5 comments about So in Love With Broadway.

1. Ron Raines has the voice! A powerful deep and rich voice that will make you melt. Some great songs, sung by an excellent artist. All in all, a very good album.



2. I KNEW THE CONTENT OF THE DISK, BUT I WAS AMAZED THAT AMAZON HAD IT IN STOCK. NO OTHER CD RETAILER IN FORT LAUDERDALE HAD IT. YOUR SERVICE WAS EXCELLANT. IT WAS JUST WHAT I ORDERED. THANK YOU.



3. Another absolutely fabulous listening experience. Ron Raines' voice is truly sensational, and you will be captivated by his renditions.



4. Ah,yes, Ron Raines expresses his love of Broadway music with a beautiful baritone voice which possesses all of the passion of a great lover! A magnificent performance throughout the CD. A must for every true lover of Broadway music. It rates a Ten Star on a five star scale!!



5. Ron Raines does a fabulous job singing broadway songs. His voice is truly fantastic. He has a perfect voice for broadway songs and ballads. I think the song selection he chose is really wonderful and a great variety from different musicals. His first album was fantastic and so is this one. I'd highly recommend both albums. His voice is truly wonderful and a beautiful experience to listen to.

5 comments about Till I Loved You.

1. If you are a fan of Streisand, you simply must include this album in your collection. It's a theme album-the cycle of love, and it starts off extremely strong with the Quincy Jones produced, "Places You Find Love." The song includes all-star backing, including Dionne Warwick, Jennifer Holliday and Luther Vandross.
   Essentially, this is the proto-type for what an adult-contemporary album should be. Lots of power-ballads and mid-tempo ditties. "One More Time Around," is extremely hummable, and catchy enough to stay in your head long after hearing it. "Some Good Things Never Last," is classic Barbra. A story set to music, that is heartbreaking and emotionally satisfying. "Till I Loved You," is a very under-rated duet. Don Johnson holds his own, and the musical chemistry is there. This is a great song to blast in the car while driving with a friend. Great to sing along to. Another awesome mid-tempo cut is, "What Were We Thinking Of," also featuring Johnson on backing vocals. Finally, we get to one of Barbra's most impassioned vocals, Andrew Lloyd-Webber's, "All I Ask Of You." Barbra gives us the definative version of this song. It was an adult-contemporary success when initially released. In my opinion, it's as strong as her BROADWAY ALBUM masterpiece, "Somewhere."
   This is best listened to as a complete album, from beginning to end. Barbra is an excellent actress, and this album gives her a strong role. Many emotional climaxes and a nice plot. Enjoy it.



2. In 1988, Barbra released this CD as her first pop outing since her universally panned effort, Emotion, 4 years before. This time, however, Barbra recorded around the concept of making a musical album sound like the beginning, middle, and end of a relationship.
   
   01. "The Places You Find Love" is one of the best songs on the album, reflecting on falling in love in general and how it comes unexpectedly. With an all-star group of background vocals, sometimes they dominate the song a little much, but otherwise this track is fantastic! A-
   
   02. "On My Way to You" is a love song about someone finally finding someone they love. Definitely album filler, but still a lovely song. B
   
   03. "Till I Loved You" gets a bad rap. Barbra's duet with then-boyfriend Don Johnson is actually a pleasantly romantic tune, perfect for weddings. Their chemistry may not be up to par with Barbra's duets with Barry Gibb, Bryan Adams or Neil Diamond, but it's still a good song. B+
   
   04. "Love Light" shows the album changing direction, with the singer sounding more skeptical about the relationship. Not too catchy, and Barbra's soaring vocals sometimes clash with the background music. B-
   
   05. "All I Ask Of You" is a flawless recording. Perfect singing and perfect music, it is probably the best track on the whole album. A
   
   06. "You and Me for Always" is a beautiful song, with Barbra's vocal a little more whispery and less showy. Makes the song much better. B+
   
   07. "Why Let it Go" changes the tone of the album again, with the lyrics describing hard times in a relationship, but not wanting to give up. Barbra didn't just sing this song, she acted it, which is what makes her so great and attracts her fans. A
   
   08. "Two People" was written from some of the background music of her most recent movie at the time, Nuts. This song describes hanging on to a relationship even though things have gotten hard. Not too catchy at all, and doesn't even sound like it was written to be a song. C
   
   09. "What Were We Thinking Of" changes the album once again, with the couple now being broken up, but still wanting to be together. Another great song on the album. A-
   
   10. "Some Good Things Never Last" reflects on it being time to let go. It's a nice song, and easy to relate to, even if some of the lyrics are cliched. B
   
   11. "One More Time Around" talks about going on to another relationship, and the singer reflecting on what she has learned. Perfect closing for the album, and very uplifting for those of us still looking for that special somebody. B+
   
   Though most of Streisand's recordings following the Broadway Album are considered mediocre and featuring a singer past her prime, this album showed the public she still had a lot left to offer. Often given a bad name due to the title song, Till I Loved You is actually one of the best albums Barbra gave her fans, and one that each one should have.



3. Great album fom Barbra, all songs are good, the production is spectacular, but the most important song for me is " on my way to you" one of the more saddest song that I've ever heard, and one of the best from Barbra composing. Thanks Randy Waldman for the piano on this song.



4. Thsi is one of my favorities and Im the sort of person that likes the early 70s opus.
   
   I was always impressed by the fact that this album never got the notority it desrved,well, but it is available.. I would place this cd next to any of Barry Manillows as a perfect complementation.
   
   Im looking for a 70s album called "Guava Jelly", I even think she forgot about it, it has a wonderful version of Is there life on mars? and Granma's hand. If you do please let me now at skype Humberto Mejia. Thank you



5. I am truly a fan- but I recently listened to an old cassette of this album and struggled to get through it. Except for a few tracks (On My Way to You and All I Ask of You), this album is embarrassing. It has not aged well and ranks, in my mind, as one of Barbra's worst efforts. I actually threw the tape away- a first for me!

1 comments about Leonard Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.

1. Don't let the modest packaging fool you. These are wonderful performances of two favorite works that, for all their obscurity, stand up to the best and most recent versions out there. I had found this "CD-Wallet", put out by the budget label Vox, in the bargain bin of the local music store years ago. I picked it up mainly because it was so cheap (98 cents!!!), but over time, it became one of my favorite CDs.
   
   The recording comes from 1977, and is one of the first Robert Shaw made with the Atlanta Symphony, before they signed with Telarc. And while it is an analog recording, the sound is clear, not muddy, with a minimum of hiss. I think the analog actually makes the whole disc sound warm and full, pairing well with the nature of both pieces.
   
   The Symphonic Dances from West Side Story reaches just the right balance between romantic lyricism and jazzy swagger. The brass is sharp and the percussion raucous. I have the recording of Bernstein conducting the score, but I always seem to return to this performance, after finding the former a little harsh and over-lit. If digital recordings like Bernstein's are the equivalent of a high-definition video, Shaw's is the classic, technicolor film version.
   
   I'm a Tchaikovsky afficionado, and have several versions of the Romeo & Juliet Overture, but none are as warm and romantic as this one. The opening chorale section is just right. Not so slow as to be lugubrious, but not too fast to be solemn and mournful. The whole piece neither hurries nor lags, making it, for me, very satisfying.
   
   Several years ago, my car was broken into, and this CD was in the case that was taken. I had looked for a replacement for years, and even scoured Amazon for it. The problem is, it's only listed under the Bernstein piece and I was searching for the Tchaikovsky. Finally, I found it, and I'm so happy to have it in my library once again! I encourage anyone who happens upon this hidden gem to grab it while you can. Even in its humble presentation and brief length, it's well worth it!

2 comments about The Voice: The Columbia Years (1943-1952).

1. DISC 1:
   1. Nearness Of You, The
   2. If I Had You
   3. Nevertheless
   4. You Go To My Head
   5. My Melancholy Baby
   6. How Deep Is The Ocean
   7. Embraceable You
   8. She's Funny That Way, (I Got A Woman Crazy For Me)
   9. For Every Man There's A Woman
   10. I Don't Know Why (I Just Do)
   11. Someone To Watch Over Me
   12. Love Me
   13. There's No Business Like Show-Business
   14. Song Is You, The
   15. September Song
   16. Oh What A Beautiful Morning
   17. They Say It's Wonderful
   18. Bess Oh Where Is My Bess
   
   DISC 2:
   1. Saturday Night (Is The Loneliest Night In The Week)
   2. Poinciana
   3. Try A Little Tenderness
   4. Autumn In New York
   5. April In Paris
   6. Dream
   7. Nancy (With The Laughing Face)
   8. Put Your Dreams Away
   9. I'm Glad There Is You
   10. Day By Day
   11. Close To You
   12. I'm A Fool To Want You
   13. Where Or When
   14. I Could Write A Book
   15. Why Was I Born
   16. Lost In The Stars
   17. All The Things You Are
   18. Ol' Man River
   
   DISC 3:
   1. Should I
   2. Birth Of The Blues
   3. Mean To Me
   4. It All Depends On You
   5. Deep Night
   6. Sweet Lorraine
   7. Castle Rock
   8. Why Can't You Behave
   9. My Blue Heaven
   10. S'Posin'
   11. You Can Take My Word For It Baby
   12. Blue Skies
   13. Continental, The
   14. It's The Same Old Dream
   15. Laura
   16. Stormy Weather
   17. I've Got A Crush On You
   18. House I Live In, The
   
   DISC 4:
   1. One For My Baby
   2. I Should Care
   3. These Foolish Things
   4. I Guess I'll Have To Dream The Rest
   5. It Never Entered My Mind
   6. When Your Lover Has Gone
   7. Body And Soul
   8. That Old Feeling
   9. Ghost Of A Chance With You, (I Don't Stand A)
   10. There's No You
   11. Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry
   12. Why Try To Change Me Now
   13. All Through The Day
   14. I Couldn't Sleep A Wink Last Night
   15. Time After Time
   16. But Beautiful
   17. I Fall In Love Too Easily
   18. Brooklyn Bridge, The



2. Just imagine; you're somewhere alone, sitting at a cafe, there is no one else except for a piano and a nice man, singing softly, slowly with a voice you will never forget. This CD gives you that feeling, old music as I call it, just a voice, just a piano but so beautiful. I bought the CD 6 years ago and it is still one of my favourites. Not only for the sad moments but also for the very romantic moments, you and you're new partner, listening to that beautiful voice of good ol' Frank. Just buy it and you'll see....

5 comments about Brian Lane Green.

1. I watched Brian Green on a soap opera and that's what drew me to this CD. When a friend played it, what a wonderful voice! He takes some familiar tunes and makes them unique (He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother). I loved it so much, I bought it for myself and for a friend.



2. Brian Lane Green has the ability, the gift, to make music to move your feet and move your soul. A genuine artist, a creator of what moves the world, song; listen to him and you will find a new sense of faith and passion in your soul and you will walk, at least for a bit, on air. Both he and the label producing the album are credits in a world of deficit. Thank you for your gifts.



3. I've had this CD for a few years now and just can't say enough about it. BLG is a terrific talent whose career has ranged from Broadway to touring shows to top vocal ensembles to a solo cabaret act. Why he is not a bigger star reflects the fact that the American public is basically a group of unsophisticated, non-musical idiots whose idea of talent is Ms. Spears et al! This is the real thing, kids, so buy this before it goes out of print. Hopefully, we will see a new CD from this brilliant song stylist soon. It's been too long already!



4. I bought this album on the recommendation in a review that this was THE BEST version of "Grateful". I felt that John Bucchino did a better job, more feeling, on his own album entitled Grateful. ALSO ... most important !! DO NOT listen to this CD if you are prone to depression or are in a depressed state.



5. I love and enjoy many styles of music and many styles of singing. However, I have NEVER heard a voice with the purity of Brian Lane Green's. It is perfection. I have heard "Grateful" sung by many others, but when one listens to Brian sing this incredible song, there is not the slightest bit of doubt in your mind that he is truly BLESSED, and truly GRATEFUL. With this song, as with every song on this CD, Brian lays his heart wide open .. his soul shines through with every note. Brian's voice has the velvet sound of Johnny Mathis and Nat King Cole, but it is distinctively his own. I adore this voice and he has chosen a selection of some of the most beautiful songs ever written. His voice is directly from heaven and he asked two beautifully gifted angels to accompany him .. John Boswell and John Bucchino .. two of today's most gifted pianist/composers .. Brian Lane Green knew exactly what he was doing .. stealing the heart of every person who listens to this CD. If you do not yet have this CD, do give yourself a beautiful gift. I love Brian Lane Green .. unabashedly and unequivocally, he shares his beautiful heart and soul sweetly and shamelessly.

3 comments about Karaoke Gilbert & Sullivan.

1. Well, in answer to the first reviewer, the music is orchestral, just as if you were performing on stage. I can sing the Nighmare Song just fine in the car without any background music, but trying to keep up with it on the CD, (and not swallowing once!), I can't do it. Now I have a boyfriend who has a trained voice, and I want him to sing "A wandering minstral I", but he thinks G&S is too simplistic (and therefore, beneath him). I wish I had the CD to show him otherwise, but I had the CD in a porable CD player that I loaned to my dad, and he lost it. Augh! Now I can't get another one. :( I loved this CD and I miss it very much. I just wish they had more female songs on it. It also does have Modern Major General.



2. I probab;y would like to purchase this CD but you provide absolutely no information on the most imposrtant aspect of the music, whether it is midi, piano or orchestral.
   I cannot listen on realone as I do not wish to purchase it or give them my credit information. I shall have to look elsewhere in the future for my CDs. Sorry
   Desmond Starr



3. Wow, I thought it would be easy to sing Gilbert & Sullivan karaoke since I've been singing along with my dad's opera records since I was five or six. But after trying this out, I am definitely glad I didn't try for a singing career. I stink! Still, it was a lot of fun.

5 comments about Titanic: The Ultimate Collection (Soundtrack Anthology).

1. Titanic is my favorite movie. I first saw it during my visit to Paris. I have collected alot of titanic merchandise, And This CD is an excellent addition to my collection. My Favorite song are "Never an Absolution" and "Southhampton."



2. Titanic is my favorite movie. I first saw it during my visit to Paris. I have collected alot of titanic merchandise, And This CD is an excellent addition to my collection. My Favorite song are "Never an Absolution" and "Southhampton."



3. This compilation finally gives us access to a piano version of "my heart will go on", which is to say the least the most beautiful way to listen to the melody. Everytime you play track 2, you feel an epiphany running through your body. Let us thank James Horner's genius for the melody, and those at Varese Sarabande for putting together such a wonderful CD. Hello from Caracas.



4. I LOVED THE, CD VERY, VERY MUCH . THE FIRST NIGHT THAT I GOT THE CD I LISTENED TO THE THEME SONG. THEN I REMEMBERED IT. THE CD WAS THE TALK OF THE SCHOOL FOR ABOUT A MONTH AND A HALF.



5. Varese Sarabande has put together an excellent compilation and should help hold over Titanic music fans until James Horner's 2nd Titanic Album arrives in September. The album has a number of instrumental tracks to the James Cameron movie as well as music from the Broadway show, the TV Miniseries from '96 (starring Catherine Zeta Jones), the 1958 British Film "A Night to Remember", and the 1953 Hollywood Film (starring Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck). Even if one has only seen the recent movie, the soundtrack is worthwhile to add to your collection especially if one likes movie instrumental music and Titanic in particular. There are excellent full orchestra versions of the rousing "Southhampton" and "My Heart Will Go On." There is also an excellent piano version of "Rose's Theme" and an excellent old fashioned dance waltz of "Rose"..."A Life So Changed" is my favorite - the inspiring message of living and thriving after the death of a loved one is very poignant...Other tracks are excellent: "Nearer My God to Thee" is sad and elegiac while Lennie Niehaus's "Titanic" is atmospheric and moody...Overall, a very good instrumental album; worth buying!

1 comments about All The Things You Are - Music Of Jerome Kern.

1. This is a terrific CD and the condition was perfect. I am particularly grateful for the super-fast shipment.

2 comments about The Symphonic Lloyd Webber.

1. All the melodies you're familiar with, done in sweeping, beautiful symphonic style. Can be background music as you putter about the house, or put on the headphones and just sink into that grandeur.
   Excellent album.



2. I loved this arrangement! I can't say much else

5 comments about Anyone Can Whistle (1964 Original Broadway Cast).

1. This is a Sondheim flop, and rightfully so. Some voice are ok, the lyrics aren't bad, and the orchestrations can be nice, but overall its just boring. Dull. Unfinished. Another problem with this recording is you need the synopsis to tell you what the heck is going on because none of these really seem to go together. For Sondheim fans I would suggest NOT getting this and saving yourself the depressing bore that he produced here. If your a new listener of Broadway DON'T get this. If you like the transition between new and old Broadway this might be your cup of tea. This CD should only be bought by collectors and older-style fans. (But I'm not sure even they will like it!) Sorry Sondheim, but tow stars is generous for this. Favorite song: "Anyone Can Whistle"



2. I am a BIG Sondheim fan, yet this CD does not really cut it for me. There are a couple of great songs that Sondheim wrote for this show and one of them, "Everybody Says Don't" was not very good on this recording. The man who sung it did not have a great voice and that really disappointed me. There are so many better Sondheim works and I would not get this one.



3. I have only seen the film version of "A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum<' but from all I understand, the musical, hilarious as it may be, has its heart in its book and staging, and the score (The first complete one Stephen Sondheim premiered on Broadway) doesn't really have much of the SOndheim "style" that theater fans have come to know and love. "Anyone Can Whistle" is the true beginning of that style, which of course took off in later years with Company, Follies, Sweeney Todd, etc. The melodies are intriguing and certainly different from the typical musical of the period (Which is probably why the show lasted just a week on Broadway), dissonant at times but often quite clever and truly beautiful, and the lyrics are witty, perceptive, and moving, and completely in character with the show and the characters. From the sensational opening number "Me and My Town" to the touching conclusion "With So Little To Be Sure Of," the score is consistently fresh and inventive, by turns wickedly clever ("Miracle Song," the music/dialogue interplay in "Simple" and the "Cookie Chase" dance, "Come Play Wiz Me"), poigniant (The title song, perhaps a very personal statement for Sondheim himself, and even, in a strange way, "A Parade In Town"), and simply stirring and powerful ("There Won't Be Trumpets," "Everybody Says Don't"). Thankfully, despite the show's short run, Goddard Lieberson of Columbia Records insisted on recording an original cast album, and so we have a record not only of this score as it first sounded but of the wonderful performances by a great cast, especially the three stars, who were all not known at that point for doing musicals but nevertheless acquit themselves beautifully. Lee Remick is both charming and irresistably moving as the nurse Fay Apple. Her tentative but imploring reading of the title song is enough to break your heart. Unfortunately, she mostly concentrated on acting in straight plays, movies and television after this, but she gave at least one other brilliant musical performance, again singing the songs of her close friend Sondheim, in the 1985 concert of "Follies." Angela Lansbury, of course, went on to stardom in musicals like "Mame" and, again for SOndheim, "Sweeney Todd," and in her first major musical performance as the mayor-ess (yes), Cora Hoover Hoople, she is highly effective, both hilarious and even a little touching in her attempts to get tourists into her town by arranging fake miracles and keeping the Cookies (mental patients) under control. Harry Guardino, as the supposed psychiatrist, Dr. Hapgood, is charming and sincere, although I have heard better recordings of "Everybody Says Don't" sung by female singers at faster paces. Apparently, the book and staging, teh strongest points in "A Funny Thing," were the weakest points in "Anyone Can Whistle," which may have contributed to its quick close. The score was definitly not a reason, unless it was simply too original to really be understood or enjoyed. It is a great score, and this recording shows you why.



4. While "Anyone Can Whistle" was a flop in its Broadway incarnation (running for 9 performances), its score has appeal broad enough for any theatre fan. While I know many theatre enthusiasts who are daunted by Sondheim's work, I would recommend this recording to any of them. The premise of a town creating a miracle to boost tourism is funny enough, add the complication of a bunch of lunatics on the loose and some snappy, funny Sondheim songs and you've got a winner! "The Miracle Song" alone is reason enough to buy this album! "Simple" is Sondheim weaving script into song. It may become tired for some listeners, but I enjoy it. This score, unlike "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" before it, really provides insight into Sondheim's future as a composer. The talent and structure were there. Unfortunately, the show didn't take off.



5. This recording is far better than the concert version done with Bernadette Peters. I can't really name the exact reason--if anyone looked at the cast lists for both, the talent would seem to be about dead even--but this album has far more heart and simplicity. The 1990's version is cutesy and far too "knowing." The performers seem less sure of themselves and the material so they act with very broad strokes. The original version however, is subtle and heartfelt. When I listen to it, I almost consider it to be Sondheim's best score. (Although, I usually think that Assassins, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd or whatever Sondheim show happens to be in my CD player is his best!)