Black Empire

1. Black Empire

2. Back to Hell

3. Cabrini Green

4. Death Comes Crawling

5. Sinister Show

6. Days of Damien

7. Disciples of the King

8. Beyond the Gates

9. Hobbs End

10. Dead in Texas

11. Vorhees Revenge

12. S.O.S.

Black Empire,Force of Evil,New Media Studio,Pop,Power Metal,Progressive Metal,Rock,Rock/Pop

Black Empire

Varese Sarabande 25th Anniversary Celebration

Average customer rating:

A good value
The Sound Track Since Bernard Hermann
Good mix of film music
A mixed collection of movie music
Uplifts your soul, takes your mind into the heavens

Varese Sarabande 25th Anniversary Celebration

Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Star Wars | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Paramount 90th Anniversary Collection: Scores
In Session: Film Music Celebration
The Essential Elmer Bernstein Film Music Collection
Jerry Goldsmith: 40 Years of Film Music
The Incredible Film Music Box

ASIN: B00008WI90
Release Date: 2003-04-22

Tracks:

The Man from Snowy River (Bruce Rowland)
The Winds of War (Bob Cobert)
Blue Velvet (Angelo Badalamenti)
Witness (Maurice Jarre)
Raising Arizona (Carter Burwell)
Pee Wees Big Adventure (Danny Elfman)
Halloween (John Carpenter)
A Nightmare On Elm Street (Charles Bernstein)
The Fly (Howard Shore)
RoboCop (Basil Poledouris)
The Empire Strikes Back (John Williams)
The Right Stuff (Bill Conti)
The Final Conflict (Jerry Goldsmith)
The Abyss (Alan Silvestri)
Brainstorm (James Horner)
Peggy Sue Got Married (John Barry)
My Left Foot (Elmer Bernstein)
The Dead (Alex North)
Stanley & Iris (John Williams)
The Milagro Beanfield War (Dave Grusin)
Driving Miss Daisy (Hans Zimmer)

Tracks:

Steel Magnolias (Georges Delerue)
Unforgiven (Lennie Niehaus and Clint Eastwood)
Raggedy Man (Jerry Goldsmith)
The Grifters (Elmer Bernstein)
Green Card (Hans Zimmer)
City Slickers (Marc Shaiman)
Father Of The Bride (Alan Silvestri)
While You Were Sleeping (Randy Edelman)
Babe (Nigel Westlake)
The Adventures Of The Great Mouse Detective (Henry Mancini)
The Adventures of Robin Hood (Erich Wolfgang Korngold)
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (Laurence Rosenthal)
The Secret Garden (Zbigniew Preisner)
A Little Princess (Patrick Doyle)
Rudy (Jerry Goldsmith)
Iron Will (Joel McNeely)
Memphis Belle (George Fenton)
Eye Of The Needle (Mikl)
Total Recall (Jerry Goldsmith)
Back To The Future Part III (Alan Silvestri)

Tracks:

To Die For (Danny Elfman)
The Player (Thomas Newman)
Black Robe (Georges Delerue)
Medicine Man (Jerry Goldsmith)
2001 (Alex North)
Star Wars: Shadows Of The Empire (Joel McNeely)
The Crow (Graeme Revell)
Blade (Mark Isham)
The Omen (Jerry Goldsmith)
Vertigo (Bernard Herrmann)
Scream (Marco Beltrami)
The Sixth Sense (James Newton Howard)
Xena: Warrior Princess (Joseph LoDuca)
Air Force One (Jerry Goldsmith)
Starship Troopers (Basil Poledouris)
The Matrix (Don Davis)
The Iron Giant (Michael Kamen)
Youve Got Mail (George Fenton)
A Little Romance (Georges Delerue)
Pleasantville (Randy Newman)

Tracks:

Sunset Boulevard (Franz Waxman)
L.A. Confidential (Jerry Goldsmith)
Rounders (Christopher Young)
The Score (Howard Shore)
The Replacements (John Debney)
Gone In 60 Seconds (Trevor Rabin)
The Bourne Identity (John Powell)
Rush Hour 2 (Lalo Schifrin)
XXX (Randy Edelman)
Die Hard (Michael Kamen)
The Last of the Mohicans (Trevor Jones)
Moby Dick (Christopher Gordon)
The Mists Of Avalon (Lee Holdridge)
Cleopatra (Alex North)
Life As A House (Mark Isham)
Emma (Rachel Portman)
In The Bedroom (Thomas Newman)
Cast Away (Alan Silvestri)
One True Thing (Cliff Eidelman)
Unfaithful (Jan A.P. Kaczmarek)
Far From Heaven (Elmer Bernstein)
Ice Age (David Newman)
Shrek (Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell)

Customer Reviews:

A good value.......2007-05-17

I wasn't expecting to have 4 discs for this price, and the music is a quality selection of film music, giving a good scope of the genre, and a very listenable transfer.

The Sound Track Since Bernard Hermann.......2006-07-25

This collection is bound to capture your heart and evoke a tin ear on successive tracks. I found much to like and some duds - easy to skip over.
Very good value.

Good mix of film music.......2006-07-02

Good mix of films!
I'm a big fan of this soundtrack music and will be looking for more CD's like this.

A mixed collection of movie music.......2006-02-23

For the price, this CD is a great bargain. The musical selections, as you might expect, are mixed in quality ranging from extraordinary to so so, the balance being worthwhile and interesting. Sonically the CD is excellent.

Uplifts your soul, takes your mind into the heavens.......2006-01-06

I have been listening to great scores for many years and this collection is truly inspirational in so far as the choice of different scores takes you on a journey of listening pleasure matched by only a few collections.The price is incredibly reasonable for hours of listening pleasure. Don't pass this one up

Average customer rating:

Not bad
prepare to be obliterated
Need you read this, it's PIG DESTROYER!

Painter of Dead Girls
Pig Destroyer
Manufacturer: Robotic Empire
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Hardcore | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Death Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
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Altered States of America

ASIN: B0001907CQ
Release Date: 2004-01-27

Tracks:

Hymn
Taskmaster
Black Centipede
Immune To Life
Fuck You Up And Get High (Dwarves)
Contagion
Blank Dice
Blonde Prostitute
Patterns Of Failure
Reflection Fetish
Dark Satellites
Purity Undone
Forgotton Child
White Sand
Painter Of Dead Girls
Down On The Street (Stooges)
In The Meantime (Helmet)

Customer Reviews:

Not bad.......2006-09-13

Not too bad. If you like this kind of music you may like this CD.

prepare to be obliterated.......2004-04-15

This is the 1st PxDx cd ive purchased, and i think its great. sure its only 19 minutes but it does the job and feels like more. the dwarves, stooges, and helmet covers are awesome, i'd even say their version of "meantime" is better than the original. one beef i have with this is the vocal quality. jr hayes writes some amazing lyrics and can actually sing but on a lot of tracks he's very distorted. scott hull is such an amazing guitarist, you don't even care that these guys don't have a bass player. if you already own the splits these songs are on its still worth buying for the extra tracks and the live footage on the enhanced portion, in which during one song jr actually breaks the mic but keeps screaming without it, making little difference. pretty amusing, lots of goodies here and definitely worth the money. made me a fan.

Need you read this, it's PIG DESTROYER!.......2004-04-07

Be fooled not by impotent reviews, if you like Pig Destroyer or grindcore you should like this. The album is actually titled "Painter of dead girls" (I got my copy from verydistro.com, I recommend all music purchases be from this site, they have a massive variety of heavy music to choose from-hxc, metalcore, metal, punk, grind, etc.- and are as cheap as anywhere else plus they usually send sample CD's, stickers, mags, or whatever else). First of all, anyone seriously into grind or Pig Destroyer knows quality is always before quantity and, in this case, you can count on quality. The running time might not be that long but it's still good. If you know Pig Destroyer then you know what to expect: wicked screams, brutal riffs, sick drumming, JR's insane lyrics (given there are only lyrics available for about half of the tracks), and substantial ammounts of grind. All of these are present, as well as a nice cover of Helmet's "In the mean time". The only element listeners might find reduces this album is it's sound quality. However, it's not bad. If you are a fan of the genre then you know you appreciate the music not because it's attractive. This CD is raw Pig Destroyer, not pretty and fixed up but delivered straight brutal and insane. This ones for the fans. If you cant appreciate it, you aint no f**king fan. Pig Destroyer are among the elite of todays extreme music makers.

Average customer rating:

The penultimate collection ...
Muisic of the Spheres
The Ulllllltimate Sci-Fi Music Collection
SciFi Album gift
Away From to be a Collectible Peace

The Science Fiction Album
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Silva America
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Star Wars | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Star Trek | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
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The Fantasy Album

ASIN: B000066HE5
Release Date: 2005-02-08

Tracks:

2001: A Space Odyssey
Aliens
Sound Effect - The Nostromo
Alien
A.I.
Armageddon
Sound Effect - Apollo 13 Lift-off
Apollo 13
Back To The Future
Battle Beyond The Stars
Battlestar Galactica
The Black Hole
Contact
Capricorn One
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
The Day The Earth Stood Still
Dune

Tracks:

Galaxy Quest
Sound Effect - Dogfight in Space
Enemy Mine
Ghostbusters
Gremlins
Heavy Metal
Independence Day
E.T.
Judge Dredd
The Last Starfighter
Lifeforce
Sound Effect - Crash Landing
Lost In Space
Mars Attacks
The Matrix
Predator
The Right Stuff

Tracks:

Moonraker
Robocop
Silent Running
Sound Effect - Alien Organism
Species
Stargate
Starship Troopers
Starman
Star Trek - TV Theme
Star Trek: The Motion Picture End Title
Klingon Attack
Sound Effect - Warp Drive
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Generations
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Tracks:

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Sound Effect - Transporter Crew
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Main Theme
Star Trek First Contact
Star Wars
The Empire Strikes Back
The Empire Strikes Back
Return of the Jedi
Sound Effect - Battle Stations
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace - The Flag Parade
Anakin's Theme
The Adventures of Jar Jar
Duel of the Fates
The Time Machine
Things to Come
The Thing From Another World
War of the Worlds
When Worlds Collide
Total Recall
You Only Live Twice
Superman

Customer Reviews:

The penultimate collection ..........2006-12-07

Generally I agree with Strategos in his ecstatic Spotlight Review above. It is a joy to here some of the most memorable themes and cues from some of the most memorable science fiction and fantasy movies (re)recorded in great sound and in lavish (re)orchestrations, played by renowned classical orchestras, namely the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra, no less.

I have always had a weak spot for (good, or maybe even intelligent) science fiction/fantasy and film music, especially its way of evoking mystery, grandure and wide open spaces. Call it a weakness if you want. But it was maybe really kick started off, for as far as I can remember, with Star Trek. But especially Star Trek II, III and IV - essentially a trilogy - because of their very romantic but very warm, human core, set on the broadest canvasses of unlimited and mysterious outer space. But then there was the music for adding that essential extra dimension of emotion and atmosphere. I am happy that much of the music on this album is from the Star Trek series and films, often equaling or sometimes even outclassing the original recordings.

This kind of music (for the movies) should be seen as an art on its own rights with its own merits and qualities. As such, the musical sequences on these CD's are a beautifully played cross section of some of the most evoking orchestral music for science fiction/fantasy film ever created. And I very much like the nicely blended, wide and deep orchestral soundpicture with enough reverberation to evoke a sense of wide open spaces.
I am quite thrilled by tracks like the evocative music from Dune, truly transporting one to the vastly sands of Arrakis (the music is wonderful, but to my great regret I think the movie itself is a flawed masterpiece at best, alas.). And then there is the very different, goofy music for Ghostbusters (memories of childhood), the spoofy but electrifying music from Mars Attacks (lovingly parodist music, this, with not a little touch of irony) and the happily adventurous, forward driving Theme from Galaxy Quest ('Never give up, never surrender!'), now also used for the internet-based fan-series Star Trek: The Hidden Frontier. On the other side of the spectrum we have the atmospheric music for Enemy Mine (an underestimated 'little' movie), the Theme from The Right Stuff (actually science FACT, not fiction, this film, just like Apollo 13, of course), the eerily attractive music for Species, the original End Title for Alien (not used in the theatrical version of the movie, where it was replaced by music from howard Hanson's Second Symphony), the exquisitely exotic music for Stargate, the sweet and warmly sympathetic, beautifully re-orchestrated, theme for Starman, the title cue for Star Trek: TOS (much more melodiously played than the original! If only a series nowadays could continue to be as thought provoking and as original as Star Trek was during its launch, fourty years ago ...) and a truly overpowering End Titles Suite from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. I especially like the thrillingly grandiloquent rendition here of the music for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. And how nice it is to hear the (thematic) similarities between James Horner's music for The Wrath of Khan, his great break-through as a film music composer, and his (two years) earlier music for Battle Beyond the Stars (which did indeed help him earn the job for writing the music for Star Trek II) ...

But on the 'down side', if one is looking for - for example - the gorgeously expansively played End Titles from Cocoon, it is not included here: one has to acquire the album that 'kicked it all off', so to say, namely 'Space and Beyond', also on Silva Screen. I was very pleased also with the inclusion on that album of some of the music from the series Star Trek: The Next Generation, namely where one of the characters, Tasha Yar, in one of the episodes (Skin of Evil) is saying goodbye to her crewmmates: sweetly sentimental and simple music which I have always wanted to own on CD. I guess that a few cues from the other two sequals ('Alien Invasion: Space and Beyond II' and 'Space3: Beyond the Final Frontier') didn't make it onto this 4 CD collection-album as well, but I guess that it would be the 'better part of the bargain' to opt to buy this 'The Science Fiction Album' instead of buying all three albums separately. Well, of course it is for yourself to ultimately decide what you really want ;-)

If I were to nitpick (which is not easy with such a marvellous project as this one), then I would say that while all music is performed with magnificent grandure and with style, some of it is not performed as crisply and as technically 'on the spot' as some of the original recordings: ensemble is a little slack and the playing somewhat stilted sometimes, losing some of the edge and the originality of the writing. ET and Star Wars spring to mind, but then the soundtracks for Star Wars are traditionally recorded with the magnificent London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by maestro John Williams himself, and these superior recordings (especially the ones for Episode I, II and III) can't really be bettered, IMHO. Likewise for the music from Star Trek: The Motion Picture, I believe that in the end one really has to resort to the ultimate reference, namely the original recording (which is true in many other instances of 'original recordings'), and then the 20th anniversay colector's edition of this soundtrack on Columbia/Legacy (truly unmissable, this veritable classic of sci-fi/film music soundtracks!).

But all in all this 4CD-collection amounts to probably being the penultimate high quality sci-fi music album collection (I certainly know of no other project that comes as close quality as well as quantity wise), with some of the most memorable musical moments from classic to modern sci-fi/fantasy film captured in lavish orchestrations.
Collection-wise: five *stars*. Playing: generally four *stars*, sometimes more. The recording quality: five *stars*. The music (qualified on its own merits as film music) and its (re)orchestrations: generally five *stars*. In the end this is all highly recommended, and certainly not to be missed by science fiction and fantasy film music fans. Klaatu barada nikto.

Muisic of the Spheres.......2006-11-06

You wonderful four disk collection of SF music. It startsa up the the grand master of SF music, 2001: A space Odyssey all the way to Superman. This is all American SF music and several themes I would have liked to have included are not there. All in all though, a collection you will enjoy.

The Ulllllltimate Sci-Fi Music Collection.......2005-10-23

If one person gives great gifts, it's the illustrious Codemaster Talon. I've received a fair number of gifts in my lifetime, but so far, my older sister's take the cake. Take this one for instance. I'm real big on orchestral music, to the point where I listen to them more than any other kind of music. I've got orchestral versions of video game themes, orchestral soundtracks to truck-loads of anime shows (Big O, Escaflowne, and Giant Robo are incredible), and could probably spend the rest of my life just trying to study the nuances of all the classical music I've got. Being such a huge fan of orchestral music, I also have come to believe that orchestra music produced for movies and television is the new classical music (or as someone once said, Mozart would be making music for movies if he were alive today). Being a huge sci-fi fan, that kind of music has always been particularly near and dear to my heart. But were I to buy each and every soundtrack for every sci-fi I liked it would cost quite a bundle, and would include a lot of sub-par music along with the grandiose and fantastic main and memorable themes. That's where this beauty comes in.

The moment I ripped off the shrink-wrap and popped it into my cd player was a moment of great trepidation. Believe me when I tell that I've seen my fair share of sub-par orchestral recording in my lifetime. Very often they are in those big super-packs of music, and suffer from poor direction, improper mastering, and sometime even pathetic orchestration (or worse yet have something sounding like a cheap synthesizer and a kazoo in place of a full orchestra). I needn't have worried though. This sucker is fantastic.

Many people who are not audiophiles will probably miss the point of this cd collection. It is not the original versions of the pieces. It is re-orchestrations, mostly by the phenomenal Prague Symphony Orchestra. Many of these themes didn't sound all that hot in there original versions because they were low budget films or were not recorded in high-fidelity. Here they are given the full treatment, mastered with the most loving care imaginable. Often the version found in these cds is SUPERIOR to the original.

Remember the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey? Of course you do. But how many times have you heard a cheap imitation of the original version from the movie, starting too low in volume and ending too high (and missing the essential pipe-organ that gives it that extra oomph)? Well, this first track in the entire collection is not only everything it should be instrumental and timing-wise, but it also has been oh-so-carefully adjusted during the mastering process so that at no time is the music either too low or too high in volume (surely a benchmark for every other recording ever to be made of the piece).

Or what about the theme from the (at-the-time) uber-creepy The Black Hole? The orchestration of this piece of music goes from tiumphant to terrifying and back again, with a splendor and cleanness that I CERTAINLY don't remember being in the original recording.

Then there's the new version of the theme from Independence Day, complete with a violin solo, a far more electrifying ending climax, and a chorus so thunderous that you feel like applauding at the end. Simply indescribable. Kind of like the MIND-BLOWING rendition of the theme from The Last Star Fighter. This has been one of my favorite themes for a long time now, but I've never heard it played like this. I think the original version of the theme is something like 1 minute long, but this new version doesn't just fade out (HAHAHAHA!!!!) THIS version is THREE minutes long, goes through the main theme THREE times, with the final strains being so triumphant and joyous I could not help but feel an electrifying charge the first dozen or so times (come to think of it, I still feel that way). This is superior to the original in EVERY way. AWESOME.

And let's not forget the incredible new rendition of Stargate with it's heavy use of clarinets (for Egyptian effect!) and a triumphant new ending (completely lacking the chanting from the original version. This version is so different that for the first minute it is very hard to tell that it is in fact Stargate. But then the main theme kicks in, and then you get this incredible flute solo for my favorite part of theme (the whole thing is played slower, but arguably more powerfully than the original). My goodness. At first I found the thing so different I didn't like it. But then I listened to it again. And again. And again.

I could go on and on, talking about the fantastic new rendition of Moon Raker, the ear-popping Battlestar Galactica, the classic Star Trek (First Contact has a minute or two of the theme from Star Trek:The Motion Picture before going into the main theme), or the sweet renditions of music from the Star Wars movies (or the music from E.T.).

I have to mention though that this collection was not picked based merely on what people want, or on what is popular. No, the people who made it obviously thought a GOOD music collection was better than a popular one. That's why you get a heartbreakingly beautiful theme from A.I. instead of the main theme. It's why you get music from movies that you probably never gave a second thought to the music (because the movie was lousy). It's why you get Armageddon, Judge Dredd, and Robocop (who would have guessed their music was so COOL when there was all that crazy action and bad-acting going on on-screen).

I said it before and I'll say it again. This cd-set was mastered with tender-loving-care, and it shows BIG-TIME. High-fidelity the likes of which I have not seen since the days when cds were brand-new in the world. Dolby Surround. Perfectly balanced. BEAUTIUFL orchestrations. About the only thing that makes me scratch my head is the weird sound-effect tracks (Oooookay.....). Other than that, it's PERFECT. Obviously they could not include every sci-fi theme ever (no one can), but this collection is REALLY GOOD. A lot of great themes that got away (forgotten gems :), new versions of old favorites, and under-appreciated classics aplenty, but ALWAYS the full and complete versions with nothing cut-out (the theme from Dune is quite extended).

If you love movie music (and sci-fi movie music in particular) you MUST buy this awesome collection). It is not the original recordings. Almost always the new ones are better (if they aren't better they're just equal). This is what you have been waiting for. I for one am going to be buying quite a few cds from this company in the future. Give your ears the treat they deserve. Buy it NOW.

SciFi Album gift.......2005-07-20

I bought the Science Fiction Album as a gift for my son who is twenty-one years old. He is a musician, and also a huge fan of many SciFi shows and movies. I thought this would be the perfect thing for him and I was right. He loves it!

Away From to be a Collectible Peace.......2004-12-16

If you like Sci-Fi movies and want a compilation of their important scores, this is the CD-set to buy. But let me warn you about that very few songs in the cds are from the original soundtracks. Most of them is re-recorded by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. But the sound quality of cds are very good, because they have HDCD and Dolby Surround labels. This set is away from to be a collectible peace, but it is a good general compilation of favorite Sci-Fi movie scores.

Average customer rating:

makes me wanna get into DnB again
Addicting Album
best D n B artist for sure
black sun empire just rocks
Sweet Jesus!

Driving Insane
Black Sun Empire
Manufacturer: Bse Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B0001HQ2FE
Release Date: 2004-03-08

Tracks:

Arrakis
Dont You
Breach
B Negegative
Driving Insane
The Rat
Stasis
Swipe
Boris The Blade
The Sun Vp
B Negative

Album Description

The debut album from Black Sun Empire is full of dirty rolling tech-step D&B with amazing production giving a thick full-on sound throughout. BSE Recordings. 2004.

Album Details

Black Sun Empire Touch Down with their Debut Album, Full of Dirty Rolling Tech-step D&b with Amazing Production Giving a Thick Full-on Sound Throughout. DJ'S all Over the Globe have Been Getting Nasty to These Tunes for a While Now, So Here's Your Chance!

Customer Reviews:

makes me wanna get into DnB again.......2007-07-05

Really dark & atmospheric....similar to Ram Trilogy, Ed Rush & Optical...though I admit I stopped listening to DnB back in 1999 when it got sorta repetitive for me. But this stuff is heavy and fast with a synthetic alien sound -- definitely not like the organic, "feel good" DnB that has pianos & divas yelling over the beats which I don't particularly care for (eg High Contrast). Anyway, when the rumbling bass kicks in on the first track "Arrakis" you're gonna be like "whoa". The tracks on the Disc 2 Mix are blended well and the setlist has a good buildup from beginning to end.

Addicting Album.......2007-05-12

For any person who enjoys drum and bass or even if they don't. The beats are intelligent and fantastic. Each song on the record has great appeal, I have listened to this album over and over again. The distinct sound that Black Sun Empire has can really be appreciated on this album. The song "Stasis" is one of the best dnb songs I have ever heard.

best D n B artist for sure.......2007-04-17

b negative is the sickest song of all times,
and scorned(dont know why 2nd cd isnt listed here) is the most beautiful and up lifitng d n b song i ve heard.
who ever thinks that d n b is boring with this album will see its whole beauty

black sun empire just rocks.......2006-04-10

another superb mix, everything has great breakdowns, it all flows together to create just a great sound, good hard music, that still has a lot of groove to it, very well done...

Sweet Jesus!.......2005-11-06

As previous reviewers stated, this is one of the best produced CDs I have ever heard. The bass H-I-T-S, and sounds fantastic!! All the levels are correct, so theres no distortion at loud volumes and all aspects of this disc shine. I have a good system in my car, and seriously cannot get enough of this CD. But, enough about the technical merits of this album, the music is fantastic as well. This is one of 2-3 CDs that I have ever listened to where every track is consistently good. I am definitely looking forward to hearing more from these guys in the future.

Average customer rating:

Ear 24k Gold
Grindcore for People With REALLY Short Attention Spans
Best Grind Album
Good quality enjoyable Grindcore. (Hard to find these days isnt it?!)
Ferocious and jaw-dropping

Fused Together in Revolving Doors
The Red Chord
Manufacturer: Robotic Empire
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Clients
The Silent Circus
We Are Gathered Here Today
Clients
Not One Word Has Been Omitted

ASIN: B0001ZMX4K
Release Date: 2004-05-11

Tracks:

Nihilist
That Certain Special Ugly
Catalepsy
Like A Train Through A Pigeon
He Was Stretching, And Then He Climbed Up There
Breed The Cancer
L Formation
Dreaming In Dog Years
Sixteen Bit Fingerprint
Jar Full Of Bunny Parts (Demo)
Better Judgement (Demo)

Customer Reviews:

Ear 24k Gold.......2007-02-11

Oh, how I enjoy the music of The Red Chord. Everything this band has released has left an impression in my mind, but the album that stands out the most by them is their debut album, "Fused Together In Revolving Doors".

The songwriting skills are just mindblowing, with spastic changes of interludes and chaotic grindcore blasts. Guy Kozowyk, man, you can't match that guy to any other vocalist. Guitars are outstanding, along with the drumming. If there is any song this band should win an award for, it's "Dreaming In Dog Years". Listening to that song will change your life like it did for me.

Technical metal/grind fans, you need this. No album will match up to "Fused Together". Not even "Clients", which is an awesome album as well.

Grindcore for People With REALLY Short Attention Spans.......2006-10-22

Okay, so it sounds like an oxymoron. Anyone who loves grindcore must have a short attention span, or at least be accepting of a multitude of short blasts of insanity all crammed together. But, this album is ridiculous. Each of the 3-minute-average tracks contain no less than 50 time changes per, and a rhythm is rarely duplicated. There are several times when it sounds like there is a build-up to a crushing breakdown, and if it actually happens it turns out to be less than 10 seconds long. It is completely disjointed. I do understand that this is their goal, but they executed much better on their second album, "Clients."

I forced myself to listen to the album all the way through on two separate occasions before writing this review--I really wanted to like it. One thing I cannot stand is the frequent twangy flat chords struck between the time changes. I might get into this album if I listed a few more times, but I just can't bear to.

Give these guys points for technicality, though. There are many very catchy and intense snippets in each song. Unfortunately, not one is sustained long enough to be satisfying. The most impressive aspect of The Red Chord would be that they can actually play these songs live in the same way they were recorded. (I'm assuming they can.)

Best Grind Album.......2006-07-21

The Red Chord is the best band on earth. This album is brutal as hell, you can't go wrong with this one. Fused Together In Revolving Doors, get it!

Good quality enjoyable Grindcore. (Hard to find these days isnt it?!).......2006-07-04

The Red Chord is one of the few Grindcore bands with actual TALENT. Well, at least they were on this album. Their new sound isnt exactly Grindcore (listen to the album "Clients").

This album is like a piece of artwork; hard to understand, makes you think, you can identify with it and if the colors are right for you're mood, then its hard for you to remove yourself from its entrancing aura. In my opinion that is the perfect way to discribe this album. The lyrical themes on this album are very unique. Ive never really seen a band work childhood themes into their lyrics. The album has a good combination of nihilism based lyrics and childhood themed ones. The vocals are also very...odd. But not in a bad way. I've never heard anything like them before, and its pleasent to hear something new happening with a band. This is just a great album.

With that being said, I would like to state that if you do NOT like Grindcore, or bands like Pig Destroyer, Cirlce of Dead Children and Brutal Truth then DONT waste your time with this album and DONT bother listening to it.

Ferocious and jaw-dropping.......2006-06-21

I bought The Red Chord's debut album "Fused Together in Revolving Doors" at Best Buy for $11.99 when I was down in Eau Claire, and I really like it alot. Personally I find this album alot better than their follow up "Clients". FTIRD is a pure ferocious blistering technical grindcore/death metal assault that will just beat you to a bloody pulp. They also have hardcore influences as well, but they are far from being hardcore or metalcore. This album is chock full of deadly vocals, ferocious technical grinding guitar riffs, vicious breakdowns, and sick intense drumming. Guy Kozowyk's growling vocals are just brutal and deadly as hell. Guitarists Mike McKenzie (who does backing vocals) and Kevin Rampelberg lay down a barrage of monster grinding riffs that slice and dice through your skin like a razorblade. Adam Wentworth's bass lines are good and very deep. Mike Justian's drumming is absolutely sick and intense. Plenty of vicious piledriving blast beats and nasty double bass throughout.

The first song "Nihilist" opens the album with a barrage of grinding guitars, jackhammering blast beats, and Guy's sick growling vocals come into play without warning. This song is very heavy and intense throughout, and it's my favorite song on the album. The second track "That Certain Special Ugly" is more mid tempo with more hypnotic riffs, while the next two tracks "Catalepsy" and "Like a Train Through a Pigeon" come back at you fast with more rampaging drums and speeding guitars. Other standouts including "L Formation" and "Dreaming in Dog Years" (which is one of the band's most popular songs) keep the sheer ferocious aggression going.

The songs and the ratings:

1. Nihilist - 5/5 (Favorite song)
2. That Certain Special Ugly - 5/5
3. Catalepsy - 5/5
4. Like a Train Through a Pigeon - 5/5
5. He Was Stretching, And Then He Climbed Up There - 4/5
6. Breed The Cancer - 5/5
7. L Formation - 5/5
8. Dreaming in Dog Years - 5/5
9. Sixteen Bit Fingerprint - 5/5
10. Jar Full of Bunny Parts (Bonus demo) - 5/5
11. Better Judgement (Bonus demo) - 5/5

Overall this album is an absolute must have for any fan of The Red Chord, metal, grindcore, death metal, or just extreme heavy music in general. If you're new to this band, I suggest you start off with this album first. Anyways I hope you'll all enjoy it just like I'am right now. STAY EXTREME!! STAY HEAVY!! STAY METAL!!

LONG LIVE THE RED CHORD!!

Average customer rating:

tip of the amazing ice berg
A Solid Sampling of the Master
A great introduction...
Brilliant
very atmospheric pieces

Film Music of Takemitsu

Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | International | Styles | Music

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Toru Takemitsu: Quotation of Dream (20/21 series) - London Sinfonietta / Oliver Knussen
Takemitsu: Requiem; Twill by Twilight
Takemitsu: I Hear the Water Dreaming
In an Autumn Garden (Dig)
Takemitsu: A Flock Descends into the Pentagonal Garden

ASIN: B000005J44
Release Date: 1997-07-29

Tracks:

Rikyu
Josorres: Music Of Training And Rest
Black Rain: Funeral Music
Face Of Another: Waltz
Harakiri
Banished Orin
Kaseki (The Fossil)
Empire Of Passion
Dodes'kaden
Woman In The Dunes

Customer Reviews:

tip of the amazing ice berg.......2006-09-11

this collection of excerpts is by no means any kind of substitute for the 6 CD series which is now out of print, and is not even a well rounded representation. In addition to the other reviewer's observations, this "best of" seems to favor the more "difficult" and challenging pieces - while much of the content of the complete 6 volumes is lush, sensual, and breath-takingly gorgeous. David Toop will have to fight me for any of the volumes on that desert island (and he will lose).

but I seem to remember reading that an exhaustive box set series of film works is being released, with a total of something like 30 discs planned - after all, the man did make 92 film scores - but I haven't seen it anywhere or heard of this since - am I on drugs???

A Solid Sampling of the Master.......2001-06-27

Nonesuch's selections provide an excellent sampling of Takemitsu's score from different stages of his career, and John Adams' interpretation of JOSE TORRES, BLACK RAIN and FACE OF ANOTHER is extremely well done. It should be pointed out, however, the selections are skewed toward those films which have received ample distribution in the US and those directed by Teshigahara Hiroshi and Kobayashi Masaki. Victor Records in Japan has released 6 volume collections of Takemitsu's score, as noted by another reviewer. (As far as I know they are still in print and can be ordered through special soundtrack music dealers such as Footlight Records or Soundtrack Album Retailers) and this is how the present CD stacks up against Nonesuch's selections:

Vol. 1 Films Directed by Kobayashi Masaki. KWAIDAN, HARAKIRI (Only a short excerpt found in Nonesuch version), GLOWING AUTUMN, KARAMI AI, YOUTH OF JAPAN, THE FOSSIL (Included in Nonesuch version)

Vol. 2 Films Directed by Shinoda Masahiro. PETRIFIED FOREST, SILENCE, BEAUTY AND SORROW, ASSASSINATION, THE APOCRYPHAL LEGEND OF SARUTOBI SASUKE, HANARE GOZE ORIN, AKANE GUMO

Vol. 3 Films Directed by Oshima Nagisa and Hani Susumu. EMPIRE OF PASSION (Excerpted in Nonesuch version), THE UNKNOWN STORY OF POST-WAR TOKYO, MY SISTER IN SUMMER, THE RITUAL, BAD BOY, FULFILLING LIFE

Vol. 4 Films Directed by Teshigahara Hiroshi. FACE OF ANOTHER, (The instrumental version of the waltz in Nonesuch version: in this CD the waltz is sung in German) SUMMER SOLDIER, PITFALL, WHITE MORNING, WOMAN IN THE DUNES (About 2/3 of the selection here included in Nonesuch version), JOSE TORRES (Re-recorded in Nonesuch version), BURNT MAP, RIKYU (Nearly identical to Nonesuch version)

Vol. 5 Films Directed by Kurosawa Akira, Imamura Shohei, Toyoda Shiro, Naruse Mikio, Narushima Toichiro. DODESKADEN (Excerpted in Nonesuch version), THE DIARY OF BLUE MIRAGE, THE GHOST OF YOTSUYA, MIDARE GUMO, BLACK RAIN (Re-recorded in Nonesuch version)

Vol. 6 Films Directed by Ichikawa Kon, Nakamura Noboru, Onchi Hideo. KYO, ALONE IN THE PACIFIC, ANCIENT CAPITAL, 21-YEAR-OLD FATHER, KINOKAWA, ADMIRATION, A WOMAN'S BODY, A FABULOUS FEMME FATALE, HAPPINESS.

As you can see, Shinoda's and Ichikawa's films, for instance, are not represented at all in the present CD. It should be admitted, however, even the monumental Victor 6-volume collection does not come close to presenting complete film socres of Takemitsu. Popular works like RAN, widely available in other venues notwithstanding, such major scores of Takemitsu as DOUBLE SUICIDE (Shinoda) and SAMURAI REBELLION (Kobayashi) are not included in this 6 volume collection, to name only two examples.

Kudos to Nonesuch records for a great homage to the cinematic output of one of the most innovative composers of twentieth century, but there are still mounds and mounds of sonic treasures from the late Toru Takemitsu out there for film music and avant-garde music fans.

A great introduction..........2001-05-04

I have to commend Nonesuch for releasing this excellent collection. It serves as a great introduction at a domestic price. There are several volumes of Takemitsu's film music available on Victor/Japan as well, but they'll set you back around 35 bucks each and the liner notes are in Japanese. I've acquired 6 volumes so far, and I recommend Vol. 4 as the most essential. It also happens to be on David Toop's list of desert island discs, if that means anything to you. Still, this Nonesuch sampling is the best place to start. I even prefer John Adams' more polished performance of Woman in the Dunes to the original (available on Vol. 4). The real highlight for me, however, was the London Sinfonietta darting through the Waltz from Face of Another, which appears again on Vol. 4 as a woman singing, accompanied by accordians and orchestra. You'll find yourself humming it for weeks.

Brilliant.......2000-02-12

A must-have for Takemitsu and film music fans. This CD provides a wonderful sampling of the diversity of Takemitsu's style. I've seen many of the films which are sampled, and the CD makes me want to see more. Takemitsu's music brought an element to all the films he worked on that's at least as important, if not more, as the acting, writing, cinematography, editing, directing... you name it. He's probably the finest film composer ever.

very atmospheric pieces.......1999-06-28

From the liner notes, I understood that Takemitsu's work is voluminous--here is only a sampling of it. Whether you like Japanese films or not, you can appreciate this music. Highly atmospheric and keyed into our dreams, Takemitsu's music will transport you outside your apartment or cubicle into the realm of humanity. I like the Waltz from "Face of Another" (Tanin no kao), Kaseki (The Fossil) and Dodes'kaden for their beauty and originality. The other pieces on the CD are powerful, but frightening. Even if you haven't seen "Empire of Passion" or "Woman in the Dunes", you can sense the eerie backgrounds to this music.

I listened to this CD repeatedly for 2 weeks, put it away, and put it back on once or twice a week. It can be both meditative and stimulating.

Fall of an Empire
Average customer rating:

best Rhapsody album since "Dragonflame"

A Superlative Sophomore Release

Fall of an Empire
Fairyland
Manufacturer: Napalm
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
General | Rock | Styles | Music
General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Unia

Ghost Opera

Escape from Twilight

Waterlines

Astronomy

ASIN: B000JLPO24
Release Date: 2007-01-16

Tracks:

Endgame
The Fall Of An Empire
Lost In The Dark Lands
Slaves Forlorn
The Awakening
Eldanie Uellë
Clanner Of The Light
To The Havenrod
The Walls Of Laemnil
Anmorkenta
In Duna
The Story Remains
Look Into Lost Years

Album Description

On their second album, Fairyland improves on their unique mix of Symphonic and Speed Metal, showcasing a collection of tracks that are epic, arresting, and discerning. Swift as arrows, guitar riffs duel with virtuoso keyboards, while monumental string arrangements and heroic choirs add the powerful yet melodic finishing touch. A must-have for fans of Blind Guardian and Rhapsody, though the members of Fairyland undoubtedly follow their own musical path.

Customer Reviews:

best Rhapsody album since "Dragonflame".......2007-04-04

At last, Rhapsody has returned to the Dawn 0f Victory-era symphonic speed metal that made them one of the most imitated bands of the past decade. They've even evolved a little beyond it, adding female vocals in some of the later tracks (which actually works well here), additional instrumentation, slightly more complex vocal melodies and a few progressive elements in the songwriting.

Don't be distracted by the fact that this band is called "Fairyland" and that none of the members of Rhapsody, past or present, participated in making it. This is Rhapsody! Seriously, though, most of this album is much closer to true Rhapsody than anything "Rhapsody "of Fire" is doing.

This album isn't quite as good as the real Rhapsody was at their best when they were in their prime. However, the sound is often very nearly identical, and it is more consistent in its quality, the lyrics are better (though very similar), and the accents less noticeable. It's more of a four and a half star album, but I'll spring for the full five partly because the truly outstanding artwork in the cd booklet earns them a bonus; and because getting rid of that tone-deaf she-devil from old Dark Moor that was the vocalist on their first album earns them a bigger bonus (maybe she will take the hint and finally retire, since she can almost single-handedly ruin any band she is in). In any event, this one is a mandatory purchase for symphonic metal fans.

A Superlative Sophomore Release.......2007-02-05

When I wrote a review on Fairyland's first album, The Wars in Osyrhia, I poked fun at it, with a fictitious call to France to interview the wounded cow (Elisa C Martin) who appears on the album at inconvenient times, wailing along, with the lovely music. Well, no more!

Fairyland is back with their sophomore effort, The Fall of an Empire and it is nothing, if not sensational! This is a solid effort of pure symphonic power metal. Like their first release, The Fall of an Empire still has the catchy mediaeval melodies, lovely choirs and orchestral sounding backing. Deduct the wailing cow and add a female singer that can sing and you have perhaps the best Symphonic Power Metal these ears have heard in five or six years, when the magnificent, A Time never Comes by Secret Sphere, was released in 2001, followed by the equally superlative, Hastings 1066, by Thy Majestie in 2002.

Track one, Endgame, is an instrumental introduction, something common for this genre. Tracks four, Slaves Forlorn, and eight To the Havenrod, are instrumental suites or interludes if you prefer. Sandwiched between the first two instrumental are two typical but well done Hard driving power metal songs, The Fall of an Empire and Lost in the Dark Lands. Awakening is a nice varied tempo power metal number with strong keyboard work followed by a beautiful softer song, not quite a ballad, also with excellent piano playing, Clanner of the Light is a high production, fast tempo, driving song, followed by the aforementioned suite, To the Havenrod.

Track nine, The Walls of Laemnil is also a fast moving metal song. An excellent medium speed number, Anmorkenta, follows it. In Duna is one of only two true ballads, the other being track thirteen, Look into Lost Years. Both are pleasant folk sounding song sung by a female vocalist. The Story Remains at over ten minutes is the longest and therefore the most complex, variable paced, epic song, with great keyboards and guitars. The last and bonus track is another melodic hard driving power metal piece, Across the Endless Sea.

CONCLUSION

If The Fall of an Empire has a weakness, it would be the lead male singer. Not that he's bad, but he could be better. When the male choirs sing along with him, they sound better.

This album was released in the middle of January, so that makes it a 2007 release.
I know it's early but as it stands right now, The Fall of an Empire, is the album to beat for 2007's symphonic power metal album of the year. Then again, I hear Therion has a pretty good album coming out, so we'll see

Average customer rating:

ISSUE RESOLVED ON THE EUPHRATES
Enjoiyable, but lacking, too.

Handel: Belshazzar

Manufacturer: Archiv Produktion
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Minuets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Samson
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Handel - Joshua / Kirkby, Bowman, Oliver, Ainsley, George, The King's Consort
Handel - Deborah / Y. Kenny · Gritton · Denley · Bowman · M. George · The King's Consort · King
Handel: Solomon

ASIN: B0001ZWGHY
Release Date: 2004-06-15

Tracks:

Overture
Vain, Fluctuating State Of Human Empire!
Thou, God Most High, And Thou Alone
The Fate Of Babylon, I Fear, Is Nigh
Lament Not Thus, Oh Queen, In Vain!
Behold, By Persia's Hero Made
Well May They Laugh/Oh Memory! Still Bitter To My Soul
Opprest With Never-Ceasing Grief
Dry Thoes Unavailing Tears
Be Comforted: Safe Though The Tyrant Seem/Methought, As On The Bank Of Deep Euphrates
Now, Tell Me, Gobrias
Behold The Monstrous Human Beast
Can You Then Think It Strange
Great God! Who, Yet But Darkly Known
My Friends, Be Confident
All Empires Upon God Depend
Oh Sacred Oracles Of Truth!
Rejoyce, My Countrymen
Sing, Oh Ye Heav'ns!

Tracks:

Let Festal Joy Triumphant Reign!
For You, My Friends
The Leafy Honours Of The Field
It Is The Custom, I May Say, The Law
Recall, Oh King! Thy Rash Command
They Tell You True
Oh Dearer Than My Life, Forebear!
By Slow Degrees The Wrath Of God
See, From His Post Euphrates Flies!
You See, My Friends, A Path
Amaz'd To Find The Foe So Near
To Arms, To Arms! No More Delay!
Ye Tutelar Gods Of Our Empire
Let The Deep Bowl Thy Praise Confess
Where Is The God Of Judah's Boasted Pow'r?
Call All My Wise Men

Tracks:

A Singony (Allegro Postillions)
Ye Sages! Welcome Always To Your King/Alas! Too Hard A Task The King Imposes
Oh Misery! - Oh Terror! - Hopeless Grief!
Oh King, Live For Ever!
No! To Thyself Thy Trifles Be
Yet, To Obey His Dread Command
Oh Sentence To Severe!
Oh God Of Truth! Oh Faithful Guide!
You, Gobrias, Lead Directly To The Palace
Oh Glorious Prince!
Alternate Hopes And Fears
Fain Would I Hope
Can The Black Aethiop Change His Skin?
My Hopes Revive
Bel Boweth Down!
I Thank, Thee, Sesach
A Martial Symphony
To Pow'e Immortal My First Thanks
Be It Thy Care, Good Gobrias
Great Victor, At Your Feet I Bow
Say, Venerable Prophet
Tell It Out Among The Heathen
Yes, I Will Build Thy City
I Will Magnify Thee

Customer Reviews:

ISSUE RESOLVED ON THE EUPHRATES.......2005-06-19

One question I might find among the more difficult in my life would be - which is my favourite Handel oratorio? I suspect that my answer would generally be 'the one I heard most recently', and that, as I write this, is Belshazzar. It is a magnificent thing, a heavenly thing. It has taken me longer than it should have to come to an appreciation of what makes Handel the phenomenon - as a genius, as an artist, as a craftsman - that he is, but I am comforted to reflect that no less a genius than Haydn, at the age of nearly 70 gaining a more thorough knowledge of Handel in performance, was driven to say that he felt a mere apprentice. In his sense of how to pace a dramatic narrative, in his instinct for how to use the human voice in song and above all in chorus, in the matchless flexibility and adroitness he displays at word-setting and in the audacity of his melodic and harmonic effects I can think of nobody who can approach Handel on his own terms.

Belshazzar was not a great success at the box-office, although this may have had more to do with difficulties in the casting than because it was deemed insufficiently biblical for oratorio, which seems to have been the fate of Hercules. It seems to me to be perfectly well described as oratorio in other ways too, with (for one thing) the extensive use of the chorus that we find in, say, Samson but not in Hercules. The one passage that cries out for visual effects is of course the apparition of the moving finger itself. Even here the composer can go a long way with sheer power of suggestion, by the strange unaccompanied violin figure creeping upwards and the frightened brevity of the vocal numbers. Otherwise for me Belshazzar is as much an oratorio as Samson is. It has the same librettist too, the crusty and formidable Jennens, who had also collaborated with Handel on Saul and on Messiah itself. Jennens' full text is not provided, but I think if you read the synopsis first and then follow the work from the headlines to each number you will have no difficulty in catching the words, so clear is the enunciation by soloists and chorus alike. As usual, Handel was driven to make alterations to the score for practical reasons. He had been a little concerned about its length, roughly 2 hours and 50 minutes in this performance, but where he wishes to be expansive he gives us full measure - two arias in Act I scene 4 take well over 7 minutes each. The liner-essay (a good one, by Anthony Hicks) goes into the issue of the version of the score used here, and I personally have no problem with it.

I have no faults to find with the performance in any way. Pinnock is an established specialist, the instruments are period instruments and vocal cadenzas at the end of the arias are kept minimal. Anthony Rolfe Johnson, James Bowman and David Wilson-Johnson are tried and trusted Handel singers and at their best here, and Nicolas Robertson and Richard Wistreich in the smaller parts are every bit as good. The part of Cyrus is a soprano part, taken by Catherine Robbin, and when I thought I heard just one touch of strain in `Destructive War' in the final scene she makes up for it instantly in her superb duet with Arleen Auger in the following number. Auger as Nitocris the mother of Belshazzar has the biggest part, and she covers herself with glory all the way through.

The recording is perfect, and when I saw an aria entitled `Destructive War, thy limits know' near the end I felt a sharp sense of irony in the year 2005. Cyrus, Handel, Jennens, you should all have been living at this hour.

Enjoiyable, but lacking, too........2004-08-16

This 3CD set of George Frederic Handel's (1685-1759) "Belshazzar", from Archiv Production, a division of Universal Music, is proof again that transfer from vinyl to tape to disc brings with it improvements in listening that make the purchase a worthwhile addition to anyone's listening library. Written in 1744, "Belshazzar" is an oratorio in the operatic style that is wonderful oratorio, but lacking the true depth one expects to hear in an opera. London opera audiences of Handel's day agreed, as both "Belshazzar" and Handel's other offering of the period in the same style, "Hercules", were not terribly successful. Instead of the scheduled 24 performances only 16 were given and Handel never offered a full season of oratorio again. The Libretto by Charles Jennens (1700-1773) is, as the production notes say, meant "not only to show the fall of Babylon but to show it as a fulfillment of divine prediction and to confirm the biblical testimony by reference to classical history." There's only one problem, as good a quality as the CDs are, it is not possible to follow the full libretto and the accompanying booklet includes no text, which is a shame. I think the listening experience would have been increased immeasurably if one was able to follow the text of what is being sung. Nonetheless the dramatic narrative is fluid and even, and the English Concert and Choir provide nice balance to the less full vocal passages, as in Disc 3s "Oh Glorious prince", cut 10. There is enough of this throughout to keep one's interest, but disappointing if what one expects is another ""Messiah".