4 comments about The Promise.

1. I'm listening to this lovely Christmas CD right now, and every song is a piece of the story of Christ's birth. With the soothing voice of Michael Card's tenor, and the lovely instrumental work involved, this CD always puts me at ease. "Joseph's Song" especially will get to you with it's sweet melody and tender lyrics. A must-have if you're a fan of Christmas music, or just an album to put in the CD player after a long day on the job. Now...where are all the other reviews? How did this one get missed???



2. Back in September of 1996 I was not a christian. . .and having been diagnosed positively with MS a year earlier, I thought I was hoplessly doomed to a slow decline in physical abilities until I finally came to my end. . . but by God's grace, I somehow became a member of a choir singing these very songs behind Michael Card himself! We practiced for 11 weeks learning our parts and finally sang with Michael (and a young Fernando Ortega playing the piano and Darwin Hobbs singing some leads) before we went on tour with them to three smaller towns in Nebraska. Although every song on this CD was performed, the choir only joined in on a few . . . like "Unto Us A Son Is Given", "Vicit Agnus", "Shepherds Watch","Thou The Promise" and, of course, "Immanuel". I still get goose bumps when I hear these songs. And the ones Michael sang alone, i.e. "Joseph's Song" and "We Will Find Him" are especially moving.
   
   I came to know the Lord listening to these songs and I learned to trust in His Promises.



3. I don't think there is a singer alive who can take the word of God and teach it to us through beautiful music better than Michael Card does. I was first introduced to his music by a coworker in the late eighties, and I have been a big fan ever since. I was so glad when this album, The Promise, first came out as I was hoping for a Christmas album from Michael. It is the first album we play at our house each Christmas season, and we listen to it many times each year. I can't even select a favorite song from this album because I love each and every one of them. If you ever have an opportunity to see Michael in concert, please do. It is an awe-inspiring experience that you will never forget!



4. I love, love, love this CD. It takes me to such a calm and joyful place. It steps you through the entire Christmas story - from long before Christ was born through how it should impact us today. I sit down and listen to it in order (no shuffle) to get the full impact of God's love to us. It really is appropriate any time of the year and I enjoy listening to it at any time, although I focus more on it around Christmas.

5 comments about Beethoven: The String Quartets.

1. I grew up listening to many different recordings of this acclaimed Beethoven Cycle. I have admired Alban Berg Quartet (live EMI), Tokyo String Quartet and Guarneri Quartet recordings, but the warmth of the Amadeus Quartet sound in this recording and their interpretation is truly astonishing. I recommend this to anyone who really wants to understand the depth and complexity of possibly Beethoven best compositions.



2. This is an affordable reissue of the Amadeus Quartet's classic recordings of the complete Beethoven string quartets. The music is essential to any collection of chamber music, and the performances of the late quartets, perhaps the finest string quartets ever written, are beautifully done. The performance of the A minor Quartet (opus 132) is especially moving. The quality of the recording is quite good for a budget-priced reissue, and the interpretations of the music by the Amadeus Quartet are outstanding.



3. These recordings have aged very badly. These are the most terrible performances of Beethoven's quartets I've ever heard, played without any heart, and no respect for Beethoven's markings. Worst of all the DG sound quality is one of their most unpleasant, so dry and unflattering that the high violin is painful to the ears. The Amadeus Quartet should have stuck to Mozart and Haydn.
   
   As another reviewer on Amazon.co.uk states:
   
   "The quartets were recorded in stages during the early 1960's. As such, they do not stand up to modern state of the art recordings. This disappointed me. I wanted to have the glory of Beethoven wrapped in a sumptuous wave of audiophile quality. These are period recordings and you can tell. They would have been acceptable in their day, but not now. The sound is brittle and one-dimensional, lacking the depth and warmth of wooden stringed instruments. At times, the higher registers of the lead violin are penetrating and harsh. The cello is barely discernible and only makes its presence felt during bouts of heavy bowing. It is generally difficult to separate the four instruments, thus spoiling a major reason for enjoying such pieces. Recent listening to Radio 3's lunchtime concerts has demonstrated how these string quartets should sound, ignoring individual interpretations. Some discs are better than others, but overall fall well short of modern standards."
   
   Here's what Gramophone magazine said of these performances:
   
   "In Beethoven they were at their best in the early quartets, which had a freshness and unaffected naturalness showing them in the finest light. But, in retrospect, the same smooth approach to the middle and later quartets brings an element of blandness. The Adagio of the first Razumovsky Quartet is very beautiful on the surface, the playing undoubtedly concentrated, but one senses a missing dimension. There is surely a greater depth in the music than they discover, and the same comment applies to the opening of the Harp Quartet, with its dramatic strokes somehow sounding calculated."
   
   This set contains some of the cheapest packaging around with cardboard sleeves that scratch the CDs. The box wears very quickly and can't be replaced unless you buy another set, which I obviously don't recommend.
   
   Buy the Takacs, Lindsays, or Emerson versions instead, as they're in are class of their own.



4. I have little to add to the positive reviews below. The performances are inspired. And listening on audiophile headphones with a dedicated headphone amplifier, I find the recording quality to be quite good, especially considering the age of these recordings. (These performances were originally recorded in the early 1960s.)
   
   The packaging consists of a clamshell cardboard box containing the discs, which are in individual paper sleeves. There is a fair booklet of essays about the compositions. This is certainly budget packaging, but at least it doesn't take up incredible volumes of space to house the seven CDs.
   
   As this CD set is currently discounted as part of Amazon's "classical blowout," it's hard to beat the value. Enjoy!



5. I recently rented a copy of this set from the library just to see how the Amadeus quartet managed it...I have some of their other recordings, including their Brahms chamberworks survey, the complete Mozart quartets, selections of Haydn's late quartets, and a great version of Dvorak's "American". Having thoroughly enjoyed their playing on these other discs, I figured it couldn't hurt to sample their Beethoven. Well, I should have known better...I disliked this set for the exact same reasons I enjoyed their work with Mozart and Haydn - the performances felt overly smooth and overall lacking in terms of feeling. A great example of this would be the opening movement of Op. 130, at about the 1min. mark, when the allegro kicks in - it just sounds calculated and contrived to me.
   
   I feel this way about a lot of sections (Op. 59 no. 3, finale, Op. 59 no. 2 Scherzo, Op. 74 intro, many of the late quartets) - similarly to my criticisms of Quartetto Italiano - where the overly glossy sheen detracts from the inherent conflict in the works, especially in the middle quartets. That being said, this approach really helps for the 6 quartets Op. 18, these actually being the best renditions I've heard.
   
   One positive note amidst my criticisms: Beethoven's musical architecture is clearly audible here and very transparent (unlike Italiano, who sacrifice symmetry in favor of warm, genial sound). Still, if you are buying this set for the famous Middle and Late quartets, there are numerous better options available to you: the Takacs quartet (amazing), Talich quartet (a great budget set-really a great set at any price), Alban Berg (a tour-de-force in technique) and the Lindsay quartet (not as techincally sound, but warm & passionate readings).
   
   A note about recording quality: not great. The lead violin is at times obnoxiously whiny and overbearing, and the cello is very quiet, though still audible.
   
   To sum up - these performances are a good example of the polished, smooth performances of the 50s - 60s, and are a good reference as such. But other ensembles have had far more insightful approaches to these masterworks than the Amadeus quartet did, such as the Budapest quartet readings (also older recordings). Not bad as a budget set, but there are better alternatives out there.

5 comments about Watching the Snow.

1. Your fans have waited patiently for your Holiday Album. I LOVE the fact that these are ORIGINAL holiday songs, and not the tradional songs that everyone else does.
   Nice, smooth, just right for relaxing. Bought You a Plastic Star--CLASSIC! I love how you tease us with mellow tones and unpredictible lyrics.
   Keep going Mike. WE LOVE YOU!!



2. I have always been a fan of Michael Franks and although I was not aware it was a Christmas CD when I purchased it in February...I have and will be enjoying it when Christmas rolls around again.



3. I really enjoyed this CD even though it isn't near Christmas time. His lyrics to the songs are so great no matter what time of year! I loved the melodies too. My favorite song was "I Bought You a Plastic Star (For Your Aluminum Tree)" - excellent!



4. This CD has it all. A GREAT sound quality, and a very exciting reportoire
   to boot. Michael Franks gives us, in his usual delicate manner, a collection winter/Christmas songs without even touching the standard sweet
   Christmas-commercial-sort of thing. My favourite is "Christmas in Kyoto", with lyrics taking you right there and then.
   This is my most frequently played Michael Franks album.



5. Anyone who likes Michael Franks will LOVE him after listening to this CD! Full of romantic songs, this is not the usual Christmas fare. Several songs focus just on winter or on New Year's Eve. Smooth jazz. ORDER THIS ONE!!!

4 comments about Ave Maria.

1. The reason that I bought this record was that as I was walking around in a record store I suddenly heard a heavenly voice, singing a wonderful song. It was so capturing that I had to go ask the staff for the CD. I must say I was deeply surprised when I found out it was a Naxos recording, since their song-CD's sometimes tend to be not so good. But this one is a real bargain.

   The song was "Bist du bei mir" by Bach (Stötzel), and the singer was the totally unknown Ingrid Kertesi. This was almost a year ago, but I still think I get a new glimpse of heaven every time that I listen to her. The beauty of her voice makes you forget that her pronunciation is extremely bad (as with Sutherland in her prime). Kertesi sings a few more songs on this CD, and they're all lovely.

   Many of the classic christmas & sacred songs are included on this CD, we find three 'Ave Maria' here. Most of the songs are nicely sung, except for some Mozartpieces. The other singers are not in the same class as Kertesi, but mostly OK.

   This is a extremely nice compilation for christmas or any other time when it's dark outside. Ingrid Kertesi alone makes this CD worth the price.




2. Ingrid Kertesi really does have the voice of an angel. As an ex-choirboy, I have an inherent preference for the pure tones of a boy treble, rather than the mature vibrato warbling of most sopranos. But I bought this disc because the review by Mr. JB from Karlskrona, Sweden (June 18, 2000) grabbed my attention. He is 100 percent right: I defy you to listen to Ingrid Kertesi's version of J.S. Bach's "Bist du bei mir" ("Thou Art So Near") and not have the same ecstatic reaction he did. The same applies to that most hackneyed of works, the "Ave Maria" that Charles Gounod added atop Bach's C-major Prelude from the "48 Preludes and Fugues" ("The Well-Tempered Klavier"). Kertesi's exquisite version makes this old warhorse sound fresh and new again. It's sure either to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up or have you falling to the floor in sheer ecstasy. OK, forgive the hyperbole, but listen to the sample online and you'll get the point. The rest of the disc has humdrum versions of some very familiar pieces by Handel, Mozart and Schubert. But it's truly worth having for Kertesi's incomparable contribution.



3. I bought this CD for one track--Schubert's Ave Maria. I have searched through hundreds of Ave Maria albums for the perfect Ave Maria and, though this version is not perfect, it is the closest I have heard to perfection. Ingrid Kertesi's voice bathes you in the song's rich, warm, red sea of love that is so restorative, you can't help but feel pure and whole after one listening--though, I guarantee you won't be able to listen just once.
   
   I only wish Naxos had chosen to record it with a piano instead of a full orchestra--Naxos's budget orchestras have a budget sound, and besides, this song has an intimacy that resonates best with a simple dialogue between a soprano and a piano. How many music directors have gone wrong by using a soprano and an orchestra, a tenor and an orchestra, or a tenor and a piano. No, no, no! Schubert's Ave Maria = Soprano and Piano, and it better be a damn good soprano, or don't bother recording at all. Really.
   
   I didn't care about any of the other tracks on the CD--and about half are throw-aways. But the Ombra mai fu, the Lascia ch'io pianga, the Mozart masses, and the Donizetti and Gounod Aves (also sung by Kertesi) are all first rate.
   
   Bottom line: the bad tracks are bad, but the beautiful tracks are ecstatic and full of heart and passion. Do your soul a favor and listen.



4. This album is really about one thing to me - Ingrid Kertesi's version of Ave Maria. This is possibly the closest thing to perfection I have ever heard in music. Words will never explain true art so I won't try. I defy anybody to listen to this and not be moved by it's incredible force. Truly inspirational !!

No comments about Gospels, Spirituals & Chants.

5 comments about Horny Holidays!.

1. I have had this CD for years and it is our absolute favorite! We never get tired of it. Fun, Upbeat, and Sly. It's Mojo at his best!



2. When I first heard this cd it was Christmas Eve, the Family and I were gathered around they tree opening our presents. Ever since then it has been a family tradition on Christmas Eve to listen to these rousing renditions of our holiday favorites.



3. Whatever it is that brought you to read this review, take it as a sign. You should buy this CD! Maybe even buy two, because you are likely to spill eggnog on one of them. If you are a Mojo fan, this is arguably his best CD. If you are looking for something different in your holiday music, here it is. This recording sounds like Mojo and the Toadliquors got together for a few (too many) drinks to rehearse, and just ended up recording that. It's a great mix of R&B, traditional, and a few original songs. The singing and playing may be a little sloppy, and Mojo doesn't quite cut it singing "Everyday Will Be Like a Holiday", but the inspired piano playing by Wet Dawg more than makes up any musical short-comings.

   Some highlights:
   *The opening song, an irreverent-yet-sincere "Happy Birthday" to Jesus [].
   *The rave-up of "Good King Wenceslas" (I forgot the words - let's just sing La La La).
   *Every juvenile delinquent's favorite version of "Jingle Bells" (that's right, Batman smells).
   *"We Three Kings" is reworked as a tale of drunken revelry. It turns out that "We Three Kings of Orient Are" nicely rhymes with both "drinking whiskey in a bar" and "throwing up in our dad's car". This song also includes a great Tom Waits impression.

   If your line of good taste has not been crossed by the end of the disc, it probably will be on the final cut, "Twas the Night Before Christmas", when Mojo sings of committing unnatural acts with Blitzen. Do not play this for your mom.




4. as a long time mojo fan i was bummed-this is a stinker
   adolescent renditions of christmas standards-nothing original nothing offensive-just NOTHING-one original song, more or less
   what a drag-listen to the album before you buy it-more than a few seconds of each cut-



5. This is Mojo Nixon's Christmas album. He got together with his band, The Toadliquors, and recorded some Christmas songs. Unfortunately, he didn't bother to learn the lyrics to any of the songs, just relying on his rather poor memory. He often forget the words and just sings whatever dirty words pop into his head. The whole album is very sloppily played. But that's Mojo for ya.

5 comments about Halloween Party Music.

1. This is not the best Halloween Party music, butI guess it's ok. I just don't think that you should buy this CD, you won't get your money's worth!



2. Not only are none of these the original recordings of the songs in question, but they aren't even decent remakes! The TIME WARP is an especially poorly butchered piece.



3. Ditto to what everyone else said. The songs are all remakes, (poor ones at that) and many of the songs on this CD do not belong on a halloween track. I wouldn't buy it if you are looking for a good Halloween CD. But it's decent if you like Disco.



4. First of all, these songs are all remakes, and not very good ones at that. Second, where did anyone get the idea that "Macho Man", "Let's Go Dancin'", and "Disco Inferno" are Halloween songs? All in all, I was very disappointed in this cd. Save your money- this is not worth it.



5. I bought this a couple years ago. Half the music on this CD has nothing to do with Halloween. Whatever happend to 'Thriller', 'Werewolves of London' and other timeless classics? They are not on this CD.

5 comments about Christmas the Season of Love.

1. This CD by 4Him has been out a number of years now, but it still is one of my favorites. It starts with an original song by the singer/songwriters that make up 4Him, called "Season of Love."

   Other favorites on this album are "Little Drummer Boy" and "Do You Hear What I Hear". 4Him's characteristic tight harmonies lend themselves well to these classic Christmas songs.

   But my favorite song on this album is the last track "Strange Way to Save A World". It is subtitled Joseph's Song and it is guaranteed to touch your heart! So many times we hear about Christmas from Mary's viewpoint (in songs such as Mary Did You Know, Breath of Heaven, etc). It's great to have this new insight into what Joseph might have been thinking.

   I highly recommend this CD - it will be a family favorite for years to come!

   Here are the lyrics to "Strange Way To Save The World":

   I'm sure he must have been surprised
   At where this road had taken him
   Cause never in a million lives
   Would he have dreamed of Bethlehem

   And standing at the manger
   He saw with his own eyes
   The message from the angel come to life
   And Joseph said:

   CHORUS
   Why me, I'm just a simple man of trade
   Why Him with all the rulers in the world
   Why here inside this stable filled with hay
   Why her, she's just an ordinary girl
   Now I'm not one to second-guess
   What angels have to say
   But this is such a strange way to save the world.
   ~~
   To think of how it could have been
   If Jesus had come as He deserved
   There would have been no Bethlehem
   No lowly shepherds at His birth
   But Joseph new the reason love had to reach so far
   And as he held the Savior in his arms
   He must have thought:
   CHORUS

   Please check out my other reviews of Christian music and Christian books.




2. There's something about the holidays, Christmas in particular, that makes many of us just a little misty eyed. Whether it's the cookies, the gifts, the time with family and friends, or the music, something about it tugs at the heartstrings and makes us take notice. 4Him in their only Christmas album has done just that. Combining secular and sacred, old and new, they have created an offering that can appeal to all the various facets of our holiday experience. As with any album, some songs are better than others, and the preference for each should be left to the individual. However, the mix is quite well done, and the update of updated arrangements of several Christmas favorites will leave you wanting more. It's an all around good album, one you defiantly don't want to miss.



3. My title says it all. We get this album out on Thanksgiving while we're putting up our million trees and listen to it throughout the season. We've lost the cd in our move and are now back for another. 4 Him's incredible harmonies are so highlighted here in this album it just really feels like "Christmas" when you listen to it. I wasn't sure about "Do You Hear What I Hear" since it's one of my favorites and they do an upbeat version, but I really like it now and find myself singing it throughout the year. Make sure this one is in your collection of Christmas albums. I'm sure it will become a family favorite.



4. 4HIM's exquisite harmonies make The Season of Love a must-have Christmas album. 4HIM breathes new life into Christmas classics and contribute new originals that are destined to become classics. Up-tempo renditions of numbers such as "Do You Hear What I Hear" may initially seem strange to those used to a more traditional sound, but 4HIM's innovation brings a freshness to oft-rendered favorites. They effectively capture the warm spirit of Christmas without ever seeming cliched. The biggest highlight of the disc is the closer, "Strange Way to Save the World", a rumination on Christ's birth from Joseph's viewpoint that drives home the true meaning of the "season of love."



5. This is my favorite Christmas music and I have hundreds of tapes and cds! I originally bought this many years ago in cassette and now am buying it in cd. I am so afraid I will wear it out and not be able to replace it! Strange way to save the world is the best and should be as classic as Silent Night. Very beautiful song. I LOVE every song on this disc and how many times can you say that?? I have given this away as a gift A LOT. I think everyone needs this in their collection.

5 comments about A Regular Frankie Fan.

1. A well crafted, highly watchable documentary, "A Regular Frankie Fan" is enjoyable for both fans and non-fans of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The audience for the screening I attended was made up mostly of hard-core RH fans and they loved it, turning the evening into an audience participation event - much like one would expect at a midnight show. My guess is that all the RH fans will appreciate the way director Scott Mabbutt has sympathetically presented them and their particular "obsession."



2. . A Regular Frankie Fan is the creation of writer/director Scott Mabbutt whose most recent credit before this was a project with the rather promising title, Predators From Beyond Neptune. IMDB tells us that folks like Dean Devlin, Neve Campbell, and Jason Priestley cameo-ed in the picture, so that's coolsville, but Mabbutt has made a number of genre projects, fiction and in this case, documentary.
   In A Regular Frankie Fan, the focus is really on individuals who dress up as Columbia, Magenta, Riff, and naturally, Dr. Frank-N-Furter and why they do this. It goes into the history of the phenomenon, not so much of the movie, but of the stage performances that have turned quite legendary over the years in major cities across the country.
   No, it's not a Ken Burns-style piece that goes in depth into the origins of Rocky Horror midnight madness, but instead, analyzes people's motivations in wanting to be a part of the show today - either in the audience or on stage in full costume/make-up. They take a wide cross-section of audiences and cut together actors and actresses from a number of different troupes in oft-engaging interviews on topics ranging from their make-up preparation to what they think of the movie to one guy talking about getting stabbed by a pen in one showing and not realizing it until later (and yes, he shows the scar).
   If you've ever been to a Rocky screening and wanted to find out what everybody else in line waiting for the art-house losers in their barn jackets and mufflers to leave the final showing of whatever weepy European epic was showing at 9:55 was thinking, here's your movie.



3. I thought that this is a perfect addition to any Rocky Horror Fan, or movie history buff. I had to buy two! It dives right into the fan fare of what is happening today with this cult classic. The director really captures the whole Fan movement in this totally entertaining DVD. I especially enjoyed all the new music on the DVD. One band, Redeye, I especially enjoyed their version of "Time Warp" in Japanese. How unique and awesome! and translation true to the theme and words! I think they ROCK! and everyone will enjoy...
   Redeye you gotta play at my next party!
   We'll be READY to do the Time Warp again and again!
   Thanks!



4. OK first off the animorphic 16:9 displayed in 4:3 was a pain in the neck, this dvd looks like someone did it on their home PC and then released it to the world, the menu is awful, words are cut off in text that appears on the screen, although i have been a major part of Rocky for over 15 years i would not recommend this to anyone!



5. I too, was disappointed in this DVD. RHPS, I think, deserves greater serious attention than it has to date received: where else, in the entire history of theater, has the audience actually taken over the show? Experimental theater has for decades been pushing or deconstructing the "fourth wall", but here is an (huge, messy, glorious) instance of the audience doing the demolishing. The only similar occurance I can think of is the "call-and-response" in American Southern Baptist churches, and that's religion, not theater!

   The film also disappoints as film: case in point, Mark Tomaino's "bibles in the halls" story. Cute story, but where's the shot? Low angle, single-point perpective, SHOW US the little black squares marching away into the distance. It's a movie...show, don't tell!

   Speaking of perpective... I gained much more from the recent documentary "The Cockettes" about a troupe of acid-addled, cross-dressing hippies in the late '60s who put on live shows at San Francisco's now-defunct Palace Theater. The words "Rocky Horror" are not mentioned in it, but as a RHPS fan I felt as if I were watching a piece of my own history. Especially when they took their DIY show to New York in 1973, only to fail disastrously (The audience of '70s who's who hipdom FLED at intermission). Did the drugs-and-drag debacle of the Cockettes' show predispose the NY critical community to despise Rocky when it arrived later that same year?

   Perhaps, someday, RHPS will be given the respect it deserves. This DVD, alas, is not the place to look.

5 comments about Gregorian Christmas: Chants & Motets.

1. This is a beautiful collection of soothing Christmas chants and motets...Put this in your CD player and you'll have trouble getting upset about the person who just cut you off for the last parking space at the mall! An excellent-quality recording for an amazing price...



2. Beautiful musical rendition of Christmas music. Soothing and lilting, it'll help you get centered or reconnected or whatever it is you need for stress relief. A fantastic CD at a great price!



3. Not technically Gregorian, because of some polyphony. But this is one of the best selections of this kind of music that I've heard. Compare to expensive monastery or convert CDs, and others, and this is one you put on the CD changer more than the rest. Found it in a bargain bin at Fry's. Amazing CD.



4. The play list is correct, the one with the ability to listen to clips. This CD has 14 tracks, beginning with "Puer natus est nobis" (the Introit) and ending with "Magnificat anima mea Dominum." The list that says ON THIS CD is a totally different list of chants. I do not know what it is doing on this page.
   There is no Mozart. There are sparse credits in the liner notes. The recording appears to be of a group calling itself Capella Gregoriana, although nothing is said about them. Predominantly chant, there are times when the selections move to motets, the natural outgrowth of chant, being simutaneous independent plain songs as it were, combined to form a melodious and rhythmic whole much as partner songs do. Highly recommended, this is an excellent budget album. Just be sure that you understand that you are getting the 14 tracks that you can listen to, not the list that says other tracks are on the CD. As for the Christmas feel, it is certainly reverent and soothing. It is not festive. If you like chant, you will appreciate this album. I certainly do. If you are looking for festive type Christmas music, find another source.



5. I've used this for years as part of my meditation regime and never realized that I've never done a review for it.
   
   When I listen to it just after my morning meditations, it always bring up solem divine feelings in me that bring some tears to my eyes.
   
   The people who perform this work really capture the divinity in it. I'm really not interested in who the creators or performers are. All I know is that what they did work for me.