5 comments about 40 Years: A Charlie Brown Christmas.

1. We enjoy this CD very much in the car and as a relaxer in the evening. It's smooth & jazzy and we like the variety of talented performers and performances mixing vocals and instrumentals. It's a pleasant addition to our holiday collection and we'll enjoy it for many years. Kudos & Thanks to David Benoit for producing this CD.



2. I was really excited to get this CD, being such a fan of everything Charlie Brown and Vince Guaraldi. But, all this CD did was make me want to go find the "Happy Anniversary Charlie Brown" CD and listen to it, instead!
   
   I'm not sure what the producers were thinking about when they were developing this drek, but it clearly was not Charlie Brown OR Christmas. It is the swishiest-cheesiest-smoothjazziest-elevatoriest piece of junk and I'm appalled they were willing to let it out of the studio.



3. If you're looking for anything remotely resembling the songs that were in Charlie Brown Christmas you will hate this. If you're looking for random artists to listen to for easy listening you would like it. But I bought this CD being a big fan of the Vince Guaraldi Trio. I thought this would be a great remix of the awesome music they created. I listened to this entire CD 3-4 times, and out of all the songs on the CD only 2 were half way decent to listen to. I actually threw it out my balcony in the pond about an hour ago. I swear to God.
   
   Save your money.



4. Heard this on the radio, could not find in any store. It is a great addition to my Christmas collection. My family knows that is my favorite thing to do is play Christmas music during the holidays.



5. This album/recording is ok,but I like the original 100 times better! Some of the artists here are not to bad,but I think some of them were looking for a way to make a 'fast buck' and should be ashamed they did what they did on this recording! I will always be a fan of Peanuts and the gang,but this recording is not on my top lists of remembering Charlie Brown. Like I said above,I don't hate it,but I really don't appreciate it either!!

1 comments about Handel - Messiah / Rodgers, D. Jones, Robson, Langridge, Terfel, Hickox.

1. This recording of the Messiah has become my favorite. I was raised on the common full-orchestra/large chorus versions, and later in my life came to prefer the 1743 "early" versions. I find the clean orchestration much more pleasant. Up until now, I've enjoyed the Marriner production. However, I find the Hickox version to have a crisper orchestral sound. My own training and experience is as a vocalist, and the chorus in the Hickox production is sublime. Every consonant of each singer is pronounced identically and at the same time, producing a clarity rarely heard in choruses. There is space between the words, so you can actually understand them! The soloists are great - Rodgers' soprano clear but light, Landgridge's tenor very enjoyable, and Terfel great as usual. There are a number of places where Hickox uses changes in dynamics not often heard, to add interest and emotion. But I think my favorite move of his is that he slows down somewhat for a legato "Amen." So many conductors run through that so fast, as if they can't wait for the darned thing to be over. Hickox takes it with majesty and treats it as a beautiful, reverent ending to one of the world's greatest, enduring musical masterpieces. If you're a fan of choirs with really good technique, this is for you.

3 comments about Smoky Mountain Christmas.

1. I bought this CD in error; I wanted a Smoky Mountain Christmas with dulcimer music. This CD sat on my desk a couple of weeks before I decided to open it. I figured it was just typical twangy bango music; that it would all sound the same and bore me. This music is smooth and original! I was going to give away the CD but it's a keeper. I will probably play it all year round. I highly recommend it to anyone that wants a Christmas CD that is different.



2. Playing Time - 30:34 -- Raymond Fairchild has a long and successful affiliation with the Rural Rhythm record label originally formed by Uncle Jim O'Neal in 1955 in Arcadia, Ca. Fairchild's "King of the Smokey Mountain Banjo" landmark album had 31 tunes on it and was cut at a South Carolina radio station in one long evening. Since then, there have been many other Raymond Fairchild albums on the label, and they all are full of boundless energy and determination as his varied banjo techniques propel plain ol' country picking, fiddle tunes, standard bluegrass, old country and gospel. Striving for an even greater market, one of Raymond's albums ("Honkey Tonkin' Country Blues") featured blues numbers and except for his banjo could not really be called bluegrass. Some other records were a long ways from his mountain music background or even bluegrass. Including drums, saxophone and steel guitar, Raymond seemed willing to experiment with sounds and styles that few others had ever attempted on the banjo.
   
   It makes perfect sense that the "King of the 5-String Banjo" would have a Christmas album too. This tastefully done project features all-instrumental collection of many seasonal favorites. Raymond could've really gone to town with some of his more innovative licks and tricks, but he keeps his picking fairly conservative with this holiday fare. That's probably a wise approach with these 14 carols and songs that also include Cody Shuler (mandolin), Arvil Freeman (fiddle), Wayne Crowe (bass, guitar), and Bruce Moody (guitar). Thankfully they don't play with Nashville-styled slickness. They just seem to have fun and play with spirit (sometimes with a little harmony thrown in) that would make Jolly Ol' St, Nick proud.
   
   When family and friends come over for a holiday gathering, put this CD on to liven things up a bit. There are plenty of easy listening Christmas albums out there, and "yule" surely get a kick from banjo-centric renditions of "Frosty the Snowman" and "Here Comes Santa Claus." In a certain way, Fairchild is like Santa too for bringing us this heart-warming gift for a Bluegrassy Christmas. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)



3. Did not see that this was a Tape. Have no way to listen to it.

1 comments about The Absolutely Ultimate Christmas.

1. There are 4-selections-a movie-THE INSPECTOR GENERAL, a danny kayemovie (nothing about christmas) justsilliness. A Set (4) Christmas cartoons (cute), a selection of singing and non-singing christmas music and about 20 sing a-long songs. There is one screensaver through-outthe dvd, wraped christmas gifts whichis marred by instructions on how togo forward or back on a track.Sowhy buy this dvd ?--buy it for the music, you will enjoy many beautiful christmas songs and have fun with the sing a-longs.

2 comments about Hey! Look What I Found, Vol.8.

1. Mavis of Canada rolls out another collection of moderate and lesser hits along with B-sides and obscure non-charting singles. Included in this eclectic gathering of pop tunes from the fifties through the mid-seventies are several instrumentals and novelty tunes. The one charting entry by Louis Prima not found in other CDs, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schon" makes its CD debut here. Another one-hit instrumental to see the CD-light of day is the Incredible Bongo Band's "Bongo Rock" from 1973. Other one-hit wonders to appear include the break-in novelty tune "Russian Band Stand" from Spencer and Spencer aka Dickie Goodman of "Flying Saucer" fame and the top-20 rarer-than-hens-teeth "One Has My Name" by Barry Young. As in the other volumes of the series, sound quality is inconsistant, not to be unexpected given the range of age and obscurity of these titles. Tracks 15,24,26 and 27 appear in stereo with the remainder in mono. While most, if not all, of these are needle drops, they are mostly fairly clean sounding without massive noise compression making them reasonably listenable. Putting the less than pristine sound quality aside, this is an interesting collection of extremely rare pop tunes of the era.



2. First of all, let me say at the outset that audiophiles will NOT like this series from Mavis of Canada as the sound quality is certainly not up to the standards of anything to emanate from the likes of Ace of London, Rhino, Varese-Sarabande, Eric Records, or Collectables. In fact, it tends to waver from barely adequate to satisfactory.
   
   Even so, for those of us who grew up with the hiss and pop of the 78- and then the 45-rpm this is tolerable, and if you gather together all eleven volumes in the series (so far) you will have 297 selections you're not apt to find in too many top-quality releases (so far). Indeed, some you won't find anywhere else as many were minor hits by bona-fide One-Hit Wonders. It is also important to note that there are no liner notes whatsoever, although the insert does contain a re-listing of the tracks showing both the artist and tune's writer/composer.
   
   Because each is just a random continuance of the releases before it, and ranges from 1955 to the 1970's depending upon the volume, I will repeat this opening blurb in each, followed by some information you may find useful on each of the tracks.
   
   As always, the folks at Mavis provide a liberal sprinkling of tunes that did not made the Billboard Pop Top/Hot 100 charts but, being as they are a Canadian-based distributor, most (if not all) of these non-Billboard chart selections did register in Canada: The Big Heavy by Cozy Eggleston (circa 1956 on the State label and an instrumental that SHOULD have been a hit); Swinging Sweethearts by David Carroll & His Orchestrs (uncharted instrumental B-side of his 1957 # 56 Billboard Pop Top 100 hit Fascination); Trade Winds by Billy Vaughn & His Orchestra (uncharted B-side to his 1959 # 89 Hot 100 Hawaiian War Chant); Answer Me, My Love by Johnny Rivers (circa 1960 and still 4 years away from his first hit); Geronimo Stomp by Barry Darvel (circa 1960); Hey! Look Me Over by The Pete King Chorale & Orchestra (circa 1961); Such A Night by Vince Everett (circa 1962); The Wandering Sea by Santo & Johnny (circa 1962); I'm In Love by The Blossoms (circa 1963); Wand'rin' Star by Lee Marvin (1970 from the film Paint Your Wagon and surprisingly well done);
   
   These are the selections that made the charts in the 1950's: Ma Ma Ma Marie by The Gaylords (# 97 Billboard Pop Hot 100 in August 1958); I Kneel At Your Throne by Joe Medlin (# 85 Hot 100 in March 1959 and his only hit); I've Come Of Age by Billy Storm with Frank VeVol's orchestra (# 28 Hot 100 in May 1959 and a One-Hit Wonder adapted from Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony - 2nd Movement); Russian Band Stand by Spencer & Spencer with The Sonia Pryor Choir (# 91 Hot 100 in May 1959 - really Dickie Goodman and Mickey Shorr doing a nonsensical "break-in" parody of American Bandstand); and Bei Mir Bist Du Schon by Louis Prima & Keely Smith (# 69 Hot 100 in July 1959).
   
   Here are the 1960's hits in this volume: For Love by Lloyd Price & His Orchestra (# 43 Hot 100 flip of No If's-No And's in May 1960); Maria by Roger Williams with the Ralph Carmichael orchestra (# 11 Adult Contemporary (AC)/# 48 Hot 100 instrumental in February 1962 from West Side Story); A Stranger In Your Town by The Shacklefords (# 63 Hot 100 in June 1963 - a personal favourite and the only hit for this folk-country group); Danger by Vic Dana (# 96 Hot 100 in May 1963); Frankie And Johnny by The Greenwood Country Singers (# 15 AC/# 75 Hot 100 in August 1964); Just Once More by Rita Pavone with Teacho Wiltshire's orchestra (# 123 Hot 100 "bubble under" flip of Remember Me in June 1964); Poor Man's Son by The Reflections (# 55 Hot 100 in March 1965 - not to be confused with a R&B group by the same name with hits in the 1970's); One Has My Name (The Other Has My Heart) by Barry Young (# 3 AC/# 13 Hot 100 in late 1965 - cover of the 1948 Jimmy Wakely C&W hit); and Tell Me To My Face by Keith (# 37 Hot 100 in March 1967 - real name James Barry Keefer).
   
   The 1970's hits are: Humphrey The Camel by Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan (# 5 Country/# 34 AC/# 78 Hot 100 in July 1970); Bongo Rock by The Incredible Bongo Band (# 35 AC/# 57 Hot 100 in August 1973); If by Telly Savalas (# 12 AC in December 1974).
   
   Note that, despite showing the label above as "Pidm" this is still Mavis.

5 comments about Peace On Earth.

1. I really enjoyed this one by Kitaro. The interesting style all his own mixed with the traditional Christmas hymns all together makes for one beautiful album. Kitaro is a man with an unusual talent, and it is so cool to relax to the soothing sounds of Christmas music.Especially KITARO style.



2. I mean, as such. Look, a lot of electronic, instrumental prog, "space" music--what evurrr!--artists got lumped into this New Age category once the term was invented. Veteran artists like Vangelis and Kitaro, for example. It was a convenient way to pigeonhole them so that people knew what you were talking about--I did it, you did it, we all did it, right? The trouble was that it got them associated with the spiritual kitsch of New Age, a form of philosophical repudiation of the "stress" of the world, along with a mistrust of religion to help the soul. So a whole bunch of Christians, Jews and Muslims decided that the messed-up way their brethren approached the issue of the spiritual meant their faiths themselves were no longer valid. Geez, Islam has these fundamentalist extremists, Christianity has the Klan and David Koresh, yadda-yadda. Errnngh! Wrong answer. But hey, don't get me started. And when it comes to music, both Vangelis and Kitaro got their starts in early prog bands in their native lands, and decided that a look outside their native cultures would help them in a creative sense. They made that decision as musicians, hear what I'm saying? If Kitaro has always seemed "other-worldly" to the Westerner in the themes he uses, that's because he's Japanese, okay? On his other albums, listen to those synth lines and picture them done on shamisen or koto. And that cultural flavoring comes through on this Christmas album. Behind the signature Kitaro phrasing, these Holiday classics are basically played straight, as composed. That's not so unusual--look at the Harry Simeone treatment of "Little Drummer Boy" as contrasted with two different versions of it by Johnny Mathis. And now we have one by Kitaro. And there's an international flavor to this album overall. Kitaro reminds us of one thing we've forgotten--that our Holiday favorites are of diverse national origins. And he underscores that by organizing an international children's choir to do the vocals. It wouldn't be too shabby an idea for him to re-do this as a TV special the way he did with "One Enchanted Evening"--that one was a huge PBS hit. And that, my friends, is how a so-called "New Age" artist can do a Christmas album. He does it as a musician, not a philosophical zealot.



3. Only kitaro can play and compose beutiful music like this,very relaxing and peaceful.releases all your tensions in your body and helps you to relax.



4. the track list is correct
   but the cd cover is wrong
   i own peace on earth



5. I absolutely loved the CD Peace on Earth. One of my all time favorite holiday CD's in fact. However, none of the other reviews gave the whole picture of what I was getting.
   I was quite surprised when I first watched the DVD and realized there would be no performance footage. There were some really nice still shots of footage that appeared to be Colorado "ish" in the winter time. Somehow, this really should have been mentioned. Also I admit to be disappointed that Great Spirit was not included in this collection.
   I still love the music, but this DVD is basically a "video fireplace" to have on the big screen during the holiday season. I still give it 4 stars becuse it is the best of its kind. I got this DVD on Amazon marketplace for $7.20. Had I paid full price, I probably wouldn't have been as generous with the number of stars.

5 comments about Touched By an Angel: Christmas Album.

1. This is a great CD. Any listener should not limit it to airplay in November and December. With the exception of a few tracks, this is more of a spiritual rather than a purely holiday album. Among its srongest songs is Wayne Watson's "In Such a Time as This" and Della Reese singing "If I Can Dream." Any fan of spiritual music and the tv show will love this!



2. Shepherds awakened in the fields by angles singing in the sky, wise men seeking a child in a manger,peace and hope in the miracle of one life, one birth, one night from which we count all the nights that have come since. It's hard to close our eyes and imagine it as a real event at all. This disc offers a few seasonal standards and many untraditional songs to aid in feeling an angel`s touch and inspiring heart. The compiliers movement between style,tempo,and spirit is with an aim toward truth. I do rejoice in reciting the modern-merry-mirth-making and celebratory orginality that flows from the mouth, here and there throughout and pleasantly out this disc`s delta.~~Merrily Mix~ 1# , 2#1\2 , 3# , 4#1\2 , 6# , 7$ , 8# , 11% , and 13$ ~~Post Script: For those in the Know and\or YULEtide Treasure Seekers get a X out and place upon track 11 "Jingle Bell Jamboree" a bluesy accoustic strummer from Keb' Mo'and track 13`s benediction***buyit*saveit*sharemost*giveit*donateit to the local library***



3. This is an album which has unique Christmas songs you might not hear anywhere else, but more importantly, it is an album which has meaning and which can be listened to all year 'round. It has depth and can be felt peronally, something lacking in so much music today. It is at the top of my list for all CD's I enjoy.



4. This is my favorite Christmas CD!! I thought I had lost it this year, and it made me realize how much it meant to me. I'm buying it for gifts, to share the joy!



5. I bought this CD last year, when the show was still on the air. It took me a while, not being used to blues and so on for Christmas songs, but this year it hit me! Especially haunting is "Breath of Heaven", by Joan Baez - listen to it and you'll know how moving it can be.

1 comments about The Baroque Tribute to Enya.

1. Fine Enya tribute album. Well known Enya songs recorded instrumental (no vocals) in baroque style by excellent musicians. Most I like "The Memory Of Trees", "Orinoco Flow", "A Day Without Rain", "Cursum Perficio" and "Wild Child".

No comments about O du fröhliche: Weihnachten für die ganze familie.

1 comments about Naughty or Nice.

1. A good collection of non-traditional songs that are sure to make couples think of cuddling under the mistletoe.