No comments about Collection.

No comments about ABBA Box.

No comments about Broadway's Best.

4 comments about Beautiful Memories.

1. I Highly Recomend this collection of Bing Crosby music to anyone who loves music! In fact if your a Crosby fan and you haven`t yet discovered this wonderful music you are in for a treat! The 64 tracks in this collection arguably represent some of Bing`s finest efforts. Songs like, Thats what life is all about (a recording that charted for Bing!), At my Time of Life, Come share the wine, Children, The woman on your arm, not to mention his fine re-recordings of Change Partners, and How are things in Glocca Morra? As well as his duets with Johny Mercer and Fred Astaire will give you hours of listening pleasure. (I purchased this collection last summer.....and they haven`t left the Cd player since) Contrary to Huge`s opinion stated above there is nothing disco-ish about any of these recordings and Bing was in fine voice and cetianly lacked no enthusiasiam. Bing cetianly worked extremely hard in the last three years of his life, recording music for at least ten albums and its really ashame that more attention isn`t given to these songs today. Hopefully one day soon all the music from the 70` will be available but for now we have perhaps the cream of the crop in this collection.
   Incedently Beautiful Memories and the Complete United Artist sessions are the same collection of songs, one just comes in a collectors case with excellent liner notes...but buy both and keep one for back up! If any producers are listening out there how about making the Bing and Basie, the Southern Memoir, Feels Good, Feels Right, Seasons, and Final Chapter albums available on Cd? Well, God Bless and take care.



2. I'm a HUGE Crosby fan, with two books and a dozen CDs. This is the first I'll sell back. The recordings were made within three years of his death, and it shows. He lacks strength and interest. The 70s disco strain throughout, sounds best suited as background for THE LOVE BOAT. Every standard was composed for someone else. Too bad...



3. These recordings mark the last work Bing Crosby did on record, proving his voice never deserted him. Sometimes the orchestrations are a bit muzak-like, but the great beauty of the voice, deep and warm, more then makes up for that. A must for Crosby fans.



4. These recordings were made in the mid seventies. Thanks to first-rate sound and first-rate orchestrations, nearly every track in this collection is a joy. I have about a dozen Bing Crosby CD's; and I put this set in the category of "Cream of the Crop."

No comments about The Billie Holiday Story.

1 comments about The Music...The Magic.

1. Now, I basically, quite literally, bought this CD for the sole purpose it displayed CATS and nothing more. So I do know I can talk about the CATS portion much more vividly than I could on Evita or the others.... All of the tracks are instrumental, for the record, which is quite a bonus for any theatre lover or CATS lover for that matter since there certainly aren't enough CDS with just the instrumental versions of the song. It starts with Memory, a bittersweet melody that somehow comes out much more lovely than you would expect. It's very nicely programmed for a listener to sing along. Memory is followed by Mr. Mistoffelees which was very much a thrill to me. Of course, I've heard the song a thousand times already but this version turned out to be special beyond words. The liveliness of the song is accentuated to no end in this track, making the whole so much more energized and fun! It's a long track in time-wise, but I found myself surprised and upset that the track ended so soon; you get so absorbed in it. And, in some cases, it is a track better than most. At first listen, in my opinion, to Old Deuteronomy, the track directly after Mr. Mistoffelees, had you not heard of CATS before you would think it was a lovely, soft tune of romantic love or a slow waltz of sorts. However, it's not and so much more once the lyric parts come through instrumentally. The Cats loyalty and endearment of their Jellicle leader comes through loud and clear here. And then, finally, the CATS portion ends with Gus ~ The Theatre Cat. It's a nice rendition but, to tell the truth, this track-section would have ended so much clearer if it had been removed and replaced with the lively, knockabout number of the current Mungojerrie & Rumpleteazer. Buy this tri-CD pack! All CATS fanatics won't regret it!And it is very fair-priced for such an invaluable item to the theatre collector.

   Purrs,

   ~ Mistacor

2 comments about Sweet Charity: A New Musical Comedy (1966 Original Broadway Cast).

1. Arguably the greatest of Broadway's leading ladies, Verdon shines in this original cast album of the beloved and bittersweet SWEET CHARITY. One of the magical qualities of this particular musical is its ability to tell the story of the down-on-her-luck but ever optimistic taxi dance through the music. And Verdon is the consummate storyteller! You can almost see her while you listen to the music... Thank goodness this was recorded for posterity, because it is leaps and bounds (literally!) beyond the dismal Shirley MacLaine film version. A treasure!



2. I have never been able to work out why this CD is freely available but the OST Shirley Maclaine/Sammy Davis Jr version isn't. Surely that would be more popular? Surely someone else wants to hear it? But apparently not - it was released on vinyl, but not CD. In the meantime, there are a few other versions of Sweet Charity on CD, and this is the best. Bob Fosse's wife Gwen Verdon is a sweet singer, and conveys Charity's tarty/good-girl thing well. It's a great album, the songs are cool, funny, the version of Big Spender is pretty flawless. Rhythm of Life is one of the best songs ever, and this version misses the scat diversions of Sammy Davis Jr's version in the movie, but is still a great track. Also, the CD contains songs that weren't in the movie, and lots of them are nice. There's gotta be something better than this is fabulous. It is good, it is worth buying, I do play it a lot. But I think I'd like to have Shirley Maclaine's recording more. .

3 comments about Spotlight On.

1. Well, this CD is a great introduction to June's music. It sure hooked me as I now have 7 other CD's by June. What a great singer she was.



2. 'Great "mix" of this "WREN's" work ! June will never leave ya' wanting for a "COOL" ballad !



3. This cd is an excellent find and a wonderful bargain. June Christy had one of the smoothest voices of all the standard pop singers. You can hear this on the cd opener "How High the Moon" which begins with the simply cool vocal of Miss Christy without any instrumentation and then kicks in to high gear with a blast of horns and a wonderful little scat from June. "Give me the Simple Life" is another cd standout, corny and sweet, that swings alongs and brings the listener. June's version of "Bewitched" absolutely smokes, her velvet voice over a spare arrangement. And there is a version of "When You Wish upon a Star" that will speak directly to every person heart. Grab this one while you still can.

No comments about That's What Friends Are For/You Light Up My Life/Better Together: Duet.

3 comments about The Rod McKuen Collection 1956-1994.

1. If you could only have one Rod McKuen album this would be the one to buy. Rod is an acquired taste like fine old Scotch and just as valuable. I've been a fan since 1955 when he and Henry Mancini wrote the music for the old teen film "Rock, Pretty Baby." Rod's songs speak to the loner, the loser, the lover. Yet, his songs from the film "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" are among the sweetest and most enduring songs in all of American music. I've been fortunate to "meet" Rod on the internet, through his web-site "A Safe Place to Land" and what you hear and see with him is exactly what you get. His emails are very special to me and that makes it difficult for me to be impartial as to the music of Rod McKuen, but if you want songs of life, and love and love lost and of naature, the sea, the earth, the sky...this is the guy for you. He has been for me for all of my adult life.Joe M. HayesDel Mar, CA



2. Would be complete if it included "Through European Windows" My album disappeared 30 years ago and I have yet to replace it.



3. Box set has many of Rod's great works, but it is sadly missing his works which were released on the album "The Earth". So, alas, I continue to look for those great items.