No comments about Guest Starring Groucho Marx.

5 comments about Nicholas Lens: Flamma Flamma (The Fire Requiem).

1. When I first heard this piece, it reminded me of the soprano solo from "The Fifth Element." This CD spans quite a range of music, from beautiful laments for lost loved ones to almost annoying choruses harping about the darker side of death. Unlike most requiems, which are straight laments, this one is more of a commentary on death. This one gets better with each listen. I particularly recommend the second-to-last track, Agnus Purus -- what an incredible choral movement and key change at the end. I could easily see this as the foundation for a movie soundtrack, or a new TV drama.



2. This is very compelling, dynamic music, & so idiosyncratic. Definitely unique, & moves in a very modern & brilliant way, especially with the interesting ways it makes use of different vocal lines...



3. I believe this recording is very good. Still $999.99 for a used copy seems quite expensive. Or $1,002.48 with shipping - as I just found out. Don't you think?



4. If you've enjoyed Carl Orff, this is his legitimate successor.
   Nicholas Lens is perfectionism not over but cross professionalism.
   This is one of the few CDs these days that you ought to pay
   money for. It is really worth every cent.



5. if you're into Orff style things, this one is the culmination.
   enjoy. I certainly did.

1 comments about The Essential Igor Stravinsky.

1. Sony Music's "The Essential Igor Stravinsky" truly lives up to its title. This double-CD set includes nearly every important piece of work (either in part or in whole) by the great Russian composer. The set also presents the pieces in chronological order beginning in 1908 with "Fireworks" and ending in 1966 with his final piece, the short but simple "Owl and The Pussycat". In between, there are excerpts from Stravinsky's most famous works including the first part of "The Rite Of Spring" and highlights from the "Firebird" and "Petrushka" ballets. There are also lesser-known works included as well as his harmonically rearranged version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" (a rendition which caused a stir in the early 1940's). The entire collection concludes with a rare recorded interview with Igor Stravinsky himself in which he remembers the infamous premere of "The Rite Of Spring".
   The CD booklet includes detailed liner notes as well as a written tribute by Trey Anastasio of the band Phish. The sound quality of the recordings is amazing (even on the historic 1934 recording of "Piano Rag Music"). All in all, this an excellent collection of works by the great Igor Stravinsky. In a sense, this compilation gives the composer the 'rock musician' treatment. It's a 'greatest hits' album and a career-spanning retrospective that serves as an ideal introduction to Igor's music. Even if your not a fan of Classical music, it isn't difficult to listen to the works of Stravinsky and not be stirred.
   Definitely The Essential Igor Stravinsky!!!

4 comments about B.G. & Big Tea in NYC.

1. Benny Goodman was 19 when these recordings were made. And Jack Teagarden was around 24. My favorites from the album are Indiana, Dinah, Sweet Georgia Brown, China Boy, and Somebody Loves Me. China Boy opens with a mellow trombone statement from Teagarden, and then that band starts to really swing behind him. I played this cd daily for weeks after purchasing it, and I still come back to it as one of my ALL TIME favorites. Don't miss this CD!!!!!



2. Teagarden was the greatest jazz trombonist, he truly could make his slide trombone swing, he was also one of the greatest blues singers, who could croon right up there with the like of Crosby and Armstrong. This CD with Benny Goodam on clarinet features plenty of prime Teagarden singing and playing. Also an added bonus is Ella Logan(Annie Ross' mother of jazz vocalese jazz group "Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross")singing "It Had To Be You" so that's where annie gets it from. Absolutly essential classic jazz from the 20's & 30's.



3. Put this on and sit still if you can! Glorious music that swings high and low and never loses touch with its jazz soul. Completely accessible for even the newest jazz enthusiast. Historically thrilling to comtemplate that most of these soon-to-be legendary performers were at the very beginning of their incredible careers. Simply a joy to hear.



4. One cut alone, Davenport Blues, is worth the price of this CD. B.G. and Tea both solo on this Beiderbecke tune, recorded just a few years after Bix died. So soulful and sad it'll break your heart.

1 comments about Smithsonian Collection The Best of Old Time Radio Starring Jack Benny.

1. This excellent box set - the result of a joint project by Radio Spirits and the Smithsonian - is an essential purchase for admirers of Jack Benny.Entitled "The Best Of Old Time Radio Starring Jack Benny",it covers the full range of Benny's radio days,including not only four of his own shows (dating from the period 1952-1957) but also two lesser known contributions to "radio's otstanding theatre of thrills",the "Suspense" program (the episodes featured are "A Good and Faithful Servant" and "Murder in G-Flat"),and one play for the Lux Radio Theatre ("Seven Keys to Baldpate"),a radio version of "The Horn Blows at Midnight",and one edition each of "The Fred Allen Show" and "The Burns and Allen Show".The good quality CDs come with an informative booklet written by Anthony Tollin.This is really something to treasure.

No comments about Jack Benny - Comedy Pack.

5 comments about Beach Boys - An American Band / Brian Wilson - I Just Wasn't Made for These Times.

1. i baught both of these on vhs, a pretty good find. I must say, I just wasn't made for these times was great. a very interesting look into brian's life. i just hate how most documentries completely disregard what happened in the 80s/early 90s in regards to brians life. i know there wasn't much, but i would have liked to see it all. but still that was great. now, for an american band, that was ok. it wasnt as good as ijwmftt but it had some interesting footage. most of when brian was in the bed was interesting, however, it did get a bit tedious to hear only a little beach boys history. i would have liked more, but i guess thats what "endless harmony" is for. so i would recommend getting both thoes films. you get the good documentry, then the videos and rare footage, then you get brian's story, the brains behind the band. together it all makes for a great package for your beach boys fan, or your beginner.



2. 
   AMERICAN BAND
   
   Simply because I've seen "An American Band" and think its a bad way-in to the Beach Boys simply because their studio recordings are immortal yet this documentary stubbornly opts every time for the live version where the BB's slaughter the delicate arrangements they weren't allowed to play in the studio (Brian had studio musicians do the parts in the band's peak era (circa All Summer Long-Pet Sounds, 1966). Many Americans may know the BB's as a great touring band - but I see no evidence of it. Mike Love's camping it up on stage also isn't likely to endear this doco to newcomers. Also, the footage is grainey
   
   I JUST WASN'T MADE FOR THESE TIMES (yet to see it, but I'm just saying Endless Harmony is a much more professionally done project with a bigger budjet, presents a more well-rounded portrait, instaed of just an onslaught of live BB murder.)
   
   So my logic is that you shouldn't buy anything with "American Band" on it, and while you're going for "Endless Harmony" you may as well go for "Smile" as well, the DVD.



3. This was a truly interesting look at the Beach Boys. I enjoyed it very much.



4. First up on this DVD is "An American Band." Own it because it's a wonderful historical and musical record of the Beach Boys from the very beginning. But don't expect a detailed, "warts-and-all" biography of the band. The full story of the Wilson family is as rife with tribulations as a Gothic novel. "An American Band" doesn't delve into the dark stuff except superficially; primarily, it's a feel-good infomercial for the Beach Boys through 1985 (a year or so after Dennis's death). Dennis's impossible lifestyle and struggles with drugs and alcohol are addressed just barely, although his sweat-drenched, inebriated attempt to croak out what had once been his signature song, "You Are So Beautiful," at his last July 4th concert is excrutiatingly painful to watch. The band's struggles over the musical direction of the group (e.g., the SMiLE project) are similarly left unmentioned, except for Mike Love's comment that "we work best sticking with the formula." On the plus side, the video contains clips of the Boys (minus Brian) playing in Czechoslovakia -- the first Western band to do so, entertaining hundreds of thousands of people at their yearly July 4th concerts, and singing "California Girls" on t.v. while Jack Benny and Bob Hope monkey around on stage in ridiculous wigs hauling a surfboard. There's plenty of great music here, and you see the band's evolution over a 25-year period.
   
   The real meat of this DVD is in the second video, a black & white documentary about Brian, "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times." After 45 years of fandom, I feel like I finally understand something about who Brian is and why, as well as who he has become. Brian is famously candid, and candor is a hallmark of this video. Witness his ex-wife Marilyn and daughters Wendy and Carnie, especially Carnie, whose insights and ironic humor about Life With Brian show her to be wise beyond her years (she was 26 at the time). Collaborators Van Dyke Parks and Tony Asher have fascinating insiders' comments on the creation of "SMiLE" and "Pet Sounds." Rock icons like Graham Nash, Linda Ronstadt, Lindsay Buckingham, John Cale and David Crosby speak articulately about Brian's influence on their own work and relate amazing, funny, awestruck stories about Brian's creative process. I concur with Tom Petty's remark that Brian easily ranks with Beethoven or the great composers of any era. This video also contains some good remakes, sung by Brian at the time the video was made (1995, prior to Carl's death) with an excellent band.
   
   Even taken together, these two videos leave a lot out. For instance, Brian's highly controversial therapist, Eugene Landy, is referred to only as "my assistant in the 80's" or "that guy." It's as if he's been turned into You-Know-Who from the Harry Potter books. I find that omission weird. If the guy was a Svengali, let's name names.
   
   Brian's mom, Audree, comes across as so guarded and cautious as to be almost catatonic. Perhaps it's too awful to discuss, but considering the appalling damage that Murry Wilson did to his sons, I kept asking myself the question: where was Audree when Brian and Dennis were being beaten to a pulp? Unknown, captain.
   
   Similarly, contradictory explanations for the demise of SMiLE reveal that there is still a lot of dust hiding under the rug on that one. The only thing clear is the long-lasting emotional devastation that Brian suffered as a result of abandoning the project.
   
   Perhaps it's unfair to expect pop documentaries to cover all the territory that a comprehensive biography of Brian and his brothers would require. All angst and misgivings aside, Brian speaks for himself quite a bit here, and beyond the funny and poignant stories told about him by others, hearing Brian in his own words is worth everything to me. If you're a fan of 20th century popular music and want to understand some things about one of the two most influential bands of the past 50 years (the other group being of course the Beatles), you owe it to yourself to see this DVD. Along the way, you'll hear some great music, and you'll be greatly moved.



5. Anyone wanting to know the story of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys should get this dvd.It gives you the history from the beginning and is very informative.Brian holds nothing back about his involvment in the band .This dvd really shows you the great person songwriter and musician that Brian is and how he formed the band into the great group that they became and the music that will last a long time to come.Any BB fan should have this in their collection

5 comments about Broadway - The American Musical (PBS Series).

1. This Collection was perfectly made it has almost all the most famous Broadway songs on this 5 cd set. The Music is great and has Broadways greatest treasures like "Memory""People""With One Look""Give my regards Too Broadway" just to name a few of this numerous cd set with over 100 songs. This is a great buy if you like musicals or The music of Broadway



2. THESE BROADWAY MUSICALS CD'S ARE A BROADWAY LOVERS DREAM. WITH EACH SONG, MEMORIES COME FLOODING BACK. BOTH THE FAMILIAR AND THE FORGOTTEN SONGS ARE A TRUE LISTENING PLEASURE. IF YOU LIKE BROADWAY, YOU'LL LOVE THIS SET.



3. This is THE definitive collection of Broadway hits. I have other collections, and none of them measure up. A great deal of care was obviously taken in compiling and presenting this box set. It covers a lot of ground, starting with some long-forgotten but still very enjoyable hits from the days of yore, and finishing with present-day favorites. To the best of my knowledge, the recordings are by those who made them famous. You won't be disappointed.



4. Packs into 5 CD's a sampling of Broadway tunes from the 20's thru (almost) today, mostly from original cast recordings. Includes not just well-known hits, but also some lesser-known gems. Sound quality is first rate, booklet is informative too. Have given this as a gift to several friends with rave reviews.



5. The first three discs were only OK. I had forgotten how much better the later Broadway musical recordings were. The last two discs were very good, maybe because I could relate better to the shows or perhaps the productions were better.

1 comments about The Legendary Crooners - Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Perry Como.

1. WOW...I JUST LOVE ALL OF THESE CROONERS AND THIS FILM IS REALLY AN INCREDIBLE COLLECTION. I BOUGHT THIS DVD BECAUSE I HAVE ENJOYED FILMS BY THE SAME WRITER. GLAD I DID....

5 comments about Legends of Jazz: Showcase (DVD/CD).

1. This is probably my favorite BR title to date. Although the video is 'only' 1080i, the PQ is excellent... Don't let the spec fool you because it's not 1080p. The audio is as good as it gets. It's very clear they went to extremes to make sure the audio was top shelf.
   
   If you like Jazz, or even if you just want great demo material, this disc is a must own!!!



2. Having read a review at Hi Def Digest saying that this looks better than any material shot on film ever will, I ran to buy this disc (along with Chris Botti's favorably reviewed BD). I do not know what these people were thinking? Music, performances and sound are great, but this looks awfull and not wothy of a Hi Def disc. Really, some upscaled DVD's are looking much better. Very disappointing...



3. This is a nice set for Jazz Buffs; the DVD isn't as important but adds a nice touch if giving as a gift.



4. Perfect disc for Demo , one of my favorite blueray beside Pat matheny the way up disc



5. If you want to impress your friends with the best possible quality image, just show them this BD. And it's only 1080i!!!. You can see the minor details of the hair, faces, instruments of the artists, the texture of the clothes, all.
   
   But the image is so amazing that you can forget that the musical pieces in this blu ray are also fantastic.
   
   The only pity is why they don't commercialize all the complete shows one by one in high definition. I'd buy all of them.