Beautiful Yesterday

Product Description
12 Songs: 1. Music Bar 2. I Belong to the Wind 3. Love Where Did You Go? 4. Left Along 5. Joy in Repetition 6. Those Were The Days 7. Everybody Knows 8. Amsterdam Crown 9. I Got it Bad (and that ain't good) 10. Lost and Looking 11. Parlez-moi d'amour 12. Beautiful Yesterday

Beautiful Yesterday,Dayna B. Kurtz,Kismet / Mri,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop

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Beautiful Yesterday

Average customer rating: Kurtz is amazing. Dayna Kurtz / Beautiful Yesterday Top-quality singer/writer/musician -- the good stuff is here Rare and Lost Gems, Found A Female Leonard Cohen

Beautiful Yesterday Dayna Kurtz Manufacturer: Kismet / Mri ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Postcards from Downtown Another Black Feather When It Comes Upon You Blue Alert Long Island Shores ASIN: B0002HMJ8C Release Date: 2004-08-03

Tracks:

1. Music Box
2. I Belong To The Wind
3. Love Where Did You Go?
4. Left Alone
5. Joy In Repetition
6. Those Were The Days
7. Everybody Knows
8. Amsterdam Crown
9. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
10. Lost And Looking
11. Parlez-Moi D'Amour
12. Beautiful Yesterday

Product Description

12 Songs: 1. Music Bar 2. I Belong to the Wind 3. Love Where Did You Go? 4. Left Along 5. Joy in Repetition 6. Those Were The Days 7. Everybody Knows 8. Amsterdam Crown 9. I Got it Bad (and that ain't good) 10. Lost and Looking 11. Parlez-moi d'amour 12. Beautiful Yesterday

Customer Reviews:

Kurtz is amazing........2005-07-01

Beautiful Yesterday has some of the best songs ever. Kurtz's voice is husky and haunting. Even the liner notes were terrific. This is one CD I'll listen to over and over.

Dayna Kurtz / Beautiful Yesterday.......2004-12-05

Impressive reviews have already been coming in for Dayna Kurtz's latest CD, Beautiful Yesterday. Billboard Magazine, NPR's All Things Considered, The Boston Globe and LA Weekly are just some of the sources of recent praise. No doubt, she is being noticed. Well, it's about time.

I was at her CD release just a few months ago. Dayna was at her finest with full backup on the stage. The room was full and captivated. It is such a pleasure watching her perform that I have to wonder at the thrill she must receive from herself. Oh, to hear her perform with our ears..., what would it be like to hear that rich and soulful voice through your own throat? A vicarious existential joy ride! That reverie celebrates Dayna's capacity to invite you into her private, dark and moody world, as if she is both host and guide to an elaborate underworld.

Unlike her two earlier CDs, Beautiful Yesterday is made up primarily of covers with some nostalgic roots. Included are Billy Holiday's "Left Alone", Leonard Cohen's "Everybody Knows" and the 1960's hit "Those Were the Days". Dayna performs an excellent version of an early Prince song, "Joy in Repetition". She treats us to a duet with Norah Jones on a Duke Ellington classic, "I Got it Bad" It is a perfect blend of both extraordinary voices and the artist's instruments of choice, the guitar and piano. She also takes pleasure in introducing us to an obscure song by an unrecognized artist, "I Belong to the Wind", that, in her opinion, should have been a hit. An original, "Love, Where Did You Go?", retains the spirit of the earlier Jazz songs that Dayna explores. The title song "Beautiful Yesterday", a collaboration, returns to the edgy and dark style of her earlier recordings, that are her trademark.

Although I am most impressed with Dayna's original material, as found on "Postcards from Downtown", it is through her style and approach to other artist's material that we can appreciate yet another side of her simple yet complex methodology. Singing in a foreign tongue, "Parlez Moi d'Amour" becomes her own and we find, upon a good listen, that the entire album is genuine and signature Dayna Kurtz at her best. Intriguing, soulful and intelligent... and like the ghostly reflections of yesterday's nostalgic beauty, bittersweet.
-RR


MUSIC BOX

Sitting in the same room
Over and over
Listen to the same songs
Over again

And if I could say one thing
I'd tell time that he's a [...]
To wind you up
Watch you run in circles
Till you fade away
Fade away
Fade away
Fade away

Year by year
Your dreams try to leave you
No one believes you
No one complains

And if I could say one thing
I'd tell time that he's a [...]
To wind you up
Watch you run in circles
Till you fade away
Fade away
Fade away
Fade away

[...]

Top-quality singer/writer/musician -- the good stuff is here.......2004-10-25

Make no mistake, this is a serious talent here. This isn't some silly little blonde strumming three guitar chords and singing naive and wistful love songs and cutesy tuneless ditties. This broad can really sing, and sing with artistry and power. She has the kind of voice that can be husky and silky at the same time. Her voice can float effortlessly from dark, textured, growling lows to sweet, open highs. Unlike all too many modern singers, Kurtz has a wide dynamic range and she knows how to use it.

The "Beautiful Yesterday" album is an excellent companion to her earlier, all-originals CD, "Postcards from Downtown." Kurtz is a consummate writer and I highly recommend that album if you want to hear a great collection of striking, idiosyncratic, thoughtful, and ballsy songs. Her new CD is mostly covers (nine, plus three originals) and showcases her singing (and strong guitar playing), with the backing of an array of excellent sidemen, particularly, I think, Peter Vitalone on piano and organ. The range of styles and selections is broad and cosmopolitan, reflecting, I think, her extensive touring through Europe.

There is a deceptive simplicity to many of the songs, particularly the openers "Music Box," and "I Belong to the Wind," where a simple repetitive melody is gradually built up and counterpointed by Kurtz's vocal and creates a subtle intensity and release. This effect heightens in "Love Where Did You Go?" where the vocal is echoed by the music, which starts quietly with a slow pulsed guitar, swells to a very bluesy blaring trumpet and heavy shuffling drums, and gradually winds down to a quiet slide guitar and muted horn.

"Left Alone" is similar--the vocal is quiet, almost plaintive, against stretched out organ chords and rippling piano, with a beautiful piano solo. Kurtz's voice caresses and glides through the lyric and the melody; she has the classic jazz singer's ability to make her singing seem both distinctively personal and inevitable at the same time. We are in rare company here.

"Joy in Repetition," a Prince tune, is revitalized with a haunting Ricky Lee Jonesy feel and a syncopated vocal that drifts around and behind a steady, almost hypnotic drumbeat. Kurtz's take on "Those Were the Days" has a rather Eastern European feel to it. With its deliberate vocal pacing, and its accordion and wavering violin backing, Kurtz reveals the poignancy which was lost in the Mary Hopkins hit version. The feeling continues in the almost cheerfully-disillusioned "Everybody Knows"--it is brash, dark, brooding, insistent, unsmiling, and biting. And yet, I find, oddly beguiling, with an almost giddy gospel feeling midway through (with swelling organ chords) and some nice twists in the lyric ("Everybody knows that you've been faithful... give or take a night or two"). Kurtz plays some nice, moody slide guitar along with her singing on "Amsterdam Crown," written by Eszter Balint, a fellow singer/writer, but probably better known to most Americans for her lead performance in Jim Jarmusch's first, quirky film "Stranger Than Paradise."

On the most mainstream song on the album, "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)," Kurtz is joined by Norah Jones. Good host that she is, Kurtz somewhat accommodates her singing here to Jones's style. While I was glad to see someone NOT in the Britney, Christina, or Bligh school of popular music finally get some recognition, I'm not a fan of Jones's wispy "whisper-singing" approach. But maybe Jones will open the door for others, like Kurtz, who can really do full-voiced, grown-up singing. But listen for yourself and decide; in any case, the overall performance and arrangement are still excellent, however you may rate Jones's presence.

"Lost and Looking" recalls the brooding feel of "Love Where Did You Go?" and "Left Alone." Kurtz's vocal floats plaintively over pulsed, percussive guitar strokes and subtle, drawn-out, wailing organ chords. This song seems so simple, but there is a lot going on. It's very bluesy in feeling and somewhat in structure, though it's not a blues. Kurtz's phrasing and movement around and against the beat, which creates a haunting syncopation, is deep in the jazz idiom. And while the heavy beat and slow pace of the tune create a sense almost of immobility, Kurtz's vocal runs through an dramatic, though understated range of dynamics and pitch.

I suppose, because Kurtz does a lot of touring in Europe and sings a number of sad, torchy, off-beat songs, it is inevitable she be compared to Marlena Dietrich or Edith Piaf. So, I suppose her selection of "Parlez-moi D'amour," sung in French, is Kurtz's way of saying, "Okay, here it is, let's just get it over with." And, I think it works, right down to the accordion and string accompaniment. I see it as sort of a companion piece to "Those Were the Days."

The final cut, "Beautiful Yesterday," returns to the opening and recurring themes of time, loss, and death, and echoes the feeling and texture of "Lost and Looking," though the final upward swelling of the vocal and organ against soaring strings creates an unexpected contrast and ambiguity.

Some might think the album monotonous and I want to address that. I once took an art course that covered traditional Japanese landscape paintings, and at first they all really did look pretty much alike to me: there's a fairly standard perspective and set of elements, much like traditional sonnets all having fourteen lines or a twelve-bar blues having a standard chord progression. But I found as the course went on that there was an incredible richness and variety possible within the genre. You just have to re-scale your gaze and be more attentive to the details and nuances of each artist's style. You develop an eye for it, just like you develop your ear until all blues songs don't sound the same. Now, on this album, Kurtz presents a set of songs that are somewhat closely related, musically and thematically. Furthermore, the lyrical content of most of the songs simply demands a rather "flat" vocal pitch, a mournful or dispirited voice; they are just that kind of songs. Within these limits, or rather, despite them, I think Kurtz does an incredible job of creating a rich tapestry with her dynamics and phrasing and the counterpoint of the vocals and the music. If you get the chance, go see her in person; she does it all with just her voice and her solo guitar playing (check her website).

Nowadays, and maybe always, most pop music seems to make no demands on listeners, but some artists reward well those who make the effort to listen more carefully. Kurtz is one of those artists and this album will reward you if you have a taste for carefully crafted songs, excellent playing, striking arrangements, and genuine, top-quality singing. This is the real thing.

Rare and Lost Gems, Found.......2004-09-07

I'm not an expert on Frank Sinatra, but I have enough musical knowledge to understand that in the mid-1950's, during the early years of the vinyl LP album, his great contribution to recorded music was his way of reconsidering what the album was, and more importantly, what it could be. Prior to this, albums were literally just a collection of songs thrown together. But Sinatra considered the album as a whole entity, saw its potential as an art form unto itself, and chose songs that related to each other thematically to create a mood that lasted throughout the album.

This is exactly what Dayna Kurtz has succeeded in doing on "Beautiful Yesterday", her second studio album, which is, to me, one of the best albums of covers ever recorded. The songs, including the bonus of three new originals by Ms. Kurtz, mainly relate to the theme of passing time: of loves lost and time lost. While a singular mood is definitely created, drawing material from songwriters as varied as Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, and Prince specifically prevents the CD from becoming monotonous or predictable.

With innovative arrangements (such as having an accordian appear as the perfect touch to "Parlez-Moi D'Amour") and having a surprise guest appear (Norah Jones singing in a give and take duet on another song), predictable is something this album is not. In fact, it is a collection of non-standard standards. Dayna Kurtz has brought together a collection of lesser known songs and in some cases has discovered diamonds in the rough, wonderful ahead of their time songs that somehow were lost in the music business shuffle to begin with, and, until now, completely forgotten.

Polished with her emotional vocals and inspired playing by all the musicians involved, and illuminated by her ability to get inside the meaning of these songs better than the original writers themselves, gems such as Wendy Huber's "I Belong to the Wind" are finally allowed to shine.

A Female Leonard Cohen.......2004-08-26

Maybe that's high praise. It's not for me. I'm going to feel entirely guilty as I write this review, because I found Beautiful Yesterday to be really monotonous. I bought it because of an astounding review in The Washington Post. Now, I'm not a real Leonard Cohen fan either. I like Suzanne--I heard Judy Collins sing it first. However, I'm just not a fan of the one note songbook. I think music is supposed to be about moving up and down the scale, that's why the notes are there!

In Kurtz' collection, she is so solidly in the alto range that the light of day is a very far away concept. Mind you, I did like Parlez-moi d'amour and Those Were the Days. I found them exceptional, perhaps because Those Were the Days can make me nostalgic regardless of who's singing and anything by Edith Piaf deserves attention.

The timbre of her voice reminds me of Tracy Chapman, a much preferred artist in my opinion. While Kurtz' voice is not altogether unappealing, I find the lack of movement to be exactly that.

Enough said. I'll go to my corner and feel guilty for a while.

Average customer rating:

Songs of Yesterday for Today Manufacturer: Romeo Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Bernstein | Bernstein, Leonard | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Duke, Vernon | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Gershwin | Gershwin, George | ( G ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Porter | Porter, Cole | ( P ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Easy Listening | Compilations | Pop | Styles | Music General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music ASIN: B0007OP0YA Release Date: 2005-03-01

Tracks:

1. By Strauss
2. So in Love
3. Alone Together
4. I'm Old Fashioned
5. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
6. Man I Love
7. Way You Look Today
8. Here's That Rainy Day
9. I Can't Get Started
10. Lucky to Be Me
11. How Deep Is the Ocean?
12. But Beautiful
13. You're Nearer
14. Come Rain or Come Shine
15. Nearness of You
16. After You
17. There Will Never Be Another You
18. Shadow of Your Smile
19. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
20. You Don't Know What Love Is

Average customer rating:

Yesterday Today Tim Pitts Manufacturer: Tim Pitts ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music ASIN: B000CAF80K Release Date: 2005-11-08

Tracks:

1. Yesterday
2. Here Comes the Sun
3. Michelle
4. Blackbird
5. Eleanor Rigby
6. And I Love Her
7. We Can Work It Out
8. Norwegian Wood
9. In My Life
10. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
11. You Like Me Too Much
12. If I Fell
13. Here There and Everywhere
14. Strawberry Fields Forever
15. All You Need Is Love

Average customer rating:

Sergei Leiferkus ~ Rachmaninov Songs Sergei Rachmaninov , Sergei Leiferkus , and Howard Shelley Manufacturer: Chandos ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Rachmaninov | Rachmaninov, Sergei | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Leiferkus, Sergei | ( L ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music ASIN: B000000AX1 Release Date: 1995-08-22

Tracks:

1. At The Gates Of The Holy Cloister
2. Nothing Shall I Say To You
3. Song Of The Disenchanted
4. Do You Remember The Evening?
5. Were You Hiccoughing, Natasha?
6. O, No, I Beg You, Do Not Leave!, Op. 4 No. 1
7. Morning, Op. 4 No. 2
8. In The Silence Of The Secret Night, Op. 4 No. 3
9. Sing Not, O Lovely One, Op. 4 No. 4
10. My Child, Your Beauty is That Of A Flower, Op. 8 No. 2
11. Thoughts, Reflection, Op. 8 No. 3
12. I Was With Her , Op. 14 No. 4
13. You Are So Loved By All, Op. 14 No. 6
14. She Is As Beautiful As Midday, Op. 14 No. 9
15. Spring Torrents, Op. 14 No. 11
16. It Is Time, Op. 14 No. 12
17. Fate, Op. 21 No. 1
18. By A Fresh Grave, Op. 21 No. 2
19. Lilacs, Op. 21 No. 5
20. Before The Icon, Op. 21 No. 10
21. I Am No Prophet, Op. 21 No. 11
22. All Was Taken From Me, Op. 26 No. 2
23. We Shall Rest, Op. 26 No. 3
24. Christ Is Risen, Op. 26 No. 6
25. Yesterday We Met, Op. 26 No. 13
26. All Passes, Op. 26 No. 15
27. Letter To K.S. Stanislavsky
28. In The Soul Of Each Of Us, Op. 34 No. 6
29. The Raising Of Lazarus, Op. 34 No. 6
30. You Knew Him, Op. 34 No. 9
31. The Herald, Op. 34 No. 11
32. From The Gospel Of John

Average customer rating:

Ultimate Collection Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Porter | Porter, Cole | ( P ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Theodorakis | Theodorakis, Mikis | ( T ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Weill | Weill, Kurt | ( W ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Contemporary | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Lounge | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music Orchestral Pop | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music General | Pop | Styles | Music General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music Solo Instrumental | New Age | Styles | Music Easy Listening & Lounge | Box Sets | Stores | Music Classical Instrumental Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music ASIN: B0000DEOAQ Release Date: 2001-12-19

Tracks:

1. Swedish Rhapsody
2. Delicado
3. Little Bells and Big Bells
4. Portuguese Washerwoman (Les Lavandieres du Portugal)
5. Theme from Threepenny Opera (Mack the Knife)
6. Cucaracha
7. Guadalajara
8. Cuanto le Gusta
9. Granada
10. Cielito Lindo
11. Jealousy
12. Temptation
13. Begin the Beguine
14. Tara's Theme
15. Theme from "A Summer's Place"
16. Mucho Gusto
17. Besame Mucho
18. Negra
19. Altenitas (A Gay Ranchero)
20. Perfidia

Tracks:

1. Up on the Roof
2. Can't Get Used to Losing You
3. Theme for Young Lovers
4. I Will Follow Him
5. Rhythm of the Rain
6. Go Away Little Girl
7. Brazil (Aquarela Do Brasil)
8. Batucada
9. Amorada (Brasileirinho)
10. Tico Tico
11. Minute Samba
12. There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)
13. Release Me
14. Mary in the Morning
15. Can't Take My Eyes Off You
16. Spanish Harlem
17. No More Blues (Chega de Saudade)
18. (There's) Always Something There to Remind Me
19. Girl from Ipanema
20. Don't Sleep in the Subway

Tracks:

1. I Say a Little Prayer
2. Georgy Girl
3. Born Free
4. Those Were the Days
5. Both Sides Now
6. For Once in My Life
7. Let It Be
8. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
9. Michelle
10. Something
11. Eleanor Rigby
12. Yesterday
13. Fool on the Hill
14. Paso
15. Most Beautiful Girl
16. Annie's Song
17. Behind Closed Doors
18. Sundown
19. For the Good Times
20. Orange Blossom Special

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1. Before Sleep Comes
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3. Best of A1 [Import]
4. Best of [Import]
5. Black Empire
6. Blue Planet [Import]
7. Blue Sunshine [Import]
8. By the Hand of the Father
9. Catch the Breeze [Original recording remastered] [Import]
10. Civ [Import]

Rap Music

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