from my daily memory in days bleeding through my fingers as does water and maybe, too, passing flesh like lit kerosene...the contradictions of love, living, fire, your speck of stardust flashing, suffering...it's here in her words. Burning, quenching. Our Dualities.

And that hand she offered me and held out meant something. Then and now listening again...today. It did stop me from flying out to see those cormorants that day, to realize this was just a path I traveled/weathered. Could and would take others. Could. Would. Will. And such a lonvely path it can be sometimes. Her singing just gave me a sense there might be someone that had an understanding what life might really just be. It was a Beautiful present.
I don't think 'laughing it all away' was missed in my life then. It brought me this musical seed...growing inside.. my own Tree of Knowledge....the processing of teaching in South Central, poverty, others suffering at the hands of those unconcerned and greedy, illnesses, pain, relating, loving, failing, being reduced to clown,my loss of a baby, loss of innocent place in this world had me on my knees....actually on my back...and I remember standing listening that day long ago all the way through rather frozen....and days just passed on until I was listening again in times with my children...growing....trade-offs bargained in situations constructing many lead walls all through our personal and societal worlds..opening windows in my heart, ... I was falling in love with the notion I could live making, doing, in my own spaces and sing to a girl losing loves, finding loves, turning to work with a group of children no one ever saw, no one ever saw.... Turning around in the whirl of time passing and melodies blowing through your heart. She sang the lust, the desire, the truth of waiting for stolen moments, of wanting, of needing to push forward into meaning something, doing something of value independent of a self that burns all it touches with petty insignificance, waves I sat and watched in Malibu.
Why does it come as shock to know you have no one? She sings...
Another dream over the damn. My right to be human going over too, over the fall.....when I went in the waves at Malibu I nearly drown. In so far I was sucked under. Still trying to surface... her soul reading mine, ours. Seen.

I must have played this album a million times. Until in my dull repetitive way it blossomed into my being with that oboe playing, "It all comes down to you." And it does. Riddled now with aches, pains, limits,idiotic trivial delusions, truths and contradictions I listen to this and develop the most intense kaleidoscopic Alice vision of my days.Returning via mirror to the repelling external truths. We blow most of life.

When I do go, play this and that'll be wonderful, and know I mostly acted thinking of "Help Me"......it centered in my heart. The things contained in man's , my soul, reaching for another and love, and I turned to reach for a way to meaning, to do something with some value. Risk making meanings and loving our world. Risk it. Your mistakes will always outweigh everything. It's the human condition...but we have to try. For something.
It brought me to teach children...longing had to be contained. Caged. Knowing her call for freedom for bird, kitten, fish, all creatures great and loved mattered more...matters more .....comes inside.....slips away....floats like a melody through my soul.

Joni Mitchell on this album brought into my life a flash of enlightenment. And in my passions the fruit of loves, living ....danced....cried out.

I want to quote songs, favorites, pieces of genius. I also want to feel the words fly around in my mind so I think I will go just listen and recommend it with some fresh July strawberry-raspberry rhubarb pie.

Savor your freedoms, it was bought at a price no money changer can refund.

The other great Joni record.......2007-05-15

Between this and Blue, I'd have a tough time picking my desert-island Joni album. It's nicely balanced, and the guitar work is stellar as always, and the songs are catchy and/or lovely. "Twisted" is a wonderful work of vocal acrobatics (with guest stars Cheech and Chong!). Highly recommended.

"Star maker machinery".......2007-04-20

Now here is something startling. After the perhaps somewhat awkward ramblings and disjointedness of For the Roses (1972), Joni hits us with this - an instantly appealing pop album. Admittedly, there was a clue beforehand with her first US radio hit, aptly named "You Turn Me On (I'm A Radio)" but if the rest of For The Roses was something to go by (musically and thematically) it seemed she would drift off on a wave of free floating obscurity. That however, would come a little later. Court & Spark become a big US hit and deservedly so.

The title track is of Joni's most seductive, matched by lower range vocals and trancelike piano playing. It seems to tell the tale of a woman who falls in love with a busker, only to let him go out of fear of commitment. This `love versus freedom' struggle echoes earlier song "Cactus Tree" from Song To A Seagull (1968). "Help Me" exemplifies a similar theme in a jazzy pop number fashion and would become Joni's biggest hit single.

Many of the other songs touch on love/freedom/compromise scenarios in some sense. The character in the jazz-rock ruckus "Free Man In Paris" wants to be exactly that, then there is longing to be at ease in some way in the downplayed original version of "People's Parties" which (I think) would appear in finer form on her live album Miles of Aisles (1974). The piano lead into "The Same Situation" is more than a nice touch though. There is a nice piano led instrumental part too, on the epic "Down To You" in which Joni begins with these great lines:

"Everything comes and goes / Marked by lovers and styles of clothes"

Court & Spark seems to be aching to that sentiment because on one level it seems very timeless and on another, very much of the 70's. Joni sings of `Woman with that teased- up kind of hair" in the playful "Just Like This Train" though with "Raised On Robbery" she goes all out 50's in probably her most rockin' tune ever about a prostitute trying to make "A little money..." Things jazz up to the max with the final
two tracks; "Trouble Child" is full of Joni's exotic guitar painting a portrait of a loser in life who knows what he has to do but seems to have an inability to do it - very poetic, if a little downbeat. "Twisted" is Joni's first ever cover version and she does it with a lot of humour, and style scatting like her life depended on it.

Although brass heavy, Court & Spark is on the right side of jazz to be pop, while neither being too pop to be disposable even if belonging partly to the 70's. While "Twisted" will not appeal to everyone, songs such as "Help Me" and "Car On A Hill" are sure to be favourites of old and new fans alike. Often touted as her best, Court & Spark is engaging and at least in that running.

Court... has the spark.......2007-04-17

An excellent album by Ms. Mitchell, containing three of her biggest songs (Help Me, Free Man in Paris, Raised on Robbery) in the company of equally engaging material. The last track, Twisted, presages Joni's shift into jazz and, depending on your taste, either detracts from enhances the album or detracts from it (I'm of the latter opinion). Still, this is a magnificent album and perhaps her crowning achievement.

(Almost) unfettered and alive.......2007-04-10

There's many MANY many people who feel this one is IT, Joni Mitchell full of glamour and wit, rocking and wooing - and altering the 70's.

I'm not one of those people.

I believe Court and Spark, essential as it was for building up JM's clout, stands as a crowd-pleasing stop on the road to the BIG muse. But, it falls short - the session sharpies play too unctuously.

We all know the (lovely) radio hits, and there's little to add to the zillions of words aired. These are enchanting tunes - shrewd, warm and full of good chops. Vocals soar unpredictably like autumn breezes.

What I would like to add is "Trouble Child," rockin' yet noir, might be one of JM's first jaw-dropping masterpieces. Listen to it again (then spin the fine Travelogue version). What a dark topic (could be rehab for bipolar disorder), burnished with benevolent humanism.

Also notable: "Down To You" (which, alas, did not receive a Travelogue reincarnation) is a savvy, serpentine melody and heartfelt lyrical runimation buoyed by keen, clean orchestration - an early experiment of merit on the way to those incredible Paprika Plains.

And yeh, sure, "Twisted" is twisted; and "Raised on Robbery" rampages like Fear of Flying.

Average customer rating:

Too busy
good product and fast service
what a road trip
Mesmerized and moved mom to tears
Daughter loves it

Mozart's Magnificent Voyage

Manufacturer: Children's Group
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Product Description

GENERAL FEATURES: The Dream Children are about to be written out of Mozart's most famous opera. Hoping to change their fate, they enlist the help of the composer's young son Karl. Together the children embark on an incredible journey that takes them back in time to Mozart's childhood as well as far into the future. Along the way, Karl learns much about his father and comes to understand his legacy of timeless music. Educational entertainment for all ages.

Customer Reviews:

Too busy.......2006-07-14

I was hoping for more music - there's just too much storytelling for my and my kids' taste. We love the Beethoven's Wig series and were hoping this would be similar.

good product and fast service.......2005-09-11

Product arrived in ample time overseas and was pleased with quality of product!

what a road trip.......2005-02-21

i bought this item after reading some of the reviews on amazon for my nephews who are 2 and 4 years of age. two months after christmas their mom was explaining how they request the cd everytime they are in the car. she groaned when i was in the car and they boys wanted to show me how much they liked the cd. during the trip i witnessed a mother humming along to the music with her children, the boys singing to excerpts, and an overall execptional learning experience about music, culture, and history. if you are looking for something that all children will like, passes the time on a road trip, and teaches important lessons about life without being pretentious then get this cd, it is a guaranteed crowd pleaser.

Mesmerized and moved mom to tears.......2005-01-26

This CD is awesome, the music great, the story captivating. But it's Mozart, you already know about the music. Other reviewers have already discussed the story and I agree with their assessments that it's very good. The reason for this review is to say that my very active, never stopping, constantly in motion 5 year old SAT DOWN AND LISTENED without fidgeting or fiddling for a full 20 minutes and then sat but fiddled for the remainder of the CD. Maybe this is not a big deal to moms of "normal" energy level children -- but this simple act of being still for 20 minutes moved me to tears. I said nothing before putting the CD in, I just put it in while he was doing his running around. Within seconds of hearing the story start he sat down on the floor, crossed his legs, and listened while looking at the speakers. I have never seen this behavior from my child before, ever. Please note that this is a child who is not ADD, he just cannot be still. He listens to hundreds of hours of stories we read to him -- while he's doing something else. He "watches" videos -- while he's doing something else. He reads, while clapping or tapping out the beat of the syllables. I cannot remember my child ever stopping what he was doing to JUST LISTEN. When it was over he said, "That was a cool story," and got up to run around. That was it, but that's high praise from this child. To see my child sitting still for a full 20 minutes, you cannot begin to imagine my awe. I am running right out to get the rest of the series! Bravo to the producers!

Daughter loves it.......2003-03-27

My daughter is 5 and loves to hear this CD over and over in the car.

Average customer rating:

A dream
Perfection at its Best
Tranquil Beauty
Beautiful!
Tranquility, Serenity, Beauty, and Superb Asian Movie Soundtrack

Hero
Tan Dun
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Hero

ASIN: B0002S945W
Release Date: 2004-08-24

Tracks:

Hero: Overture
For the World - Theme Music
Warriors
Gone with Leaves
Longing
At Emperor's Palace
In the Chess Court
Love in Distance
Spirit Fight
Swift Sword
Farewell, Hero
Sorrow in Desert
Home
Above Water
Snow
Yearning for the Peace

Amazon.com

Tan Dun straddles the very different worlds of concert music and film scores, winning admirers in both. He's perhaps best known for his score to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which shares with Hero a visual poetry that transcends the sword-filled action film genre. In Crouching Tiger, Tan Dun's music was often striking. In Hero he often lapses into repetition and cliché, a failing compensated for by several appealing cues. The Overture, for example, begins with the mournful wail of ancient Chinese instruments set against pounding drums, a promising start that evokes ancient China and the struggles to come. There's a mournful soprano vocalise in "Gone With the Leaves," and the "Warriors" cue recalls Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky. The plucking of the ancient Chinese lute in "In the Chess Court" evokes a timeless, peaceful mood, contrasting with the thrilling kodo drummers showcased in "Swift Sword." Itzhak Perlman gets cover billing for violin solos any competent studio fiddler could have handled. Tan Dun's admirers will want this, and audiophiles will love those kodo drummers. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

A dream.......2007-05-29

A magistral execution... close your eyes and dream.... a perfumed atmosphere will pervade you

Perfection at its Best.......2007-01-05

I received the Hero CD in mint condition and in a timely fashion. There's a plethora of things one could complain about, and when something works how it should, sometimes it gets overlooked. Not this time! I would just like to commend Amazon.Com on a job well done...

Tranquil Beauty.......2006-08-08

After seeing Hero, one of the (many) things that stuck with me was the evocative soundtrack. It set a perfect backdrop to the artistry and beauty of the story.

After purchasing the soundtrack, I was reminded of many of the scenes I enjoy, especially the tracks for the fight in the chess house ("In the Chess Court"), and in the yellow wood ("Gone with Leaves"). "Longing" is one of the most hauntingly serene pieces of film music I have heard.

This is not, obviously, a CD to listen to while you do step aerobics.
The theme is repeated and varied often, evoking the way the film's story is repeated from different perspectives, but those with short attention spans may perceive it as merely repetitive.

Beyond its association with the film, this soundtrack is an incredibly calming work of art. To be enjoyed with a good cup of hot tea.
5 stars.

Beautiful!.......2006-03-19

Interesting way to present some Chinese history by convoluted storytelling. Jet Li provides a subtle, challenging performance. It's a visually stunning movie to look at, as well. In a way, it's a lot like some classic Westerns in that the gorgeously stark landscapes of China become just as much a "star" as the players.

One of the real draws is the music. Tan Dun's compositions are beautiful, sad and celebratory at the same time, and haunting. I think it was pure genius to pair his compositions with Perlman. I had to wait a few months for the DVD, but I went out and bought the music CD immediately after seeing this gem of a movie.

Tranquility, Serenity, Beauty, and Superb Asian Movie Soundtrack.......2006-02-25

When I want to reconnect with my inner self and take a "time out" from my rat race life, I play either this CD or the sound track from "The Last Samurai". The theme from this CD stays in your head all day. If you like soundtracks, asian style muusic, classical music, and beauty, this CD has it all. I sometimes end up watching the movie again later in the week. I collect movie soundtracks and this is in my top ten.

Dowland - The Collected Works / The Consort of Musicke, Rooley

Average customer rating:

The greatest songs ever?
A musical treasure-box
a beautiful journey into melancholy

Dowland - The Collected Works / The Consort of Musicke, Rooley
John Dowland , Anthony Rooley , Emma Kirkby , Christopher Wilson , The Consort of Musicke , Colin Tilney , Anthony Bailes , Jakob Lindberg , Nigel North , Glenda Simpson , Peter Holman , and John Donne
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Dowland: Complete Lute Works, Vol.1-5
William Byrd: Consort Songs
Bach: The Landowska Recordings
Britten Conducts Britten
Janácek: Operas

ASIN: B000004CYV
Release Date: 2007-03-13

Tracks:

First Booke Of Songes: I. Unquiet Thoughts
First Booke Of Songes: II. Who Ever Thinks Or Hopes Of Love
First Booke Of Songes: III. My Thoughts Are Wing'd With Hopes
First Booke Of Songes: IV. If My Complaints Could Passions Move
First Booke Of Songes: V. Can She Excuse My Wrongs
First Booke Of Songes: VI. Now, O Now, I Needs Must Part
First Booke Of Songes: VII. Dear, If You Change
First Booke Of Songes: VIII. Burst Fourth My Tears
First Booke Of Songes: IX. Go Crystal Tears
First Booke Of Songes: X. Think'st Thou Then By Thy Feigning
First Booke Of Songes: XI. Come Away, Come Sweet Love
First Booke Of Songes: XII. Rest Awhile, You Cruel Cares
First Booke Of Songes: XIII. Sleep, Wayward Thoughts
First Booke Of Songes: XIV. All Ye, Whom Love Or Fortune Hath Betray'd
First Booke Of Songes: XV. Wilt Thou Unkind Thus Reave Me
First Booke Of Songes: XVI. Would My Conceit
First Booke Of Songes: XVII. Come Again: Sweet Love Doth Now Invite
First Booke Of Songes: XVIII. His Golden Locks
First Booke Of Songes: XIX. Awake, Sweet Love
First Booke Of Songes: XX. Come, Heavy Sleep
First Booke Of Songes: XXI. Away With These Self-Loving Lads

Tracks:

Second Booke Of Songs: I. I Saw My Lady Weep
Second Booke Of Songs: II. Flow My Tears
Second Booke Of Songs: III. Sorrow, Stay
Second Booke Of Songs: IV. Die Not Before Thy Day
Second Booke Of Songs: V. Mourn, Mourn, Day Is With Darkness Fled
Second Booke Of Songs: VI. Time's Eldest Son
Second Booke Of Songs: VII. Then Sit Thee Down
Second Booke Of Songs: VIII. When Others Sing Venite
Second Booke Of Songs: IX. Praise Blindness Eyes
Second Booke Of Songs: X. O Sweet Woods
Second Booke Of Songs: XI. If Floods Of Tears
Second Booke Of Songs: XII. Fine Knacks For Ladies
Second Booke Of Songs: XIII. Now Cease My Wand'ring Eyes
Second Booke Of Songs: XIV. Come Ye Heavy States Of Night
Second Booke Of Songs: XV. White As Lilies Was Her Face
Second Booke Of Songs: XVI. Woeful Heart
Second Booke Of Songs: XVII. A Shepherd In A Shade
Second Booke Of Songs: XVIII. Faction That Ever Dwells
Second Booke Of Songs: XIX. Shall I Sue
Second Booke Of Songs: XX. Toss Not My Soul
Second Booke Of Songs: XXI. Clear Or Cloudy
Second Booke Of Songs: XXII. Humour Say What Mak'st Thou Here

Tracks:

Third Booke Of Songs 1603: I. Farewell, Too Fair
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: II. Time Stands Still
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: III. Behold A Wonder Here
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: IV. Daphne Was Not So Chaste
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: V. Me, Me, And None But Me
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: VI. When Phoebus First Did Daphne Love
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: VII. Say, Love, If Ever Thou Didst Find
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: VIII. Flow Not So Fast, Ye Fountains
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: IX. What If I Never Speed?
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: X. Love Stood Amazed
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: XI. Lend Your Ears To My Sorrow
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: XII. By A Fountain Where I Lay
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: XIII. O What Hath Overwrought
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: XIV. Farewell, Unkind
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: XV. Weep You No More, Sad Fountains
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: XVI. Fie On This Feigning!
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: XVII. I Must Complain
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: XVIII. It Was A Time When Silly Bees
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: XIX. The Lowest Trees Have Tops
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: XX. What Poor Astronomers Are They
Third Booke Of Songs 1603: XXI. Come When I Call

Tracks:

A Pilgrimes Solace: I. Disdain Me Still
A Pilgrimes Solace: II. Sweet Stay Awhile
A Pilgrimes Solace: III. To Ask For All Thy Love
A Pilgrimes Solace: IV. Love, Those Beams That Breed
A Pilgrimes Solace: V. Shall I Strive Wih Words To Move?
A Pilgrimes Solace: VI. Were Every Thought An Eye
A Pilgrimes Solace: VII. Stay, Time, Awhile Thy Flying
A Pilgrimes Solace: VIII. Tell Me, True Love
A Pilgrimes Solace: IX. Go Nightly Cares
A Pilgrimes Solace: X. From Silent Night
A Pilgrimes Solace: XI. Lasso vita mia
A Pilgrimes Solace: XII. In This Trembling Shadow Cast
A Pilgrimes Solace: XIII. If That A Sinner's Sights
A Pilgrimes Solace: XIV. Thou Mighty God
A Pilgrimes Solace: XV. When David's Life
A Pilgrimes Solace: XVI. When The Poor Cripple

Tracks:

A Pilgrimes Solace: XVII. Where Sin Sore Wounding
A Pilgrimes Solace: XVIII. My Heart And Tongue Were Twins
A Pilgrimes Solace: XIX. Up Merry Mates
A Pilgrimes Solace: XX. Welcome Black Night
A Pilgrimes Solace: XXI. Cease, Cease These False Sports
Keyboard Transcriptions Of Dowland's Music By Other Musicians: Lachrimae Pavane
Keyboard Transcriptions Of Dowland's Music By Other Musicians: Can Shee
Keyboard Transcriptions Of Dowland's Music By Other Musicians: Paduana
Keyboard Transcriptions Of Dowland's Music By Other Musicians: The Frogge
Keyboard Transcriptions Of Dowland's Music By Other Musicians: Frog's Galliard
Keyboard Transcriptions Of Dowland's Music By Other Musicians: Pavana And Galiarda
Keyboard Transcriptions Of Dowland's Music By Other Musicians: Paduana Lachrymae
Keyboard Transcriptions Of Dowland's Music By Other Musicians: Can She Excuse
Keyboard Transcriptions Of Dowland's Music By Other Musicians: Pavion Solus cum sola
Keyboard Transcriptions Of Dowland's Music By Other Musicians: Dowland's Almayne
Keyboard Transcriptions Of Dowland's Music By Other Musicians: Piper's Paven And Galliard
Keyboard Transcriptions Of Dowland's Music By Other Musicians: Pavan Lachrymae

Tracks:

Mr. Henry Noell Lamentations: I. The Lamentation Of A Sinner
Mr. Henry Noell Lamentations: II. Domine ne in furore
Mr. Henry Noell Lamentations: III. Miserere mei Deus
Mr. Henry Noell Lamentations: IV. The Humble Suit Of A Sinner
Mr. Henry Noell Lamentations: V. The Humble Complaint Of A Sinner
Mr. Henry Noell Lamentations: VI. De profundis
Mr. Henry Noell Lamentations: VII. Domine exaudi
Lachrimae: Lachrimae Antiquae
Lachrimae: Lachrimae Antiquae Novae
Lachrimae: Lachrimae Gementes
Lachrimae: Lachrimae Tristes
Lachrimae: Lachrimae Coactae
Lachrimae: Lachrimae Amantis
Lachrimae: Lachrimae Verae
Lachrimae: Mr. John Langton's Pavan
Lachrimae: Mr. Nicholas Gryffith His Galiard
Lachrimae: Sir John Souch His Galiard
Lachrimae: Semper Dowland Semper Dolens
Lachrimae: Mr. Giles Hobies Galiard
Lachrimae: The King Of Denmark's Galiard
Lachrimae: Sir Henry Umpton's Funerall
Lachrimae: Mr. Henry Noell His Galiard
Lachrimae: The Earl Of Essex Galiard
Lachrimae: Mr. Bucton His Galiard
Lachrimae: Mr. George Whitehead His Almand
Lachrimae: Captain Digorie Piper His Galiard
Lachrimae: Mr. Thomas Collier His Galiard
Lachrimae: Mrs. Nichols Almand

Tracks:

Sacred Songs: Sorrow, Come!
Sacred Songs: I Shame At Mine Unworthiness
Sacred Songs: An Heart That's Broken And Contrite
Psalms: Psalm 100: All People That On Earth Do Dwell
Psalms: Psalm 38: Put Me Not To Rebuke O Lord
Psalms: Psalm 130: Lord To Thee I Make My Moan
Psalms: Psalm 104: My Soul Praise The Lord
Psalms: Psalm 100: All People That On Earth Do Dwell
Psalms: Psalm 134: Behold And Have Regard
A Prayer For The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty
Instrumental Music: Solus cum sola pavan
Instrumental Music: Lachrimae
Instrumental Music: Galliard
Instrumental Music: Pipers Pavan
Instrumental Music: Lachrimae
Instrumental Music: Lady Rich Galliard
Instrumental Music: Earl Of Essex Galliard
Instrumental Music: If My Complaints
Instrumental Music: Lachrimae Doolande
Instrumental Music: Lord Willoughbie's Welcome Home
Instrumental Music: My Lord Chamberlaine His Galliard
Instrumental Music: Comagain
Instrumental Music: Pavan Lachrymae
Instrumental Music: Sorrow Stay

Tracks:

Lute Music: Preludium
Lute Music: Lachrimae
Lute Music: Can She Excuse
Lute Music: Dr. Case's Pavan
Lute Music: Melancholy Galliard
Lute Music: Sir John Smith, His Almain
Lute Music: Fantasia
Lute Music: A Dream
Lute Music: Almain
Lute Music: The Queen's Galliard
Lute Music: Coranto
Lute Music: Resolution
Lute Music: Mrs. Vaux Galliard
Lute Music: Almain
Lute Music: Mr. Dowland's MIdnight
Lute Music: Fantasia
Lute Music: Loth To Depart
Lute Music: The Most Sacred Queen Elizabeth, Her Galliard
Lute Music: The Earl Of Essex, His Galliard
Lute Music: Pavan
Lute Music: John Dowland's Galliard
Lute Music: Aloe
Lute Music: The Lady Clifton's Spirit
Lute Music: What If A Day
Lute Music: Mr. Giles Hobie's Galliard
Lute Music: Come Away (Song arrangement)
Lute Music: Galliard
Lute Music: Fancy (Fantasia)

Tracks:

Lute Music: Lachrimae (Basic Version)
Lute Music: Galliard To Lachrimae
Lute Music: [Jig]
Lute Music: Galliard On 'Wasingham'
Lute Music: Complaint (Ballad Setting)
Lute Music: Mignarda (Galliard)
Lute Music: Semper Dowland Semper Dolens (Pavan)
Lute Music: The Frog Galliard
Lute Music: A Fancy (Fantasia)
Lute Music: Fancy (Fantasia)
Lute Music: Piper's Pavan
Lute Music: Captain Digorie Piper's Galliard
Lute Music: Lady Laiton's Almain
Lute Music: Dowland's Galliard
Lute Music: Dowland's First Galliard
Lute Music: Tarleton's Jig
Lute Music: Walsingham (ballad Setting)
Lute Music: Lord Willoughbie's Welcome Home (Ballad Setting)
Lute Music: Sir Henry Guilforde, His Almain
Lute Music: Pavan (Related To 'Lachrimae')
Lute Music: Mr. Langton's Galliard
Lute Music: Mrs. Clifton's Almain
Lute Music: Galliard
Lute Music: Lady Hunsdon's Puffe (Almain)
Lute Music: Galliard
Lute Music: Go From My Window (Ballad Setting)
Lute Music: Fancy (Fantasia)

Tracks:

Lute Music: Pavana Johan Douland
Lute Music: Mrs. Brigide Fleetwood's Pavan (Solus sine sola)
Lute Music: La mia Barbara
Lute Music: Sir Henry Umpton's Funeral (Pavan)
Lute Music: Lachrimae
Lute Music: Farewell Fancy (Chromatic Fantasia)
Lute Music: Farewell (On The 'In Nomine' Theme)
Lute Music: The King of Denmark's Galliard
Lute Music: Mrs. Vaux's Jig
Lute Music: Mrs. Nichol's Almain
Lute Music: Galliard
Lute Music: Lord Strang's March
Lute Music: Mrs. Winter's Jump
Lute Music: Can She Excuse (Galliard)
Lute Music: The Shoemaker's Wife, A Toy
Lute Music: Mrs. Norrish's Delight
Lute Music: Galliard
Lute Music: Mrs. White's Thing (Almain)
Lute Music: Mrs. White's Nothing
Lute Music: The Frog Galliard
Lute Music: Solus cum sola
Lute Music: The Lord Viscount Lisle, His Galliard
Lute Music: Orlando Sleepeth (Ballad Setting)
Lute Music: Robin (Ballad Setting)
Lute Music: Galliard (On A Galliard By Daniel Bacheler)
Lute Music: Forlorn Hope Fancy (Chromatic Fantasia)

Tracks:

Lute Music: The Lady Russell's Pavan
Lute Music: Fancy (Fantasia)
Lute Music: Sir John Langton's Pavan
Lute Music: Earl Of Derby, His Galliard
Lute Music: A Coy Toy
Lute Music: Fortune My Foe
Lute Music: [Almain]
Lute Music: Mr. Knight's Galliard
Lute Music: Sir John Souch His Galliard
Lute Music: Tarletone's Riserrectione
Lute Music: The Lady Rich, Her Galliard
Consort Music: Lachrimae Pavan
Consort Music: Can She Excuse Galliard
Consort Music: Captain Piper's Pavan And Galliard
Consort Music: The Frog Galliard
Consort Music: Round Battell Galliard
Consort Music: Fortune My Foe
Consort Music: Dowland's First Galliard
Consort Music: Katherine Darcie's Galliard
Consort Music: Tarleton's Jigge
Consort Music: Almain a 2
Consort Music: Mistress Nichols Almain a 2
Fullsack And Hildebrandt: Auserlesener Paduanen und Galliarden: Susanna Fair (Galliard)
Haussmann: Rest von polnischen und andern Tanzen: Mistress Nichols Alman a 5
Opusculum: Mr. John Langton Pavan And Galliard
Opusculum: La mia Barbara Pavan and Galliard
Opusculum: Lachrimae Antiquae Novae Pavan and Galliard

Tracks:

Consort Music: Mistress NIchols Almain
Consort Music: Volta a 4 ('Ioh. Douland')
Consort Music: Were Every Thought an Eye
Consort Music: Lady If You So Spite Me
Consort Music: Pavan a 4
A Musicall Banquet: I. My Heavy Sprite (Anthony Holborne)
A Musicall Banquet: II. Change Thy Mind Since She Doth Change (Richard Martin)
A Musicall Banquet: III. O Eyes, Leave Off Your Weeping (Robert Hales)
A Musicall Banquet: IV. Go, My Flock, Go Get You Hence (Anon.)
A Musicall Banquet: V. O Dear Life, When Shall It Be? (Anon.)
A Musicall Banquet: VI. To Plead My Faith (Daniel Bacheler)
A Musicall Banquet: VII. In A Grove Most Rich Of Shade (Guillaume Tessier)
A Musicall Banquet: VIII. Far From Triumphing Court
A Musicall Banquet: IX. Lady, If You So Spite Me
A Musicall Banquet: X. In Darkness Let Me Dwell
A Musicall Banquet: XI. Si le parler et le silence (Pierre Guedron)
A Musicall Banquet: XII. Ce penser qui sans fin tirannise ma vie (Pierre Guedron)
A Musicall Banquet: XIII. Vous que le Bonheur rappelle (Pierre Guedron)
A Musicall Banquet: XIV. Passava Amor su arco desarmado (Anon. Spanish)
A Musicall Banquet: XV. Sta notte mi sognava (Anon. Italian)
A Musicall Banquet: XVI. Vuestros ojos tienen d'Amor (Anon. Spanish)
A Musicall Banquet: XVII. Se di farmi morire (Domenico Maria Megli)
A Musicall Banquet: XVIII. Dovro dunque morire? (Giulio Caccini)
A Musicall Banquet: XIX. Amarilli mia bella (Giulio Caccini)
A Musicall Banquet: XX. O bella piu (Anon, Italian)

Customer Reviews:

The greatest songs ever?.......2007-07-26

I heard 'clear or cloudy', from this recording, on the radio recently and had to purchase it. It is strange but it is the sort of song that makes life prior to listening to it different from life after. I find it sad that so many people haven't heard it. There are also many other wonderful works in this collection. Given you get twelve well recorded CDs with top quality performances, this has to be one of the bargains of the age.

Please buy it.

A musical treasure-box.......2006-09-10

Both the music and this actual product are masterpieces. John Dowland's collected works here - covering 12 compact discs - exhibit the depth and power of this composer, a composer who many now regard as suffering from clinical depression. I doubt that the issue of the diagnosis of Dowland's depression can ever be settled, however, it is certainly obvious from his music, so completely on display here, that he was a man with very dark depths and corners in his mind. Dowland's various manifestations and "takes" on his own tune, "Flow my tears"/"Lachrimae" are here. This tune has haunted me ever since I first heard it when I was a child. It seems to sum up Dowland's feelings - at least Dowland seems to have thought so.

The First, Second, Third and Fourth Bookes of Songes, A Musicall Banquet, the keyboard transcriptions, all the lute music, consort music are here and virtually everything else written or supposedly written by John Dowland. Anthony Rooley and The Consort of Musicke perform this music with style and feeling throughout. This 12 CD set is something of a monument to the ensemble - I only wish they'd finished their collection of Monteverdi madrigals, which was equally good (La Venexiana are currently doing a magnificent job of recording all Monteverdi's books of madrigals for the GLOSSA label).

This is an expensive set, however, you will probably never need to buy another John Dowland CD again after buying and listening to this collection.

I bought this CD set on a mild Summer evening of 1998 and listened to it while sitting in my sun room - which a glorious orange sunset in progress, and a glass of wine. It brought back so many memories.

a beautiful journey into melancholy.......2001-06-15

I'm amazed at how many people tend to associate John Dowland's music with a tragic sense of drama. While no doubt this is art highly based on sadness, the "tragic" sense of it is more a legacy from the Romantic period. During the Renaissance, however, sadness was undestood as a very aesthetic way of approaching life. That is also the reason why Shakespeare's tragedies appear more sophisticated than his comedies.

Tracks:

Oh Sleep, Why Dost Thou Leave Me?
Endless Pleasure
Scoglio D'Immota Fronte
Quando Spieghi I Tuoi Tormenti
Ombra Mai Fu
To Fleeting Pleasures Make Your Court
Lascia Ch'io Pianga
Dunque, I Lacci D'un Volto...Ah! Crudel
Let The Bright Seraphim
V'adoro, Pupille
Da Tempeste Il Legno Infranto
Ritorna, Oh Caro E Dolce Mio Tesoro
Sommo Rettor Del Cielo...D'una Torbida Sorgente
Pensieri, Voi Mi Tormentate
Bel Piacere E Godera Fido Amor!
Calm Thou Soul...Convey Me To Some Peaceful Shore

Amazon.com

Those who may have feared that Renée Fleming might approach Handel with a too-Romantic vocal attitude need not have; whether it's the leadership of the sympathetic, historically informed Harry Bicket, the sound of the spare but warm Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, plain good sense and musicianship, or any combination of these, here she offers sixteen arias in almost-impeccable Baroque fashion. I doubt whether sopranos of Handel's age had voices as plush as Ms Fleming's but she manages to keep her tone as light and as airy as possible in these selections, never leaning or swooping into an accompanying note in an "un-Baroque" manner, and the result is simply ravishing. The voice, of course, is almost unbelievably beautiful and agile, the technique impeccable, complete with a trill unmatchable in any soprano singing today. From the long-breathed lines of "O sleep why dost thou leave me" from Semele to the fireworks in Cleopatra's "Da tempeste…," with stops along the way at the famous "Ombra mai fu" and a complete rarity from the composer's Lotario, this CD is just breathtaking. Brava Fleming--and bravo Harry Bicket! Oh, yes--bravo Handel! --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

clear as a bell.......2007-02-16

Renee Fleming is one of the most talented female vocalists around. She has such a beautiful, crystal clear voice, and she sings every song on this album well. As a singer myself, I definitely look up to her and very much admire the tone, quality, power, and range of her voice. I would definitely reccommend this album to anyone who enjoys classical music or is looking for someone to aspire to.

Renee Fleming...somewhat out of her depth.......2006-10-20

While it's not the most thrilling Renee Fleming album in the catalogue, her interpretations of Handel pieces is quite an accomplished feat, but when compared to her earlier efforts, rings hollow with it's lack of emotion. As other reviewers have noted, Ms Fleming does not sound like she is in complete grasp of the material, and her performance lacks any real depth or dramatic weight.

Perhaps the pieces of Handel aren't completely flattering to her style, or the mood in the recording studio might not have been exactly right...a million things might have happened to dull this album's power. I have listened to this album a couple of times now, and I'll keep it in my collection, but this one is for the die-hard Renee Fleming fans.

[Decca /Universal 475 547-2]

Handel sung with gusto and wit.......2005-12-07

I am utterly in love with Renee Fleming's voice and I am very glad that she returned to her roots in this luminous Handel Recital. While her fioritura is not as excellent as Sutherland's she surpasses the Australian with her sincerity and sense for drama. Not one word is sung without attention, her silken voice sound absolutely radiant here. I also noticed that she is singing more precisely and elegantly here, giving Handel a dignified elegance, yet passion that it hasn't had since Ferrier (Who was an alto but she still reigns supreme). It is definitely a step in the right direction. Brava Miss Fleming!

Very disappointing Handel recital.......2005-10-30

This recital is mostly very bland and boring, with Fleming's Baroque vocal technique lacking in many ways.
The slow, languid arias like the opening "Oh Sleep" are too drawn out, without any character. The fast acrobatic arias show lack of agility, and poorly executed and overdone ornamentation. Fleming's heavy, laboured coloratura seems ill fitted for these selections. "Scoglio d'immota" in particular is very bad. Her leaps "from stone to stone" in this aria are proceeded by something of a bellow before each note. Fleming's rthythmic waywardness is also very evident in many tracks, and her diction is very indistinct. In English tracks she prounounces vowels in such bizarre ways, her singing of "endless laav" made me laugh and her Italian in "Quando spieghi" is just awful.
Fleming's "Ombra Mai Fu" lacks any character, tenderness, not to mention the missing recitativo. Lorraine Hunt's infinitely superior version should not be even compared to this one. And "Lascia ch'io pianga" is just so over the top, it sounds like a crossover track without the beat. Even Angela Gheorghiu's soppy but honest singing of this piece beats Fleming's interpretation.
"Let the Bright Serephim" has very serious tempo and scooping issues; Kiri Te Kanawa's unremarkable but pleasant enough version is better. "V'adoro pupille" is another drawn out, overtly sentimental aria. And in "Da Tempeste" Fleming sings the runs as it was jazz (?) music, it's strange, and the da capo part is so over the top. This aria is a total mess.
I have to admit I have problems listening to this album as a whole, midway through I just could not tolerate it any more. When I finally listened to the rest of this album, I liked it even less. The last track, Peaceful Shore is again so bland and pointless. I was just glad to be at the end of this recital.
As many people pointed out, even the accoustics of this recording are not good. The Orchestra of Enlightment plays just fine, but it makes little difference. With so many wonderful recent Handel recitals to choose from (Hunt, Bayrakdarian, Conolly, classics like Kirkby, Battle's Baroque Duets...) I think this is the one to skip.

Brava Renee!!!.......2005-09-28

This album is truly amazing. Renee has such a way with music from the Baroque era. She didn't over Romanticize the music. She lightened her voice perfectly for Handel's arias. The Giulio Cesare arias are incredible, and Endless Pleasure from Semele is astounding. Once again Brava!!

In The Court Of The Crimson King: 30th Anniversary Edition

Average customer rating:

The birth of progressive rock 1969
Overrated
A Very Important Album
HEARING AN OLD FRIEND AGAIN
enter the court of king crimson

In The Court Of The Crimson King: 30th Anniversary Edition
King Crimson
Manufacturer: Caroline
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Red 30th Anniversary Edition Remastered

ASIN: B000003S09
Release Date: 1999-09-14

Tracks:

21st Century Schizoid Man/Mirrors
I Talk To The Wind
Epitaph/March For No Reason/Tomorrow And Tomorrow
Moonchild/The Dream/The Illusion
The Court Of The Crimson King/The Return Of The Fire Witch/The Dance Of The Puppets

Amazon.com

When King Crimson released In the Court of the Crimson King in 1969, a year after the band formed in London, the world discovered a music that has never gone away. At times, it is a rush of raw energy that mutates into an impossible balance of light and shade. This was the stuff of musicians who had no fear of stepping boldly into the unknown. Led by crafty guitarist Robert Fripp, who later added his own magic to Bowie's Heroes, King Crimson got big fast with this release. --Paul Clark

Customer Reviews:

The birth of progressive rock 1969.......2007-04-21

This is a powerful debut by a powerful group. The brutal opening tears your head off and as you listen to the frenetic solos and distorted vocals on "21st Century Schizoid Man," you might think to yourself, "What year was this recorded?" Suddenly, the album shifts gears into "I Talk To The Wind," a folky, wistful but cynical reminder that you are in late-sixties counter-culture London. "Epitaph" is well done but a bit H-E-A-V-Y for a man of my tastes (I prefer the Moody Blues when I seek mellotron melodrama), but "Moonchild" makes a nice transition into surreal flowery hippiedom (for those who tire of the extened improv at the end, the "Frame By Frame" box set has an abridged version that may be the one featured in the film "Buffalo 66"). The album's closer, "In The Court Of The Crimson King," is pure artrock - daddy to Genesis. The audio production and musical arrangements are superb. Great album.

Overrated.......2007-03-28

In The Court Of the Crimson King is without a doubt a landmark album that changed the course of progressive music, but in my opinion it does not live up to the five stars everyone so eagerly seems to want to give it. The only 5 star song in the album is perhaps track 5: The Court Of The Crimson King. 21st Century Schizoid Man and I Talk to the Wind are also decent songs but pale in comparison to Greg Lakes work in any of the Emerson Lake & Palmer albums. The major drawback is having to endure Moonchild, the longest song on the album, which is nothing more than a bunch of disjointed sounds with practically no musical relevance at all. Unless you're into the historical significance of the album I wouldn't waste my money on it. In it's place I recommend Emerson Lake & Palmer's Trilogy and Tarkus.

A Very Important Album.......2007-01-16

When people talk about the roots of progressive rock, this album is usually one of the main contenders. Listening to this album now, I can honestly say I enjoy other King Crimson albums more, and other progressive rock albums for that matter. But the fact that this album was created in the late 60's, experimenting with the now classic styles of progressive rock, and while other giants in the genre were just getting started, makes this a monumental and definitive album.

The original line-up of Robert Fripp(guitar), Greg Lake (bass, vocals), Ian McDonald (keyboard, synths), Michael Giles (drums), and Peter Sinfield (lyrics) was a short-lived one, but one that created their best album until the legendary power trio (Fripp, Wetton and Brufford) stunned the progressive scene in 74 with "Red". Coincidentally this album starts in a similar vein to "Red", with the frenetic "21st Century Schizoid Man" setting the album off with a fast and powerful start. The song combines some harsh vocals and a timeless, classic Fripp riff to kick things off. This is ensued by a stunning and overtly technical jazz-fusion middle section, which leads back to the main motif and riff. It is an outstanding opener, and the most fluid, immediate song KC would make for years.

The rest of the album is significantly more relaxed, creating a heavy vibe of sadness and melancholy. This is probably best shown with the classic ballad "Epitaph", a superb and lush outing that is both texturally beautiful and thematically unsettling. This is due to the profound and touching lyrics dealing with the ease and excess of misguidance and ignorance, sung with great passion and a deal of desperation from Lake. Musically the song has a heavy dosage of strings and dramatic timpani rolls to build up a brooding piece.

"I Talk To The Wind", which comes in before "Epitaph", is a very calming piece, slowly washing over with some gentle flute playing, vocal harmonies and some splashy ride cymbals, it is a nice song, and acts as a good contrast to the album's opening flurry. "Moonchild" seems a little pointless to me, and the only weak song. It starts decent enough, and feels like it will continue in the same vein as the two pervious ballads. But then Fripp and the gang seem to want to push the idea of the music being experimental, of a higher `art', as they experiment with various instruments for a good twelve minutes. It is essentially `noodling', and makes for a rather dull and unmemorable song.

After the only weak song, the album closes in fine style with the dreamy, ethereal choruses of the title track. This song has always been one of my favourite KC tracks. It really is a masterpiece of a ballad, combining quiet and understated verses with big, lush choruses, packed with strings and eerie vocal harmonies that send shivers down my spine. A perfect ending to one of rocks most influential and important albums.

HEARING AN OLD FRIEND AGAIN.......2006-11-15

I am out of my mind to find this album! I'm always quoting from it, and no one knows it. Hello being 16 again! Play it loud!

enter the court of king crimson.......2006-10-29

enter the landscape of your mind, a world so strange and unkown that it seems untouched. yes, this is a masterpeice, a stand-alone album. listen with unbiased ears and you will enjoy an experience like nothing of this earth. a collaboration of musical geniuses creating a cosmic masterpeice. open your mind to music that doesn't dwell in the "mainstream". king crimson is a band that was touched by the galatic unity bringing the human ear to a universal level far off in space.

Average customer rating:

It was faulty on the last title to be played The Carnival of Venice
Awesome Collection!
A Wonderful Collection
Wonderful edition to your trumpet collection.
Quite the CD

Greatest Hits: Trumpet

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Classic Wynton
Famous Classical Trumpet Concertos
Trumpet Concertos
Baroque Trumpet Concertos
Wynton Marsalis - Baroque Music for Trumpet

ASIN: B000002AVK
Release Date: 1994-12-06

Tracks:

Brandenburg Concerto No.2, BWV 1047: III. Allegro assai
Birthday Ode For Queen Anne: Eternal Source Of Light Divine
Concerto For 2 Trumpets In C Major, RV 537: 1. Allegro
The Prince Of Denmark March
Canzon V
First Symphonic Suite: Rondeau
Trumpet Tune 'Martial Air': Martial Air
Trumpet Concerto In E-Flat Major: III. Finale. Allegro
Sonata a 9 zu der Kayserlichen Serenade
Voluntary In C Major
Trumpet Concerto In E-Flat Major: II. Andante
Trumpet Concerto In E-Flat Major: III. Rondo
Pictures At An Exhibition: Promenade
Petrushka: Dance Of The Ballerina & Waltz
Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30: Introduction
Lieutenant Kije: Symphonic Suite, Op. 60: Kije's Wedding
Hary Janos Suite: Entrance Of The Emperor & His Court
Swan Lake, Op. 20: Naepolitan Dance (Act III) - Tchaikovsky
Rondo For Lifey
Concerto No. 1 For Piano, Trumpet & String Orchestra, Op. 35: IV. Allegro con brio
Tsar Saltan: Flight Of The Bumblebee
The Three Aces - Clarke
A Bugler's Holiday
Variations On The Carnival Of Venice

Customer Reviews:

It was faulty on the last title to be played The Carnival of Venice.......2007-06-01

I returned this to New Castle. Box 15550. I have heard nothing. The date of the return was 15/05/07 from my Throop postoffice in Dorset. I sent it recorded delivery. Over to you. There was nothing on the return screen to explain the fault. ie faulty track. So after many attempts to get intouch I sent it to the address on the paper inside the parcel. Please help.
I am a Grandmother so I am over 13 ???

Awesome Collection!.......2006-07-04

As a young boy I would play my trumpet from my father's old Arban's method book. My private trumpet teacher (Mr. Bonfield) would love to play duets with me from the Merchant of Venice. One day I heard Wynoton Marsailas play a a flawless rendition of The Merchant of Venice on my local clasical radio station. It was flawless and brought back many fond memories of studiying the trumpet as a youngster with my beloved teacher. This collection contains that rendition and a wide selecton of clasical trumpet pieces. You may not recognize every song, but you will enjoy the high quality of the music and artists on this CD. Anyone looking for an introduction to quality, classical, trumpet music should buy this CD. The price also makes this an affordable must for any true trumpet fan.

A Wonderful Collection.......2004-01-26

This is a splendid anthology of music. Traditional Baroque and orchestral pieces up front, and a few surprises nearer the end. A splendid work. The price makes it a steal. Add it to your cart. You will not be sorry. There is technical excellence - peace in some of the songs and real energy in others.

Wonderful edition to your trumpet collection........2003-10-21

Trumpet fans should all own this album, that is if they don't already own all of the pieces on here on separate recordings (it would take a while to obtain them all). This recording features a bunch of great classical trumpeters and innovators such as Armando Ghitalla, Phil Smith, Wynton Marsalis, Mark Gould, H.L. Clarke, Ron Romm, Charles Schleuter, William Vacchiano, and more. Great performances of Bach's "Brandenburg Concerto No. 2", the Haydn and Hummel Concertos, Wynton's excellent performance of J.B. Arban's "The Carnival Of Venice", the New England Brass Ensemble performing "Trumpet Voluntary", a very good job done by a Baroque Orchestra of the Vivaldi Concerto for Two Trumpets, "The Three Aces" played by H.L. Clarke, and Leroy Anderson's classic "A Bugler's Holiday".

Overall this is a great listen to some of the best trumpet players of all-time in this idiom. All of the pieces are impeccably played by some of the best. I didn't discover this tape in my collection until recently, and boy I'm glad I did.

Quite the CD.......2001-04-17

If I were you, I would buy this CD. It is a diverse collection of amazing performances of quintessential pieces - an important addition to any classical music fan's collection. Heck, even if you're not big on classical music (or trumpet music or brass music or music at all) you should purchase this compact disc.

Tracks:

Warthog, The (The Hog Beneath The Skin)
The Sea Horse
The Chameleon
Whale, The (Mopy Dick)
Je Suis Le Tenebreux
Songs For Our Time
A Song Of The Weather - Flanders & Swann
The Reluctant Cannibal
Greensleeves
Misalliance
Kokoraki
Madeira M'Dear?
Too Many Cookers
Built Up Area
In The Bath (From 'At The Drop Of A Hat')
Sea Fever
The Hippopotamus Song

Tracks:

The Gas Man Cometh
Sounding Brass
Los Olividados
In The Desert
The Sloth
The Rhinoceros
Kangaroo Tango
Jaguar
Dead Ducks
The Elephant
By Air
Slow Train
A Song Of Patriotic Prejudice - Flanders & Swann
The Humming Bird
The Portuguese Man-Of-War
Sea Fever
The Hippopotamus Song

Tracks:

The Gas Man Cometh
Sounding Brass
Los Olividados
In The Desert
The Sloth
The Rhinoceros
Kangaroo Tango
Jaguar
Dead Ducks
The Elephant
By Air
Slow Train
A Song Of Patriotic Prejudice - Flanders & Swann
The Humming Bird
The Portuguese Man-Of-War
The Wild Boar
The Ostrich
The Wompom
Twice Shy
Commonwealth Fair
P** P* B**** B** D******
Paris
Eine Kleine Nacht Musik Cha Cha Cha
The Hundred Song
Food For Thought

Album Details

Fantastic Triple CD Box Set of the Recorded Works of One of Britain's Most Popular Comedy Duos. Their Keen Observations of Everyday British Life and Abilities to Exemplify them in Song Made them the Darlings of the UK. Cleverness, Wit and Absoute Hilarity were the Order of the Day, in Just About Any Style of Music. Pure Comic Genius on Three Discs!

Customer Reviews:

Return to Sanity.......2005-07-27

Before Monty Python, before the Beatles, before "'Enery the Aigth Oi Am" there was the subtle, sweet, insdious humor of Flanders and Swann, and their lyrics remain part of the recognition rituals of Ivy Leaguers of the sixties. For any aging hippies or yuppies who find life WAY more stressful than we ever expected, and for whom the down side of alcohol, sex, and drugs has become apparent, I recommend listening several times to "In the Bath". It raises a cry for peace among the nations by inviting all the leaders to sit congenially steaming in a communal bathtub. And they reminding us of our essential self-interest when they add the proviso "as long as Swann and Flanders get the end without the taps." On those nights when we suspect that there isn't any point to it all, reach for the Flanders and Swann. They won't convince you there is any meaning to life, but they'll make it a lot easier to bear. Don't even try to do without it.

Have Some Madeira.......2005-07-06

Not every line in Flanders and Swann has become part of our 37-year marriage, but many have. As our turntables fail, we are pleased that we can relive all the fun stuff we used to collect. Nothing is like this duo, especially what you usually hear as French horn by Mozart converted into "I found that horn go(r)ne." And, of course,
"Have some Madeira, m'dear" is an all-time favorite.

British humour at its best.......2003-03-15

When I started out as a teacher of English, I had the most wonderful colleague as a mentor -- when she retired she gave me three LPs with much of what is on these CDs, and it must be one of the best gifts I have ever been given. Practically all of it makes me smile or laugh out loud (although I must admit that some, like The Armadillo and Slow Train, make me so melancholy that I can just feel my lower lip tremble and my eyes fill up). How can you beat lines like "Hail to thee, blithe Wompom", or "The English are moral, the English are good / And clever, and modest, and misunderstood"? I find they make great listening exercises for my teenaged students as well -- they consider it ancient, but incredibly funny!

If you haven't heard this..........2003-01-16

The great comedic pairing of the late Michael Flanders (vocals) and Donald Swann (piano and occasional vocals) must surely rank among the hall of fame of comic singers and songwriters. Descended from the British music hall tradition, these two men wrote and performed music which still sparkles with wit today, some 40 or more years since it was recorded.

After being told to take up singing as a means of strengthening his polio-weakened lungs, the wheelchair-bound Flanders teamed up with pianist Swann and proceeded to write such classic songs as "The Hippo Song (Mud Mud Glorious Mud)", "The Gasman Cometh", "The Gnu Song", "A Transport of Delight" and many others. As well as a gently satirical spirit, all these songs feature the sublime wordplay and interplay of both men.

The first two discs of this box set are actual concerts - "At The Drop Of A Hat" and its successor "At The Drop Of Another Hat". Recorded at the height of the duo's popularity and form, the sound quality is surprisingly good for recordings this old.

"At The Drop Of A Hat" opens with three of the Flanders and Swann classics. "Transport Of Delight", a song in praise of the "97 horsepower omnibus" features the wonderful harmonies of the duo on lines like "any more fares" and Flanders' dead-on impression of a London busdriver "Geddardait, we're full right up inside". "Song of Reproduction" deals with the new, as it was then, stereo technology and features Flanders delivering an incredible monologue using every conceivable piece of audiophile jargon. "The Gnu Song" (in which "gnu" is pronounced phonetically) is a real treat. The audience's reaction to the reappearance of the gnu is superb.
As well as this opening trio, the disc features Flanders' snippets of "Songs For Our Time" (in which he experiments with conventions of hit songs), "Song of the Weather" (a rundown of English weather throughout the year), "The Reluctant Cannibal" (featuring Swann in the tititular role and the chorus "I can't eat people/I won't eat people/eatin' people is wrong"), Swann's foray into Greek folksong "Kokraki" and the justifiably famous "Madeira M'Dear". The performance ends with a rousing version of "The Hippo Song".
Flanders is in fine voice throughout and his comments introducing each song are delivered with deadpan accuracy. The story behind "The Gnu Song" is an absolute masterpiece. Flanders' monologue about the creation of "Greensleeves" is also superb - "'Greenfleeves'. That's an interesting name for a fong" (referencing old English script) being just a taste.

"Another Hat" begins in equally fine form with "Gasman Cometh" and "Ill Wind". "Gasman", presaged as "a tale of unending domestic upheaval", is sure to have most people who've ever dealt with unreliable tradesmen nodding in agreement, while "Ill Wind" is Flanders' attempt at setting words to a French horn concerto featuring the immortal lines "I lost that horn/lost that horn/lost that horn/found that horn/gorn". The performance continues with Swann's Russian/English song "In The Desert", the ending of which is truly side-splitting. "All Gall" (a reinterpretation of "This Old Man" to fit then-French President Charles de Gaulle) is a little dated but very cleverly done. "Song of Patriotic Prejudice", with its introduction and opening lines grabbing the audience's attention is another triumph, while the "Hippo Encore" is a great end to the performance.
Again Flanders is at his peak. His loving description of the Spanish olive-stuffers ("Olividados") and his superb story about flying ("By Air") are both brilliant examples of the shaggy dog story.
My favourite from both of these discs would have to be "First and Second Law". Flanders decides to educate Swann in elementary science and picks on the first and second laws of thermodynamics ("heat is work and work is heat" and "heat cannot of itself pass from one body to a hotter body") and the repetition of these phrases in time to Swann's barely-there piano accompaniment is one of the finest moments in British comedy.

The third disc is largely forgettable. It begins with a series of animal-related songs performed in a studio and without much of Flanders' rambling introductions. "Warthog" has its moments, while the others were clearly not performed in front of an audience for a reason. "Wompom" is also mildly diverting, presenting a story about a made-up substance which is the answer to everything.
The rest of the disc is then filled out with much earlier material in a rather poorly-recorded concert. "20 Tons of TNT" (related to the calculation the pair had done which gave that as the amount of TNT per person on the planet at the time) provides food for thought, but little more.

Is this box set for everyone? No. Much of the humour both within and without the songs does require a bit of background knowledge to what was going on in Britain and Europe at the time (1960s), John Profumo is referenced a few times as well as Charles de Gaulle and the Common Market, while a smattering of classical music knowledge can help out a bit with Swann's work and "Ill Wind". The fact that my grandfather (who's in his late 70s) recalls hearing these songs and laughing may give an indication as to the age of some of the subject matter. Equally the fact that "First and Second Law" references an awful lot of physics might do the same.

Nevertheless, for anyone who loves British humour done in a gentle manner or who is interested in the source of "mud mud glorious mud/nothing quite like it for cooling the blood", give these CDs some serious consideration.

Gentle Satire.......2002-04-03

I've been singing Flanders and Swann every day In the Bath since I first heard them in 1964. If you don't know them, think Gilbert and Sullivan by way of English music hall and Noel Coward, with a bit of Tom Lehrer musical satire and classic Bob Newhart or Charlie Manna monologues. F&S commented gently on their times: "The purpose of satire, it has been rightly said, is to strip away the veneer of comfortable illusion and cozy half-truth. And our job, as I see it, is to put it back again." Quite simply the best comic songs and patter of the 20th century. Michael died in 1975, Donald in 1994. Goodnight, Mabel Figworthy, wherever you are.

Here are some samples of Michael's verbal wit.

Wordplay:
- "A Transport of Delight," their song of the pleasures of the double-decker bus "has recently been adopted as the theme song of the Underground resistance movement."
- Speculating that Henry VIII wrote Greensleeves: "and the royalties go to royalty."
- About a tennis referee late in the day: "the umpire upon whom the sun never sets."
- Explaining how he was hoisted in his wheelchair onto airliners by a fork lift: "Why they need a great machine like that to lift forks I do not know. Well, they're only plastic, now, aren't they?"
- On status symbols: "The object is to Gunga Din your neighbor: 'I'm a better man than you' is the acid test," and, "let's bang our status cymbals with the best."
- To a disenchanted cannibal: "You used to be a regular anthropophagi."
- Of a lecher: "And he said as he hastened to put out the cat, the wine, his cigar, and the lamps," while the girl "lowered her standards by raising her glass, her courage, her eyes, and his hopes."
- At the corrida d'olivas (the Andorran festival of olive stuffing, not to be confused with the Spanish corrida de toros, or bullfight): "And a great cry goes up of Ole! He has made an 'ol."
- "It's no good going up to a scientist and saying to him like you would to anybody else, 'Good morning, how are you, lend me a quid, and so on.' He'll just glare at you, or make a rude retort."

Throw-aways
- During the height of the cold war the Soviet Union sent the Moscow Ballet on a world tour. Donald sang one chorus of the Hippopotamus Song "mud, mud, glorious mud - nothing quite like it for cooling the blood" in Russian. Michael: "That should improve our cultural relations."
- During the 1963 Mandy Rice-Davies and Christine Keeler scandal: "None of that going around saying no smoke without fire. Nil cumbustibus, Profumo." Also, from "Friendly Duet," "such models of friendship are precious and rare, while the friendship of models is not."
- "Now if you're writing a musical, as I'm sure practically all of you are, . . ."
- Of Donald: "You know that no one has a higher regard for your music . . . than you do yourself. I merely meant that you are not great because you are not dead. If you wish to be great you must stop composing and start decomposing."
- "We never found a rhyme for (Soviet Premier Nikita) "Kruschev" until he was dead: Did he die or was he "pushed off"?"
- "We spent two dreadful, uh, delightful years, entertaining the Americans whose need, let's face it, is greater even than yours. Of course, when we're over there we say that the other way 'round."
- "No matter what you may say about the Germans, and who doesn't . . ."
- "Some of the songs that have made our names a household word, like slop-bucket . . ."
- "They've started testing cars now. They started at 10 years, then 5, now three. There's even some talk of having them tested before they leave the factory."

Absurdities
- "I'm delirious about our new oven fitted with the eye-level grill. This means that without my having to bend down the hot fat can squirt straight into my eye."
- A spectator during the construction of Stonehenge: "So, it's not going to be lived in. Well, that's something anyway. So what is it, then? It's a what?! A calendar?! A bit big for a calendar isn't it? You'd look pretty foolish with that on your desk."
- "Donald knocked himself out this morning. Got one of those new pop-up toasters. Nasty things."

Incredible multiple rhymes:
- "The fair hippoptama he aimed to entice from her seat on her hilltop above, as she hadn't got a ma to give her advice, went tip-toeing down to her love."
- Of Josephine: "Nonsense, said Bonaparte. She lives on her own, apart, in her own apartment."
- "Oh let us be married if our parents don't mind. We'd be happy and inseparable. Inextricably entwined. We'd live happily every after, said the Honeysuckle to the Bindweed."
- "And you'll always see a single lace-less left-hand leather boot. A bootless British river bank's a shock. We leave them there at midnight, you can track a member's route by the alternating print of boot and sock."

At the Drop of a Hat
Average customer rating:

old and still good

Not What it Claims to be

Good Memories!!

Witty, clever and a joy to listen to

At the Drop of a Hat
Michael Flanders & Donald Swann
Manufacturer: EMI Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Best of Flanders & Swan - A Transport of Delight

Complete Flanders & Swann

The Songs of Michael Flanders & Donald Swann

A Drop of Hilarity from Flanders & Swann

An Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer

ASIN: B000026GPR
Release Date: 1999-07-15

Tracks:

A Transport Of Delight
Song Of Reproduction
The Gnu Song
Design For Living
Je Suis Le Tenebreux
Songs For Our Time
A Song Of The Weather
The Reluctant Cannibal
Greensleeves
Misalliance
Kokoraki
Madeira M'Dear?
Too Many Cookers
Vanessa
Tried By The Centre Court
The Youth Of The Heart
The Hippopotamus Song

Customer Reviews:

old and still good.......2005-02-20

I count myself a rare American who appreciates this recording. My uncle sent it to me on tape when I was quite small. my mom, ever handy with the censor's razor blade, let it go--untouched--in spite of the song about madeira, which I now know is about an old man doing the nasty to a young innocent lass. back then, of course, I thought it was about cake! with both mom and uncle passed on, I wanted to buy up what music of theirs I could locate, and I fortunately found the Complete Flanders and Swann, apparently no longer available. i bought up the copy and didn't get scalped, somehow. 45 years after the songs were sung, "Transport of Delight," "Soung of Reproduction," and "reluctant Cannibal," and yes even "Song of the Weather," still reverberate in my mind. i used to sing "The Gas Man Cometh," from the "At the drop of Another Hat" show album, in performances as a teen-ager, and sometimes even got good results. any of their albums are money well spent.

Not What it Claims to be.......2004-12-10

For those of you who grew up with the UK recording of "At the Drop of a Hat" be warned - in spite of what it says on the box this is NOT the recording of the 1959 show at the Fortune Theatre. This is the Broadway show.

The identity of the recording can be determined in the first minute from Flanders' introduction of Swann as "noted composer, pianist, linguist, also contains lanolin" - in the Fortune Theatre recording he is introduced as "noted composer, pianist, linguist, and all round egghead". There are substantial differences in the two performances, not least of which the pace which is a lot quicker in this recording, lacking the elegant timing which characterised the UK performance and which is comparable to the available CD of "At the Drop of Another Hat" (which WAS recorded in the UK).

Many of the jokes and asides are different - for instance in "Have Some Madeira", the Fortune Theatre recording includes an aside "He slyly inveigled her up to his flat, to view his collection of stamps [aside] All unperforated! ha ha ha ..." clearly this was regarded as too risqué for the US performance.

The songs are the same vintage and hilarious Flanders and Swann but the presentation, to me, is nowhere close to the quality of the earlier performance - it sounds to me like they were by this stage tired of the material and "going through the motions" for an audience that they did not relate to in the same way as an English audience.

Incidentally - Too Many Cookers, Vanessa, Tried by the Centre Court and The Youth of the Heart were not on the original LP recording and judging from the acoustics these were recorded elsewhere. The sleeve notes identify these as being recorded in 1957, 2 years prior to the Fortune Theatre performance.

Good Memories!!.......2000-12-05

My father used to work in the kitchen, cooking or cleaning, with music playing in the background. One of his favorites was this album by Flanders & Swann. He had seen the show and loved the record. I sang the songs through my childhood and now I sing them to my children, my co-workers, my friends! I only just realized that I can get the original album on CD. WHAT JOY!!!

Witty, clever and a joy to listen to.......2000-08-30

I first encountered Flanders and Swan on the LP version of this recording forty years ago. Loved it then, love it today. These two inventive and joyful British devils have delighted theatre audiences for years and their "Hippopotamus Song" has become something of a children's classic. This is the original cast recording of their first hit London show and is a marvelous performance. Can't say enough good about it but best of all my wife and I have been humming the songs and quoting the lyrics to one another now and then ever since we got the LP as a wedding present.

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