Chicago III [Original recording remastered]

Product Description
Remastered and repackaged edition of their 1971 album. Featuring the hit singles 'Free' and 'Lowdown' and lots more pop, rock, and psychedelic soul. Digipack in a slipcase with a 16 page booklet featuring complete lyrics and detailed liner notes by Rolling Stone contributing editor David Wild. 2002.

Chicago III,Chicago,Rhino / Wea,Jazz-Rock,Pop,Pop/Rock,Rock,Rock/Pop,Soft Rock

Chicago III [Original recording remastered]

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Upgrade to old LP record
Chicago III - Their 3rd double album released in just 3 years - 1969-1971
Chicago III delivers
chicago 3
By far my favorite Chicago album

Chicago III
Chicago
Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Chicago II (Repackaged)
Chicago V
Chicago Transit Authority
Chicago VI
Chicago VII

ASIN: B000069KE4
Release Date: 2002-07-16

Tracks:

Sing A Mean Tune Kid
Loneliness Is Just A Word
What Else Can I Say
I Don't Want Yur Money
Flight 602
Motorboat To Mars
Free
Free Country
At The Sunrise
Happy 'Cause I'm Going Home
Mother
Lowdown
A Hard Risin' Mornin Without Breakfast
Off To Work
Fallin' Out
Dreamin' Home
Morning Blues Again
When All The Laughter Dies In Sorrow
Canon
Once Upon A Time...
Progress?
The Approaching Storm
Man Vs. Man: The End

Album Description

Remastered and repackaged edition of their 1971 album. Featuring the hit singles 'Free' and 'Lowdown' and lots more pop, rock, and psychedelic soul. Digipack in a slipcase with a 16 page booklet featuring complete lyrics and detailed liner notes by Rolling Stone contributing editor David Wild. 2002.

Customer Reviews:

Upgrade to old LP record.......2007-05-30

I have just upgraded my worn out record to a CD because this band still sounds good after over 30 years. Suggest those younger than 30 give it a try and hear how big band music really should sound.

Chicago III - Their 3rd double album released in just 3 years - 1969-1971.......2007-02-12

CHICAGO III-tm - Accolades galore is what I would say given the chance to tell anyone on this planet about CHICAGOs' 1971 early spring release. As such, CHICAGO III is a true Classic double album in all its splendid production, music fusion, and lyrics that seem as if they written even for the times that we live in now. Tracks such as Lowdown, Free, Man vs Man: The End,etc. can still be strongly related to by anyone who simply loves music. If you desire true musical genius that will not only bring you up but also remind you of the unfortunate frail side of human existence, this ones for you!

Chicago III delivers.......2006-08-04

Continuing the concept of a "theme" album, Chicago may have reached its creative peak with Chicago III...Terry Kath's "Hour In The Shower" medley is ground breaking...Peter Cetera's songwriting ability comes to the fore with "What Else Can I Say" and "Lowdown". The infusion of steel pedal guitar and the effective use of Robert Lamm's organ are the album's trademarks...Chicago will go down in history as a band with a conscience...

chicago 3.......2006-08-01

gettin the first 3 chicago records on cd is great this is back before they became a ballad machine and played the coolest jazz rock around,bring back childhood memories!!!

By far my favorite Chicago album.......2006-04-20

To me, I thought Chicago faced a similar fate to Genesis: they later found themselves sacrificing their credibility to pop chart success. Likewise, Phil Collins got the blame for ruining Genesis, Peter Cetera was often the one to blame for ruining Chicago. And both bands also had the same problem that the fans of their early stuff was not necessarily fans of their later stuff, and vice versa, and of course both bands received plenty of MTV exposure in their '80s pop heyday. But of course neither are hardly alike, Genesis was a pioneering prog rock band, and Chicago (just like Blood, Sweat & Tears) was a pioneering horn rock band.

For me, as for as both Genesis and Chicago are concerned, I prefer their early stuff, and in the case of Chicago, I really felt their third album, released at the beginning of 1971 shows the band at their high point. It's interesting that they released three double albums in a row (they won't see a single album until 1972 with Chicago V). It's also quite an eclectic album where the band explores jazz rock, country, Crosby, Stills & Nash-influenced folk-rock, funk, soul, Southern rock. Many of these explorations in these styles make it hard to believe this band really is Chicago, especially when the horns of Lee Loughnane, Walter Parazaider, and James Pankow are not present. "Sing a Mean Tune Kid" shows a funkier side of the band that you handn't heard from them before. It also seems like the band got to hear Soft Machine's Third (1970) album around this time, because the instrumental passages of this song (as well as several other cuts on this album) remind me of that album. Robert Lamm's "Loneliness is Just a Word" shows a more jazzy side of the band, and he also gives us a nice organ solo to go with it. While Peter Cetera was often the pop hit making baladeer of this band, here he gives us "What Else Can I Say" which has an oddly country feel to it, complete with pedal steel guitar! Terry Kath's "I Don't Want Your Money" has a strong British blues feel to it, almost like early, This Was-era Jethro Tull (but no flute), even the vocals sound like early Ian Anderson. "Travel Suite" is a movement of several cuts, starting with the amazingly Crosby, Stills & Nash-like "Flight 602", with similar vocal harmonies, acoustic guitar, and even Graham Nash-like vocals. Danny Seraphine gives us "Motorboat to Mars", which unsurprisingly is a drum solo (after all he was the drummer of the band). Then comes Robert Lamm's "Free", which I have heard on the radio before. Next is "Free Country" which is a more experimental piece dominated by Robert Lamm's piano and Walter Parazaider's flute. Lamm also gives us "At the Sunrise", but Peter Cetera is singing it, and a rather pop-orinted number. Then there's the jazzy, almost Soft Machine-like "Happy 'Cause I'm Going Home", with an extended electric piano and flute solo. "Mother" once again shows a more jazzy side of the band, while Cetera's "Lowdown" is more pop-oriented (supposedly the album's biggest hit, although I don't recall hearing that one on the radio, unlike "Free"), but has some nice horn passages. Robert Lamm gave us "An Hour in the Shower", which is basically a several movement suite, surprisingly this ends up with a strong Southern Rock feel, something like the Allman Brothers, but the horns do surface. Then the album closes with the epic "Elegy", with spoken poetry, some medieval-sounding fanfare on the horns, a mellow instrumental passage that brings to mind the previous album's "Colour My World", an experimental passage with the sound of traffic, with the horns also imitating the sound of traffic, then comes an extended guitar solo that wouldn't be out of place on the Chicago Transit Authority album.

Certainly Chicago III didn't spawn any huge hits like their previous two, but don't let that scare you off. Any fan of early Chicago should own this album!

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Time detracts

Genuine Houserockin' Music III
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Alligator Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Genuine Houserockin' Music (Vol. 1)
Genuine Houserockin' Music IV
Genuine Houserockin' Music V
Genuine Houserockin' Music II
Alligator Records 35X35

ASIN: B0000009WR
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Don't Lie To Me - Elvin Bishop
Who's Making Love? - Katie Webster
Years Since Yesterday - The Paladins
She's Fine - A.C. Reed
High Wire - Roy Buchanan
Two Headed Man - Lonnie Brooks
Outside Looking In - Kenny Neal
I Ain't Lyin' - Little Charlie And The Nightcats
Poor Man's Relief - The Kinsey Report
Girl Don't Live Here - Maurice John Vaughn
Can't You Lie - Tinsley Ellis
I Think It Was The Wine - The Siegel-Schwall Band
That Woman Is Poison - Rufus Thomas
Take Me In Your Arms - Lazy Lester
Over My Head - Lucky Peterson

Customer Reviews:

Time detracts.......2001-03-22

When this album first came out it seemed memorable. As time goes on, its impact diminishes. However, the AC Reed track featuring Bonnie Raitt almost makes up for the rest. Her slide guitar ranks. Most of the other tracks are highlights from other Alligator albums but they generally no longer measure up.

Sergei Prokofiev, Enfant Terrible (1891-1953): A 50th Anniversary Celebration

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An eye-opening Prokofiev survey (try to buy it used)

Sergei Prokofiev, Enfant Terrible (1891-1953): A 50th Anniversary Celebration

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000084H93
Release Date: 2003-04-08

Customer Reviews:

An eye-opening Prokofiev survey (try to buy it used).......2006-03-26

I can't see paying full price for a two-CD compensdium, even one as lavish as this package, when all the itmes are samples for promoting Universal's catalog (expect a good representation by Ashkenazy, Rostropovich, Previn, and Gergiev). But the selection is good enough and often rare eough to warrant a buy if the price is low.

As I listened straight through, I was surprised at how unacquainted I actually was with the wide extent of Prokofiev's style. From the very early "Dreams," which could be mistaken for Glazunov through the unfamiliar operas (Betrothal in a Monastery Garden, Semyon Kotko) to the final, sadly diminished works like the Seventh Sym. and the cello concerto, the composer covered every major Russian style of the century. I didn't find any new masterful performances--not that a short excerpt is a good enough trial--but everything here is well performced. Any listener should find something unexpected and intriguing in this two-and-a-half-hour traversal.

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Grand Opera Choruses / Kubelik

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Grand & Glorious: Great Operatic Choruses
World's Greatest Choruses
The Most Famous Opera Arias
The Power & The Majesty: Essential Choral Classics
Choral Masterpieces

ASIN: B000006P4P
Release Date: 1998-05-12

Tracks:

Nabucco: Va, pensiero - (Chorus Of The Hebrew Slaves)
Il Trovatore: Vedi! Le fosche - (Anvil Chorus)
Norma: Squilla il bronzo del dio!...Guerra, guerra!
Fidelio: O welche Lust (Prisoners' Chorus)
Lohengrin: Prelude (Act III)...Treulich gefuhrt ziehet dahin (Bridal Chorus)
Faust: Marthe!...Deposons les armes (Soldiers' Chorus)
Madama Butterfly: Humming Chorus
Pagliacci: I zampognari!...Don, din, don (Bell Chorus)
Tannhauser: Begluckt darf nun dich (Pilgrims' Chorus)
Carmen: Les voici, les voici (Toreador Chorus)
Der Freischutz: Was gleicht wohl auf Erden dem Jagervergnugen
Die Lustigen Weiber von Windsor: O susser Mond
Les Troyens: Dieux protecteurs de la ville eternelle
Boris Godunov: Coronation Scene

Igor Stravinsky: L'Histoire du Soldat; Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol

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a 'found again' masterpiece
charming "Histoire", surprising "Capriccio".

Igor Stravinsky: L'Histoire du Soldat; Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol

Manufacturer: Reference Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000001570
Release Date: 1992-11-23

Tracks:

The Soldier's Tale - Suite: The Soldier's March
The Soldier's Tale - Suite: Scene 2: Soldier At The Brook
The Soldier's Tale - Suite: Scene 3: Pastorale
The Soldier's Tale - Suite: The Royal March
The Soldier's Tale - Suite: The Little Concert
The Soldier's Tale - Suite: Three Dances: Tango, Waltz, Ragtime
The Soldier's Tale - Suite: The Devil's Dance
The Soldier's Tale - Suite: Grand Chorale
The Soldier's Tale - Suite: Triumphal March of the Devil
Capriccio Espagnol

Customer Reviews:

a 'found again' masterpiece.......2006-02-25

i purchased this cd when it was first released back in 1983 or 1984. i was blown away by the performance, but fairly disappointed with the excessive hiss on the recording. a made a cassette of this recording and eventually sold the cd, a decision i've regretted. i've often thought of this recording, and just this morning, came across the cassette i recorded...22 years ago! i popped that bad boy into the car player and marvelled all the way to work at the amazing arrangement and performances throughtout.

i've looked for this recording occassionally over the years but my recollection is that it has been out of print. i'm glad to find it here and am purchasing it today.

note: if you are familiar with 'the soldier's tale,' you no doubt are familiar with the narrarated version. this is a bit different as it is an instrumental, reduced in arrangement for a small chamber group with percussion. as this is obviously a repressing, i cannot speak yet to the sound quality. but, excessive hiss aside, this really is an amazing recording, sonically and performace-wise.

charming "Histoire", surprising "Capriccio"........2002-11-16

This is a delightfully crisp interpretation of Stravinsky's whimsical "L'Histoire du Soldat", which can be performed as a theater piece with narration and dance, or as on this CD, simply as a chamber composition for 7 instruments; clarinet, cornet, trombone, double-bass, and with a percussion battery representing the devil, and a violin the soldier.
Recorded in '83, there is a "closeness" to the sound on this CD that serves the music well.

One is accustomed to hearing Rimsky-Korsakov's "Capriccio Espagnol" as a lush orchestral extravaganza, so this arrangement by composer/pianist Easley Blackwood for a small ensemble (flute, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, trumpet, violin, cello, bass and piano), might sound very strange at first. I think it works on a different level, and though it's not the way I'd like to hear this composition all the time, one can easily appreciate this lovely piece in this "skeletal" version.

Tracks:

Chicago
Tond Les Chiens, Coup' Les Chats
Mirliton Fin De Siecle
Reverie Champetre
En Chasse
Mephisto Masque
Battez Aux Champs
El Pronunciamento
Cora La Bordelaise
Mon Pauvre Coeur
Chicago
Mon Sous Off!
Francoise Et Tortillard: Ov
Francoise Et Tortillard: Rondeau
Francoise Et Tortillard: Duo
Francoise Et Tortillard: Quadrille Et Galop Final
Mon Sous Officier
Mephisto Masque

Customer Reviews:

A Historical Achievement.......2003-08-06

As time passes, the general public sometimes forgets what was once good and so cherished. Out of mind and sight, the great musicians of the past like Edmond Dédé (1827-1901) are forgotten, abandoned, and fell from our graces. I must admit only a few, like me, still enjoy such musical nuances as displayed on this CD.

Contrary to some popular thought, this music still has relevance musically and historically. DéDé `s contemporaries included Louis Moreau-Gottschalk, Sidney and Lucien Lambert, to name a few. Many historians and scholars believe that this type of music served as a bridge between nineteenth century concert music and later popular genres such as French chanteuse, cabaret singing, ragtime, jazz, and blues. Indeed, the Hot Springs Symphony sounds much too detached, a lack of legato (smoothness)playing, and a poor quality of tone and blend in some movements. These are the limitations of the orchestra, not the music itself! The music stems from a definite source - a musical style prevalent in high society of France and Creole New Orleans during the middle to late nineteenth century. Musicians played this light music or café music, as it was called, for private parlors, concerts, preludes or interludes to major works (opera, symphonies, etc.) However, the vocals - both solos and choruses -sound wonderful and bring some vitality and truth to their performances. While this is far from a definitive performance of Dédé's music, Naxos has provided the listener with a rather historical achievement. Bravo Naxos! Thank you for rejuvenating this lively music. In so doing, we pay homage to a musical genius that inspired future musicians that would revolutionize the world of popular music.

A Historical Achievement.......2003-08-06

Amateur music, amateur performances.......2000-05-21

Edmond Dédé was a free-born Creole of color born in the 1820s in New Orleans. He moved to France and lived most of his adult life in Bordeaux, where he had an active musical life, primarily as a theatre conductor. The music on this disc is presented primarily, I imagine, because it represents music by an early African-American composer. It is primarily in the form of quadrilles, galops, waltzes and the like. One can easily imagine some of this music played at house parties or dances. Unfortunately, I can't imagine wanting to hear it more than once. And the performances themselves, although spirited, are pretty clunky.

I admire Naxos for recording so much unknown American music, but I think they might have picked something better than this.

African Heritage Symphonic Series III
Average customer rating:

Here's hoping it's really not the final CD!

A very enterprising issue: of regrets and of hope.

African Heritage Symphonic Series III
Katinka Kleijn , Paul Freeman , and Chicago Sinfonietta
Manufacturer: Cedille
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Classical | Styles | Music
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African Heritage Symphonic Series, Vol. 2

African Heritage Symphonic Series, Vol. 1

Violin Concertos by Black Composers of the 18th & 19th Centuries

Kaleidoscope: Music by African-American Women

Still/Dawson/Ellington: Symphony No. 2/Negro Folk Symphony/Harlem

ASIN: B000083MGT
Release Date: 2003-01-28

Tracks:

Global Warming (8:18) - Michael AbelsCello Concerto (19:56) - David Baker
I. Fast (6:22)
II. Slow à la recitative (7:17)
III. Fast (6:09)
Essay for Orchestra (10:33) - William BanfieldGenerations: Sinfonietta No. 2 for Strings - Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson
I. Misterioso -- Allegro (6:13)
II. Alla sarabande (5:35)
III. Alla Burletta (2:04)
IV. Allegro vivace (5:28)

Album Description

Works by four leading Black American composers comprise the third and final installment of Cedille Records' acclaimed African Heritage Symphonic Series. Volume III features compositions from the last quarter of the 20th century performed by the Chicago Sinfonietta led by maestro Paul Freeman, "one of the finest conductors our nation has produced" (Fanfare). Freeman spearheaded the landmark Black Composers Series of Columbia LPs in the 1970s, which inspired the new undertaking. Renowned composer David Baker (b. 1931) performed and recorded as a jazz trombonist with Quincy Jones, Maynard Ferguson, and Lionel Hampton. He later became enamored of the cello but never abandoned his jazz roots, as his evocative and highly virtuosic Cello Concerto (1975) beautifully demonstrates. Soloist on the CD is the noted young Chicago Symphony Orchestra cellist Katinka Kleijn. Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (1932-2004) studied with Earl Kim at Princeton and with expatriate African American conductor Dean Dixon in the Netherlands. He co-founded New York's Symphony of the New World and composed a tribute to Charlie Parker for the Alvin Ailey dance company. Perkinson's Generations: Sinfonietta No. 2 for Strings (1996) draws on a wide range of influences, displaying the composer's musical wit and uncommon ability to transform familiar melodies. William Banfield (b. 1961) is probably the most noted figure among the younger generation of African American composers. His music echoes his belief that the juxtaposition of styles in pop music has prepared listeners for similar explorations in art music. That credo is particularly evident in his eclectic, percussion rich Essay for Orchestra (1994). One conductor called the piece ". . . a huge, Wagnerian Jazz Romp." A genuine rising star, Los Angeles-based composer Michael Abels's (b. 1962) Global Warming (1990) has multiple meanings. Its opening passage suggests a vast, arid desert, but it soon moves on to lively Irish and Middle Eastern sounding themes. The jaunty congruence of these culturally disparate sounds connotes a very different kind of "Global Warming." The piece has received more than 100 performances and was the first work by a Black composer to enter the repertory of South Africa's National Symphony.

Customer Reviews:

Here's hoping it's really not the final CD!.......2004-04-01

This is the final release in an outstanding three-CD series devoted to twentieth-century composers of African descent. It presents four works by living composers working in the mainstream of contemporary music. Michael Abels (b.1962) wrote "Global Warming" in 1990, not long after the Berlin Wall fell. It reflects both environmental and international warming, incorporating folk music from various cultures. David Baker's (b. 1931) "Cello Concerto" is lyrical and jazz influenced. "Essay for Orchestra" by William Banfield (b. 1961) is from a larger work for percussion and orchestra, a blend of jazz influences and 19th Century Romanticism. The structure of "Generations: Sinfonietta No. 2 for Strings" by Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (b. 1932) is "somewhat autobiograhpical" representing the composer's family relationships. It combines folk melodies, dances, and the B-A-C-H idea in what David Hurwitz called "a Bartókian synthesis." The program notes, written in an engaging style by Dominique-Rene de Lerma, provide a thorough introduction to the work of all four composers.

A very enterprising issue: of regrets and of hope........2004-02-28

The regrets? That the exposure of Black American composers are not reaching it fuller bloom that it deserves. Other than the recordings made by Neemi Jarvi, Paul Freeman and about a handful of others, there are very few recordings of their music to be found, which is not quite easy to do in the first place. Scott Joplin's piano music is fairly well-known and pioneered. But even most of the music of William Grant Still failed to find more ardent of advocates and champions. Hence I only could find two symphonies of his recorded, one which is his first, entitled "Afro-American" (which also exist in an original piano version). But even I myself could not, until now at least, call myself a more forceful advocate. So with that, what's the hope? That more performers and listeners will dive right into the works of Black American composers and realize their important contributions in the development of American music. That even I would advocate their works as I do for works of Russian composers. That per se is not a hope but a promise.

This disc, Volume III of the African Heritage Symphonic Series, is the type that would prove the skeptics wrong in whatever misconceptions that may enter their minds. It is a very enterprising issue, with every works likeable in their own ways. I'm especially warmed to Michael Abels' "Global Warming." Composed in 1990, structurally it's sort of an ABCBA design, with a beginning that's mysterious accompanied by the violin playing that's folkloristic in character. The episodes that follow reminiscence the Irish and Middle-Eastern folkdances. The Irish dance is especially appealing and imaginative, and would have done, I would think, Sir Malcolm Arnold especially proud. But the Middle Eastern dance is barely less attractive, with an exotic coloring and instrumentation that reminds me of Kara Karayev (among the most important Azeri composers of the last Century). The Irish dance returns, but with the percussion writing that's more exotic and more rhythmically African in nature before the reprisal of the mysterious beginning of the score.

The other works of this likeable series are likewise memorable. David Baker's Cello Concerto (1975) is structurally straightforward, yet the mood has sort of an ambiguity about it. The first movement (tempo: fast) is more of a lento, temperamentally serious and reflective. It's meditative as in the case of the second movement (tempo: slow a la recitative), which is Avant Gardish in style. But turn to the last movement (tempo: fast), and the writing becomes more extroverted. But, much of the quiet, elusive disposition of the piece can be found in William Banfield's Essay for Orchestra (1994), an otherwise interesting work, an abstract piece of musical art. Not quite as abstract in Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson's Generations: Sinfonietta no. II for Strings (1996), which is nostalgic yet visionary and dignified. The Allegro that followed the misterioso in the first movement have sort of the Dvorakian sweetness about it. Even the Alla Burletta third movement is playful and something even Still would have been proud to claim as his own. But, the Alla sarabande second movement captures me quite strongly. It's a very beautiful, elegant movement: a tad melancholic and searching in orientation, but with an abundance of dignity and gracefulness that shall generate no regrets.

And much praise is due to Paul Freeman and the Chicago Sinfonietta, who played the works with such pride and conviction. Their reading of Baker's Concerto is particularly gripping, thanks in large part to cellist Katinka Kleijn, who plays the work with convincing insightfulness. Dominique-Rene de Lerma program notes are excellent and the recordings are euphoniously realistic.

No doubt an issue that offers hope for greater exposure of these fine composers and less regression for having to enjoy it in all its full glory.

Stravinsky, Shostakovich: Bernstein's Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon

Average customer rating:

Always Good to Study Bernstein Again
Irregular Stravinsky and Shostakovich jewels.
Not the best of Bernstein, but there are some gems

Stravinsky, Shostakovich: Bernstein's Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

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Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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Mahler III: Complete Recordings on DeUtsche Grammophon 3

ASIN: B000ASAENU
Release Date: 2005-11-08

Customer Reviews:

Always Good to Study Bernstein Again.......2006-05-09

Now that Leonard Bernstein has entered the canonization of American conductors it is healthy to review his recorded output to understand the impact he had on classical music in America (and the world, for that matter). Not all of Bernstein's recordings are worthy of placement in the upper echelon of the library, but his approaches to scores are always deserving of attention. This boxed set (six CDs) from DGG represents all of the recordings Bernstein made with that prestigious recording company and while not all of them are his best, they each carry a halo of growth and altered approach Bernstein offers after his long years of conducting.

Included in the box set are Shostakovich Symphonies 1 and 7 with the Chicago Symphony, and 6 and 9 with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Both ensembles are first rate and Bernstein elicits fine playing from them. If he dwells a bit long in the tooth on the languid portions of Shostakovich, his other recordings give spikier accounts.

For the works of Stravinsky (long associated with Bernstein until the 'new breed' of conductors usurped that throne) Bernstein conducts the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, an orchestra over which he held great authority, in fine performances of the second suite from 'L'oiseau de feu', the 1947 version of 'Petrushka', 'Pulcinella', a varied 'Le Sacre du printemps', the 'Symphony in C' and 'Symphony in Three Movements'. The performances include some of his most insightful conducting as well as some of his least involved!

Fortunately DGG includes Bernstein's superb performance of 'Les Noces' for vocal soloists, chorus, 4 pianos & percussion with John Mitchinson, English Bach Festival Percussion Ensemble, Homero Francesch, Paul Hudson, Martha Argerich (!), Krystian Zimerman (!), Patricia Parker, Cyprien Katsaris, Anny Mory in a rhythmically secure, propulsively conducted and controlled manner. Using the same forces he encores the 'Mass, for chorus & double wind quintet', a work still too infrequently performed today.

There is always something to learn from hearing Bernstein conduct (and talk! - remember those superb Sunday televised encounters?) and it is to DGG's credit to present this wide range of recordings in one set. Grady Harp, May 06

Irregular Stravinsky and Shostakovich jewels........2006-03-07

DG is releasing some of the most interesting Bernstein's performances they have launched in other series or kept in their catalogue. This 6 CDs box offers the works by two Russian composers Bernstein loved very much and with whom he had an enormous feeling and empathy. Those are Igor Stravinsky and Dimitri Shostakovich.

First of all DSCH, that is the really best in this box...

Symphonies 1 & 7 are the only recording, as far as I know, Leonard Bernstein did with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, a group of players with a very long tradition in the American music and with a great technical playing good enough to play quite all the repertoires.

Like in the case of his Mahler's 9 with Berlin, Bernstein only recording with this orchestra is a miracle that happens once and never more, because of many reasons, the first one because this is a live recording in the Medinah Temple and the emotions felt in this CD could not happen again.

I always thought Chicago is a very appropriate orchestra to play DSCH's music, because of the characteristics of the orchestra and of Shostakovich's music, very hard and very sensitive at the same time. One of the symphonies it's better to this couple DSCH & CSO is the 7th that it's not the most complex between DSCH's works, from the technical and musical point of view, but that demands a great and powerful orchestral response, something you can listen perfectly in this amazing recording, in which CSO gives his best, with a baton that understand very well the score, as far as he can... I think no one could understand completely the meaning of the Leningrad not being in the place of the siege or in the scenario described in the double-program of the symphony, probably linked to the oppression Stalin made with his politics to the pre-communist life of Saint Petersburg. I remember Goethe's words, when he said that reading a book is more complex than reading a book. Of course good Goethe talked about understanding a work, and Lenny, even not living that situation gives us a description of the fears, sadness, oppression, etc, really convincing from the very first bar.

Symphony Nº1 is a piece from DSCH's conservatoire years, from 1926, when the composer was only 19 years old and he was suffering a very disturbing economical situation, after his father's death and in the poor CCCP after the Revolution and the Civil War. It's known DSCH had to work in a cinema, under very hard conditions to eat, and that Glazunov took care of having some official assistance for his conservatoire pupil in order to Dimitri gave attention only to composer. The piece is not a great work like symphonies 5, 7, 8, 10, 13... but it shows some details and the personality of the maestro clearly. It was a great success from the same premiere and it made appear Shostakovich as the emergent figure of the new soviet composers, formed in the communist conservatoire... That was what the regime said, because in fact Leningrad conservatoire was mainly what it was before communist regime.

Leonard Bernstein performance of this symphony is a glory from all the points of view, perfectly played and recorded, the piece is fresh, full of tension and emotion, and even that parts not so fine orchestrated shine with real genius. The fourth and final movement is specially outstanding and the way the symphony ends is so good that sometimes I repeat the last minute when it finish. I really don't know any other version played with this very deep conviction on CD.

Seventh Symphony "Leningrad" is OUTSTANDING too, in every movement the orchestral playing and Lenny's conducting is breathtaking. The gigantic crescendo of the first movement is really a monument in the way Lenny control the dynamics perfectly, having an end that is really impossible to repeat, with the scales of the metals and drums full of terror, like watching the face of the death in front of you, in front of the city.

Central movements are wonderfully described too, the dynamics and the control of the tempo is amazing, as we listen in the second movement, a clear example of alternation between fortissimos and pianissimos, as between an atmosphere were everything is like suspended in fears and moments of pain.

The last movement is another Bernstein's `show', because of the way he proclaims the victory of the initial motif, which we could say is not completely affirmed in order to create that two-senses possibilities in the symphony reading. From the very dark beginning of the movement Lenny creates a crescendo that finally leads an explosion in the last bars, outstanding one more time.

The recording is fine, very present, full of body but not so clean like his recordings with Vienna in the 80's (I think about his DSCH's 6 & 9, for example; too on this CDs box), but it worth very, VERY, very much.

I could not say this is the only possible version, as I read in other reviews. I know about 5 or 6 performances (Rostropovich, Jansons, Haitink, Barshai...), apart from some others life, and of course this is the one I like much more, but not the only possibility, I try to discover always new ways in art, specially in music performances. Jansons' version in EMI is very good too, and we can not forget DSCH music always use to ask for the soviet performances, which are a very different way of understanding the works generally. Kondrashin or Rozhdestvensky shows another ways too.

If Symphonies 1 & 7 with Chicago are good, Symphonies 6 & 9 with Vienna are extraordinary too. I have read sometimes critics about the slow tempo Bernstein used, but I've to say this tempo brings new views and conceptions about these marvellous scores. First movement of Symphony Nº6 sounds deep and spacious, technically perfect like the rest of the performance. Second and third movements are really amazing, hard to believe because of the incredible level of the Vienna players, in a tempo that allows you to listen all the instruments and musical phrases perfectly defined. Symphony Nº9 performed by Bernstein was said it is too much triumphal... I really like it very much in the way it's played, like the Sixth marvellous form any point of view.

Stravinsky is good, but the orchestra is not at the same level than CSO or WP. Petrouchka is very, very good and very theatrical. Le Sacre is savage, furious and very interesting. The most important works are, in this way, those better conducted by Lenny and best played by the Israel Orchestra.

We have to mention Noces and Mass, not very usual on CD and with fine performances on Bernstein hands.

Sound is better in DSCH recordings, as in Stravinsky there are some works (Noces, Mass) in ADD recordings.

Anyway, a very, VERY interesting 6 CDs Box which worth for all those who don't have these Shostakovich performances and for those who want to have good performances of some of the best Stravinsky's works.

Not the best of Bernstein, but there are some gems.......2006-01-22

This DG bargain box of 6 CDs brings together recordings of Stravinsky and Shostakovich that, with few exceptions, are remakes of considerably better earlier ones. The Stravinsky works mostly date from 1982 with the Israel Phil. They would be considered quite good except that the earlier NY Phil. recordings are great. The same holds true for the Shostakovich, though perhaps not to such an extent, since the Vienna Phil. plays so spectacularly on two of them.

As a quick overview:

Stravinsky: The best readings here are the Firebird Suite from Tel Aviv and a pairing of Les Noces and Mass from London in 1977. The last two arena't remakes. The Isael account of Le Sacre is certainly very good in spots but rather slack in other spots. The little-heard Scenes de Ballet gets an elegant, sinuous reading with not a trace of excessive underlining, while the Sym. in Three Movements is plodding (neither of these is a remake). The Petrushka is dull and uninvolving. In all, more than half of the music on these three CDs stands up very well.

Shostakovich: The best is Sym. #9 with the marvelous Vienna Phil. from 1985, a cheerful, refined reading that eschews darkness. The Sym. #6 from the same source, but a year earlier, sounds noncommittal and underplayed. Sym. #1 and 7 come from 1988, quite late in Bernstein's career. The Chicago Sym. plays elegantly in the First, but everything seems a bit tired. The Seventh was a Bernstein specialty; he had made a huge hit recorded and is almost as good, though lacking the uncanny communiction of the first version. I found the playing too refined at times, but Bernstein never played this piece for its potential savagery. In all, this Seventh and the Ninth have worn the best.

All the sonics here are exceptionally good. Bernstein got good analog sound from Columbia when he was with the NY Phil, but these digital remasterings leave those old versions in the dust. It's a trade-off, then, since as an interpreter Bernstein never excelled his youthful self in these works.

Average customer rating:

Progressive and Experimental
Chicago III
One of Chicago's Best!
a FINE, UNDERRATED ALBUM
A Misunderstood and Unappreciated Creation

Chicago III
Chicago
Manufacturer: Chicago Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Chicago VI
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Chicago III

ASIN: B0000021RE
Release Date: 1995-02-28

Tracks:

Sing A Mean Tune Kid
Lonliness Is Just A Word
What Else Can I Say
I Don't Want You Money
Travel Suite: Flight 602
Travel Suite: Motorboat To Mars
Travel Suite: Free
Travel Suite: Free Country
Travel Suite: At The Sunrise
Travel Suite: Happy 'Cause I'm Going Home
Mother
Lowdown
An Hour In The Shower: A Hard Risin' Morning Without Breakfast
An Hour In The Shower: Off To Work
An Hour In The Shower: Fallin' Out
An Hour In The Shower: Dreamin' Home
An Hour In The Shower: Morning Blues Again
Elegy: When All the Laughter Dies In Sorrow
Elegy: Canon
Elegy: Once Upon A Time...
Elegy: Progress?
Elegy: The Approaching Storm
Elegy: Man Vs. Man: The End

Amazon.com

While Chicago were based in Los Angeles by the time they made this album, the band's horn-laden pop stylings had not changed dramatically since their inception in 1967. Still featuring the triple-threat vocal attack of Terry Kath, Robert Lamm, and Peter Cetera, Chicago were a well-orchestrated rock band showcasing jazzy compositions and slick arrangements. The late Terry Kath's bluesy guitar and voice were showcased in the ambitious "Hour in the Shower" while Pete Cetera's mainstream leanings were unveiled in "Lowdown." Producer and longtime mentor James William Guercio is not as efficient on III, indicating a lack of focus within the band. Despite lengthy suites, lots of soloing, and elaborate horn charts, the songwriting leaves something to be desired. Verdict: Not as good as their first two recordings. --Mitch Myers

Customer Reviews:

Progressive and Experimental.......2006-04-09

"Chicago III" was a more experimental outing by Chicago than their previous two albums. The styles range wider, with barely a nod to mainstream music of the late 60s and early 70s. It is likely that the ability to have such a large variety was made possible by the success of their previous two albums.

As originally released, this CD was a double album set. The CD clocks in at about 71 minutes. An amazing 71 minutes it is. Three suites on the album include 17 of the 23 tracks. The suites are organized as follows: the "Travel Suite" includes tracks 5 through 10; "An Hour in the Shower" includes tracks 13 through 17; and "Elegy" includes tracks 18 through 23. In effect, the album includes three conceptual sections and six additional, separate tracks.

The six separate tracks illustrate the musical diversity of Chicago. "Sing a Mean Tune Kid" is 70s funk with Chicago's trademark horn section jazzing up the funk. "Loneliness is Just a Word" is styled as a jazz song, with a flavor of bebop. Continuing with the changeups, "What Else Can I Say" has a bit of a country flavor but the guitars sound right out of a Beatles song. Part of the harmony also has a bit of Beatles' flavor to it as well. "I Don't Want Your Money" takes us to another corner of musical style with the hardest rocking selection of the CD.

The other two separate tracks are "Mother" and "Lowdown," both appearing between "Travel Suite" and "An Hour in the Shower." "Mother" combines strong horn music with a solid rock tapestry. The vocals here presage 10cc's later 70s music that would frequently use a similar style, though without the brass. Brass will always set apart and define Chicago's early music. "Lowdown" contains a strong organ lead-in a one of the more pop-like tracks on this CD, containing funky musical elements and style that were typical of that era.

The separate tracks tell the listener that this group has an incredible musical breadth. However, it is in the three concept portions of the album where Chicago stretches their musical muscle and lets you know that this group was helping define one or more directions for music.

"Travel Suite" fits well with the late 60s and 70s when many young Americans became nomads, wandering about the country in flower-painted vans and Beetles, on the search for enlightenment. The musical flavor here starts out like Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. However, the drum solo of "Motorboat to Mars," relatively rare in rock music, is experimental and definitely unusual, leading into the rock with horns song, "Free," the defining word for the travelers of the time. "Free Country" has musical elements I associate with King Crimson, though they are classical in some respects as well. The suite continues through "At the Sunrise" to "Happy `Cause I'm Going Home," a fitting end to a suite about wanderlust.

"An Hour in the Shower" is a group of bluesy songs that covers much in a very short period of musical time. The songs could all have been one song, but instead opens and closes with similar lyrics and style, and reflections on that style in the middle compositions. In some respects the style is similar to the technique The Moody Blues used to introduce and end smaller groupings of songs.

The final suite is "Elegy," a rather depressing grouping of songs, from the title, at least, that again would seem to fit well with the era of the late 60s. The songs seem to combine all the concern we had at the time regarding the war in Viet Nam, the side effects of technology, the state of the economy, the arms race, and whether we had the potential as a race to survive. The introduction to the suite is spoken poem, leading to two instrumentals with classical elements, almost seeming like a sound track to a movie. These two pieces lead to "Progress?" which uses, for the first and only time in my knowledge, the sound of a flushing toilet to end the composition. The instrumental with a combination of instruments and sound effects, asks the musical question whether the current state of our society is progress, or whether we are all in the toilet.

The next composition is "The Approaching Storm," another instrumental, with more rock elements. While the title would seem to indicate that it is an indication of travails for mankind, the music here is fast-paced guitars and strident horns, with little indication of the dark foreboding that the title would seem to indicate. The final selection, "Man vs. Man: The End," dovetails without pause with the previous selection. Finally some of the foreboding elements enter the music, and you come to sense that perhaps one of the ends for mankind is we against us, to the end.

"Chicago III" is a monumental work in that it combines so many musical styles and tries to do so many different things on one CD. There are few artists outside classical music that would attempt the scope of this CD. Furthermore, of those who would try something of this scope, few could pull it off. In some ways, "Chicago III" defined the peak of progressive Chicago, incredibly experimental and seemingly fearless for 71 minutes in 1971.

Chicago III.......2003-04-29

With this release, Chicago had produced three double-LP sets within 2 years, which cluttered the market and drained the band members' creativity. The result was a fall off in quality and sales, though Chicago III did manage to stay on the charts for over a year, selling a million copies. The hits are "Free" and "Lowdown", neither of which is among the group's best.

One of Chicago's Best!.......2001-05-04

Quite frankly, this album is almost as good as Chicago Transit Authority. Both of these albums are the perfect mix of rock, funk, and jazz. If you appreciate solos, Sing a Mean Tune Kid has what you want. Free sports Chicago's great horn section. Motorboat to Mars is a 1:30 long drum solo (only Chicago can do that :-) ). Chicago really tries some new styles in Chicago III. The best part of this CD is that there are so many different types of music on this album (jazz to rock to ballads etc). Chicago III is very energetic and has to be one of Chicago's most underrated and best CDs.

a FINE, UNDERRATED ALBUM.......2000-09-07

While I agree that this album came as something of a shock, following the superb first two albums, this is still a fabulous blend of styles. From the explosive energetic charge of "Sing a Mean Tune Kid" to the quietness of "Man vs Man", there is much to savor.

It does tend to wear out towards the fourth side, but the sheer poignancy of the poem "When the Laughter Turns to Sorrow" and the parallels to Vietnam manage to salvage the sluggishness of the material.

Overall, a remarkable achievement from an innovative band.

A Misunderstood and Unappreciated Creation.......2000-08-14

I just got into Chicago a few weeks back and decided to start chronologically by buying CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY and CHICAGO II first. I immediately took to them and anxiously looked towards the next bunch I intended to purchase. Within days, I brought CHICAGO III home with much anticipation. Although I didn't recognize any song titles as I did on the first two, I concurred that at 24 I wasn't even born when these recordings first saw the light of day so perhaps this was to be expected. Anyway, I hit play and the delightfully fresh and funky "Sing A Mean Tune Kid" began. 70 minutes later, as "Man Vs. Man: The End" came to a crashing end, I sat back, slightly perplexed and feeling as though I didn't quite get what I expected. I then imagined what the fans must have felt like in early 1971, when CHICAGO III came out. The songs didn't seem as immediate or commercial and it was more raw (perhaps a few too many "chug-a-chug-a -chug-a-chug- a-chug-a...1-2-3-4!" count-ins from Terry Kath which could have been cut out; my only real criticism of this fine album). With a few more listens, CHICAGO III began to reveals its strengths and I then realized that the band hadn't produced an inferior product at all - just a different type of one. In short, Chicago refused to sit on their laurels and progressed. For all the amazing qualities of the first two albums, CHICAGO III revealed the band's funky ("Sing A Mean Tune Kid", "Free"), raw ("I Don't Want Your Money") and even avant-garde (and therefore artistic) side ("Free Country and "Progress?". CHICAGO III is the typical album that requires a few listens and then it will unlock its charms. How can anyone not dig the jazzy and cool "Loneliness Is Just A Word"? The "Travel Suite" is enjoyable as well as Kath's five-part "An Hour In The Shower" and James Pankow's profound "Elegy" opus is enjoyable, especially the fun, interactive intrumental "The Approaching Storm" (although the first section, the spoken-word "When All The Laughter Dies In Sorrow" is slightly contrived). In the final analysis, CHICAGO III is a fine, successful and adventurous album by the young band who had just barely begun their journey. It's not perfect (is there such a thing as a "perfect" album?), but far better than its reputation as an inferior successor to the first two. In fact, had CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY and CHICAGO II never appeared, CHICAGO III would be even greater appreciated. Sometimes we must forget what came before in order to appreciate what comes later.

Wagner: The Ride of the Valkyries, Overtures and Choruses

Average customer rating:

Beautiful tone
The Perfect Wagner Introduction
'Apocalypse Now' fans! THIS IS THE ONE!!!

Wagner: The Ride of the Valkyries, Overtures and Choruses
Paul Johnston
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00000AFQY
Release Date: 1998-09-29

Tracks:

The Ride of the Valkyries: Prelude: Act 1 - Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg
The Ride of the Valkyries: Begluckt darf nun dich (Pilgrims' Chorus - Tannhauser)
The Ride of the Valkyries: Siegfried's Funeral March
The Ride of the Valkyries: Mild und leise (Liebestod - Tristan and Isolde)
The Ride of the Valkyries: Overture (Der fliegende Hollander)
The Ride of the Valkyries: The Ride of the Valkyries (Die Walkure)
The Ride of the Valkyries: Forest Murmers (Siegfried)
The Ride of the Valkyries: Prelude: Act 3 (Lohengrin)
The Ride of the Valkyries: Treulich gefuhrt ziehet dahin (Bridal Chorus - Lohengrin)
The Ride of the Valkyries: Fliegt heim, ihr Raben? (Immolation Scene - Gotterdammerung)

Amazon.com

Historian Paul Johnson's insightful liner notes to this reissue of Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries point out that "we can hear singers and musicians swept up together in the spine-tingling experience" of the music. Truly, this is some of the most dizzying music on record, led by Sir George Solti with a wonderful mix of pile- driving Wagnerian energy and strangely exuberant detail. There are numerous important overtures and choruses, with Birgit Nilsson singing "Mild und Leise" from Tristant und Isolde and the Immolation Scene from Götterdämerung. This music has, of course, been assailed as connected to Wagner's anti-Semitism, and that fact provides Johnson for his launch-off: As a child, he couldn't hear Wagner in any context other than the one here, an anthology of overtures and choruses. But Johnson notes that the composer's "undoubtedly unpleasant character" was, in fact, sublimated through the music. Whether that is true will never be clear, but what is now clear is that the music engulfs the listener, and for someone looking for a top-down gloss on Wagner's oeuvre, this is a wonderful CD to spin. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful tone.......2006-03-11

I really like this for its sound even if it is an old compilation of favorites. The Birgit Nillson arias are a gift and really spotlight her voice.

The Perfect Wagner Introduction.......2003-12-19

Ever wondered what Wagner sounded like? This is the perfect introduction to Wagner. Excerpts from Solti's famous Wagner sets - Die meistersingers, Tannhauser, Lohengrin, Tristan, The Flying Dutchman and the Ring. For your info, Solti was the only conductor who recorded all of Wagner's mature operas. (Karajan stopped short of Tannhauser).

'Apocalypse Now' fans! THIS IS THE ONE!!!.......2003-01-26

I searched high and low for the exact recording of "Ride of the Valkyries" from Wagner's Die Walküre that was used in Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece "Apocalypse Now", but had difficulty for many years. BY CHANCE, I found this at a music store, and snagged it -- took it home and listened and was thrilled to find that, as I had thought, it was the very recording I had sought for years!

So now I can die happy! LOL

The rest of the CD is truly excellent. Solti and the Vienna Philharmoic Orchestra made a new watermark for all subsequent performances of Wagner with these recordings.

Since this has what is clearly THE version I was looking for, I recommend this CD heartily to anyone with even a passing interest in Wagner, and obviously for fans of "Apocalypse Now", the search ends here, folks!

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