Strange Beautiful Music

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After a brief excursion into techno with 2000's Engines of Creation, Joe Satriani returns to rock with a vengeance. He sets the tone by looking to Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti for inspiration, coming up with the lyrical "Oriental Melody" and the sensuous "Belly Dancer." "Starry Night" is a rhythmic romp across the cosmos that recalls the restrained yet breezy jazz of early Traffic laced with the lyricism of Jimi Hendrix. "Chords of Life" is marked by its clean, uncluttered bass line that surrenders to a tumultuous psychedelic free fall. Satriani pulls the song back just before it disintegrates into chaos, guiding it along with a deftness and economy. Often criticized for overplaying, the former guitar teacher has reined in his technique and let his heart lead. Strange Beautiful Music is one of Satriani’s best efforts. --Jaan Uhelszki

Strange Beautiful Music,Joe Satriani,Sony,Guitar Virtuoso,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop

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Strange Beautiful Music

Average customer rating: Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material! Beginner or Expert Very Informative and Enjoyable Frank's view Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra

Instruments of the Orchestra Various Artists Manufacturer: Naxos ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra | ( H ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music London Philharmonic Orchestra | ( L ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra | ( M ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music National Philharmonic Orchestra London | ( N ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Instructional | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Blowout Box Sets | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music More Titles at Least 20% Off | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music All Classical Music Blowout | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra | ( H ) | Performers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music London Philharmonic Orchestra | ( L ) | Performers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra | ( M ) | Performers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music National Philharmonic Orchestra London | ( N ) | Performers, A-Z | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Instrumental | Classical Music Blowout | Stores | Music Similar Items: Britten: Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra Op34; Simple Symphony Op4 The Mahler Symphonies: An Owner's Manual (includes 1 CD) The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (Book & CD) What to Listen for in Music Study of Orchestration, Third Edition ASIN: B00006O0NT Release Date: 2002-12-03

Tracks:

1. Overture To 'Tannhauser'
2. Domna, Pos Vos Ay Chausida
3. We Don't Merely Use Instruments, We Play On Them. And They Play On Us.
4. Hungarian Dance No.7
5. The Violin Is One Of The Most Tender And Beautiful Instruments Ever Invented.
6. Violin Concerto In D Major (Adagio)
7. But For A Long Time It Was Seen As The Instrument Of The Devil.
8. The Soldier's Tale: Triumphal March Of The Devil
9. The Manipulative Seductiveness Of The Gypsy Violin.
10. Csardas Music
11. The Violin And The Initiation Of Nature
12. The Four Seasons (Spring, Mvt 1)
13. Birds Are Again Evoked In The Second Concerto, Especially Music's Natural Favourite.
14. The Four Seasons (Summer, Mvt 1)
15. Like The Devil, The Violin Is A Master Of Disguise.
16. Old Viennese Dance No.3 'Schon Rosmarin'
17. The Menacing Sensuality Of Ravel's Tzigane: A Very Different Side Of The Violin:
18. Tzigane
19. Do We Now Have The True Measure Of This Instrument? Not Just Yet.
20. Caprice No.24
21. The Many Effects Of The String Tremolando: Brandenburg Concerto No.4 (Last Mvt)/From Joy To Fright/Quartettsatz In C Minor/The String Tremolo Practically Spells The World Agitato.
22. Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No.7)
23. Prokofiev's Tremolo In Romeo And Juliet Should Not Be Heard Just Before Bedtime.
24. Romeo And Juliet: Act IV
25. Vivaldi Use It To Illustrate The Shivering Of Travellers Crossing The Ice.
26. The Four Seasons (Winter, Mvt 1)
27. The Violin Muted
28. Clair De Lune
29. The Gentleness Of Muted Strings Persists Even When A Whole Orchestra Plays.
30. Piano Concerto No.21 In C Major, K.467 (Slow Mvt)
31. The Pizzicato Violin
32. Pizzicato Polka
33. In Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, The Accompaniment Is Pizzicato.
34. Violin Concerto No.2 In G Minor (Slow Mvt)
35. Varieties Of Pizzicato: Colas Breugnon (The People's Feast)/Now A Drier, Leaner, Hungrier Pizzicato. There's Not A Lot Of Comfort Here./Capriol Suite (Tordion)/The Use Of Pizzicato As 'Percussion'/Romeo And Juliet (Act I)/Mahler Used Pizzicato...
36. The Planets (Mars - The Bringer Of War)
37. The Technique Of Double-Stopping Enables The Violin To Play Duets With Itself./Sonata No.3 In C Major For Unaccompanied Violin (Fugue)/Now A Later Example Of The Same Technique
38. Hungarian Dance No.4
39. Double-Stopping Is A Standard Feature Of A Lot Of Folk Music.
40. The Four Seasons (Autumn, Mvt 1)
41. Now The Same Technique, But The Sound Might Have Come From Another World.
42. Bolero
43. Double-Stopping Can Only Approximate The Sound Of A Real Violin Duet.
44. Cadenza To The Violin Concerto By Brahms
45. Now Compare That With A Real Violin Duet.
46. Forty-Four Duos (No. 1: Teasing Song)
47. Another Duo By Bartok, Demonstrating The Violin's Rich Lower Register
48. Forty-Four Duos (No.2: Maypole Dance)
49. And Now What May Be The Most Beautiful Accompanied Violin Duet In History
50. Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
51. The Soul Of The Violin Is In Song; But What About This Weird Passage?
52. Violin Concerto No.1 In D Major (Mvt 2)
53. The Use Of Harmonies In The Orchestra Can Be Both Magical And Unsettling.
54. Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 1, Opening)
55. Tchaikovsky's Use Of Harmonics In The Sleeping Beauty Is Both Strange And Darling.
56. The Sleeping Beauty (Act II, No.15: Entr'Acte)
57. Ravel's Harmonics In Mother Goose Effect A Magical Transformation.
58. Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
59. Stravinsky's Harmonics In The Firebird Transport Us Almost Into Another World./The Firebird (Introduction)
60. The Natural Upper Notes Of The Violins Have A Unique Emotional 'Grab'.
61. Also Sprach Zarathustra (Of The Afterworldsmen)
62. Still In Their Upper Register, The Violins Unleash The Energy Of A Young Colt.
63. Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No. 4)
64. Elsewhere, Britten Uses The Same High Register To Create A Very Different Mood.
65. Four Sea Interludes (Dawn) From 'Peter Grimes'
66. To End This Outing With The Violins, A Charming Little Elfin Dance
67. Elfenreigen

Tracks:

1. Introduction To The Viola
2. Viola Concerto (Mvt 1)
3. Khatchaturian Gets A Very Different Sound From It: Fuller, Fruitier, More Exotic.
4. Gayane Suite No.1 (Armen's Solo)
5. Very Nearly The Whole Of The Violin's Upper Register Is Also Available To The Viola.
6. Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'
7. The Viola Can Bring A Special, Rich Twanginess To Pizzicato That The Violins Lack./Don Quixote/Berlioz Drew Sounds From It That Retain Their Metallic Strangeness Even Today.
8. Harold In Italy (Mvt 4)
9. The Muted Viola: Intimate, Gentle, Poignant In Dvork
10. Cypresses (No.9)
11. The Massed Violas Of The Modern Symphony Orchestra In Mahler
12. Symphony No.4 (Mvt 3)
13. The 'Period' Viola In Bach
14. Brandenburg Concerto No.6 (Last Mvt)
15. The Cello: A Voice Of Unique Nobility
16. Suite No.1 For Unaccompanied Cello (Prelude)
17. Brahms And The 'Soul' Of The Cello
18. Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat Major (Mvt 3)
19. Most Orchestral Composers Tend To Emphasize The Cello's Lower Register.
20. Cantata 'Herz Und Mund Und Tat Und Leben', BWV 147 (Soprana Aria: Bereite Dir, Jesu)
21. In The Time Of Beethoven The Cello Remained As Fundamental As Ever.
22. Symphony No.3 'Eroica' (Finale)
23. But The Cello Is Not Condemned To Spend Its Life In The Basement.
24. Elfentanz, Op.39
25. Not Only In Recital Showpieces Like That Is The Cello Is Used In Its Highest Register.
26. The Protecting Veil (Opening)
27. A Cello With An Identity-Crisis: The Pizzicato Flamencan
28. Flamenco
29. Double-Stopping In The Lower Reaches Of The Cello's Range
30. Solo Suiet For Cello And Piano (Sardana)
31. It's In The Middle Register That The Cello Really Comes Into Its Own.
32. Oriental Dance, Op.2 No.2
33. It Was To The Cellos That Beethoven Gave Two Of His Most Famous Themes./Symphony No.5 (Mvt 2)/Still More Famous Than That Theme Is This One From The Ninth Symphony.
34. Symphony No.9 (Finale)
35. Introduction To The Double-Bass
36. The Carnival Of The Animals (The Elephant)
37. But The Double-Bass Can Be Intensely Expressive And Graceful.
38. Elegy No.1 In D Major
39. The Range Of The Double-Bass Is The Greatest Of All The String Instruments/Allegro Di Concerto, 'Alla Mendelssohn'/And It's Also Capable Of Very Considerable Virtuosity.
40. Capriccio Di Bravura
41. Double-Bass Solos In Orchestral Scores Are Rare But Often Memorable./Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 3)/In His Third Symphony Mahler Makes A Very Different Use Of The Instrument./Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1)
42. The Double-Bass Muted In Prokofiev/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Kije's Wedding)/In Another Work Prokofiev Uses The Double-Bass To Enhance The Winds./Romeo And Juliet (Act III)/And He Combines The Bass Clarinet With A Shivering Tremolo From The Double-Basses....
43. Symphony No.5 (Mvt 3)/So Much For The Strings/On Now To The Winds

Tracks:

1. The Antiquity And Magic Of The Flute
2. Prelude A L'Apres-Midi D'Un Faune
3. The Versatility And Agility Of The Flute
4. Orchestral Suite No.2 In B Minor (Badinerie)
5. The Flute In Fifteenth-Century Spain
6. Sa'Dawi
7. Other Flutes: The Bass And Alto
8. Chamber Music No.II
9. The Piccolo - Aptly Named
10. La Naissance D'Osiris (Mvt 6)
11. From A Piccolo Of The Eighteenth Century To One Of Its Descendants In The Twentieth
12. Suite No.1 For Small Orchestra (Valse)
13. A Variety Of Techniques
14. Chamber Music No.II
15. Flutter-Tonguing. But Tchaikovsky Got There Eighty Years Before.
16. The Nutcracker (Act II, No.2: Scene)
17. From The Transverse To The Vertical: The Baroque Recorder
18. Recorded Suite In A Minor (Menuet II)
19. An Unfamiliar, Early Vision Of The Instrument
20. Naelden, Naelden
21. The Bachian Oboe
22. Cantata 'Ein Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott', BWV 80 (No.7: Duetto)
23. Introduction To The Cor Anglais Or 'English Born'
24. Symphony No.9 'From The New World' (Mvt 2)
25. The Loneliness Of The Cor Anglais
26. The Swan Of Tuonela
27. The Cor Anglais Joins The French Horn In Haydn.
28. Symphony No.22 'The Philosopher' (Opening)
29. Introduction To The Oboe D'Amore, Beloved Of Bach - But Also Of Ravel
30. Bolero
31. The Clarinet Family: Boxing The Compass, From The Depths Of The Bass Clarinet.../The Egyptian (Violence)/...To The Raucous And Squealy.../Taras Bulba (The Death Of Ostap)/...To The Shrill And Complaining...
32. Petrushka (No.8: Peasant With Bear)/...To The High Sprits Of A Playful Puppy./Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)/And To The Downright Jazzy/Romeo And Juliet (Act II)
33. As The High Clarinets Tend To Be Loud, So The Bass Tends To Be Soft:
34. Gayane Suite No. 1 (Mvt 5)
35. The Bass Clarinet Is Used By Most Composers Mainly As A Colouring Agent.../Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/...But It Does Occasionally Get A Whole Tune To Itself./Iberia (Almeria).
36. The Range Of The Normal Clarinet Parts Goes Quite High...
37. The Snow Maiden (Scene 5: Melodrama)
38. ...And Quite Low.
39. Peter And The Wolf (The Cat)
40. The Clarinet As Concerto Soloist
41. Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
42. But That's Not The Instrument Mozart Wrote It For; This Is:
43. Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
44. Introduction To The Saxophone
45. Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 4)
46. The Soprano Saxophone Has Quite A Different Feel To It.
47. L'Arlesienne Suite No.1 (Minuet)
48. The Little Sopranino Sax Goes Even Higher.
49. Bolero
50. The Most Famous Use Of The Saxophone Is In An Orchestration By Ravel.
51. Pictures At An Exhibition (The Old Castle)
52. The Saxophone Can Be Quite Contagiously Good-Humoured.
53. Sax-O-Phun
54. The Puffa-Puffa Image Of The Bassoon
55. Peter And The Wolf (Grandfather)
56. The Bachian Bassoon, In Accompanimental Mode
57. Cantata 'Weichet Nur, Betrubte Schatten' ('Wedding Cantata'), BWV 202 (Aria No.1)
58. Bizet Leaves The Puffa-Puffa Image Out, Allowing The Bassoon To Sing./Carmen Suite No.1 (Les Dragons D'Alcala)
59. And Ravel, Also In Spanish Mode, Does Likewise.
60. Bolero
61. The Bassoon As A Voice Of High Seriousness, Indeed Desolate Loneliness
62. Symphony No.3 (Opening)
63. The Eerie Bassoon In Its Highest Register
64. The Rite Of Spring (Opening)
65. Stravinsky Now Draws On Its Lowest Register, Lonely And Melancholy.
66. The Firebird Suite (1919, Berceuse)
67. The Bassoon As Concerto Soloist, Avoiding All Exaggeration
68. Bassoon Concerto In G Minor (Finale)
69. The Deep-Voiced Contra-Bassoon, As A Fairy-Tale Beast
70. Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
71. The French Horn Under Its Woodwind Hat
72. Wind Quintet, Op.43 (Last Mvt)
73. Now A More Prominent Role, In A Woodwind Quintet From An Earlier Era
74. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Mvt 2)
75. The Horn In Harmonious Blend With Strings In Another Quintet
76. Horn Quintet, K.407 (Finale)

Tracks:

1. The Trumpet As Virtuoso Soloist
2. Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Last Mvt)
3. The Special Brillance Of Paired Trumpets
4. Concerto In C For Two Trumpets, RV537 (Mvt 1)
5. The Ceremonial Trumpet
6. Fanfare For The Common Man
7. Trumpets And Drums - An Incomparable Alliance
8. Messiah (The Trumpet Shall Sound)
9. The Versatility Of The Trumpet, From The Most Public To The Most Lonely
10. Piano Concerto In F (Slow Mvt)
11. The Trumpet As The Voice Of The City/An American In Paris/The Trumpet As Recruitment Officer/The Soldier's Tale (The March)/The Trumpet As Swaggerer
12. Carmen Suite No.2 (Habanera)
13. The Trumpet As The Voice Of Strength And Courage
14. Carmet Suite No.2 (Toreador's Song)
15. The Trumpet Muted/Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Opening)/The Trumpet As The Voice Of Weariness
16. Billy The Kid
17. The Trumpet As Character Actor
18. Pictures At An Exhibition (No.6)
19. The Trumpet As The Voice Of God
20. Mass In B Minor ('Et Exspecto')
21. The Birth Of The Trombone
22. Aenmerckt Nu Hier
23. The Birth Of The Brass As A Family
24. Canzon 12 In Double Echo
25. The Trombone In The Eighteenth Century
26. Trombone Concerto In B Flat Major (Finale)
27. The Tone Of The Tenor Trombone/Romance For Trombone And Organ/The Memorable Voice Of The Bass Trombone/Requiem (Mvt 2)/But The Bass Trombone Is More Than An Instrumental Bullfrog.
28. Hosannah
29. The Trombones Become Part Of The Orchestra.
30. Symphony No.5 (Finale)
31. The Wagnerian Trombone:/Overture To 'Tannhauser'
32. The Trombone As Caricaturist
33. Pulcinella (No.19: Vivo)
34. The Trombone As Raspberry/Concerto For Orchestra (Intermezzo)
35. The Horn And The Hunt
36. Horn Concerto No.4 In E Flat, K.495 (Finale)
37. The Challenging Horn Of The Baroque
38. Abaris Ou Les Boreades (Menuet)
39. The Scarcity Of First-Rate Players In Handel's Time
40. Walter Music (Minuet 1)
41. The Horn As Magician/The Firebird Suite (1919, Finale)
42. Horns And The Sound Of Nobility
43. Overture To 'Tannhauser' (Opening)
44. The Special Sound Of The Horn In Its Higher Register
45. Mass In B Minor ('Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus')
46. The Trumpet-Like Sound Of Massed Horns
47. Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1, Opening)
48. The Tuba - Unfairly Maligned?
49. Symphony No.6 (Mvt 3)
50. The Tuba Perfectly Cast By Ravel
51. Pictures At An Exhibition (Bydlo)

Tracks:

1. Introduction. And We Begin With A Bang.
2. Fanfare For The Common Man/The Bass Drum On The Battlefields/Wellington's Victory, Op.91 (Opening)
3. At The Opposite Extreme Is The Triangle.
4. Piano Concerto No.1 In E Flat (Scherzo)
5. Categories Of Percussion: Tuned And Untuned. The Side Drum
6. Overture To 'La Gazza Ladra' - The Thieving Magpie (Opening)
7. The Side Drum In An Effective But Unexpected Role/Clarinet Concerto (Mvt 1)
8. The Tambourine. One Of The Oldest Instruments In The World
9. Den Hoboecken Dans
10. Even Older Is The Originally Oriental Gong.
11. Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
12. No Single Instrument Can Match The Gong In Evoking The Breaking Of Waves./Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'/But Gongs Don't Have To Be Struck To Be Effective.
13. Gymnopedie No.2
14. The Cymbals Are Generally Discovered Early In Life./The Sanguine Fan/And They Do More Than Clash Together Loudly. They Can Be Clashed Together Softly./Studio Example: But They Needn't Be Clashed Together At All/Studio Example: They Can Be Lightly...
15. Other Untuned Percussion Instruments Include The Whip.: Piano Concerto In G Major (Opening)/And Here Are No Fewer Than Twenty, Cracked By Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Act I, Scene 5)
16. More Versatile Than The Whip Are The Wood Blocks.../Studio Example/...Which Crop Up All Over The Place In Twentieth-Century American Music.
17. Rodeo (Hoe-Down)
18. Related To The Wood Blocks, By Sound, Are The Castanets./Jota Aragonesa/But The Castanets Were Also Used By Monteverdi Back In The Seventeenth Century.
19. Scherzi Musicali (Damigella Tutta Belle)
20. A Still Earlier Example From Fifteenth-Century Spain
21. Yo M'Enamori D'Un Aire
22. The Birth Of The Bongo
23. Symphonic Dances From 'West Side Story'
24. From The Streets Of New York To The Blacksmith's Shop/Il Trovatore ('Anvil Chorus')
25. Desert-Island Decibels: Grand Canyon Suite (On The Trail)/Arcana
26. From One Vegetable To Another: The Humble Squash, Or Marrow/Huapango
27. Onwards To The Tuned Percussion. First, The Timpani
28. Also Sprach Zarathustra (Introduction)
29. But The Drum Roll Can Be More Effectively Frightening Than The Big Bang.: Symphony No.2 'Resurrection' (Mvt 3)
30. Not One Drum Roll, But Many/Grand Canyon Suite (Sunrise)/Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)
31. Taking Advantage Of Tunability
32. Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Mvt 2)
33. The Russian Composer Rodion Shchedrin Takes A Downward Turn./Carmen Suite (Changing Of The Guard)/Tuned, Yes; But For The Truly Melodic We Must Look Elsewhere.
34. Introducing The Glockenspiel/Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
35. Saint-Saens And The Xylophone
36. The Carnival Of The Animals (Fossils)
37. Ravel And The Xylophone
38. Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
39. Introducing The Marimba/Carmen Suite (First Intermezzo)
40. Introducing The Vibraphone
41. The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Narange Dolce)
42. The Vibraphone Goes Russian.../Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)/...And Is Joined By The Marimba./Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
43. Introducing The Hungarian Cimbalom
44. Folk Dances
45. The Cimbalom And The Symphony Orchestra
46. Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 3)
47. Introducing The Tubular Bells
48. Hary Janos Suite (Viennese Musical Clock)
49. A More 'Up-Front' Approach From Rodion Shchedrin
50. Carmen Suite (Introduction)
51. But The Bells Can Also Make The Sinister Even More Sinister./Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
52. Introducing The Celeste
53. The Nutcracker (Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy)
54. Magic, In The Use Of Collective Percussion
55. Miroirs (La Vallee Des Cloches)
56. Plucked Instruments: The 'Undercover Percussion'/Carmen Suite (Scene)
57. A Prime Case In Point Is The Harp, Irresistible To The Romantics./The Nutcracker (Act II, No.1: Scene)/The Non-Solo Harp As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Hungarian Rhapsody No.1
58. The Traditionally Subservient Role Of The Harpsichord In The Baroque Orchestra
59. Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Slow Mvt)
60. The Piano: King Of The Tuned Percussion/Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Mvt 3)/And A Quarter Of A Century After That:
61. Petrushka (Russian Dance)
62. The Anti-Romantic Piano As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra
63. Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Last Mvt)

Tracks:

1. Keyboard Instruments In The Orchestra - The Most Powerful Of Them All:
2. Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Finale)
3. But Things In Handel's Day Were Very Different.
4. Organ Concerto In B Flat, Op.4 No.3 (Last Mvt)
5. The Organ Is Difficult To Classify.
6. An Unexpected, Organ-related Guest
7. Concerto Pour Zampogna (Last Mvt)
8. Peasant-Fancying... And A Touch Of The Roaming Cowboy
9. Les Miserables (Drink With Me)
10. Outside Artefacts And The Power Of Association
11. Mahler's Sleighbells
12. Symphony No.4 (Opening)
13. A Roll-Call Of Some Unusual Guests/The Typewriter/Parade
14. Chains, And More/Integrales/An American In Paris/Sandpaper Ballet
15. Purpose-Built Oddities: Wind Machines/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Opening)
16. Don Quixote (Variation VIII)
17. National Calling Cards: The Guitar For Spain/Concierto De Aranjuez (Finale)
18. And The Guitar's Poor American Relative, The Banjo/Washington Breakdown
19. And Poorer Still, The Mouth Organ/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Packing Up)
20. The Balalaika For Russia/Romeo And Juliet (Act II: No.14)
21. The Maracas For Mexico/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (El Desayuno)
22. The Bongos And Congas And A Whole Wealth Of Other Drums For Africa And Central America/Studio Example
23. The Sitar Of India/Evening Raga: Bhapoli
24. The Accordion For France (Especially Paris)/Paris Canaille
25. The Zither For Vienna/The Third Man (Theme)
26. The Cimbalom For Hungary/Folk Dances
27. The Guitar As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Rondena
28. There Are Whole Orchestras Of Balalaikas./Sveit Mesiats
29. The Effect Of The Wordless Human Voice, Used Purely As An Instrument/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
30. Nocturnes
31. Instruments And the Imitation Of Nature. The Clarinet As Cuckoo
32. The Carnival Of The Animals (The Cuckoo)
33. The Flute As An All-purpose Aviary
34. The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aviary)
35. The Oboe As Duck
36. Peter And The Wolf (The Duck)
37. The Recording Of Reality. Does It Work As Well?
38. The Pines Of Rome (The Pines Of The Janiculum)
39. The Recording Of Reality Electronically Reborn In New Guises
40. Cantus Articus - Concerto For Birds And Orchesra (Mvt 2)
41. Beethoven Turns Avian: Cuckoo, Nightingale, And Quail
42. Symphony No.6 'Pastoral' (Andante Molto Mosso)
43. Some Improbable Casting: The Violin As Braying Donkey
44. The Carnival Of The Animals (Persons With Long Ears)
45. A Truly Orchestral Hee-haw To Be Reckoned With
46. Overture To 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
47. A Thunderstorm In A Million
48. Symphony No.6 'Pastoral (Allegro-Allegretto)
49. the Instrumental Depiction Of A Silent World
50. The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aquarium)
51. Saint-Saens' Menagerie Takes A Curtain Call.
52. The Carnival Of The Animals (Finale)

Tracks:

1. The Grouping Of Instrumental Families. An Additive Approach. First, Two Violins
2. Forty-Four Duos (No.4)
3. A Great Contrast, Of Both Pitch And Character: Violin And Viola
4. Duo For Violin And Viola In B Flat Major, K.424 (Finale, Vars 1 & 2)/Studio Example
5. Arrival Of The Standard String Trio: Violin, Viola, And Cello
6. String Trio In B Flat (Menuetto)
7. The String Quartet: Two Violins, Viola, And Cello
8. String Quartet In F, Op.18 No.1 (Mvt 3)
9. The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Viola
10. String Quartet No.5 In D, K.593 (Adagio)
11. The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Cello
12. String Quintet In C (Mvt 3)
13. The String Sextet: Two Violins, Two Violas, And Two Cellos
14. String Sextet In B Flat (Mvt 2)
15. The String Octet: The Standard String Quaret Times Two
16. Octet In E Flat, Op.20 (Mvt 1)
17. Double The String Octet: A Fully Fledged String Orchestra
18. String Symphony No.2 (Finale)
19. The Massed Strings Of A Symphony Orchestra
20. Fantasia On A Theme Of Thomas Tallis
21. Contrasts Of Pitch And Instrumental 'Colour' In The Woodwind Section
22. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Theme)
23. In The First Variation It's The Horn That Gets The Lion's Share.
24. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 1
25. In Variation Two The Torch Is Handed To The Bassoon.
26. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 2
27. In Variation Three The Oboe Leads.
28. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 3
29. Variation Four: Conversation Before Returning To A Solo-dominated Texture
30. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 4
31. And Variation Five is Dominated By The Clarinet.
32. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 5
33. The Next To Be Featured Is The Virtuoso Flute.
34. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 6
35. Individual Farewells And A Closing Chorus
36. Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 7
37. A Mixed Group: Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, String Quartet, And Double-Bass
38. Octet In F (Mvt 3)
39. The Early Classical Symphony Orchestra Of Haydn And Mozart
40. Symphony No.29 In A, K.201 (Finale)
41. Strings, Wind, But No Brass. What Haydn And Mozart Never Knew
42. Canzon 28
43. Beethoven's Fifth: Two Horns, Two Trumpets, And Three Trombones Join The Team.
44. Symphony No.5 (Finale)
45. From Beethoven To The Massive Orchestras Of Berlioz, Wagner, And Mahler
46. Beethoven Changed The Face Of The Symphony And The Orchestra Forever
47. Symphoy No.6 'Tragic' (Mvt 1)
48. The Cult Of Orchestral Elephantiasis Reaches Its Peak.
49. Symphony No.1 'Gothic' (VI: Te Ergo Quaesumus)
50. When Large Doesn't Necessarily Mean Loud: Debussy
51. Images (Gigues)
52. A Crisis Of Confidence; The Orchestra's Survival Hangs In The Balance, But It Still Develops. The Ondes Martenot:
53. Turangalila Symphony (Chant D'amour 1)
54. The Advent Of The 'Early Music' Movement Brings A New Vitality And Freshness.
55. Balle De Xerxes (Gavotte En Rondeau)
56. Computer And Synthesiser: Friends Or Foes?
57. Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
58. A Speculative Look Ahead/Mass In B Minor ('Dona Nobis Pacem')

Customer Reviews:

Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material!.......2007-04-04

This set lends itself to greatly enhancing one's knowledge of the orchestra, instruments in it, and their usage. I am a huge music buff, and I still picked up a great deal I previously did not know. I highly recommend this for all who wish to understand the origin of music, as well as the processes that are employed to create music!

Beginner or Expert.......2007-03-12

This CD is excellent for the beginner or expert! To be able to haear the instrumets separately and then together really provides a good education. and/or refresher. The book thaty comes with the CD is alomost worth the price by itself!

Very Informative and Enjoyable.......2006-11-20

Whether you're a music novice or pro, "The instruments of the Orchestra" is a very worthwhile purchase. The 7 CDs, with a total of 8 hours, are expertly narrated by Jeremy Siepmann. He's a great speaker, very much like the late Leonard Bernstein was. Mr. Siepmann takes you on an unforgetable musical journey covering the origins and use of the various orchestral instruments throughout musical history. The balance between his narration and a wealth of musical examples, which range from snippets to entire movements, is superb. The comprehensive enclosed booklet is excellent and faithfully follows the 7 CDs in content. Even with my 40+ years of music training I still learned new things from this wonderful collection. Considering the excellence of the content, and a cost that translates to about $5 per disc, this collection is a great value. Grab it, you won't regret that you did. Five solid stars!

Frank's view.......2006-08-19

This boxed set of CD's with booklet achieved all I had hoped that it would. There are good samples of individual instruments and well done commentary on each. The only drawback was that some of the samples were too brief and could have been longer, hoiwever I guess this fits in with time constraints of the medium. It has given me a lot of clues as to future purchases of CD's for listening to individual instruments. Altogeth a satisfactory purchase and a welcome addition to my collection.

Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra.......2003-11-08

I've listened to classical music for years and am interested in composition. I bought this CD set to learn how an orchestra and its instruments work. I thought the CDs would be a nice but boring lecture. They aren't! Not only are they FUN but they are informative as well. I learned a huge amount from each CD and couldn't wait to listen to the next one.

The narrator and writer is a great speaker and holds your attention well. He is definitely knowledgeable. He provides musical examples for each point he makes, so you get to "hear" what he just talked about. I'd say the CDs are about 65% music and 35% narration. You'll learn about the range of instruments, some history, different ways to play them, how they sound, and how they are used in the orchestra. This CD set was a great learning experience and is sold at such a low price!

I recommend this CD for those who want to learn about classical music and those who know about it but are interested in learning more about the inner workings of an orchestra. You'll learn much useful information. For instance, the Rite of Spring (with that eerie start) is written for bassoon! I never knew a bassoon could sound like that but now I do.

The one complaint I have is the last CD. This deals with the orchestra. I wanted more of a tour of how the orchestra has been used through history up to the present. Instead, it was a tour of how different groups of instruments sound. I thought it could have been better. The other 6 CDs are excellent.

Average customer rating: Peaceful yet brooding Shame the US version is so different from the Original UK Version This kid has talent! Not "Brighter Than Sunshine" - Coldplay on Thorazine Audio Valium

Strange and Beautiful Aqualung Manufacturer: Red Int / Red Ink ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music General | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Adult Contemporary | Pop | Styles | Music Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music Similar Items: Memory Man A Lot Like Love Plans Hopes and Fears Back to Bedlam ASIN: B0007OP0X6 Release Date: 2005-03-22

Tracks:

1. Strange & Beautiful (I'll Put A Spell On You)
2. Falling Out Of Love
3. Good Times Gonna Come
4. Brighter Than Sunshine
5. Breaking My Heart
6. Tongue-tied
7. Left Behind
8. You Turn Me Round
9. If I Fall
10. Easier To Lie
11. Extra Ordinary Thing
12. Another Little Hole

Amazon.com

Aqualung is Matt Hales, a Brit popster whose ethereal, plangently lovely stateside debut is all knotted up in the sounds of now. Cribbing from Keane, Coldplay, Radiohead, and the Beatles, Hales is a U.K. sensation who staves off staleness by way of his exceptional talent. (Volkswagen dropped the title track into one of its uber-hip European ads in 2002, sparking a who's-the-artist frenzy not seen since the company revived the catalog of Nick Drake.) "When the sun sets around me/my daydreams confound me/and the long night surrounds me," he whimpers compellingly on "You Turn Me Round," a brief ache of a song. Though we feel for him—here's an artist with a gift for getting empathy in a chokehold—we can't help hoping his long, melodic night meanders endlessly. Fans of "The O.C." and Garden State soundtracks should dip in. And don't worry: all Jethro Tull ties end at his handle, meant to evoke the strange and beautiful murkiness of the music. --Tammy La Gorce

Customer Reviews:

Peaceful yet brooding.......2006-10-08

If you're in a melancholy mood, this is the perfect CD to listen to. If you're not, then this CD will make you wistful. The music and lyrics have a calming affect and his voice lulls you to slow down.
Comparisons to Coldplay? Perhaps it's the just piano and falsetto--I don't know if Aqualung does uptempo music. Aqualung and James Blunt are the newest additions to the sensitive angsty singer category. I liked this CD. Is it destined to be a classic. I think not. But, will I buy another Aqualung CD? If he comes across as sensitive and not whiny then more likely than not.

Shame the US version is so different from the Original UK Version.......2006-08-11

How could they leave out songs like... If i fall, Everything Changed.... Gentle, Nowhere, Can't get you out of my mind... there are only 4 tracks the same.. it's like a different album and I think is more disjointed because of it.

Seek out.. track down the original Album on B-Unique records and be rewarded

This kid has talent!.......2006-06-17

Beautiful yes...strange? No.
And it doesn't sound anything like Coldplay.
But this is one beautiful assemblage of music.
Makes me feel like kissing my wife...all night long. ;)
Keep it up Matt, you're on your way to stardom!

Not "Brighter Than Sunshine" - Coldplay on Thorazine.......2006-06-03

I bought the CD because I had heard and liked the track "Brighter Than Sunshine." Unfortunately, there are no other songs on the CD that have the same tempo; everything is so slow that it sounds like whining. Not for me.

Audio Valium.......2006-04-14

To be fair, I got this late in the day on a rainy gray Seattle afternoon when I was already tired. I slipped it into my car CD player and almost immediately felt my eyes starting to close.

I think it was my expectations and not the album's fault. I really like the song Brighter than Sunshine and figured I'd take a chance on the album based solely on it. I was expecting that the song was sort of like Boulevard of Broken Dreams on Green Day's American Idiot and would be the exception, rather than the rule.

Was I ever wrong. Brighter than Sunshine is one of the more rousing songs on the album. My 18 yo son was with me (I am a 46 yo female)and remarked that it was "sort of a Cold Play album". Which for many people is a recommendation. For us it is not.

I am sure there will come a perfect time for me to listen to this album again and appreciate it, maybe a Saturday afternoon after a hectic week and morning when I feel like mellowing out. Unfortunately, last night it was the wrong album at the wrong time.

It is not bad. I found no fault with the lyrics or the musicianship of technical aspects. It is simply not what I want to listen to for an entire album.

Average customer rating:

Strange and Beautiful Aqualung Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music General | Dance Pop | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Adult Contemporary | Pop | Styles | Music Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music $7.99 and Under | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Pop | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Rock | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Alternative Rock | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Dance & DJ | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music All Blowout Music | Blowout Music | Stores | Music $7.99 and Under | Prices | Blowout Music | Stores | Music More Titles at Least 25% Off | Blowout Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Memory Man Still Life Aqualung A Lot Like Love All The Stars And Boulevards ASIN: B000CNETAC Release Date: 2006-01-17

Tracks:

1. Strange & Beautiful (I'll Put A Spell On You)
2. Falling Out Of Love
3. Good Times Gonna Come
4. Brighter Than Sunshine
5. Breaking My Heart
6. Tongue-tied
7. Left Behind
8. You Turn Me Round
9. If I Fall
10. Easier To Lie
11. Extra Ordinary Thing
12. Another Little Hole

Average customer rating: Truly cinematic THE SONG, NOT THE SOLO.... brilliant, as always Gooooooood stuff MASTERPIECE

Strange Beautiful Music Joe Satriani Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock Guitarists | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Is There Love in Space? Super Colossal Crystal Planet The Extremist Engines of Creation ASIN: B000068R15 Release Date: 2002-06-25

Tracks:

1. Oriental Melody
2. Belly Dancer
3. Starry Night
4. Chords of Life
5. Mind Storm
6. Sleep Walk
7. New Last Jam
8. Mountain Song
9. What Breaks a Heart
10. Seven String
11. Hill Groove
12. The Journey
13. The Traveler
14. You Saved My Life

Amazon.com

After a brief excursion into techno with 2000's Engines of Creation, Joe Satriani returns to rock with a vengeance. He sets the tone by looking to Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti for inspiration, coming up with the lyrical "Oriental Melody" and the sensuous "Belly Dancer." "Starry Night" is a rhythmic romp across the cosmos that recalls the restrained yet breezy jazz of early Traffic laced with the lyricism of Jimi Hendrix. "Chords of Life" is marked by its clean, uncluttered bass line that surrenders to a tumultuous psychedelic free fall. Satriani pulls the song back just before it disintegrates into chaos, guiding it along with a deftness and economy. Often criticized for overplaying, the former guitar teacher has reined in his technique and let his heart lead. Strange Beautiful Music is one of Satriani's best efforts. --Jaan Uhelszki

Customer Reviews:

Truly cinematic.......2006-11-24

There are reviews here on Amazon that say something to the effect of, "This isn't a guitar album, it's a movie soundtrack," and "Buy a movie score, it's the same thing." And you know what? They're right. This is a cinematic soundtrack - a great one at that.

The best works of John Williams and other master film composers set the mood and enhance the emotion of the scene when they're playing in the background, and bring back memories of the scene when you hear them outside the theater. When I hear the Imperial March from "The Empire Strikes Back", it doesn't matter where I am, I expect a shadow to fall over me as a very large Star Destroyer moves by overhead.

Satriani has shown his ability to create moods with the guitar in the past, in songs like "Midnight" (from Surfing with the Alien), "Time" (from Crystal Planet), and "The Forgotten" (from Flying in a Blue Dream). But on Strange Beautiful Music, he does this in almost every track.

Never mind that his music isn't playing in the background of a scene. When you hear the tracks here scenes will be pulled into your head. "Starry Night" brings to my mind a scene where people are leaving their houses and looking up at the sky, while all the lights in town go out one by one, the better to see the stars with. In "Mountain Song" I'm up in a helicopter, watching a solitary vehicle travel down a winding mountain road. Scenes will vary from person to person of course, but the effect is always magical.

If you're looking for displays of mad guitar skill, you can still find them here - this is Satriani after all. But it's the songwriting, scene-pulling, mood-creating skill that you will come to enjoy most in this album. Buy this album, and watch a movie unfold in your head without any images, or words for that matter.

THE SONG, NOT THE SOLO...........2006-09-29

It's become apparent over the last few albums,this one in particular, that the ever present blistering and climatic soloing of Joe Satriani is now beginning to become more of a contextual element rather than "stand-alone" technique.That in no way diminishes the caliber in which he plays but rather eloquently displays the maturity and growth of one of the last genuine guitar slingers of the guitar kingdom.Nowhere is this more evident than on "Strange Beautiful Music," whether its the Led Zep/Yardbirds rave-up,"New Last Jam",or the mellow and melodic riffage of the Allmans' like "Starry Night." It seems its the songs themselves that have taken priority and thats what makes this Joe's most outstanding disc to date.Rock on Joe!

brilliant, as always.......2006-06-29

Joe Satriani had done it all with a guitar, and he still continues to amaze. SBM may be his most balanced effort, as there doesn't appear to be that one super-hit like surfing or summer song. Rather, this album comes at you one song at a time. Nothing jumps out at you, and I don't mean that in a bad way. Everything just kind of flows together. It's a very mature, sincere work that does not in the least bit disappoint. My favorites on here are new last jam, seven string, and the deliciously funky hill groove. His album Super Colossal reminds me of this in that both albums are very balanced and all the songs flow really well together. Satch is by far my favorite musician and I will love every album he releases. Saw him in concert twice on the SC tour this year, and I hope for many more years of the master dazzling us with his incomparible style.

Gooooooood stuff.......2006-04-21

Strange Beautiful Music is just that - strange beautiful music. The first Satch album I had bought since Crystal Planet. I sort of fell of the Satch bandwagon a bit in the past couple of years. It's not because I wasn't interested anymore - it was just because I'm a music lover and I was engrossed in other things. Secondly, I was put off by reviews of Engines of Creation. Lastly, I couldn't keep track of what he put out. I didn't know what was a compilation album, what was G3 stuff, and just plainly didn't know if he was still putting out studio albums.
Well, here I am back on the bandwagon. Once I saw my friend's G3 DVD, I went out and picked up this disc. I decided not to test out Engines of Creation yet, until I heard a 'normal' Satch disc. I REALLY had a hankering for some Satch. This disc does not disappoint. From the opening "Oriental Melody" all the way to the very end, I am very satisfied with this. I love the fact that Joe still has John Cuniberti and Jeff Campitelli in tow. How could he not?!
My favorite track off the album is still "Chords of Life" Other standouts for me include "Starry Night", "Mind Storm", and "Seven String". I also am really digging the cover of "Sleep Walk" - that old 50's instrumental. Robert Fripp guest stars here. Satch fans who really love familiarity when it comes to listening to Satch, will love "New Last Jam". This is a song that you could probably drop on any of his first 4 or 5 albums and it would fit right in. A great song, but I just wanted to point out a little 'Satchism' if you will.
After all these years, Satch still has the chops and continues to blow me away. Now I've got to catch up and get his latest two releases, Is There Love in Space? and Super Colossal. Can't wait to get the latter, because I just heard the bulk of it for the first time at his show last night at the Tower Theater in Philly. Great show, by the way - a night filled with strange beautiful music.

MASTERPIECE.......2006-03-18

If I had to buy a whole new sound system to hear this disc, I would. In fact, I did have to.

See Pics of the stuff I bought, to listen to this disc here> http://community.webshots.com/album/547116390cbvosN

Current favorites are "Starry Night" and "7 String"

ALL ARE GREAT though.

Average customer rating: Superb quality I Love Satriani!!!! beautiful music and sacd anything but strange Amazing...

Strange Beautiful Music (Multichannel/Stereo) Joe Satriani Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock Guitarists | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Agents of Fortune (Multichannel/Stereo) Brothers in Arms Dark Side of the Moon 30th Anniversary Edition Texas Flood Avalon ASIN: B00006IGTU Release Date: 2002-09-10

Customer Reviews:

Superb quality.......2006-12-15

I have a number of SACD and DVD-Audio recordings now, and this remains one of my favorite. Not only because I am a huge Satch fan, but the quality of this recording is just breath taking. Having previously listened to the regular CD version of the album probably hundreds of times, and then listening to the multi-channel SACD, I have noticed numerous elements in each song that I simply never heard before. In many ways, it brought back the joys of listening to this album for the first few times all over again.
Now, if only Joe (or Sony) would release more of these!

I Love Satriani!!!!.......2003-02-24

I love Satriani and I want to be like him. This last CD was at bit more Improvised my no less musical and it was great seeing him preform the songs in person. He is One of my top 3 favorite musicians in the world.

beautiful music and sacd.......2003-01-28

My first SACD and it's simply incredible.With the 5.1 channel input you can almost see the music,listen to every instrument very clear and clean.I really recomend this sacd and this new kind of technology called SACD.A beautiful way to listen to the MAESTRO.

anything but strange.......2002-11-06

this has got to be the best sounding multichannel sacd i have in my collection.the surround imagery is totally enveloping and sympathetic with the varied material.if you have a mutichannel set-up buy this now it sets new standards.

Amazing..........2002-10-15

Buy it. Just buy it. No need for the review! Satriani is truly an alien!

Average customer rating: Legendary Marvin Pontiac Elmore most certainly knew Marvin was not a read person.. Marvin, Granpappy and Me Great Invented Bluesman A LITTLE FICTION, A LITTLE FUSION, A LOT OF FUN!

Legendary Marvin Pontiac Marvin Pontiac Manufacturer: Strange & Beautiful ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Blues | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Queen of All Ears Lounge Lizards Voice of Chunk No Pain for Cakes Marc Ribot Y Los Cubanos Postizos ASIN: B00004SBO1 Release Date: 2000-04-11

Tracks:

1. I'm A Doggy
2. Small Car
3. Now I'm Happy
4. Power
5. Runnin' Round
6. Pancakes
7. Bring Me Rocks
8. Rubin
9. Wanna Wanna
10. Sleep At Night
11. Arms & Legs
12. She Ain't Going Home
13. Little Fly
14. No Kids

Amazon.com

The bio for Marvin Pontiac says it all--he was born "the son of an African father from Mali and a white Jewish mother from New Rochelle, New York." But you can't accept the background of this fictitious globetrotter at face value; Pontiac is really just a front for jazzman John Lurie's latest alter ego. Like Lurie, Pontiac is indebted to everything musical under the sun. The blues, jazz, funk, rock, and juju music collide on the quirky Greatest Hits, with lyrics straddling the netherworld somewhere between Leonard Cohen and Melvin Van Peebles. "Small Car" and "Pancakes" are mind-blowing world-beat pastiches, in which Lurie's spoken absurdities become mesmerizing trances; other tunes hark to the blues ("I'm a Doggy") and funk ("Arms and Legs"). It all somehow flows together into one memorable disc. Let's just hope a Pontiac obscurities album comes next. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

Legendary Marvin Pontiac.......2005-09-17

Definitely not the best work of John Lurie, but it is still one of my favories. It's something like more educated Robbie Robertson, with a crazy Tom-Waits-tuch. Strange and beautiful, just as the labels name. It is pitty Lurie does not work any more. Or does he?

Elmore most certainly knew Marvin was not a read person.........2005-06-15

arnabc is wrong to assume Elmore didn't 'get it' John Lurie was involved in the "Get Shorty" movie.

Marvin, Granpappy and Me.......2004-07-28

When I was a young boy, sitting on my Granpappy's knee, I would spend lazy afternoons listening to his old croaky humming of a tune long forgotten by anyone else for miles around. He'd smoke his old pipe and I remember breathing in the beautifully scented blue smoke. He would occasionally be stirred out of his reverie as if spirits were in the room; he'd shake his head and snarl and suddenly lurch for the old phonograph, which he kept, right there by the back door woodpile, as if his crooked old life depended on it. He'd reach for the mysterious sleeve of black discs contained within the small box beneath the dormant turntable, wrench one out, crank up the box and drop that needle beautifully onto the spinning disc. Only then would he calm right down and be transported, by that music he heard, to another world.

When I learnt to read, I finally was able to make out the crude and mysterious shapes of the letters on those old 78s. Many of them were different from each other but two words remained the same on each disc: Marvin Pontiac. He was the only singer my Granpappy would listen to.

Now Granpappy was a strict old buzzard and a grouch and in his declining years he was a painful old sod to be around but you could always be guaranteed that when he put on his Pontiac records, Granpappy would calm right down again.

When Granpappy passed from this world he left nothing to no one. Except me. His Marvin Pontiac 78s. Some of the songs I had on those discs haven't made it to this CD collection. Songs like, "Diggin' In Yer Heels", "Pass The Tobacco, Nurse" and "Detroit? Schmetroit!"

Years passed and I eventually lost these 78s to a cab driver who I later discovered cheated during our poker game. Thank God for the re-release of these discs on CD. They have brought my memories back.

Great Invented Bluesman.......2003-06-02

Yes it's a hoax! There was no such old blues guy as Marvin Pontiac; he is an invention of the strange mind of John Lurie, but that doesn't take away from the fun of this album. As somebody once said, "It's true even if it didn't happen!" This is some great blues and cool music. First song "I'm a Doggy" is great, funny, and worth the price of the CD right there. Not all of the album is as good, but definitely worth a listen.

A LITTLE FICTION, A LITTLE FUSION, A LOT OF FUN!.......2002-08-31

Oddly enough, I stumbled upon Marvin Pontiac in January while reading Elmore Leonard's "Tishomingo Blues". In the book, fictional character Robert Taylor plays "guess that tune" with another character in the book. The tune in the novel is "I'm a Doggy" which, according to the novel, purportedly was recorded in 1952 and soon became a minor hit. In the novel, Robert Taylor reports that Mr. Pontiac only recorded one album during his career and only after the producer agreed to mow Pontiac's lawn. Other accounts of Mr. Pontiac life are just as mysterious. Some say he went insane after claiming to have been abducted and probed by aliens and he died in 1970 at the Esmerelda State Mental Institution in Detroit. Other accounts report that he was hit and killed by a bus in June of 1977. All in all, his life and death is probably the biggest sham since the "Paul Is Dead" rumors and clues circulated in the 70's. Careful attention to the liner notes reveals that Pontiac is, in fact nothing more than, the alter ego of John Lurie. Most notably, the lone recording of Pontiac appears on Lurie's label, "Strange & Beautiful" which did not exist in 1952 when Pontiac purportedly recorded and released "I'm A Doggy". Moreover, the CD features musicians that include Lurie's brother Evan, John Medeski and Marc Ribot who would have been infants at the time of the actual 1952 recording. Finally, this CD was recorded in 2000, 30 years after the latest purported death of Pontiac. Are these the vocals of a dead man or just Lurie having a little fun? I suspect it's the latter. Whatever the reason for the deception, the CD itself is delightful to listen to. It features an array of styles from back porch blues to lounge lizard jazz. All complimented with Lurie's Barry White styled vocals. Alter ego's aside, this is a fine production by Lurie. I am just sorry that Lurie buried Pontiac without recording a sequel. Buy it and contemplate the mystery while you enjoy the music.

Average customer rating: Amazing and beautiful A must for fans

Fishing With John John Lurie Manufacturer: Strange & Beautiful ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Television Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music 1990s | By Decade | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Stranger Than Paradise (1984 Film) And The Resurrection Of Albert Ayler Fishing With John - Criterion Collection Queen of All Ears Legendary Marvin Pontiac No Pain for Cakes ASIN: B000007NPS Release Date: 1998-06-16

Tracks:

1. Ahhh...Fishing
2. Canoe
3. The Beast
4. Arriving At Kenny's
5. Nana Jug
6. Horse Guitar
7. Fish Dance
8. Backwards Flute
9. Tugboat
10. River Of Men
11. Shark Drive
12. Freezing Guitar
13. Flutter
14. Leon's House
15. Revenge Of Fish Dance
16. Ketchak
17. Struggle Of Man
18. Little
19. Snowmobile Dismount
20. Ignore The Giant
21. World Of Adventure
22. Long Walk Home
23. Fishing With John

Amazon.com

Musically best known for his role as leader of the Monk- and Mingus-influenced Lounge Lizards, actor/musician/painter/director John Lurie brought his vision to the Independent Film Channel with Fishing with John. This deadpan comedy show has Lurie taking city-boy buddies Tom Waits, Dennis Hopper, and Matt Dillon out for fishing and wildlife experiences and celebrating manliness. Though the soundtrack rarely sounds like the Lounge Lizards, Lurie's wide range of influences is felt as he collaborates with various musicians. "Flutter" is strong, with Lurie at home on soprano sax backed by African percussion. "Fish Dance" is a pretty vocal workout conducted by Lizards trumpet player Steven Bernstein. "Freezing Guitar" is an Eastern-flavored piece that features Lurie solo. "River of Men" includes a fine vocal by Tom Waits, recorded as Lurie and Waits paddle down a Jamaican river. It all makes for a quirky journey. --Aaron Tassano

Customer Reviews:

Amazing and beautiful.......2006-03-25

John Lurie's musical style is so unique, and so appealing. This soundtrack beautifully setts the tone for the show, which is also amazing. Even without knowledge of the show, this soundtrack can be enjoyed by all. It has an interesting and wide mix of different styles, some humorous and others whimsical and enchanting. Pick up this album.

A must for fans.......2000-06-23

This is a must for fan of John Lurie. Up until recently I had never heard of Lurie nor his work with the Lounge Lizards. Simply put, it is facinating work. ``Fishing with John'' is a very very good album (I really liked #3) even if you are like me and have never seen the TV series. Is it on Video?

Average customer rating: exploratory, clear, snappy their unique jazz sound but with more melody Outstanding, Smooth, Bumptious & Quirky a very inspired and melodic recording by the lizards

Voice of Chunk The Lounge Lizards Manufacturer: Strange & Beautiful ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Queen of All Ears Lounge Lizards No Pain for Cakes Legendary Marvin Pontiac Big Heart: Live in Tokyo ASIN: B00000AFRC Release Date: 1998-09-15

Tracks:

1. Bob The Bob
2. Voice Of Chunk
3. One Big Yes
4. The Hanging
5. Uncle Jerry
6. A Paper Bag And The Sun
7. Tarantella
8. Bob The Bob (Home)
9. Sharks
10. Travel

Amazon.com

After a few revisions to the band's lineup, John Lurie had a brilliant cast for his Lounge Lizards' Voice of Chunk, which came out on his private label in 1989. Now that Lurie's got his strong Strange & Beautiful label, Voice is in wide circulation. And that's a good thing. It's probably the best work this lineup of the Lizards had to offer. Keyboardist Evan Lurie and guitarist Marc Ribot show themselves clearly up to fulfilling the leader's noirish, additive aesthetic. Additive, you ask? Lurie's a builder. He takes small cells, little turns of phrase, and then layers instruments, approaching the nugget, making for muted thrills as listeners glean the simplicity of the melodies and the sophistication of the instrumental combination (Roy Nathanson on saxophones, Curtis Fowlkes on trombone, percussionist E.J. Rodriguez, drummer Dougie Bowne, and bassist Erik Sanko round out the octet). The solos appear more ascetic, or at least more downturned, in their key signatures and structures. If you're wondering where to find a window on Lurie, a fantastic guy with soundtrack and film credits galore, this is as fine a place to look as any. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews:

exploratory, clear, snappy.......2007-05-08

My Profile: No musical qualifications whatsoever

As usual, I got the chance of exploring this wonderful cd at my usual treasure spot here in Caracas, where by chance events, not your average cds land..

There is sophistication and you can tell there is serious thought put into its concepts... Im trying to do a presentation now and some of the tracks are too disruptive while others are smooth cool- I guess its the type of music to feel snappy and awake, not really delve into transcental thoughts...

their unique jazz sound but with more melody.......2006-11-22

For the longest time my Lounge Lizard collection was limited to "Queen. . ." and a live album from Berlin (which is also very good).
then I stumbled onto this beauty which I believe came out after "Queen. . ." Anyways, the Lizards meandering, sometimes discordant sound is still there, but now the melodies are stronger and seem almost more fleshed out. "Tarantella" is great and reminds me of the humor of "Yak".
This is a great album to put in and be taken away with, another great trip for any escape artist.

Outstanding, Smooth, Bumptious & Quirky.......2001-08-26

All the hallmarks of the Lizards are here plus a smoother side of their sophistication. If you've never heard the Lounge Lizards before, this is a pretty good introduction to their style which in this instance is more subdued than usual. My favorite cut on this is Bob the Bob which comes at you backwards, slyly and then runs into some serious rhythms. The alternate version is a perfect song for eggs benedict at a bay window on a lazy Sunday morning. The Lizards reprise their classing Tarantella here. If you're tired of that same old jazz, and you go for the unusual rhythms of Dave Brubeck you'll dig the Lizards. You may have also heard Lurie's music featured in films by Jim Jarmusch, 'Down by Law', 'Stranger than Paradise'. This is an album that I lost - I had to get another copy just to know I have it.

a very inspired and melodic recording by the lizards.......2000-03-25

Bob to Bob is the signature of this recording. It presents us with a beautiful frame of music making that, in my humble opinion, is unsurpassed in the Lounge Lizards recording history. The record plays itself, there are no dull moments here, no need for the skip button. The band sound is tight and the melodies are quite appealing. Check-out the Hanging to better understand what I mean. I miss this line-up of musicians: Evan,Eric,Curtis, Dougie, EJ,Roy, and John...they represent for me the right combination of Lizardry! Bowne's drumming is inspired and intelligent, a really outstanding work.

Average customer rating: Freakin' Awesome! the lizards and the queen Most Valuable for Giving Michael Blake a Musical Vocabulary Best work of John Lurie Jazzy Joyful Jagged

Queen of All Ears The Lounge Lizards Manufacturer: Strange & Beautiful ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music Bebop & Post-Bop | Compilations | Jazz | Styles | Music Similar Items: Lounge Lizards Legendary Marvin Pontiac Voice of Chunk No Pain for Cakes Fishing With John ASIN: B000007NPT Release Date: 1998-06-16

Tracks:

1. The First And Royal Queen
2. The Birds Near Her House
3. Scary Children
4. She Drove Me Mad
5. Queen Of All Ears
6. Monsters Over Bangkok
7. Three Crowns Of Wood
8. John Zorn's S&M Circus
9. Yak
10. Queen Reprise

Amazon.com

John Lurie's Lounge Lizards have been around for almost 20 years, and their collective sound has improved over time. The latest edition of Lounge Lizards is a nine-piece ensemble of top-notch musicians. While featuring able-bodied soloists like Michael Blake on tenor, Steve Bernstein on trumpet, Dave Tronzo on guitar, and John's brother Evan on keyboards, the Lizards remain a musical vehicle for John Lurie's noirish, angular muse. Although inspired by jazz's instrumental nature, most of this music was thoroughly worked out in advance. Led by John Lurie's sardonic alto and soprano saxophone playing, the band embraces West African music, expositions from New Orleans, and interludes of wicked gamelan. Simultaneously sarcastic and spiritual, this is an unorthodox album that those who aren't jazz fans should be able to enjoy. --Mitch Myers

Customer Reviews:

Freakin' Awesome!.......2004-06-24

Wholly unlike most nu-age jazz, Queen Of All Ears is very sinuous, twisting, evolving music. Its sly modulating rhythms and occasional wails are accompanied by African-sounding percussion and most importantly, a sense of humor (just listen to "Yak"). These guys don't take jazz too seriously. More like Medeski Martin and Wood than Michael Brecker. Great for late-night highway driving home from the bar - less successful as cocktail party background music. Give it a try.

the lizards and the queen.......2002-08-05

This is a very good disc, very well orchestrated and very transporting into the realm of John Lurie's world, especially with tracks like scary children, the birds near her house, monsters over Bangkok, Zorn's S&M circus, that I consider hold the representative elements of the cd.
The first time I heard it its originality of sound was amazing, ranging all over the spectrum of musical influences transforming in Lurie's mind.

Most Valuable for Giving Michael Blake a Musical Vocabulary.......2002-05-02

Not that it isn't pretty astonishing in its own right, but the really neat thing about this is where Michael Blake has taken this music in his solo career.

Blake, with several albums to his credit under his own name, obviously got his basic approach and aesthetic from John Lurie. It's all here--the noirish, African-cum-Downtown sensibility, the insistence on the priority of atmosphere over vertuosity, the wild postmodern eclecticism; Blake simple takes it to the next level. With this recording and Voice of Chunk, John Lurie pioneered a provocative and productive approach for modern Jazz which musicians like Ben Allison and Michael Blake have brought to full fruition. Minus one star for the gratuitous cover art and commentary.

Best work of John Lurie.......2000-06-02

This album and Marvin Pontiac album are best works of John Lurie!

Jazzy Joyful Jagged.......1999-04-02

This is the way jazz should sound. If you like this, you'll love Lurie's Voice of Chunk. The compositions are fascinating and Lurie knows how to swing. Listen to the soundtracks that he did for Get Shorty and Excess Baggage.

Average customer rating: A good album Great music, but weak vocally Overlooked and under-appreciated gem

Strange & Beautiful Crimson Glory Manufacturer: Atlantic / Wea ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Rock | Styles | Music Progressive Metal | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music Similar Items: Transcendence Astronomica Crimson Glory In the Beginning... ASIN: B000008EOQ Release Date: 1991-08-06

Tracks:

1. Strange and Beautiful
2. Promise Land
3. Love and Dreams
4. Chant
5. Dance on Fire
6. Song for Angels
7. In the Mood
8. Starchamber
9. Deep Inside Your Heart
10. Make You Love Me
11. Far Away

Customer Reviews:

A good album.......2004-10-24

Strange and Beautiful is the third full-length album from Crimson Glory. It was released in 1991. There are 11 tracks. The material is in a hard rock musical direction. Overall, I find the songwriting to be solid, the musicianship to be tight, and the sound quality to be satisfying. Midnight does well with the vocals, and Jon Drenning's guitar playing is skillful; I especially like his engaging rhythm guitar work. Some of the songs contain female background vocals and minimal keyboard playing. My favorite compositions are "Love and Dreams," "Song for Angels," and "Starchamber." The well-written, memorable "Love and Dreams" is a pleasing, uplifting tune. "Song for Angels" is a pleasant power ballad that displays the playing of a grand piano and a gratifying guitar solo from Drenning. The epic, creative "Starchamber" exhibits an interesting, sci-fi-sounding beginning, containing guitar playing from Drenning with a curious, fluid-like tone. Other enjoyable pieces are "Strange and Beautiful," "In the Mood," and "Deep Inside Your Heart." "Strange and Beautiful" is a stately cut that has Drenning providing an appealing guitar solo--he also supplies sleek guitar work on the intro. The nicely crafted, spirited "In the Mood" sports an attractive saxophone solo, while the power ballad "Deep Inside Your Heart" features a pretty guitar line from Drenning during the beginning; I like Drenning's melodic guitar soloing, too. The CD booklet includes the song lyrics and a black-and-white photo of the band--this same photo is also on the back of the CD jewel case. The album cover artwork is odd. The disc is just over 59 minutes. Strange and Beautiful is a good piece of work from Crimson Glory.

Great music, but weak vocally.......2003-06-14

This album has been a favorite of mine since it came out, but I have always thought that Midnight's vocals on this one didn't quite fit. Turns out that he was going through some substance abuse problems during the recording and really wasn't into it. According to Jon Drenning (guitarist), they didn't even want to release this one! Musically, the album rocks. I love the drumming and the entire... I dunno... "tribal" feel to the whole thing. The guitar work of Drenning is nothing short of spectacular (as always) and the songwriting is stellar. It's just too bad that it's marred by mediocre vocals. Midnight sings quite well on Star Chamber (the best song on the album), In The Mood, and the title track, but songs like Deep Inside Your Heart, Song For Angels, and Make You Love Me are ruined by a voice that just doesn't fit right. For an absolute stunner of a CG album, check out Astronomica. Incredible!

Overlooked and under-appreciated gem.......2003-05-21

Strange and Beautiful is probably the most overlooked album by this largely overlooked band. While Crimson Glory didn't make a big splash on mainstream radio/MTV back in the 80's, they are highly regarded in the metal community. Their self-titled debut album and its follow-up Transcendence are prime examples of all that is great about traditional/power metal of that era - thanks in large part to the eardrum-shattering vocals of their masked frontman Midnight. Strange and Beautiful, Midnight's final album with the band, marked a departure from their signature sound and style. It featured a less intense, bluesier sound, and the lyrics moved away from the cosmic and dramatic and towards the romantic and spiritual. I was a bit upset when I first heard this album, since it was definitely not the Crimson Glory I was used to. However, upon further listens, I found that it was really growing on me. It is now one of my favorite albums, and I enjoy it every bit as much as the self-titled album and Transcendence. Rather than comparing it to their earlier releases, I think you have to look at this album on its own merits. I can easily compare Crimson Glory's first two releases to early albums by Queensryche, but Strange and Beautiful is not so easy to find a comparison. I think the closest I can get to it (and this may come more from the feeling I get listening to it than anything else) is the early grunge band Mother Love Bone. I know that's probably not the comparison a lot of metalheads would appreciate, but I think there are definitely similarities in terms of vocal and musical style. I highly recommend this band and this album. If you are looking for straight-up traditional power metal, then I would recommend Crimson Glory's first two albums ahead of Strange and Beautiful. If you are a bit more open-minded, and/or already have those albums, then by all means check out this great overlooked album. Listen to it a few times and I think you will find that it really grows on you.

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