No comments about Luigi Boccherini: 28 Symphonies.

2 comments about Beatles: Music Of.

1. I was interested in this album because as a violinist, the richness of a full orchestra playing music is almost always preferable to a handful of musicians. Being a fan of the Beatles, I was intrigued by the concept of hearing some of their music orchestrated. After browsing the available options at Amazon, I decided to opt for this collection as it seemed the most comprehensive, and the price wasn't too bad either.
   
   What I got wasn't all that I had expected or hoped it would be, but it would be misleading to say that this album is a waste. The orchestra isn't the best, and some of the arrangements are--well, lackluster. The most disappointing aspect to me is that the majority of the songs are still accompanied by an electric bass line. This screams to me of laziness and lends many of the tracks this flaw is found in a certain level of cheesiness that gets on one's nerves. That said, many of the versions of their earlier compositions--pre-Rubber Soul--give the songs an added weight and texture that they did not possess originally; these are the most pleasing to my ear.
   
   As much as you get out of the 3 discs, there are a few tracks that, to my disappointment, were not included in this album, "Norwegian Wood" being one of them. Luckily, I found the album "Beatles for Strings" on Amazon by the same orchestra. Unluckily, being by the same group, the songs are of no higher quality than those found on this set.
   
   I have some reservations about recommending this item. It does have several well-done tracks. However, there is a level of "cheese" found on much of this set that the Beatles' originals never had, and that is a definite negative. Furthermore, the omission of several of the pieces that would seem to be best suited to such an orchestral treatment from this set--while they can be found elsewhere--is another flaw, requiring you to pay more.
   
   This is the most comprehensive of the orchestrated compilations, but it has a few major issues.



2. this is the music of the beatles played by some symphony no-one's ever heard of, pretty ho hum, not bad but not good. if you have a desire to hear the songs of the beatles symphonically you might as well pick this up, its not a bad price for a 3 cd set

1 comments about Box of Musical Meditations.

1. At this price, I didn't get my hopes too high, but this music is so quieting, so soothing, I couldn't ask for better. It takes one on a a timeless float to anywhere and nowhere. Just what the doctor ordered - literally. Soothing music is recommended for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and this CD set is particularly good for that, with its long, low bass lines and rhythms well below a standard heartbeat pulse.

   The 2nd CD, "Soothing Streams", is my favorite, though it's tough to pick.

2 comments about Static.

1. My title says it all. Well not really. If you hate EBM, or dancy music of any kind, STAY away. But if you are a ture elcetronic\Industrial fanatic and like just about anything the 'industry' has to offer, then this CD should be added to your collection.



2. I was literally floored by this CD, I am into hard electronic music, and lately most industrial music has been generic or uninspired. Static was well thought out music for listening both at home and while you are out.

   I really enjoyed the original songs more than the mixes though. If you like trance and wish it had words in it and a darker edge, then this cd is for you.

   The syntheziser lines are amazing and weave in and out of each other. They are crafted masterfully and are never boring. The CD starts out with noises and "static" which is very fitting for the album. The first track "static" uses more natrual sounding voices and talks about our freedom, and people trying to take it away. The second track "downfall" which is probably my favorite, is a harder dance track with filtered distortion vocals. This track really hits hard with cutting syntheziers and nice beats. Then there is a "genocide" mix of static which gives the song a slower grindy feel. Then there is an instrumental piece named "gateway" which is very spacey feeling, but retains the great syntheziser sound. after this is another mix of the title song static which really didn't stand out as much as the first, but is still a fun song to listen to. Then there is a song named sense which is my second favorite. This song uses great melodies and an effect on the words that is hard to describe, almost robotic and angelic at the same time, very melodic, and leave you in a state of bliss after you listen to it. The next song is from a previous cd and is called near. It is hard and made for a club. Then there is a chaotic soundscape mix of static which reminds me a little bit of some of the tribal work deep forest does mixed with hard electronic music like skinny puppy. The CD finished out with more static and a nice drum n bass style beat laid over it. I would recommend this CD to everyone.

   I have discovered a new band with this disc, which I will be ordering the rest of their catalog. I can't seem to stop listening to this CD. Buy it now!!!

No comments about Voyage of the Spirit.

5 comments about Live Phish Vol. 3: 9/14/00, Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, Darien Center, New York.

1. There was a period there during the early nineties when I caught as many Phish and Dead shows as I could. They were good times. No doubt I lost some precious IQ points, but I had a good time. I used to compare the Dead unfavorably to Phish at least in one respect: Phish didn't sandbag through the first set. They came out and played hard, and sometimes the first set was the better, more intense set, however it happened to work out, but they weren't pacing themselves. It seems so obvious to me now, but I'm not sure if I realized it at the time, but, of course Phish had more energy and gave more to their performances. They were a generation younger.
   
   The third installment of the live Phish series shows us that, by 2000, Phish would be the old-timers, getting by on their reputation and the religious fervor of their uncritical fans. The first set here is measured, there are some moments, but the boys are sparing themselves for a bigger effort later in the night. I particularly like hearing Neil Young's "Albuquerque." Anyone who's spent any time in New Mexico understands why that song can't be played too slow or too leisurely. The second set does have some good jamming. It's a good Page show. Page remains the unsung hero of Phish. Pity the poor keyboardist, always with ten times the talent and just a fraction of the glory. The lead guitarists get to be the star, drummers have that visceral allure, and even bass players have at least that brooding mystique. But the man at the keys is the one we all know worked diligently at his piano lessons while his troglodytic neighbors played dodge ball in the streets. I heard Page say in an interview, I think on Bittersweet Motel (this probably only rated DVD bonus footage at that), that it is his job to listen to the other band members, to know exactly what every one is doing on their instruments at all times. And you can tell. He is the one who spices things up with subtle accents and creative chord voicings when they fall into a long slow jam, open space in search of a groove. He is the one who pulls them back together when they start stepping on each other's toes. His presence prevents Trey from completely spinning off with his reckless guitar gymnastics. What would Phish be like without him? Well, have you tried listening to Trey's solo work?
   
   I like this series, the Live Phish series, but this wasn't one of my favorites, probably just because it represents Phish from an era when I was barely in touch, rarely caught a show. If you jumped on the bandwagon late in the game, this might appeal to you because these are the shows you saw. And, still, I'd rather listen to any Phish bootleg than just about anything on commercial radio, so it's all relative. I'd love to give it about 3.694 stars, but Amazon is partial to integers. So, four stars. Buy it, enjoy. It'd be cool to have all this whole series loaded in your i-pod, along with the Dick's Picks, all your comfort music right there in one handy place to be thieved on the MBTA.



2. I attended this show at Darien, a night of mud, coldness, and torrential down pours (Should I even say flooding...). Phish tried their damndest to keep us in high spirits. With the weather slipping into the 50 degree mark, wind, and rain, rain, rain- the audience was feeling a little under (those in the lawn). The second set opened with Drowned, which was wholly appropriate. I gave this show a three star rating and you may ask why.... Well, considering the circumstances of the show, we wanted a little zest to keep our booties warm, but the sounds of mellow saturated the evening. The cover Crosseyed and Painless blessed the song line up..and of course, did not let me down. Also heading the song list, Loving Cup, Suzy Greenburg, Punch You in the Eye, and Prince Caspian. Overall a wonderful show, but the weather appeared to dampen many of our spirits!



3. I would actually like to give this disk 3.5 stars due to the great tunes we get on disk one and the Prince caspian to start off an otherwise weak third disk. I love that Phish released a show with both albuquerque and loving cup because those are two of my favorite covers they do.
   
   Disk 2
   However, the second disk is where this show hits the complete deep-end. I am a fan of intence jaming, but I tell you what, the Darien Lake Jam 2 ia a piece of junk. And that is a big piece of 25 minute junk full of sloppy unfocused jams that never really click in gear. That means you get about 30 minutes of listenable music on disk 2 and that is a lucky 30 because the drowned is very sloppy and the jam out of cross-eyed and painless is hard to enjoy too. The only highlight of this disk is the cross-eyed and painless which is very cool and the very toned down dog faced boy.
   
   Encore
   The encore(s)(three actually) you get on this release just flat-out [bad]. Why would they play both driver and the inlaw josie whales. And after that we get a typical Sample in a Jar. How boring. There is literally no excitment hear at all.
   
   I would recommend all the other Live phish over this one actually. Vol. 4, 15, 20, 10, 9, and 7 are especially good.



4. Unreal recording. Jams jams jams. Song form is to the T also. NEW AND OLD phans will enjoy this. Suzy Greenberg is the best I have ever heard it. You can hear them talking after the conclusion of it...and they end up sarting the Suzy jam again (Darien jam 1). Disk 2 has to me what seems like an old tweeezer type jam (Darien jam 2)..this one is MUST have. And another short blender (Darien jam 3)that melts at the end to ease you perfectly to the end of the disk. Disk 3...well it is obvious the love was in the air that night. It was a rainy show for the lawn folk but something tells me they did'nt care after what was thrown at them. Loving cup warms everyone back up, followed by a wonderful driver. There is a "In law" here that is so so. Wrapping it up with Sample in a Jar which vocally in my opinion was priceless. And what a sample this set will be for you...don't miss out on this one!



5. I've heard and read a lot of mixed feelings on this one but personally I've really enjoyed this one. The highlight is the second disc "mega-jam" that really grooves into some amazing ambient jams between songs like "Drowned" and "Crosseyed and Painless." I'd recomend this one to the more experienced Phish phan mainly because a less experienced phan may not have developed the ear and appreciation for such seemingly unusual and long jams. But deffinitely check it out. You won't regret it.

1 comments about Jazz Moods: Jazz Party Mix - Cocktail Party/Groovin' the Blues.

1. Concord Jazz has some great artists - many are showcased here. This is a re-packaging of three compilations from their Jazz Moods series - Cocktail Party, Groovin' the Blues and Cha Cha Party. The first CD is instrumental, the second has several vocal tracks and the third has limited vocals used primarily as accents. (Tito Puente's Oye Como Va's the most verbose.) Great listening across all three disks.

   What keeps me from giving this package five stars is the poor liner notes. The artists are listed on the back cover of the package, but the track listings on the inside list only the times and the songwriter credits. Sidemen? I guess Concord figures you don't care about the sidemen; you're supposed to by partying with this collection.

No comments about Rock Dreams.

1 comments about The Complete Holiday in Sun.

1. This is a 3 cd set. The First two disks are the holidays in the sun concert. Disk three is a comp called 'punks on drugs'.
   This was not what I thought it would be, I thought it would be the studio recordings of the above tracks but it is actually a punk reunion concert held back in the late nineties.

No comments about 101 Strings: Gold Edition.