2 comments about Club Verboten.

1. Everyone's bound to have quibbles with a collection such as this one. I would much prefer to have Mabel Mercer's version of "Ballad of the Sad Young Men," for instance (although Rod McKuen's is lovely), and I regret the absence of certain gay "standards" such as Mott the Hoople's "All the Young Dudes" and Dusty Springfield's "Quiet, Please, There's a Lady on Stage." But it's all fun, not mention educational, and I'm grateful to Marshall Blonstein and Richard Oliver for a magnificent effort, which is destined to take its place next to classics of the literature such as William J. Mann's "Behind the Screen" and "The Gay and Lesbian Literary Heritage"--not to mention the collected works of Barbara Streisand! To underscore their sense of history, the producers have included a near-100 page booklet with the 4-disc set that even features a bibliography of recommended reading and viewing. There are also generous notes on the songs and songsters, period essays, and some great photos. There are, as well, a few miscalculations, including a numerical listing of the songs in the booklet that doesn't correspond to the list on the box. The recording dates for some of the songs are given as "unknown" (where did these transfers come from?), and the dating itself (a "Cabaret" medley from the `20s?) is eccentric. But these are minor, well, quibbles, and I admire Blonstein and Oliver their daring in attempting such a project. If I may, I'd like to suggest that these gentlemen do a 4-CD set every year or so (how about an exerpt from Diamanda Galas' "Plague Mass" for the classical disc?), if only to demonstrate how un-Verboten gay music by gay musicians has become.



2. starting out with a scratchy ditty from the roaring twenties, this excellent historical collection manages to span a variety of musical genres, from rousing broadway musical to intimate diva-wrung blues to classical orchestra. some may carp about choices, and some are obvious, there are rarities here among the cliches. this is an invaluable historical document as well as an entertaining collection of tunes.

5 comments about Sony Music 100 Years: Soundtrack for a Century.

1. This is an impressive collection-- a century's worth of great music. 26 discs, covering many different genres.
   
   And while there is plenty of variety here, it is very much weighted to the modern era. Only eight of the 26 discs contain pre-1950 material, and of those eight, most contain only about half-a-disc's worth of pre-1950 material. It is certainly true that fewer recordings were made in the early days of the technology, but to call it a "Soundtrack for a Century" and ignore half the century seems very misguided.
   
   What would have made a much more interesting collection would have been a set that looked at the most popular recordings of each era and genre. Since there are six discs of "pop" music here, why not divide the discs into roughly equal spans of time (1900-1915, 1915-1930, 1930-1945, etc.) and include the top-selling records of that era? The same with classical, jazz, r&b, and so on. This would make for a much more balanced collection.
   
   I recommend this set only if you find it for an incredibly good price. There is a lot of fascinating music here, but the collection is not good enough to warrant the extremely high price tag.



2. When it comes to box sets it is really hit or miss. And any box set that is over $100 has a bigger chance of sitting on the shelf for years than a cheaper one. Sony should have sold the disks individually. I think they would have made A LOT more revenue off this unit. I ended up getting a lot of the songs I wanted (20s, 30s, 40s) from iTunes. Just because selling it as a box set makes it convenient doesn't mean it will set. There are 5 or 6 discs that I would buy. But I can't afford nor want it ALL. Check it out on iTunes before you buy. It was a great idea and effort on Sony's part. I wish more studios would do these kinds of compilations!



3. The sample tracks are actually the first five tracks on disc 25 (even though they are next to the first 5 tracks of disc 1. There are over 400 hundred tracks- but only 5 sample tracks we can listen to- doesn't seem right.
   Many good songs- but the collection is way to pricey. If you don't have any of these songs, or not too many, maybe it is a good deal, but most people already have a fair amount of these songs.



4. Yes, there is some great music on this set. That is undeniable. No, I wouldn't even dream of buying it. Basically, to sum it up, anything set that places work by Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong next to the "work" of Will Smith or Mariah Carrey is an abomination that must be scorned at all costs. By placing art beside garbage, the attempt is to elevate the garbage, but the result is that it defames the art. The existence of this set insults me. I could just see the vapid Sony Music suits pieceing together this monstrosity--- This set, in a word, disgusts me. By placing the sublime beside the profane, Sony has insulted serious music fans everywhere. At best, this could serve as a thesis about the Kamikaze-decline of popular music over the years. Revolting. Go build your own record collection, don't let some dim-wit corporate tool do it for you.



5. I was happy to see Bob Dylans work on the albums so many times. His work is truly brilliant but i don't know why they put The Byrds version of Mr.Tambourine man instead of his.

3 comments about Erasure 3 / EBX Singles.

1. This review goes for all the four box sets. I, for one, cannot see the point in all these pointless remixes. Once you have heard the song, fine...what I think would have been better would be to collect a double album of all erasure's B-sides. That would be more comprehensive and interesting, rather than 100 remixes of 'breath of life' for example.



2. Where as boxed sets 1&2 still managed to leave a tiny bit of stuff out, this volume gives everything you'd want from every single on it. Plus, this is the ONLY place you'll ever get the complete Crackers International in its entirety on 1 single disc. Some things to note on this volume:
   
   CD1
   FLAWLESS. This is what the original US release of Crackers International should have been-but instead, it omitted God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman and gave us EDITS of some of the extended versions. This disc has the original mixes of Stop, the hardest part, and Knocking at Your Door, AND the full length 12" remixes. And of course, the two Christmas songs, God Rest Ye and She Won't Be Home.
   
   CD2
   this is an EXACT replica of the original US CD single of Drama. Only difference is, the order of the tracks is slightly different.
   
   CD3
   AT LAST, the Mark Saunders fast dance mix of You Surround Me is readily available, along with 3 other mixes. Plus you get more mixes of 91 steps and Supernature than I ever knew existed.
   
   CD4
   All 4 versions of Star from the original US CD single, but here, you get 2 extra mixes of Dreamlike State.
   
   CD5
   So much more than the original US CD single, which didn't include the original versions of Runaround on the Underground and No GDM. They are both here, as well as the 2 remixes. The Zeuss B. Held mix of No GDM from the US CD single is called the "Unfinished mix" here. Plus you get all four mixes of Blue Savannah. And of course, Supernature, the Orbit mix, which was on the US CD single, is included on disc 4 of this boxed set.



3. This is a 12" dance remix collection, so be advised. You'll hear the same songs over and over again, but remixed. These are the actual 12" singles the club DJ's used in the late 80's.

   Having said all that: This collection of music is honestly just great! The casual Erasure fans will want to pass this by. The description says it has five singles: 'Crackers International', 'Drama!', 'You Surround Me', 'Blue Savannah' & 'Star'. Well, `Crackers International' was NOT a single, but an EP. The original album contained six songs: "Stop!" "Hardest Part" "Stop! [12" Remix]" "Knocking on Your Door" "She Won't Be Home" and "Knocking on Your Door [12" Remix]"

   Look at Disc 1, it contains all those songs, but has two versions of "The Hardest Part" (a longer version) and three versions of "Knocking on Your Door".

   All of these 12" singles came out at the height of Erasure's popularity. Now don't kill me all you Erasure fans (I'm one too!). I know they're still making albums! I've been blasting "Other People's Songs" more often then not, but all these tracks were HUGE club hits in their day. I remember the dance floor being packed when I spun "Stop!" and "Drama" and the crowed screaming when "Blue Savannah" or "Star" was mixed in.

   These tracks show what true remixing is. Each remix really is a song in and of itself, not just "another version" of the track. I think the four versions of "Star" really show that. Each is great! Different from one another, yet you know they are the same song.

   There are four box sets: Ebx1 - 3, and Erasure 4. I'd put this one, Ebx3, as my #2 favorite. #1 is Erasure 4. You gotta love a box set that includes "Abba-Esque".

No comments about Love Song Box.

1 comments about Complete Collection.

1. For those of you who don't know The Cats, they were probably the most popular English-singing Dutch group of the late sixties and early seventies. With 2 different lead voices -one thin, the other deep- their early songs (mid-sixties) follow the style of the British invasion; their late sixties and early seventies music was mainly ballads and their biggest hits come from this time. They came back with a similar style in the early eighties.

   You will find all the classic hits and a lot more in this set. It includes 3 cd's, 1 dvd and a 60-page booklet.

   Cd's 1 and 2 contain most of the hits. Cd 3 is dedicated to rarities, audition demos, hard to find tracks (there's both interesting and awful stuff in this one, and I guess it will only appeal to fans). The booklet is apparently very complete, with background history and information about each track. I say "apparently" because I cannot read it, it's in Dutch! The dvd brings 18 songs, already included in the cd's, that come mainly from their tv specials and promofilms (1969-1983).

   Why 4 stars? The first star is the minimum one can give. A second star for the many tracks: 69. A third star because many of the tracks are not available in other cd's: I own around 10 cd's of The Cats and this set has 26 songs not included in the others. A fourth star for the dvd.

   Why not 5 stars? Because some songs I would expect to find in a "Complete Collection" are not here ("Take me with you", "Time machine", "Call me", "Why, baby, why", among others); because the booklet is in Dutch; because the dvd covers the same songs already in the cd's.

   For fans of The Cats the set is a must. If you're not familiar with their music, perhaps it would be wiser to purchase a basic and cheaper cd with their greatest hits (such as "Gold").

4 comments about Oh What a Feeling, Vol. 2: A Vital Collection of Canadian Music.

1. I truly did not want to be critical of this collection -- as it contains many wonderful songs (with many personal memories attached for many Canadians aged 30 to 50 somethings. However, despite its attempt to group these songs by genre on each CD, for me, their still too diverse to hang together (i.e., be listenable). Perhaps I am just to attached to many of the songs separately... This set, is however, a very good introduction for appreciators of Canadian music, and people under 30...
   Cheers

   PS. One more complaint. Did Celine's "Titanic Song" really have to be included here... jezzzzzzz! Holy smaltzy, Batman!




2. I'm not about to poop on the party and say this four-disc compilation of Canadian pop and rock isn't worth buying. That simply wouldn't be true. But I find myself playing the first Oh What A Feeling box set more than this package simply 'cause this one feels like the second tier of the Great White North's musical output...what wasn't quite remarkable enough to fit on volume one.

   There are a couple of returning acts (The Guess Who with Share The Land, BTO with You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet, Neil Young with Heart Of Gold), but for the most part these are artists who didn't make it to vol. 1. among the highlights are Tal Bachman's instantly-hummable She's So High, Barney Bentall's heartland classic Something To Live For, Lee Aaron's Whatcha Do To My body and the Northern Pikes' rockin' party favourite She Ain't Pretty (She Just Looks That Way).

   This package also tilts away from classic stuff towards more up-to-date things, like SoulDecision's Faded and Dream Warriors' My Definition Of A Bombastic Jazz Style. For that reason vol. 2 is of less interest to old white guys like me, but at the same time is more eclectic than the first compilation. If anything, that means it shows the world a truer picture of what Canadians are capable of doing musically.




3. This is a 4 cd box set which features some of the best in Canadian artists. Almost every genre except classical is covered here. Disc 1 features artists of the 90's. It includes Shania Twain..."Man! I feel like a woman", Sarah McLachlan..."Building a Mystery", Alanis Morissette..."Thank U", and others like Celine Dion, The Moffats, Snow, Choclair, Len and Deborah Cox. Disc 2 features harder rock acts of the 70's, 80's and 90's. Bands like Loverboy..."The Kid is hot Tonite", Bryan Adams..."Summer of '69", The Tea Party..."Heaven Coming down", and others like Our Lady Peace, The Tragically Hip, Trooper and Lee Aaron. Disc 3 contains rock and pop, also from the 70's through 90's. Such as The Guess Who..."Share the Land", The Band..."Up on Cripple Creek", Anne Murray..."Danny's Song", and others from Platinum Blonde to Crash Test Dummies. Disc 4 is the most eclectic with a mix of folk, pop, Celtic and jazz. From Neil Young..."Heart of Gold", Diana Krall..."Peel me a grape", to Barenaked Ladies..."One week". This is a music lovers goldmine, and highly recommended. The first "Oh, What a Feeling" collection, was only on the market for 4 months. So get this while it's still available.



4. The first edition of this CD sold over two million copies in Canada and hopefully this one will be even more successful. This is a four CD collection of Juno Award winners/nominees from past and present. Even if you're not Canadian, try hard and get this CD since it won't be in print for much longer.

2 comments about Love and Passion.

1. I agree this is a wonderful collection of Piaf, by far the best I've heard, and containing almost all her songs. If you want the lyrics for these songs, go to www.paroles.net/artis/1001.



2. Edith Piaf was to popular French music of the 1930s to the 1950s as Sinatra was to American music; an unstoppable force. Much like Sinatra Piaf sang with a naked raw emotion and a gritty evocativeness that cuts to your heart, and like Sinatra her voice is immediately identifiable. "Love and Passion" is a truly massive helping of Piaf's recordings from 1936 to 1950, the prime of her recording years and includes many of her most memorable signature songs. Even if you don't understand a word of French you cannot miss the powerful delivery and evocative nature of Piaf's voice, and if you understand French you fully comprehend the gripping and vital lyrics of love, loss, anger, regret, and a life well lived with no regrets. The sound quality on the recordings is quite good, especially when compared with other recordings of the era that have sometimes been inadeptly re-mastered. I've seen quite a few Piaf compilations over the years but nothing matches the beadth, scope, quality, and depth of this collection. Any beginner should start here.

2 comments about Trojan Box Set: Nyahbinghi.

1. I was always a big fan of nyabinghi music. If you are not familiar with nyabinghi, think "Rastaman Chant" by Bob Marley; it's a very African sounding folk music style of the rasta religion in Jamaica. When I bought this I expected nothing but nyabinghi music, but when I first played it I was a little dissapointed because a lot of it is simply old school dub with bongo's in it (which I also liked, but it was not the reason I bought this album). But after a while I began to really like the albums. There are too many Ras Michael/Dadawah songs on it, most of them are boring, but there are lots of cool and rare songs on here you wouldn't have discovered anywhere else: like the songs of Bongo Herman (bongo reworkings of classics like Yim mas gan; The liquidator, my conversation, drum song (not the studio one version though)), Roland Downer who sings in amharic over a jazzy backing, the Jimmy Cliff track is cool, the Linkers, Al Vibrators (before he turned into a German porn star, that is), Samuel the First dj-ing over the Melodians "Rivers of Babylon", I Roy dj-ing over Audrey Rollins "Repatriation" (+ version), the calypso music of one Boston Jack, all very very nice. I would recommend this, although it's not 100% nyabinghi music. I would also recommend that you get seriously blunted while listening to it. Only then will you fully understand it.



2. This is a wonderful set, but I've tried two different copies and both of them had the same problem on tracks 11 & 12 of the 3rd cd: they stop playing about a minute and a half into the track. You can get past that problematic spot if you fast forward a little, but it's annoying nonetheless.

   The set features the complete Ras Michael & the Sons of Negus "Nyahbinghi" album and the complete Dadawah "Peace & Love" set, plus an additional track. Both are pretty amazing.

2 comments about Impossible Princess.

1. Wow. I really don't know where to begin with this one! I really love this album, and it is such a departure for Kylie. Her pre-"IP" and post-"IP" work is okay, but I will always believe that this album is her best.
   
   It begins with the haunting "Too Far," with lyrics like "Caught up in this house / Trapped my very own self in the snare of my mind / No more space than a slither / What I'd give for a deep breath inside." This is a very disturbing song, but it works.
   I would have to say that it is my favourite song on the whole album.
   
   "Cowboy Style" sounds like a mix between country music and Celtic music - very odd, but fun to dance to. It combines my two favourite styles of music, so that is a plus!
   
   "Some Kind Of Bliss" and "Did It Again" are the more rock/pop tracks on the album. I think that they are the least creative but the most radio-friendly. Good songs in general, though, and they make the album more complete.
   
   "Breathe" - a great song, but it is pretty slow for me. I like the sped-up radio version of this song that can be found on her "Hits+" album.
   
   "Say Hey," "Drunk," and "Limbo" are very techno-dance infused songs. I enjoy these a lot, and I think they each are very unique.
   
   "I Don't Need Anyone" - quite possibly a close second for my favourite. It sounds like a 70's song with the flutes and such, but it is a rock/pop track.
   
   "Jump" is my least favourite song, but I'm not sure why. The lyrics are very good, but I don't really care for the melody.
   
   "Through The Years" is a jazzy, sultry song that I love! It has a very sexy tone to it, but the lyrics make it more of a "done me wrong" song, if you know what I mean.
   
   "Dreams" - what a brilliant way to end the album. A sweeping ballad about wanting everything and being an impossible princess because of it.
   
   The album I purchased was the box set, which includes a second CD of remixes and bonus tracks. I recommend that everyone get this set, because the bonuses are wonderful. "Love Takes Over Me," "Too Far (Inner Door Mix)" and "Breathe (Tee's Glimmmer Mix)" are my faves.
   
   Buy this album! You won't regret it!



2. If your going to pick up Kylie's "Impossible Princess" album, make sure to pick up the remastered box set. Here you get extra songs, in addition to remixed versions of the origional one's. Sound quality is excellent. A special bonus is "this Girl" on the second cd, which you won't find on any other album. It's a beautiful song. Great cd, so pick it up!

No comments about Complete Collection.