5 comments about Requiem.

1. Conner Burrows is now choir master for the prestigious Boys Air Choir, made up of eight top treble choristers from St. Paul's, Salisbury and Westminster Cathedrals. This choir was formed to be "the best quality boy's choir in the world". Conner is the feature soloist on this album recorded while he was a member of this choir and still had his pure treble voice. His has been called "the greatest treble voice in this century" by critics in Japan and his native England. Quoting from the fold-out in the album "Like crystal, shining in the sun, like tears falling from your eyes - the voice of this boy will make you believe that life is forever". His "Pie Jesu" - tracts number 2 and 7 are all this and more. If you love treble voices, you will love this album. And yes, it's okay to cry when you hear him.



2. Conner Burrows is now choir master for the prestigious Boys Air Choir, made up of eight top treble choristers from St. Paul's, Salisbury and Westminster Cathedrals. This choir was formed to be "the best quality boy's choir in the world". Conner is the feature soloist on this album recorded while he was a member of this choir and still had his pure treble voice. His has been called "the greatest treble voice in this century" by critics in Japan and his native England. Quoting from the fold-out in the album "Like crystal, shining in the sun, like tears falling from your eyes - the voice of this boy will make you believe that life is forever". His "Pie Jesu" - tracts number 2 and 7 are all this and more. If you love treble voices, you will love this album. And yes, it's okay to cry when you hear him.



3. I didn't always care for the arrangement or treatment, but Connor's voice was enough to award 5 stars. I don't like tinkering with music to contemporize it, but, that aside, the singing was quite good. I'd have liked hearing more from the entire Air Choir instead of the choir serving primarily as back-up for Connor, who simply has an extarordinary voice and an exceptional talent to match it.



4. In Amazon's description of the CD, they list the backup musicians as though they were primary, and make no mention of most of the actual choir members. Connor Burrowes sings the solos, backed up by his younger brother Edward, Simon Acott, Tim Burtt, Gerald Beatty, Matthew Davies, and Edward Pattenden. Critics have acclaimed Connor Burrowes as possibly the best treble soloist in recording history. As of 2007, he is still at university studying music, and has developed an excellent tenor voice.



5. The insert in this CD is almost entirely in Japanese, which was somewhat of a disappointment to me. And Amazon lists 17 tracks for this CD, but the CD that I got (directly from Amazon, not through a dealer) had only 12 tracks. Tracks 13-17 shown on Amazon were not on the CD.
   Despite these two problems, this CD is still very much worth having. This is truly beautiful music.

3 comments about A Chipmunk Christmas.

1. when i was a little girl, my gramma had this story on record. i would listen to it every day in december cuz it seemed to make christmas more christmasy. this cd goes along exactly like the cartoon that came on tv at christmastime every year when i was a kid. it tells the story of how alvin gives his harmonica away to a very sick little boy so maybe he'll get better. when alvin finds out that he has to play said harmonica at carnegie hall he devises many different ways to make money to buy a new one. in the end everything works out, he gets a special present at the mall and is surprised at carnegie hall by a duet with a special guest. yr whole family will love this cd even if they've never heard of the chipmunks. to me, it just isn't christmas without this cd. i recommend it to anyone who grew up with the chipmunks or who's just now discovering who they are. it's a great cd that yr family will enjoy for many christmases to come.



2. My daughters began listening to the Chipmunks when they were little girls. They are now 20 and we still consider that the official start of the Christmas holiday is when we watch or listen to Chipmunk Christmas.



3. ASNELLES-SUR-MER, France - Entertainer Alvin Chipmunk released a statement to the French press today indicating that he still strongly desires a hula hoop. In the past, Chipmunk has denied the statement by former manager, Dave David, that he was supplied a hula hoop in 1967 after demanding one in the form of a song, "The Chipmunk Song," which became a popular hit with children and teenagers.
   
   Relations between Chipmunk and David became strained in the early 1970s after a bitter accounting dispute that could not account for the purchase of a hula hoop. The dispute involved an estimated $130,000 in litigation, and ultimately resulted in David's dismissal as manager of the Chipmunk band. In the 1980s, the situation worsened when bandmates Simon and Theodore Chipmunk (no relation) left the group to pursue solo interests. Fans clamored for a Chipmunks reunion until 1996, when Simon Chipmunk was found dead in a Las Vegas hotel due to a cocaine overdose. Controversy ensued when Alvin reunited with Theodore to record a song with a vault recording of Simon in 2002 for a single song recorded for Space Jams 3, an animated film. The song was, however, a critical failure and financial disappointment, rising to only #113 on the Adult Contemporary charts. In 2003, Chipmunk relocated to France and has refused all contact from fans or the press.
   
   In a statement on his web-blog, Theodore Chipmunk stated, "I am sorry to see that Alvin still wants a hula hoop. I sincerely wish that the Chipmunks, as a group, could have moved past the whole issue. I am reasonably certain that Alvin received a hula hoop in 1967 as Mr. Davis claims, but those years are rather hazy. Regardless, I wish both Alvin and Dave all the best."
   
   Dave Davis could not be reached for comment.
   
   (NOTE: THIS ARTICLE IS PARODY, MEANT ONLY FOR ENTERTAINMENT).

2 comments about Christmas With the Gatlins.

1. I'm not a big country music fan, however, I keep coming back to this album. The excellent harmony and traditional arrangements keep me listening every time.



2. soring harmonies, traditional arrangements, this cd embodies the true spirit of Christmas. You will find yourself singing along, this is definatly an uplifting, feel good experience

5 comments about Eagles: Please Come Home for Christmas.

1. This is truly, the best X-mas song ever made. All remakes pale in comparison. In my humble opinion, X-mas isn't X-mas until I've heard this song.



2. Both songs are fantastic. Best christmas song ever & a funky new year song! You have to purchase this item! Peace, Peter.



3. I feel this is the best Christmas song ever. Had been trying to find this one for over 10 years. Just hear it and you will love it.



4. unfortunately, I opened this only to find two songs on it. It should have been advertised as such



5. I'm so glad that I found this Eagles CD on Amazon, Please come home for Christmas & Funky New Year are great Christmas songs that the Eagles have done over the years, and they are also very nice songs to listen to each & every holiday season.

No comments about Ihr Kinderlein kommet.

5 comments about Christmas.

1. I'd like to start out by saying that idiot boy (not just a clever name) isn't listening to this album in the right manner. I agree, for just listening to a random very very heavy song, "Gift" or "Volcano" work perfectly. But Christmas was not meant to be listened for just the heavy tracks. If you actually sit down (preferably at night with the lights off playing a Silent Hill game) and listen to it you realize it is not just random ambiance. It is carefully orchestrated to inspire unease, among other things, as the nearly eight-minute long track "Accord-o-Matic" performs all too well. What that reviewer failed to realize was that even though the members come from already awesome bands like Converge and Isis, Old Man Gloom is NOT CONVERGE OR ISIS!!!! If it were just their other bands mashed together, it would sound unoriginal, uninspired, and very trife. Simply put, if I want to listen to Converge, I'll listen to Converge, and Old Man Gloom is not Converge. This may come as a shock, but when members of bands come together to form a new band, they usually do it because they want to try new things, experiment with different sounds, and they accomplish that beautifully. If you like those other bands, you won't get that in Old Man Gloom, you get something disturbingly beautiful instead that shouldn't be discounted because most of the tracks aren't heavy.



2. [...].
   
   I think it would be pretty appropriate to call this album disjointed. As noted, it consists of a TON of ambience bits, which are not even very good. The songs follow the general pattern throughout the album of heavy sludge - ambience - heavy sludge. And the thing of it is, it really feels like there are only a couple of actual songs on this album, Volcano, Gift, and the first half of Christmas Eve (which is excellent). All the rest seem more like outbursts of awesomeness, done as soon as they begin.
   
   This album is almost a rip off, and I have to wonder if these guys were just being cheap or something. The only really developed songs are Volcano and Gift, and Gift is probably my least favorite heavy track on the album. All of the rest of the "songs" basically go like this: Start out with great riff, then end. The songs are not developed, and I get the distinct impression these guys didn't work particularly hard on this album. Take, for instance, Valhala. Starts off with a great riff, plays for a bit, then switches to another riff, then static for a bit, then the "song" is over. And its truly a shame because the beginning showed real potential. The riff feels so undeveloped its almost criminal. If there's one thing I hate, its bands coming up with great riffs and then playing them for 30 seconds.
   
   And the last song would be fantastic, except it seems to build and then instead of climaxing, ambiences (incredibly boringly, too) for the last half of the song.
   
   The ambience is definitely background music. Feel free to do other things while listening to it.
   
   I could probably bear the ambience, but the actual songs are so undeveloped, that using the skip button on my player, I'm done listening to this in under a half hour. (It might be under 20 minutes, I'm not sure--it certainly seems like it) There is not a whole lot here. Perhaps if they had spent some time making proper songs to go along with the noise, I might have given this even 5 stars, possibly. As it is, there are 2 1/2 songs, maybe 3 with all the short ones counted together.
   
   Personally I don't know how this is really "different" for Aaron Turner, he is obsessed with ambience, just about any side-project he has ever done has had plenty of it. I guess maybe the "different" part for these guys is to include as few songs as possible. After all, "different" for Turner (heck, the guy from Cave-In as well) would be to actually play straight up heavy music.
   
   This really needed to be an EP.



3. ok this album is one of the most well balanced i've ever listened to. it's definitely an aquired taste, the first time i listened to it i ended up skipping all the ambient wierd tracks just to find all the heavy ones. so a warning to anyone looking for a super heavy converge-esque band, you're in the wrong neck of the woods sugar bear. but if you're looking for an album you can listen to over and over on long car rides and sleepless nights, purchasing this little diddy will make you a happy camper. the heavy tracks on this cd don't sound like converge at all, honestly i can't pinpoint what they sound like because i'm a such a n00b but what i can tell you is they're groovy as balls. every time "sleeping with snakes" comes on i always find myself doing my head bob side to side dance (you'll know what i mean when you hear the song) and i don't even want to talk about "skull storm" because it's so good it makes me upset. and as for the ambient tracks i used to label them as filler. but if you give this album a good listen from start to finish, you'll realize they couldn't have made it sound good any other way. it almost gives it a godspeed feel with the some of the long samples and it makes listening to the album a much deeper and memorable experience. i also feel like christmas's diversity is so fitting that it's widely up for interpretation and is a different beast to everyone who listens to it. so if you're down for a crazy, heavy, meditative, sluddgy, brutal, ambient, groovy listen. pop in christmas by old man gloom and i can guarantee you wont be dissappointed.



4. I beleive this cd could be almost perfect if it was with better vocals.... Maybe its not my style, i dont know, but when the singer keeps on shouting and anyway when u can understand anything of what he s saying then it becomes tiring and sometimes boring! Especially if u re a bit older maybe its gives u some headache!:)
   
   Anyway its a really good effort with really Nice music!



5. ...I discovered this band out of pure curiosity...the name of the band was rather cliched but I knew that names were not the reason to judge a band...what's more to call the album "christmas" was even more intriguing...this is definetely not a christmas album (we have X factor for that manure...or in your case American Idol) and mixes in styles of ambience with heavy sludge...
   
   ...now unless you didn't know this band is a supergroup and consists of band members from Isis (post rock with screaming) Cave-In (Decides not to scream later on which was...meh) and converge (mathcore leaders...well one of them) and together they form this...three bands have a baby and make a heavy and at the same time ambiently confused child...one with unusual beauty but would attack anyone who approached:
   
   Gift 10/10: Starts off with static that gradually tones into an accoustic guitar playing simple chords...after a while a male choir sings "This is our gift" and then the guitars and drums get much heavy and distorted...although the exact same riff is repeated throughout the song with minor adjustments to it...it is done very well...then the screamer comes on (I don't want to talk about his vocal...they work at parts but I just don't feel this album needed these vocals...but just an opinion) and then it fades out...
   
   Skullstorm 9/10: This song is very short...merely 50 seconds...but what a storm it is...instantly grabbed by this sudden explosion of guitar that then flows and loops through the bass and drums with the vocals actually working for this heavier song...beautifully destructive...and then stops aruptly with a loud crash...
   
   Something for the Mrs 10/10: The cold beauty that they got out of this ambient simplicity is astounding...starting off with simply two synthed notes and a general technical mess about around it...then through the megaphone we hear "Every man shall be given their own archbishop...fully inflatable" there is much more to it then that but it has to be heard to be believed...try listening to it in an isolated space...
   
   Sleeping with snakes 8/10:...after the hypnotic synths we are then thrown into another riff that very quickly becomes heavy and aggressive...the tempo increases and whatnot...it flows well but it's nothing I haven't heard before or done better...
   
   Luke 1 8/10: Not exactly a stand out track but nice and soothing...some good guitars and stuff...
   
   Tis better to recieve 9/10: Some people might think "*Groan* another heavy track; I sense a pattern here" and yes there really is an obvious pattern of ambience then heaviness but that's the beauty of it...like being in a meditative state you have to let the thoughts flow by and not think on it (well in my version anyway) it has a riff that sludges along (note the genre sludge) and add minor tweaks to it (e.g. make it heavier quieter add a pentagonic scale over it) and then it ends with a twin scream...even if you think that sounds bad it's because I made it sound monotoneous...it is very interesting...
   
   Accord O Matic 10/10: I love this song more and more every time I listen to it...it seems to progress from static to gradual instrumentations to an accordian riff and back out again...it is so slow and gradual it can prepare you for...
   
   Volcano 10/10: I heard this song before I heard the entire album and it really grew on me...starts off with a quick and simple riff...then a thunderous bass and drums kicks in and lead guitar twangs around it with awkward sound clips of voices one saying "YOU MAKE ME FEEL" working well with the random high pitched sounds...it all builds up and the random high pitch turns into a scream and a huge explosion of heaviness as the guitars double up and the low screamer decides he wants to play after all...this is repeated a few times along the seven minutes of the track...and one of the best songs...don't miss it...
   
   Close your eyes and roll back 9/10: Like the title suggests this is a time of calm ambience...as the accoustic guitars are calmly whirring it sounds like someone is trying to hypnotise you and lull you alseep...until...yet again...
   
   Girth and Greed 9/10: Yet again more heaviness is thrown at you with another riff sonically distorted to a certain level and played around with...some may have a lack of attention span to get this far...but you'd seriously regret it for the grand finale...
   
   Caleb and the Cowboy 8/10:...hmm...nothing new I must admit...more guitar dwaddling but still very soothing and flows...which is the most important thing in an album...unless intentionally hard to listen to...
   
   Viking Song 8/10: And the final heavy song....heavy? Yes...like the other songs but goes with it well...
   
   Christmas Eve 10/10: It's very hard for me to describe this without missing out the powerful powerful growth this song can have...like the other songs it gradually builds up but in such a way that when it breaks into ambience later on in the song...you feel a strong sense of loss...I can't wait to actually try playing this on christmas eve and seeing the affect it has on me...
   
   ...if you like heavy music with an experimental twist you should like it...as long as you are not too pretentious to just assume that it's not as good as isis...that would be a very grave mistake...

No comments about Rhythm & Blues Christmas.

No comments about Reference Classics.

1 comments about Magic Organ: The Musical Magic Of Christmas.

1. This was one of the many Christmas Albums that I grew up listening to at Christmas time. I will always treasure them.

2 comments about Magic in December.

1. As Christmas music goes, this may not be a runaway standout but it's Christmas to me. Often times, I find that adaptations of old songs are either annoying replicas of the original or far-out, unrecognizable pieces, which may be fine on their own, but end up being distracting because you expected something that at least reminded you of the original. Tom Barabas successfully avoids these all too common pitfalls to create sometimes lilting, sometimes haunting, but always beautiful melodies that can either stand as a backdrop for a Christmas party or be the focus of a quiet night alone. There's enough variation to feel like you're getting a creation and enough adherence to the originals to feel like Christmas.
   The original songs are a matter of preference, and are much more introspective and intimate, but eventually have become part of my Christmas over the years. This album is the perfect way to unwind after a long pre-Christmas day or to set a pleasant, soothing mood. Get it.



2. I lost my cd... and it just wasn't Christmas without it... I am so glad I was able to find it online. I LOVE this mix of piano - absolutely beautiful.