Mercy, Mercy, Mercy: A Collection

Amazon.com
These clean-cut Chicagoans were unrepentantly commercial popsters whose wholesomely catchy, horn-laced '60s hits retain their bubblegum charm three decades after the fact. The 18 track Mercy, Mercy, Mercy is an exemplary best-of disc, collecting all of the group's major hits, i.e. "Kind of A Drag," "Don't You Care," "Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)," and "Susan." Meanwhile, less familiar numbers like covers of Lloyd Price's "Lawdy Miss Clawdy," the Beatles' "I Call Your Name," and a vocal interpretation of the Cannonball Adderley jazz tune that provides the collection's title suggest that there was more substance to the band than its squeaky-clean hits let on. --Scott Schinder

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy: A Collection,The Buckinghams,Sony,Pop,Popular Music,Rock,Rock/Pop,Sunshine Pop

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy: A Collection

Average customer rating:

+1/2 -- Chicago '60s garage-soul goes pop
Surprising
60's pop group, title cut was biggest hit
Interesting history of Chicago brass
Great Memories

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy: A Collection
The Buckinghams
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000027PL
Release Date: 1991-08-27

Tracks:

Kind Of A Drag
Lawdy Miss Clawdy
I've Been Wrong Before
I'll Go Crazy
I Call Your Name
Makin' Up And Breakin' Up
Don't You Care
Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)
Susan
Back In Love Again
You Misunderstand Me
Where Did You Come From
This Is How Much I Love You
It's A Beautiful Day (For Lovin')
Difference Of Opinion
I Got A Feelin'
You

Amazon.com

These clean-cut Chicagoans were unrepentantly commercial popsters whose wholesomely catchy, horn-laced '60s hits retain their bubblegum charm three decades after the fact. The 18 track Mercy, Mercy, Mercy is an exemplary best-of disc, collecting all of the group's major hits, i.e. "Kind of A Drag," "Don't You Care," "Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)," and "Susan." Meanwhile, less familiar numbers like covers of Lloyd Price's "Lawdy Miss Clawdy," the Beatles' "I Call Your Name," and a vocal interpretation of the Cannonball Adderley jazz tune that provides the collection's title suggest that there was more substance to the band than its squeaky-clean hits let on. --Scott Schinder

Customer Reviews:

+1/2 -- Chicago '60s garage-soul goes pop.......2007-05-08

This Chicago rock 'n' soul outfit broke out with their single "Kind of a Drag" for the independent USA label. A superb debut album was rushed out, and the band quickly found itself signed to Columbia. The major label groomed and remolded the band, retaining their horn-powered sound, but adding string arrangements and tighter production that dissipated their garage edge. Where the horns on the debut added a sweaty, soulful punch, their major label work (increasingly controlled by producer James Guercio, who'd later strike it rich with Chicago) was softer and more calculated.

Still, they had an impressive string of hits throughout 1967, including a sly vocal version of Cannonball Adderly's "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," and three more from in-house songwriter, Jim Holvay. "Don't You Care" and "Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)" continued the horn-and-organ grooves found on "Kind of a Drag," and "Susan" added an unusual psych-out in the middle of its Association-meets-the-Rascals vocals. By the start of 1968 the band's commercial fortunes had cooled, by mid-year they were frozen, and two years later the group would disband. Still, they recorded some nice sides in '69 and '70, applying their sun dappled pop-soul sound to catchy material like "It's a Beautiful Day (for Lovin')" and breaking away slightly for the hippie-country "I Got a Feelin'" and the singer-songwritery ballad "You."

This 18 track compilation includes five tracks from the band's USA debut ("Kind of a Drag," "I've Been Wrong Before," "I'll Go Crazy," "I Call Your Name," "Makin' Up & Breakin' Up"), plus hits and album tracks from their Columbia catalog. There's some continuity between the two periods, but the more polite drumming and manicured horns of the later material loses the energy of the debut. This is a fair representation of the band's career, but those who love the earlier material should also pick up Sundazed's reissue of the debut LP. 3-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2007 redtunictroll at hotmail dot com]

Surprising.......2007-02-16

I was really surprised at the sound of this one. I thought this sound was gone forever. The Buckinghams had a unique sound that no one else can capture. Love the Lead singer voice. This one is a must buy. It was a pleasure to listen to. The harmonizing is still the best I have ever heard.
Anna M. Benson

60's pop group, title cut was biggest hit.......2007-01-10

I got the CD because my band was playing Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, and I wanted to demonstrate a contrast to the well known Cannonball Adderly version. I recommend the CD to fans of 60's rock 'n roll, you may have forgotten some of their hits, but they were a fun band to listen to.

Interesting history of Chicago brass.......2007-01-06

The liner notes are worth the price. Not all tunes are great but you get an interesting look at the evolution of brass rock from Chicago.

Great Memories.......2006-11-06

This cd brought back great memories! If you've ever gotten a chill whenever you've heard the first strains of "Kind of a Drag", this cd will bring it all back to you-it features all of the great hits that I remember from this rocking band of the 60's.

The Collection: Oh, Mercy/Time Out of Mind/Love and Theft

Average customer rating:

Excellent Combo for an Aging Ageless Wonder
The Collection: Oh, Mercy/Time Out of Mind/Love and Theft
The New Dylan...
Three Stellar Records in One Collection
He's Older Now, but as Good, Maybe Better than Ever

The Collection: Oh, Mercy/Time Out of Mind/Love and Theft
Bob Dylan
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Modern Times
Desire

ASIN: B000AAIXT0
Release Date: 2005-08-30

Tracks:

Political World
Where Teardrops Fall
Everything Is Broken
Ring Them Bells
Man in the Long Black Coat
Most of the Time
What Good Am I?
Disease of Conceit
What Was It You Wanted
Shooting Star

Tracks:

Love Sick
Dirt Road Blues
Standing in the Doorway
Million Miles
Tryin' to Get to Heaven
'Til I Fell in Love with You
Not Dark Yet
Cold Irons Bound
Make You Feel My Love
Can't Wait
Highlands

Tracks:

Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum
Mississippi
Summer Days
Bye and Bye
Lonesome Day Blues
Floater (Too Much to Ask)
High Water (For Charley Patton)
Moonlight
Honest With Me
Po' Boy
Cry a While
Sugar Baby

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Combo for an Aging Ageless Wonder.......2006-09-02

Because of the long section in Chronicles on Dylan's perspective on Oh, Mercy, I wanted to check it out. I had Time Out of Mind on cassette from when it first came out, and I had Love and Theft on CD--but the under $20 price for all three made me get this set, with the idea that I would give my second wrapped copy of Love and Theft to someone as a present. (Each of the 3 CD's is wrapped as new--in the light cardboard box which has no additional extras at all.)
Anyway, Oh, Mercy is really excellent. Each song entices your involvement and interest. I am glad to finally catch up with it.
Time Out of Mind is a genius work. From my cassette version of 10 years ago, I knew it was an older guy singing about aging, the perspective from the mature end of relationships,and sounding like a person who had seen and experienced much. Personally, I think it is his best overall work since Blood on the Tracks.
Love and Theft is another story. The first two CD's would easily get 5 stars, but this one seems too simple minded. It is not lighthearted sounding with purity (as I think of Nashville Skyline) but rather just somewhat superficial. I have played it a number of times, and I keep hoping that I missed something-because when it came out, the critics were saying how wonderful and special it was, but I think it is just ok. It is way above something like Selfportrait or Dylan, but it would not make the upper echelon of Bob Dylan albums.
Overall, the package of the 3 is a great deal, and well worth the price.

The Collection: Oh, Mercy/Time Out of Mind/Love and Theft.......2006-08-31

more super stuff from Dylan. prompt service from amazon

The New Dylan..........2006-01-05

That would've been a good name for this set.
This is a coupling of albums that really makes sense. If you're a Dylan fan from days of yore, this would be a good way to bring yourself up to speed. None of these albums ever really qualified as a comeback in the literal sense; Dylan wrote plenty of good songs in the 80's, he just scattered them across a few too many albums. I guess 1997's _Time Out of Mind_ comes closest; it had been been six years since his last all-new record (the unfortunate post-Wilbury hangover known as _Under the Red Sky_, thankfully omitted from this set). But even then, he'd been burning it up onstage for two years prior, and had made two offbeat but charming albums of accoustic folk/blues interpretations. Really what sets the three records here apart is that they forced even the sometimes inattentive general public to sit up and take notice. That tells you something about how good they are.

The one thing that would have improved this set would be if they'd found a way to include the three essential non-album tracks that came out during this time period ("Series of Dreams", a spare part from _Oh Mercy_, "Dignity", from _Greatest Hits Vol. 3_, and "Things Have Changed" from the _Wonder Boys_ soundtrack).

The remastered version of _Oh Mercy_, included here, is a nice sonic upgrade from the old version.

Three Stellar Records in One Collection.......2005-10-30

Here are three records from late in Dylan's body of work, the three best ones of his latter period, if Dylan can be said to have periods. Many break his career up into bits and pieces. You know the folk and protest period, the folk rock period and so on and so on, while others, myself included, just appreciate his albums each and every one.

Oh Mercy - Eerie Haunting Sound You Can't Get Out of Your Mind

Many people thought this album was a comeback for Dylan, many others, myself included, never thought he went away. However, I must admit Daniel Lanois' production sort of brings one back to the Dylan of old, you know, before he signed on the girl backup singers. Their is an artistic sound to this record reminiscent of a smoothed out Blonde on Blonde sound. So I can see how one would think they were getting the Dylan of the Sixties back again.

I've heard it said that this record has not stood the test of time as say, Highway 61 has, but I'd have to disagree. I play this record often, actually more than Highway 61, so I guess by my lights, the record still has pretty strong legs. The imagery in "Man With a Long Black Coat" is as powerful as anything Dylan has done. "Shooting Star" is every bit as good a song as "She Belongs to Me" for example and "Political World" is just as meaningful now as when Ronald Reagan was President, some, myself included, would say more so. And who hasn't suffered from the "Disease of Conceit" a song that could be about us all.

It is hard, out of such a body of work to pick out an album you like best, actually impossible, but for me this one is right up there near the top.

Time Out of Mind - Eerie, Haunting, Dark and Searing

When TOOM (Time Out Of Mind) came out it had been seven years since Dylan had done an album of original songs. Was TOOM worth the wait? I'd say so. For me this record harkens all the way back to "Blood on the Tracks" with Dylan delivering searing songs full of hurt, heartbreak and emotion. This album is bittersweat and dark. This album is great. This album stands near the top of a superb body of work.

And yet again, when this record came out it was hearlded as a comeback for Dylan. I swear this man has had more comebacks than Carter's got pills. Mr. Dylan never left. He has always been here, always making music, just sometimes some of his records don't etch their way into your soul the way others do. Some of his records are merely outstanding, some others, like this one, blaze like a firey comet streaking across the desert sky, burning their way into your conscious.

I suppose every five years or so Dylan has to put out a record like this just to remind us all what a real poet is all about.

Love and Theft - Kind of a Playful, Jazzy, Crooning and Rocking Bob Dylan

Still again, after a long hiatus of no albums with original tunes, many people hailed "Time Out of Mind" as still another comeback for Dylan with this record, delivered four years later in 2001, building upon said comeback. Only this time he isn't as eerie, haunting and dark as he was on "Time". In fact at times it seems Mr. Dylan has turned downright playful with his music. We have Dylan kind of crooning on some of the songs in this set of very good rock and roll songs, many of which have kind of a jazzy inflection to them.

In my opinion Dylan's gravely voice works well with this set and the songs blend into each other making a whole that is much better than the sum of its parts. I play this record quite a bit, but then I play most of his good records quite a bit. Some have said, my Gal Sara, for instance that perhaps I play Mr. Dylan's music a bit too much. Thank goodness I've got an iPod, so that when I'm up alone at night working on the computer or trying to hammer out words on paper with pen or pencil, I can listen to this record as loud as I want. My hearing may be going though, but so what, it's worth it.

Jack Priest, Writer from the Darkside

He's Older Now, but as Good, Maybe Better than Ever.......2005-10-30

He was good when he was a kid, he was good when he was in his fourties and his fifties. He's old now, but he's better than ever. Read on:

"Oh Mercy" is easily one of my favorite Dylan albums, and if it's not in the top five, it's certainly in the top ten. A lot of people, who had written off Mr. D's relevance, were taken aback when this record came out. There was a lot of, "Dylan's back." or "I knew he had it in him." kind of comments going around after folks gave this record a listen too. Folks in the biz, those in the know, started calling "Oh Mercy" Dylan's comeback record. But then there were those who had been faithful fans, listening and appreciating his music all along. For them, Dylan had never really gone anywhere to come back from. That said, this record does harkens back to those Dylan albums of yesteryear, with those story songs that are so wonderful. This is most certainly a five star album and one you absolutely must own.

"Time Out of Mind" is considered a comeback album by many. These people think that just because Bob Dylan put out a couple Christian Records, or A couple records with a gang of Gospel singers, or a couple records of old blues and public domain songs, that he'd lost it, forgotten how to do rock and roll, forgotten how to write. So when these so called comeback albums come out, they raise their hands, look to the heavens and shout out "Praise the Lord, Dylan's back." How silly, Mr. D's always been around and God willing will still be giving us these comeback records every three years or so thirty years from now. That said, "Time Out of Mind," has a dark feel to it. It pulls you in with a combination of Dylan's mournful voice and mournful lyrics. It's different than anything he's done before.

I've heard it said that Bob Dylan said of "Love & Theft" that it's like "a greatest hits without the hits." Well, when you listen to this masterpiece, that's exactly the kind of feel you get for this album. It's like each of the songs is an old friend, like we've heard them all before. How did Dylan do that? Maybe it's because he recorded "Love and Theft" with his touring band and they were all so used to playing with each other. It shows. In a way this album reminds me of "Blood on the Tracks" the album that I consider Mr. Ds best. Every song on "The Tracks" belongs there, an integral part of the whole. Sure every song stands alone, but together they make a masterpiece. That's the way it is with "Love and Theft." I don't know if this is the best album Mr. D has ever done, cuz I still listen "The Tracks," all the time, but if it's not the best, it's certainly number two. And who knows, after listening to it for another year or so, I may reevaluate that, but for now all I have to say is this CD is so good it'll make you cry.

Reviewed by Stephanie Sane

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Hahn: Recordings 1908-35

Manufacturer: Pearl
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Chansons Grises & other songs by Reynaldo Hahn
Susan Graham - La Belle Époque (The Songs of Reynaldo Hahn)

ASIN: B000003Z3P
Release Date: 1997-11-18

Tracks:

Le Cimetiere De Campagne - Reynaldo Hahn
L'Ile Heureuse - Reynaldo Hahn
Offrande - Reynaldo Hahn
Les Pecheurs De Perles: De Mon Amie, Fleur Endormie - Reynaldo Hahn
La Barcheta - Reynaldo Hahn
Chanson Du Printemps - Reynaldo Hahn
Cosi Fan Tutte: Act 1: Un'Aura Amorosa - Reynaldo Hahn
Maid Of Athens - Reynaldo Hahn
Chanson D'Avril - Reynaldo Hahn
Le Devin Du Village: L'Amour Selon Sa Fantaisie - Reynaldo Hahn
La Boulangere A Des Ecus: Les Charbonniers Et Fariniers/Un Homme D'un Vrai Merite... Que... - Reynaldo Hahn
Si. Tu Veux, Mignonne - Reynaldo Hahn/J. Benvenuti
Le Retour Du Marin - Reynaldo Hahn
Le Temps D'Aimer: Lettre D'amour - Guy Ferrant/Reynaldo Hahn
Le Temps D'Aimer: Chien Fidele - Guy Ferrant/Reynaldo Hahn
La Paix - Guy Ferrant/Reynaldo Hahn
Je Me Metz En Votre Mercy - Guy Ferrant/Reynaldo Hahn
Chansons Grises No.6: Paysage Triste - Guy Ferrant/Reynaldo Hahn
Le Bal De Beatrice D'Este: Entree De Ludovic Le More/Lesquerade - Reynaldo Hahn/French Gramophone CO
Le Bal De Beatrice D'Este: Romanesque; Iberienne - Reynaldo Hahn/French Gramophone CO
Le Bal De Beatrice D'Este: Leda Et Le Oiseau - Reynaldo Hahn/French Gramophone CO
Le Bal De Beatrice D'Este: Courante; Salut Finale Au Duc De Milan - Reynaldo Hahn/French Gramophone CO
Le Marchand De Venise: Air De Bassanio - Martial Singher
Le Marchand De Venise: Air De Portia - Fanny Heldy
Le Marchand De Venise: Air De Shylock - Andre Pernet
Le Marchand De Venise: Quatuor-Mais Voici - Fanny Heldy/R. Mahe/Martial Singher/Le Clezio

Average customer rating:

Oh Mercy, This is a Mighty Fine Collection
Some of Bob Dylan's Best Work
Three Very Personal Records
Dylan Just Keeps Getting Better
Expanding on the packaging...

The Collection: Oh, Mercy/Time Out of Mind/Love and Theft
Bob Dylan
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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MTV Unplugged [Live, 1994]
Modern Times (Deluxe Edition With Bonus DVD)

ASIN: B0002IQEY6
Release Date: 2004-07-13

Tracks:

Love Sick
Dirt Road Blues
Standing in the Doorway
Million Miles
Tryin' to Get to Heaven
'Til I Fell in Love With You
Not Dark Yet
Cold Irons Bound
Make You Feel My Love
Can't Wait
Highlands

Tracks:

Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum
Mississippi
Summer Days
Bye and Bye
Lonesome Day Blues
Floater (Too Much to Ask)
High Water (For Charley Patton)
Moonlight
Honest With Me
Po' Boy
Cry a While
Sugar Baby

Tracks:

Political World
Where Teardrops Fall
Everything Is Broken
Ring Them Bells
Man in the Long Black Coat
Most of the Time
What Good Am I?
Disease of Conceit
What Was It You Wanted
Shooting Star

Customer Reviews:

Oh Mercy, This is a Mighty Fine Collection.......2006-04-03

"Oh Mercy" is again a new direction for Bob Dylan, or maybe it's another comeback record for him. He's taken so many directions, had so many comebacks on his journey, made so many fine records and this is one of the best, every song one to listen to over and over, to reflect on. How does he do that, keep making records like this? Topical songs like "Political World" and "Man in a Long Black Coat" merged with the dirge like song "Ring Them Bells" mingled in with the words in "Disease of Conceit" and "Most of the Time" lessons for us all. Nobody else could put a group of songs like this and make it work. This is certainly on of Bob Dylan's best records and one everybody who own any Dylan record should own and everybody should own a Dylan record.

Many dylan fans believe "Blood on the Tracks" to be Dylan's most personal album, his most painful. But, in my opinion, "Time Out of Mind" tops that. I don't know what he was going through in his personal life when he wrote these songs, but it must have been bad. At least that's the way it seems to me. Darkly personal from a man who is hurting, that's the sense I get from this record, from "Love Sick" all the way through to "Highlands," which I consider to be just about one of the best story songs every written or performed by anyone, bar none. Dylan sings like he's taken a down turn since "Oh Mercy," the last record produced by Daniel Lanois. In between there were a couple albums of standards, blues and ballads, plus the Bootleg Series and Unplugged show, also Red Sky, which was pretty good, but not nearly the record this is. It's almost like Dylan went straight from "Oh Mercy" to "Time Out of Mind" and the transition is seemless. This is a beautiful record, darkly done, but beautiful nevertheless.

My friends have talked about how Dylan sings somewhat like a honky tonker on "Love and Theft", but he also comes across as a crooner as well, especially on "Bye and Bye" and also on "Moonlight." He's a Jazz singing, upbeating performer too, just listen to "Summer Days" and "Lonesome Day Blues." He's a honky tonking gambler on "Poor Boy," a dirge singer, delivering lyrics stark and true on "Sugar Baby." Like always, Bob Dylan is so many things, on this album, just about his best record ever. I loved "Highway 61." Wept over "Blood on the Tracks." Rocked with "Infidels." But this, this is all those and more. I think maybe this is Bob Dylan's best.

Some of Bob Dylan's Best Work.......2006-04-03

It seems to me that Bob Dylan is always stretching forward, while reaching toward the past. Like a man in a hurricane, he swirls toward an uncertain future like a the shooting star he sings about and Jack London wrote about, but he tries, sometimes in vain, to hold on to his past, his roots, like he does so well here with songs on "Oh Mercy" like "Political World" and "Man in a Long Black Coat." These are songs fans of Bob Dylan's early work might well like. Songs like "Shooting Star", "Where Teardrops Fall" and "What Good Am I?" seem to come right from the heart. The quiet and understated effect of Daniel Lanois' production, which will be even more understated in "Time Out of Mind", are simply haunting to say the least. Something like thirty years into his career at this point and this is one of his best records yet. But what is simply amazing is that there are more to come.

Sometimes one has to wonder if Bob Dylan has a frog caught in his throat. The big kind you find in the tropics, those frogs that croak all night long, singing their songs of sadness and despair. Their dark songs, songs about a place you don't want to go, but can't help going. That's what you'll find on "Time Out of Mind." You can almost feel Dylan's pain as he croaks out the word to "It's Not Dark Yet." This is almost as revealing about Dylan's personal trials and travails as "Blood on the Tracks," a deeply personal look at the man through his music. That is one thing about Bob Dylan, he puts it all out there for you to either accept or reject, but like it or not, his music is real and this record is one of his best.

Unlike the very dark, Grammy winning "Time Out of Mind" Dylan's last album of original material, "Love and Theft" is a record full of fun songs that takes you back to the Fifties, maybe the Forties even. Listen to "Summer Days." If that doesn't make you want to get up and swing, you've got lead in your feet. This whole record has sort of a honky tonk feel to it. It's just simply fabulous. Dylan is older, but he's better. He still has that frog in his throat we've all come to know and love. He's sporting a Boston Blackie Mustache, has a twinkle in his eye and kind of looks like that guy you've seen playing the piano in so many saloons in so many black and white westerns and he just plain sounds like a song and dance man and gosh, I love this record. I guess I already said that.

Three Very Personal Records.......2006-04-03

Bob Dylan and Daniel Lanois work better together, it seems to me, then many of the other people Dylan has worked with. I certainly like the sound of "Oh Mercy" better than the stuff Dylan did with Tom Petty, though I like that stuff too. I actually like this record as much as I like "Blood on the Tracks" and often have both of them in my CD changer at the same time (which by the way I never set at random play with a Bob Dylan record, because Dylan records were meant to be played in their entirety, the way Dylan presented them). For me, this record fits nicely between "Tracks" and "Time out of Mind." Sure he did some great stuff in between, but it's these personal songs like "What Good Am I?" that I like so much and, of course, the way Bob Dylan tells a story. There is nobody better.

It seems like Dylan's voice has changed when you listen to "Time Out of Mind, but that's not unusual. His voice changes a lot from record to record, but it's always recognizably, thoroughly Dylan. The album is a bit dark and you can especially see that in the excellent "Love Sick" and "Not Dark Yet," but you can see some optimism, some hope in the song too. There is sort of a bluesy feel to this record that carries over to "Love and Theft," you know, kind of a sadness in these songs that are oh so honest they make your heart ache. This is both a very depressing and very inspiring record and only Bob Dylan could get away with something like that. Highly recommended, very highly recommended.

"Moonlight" is my favorite song on "Love and Theft record that is full of my favorite Bob Dylan songs. Just imagine a honky tonking riverboat gambler with a guitar and a touch of irony in his voice and you have the master who comes up with such words, like "Doctor, lawyer indian chief, it takes a thief to catch a thief, and who does the bell toll for, love, it tolls for you and me." Old words mingled with new words which captures the essence of this album, old style infused with a touch of today. Still, I imagine someone fifty or sixty years ago, hearing this record for the first time, from the whimsical" Tweedle Dee" to the dirgle like "Sugar Baby" that is so reminiscent of "Dark Eyes" the song that closes "Empire Burlesque, would recognize Bob Dylan as a contemporary. "Love is pleasing, love is teasing, love's not an evil thing." What great lyrics there are on this record you'll never be able to get out of your mind. "It takes a thief to catch a thief," and Bob Dylan must be a thief, because he sure caught me.

Dylan Just Keeps Getting Better.......2006-04-03

"Oh Mercy" goes Straight to the Soul. It had been a long time since Dylan released an album of original material. A lot of his fans probably thought he was washed up, consigned to singing gospel flavored songs with girl backup singers (which he does quite well by the way) and re-singing his old material, but Dylan proved them wrong with this record. In fact most of the time he surprises, like with this record. There is no denying "Oh Mercy" is a masterpiece. It's quiet and subtle, not at all like the rocker "Infidels" was. For me this record reminds me a lot of "Blood on the Tracks" with it's personal songs. However, there are also songs about the social conditions of the day, delivered in only the way Bob Dylan can deliver them, understated, but straight to the soul.

Riddles and Enigmas Abound in "Time Out of Mind." Eight years since "Oh Mercy," and once again Bob Dylan calls on Daniel Lanois to produce a record. This one wins a Grammy and shows the world Bob Dylan is still a force to be reckoned with. This is an eerie, kind of psychedelic and very dark record. Dylan's voice even sounds dark, as dark and bare as the lyrics. Songs of no hope and a lot of hope, dreary, dank, dark, but seemingly always with a ray of hope shining through. "It's not dark yet, but it's getting there." Yeah, it's getting there. Riddles and enigmas abound in this record that won a Grammy and if you give it a listen, you'll find Bob Dylan's riddles both easy and impossible to decipher, but such is the nature of the man.

"Love and Theft" was Worth the Wait. I guess Bob Dylan is approaching half a century in the music making business, forty years or so when this record came out. That's a long time from that first album of just him and his guitar singing those protest songs. A long time from protest ballads, rock songs, gospel songs, uplifting and dark songs to this, a rollicking, frolicking record of songs that will make you laugh and dance and cry for joy. Maybe it took forty years to get to here, but it was worth it. The music on this record is tight and good, but then Dylan had been playing with this band during a zillion and one concerts on his Never Ending Tour, so it's not surprising. The songs are just plain fun and harken back to an age much more innocent. This is a wonderful record. I've played my CD hundreds of times, have the record on my iPod. It puts a smile on my face and that is just about as grand a compliment one can give a piece of music.

Expanding on the packaging..........2005-08-23

I guess to make this a review I've gotta tell you the CDs are worth owning. Oh Mercy has an excellent mood and feel, but I guess I'm the only one who thinks some of the songs are mediocre-ish or a little forced, but the feel enhances them all. Time Out Of Mind keeps a lot of that mood but just isn't influenced as much by it musically, but still leaves you with that same sweet melancholy feeling. "Love And Theft" is called Bob's best by a lot of people and definately has great music and is certainly his most diverse stylistically since New Morning and is even moreso. And Bob thinks he's lost it...

But on the packaging: as Magnus Eisengrim said it is a book styled box made of cardboard and molded plastic. Upon opening the three CDs are placed in trays and in the fourth space fits the booklets for the three albums. All are the standard CDs, Oh Mercy is the reissued version the label leads me to believe, but not the SACD. I owned Time Out Of Mind and "Love And Theft"'s standard issues, so I can very securely say that all is missing from them in this package is the back insert of the CD case, both have transparent trays that you can see through for a picture underneath and it is to be assumed the Oh Mercy package had the same thing. As I said this set doesn't have these, but most people probably won't care a lot seeing as all there are is a couple pictures and the track list and general fans probably won't feel incomplete without them.

So this set is probably more for collectability than the jewel case edition, but most who will be buying this edition will be collectors. But what really matters anyway is the music, so any way you'll have these albums. If you've got an SACD player, don't buy this though, because, as I said, these aren't SACDs and Oh Mercy and "Love and Theft" are both available on SACD. Let's hope Time Out Of Mind will become available on it, because that is an album that deserves a 5.1 mix.

By the way, at Best Buy I saw sets of this style of Willie Nelson, and some other people I don't recall right now, and I guess as Magnus said, Black Sabbath.

Average customer rating:

Reyhaldo Hahn

Manufacturer: Malibran [C.D.R.G.]
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Rachel Yakar, l'interpretation parfait... deliciously French performance of French melodies
Music for reading Proust to.

French Songs

Manufacturer: EMI Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00000632C
Release Date: 1998-05-05

Tracks:

Clair de lune, Op.46 - Verlaine
Mandoline, from 5 Melodies de Venise, Op.58 - Verlaine
En sourdine, from 5 Melodies de Venise, Op.58 - Verlaine
Green, from 5 Melodies de Venise, Op.58 - Verlaine
Prison. Op.83 - Verlaine
Fleur jetee, Op.39 - Silvestre
Automne, Op.18 - Silvestre
Aurore, Op.39 - Silvestre
Le pays des reves, Op.39 - Silvestre
Le secret, Op.23 - Silvestre
Notre amour, Op.23 - Silvestre
Soir, Op.83 - Samain
Nocturne, Op.43 - Villiers de l'Isle-Adam
Les presents, Op.46 - Villiers de l'Isle-Adam
Nell, Op.18 - Leconte de Lisle
Les roses d'Ispahan, Op.34 - Leconte de Lisle
Apres un reve, Op.7 - Bussine
Au bord de l'eau, Op.8 - Sully Prudhomme
Ici-bas, Op.8 - Sully Prudhomme
Dans les ruines d'une abbaye, Op.2 - Hugo
Mai, Op.1 - Hugo
Le papillon et la fleur, Op.1 - Hugo

Tracks:

Quand je fus pris au pavillon - Charles d'Orleans
Je me metz en vostre mercy - Charles d'Orleans
Le rossignol des lilas - Dauphin
Si mes vers avaient des ailes - Hugo
Lair - Banville
La nuit - Banville
L'enamouree - Banville
Seule - Gautier
Les fontaines - Regnier
Le souvenir d'avoir chante - Mendes
L'incredule - Verlaine
D'une prison - Verlaine
Chansons grises - Verlaine: Chanson d'automne
Chansons grises - Verlaine: Tous deux
Chansons grises - Verlaine: L'allee est sans fin
Chansons grises - Verlaine: En sourdine
Chansons grises - Verlaine: L'heure exquise
Chansons grises - Verlaine: Paysage triste
Chansons grises - Verlaine: La bonne chanson
Sonnet - Ronsard
Rose d'amour - Millevoye
Pastorale - Regnard
Chanson pour Jeanne - Mendes
Lied - Mendes
L'Ile heureuse - Mikhael

Customer Reviews:

Rachel Yakar, l'interpretation parfait... deliciously French performance of French melodies.......2006-05-22

The reviewer below mentions the superiority of Felicity Lott as a singer of French melodies. This is a strange comment that probably has a great deal to do with the reviewer not speaking fluent French. Although I admire Felicity Lott's singing in her duet work with Ann Murray, I've never really taken to her as a soloist. The voice often seems cold, and possessed of some idiosyncratic habits that can sometimes marr her performances. Nevertheless, she has indeed sung some fine things.

However, that has nothing to do with the singing of Rachel Yakar. Ms Yakar is not only a specialist in French melodies (and a native speaker of French), but is also well known as a baroque specialist. This combination of specialities often produces very fine approaches to interpretation - one sees it in the singing of Sandrine Piau, Veronique Gens, Patricia Petibon, etc. And in the singing of Rachel Yakar, the effect is marvellous - a wonderful sense of intimacy and that indefinable quality one can only call "charm". I doubt that this elusive quality can be taught - I have never yet heard a singer develop it from nothing.

The first CD is especially fine - it was recorded earlier in Ms Yakar's career than the second CD, and it shows the beauty of Rachel Yakar's voice as well as her delightful and almost bitter-sweet interpretation of the melodies.

The second CD reveals some wear on the voice, unfortunately. Yet in spite of this, the interpretation is wonderful. How delightful to hear French sung idiomatically rather than with the faintest of English accents! It seems ridiculous to say this, but... French ought to be sung with a French accent. This affects everything - placement, timbre, reverberation, line, everything.

Merveilleux, Mme Yakar! This is a thought-provoking and beautiful recording worth the possessing.

Music for reading Proust to........2001-10-17

CD 1 is devoted to 22 melodies by Gabriel Faure, arguably the finest exponent of the song in French music. They reveal the breathtaking range of his art, from nostalgia to melancholy to romance to humour to despair. The settings include poems by Silvestre, Samain, Villiers de l'Isle Adam, Leconte de Lisle, Bussine, Sully Prudhomme and Hugo, but it is Verlaine who inspires the most profound response, with songs like 'Clair de lune' and 'En Sourdine' magically embodying that conflation of nature, the spirit and sensuality so resonant in the poet's musical lines.

Verlaine is also a guiding ghost in the work of Reynaldo Hahn, friend of Proust, who dominates CD 2. His song-cycle 'Chansons grises' is a somewhat darker interpretation of the poet, especially in a work like 'Paysage Triste'. Hahn is relatively unknown today, but he was a great pictorial composer - 'La Nuit' is stark and spacious; 'Les Fontaines' laps with watery phrases; 'L'Air' has an atmospheric suspense. My favourite work in this whole collection, though, is his 'L'enamouree' after Banville, one of those big, sentimental, romantic melodies the French do so well. The CD finishes with three songs apiece by Bizet and Chabrier, the latter as expansive and melodic as his famous orchestral showpieces.

Singer Rachel Yakar and accompanist Claude Lavoix offer no real challenge to the maestros in this genre, Felicity Lott and Graham Johnson. Yakar lacks Lott's wit and range, and over two hours, her readings can become monotonous. Similarly, Lavoix seems sluggish beside Johnson's encyclopaedic playfulness. Nevertheless, these are songs we don't hear that often: best enjoyed in small doses.

1996 Benson Music Group Collection
Average customer rating:
1996 Benson Music Group Collection

Manufacturer: Benson Music Group
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Gospel | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000AN62M2

Product Description

Tracks include: 1. Real by Michael Sweet, 2. Strength by Dallas Holm, 3. Devil Ain't Got No Hold on Me by Three Crosses, 4. This One's With Me by Newsong, 5. One Nation Under God by Al Denson, 6. This Time Around by East to West, 7. When I've Seen Love by Tuesday's Child, 8. I Don't Know Why You Love Me by Larnelle Harris, 9. Life is Hard (God is Good) by Pam Thum, 10. Power of Love by Michael O'Bried, and 11. The Nature of Love by 4-him