Careless Love

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
When Madeleine Peyroux's debut, Dreamland, was released in 1996, its success threw her for a loop. She's taken eight years to create this follow-up, and, at age 30, she brings a confidence and resilience to this dozen-song set. She's able to move seamlessly between songs by writers as diverse as Elliott Smith and W.C. Handy, whose title track was popularized by Bessie Smith. Though American-born, Peyroux absorbed the language and culture of France growing up in Paris with her French-teacher mother. On her debut, she covered Edith Piaf, and this time out she wraps herself around "J'ai Deux Amours," which Josephine Baker sang to the Allied troops during World War II. --David Greenberger

Album Description
Boasting an enthralling voice many have regarded as reminiscent of Billie Holiday's, Madeleine Peyroux burst onto the music scene eight years ago with the extremely successful release of Dreamland. Championed by major publications such as The New York Times and Time Magazine, Peyroux was immediately recognized as a remarkably talented singer with a promising future. With the release of her long awaited follow-up album Careless Love, Peyroux's potential as an artist is truly realized. Her smoky voice and knowing delivery make each song her own, whether she's singing vintage tunes by W.C. Handy and Hank Williams, or contemporary songs by Leonard Cohen and Elliott Smith. Producer Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell, Shawn Colvin) weaves strands of acoustic blues, country ballads, classic jazz, torch songs and pop into a vibrant fabric that is both timeless and thoroughly up to date, with Peyroux's arresting vocals always front and center.

Tracks:

Dance Me To The End Of Love
Don't Wait Too Long
Don't Cry Baby
You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
Between The Bars
No More
Lonesome Road
J'ai Deux Amours
Weary Blues
I'll Look Around
Careless Love
This Is Heaven To Me

Amazon.com

When Madeleine Peyroux's debut, Dreamland, was released in 1996, its success threw her for a loop. She's taken eight years to create this follow-up, and, at age 30, she brings a confidence and resilience to this dozen-song set. She's able to move seamlessly between songs by writers as diverse as Elliott Smith and W.C. Handy, whose title track was popularized by Bessie Smith. Though American-born, Peyroux absorbed the language and culture of France growing up in Paris with her French-teacher mother. On her debut, she covered Edith Piaf, and this time out she wraps herself around "J'ai Deux Amours," which Josephine Baker sang to the Allied troops during World War II. --David Greenberger

Album Description

Boasting an enthralling voice many have regarded as reminiscent of Billie Holiday's, Madeleine Peyroux burst onto the music scene eight years ago with the extremely successful release of Dreamland. Championed by major publications such as The New York Times and Time Magazine, Peyroux was immediately recognized as a remarkably talented singer with a promising future. With the release of her long awaited follow-up album Careless Love, Peyroux's potential as an artist is truly realized. Her smoky voice and knowing delivery make each song her own, whether she's singing vintage tunes by W.C. Handy and Hank Williams, or contemporary songs by Leonard Cohen and Elliott Smith. Producer Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell, Shawn Colvin) weaves strands of acoustic blues, country ballads, classic jazz, torch songs and pop into a vibrant fabric that is both timeless and thoroughly up to date, with Peyroux's arresting vocals always front and center.

Customer Reviews:

Give Us More. Please.............2007-06-16

I first encountered this album a couple of years back, and it was a most pleasant surprise. This is real jazz, the way it ought to be. Madeline, for the most part, "covers" the work of others; that's OK...old standards became standards for a reason, and she covers them so well that they are virtually her own. This album is my very frequent driving companion. I have since bought her other albums, including the newest release. I wish there were more.

Madeline's personal problems have been well documented. They don't matter here. She is also said to be one of those singers who are better on disc than in person. Apparently, she has severe stage fright. Moot point. So does Carly Simon, and so did Rosa Ponselle, who was the greatest singer who ever lived.

This is a fabulous album. A reviewer once wrote "If you like Norah Jones, try this". Amen. I love Norah Jones, and listen to her frequently. But, Madeleine is in a different league.

Fondness for Careless Love.......2007-06-08

If you've ever wished that Billie Holiday were still alive and singing. Check out Madeleine Peyroux. One of the best thing out of of Georgia in a long time.

Careless Love by Madeleine Peyroux.......2007-06-02

I love the music of Madeleine Peyroux. She certainly has her own style and anyone who enjoys jazz will feel fortunate to enjoy any of her music. I found this CD to be tops in every way.

Spent my Last $20 on this Album with no Regrets!.......2007-06-01

I heard "You're gonna Leave Me Lonesome When You're Gone" on the radio a while back and thought how great she sounded. The next day she was still in my mind and I called the radio station and they told me who she was. I was dead broke, wasn't getting paid for another week. . . and I went down and bought the CD. I listened to it through nights of Top Ramen and ice water-- ramen never tasted so good!

The whole CD is great. Each song makes me feel like I am in some European tavern. This is music that just makes you feel good. My teenagers listened to it and I got them to quit listening to their R&B long enough to ask who she was. One resumed playing the guitar that she'd given up a few years ago.

The CD is haunting and stays in your mind long after you turn it off.

Madeleine the Magnificent.......2007-05-24

There is nothing I can write about "Careless Love", that will top the two spotlight reviews. All I will say is thank God there are artists still left in the world like Maleleine Peyroux, Diana Krall, Cassandra Wilson, etc... etc... This whole recording is excellent, and I can never get enough of her version of Bob Dylan's classic "When You Go". The warmth and passion she emits from her sleepy, serene voice... man, oh man, does she make me feel all warm and gushy inside. I love singers who pour all their emotions into their songs, who let it all hang out. Sure, she's no Billie Holiday, but there is no popular singer alive today that resembles Billie more than Madeleine. I just saw her in concert recently and she and her quartet were absolutely awesome.

Those of you looking for an option from all of that top 40 sewage that plagues our airwaves nowadays, look no further than Madeleine. I have heard just about all of her stuff and this particular recording is my personal favorite. This is also perfect music for many of you out there looking to simply wade into the world of jazz music, rather than diving in head first. Jazz is like fine wine, you don't develope a taste for it overnight, however, once you do start developing that taste, well... then it's all over for you. Trust me, I know from experience.

Enjoy this one!

Average customer rating:

ah-HA ... Quite a pleasure, really.
A Pleasant Surprise
That's It --- I'm Voting for Beeblebrox!
So long, that's all
Zarquad! What A Hoopy Soundtrack!

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Manufacturer: Hollywood Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Widescreen Edition)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Charlie & The Chocolate Factory
Batman Begins
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ASIN: B0007Z9RDY
Release Date: 2005-04-26

Tracks:

The Dolphins
So Long & Thanks For All The Fish
Arthur Wakes Up
Shoo-Rah! Shoo-Rah! - Betty Wright
Here I Am (Come And Take Me) - Al Green
Destruction Of Earth
Journey Of The Sorcerer
The Hitchhikers's Guide To The Galaxy: Original Soundtrack
Inside The Vogon Ship
Vogon Poetry
Space
Vogon Command Centre
Trillian & Arthur Reunited
Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster
Ten In Space
Deep Thought
Infinite Improbability Drive
Viltvodle Street Music
Huma's Hymn
Capture Of Trillian
Vogcity
Love
The Whale
Planet Factory Floor
Earth Mark II
Magic Moments - Perry Como
Shootout
Finale
Blast Off
So Long & Thanks For All The Fish (Reprise)
Careless Talk
Vote Beeblebrox
Reasons To Be Miserable (His Name Is Marvin)

Album Description

Joby Talbot began writing and performing in the early '90s, working with artists such as Tom Jones, Paul McCartney, and producer Nigel Godrich. In 2000, his score to the primetime British comedy "The League of Gentlemen" won the Royal Television Society Award for Best Title Music. The British Film Institute commissioned Talbot to compose a new score for Alfred Hitchcock's silent classic "The Lodger." As a classical composer, he has worked with all the major U.K. orchestras and has been commissioned by the prestigious BBC Proms Festival.

Customer Reviews:

ah-HA ... Quite a pleasure, really. .......2006-03-05

.
If you enjoyed the movie [and we will assume that you did since you're here] you will love this soundtrack! It's got Everything!

Much of the work is orchestral. Some of it is techno. There are a couple of pop tune, and Perry Como [it works, trust me].

The Opening Theme "So Long and Thanks for All the Fish" is a gloriously funny show tune. It was funny on screen, but here you can pick out the lyrics. It's even more fun when you can sing along.

It's got the theme from the original radio play "Journey of the Sorcerer", banjo and all. [so did the movie].
Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster is mellow enough to blow your mind.
"Huma's Hymn" about the Coming of the Great White Handkerchief is nothing more then Holy.
The "Planet Factory Floor" is ...Well, it's just plain Huge!

And Stephen Fry rapping. Stephen Fry, Man!! Reginald Jeeves of "Jeeves and Wooster" fame! If you are familiar with Stephen Fry, then the absurdity of him rapping makes this even more fun to listen to. He does the last track called "Reasons to Be Miserable (His Name is Marvin)", and he pulls it off so well!

It's enough to make you want this album!

A Pleasant Surprise.......2005-11-12

The Hitchhiker's Guide movie,for all its stupendous obserdity, had a surprisingly good score that one doesn't usually find in a comedy.

The silly tracks are in there too, and they're just as entertaining as the more traditional stuff. I love the music that is emitted from the Guide; its digital tones sound like a cell phone (except way less annoying and way cooler). Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster is really awesome; it's like chilled Guide techno.

The slower tracks are equally nice. Tea in Space, Love, The Whale, and Space are all so simple and very pretty.

Then there are a few scores that are really big and just plain awesome. So Long and Thanks for All the Fish (and the intro about dophins) is so hysterical...I love how it's all put together. The Journey of the Sorcerer is fantastic. The only thing that's different about this version from the film is the addition of drums, but it's not a bad change at all. Planet Factory Floor is filled with such wonder and hugeness that's perfect for Magrathea. It's followed by the equally awesome Earth Mark II.

The only thing I didn't like about this CD was the addition of
Reasons to Be Miserable (His Name is Marvin). It was just....annoying and incredibly bad. But it's at the end of the CD, so I just don't listen to it. Not a big problem.

If you've seen the movie and enjoyed the music, this CD is definitely worth it. Who knew a comedy could have such epic music in it?

That's It --- I'm Voting for Beeblebrox!.......2005-11-03

By now, you've probably seen the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" movie in a theater, or at least on DVD (if not both.) Now check out the movie's amazing soundtrack.

The two major standouts of this album in my opinion are "Journey of the Sorcerer" and "Vote Beeblebrox." Anyone who's more than a casual fan of "Hitchhiker's" will immediately recognize "Journey of the Sorcerer" as the classic "Hitchhiker's" theme by the Eagles played on both the radio and television versions and now the movie as well. This version is enhanced and sounds great. It was a treat hearing it at the theater and it's awesome on this CD as well. "Vote Beeblebrox" --- I about died laughing when I heard this one. This is a sort of campaign song for Zaphod Beeblebrox that unfortunately never made it into the movie. "Don't believe the rumors / don't believe the vicious lies" it says, talking about how Zaphod isn't stupid. It continues in this vain with a hilarious spoken part from Zaphod saying that he "y'know, just wants to say all the things that presidents say, y'know." Has to be heard to be believed.

Following close behind these are definitely both versions of the wondrous "So Long and Thanks for All the Fish." Personally, I prefer the second version, a sort of upbeat lounge number, but both are great. "So long and thanks for all the fish / So sad that it should come to this / We tried to warn you all, but oh dear."

This album also includes a couple of what I guess could called Golden Oldies --- "Shoo-Rah! Shoo-Rah!" and "Here I Am (Come and Take Me)." Of these two, I thought "Shoo-Rah! Shoo-Rah!" was definitely better and more fun.

The bulk of the CD is the instrumental tracks from the film. Composed by Joby Talbot, these tend to suit the scenes they come from well. Enjoy some memories from the movie, or just enjoy listening to the music.

Finally, one last thing to mention --- "Reasons to be Miserable (His Name is Marvin)." Performed by Stephen Fry, this is a redo of a song by "Marvin himself." Wanna know what it's like to be Marvin? "In everything he has to do, he finds the world condemning / If he had his time again, he'd rather be a lemming." Yep, that Marvin's sure depressed (and depressing), but the song is fairly fun to listen to.

So long, that's all.......2005-10-01

When I saw the film and heard that catching tune "So Long & Thanks For All the Fish" I immediately decided to have this soundtrack, no doubt. So I rushed to buy the recording and, well brother you've bet, I fell in love with the whole disk. Get this, now, today! You won't be disappointed! You're gonna love the title song!

Zarquad! What A Hoopy Soundtrack!.......2005-06-02

Joby Talbot's score for the film version of the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy is phenomenal. I mean, wow! Really incredibly phenomenal! I mean, you may think Danny Elfman's score to Spider-Man 2 was phenomenal, but that's just peanuts to this score! Okay, I may be exaggerrating a bit, but that should not distract from the fact that this is a great score for a wonderful film. Not only does the music work well with the film, but I would suggest it as a companion to other versions of the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy you may come across. Try listening to it while reading one of the books, for instance. Or playing the text adventure from Infocom.

Some notable points:
The introduction about Dolphins, read by Stephen Fry, who of course played the voice of the Book in the film. And of course, the brassy, Broadway-style show-stopping musical number "So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish" which serves as a wonderfully ridiculous setpiece for the opening credits. The melody appears several times throughout the score, usually whenever Arthur or Trillian are thinking of Earth. It is also reprised as a slow, jazzy, lounge singery song during the first part of the closing credits.

The cue from when the Vogons destroy the earth, which is appropriately tense and dramatic, and climaxes with a panicked-sounding string section playing imposibly high, abrubt notes, and ends abruptly as the earth is destroyed.

To fans of the original radio and TV series, I say to you Don't Panic, because Bernie Leadon's "Journey of the Sorcerer" (Which, for those of you that don't know, served as the theme to both the TV and radio series) is on the soundtrack with a faithful and reverent arrangement, complete with banjo. It is one of my favorite tracks on the album, and I listen to it along with the following track, which shares its name with the film's title, and the title of one of the most wholly remarkable books in the universe: The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy.

Another great track is the music for the whale that is suddenly called into existance over the planet of Magrathea. It is filled with unwarranted optimism, and pathos, and gives the scene the necessary emotional edge, which I think is something Douglas Adams himself would have enjoyed immensely, since he created the whale in response to cop shows where innocent bystanders are meaninglessly killed as a result of conflicts or car chases that they had nothing to do with, and the audience doesn't care about them since they were only on the screen for two seconds. So Douglas wanted to create a character who would only exist as a character for a very short time, but make him extremely sympathetic so the audience would feel actual emotion when he is killed. And it works, and has worked in every version of the Hitchhiker's Guide I've been exposed to.

Another great track is "Huma's Hymn", which sounds so authentically like a church song that you could swear you'd be able to find it in your church's song book. (But you won't, so don't go looking for it.) As I understand it, most of the chorus singing the song consists not of professional singers, but of fans and other random people who happened to be walking by the church where the song was recorded, to give it that extra level of authenticity that other filmmakers probably wouldn't care about.

Overall, this is a very evocative and wonderfully fantastic score. Mr. Talbot displays much originality, but at points seems to channel other great composers of SciFi movie music. I hear traces of John Williams' scores for the Star Wars films and Superman the Movie, Jerry Goldsmith's Star Trek: The Motion Picture, James Horner's Star Treks II and III, and even Nobuo Uematsu's Final Fantasy soundtracks. Just listen to track 8 and you'll see what I mean.

Just so you know, there are three tracks that are not part of the score of the film. I suppose you could call them "Pop" tracks, but they're not tracks that have been popular in the past 10 years, at least. Only one of them: Perry Como's "Magic Moments" was in the film, at least that I could tell. It was used as source music twice, once in the pub near the beginning, and once near the end. That's all I can say about that without spoiling the movie for anyone who hasn't seen it. (And if you don't recognise the name of the song, it's been used in several movies, so you've probably heard it before.) The other two songs are Betty Wright's "Shoo-Rah! Shoo-Rah!" and Al Green's "Here I Am (Come And Take Me)". While the inclusion of these songs on an otherwise orchestral soundtrack may seem odd, they definitely fit the film. Even if "Shoo-Rah! Shoo-Rah!" and "Here I Am (Come And Take Me)" don't appear in the film, you can imagine that they'd be the next songs to be cued on the jukebox in the pub near the beginning of the film, and so they help establish the mood for the scene. Some fans may be surprised or disappointed in the non-inclusion of Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World", but if you see the film, you will see that the scene during which that song played in the radio and TV series is not in the film. But no biggie, if they make a sequel (and there's no reason they shouldn't) perhaps that scene will make it in.

Overall, I'd say that this is a soundtrack that no fan of the Hitchhiker's franchise should be without. So buy it now, before the earth is demolished to make a hyperspace bypass!

Average customer rating:

Oldie, but Goodie
Once lost, now found and reissued on CD.
THOU SWELL. THE YANKEE WINS AGAIN!
A Lost Gem
Not complete and NOT first CD version

A Connecticut Yankee
Broadway Revival Cast
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00005A8KC
Release Date: 2001-03-06

Tracks:

A Connecticut Yankee: Overture
A Connecticut Yankee: My Heart Stood Still
A Connecticut Yankee: Thou Swell
A Connecticut Yankee: On A Desert Island With Thee
A Connecticut Yankee: To Keep My Love Alive
A Connecticut Yankee: Can't You Do A Friend A Favor?
A Connecticut Yankee: I Feel At Home With You
A Connecticut Yankee: You Always Love The Same Girl
A Connecticut Yankee: Finale
Higher And Higher (Selections): Nothing But You
Higher And Higher (Selections): Ev'ry Sunday Afternoon
Higher And Higher (Selections): From Another World
Higher And Higher (Selections): It Never Entered My Mind
By Jupiter (Selections): Careless Rhapsody
By Jupiter (Selections): Jupiter Forbid
By Jupiter (Selections): Ev'rything I Got
By Jupiter (Selections): Nobody's Heart

Customer Reviews:

Oldie, but Goodie.......2006-08-01

Well, I was not expecting to like this one. Its SO old, and very classic (Rodgers and Hart.) But one good thing about it being Rodgers and Hart, is it has lovely lyrics. Clever and witty on every song. Mark Twains book was done justice I think, but I've never read the book. I would suggest this to classic lovers, and newer Broadway fans who want to hear a`"classic" other than Oklahoma. This is a good one. The other great thing about this CD is you get not only A Connecticut Yankee, but also highlights from two other Rodgers and Hart musicals: Higher and Higher and By Jupiter. AWSOME. Favorite Song: "To Keep My Love Alive"

Once lost, now found and reissued on CD........2005-06-03

One of Decca's earliest cast albums (recorded just a few weeks after their famous OKLAHOMA! album) this very nearly became a lost treasure. Recorded on 16" glass masters in 1943, the original release was on 78 RPMS (complete witha booklet givinga detailed synopsis and all the lyrics.) The revival was not a success and when Long Playing records were introduced in the late 1940s, CONNECTICUT YANKEE was not reissued in the new format.

At one time in the 1960s Decca had the masters transferred to tape for a possible LP reissue. That reissue never happened, and in shipping the discs back to the storage facility, they were broken. The tape was taken from the company's archives and did not turn up until almost 30 years later. Though modern technology could probably have coaxed even better sound from the master discs, we must be thankful that the tape was made when it was.

In the meanwhile there were three unautherized isses of these tracks. A new York based private label called Box Office transferred the 78's to one side of an Lp in the 1970s. Later, AEI released an elaborate gatefold Lp with not only the full score (again dubbed from 78s) but also fabricated some additional tracks reprising some of the songs (in theatrical order) by editing portions from the existing tracks. Finally there was a release on CD from Box Office with horrible sound that stil sometimes turns up for sale. Avoid it. Decca actually sent a request that Box Office withdraw the bootleg Cd.

This edition has much better sound and the bonus tracks by Hildegard and Shirley Ross from BY JUPITER and HIGHER AND HIGHER make the package very worthwhile.

THOU SWELL. THE YANKEE WINS AGAIN!.......2003-02-09

"A Connecticut Yankee," by Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers, contains more hit songs than the average Broadway season nowadays. "My Heart Stood," "Still," "Thou Swell" and the redoubtable "To Keep My Love Alive" all sound fresh and vibrant in this fabulously remastered 1943 recording. Particularly wonderful is the total and complete recording of "To Keep My Love Alive," sung by the one great (female) love of the Lyricist's life, Vivienne Segal ... nearly seven minutes of the wittiest ways to do in a husband. This is one of the first "original cast" recordings ever recorded, and it sounds as crisp and clear as a recording made today. Bravo! (Submitted by staff member Stephen J. Finn)

A Lost Gem.......2002-01-17

A wonderful rerelease of glass discs made for the 1943 revival of this charming musical. While the orchestra is less than polished (there is one particular trumpet you can hear over and over that is awful and flat!)--it has a lot of zest to it, and makes one yearn to see the play - indeed, to see more of the Rodgers and Hart shows performed.

Not complete and NOT first CD version.......2001-08-19

This CD collection of tracks from the 1943 revival of the Rodgers & Hart musical is advertised as the first CD presentation of these tracks. This is incorrect. I have a CD issued in 1999 by Box Office Recordings called "A Collector's Rodgers & Hart" which contains all the "Connecticut Yankee" tracks plus 14 additional tracks of Rodgers & Hart covers (different from the covers on the Decca CD).

Worse, I have an AEI LP recording of the revival which has three additional tracks from the show. Why weren't these selections included in this recording?

Tracks:

This Is Better Than I Thought It Was Boogie
Careless Love
Paris But I Dont Know Why
Blue Monk
On The Sunny Side of the Street
Georgia
Just A Closer Walk With Thee
Make Me A Pallet On The Floor
All of Me
Ive Got It Bad and That Aint Good
Jambalaya

Product Description

Erwin Helfer follows up his 2003 W.C. Handy nominated solo recording Im Not Hungry But I Like To Eat - Blues! with a trio on Careless Love, a diverse collection of blues, boogie, and jazz piano. Helfer has been an integral part of blues piano history for the past fifty years, and he is the last living link to the Yanceys legacy of Chicago blues and boogie piano. On this disc Erwin plays Mama Yanceys signature piece Make Me A Pallet On The Floor; an original composition Paris But I Dont Know Why which sounds like a classical etude, but also has a spunky barrelhouse flavor; jazz standards like Sunny Side of the Street and All of Me which jump off the keys; and the calypso-tinged Jambalaya.

Customer Reviews:

Careless Love.......2007-03-30

Steven Dolins of THE SIREN RECORDS has added another jewel to his cd-editions by recording Erwin Helfer's Trio's CARELESS LOVE featuring the Chicago boogie veteran Erwin Helfer with John Whitfield on bass and Avreeayl Ra on drums. Ra has backed up other famous musicians from Prof. Longhair to Sun Ra and masters the steady beat of the blues as well as any jazzy or eclectic pattern. He grooves along with Whitfield, a well-known bassist who is comfortable with all traditional and contemporary styles , playing with cats like Jodie Christian, Barry Harris and Earma Thompson. Erwin Helfer and The Sirens dedicated this recording to the memory of their friend Emery "Detroit Junior" Williams jr.

As we know from Helfer's former recordings "I'm Not Hungry But I Like To Eat" and his tracks on "8 Hands On 88 Keys" his creative authenticity banishes standartisation, adding surprising twists and turns to familiar songs, stamping them with his very own unmistakable trademark of gutsy grinds polished and refined by urban elegance. Thus Helfer's music stands rooted firmly with both legs in the old tradition of stride piano and barrelhouse, pounding the bass keys with the power of the Yellow Dog to back up the artistic, eloquent right hand that ventures into jazz and ballads deriving some of its beauty from classical piano techniques.

After having played the Jazz Festival of Berlin / Germany and performing in Hungary Helfer introduces us to two of his own compositions: "This Is Better Than I Thought It Was" is a good old boogie, rough and down-to-earth in its rhythmic pattern yet touched with sophistication. "Paris But I Don't Know Why" surprises the listener with a masterful blend of an etude pattern based on a boogie rhythm with swing elements. "Just A Closer walk With Thee", a hymn full of joy and pleasure reflects the spirit of New Orleans where Helfer lived, performed and researched for a couple of years, while "Jambalaya" pays tribute to the sense of great food, great music and easy life. "Blue Monk", essentially a blues pattern, boasts the pride of the nonconformist yet does not deny its original roots and swinging childhood, while "All Of Me" and "I Got It Bad" give proof of the wide range of jazz that the recording presents. "Georgia" takes us on a melancholy ride to the South and stays on our minds, while "On The Sunny Side Of The Street" bounces and strides along with a joyful swagger. "Make Me A Pallet On The Floor" in memoriam of Yimmy and Mama Estrelle Yancey has been on Helfer's repertoire since decades and is going fresh and strong as ever. "Careless Love", one of Helfer's favourites, is not careless at all but moves any heart that ever has loved, touches memories gone by and hopes to be fulfilled and leaves you in the embrace of the power of deep emotions.

This recording is an inspiration for the blues lover with an open approach to jazz and beyond.

Helfer Helper Careless Review.......2006-09-01

One should mention that Erwin does live performances as a main body of his work and seeing him at one of the many venues he appears at is better than CD. His type of music is best live where that gritty, boogie pulse rises from the piano to meet the sights and smells of the Chicago club scene. In this recording all 88 keys (he won't play with less!) jump out to engage you in an audio experience with a variety of songs, styles and standards. Listening is the next best thing to live. I got my CD copy autographed, Thanks Erwin!

another gem from helfer.......2006-02-13

Once again, the great Erwin Helfer steps out with a brand new recording of blues and jazz piano, this time with superb backing from J.Whitfield and A.Ra on bass and drums, respectively. After being sadly underrecorded for decades, Helfer is finally getting his due recognition as one of the masters of his chosen line of expression. On this particular record, he makes old standards like Georgia and Blue Monk fit in nicely with old barrelhouse numbers like Make Me A Pallet and his own origninals. This is a musician whose knowledge of tradition makes him all the more original and interesting in his take on the contemporary.

A.E. Housman: A Shropshire Lad, Complete in verse and song

Average customer rating:

A.E. Housman: A Shropshire Lad, Complete in verse and song
Alan Bates , Anthony Rolfe Johnson , and Graham Johnson
Manufacturer: Hyperion UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00005S85Q
Release Date: 2001-12-11

Average customer rating:

remarkable evocation of a bygone style
Wodehouse the magnificent
The Rolls Royce of Zez Confrey recordings.

Zez Confrey Piano Rolls and Scores

Manufacturer: Warner Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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James Scott: The Complete Works 1903-1922
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ASIN: B00007KMNW
Release Date: 2003-04-01

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The Red Lantern
By The Waters Of The Minnetonka
Novelette
Waltz Mirage
Greenwich Witch
Afghanistan
Kitten On The Keys
Kinda Careless
The Sheik Of Araby
Heaven's Garden
Stumbling
Jaywalk
Tap Dance Of The Chimes
Humorestless
That Thing Called Love
Midsummer's Nightmare
Tricks
Coaxing The Piano
Concert Etude
My Pet
Relaxation
Fantasy Of Today

Customer Reviews:

remarkable evocation of a bygone style.......2003-07-25

In some ways, Artis Wodehouse's Disklavier realization of Zez Confrey's lighter-than-air pianistic joyrides is an even more impressive accomplishment than her previous restorations of Gershwin and Jelly Roll Morton piano rolls. Confrey's novelty style seems the truest musical embodiment of F. Scott Fitzgerald. It is fascinating to hear the spirit of the 20s come to life in such a nerve titillating way. Especially remarkable are the selections hand played by Ms. Wodehouse into the Disklavier. Though they are designated on the jacket liner notes, by ear it is impossible to tell the difference-- a tribute to the complete success and seamless integrity of her stylistic resurrection.

Wodehouse the magnificent.......2003-04-25

I've heard Artis Wodehouse play in other venues and she is an artist of the most amazing versatility and profound knowledge, not to mention astounding energy. This CD is exciting to listen to, friends play in their workplaces to add zip to life there. It will bring you tremendous enjoyment.

The Rolls Royce of Zez Confrey recordings........2003-04-10

If you already know and enjoy Zez Confrey's music, this disc belongs in your collection. If Confrey is unknown to you, this disc still belongs in your collection, unless of course you find joyful, exuberant piano music to be repugnant.

For those new to Confrey, here's a brief description:

Edward Elzear Confrey (known to all as Zez) was a self-described composer of novelty piano music, his way of trying to describe music that was at once influenced by ragtime, early jazz, popular songs, and classical composers, particularly Debussy and MacDowell. His music rarely if ever aspires to emotional profundity, but its sheer joy, bounce, and tunefulness make it hard to put down once you've started, whether as listener or pianist. As an amateur pianist, I've been playing Zez Confrey's music for 20 years. The reactions I have gotten from people over the years have been consistently the same; "Wow! Who wrote that?", and "Are there recordings of this music I can buy?". Now, this disc gives me an easy answer to the second question.

This disc is Artis Wodehouse's fourth disc devoted to her amazing humanized piano rolls. The first two covered a good cross-section of George Gershwin's piano rolls, while a third was a collection of piano rolls by Jelly Roll Morton. This is easily her finest work since the first "Gershwin plays Gershwin" disc in 1993.

Zez Confrey, like his contemporaries George Gershwin and Jelly Roll Morton, left behind a well-rounded collection of acoustic gramophone recordings as well as paper piano rolls. The least sophisticated of these paper rolls merely captured the notes that the pianist played and nothing more. Once the roll was published and sold, it was the job of the consumer, operating his or her own reproducing piano, to mechanically add pedaling, rubato, and dynamics as he or she saw fit. However, the most sophisticated reproducing rolls captured not only the notes but the pedaling, rubato, and dynamics used by the pianist, often with uncanny accuracy. All paper rolls allowed the pianist the option of post-production editing, e.g., removing wrong notes, and in popular music such as this, adding dazzling "third hand" counterpoint effects that made the end result unplayable by a human pianist. Confrey was one the best at this, and he uses this technique liberally throughout the rolls on this disc. (For those of you familiar with Confrey's "Kitten on the Keys" or "Dizzy Fingers" in their standard published versions, you're in for a treat once you hear Confrey's souped up three-handed versions presented here.) Still, even the best of these paper rolls played back on the best reproducing pianos could never be mistaken by an astute listener for a human being (two-handed or otherwise). There was always a discernible gap between playing produced in the human realm and that of the mechanical realm, that is until relatively recently. The explosion of digital technology has allowed such things as computerized reproducing pianos like the Yamaha Disklavier to become a readily available reality. Recordings made and played back on such pianos are virtually indistinguishable from live human performances. It wasn't long before people like Artis Wodehouse starting exploring ways to apply this technology to the old paper rolls, finally enabling listeners to experience what it might have been like to hear pianists like Gershwin, Morton, and Confrey recorded in the flesh, and in modern sound. By taking the information encoded on these old paper rolls and feeding it into a Yamaha Disklavier system, she has been able narrow the gap between human playing and mechanical playing to the point of near nonexistence. Through careful study of Confrey's actual playing from acoustic recordings, Wodehouse has softened the mechanical edges, painstakingly adding those qualities that distinguished Confrey's playing in the flesh, effectively making each roll indistinguishable from an actual human performance.

On the first Gershwin disc from 1993, several of the rolls she chose had been previously recorded in their original paper roll form. Having heard these original paper roll recordings, listening to Artis Wodehouse's humanized versions of these same rolls was like seeing an old film before and then after restoration. In short, it was a revelation.

This new Zez Confrey disc easily lives up to these high standards Wodehouse set for herself, indeed this disc may even set the bar higher. This time around, not only is Wodehouse working from two different types of paper rolls, she is actually playing some of the pieces herself, works that Confrey did not record, but that deserve a place on any disc of Confrey's music. The joyful bounce and rhythmic snap of her playing so perfectly matches Confrey's own playing that it becomes impossible to tell which tracks are hers and which are Confrey's. The result is an amazingly seamless and unified blend of musicianship, scholarship, technological know-how, with an astute understanding of the individual elements that made Confrey's playing unique. Whether as pianist or digital editor, with this CD, Wodehouse has done more for Confrey's music than has anyone before her. The results are well worth hearing.

Ivor Novello Songs
Average customer rating:

English Operetta, Beautifully Sung

Ivor Novello Songs

Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Musical Theater | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
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We'll Gather Lilacs: The Songs of Ivor Novello

The Musicality of Novello

Gosford Park (2001 film)

ASIN: B0001CNRAW
Release Date: 2002-03-23

Tracks:

Some Day My Heart Will Awake [From King's Rhapsody]
Primrose [From the Dancing Years]
Love Is My Reason [From Perchance to Dream]
Dark Music [From Arc de Triomphe]
Little Damozel
When the Gypsy Played [From Glamorous Night]
On Such a Night as This [From Gay's the Word]
Fly Home, Little Heart [From King's Rhapsody]
Keep the Home Fires Burning ('Till the Boys Come Home)
Music in May [From "Careless Rapture"]
Violin Began to Play [From King's Rhapsody]
Spring of the Year
My Dearest Dear [From the Dancing Years]
Finder, Please Return [From Gay's the Word]
Look in My Heart [From "Valley of Song"]
When I Curtsied to the King [From Perchance to Dream]
We'll Gather Lilacs [From Perchance to Dream]
Fairy Laughter
Glamorous Night [From Glamorous Night]
Why Is There Ever Goodbye? [From Careless Rapture]

Customer Reviews:

English Operetta, Beautifully Sung.......2006-10-25

For those that love operetta, most think of Vienese operettas of Johann Strauss Sr and Jr, Lehar, etc and the American Operettas of Romberg and Victor Herbert, etc. Just a bit later there was an English exponent of the form, one Ivor Novello, who was a contemporary of Noel Coward, who wrote the most glorious Romantic songs. This CD, absolutely gloriously sung is a wonderful place to start an exploration of this remarkable composer who also performed in all his shows, in non singing roles. England has through the years produced a number of wonderful sopranos who have specialized in the light opera genre. June Bronhill dominated the 1960s and 70s. Marilyn Hill Smith is her heir aparant, blessed with the most ravishing soprano, full and rich across the range, with a radiant top that rivals Joan Sutherland. Her performance of Bernstein's Glitter and Be Gay on Jay records version of Candide is one of my favorites. This CD is my favorite Marilyn Hill Smith recording. I haul it out when I have been very good and deserving of a special treat. If you are not familiar with the glorious melodies of Ivor Novello, start here, you won't be sorry.

Average customer rating:

Faust (Sung in English)
Gounod , Clarke , Miles , Plazas , Magee , and Parry
Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Verdi: La Traviata

ASIN: B00006NSEC
Release Date: 2002-11-26

Average customer rating:

Hymns of faith

Hymns of Faith
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Manufacturer: Bonneville / Bwe
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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Rock of Ages: 30 Favorite Hymns
Come, Come, Ye Saints

ASIN: B000005871
Release Date: 1996-09-03

Tracks:

All Glory, Laud, And Honor
The Morning Breaks
The Lord Is My Shepherd
Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah
Glory To God On High
I Believe In Christ
Lord, I Would Follow Thee
How Great Thou Art
Abide With Me!
Come, Come, Ye Saints
God Of Our Fathers, Whose Almighty Hand
I Need Thee Every Hour
Love At Home
For The Strength Of The Hills
Though Deepening Trials
The Spirit Of God
Abide With Me; 'Tis Eventide

Customer Reviews:

Hymns of faith.......2003-11-19

A very inspirational and spiritually soothing CD. I personally rank it as one of the best works by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. This is the 5th copy which I will be purchasing. I was forced to give away the others to friends who heard me playing it, and were so blown away by its magnificence that they offered to buy it from me. I ended up giving them away because I don't believe the spiritual upliftment this CD delivers can be quantified in dollars.

Average customer rating:

The Musicality of Novello
Ivor Novello , Valerie Masterson , and Josephine Blake
Manufacturer: Jay Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

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We'll Gather Lilacs: The Songs of Ivor Novello
Shine Through My Dreams: Original 1917-1950 Recordings
The Musicality of Kern
Shine Through My Dreams
The Musicality of Rodgers & Hart

ASIN: B000068G8L
Release Date: 2002-08-03

Tracks:

Glamorous Night ("Glamorous Night") - Valerie Masterson
I Can Give You the Starlight ("The Dancing Years") - Marilyn Hill Smith
We'll Gather Lilacs ("Perchance to Dream") - Valerie Masterson and Gillian Knight
My Life Belongs to You ("The Dancing Years") - David Fieldsend
The Violin Began to Play ("King's Rhapsody") - Mary Hegarty
Waltz of My Heart ("The Dancing Years") - Marilyn Hill Smith
Someday My Heart Will Awake ("King's Rhapsody") - Valerie Masterson
Music in May ("Careless Rapture") - Tinuke Olafimihan
Vitality ("Gay's The Word") - Josephine Blake
Love Is My Reason ("Perchance to Dream") - Mary Hegarty
My Dearest Dear ("The Dancing Years") - Valerie Masterson
And Her Mother Came Too ("A To Z") - Richard Murdoch

Music:

Music

Music