This Is America

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
"AS YOU LOOK AT EVERY FACE, LOOK BEYOND THE RACE - THEN YOU'LL SEE WE'RE ALL AMERICANS..."

"This Is America" was written by Stevie Holland and Gary William Friedman (composer of the hit musical THE ME NOBODY KNOWS) and performed by Stevie Holland.

This CD single was produced as a fund-raiser for those whose lives were impacted by the acts of terror on September 11, 2001. The Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund, a program of the Citizen's Scholarship Foundation of America (CSFA) was the main recipient of the fundraising efforts. In addition, money and CD gifts were donated to various patriotic organizations around the country.

We hope that "This Is America" finds its way into the hearts of Americans as a unifying and inspirational patriotic song.

Tracks:

Is This It
The Modern Age
Soma
Barely Legal
Someday
Alone, Together
Last Nite
Hard To Explain
When It Started
Trying Your Luck
Take It Or Leave It

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

With all the media hype that dogged the Strokes before the release of their debut album, it's rather apt that they chose the title Is This It. On the strength of just five songs released on two singles, the Strokes were being hailed as everything from the saviors of rock & roll to the Savior himself. Surely, few bands could live up to the impossibly high standards set for this young five-piece, but the band needn't have worried: Is This It is one of the most exciting and energetic debut albums to spring from New York's long-dormant club scene. In fact, the Strokes are a New York City band through and through; like the Velvet Underground, these are a bunch of uptown artsy types elegantly slumming downtown to the tried and tested themes of sex, drugs, and rock & roll. Their singer-songwriter, the fantastically named Julian Casablancas, delivers his lyrics with a weary nonchalance that belies his age on songs like the title track, "Soma," "Hard to Explain," and the altogether wonderful "Barely Legal." And the band recalls the likes of Television and the Stooges on "Last Nite" and "The Modern Age." Let's hope this sexy, stylish, and undeniably cool band is the future of rock & roll. --Robert Burrow

Customer Reviews:

The most overrated album of the 21st century so far.......2007-06-24

This is mediocre rock'n'roll. Nothing particularly great about it in any way. It will remain one of the mysteries of live how this group and this album got so hyped up. (I've never seen them live, maybe their live shows have got something that NYC critics picked up on. But on the basis of this recording?? Feh!)

fun.......2007-06-11

intitially i wasn't quite sure about these guys but as as an old rocker and surf bum, i really lke they're music. yup, these guys probably ripped off someone, somewhere but you know what? who doesn't to some degree and for what it's worth they are totally fun and their tunes just click. i read one reviewer who said they ripped off high strung and i even went so far to get the high strung cd and yes it is very similar but nowhere near as good.

You need to hear this. The songs make it a true classic. .......2007-06-07

When this album came out in the Fall of 2001, it hit my friends and I like a sledgehammer. We found ourselves endlessly trying to come up with analogies to describe the sound, and we could never quite do it. All of my friends, who had tastes ranging from punk to indie rock to radio pop, loved this record. The songs were simply that memorable and that good. Unfortunately, the Strokes were largely dismissed as an image band or a hipster band. Even worse, their follow-up albums honestly weren't as good. Still, this thing still puts a smile on my face every time. I rank it as high as any classic album ever made.

A Classic Album.......2007-05-30

I bought this album a little over a year ago, and I've probably listened to it over 200 times since then -- seriously. I realize that I'm way late to the party, but I wasn't paying much attention to the music scene back in 2001 and I lived in California.

I certainly wasn't aware of all the hype surrounding the Strokes -- their look, alleged influences, "importance to rock music," etc. All I knew was their hit, "Last Night," and remember thinking: "that's a catchy tune, but it seems to me that the singer is trying to sing like Lou Reed on "Rock 'n Roll" and the guitarist stole the riff from Tom Petty's "American Girl." The video from the same song reminded me of the High School bands that I remember seeing back in the early-to-mid '80s.

I kind of liked it, but just sort of forgot about the Strokes. It seems that along the way a lot of others have forgotten about the Strokes, too, which I mostly blame on the Strokes, themselves. But I'll get to that later.

But first, since becoming an "Is this It" devotee and diving back into the music scene, I've concluded that the Strokes were terribly misunderstood back in 2001. I think part of it has to do with how important a "rock scene" is to critics -- how is shapes their views of The Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth, Television, etc. I think critics back in 2001 wanted very badly for the Strokes to be a second coming of SOME NY band that came out any of the oft-noted NY rock scenes of the past. Some just fabricated the connections and praised them for it; others realized this wasn't the case and slagged them as poseurs.

To name some examples: I think that the comparisons to Television and The Stooges border on ludicrous. Comparisons to The Velvet Underground are valid, but mostly insofar as they relate to the similarity between Julian Casablancas' vocals and Lou Reed's on "Rock 'n Roll" and "Head Held High" (off the Loaded album). Frankly, in addition to the above-mentioned Tom Petty riff, some of the stuff from Joy Division and the Cure sound closer to the Strokes' sound than these other bands. Heck, I think I heard the Repitilia opening riff on Belle & Sebastian's "Judy Dick Slap."

But that's neither here nor there, because what I've learned from listening to a bunch of current bands that I like -- The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Shins, Spoon, Of Montreal, etc. -- is that that they ALL lift riffs, melodies, etc. from others. Heck, even Radiohead, on their epic OK, Computer, sounds an awful like Pink Floyd, the Smiths, and even Rush, in parts. So, yes, the Strokes might have clipped together sound fragments they liked, but they did it artfully (unlike, say, Oasis, who I like, but don't love partly for this reason), in my opinion, like many other excellent bands do.

The important thing here is the songs -- and the songs on this album are all great -- not "epic", but extremely catchy and unique. Unless I'm completely out of touch -- and that's a distinct possibility -- if I were in college today, "Is this It" would be one of the first and last records I would go to if I had a little party going on in my dorm room.

If someone wants to argue that the songs are "slight," OK, I'll buy it. If someone wants to say that there are roughly two songs here -- one more "Rock 'n Roll" and the other more "New Wavey" -- played five different ways each, I'll buy that, too. Finally, if someone wants to say that the band, itself, doesn't show true "virtuosity" as musicians or that the record, itself, didn't push new musical boundaries, like, say, "Sgt. Pepper," "Dark Side of the Moon," "OK Computer," etc., fair enough.

Except in the case of Julian Casablancas, who delivers the finest vocals on this record as almost any you'll ever hear since Kurt Cobain on Nevermind or Tom Yorke on OK, Computer. Some describe Casablancas' vocals as "listless" or "bored," but this only tells a small part of the story. Yes, at times he does sound bored, but then oftentimes, he'll go from bored, to growling, to outright shouting. Just check out "The Modern Age," "Last Night," "Take it or Leave it," well almost every song. One could argue that Casablancas' vocals are aided by a megaphone-like distortion; I don't disagree, but that doesn't change how effective they are for me. IIf all you did was focus carefully on Casablancas' vocals, I think there's a chance you'd become as hooked on this record as I have.

In fact, I urge you to do just that.

And on the note of production, I think the band and Gordon Raphael made a brilliant decision to make the album "sound" as retro as it does. The Strokes asked Raphael to produce a record which sounded like it was a band from the future returning to the past -- and he did. This album sounds, in style and substance, like it could have served as the soundtrack to "Fast Times at Ridgemont High."

Unfortunately, the Strokes haven't been productive, recording-wise, since "Is this It," coming out with only two records -- the good-but-not-great "Room on Fire" and "First Impressions of Earth" -- in the nearly-six years since then, and unlikely to produce another until at least 2008. And that's a shame.

Just imagine if we were sitting here, say, in 1989, and R.E.M. had only "Murmur," "Fables of the Reconstruction" and "Green" to show for themselves; or in 1970 and the Beatles had only made a "Please Please Me/With the Beatles" combo, "Beatles for Sale" and "Let It Be." [No, I am not saying that the Strokes are in the same class as either band, especially the Beatles]. They'd each have done some great stuff and some good stuff, but would have also missed out on producing almost two-handfuls of classic albums between them.

The Strokes SHOULD have come out with an album between "Is This It" and "Room on Fire;" they SHOULD have come out with TWO albums between "Room on Fire" and "First Impressions of Earth." Heck, I'd argue that they maybe they SHOULD have come out with an album since "First Impressions of Earth." Then, maybe, we'd have another classic Strokes' album or two to enjoy, in addition to the one we have with "Is this It."

Fun, fast and punchy - 4.5 stars.......2007-05-13

I remember getting this back in 2001 when everyone and their dog were stumbling all over themselves proclaiming The Strokes saviors and future of rock and the best thing since sliced bread. Unfair as it may be, all that hideous overexposure and ubiquity only served to set me against The Strokes because personally I just couldn't see what the fuss was about. Now that the hype around the band has dimmed and the music press are busy pushing other fresh new things into the spotlight, I could finally enjoy "Is This It" for what it is, a highly enjoyable collection of energetic, catchy guitar songs that borrow heavily from the rock'n'roll past - Television, Stooges - but still manage to sound modern and fresh. The album does start to suffer from sameness by the end especially when it comes to Julian Casablancas' monotone slacker delivery, but it's not much of a problem since "Is This It" wraps itself neatly in just over 35 minutes. Original? No, just like 99.9999% bands (some of them great) out there. Fun to tap your foot to? Heck yeah.

This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About

Average customer rating:

for anyone who is alive
great first LP
Really catchy work...arguably Modest Mouse's best
Best Modest Mouse album
Fantastic album

This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About
Modest Mouse
Manufacturer: Up.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000003L1P
Release Date: 1996-04-09

Tracks:

Dramamine
Breakthrough
Custom Concern
Might
Lounge
Beach Side Property
She Ionizes & Atomizes
Head South
Dog Paddle
Novocain Stain
Tundra/Desert
Ohio
Exit Does Not Exist
Talking Shit About A Pretty Sunset
Make Everyone Happy/Mechanical Birds
Space Travel Is Boring

Amazon.com

Frontman Isaac Brock's claim that he's being stalked by his own alter ego was not the first bit of evidence that Modest Mouse isn't your usual pop band. Witness the entirety of this 1996 indie debut from the Washington trio that inspired a major-label bidding war. This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About finds Brock cruising with cohorts Eric Judy and Jeremiah Green (plus an occasional cellist) through a landscape of intoxicatingly original lo-fi tunes. Sure, Brock's early vocals make Nikki Sudden sound like one smooth crooner, but their strained quality offset the primitive elegance of his guitar work, giving a passionate vulnerability to "Breakthrough," "Custom Concern," and other treatises on life in the lost lane. --Bill Forman

Customer Reviews:

for anyone who is alive.......2007-07-07

This is, overall, my favorite Mouse album. The first three tracks work together so well, with the looping meandering guitar riffs and the lyrics that sound like the life of every disenchanted teenager or young adult that's ever lived. As always with Mouse there are some tracks that get a little noisy or sound a little incomplete, but that's part of the charm. Brock doesn't write consistently perfect songs, but he writes so many perfect songs that it's almost a relief to realize that he's not flawless. Perhaps the most gifted lyricist in alternative rock, some of the wordplay is pure poetry.

great first LP.......2007-06-16

I am a huge modest mouse fan. but i know this record is not for everyone.
please start with the new modest mouse this stuff might turn you off to them at first listen. I love this CD! it has so many great qualities that dont show up on other modest mouse records.

1.Dramamine- great opening song awesome guitar rift. 5/5
2.Breakthrough- good song nice odd vocals.BUT THATS WHAT WE LOVE 4/5
3.Custom Concern- good lyrics slide guitar this one stands out 5/5
4.Might- short simple song 3/5
5.Lounge- starts fast pace ends in a slow rock jam. 4/5
6.Beach Side Property- features some screaming vocals which you dont find often in modest mouse a great song. 5/5
7.The Ionizes and Atomizes- sounds very bipolar- 3/5
8.Head South- More screaming in chorus and nicole johnson with backup vocals. really good song. "Struck by being ashamed of your old space" 5/5
9.Dog Paddle- screaming cool little song with coughs and wheezes through it. 4/5
10.Novocain Stain- a really really good song! 5/5
11.Tundra/Desert-One of their hardest hitting songs. 5/5
12.Ohio- right now im obsessed with the great lyrics in this song. "I'm upset and i leave the door open wide our hearts are used up cracked and dried." Amazing 5/5
13.Exit does not Exist- cool title blazing drums. 4/5
14.Talking shit about a pretty Sunset- one of the best songs on the album. 5/5
15.Make Everyone Happy/Mechanical Birds- starts off kinda sweet then goes full blown guitar jam. 4/5
16.Space Travel is Boring- nice song but not to special to me. 3/5

I love this cd but its not their best work.
i definitely recommend it to anyone likes Building nothing out of Something or Lonesome crowded west.

Really catchy work...arguably Modest Mouse's best.......2007-02-13

I really enjoy the overall dry twangyness in this album. The opening tracks are instant indie/alternative classics. Very quirky, laid back material that could easily please any Modest Mouse fan. I also recommend Lonesome Crowded West for more wonderful work.

Best Modest Mouse album.......2007-01-31

Here is what I have to say: This is my favorite Modest Mouse album. This album captures to total perfection what it feels like to be sad and cold but at the same time filled with a sweet appreciation for your own existence. There is such a fantastic reality to be found here. This will always be at the top for me. There is a good section of my life in which this is the definitive soundtrack. The music can be so bare but masterfull it makes you want to scream. Like living in a sparse cold room that you still find beautiful. If you want good music then, here, take this.

Fantastic album.......2007-01-21

As much as I wanted to diss them for being too heavily indebted to the Pixies, I could not resist the magnificence of this album. It blew me away when I first heard it, and it continues to.

Modest Mouse has released a slew of great albums, so I can't say this is my favorite, but it might be....

Average customer rating:

Salute to America
A good choice but...
Ho-Hum
"Boston Pops".. Alway's do the Job!
Full-Spirited

Salute to America

Manufacturer: Mca Special Products
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000047JW
Release Date: 1995-04-16

Tracks:

Candide (Overture)
New York, New York (America Medley)
Lonely Town (America Medley)
America (Ameriaca Medley)
Battle Hymn of the Republic
American Salute
America the Beautiful
This Land is Your Land
76 Trombones
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Strike Up the Band
When the Saints go Marchin' In

Customer Reviews:

Salute to America.......2006-07-27

A good choice but..........2005-06-29

It is not the best CD that I have bought but it is an honest one. The orchestration is good, the choice of tunes is excellent and the tunes are well played. As you know, it is always difficult to say : I like it or I hate it because hearing a CD is a question of personal point of view. In my case, I may not say that I like it or I hate it, I prefer some other orchestration but it us a good CD.

Ho-Hum.......2005-06-08

I wanted some rousing marching music. This album is half asleep. The sound quality is poor. Apparently Mr. Williams writes better music than he conducts.

"Boston Pops".. Alway's do the Job!.......2001-10-03

John Williams/Boston Pops.. Salute to America.

And they do! They salute America! This is a wonderful C.D
Battle Hymn of the Republic, is great..

New York, New York,will bring tears to your eyes!
12 renditions in all..

All these are performed wonderfully, and well worth the money!

I would recommend this to anyone who loves patriotic music, it will stir the heart and soul of Americans....

Full-Spirited.......2000-09-02

I'm a classical music/opera person for the most part. But I find this CD entralling. Even the organization of the CD is ideal-almost like a symphony--with the rousing Candide Overture and the musical medleys at the beginning, the patriotic songs as the B section, and the Dixieland and other music from American musicals to finish up. And I particularly like the orchestration of the medleys. A wonderful CD.

This Land Is Your Land: The Asch Recordings, Vol. 1

Average customer rating:

best single CD of Woody there is
A true legend
One Great immortal song
A POPULIST SINGER FOR THE AGES
Woody Guthrie... Start here...

This Land Is Your Land: The Asch Recordings, Vol. 1
Woody Guthrie
Manufacturer: Smithsonian Folkways
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000001DJY
Release Date: 1997-02-18

Tracks:

This Land Is Your Land
Car Song
Ramblin' Round
Talking Fishing Blues
Philadelphia Lawyer
Lindbergh
Hobo's Lullaby
Pastures Of Plenty
Grand Coulee Dam
End Of The Line
New York Town
Gypsy Davy
Jesus Christ
This Land is Your Land
Do-Re-Mi
Jarama Valley
Biggest Thing Man Has Ever Done
Picture From Life`s Other Side
Jesse James
Talking Hard Work
When That Great Ship Went Down
Hard, Ain`t It Hard
Going Down The Road Feeling Bad
I Ain't Got Nobody
Sinking Of The Reuben James
Why, Oh Why?
This Land Is Your Land

Amazon.com

What's most astonishing about Woody Guthrie is the way he created a whole, complete, living world of song. People, places, great and small events, nature, poetry, visions: He was so much more than a working class spokesperson, though, as this collection shows, he was the greatest one America has known. This first volume in the historic reissues of Guthrie's Smithsonian recordings is one of the finest: Guthrie's voice and verbal brilliance were at their peak in the 1940s and songs like "Do-Re-Mi," "Jesse James," and "Jesus Christ" continue to influence songwriters a half-century later. --Roy Francis Kasten

Album Description

The first in a series of four, this recording presents many of Woody Guthrie's best known songs taken from the original masters. Included here is the original version of Woody's anthem "This Land Is Your Land," which contains never-before issued lyrics. A major force in the urban folk song revival, Guthrie created an intimate portrait of America - its land and people. He has influenced many contemporary artists, among them Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Billy Bragg, and Bruce Springsteen. During the 1930s and 40s, Woody Guthrie wrote more than a thousand songs, recording hundreds of them for Folkways founder Moses Asch. The surviving masters now reside in the Folkways archive at the Smithsonian Institution. Running time: 72 minutes; 36-page booklet includes historical and biographical notes on Woody Guthrie. Compiled by Jeff Place and Guy Logsdon. "The single finest Guthrie Collection Available." --Music Central

Customer Reviews:

best single CD of Woody there is.......2007-03-23

This CD, in my opinion, represents the most cutting protest songs Guthrie wrote and performed. "This Land Is Your Land," included here with the extremely rare extra verse version, presents the song as he wrote it--a searing stab at the caste system, buried beneath the beauty of America's plains and mountains. Heard in this light, the song to me is no longer the light-hearted children's song we learned in grade school--it is a frightening message delivered via Guthrie's razor-sharp wit. The song sounds stark, forbidden, stifled.

This album is the beginning of it all. The recording quality is dubious at times, and Guthrie's plaintative singing and guitar playing only add to the ambience. These songs aren't easy to listen to, but this CD is an essential component of any collection, ranking with the Sun recordings in historical importance.

A true legend.......2007-01-18

What can be said about Woody Guthrie that has not already been said, and probably better than I possibly could.
All I can hope to do is add my voice to others in praising a wonderful singer / songwriter / activist / human being, who was very much a concience for his day and for ours.
I was so pleased to learn that his series of Asch Recodings are available today on CD. His music is collected in the Smithsonian Institute,
Washington - and deservedly so. I love his easy style, it's like he is sitting with you round the fire just strumming and singing out his wonderful mesages. The messages are truly timeless.
He, Pete Seeger, The Weavers, Leadbelly, and others influenced a whole generation of folk - Dylan, Baez, and many others. Please keep them available Amazon. They are still important and relevant.

One Great immortal song.......2006-08-04

Music is like art. What appeals to one might not another. In this case I wanted his recording of This Land is Your Land which was resurrected during the last presidential campaign by JibJab. If you haven't heard their rendition, it's a must. As far as the rest of Woodie's songs I thought they were OK but nothing great.
Bob G

A POPULIST SINGER FOR THE AGES.......2006-04-02

This review is being used to describe several of Woody Guthrie's recordings. Although I have listened to most of his songs and recordings these represent those that best represent his life's work.

My musical tastes were formed, as were many of those of the generation of 1968, by `Rock and Roll' music exemplified by the Rolling Stones and Beatles and by the blues revival, both Delta and Chicago style. However, those forms as much as they gave pleasure were only marginally political at best. In short, these were entertainers performing material that spoke to us. In the most general sense that is all one should expect of a performer. Thus, for the most part that music need not be reviewed here. Those who thought that a new musical sensibility laid the foundations for a cultural or political revolution have long ago been proven wrong.

That said, in the early 1960's there nevertheless was another form of musical sensibility that was directly tied to radical political expression- the folk revival. This entailed a search for roots and relevancy in musical expression. While not all forms of folk music lent themselves to radical politics it is hard to see the 1960's cultural rebellion without giving a nod to such figures as Dave Van Ronk, the early Bob Dylan, Utah Phillips, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie and others. Whatever entertainment value these performers provided they also spoke to and prodded our political development. They did have a message and an agenda and we responded as such. That these musicians' respective agendas proved inadequate and/or short-lived does not negate their affect on the times.

As I have noted in my review of Dave Van Ronk's work when I first heard folk music in my youth I felt unsure about whether I liked it or not. As least against my strong feelings about the Rolling Stones and my favorite blues artist such as Howling Wolf and Elmore James. Then on some late night radio folk show here in Boston I heard Dave Van Ronk singing `Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies' and that was it. From that time to the present folk music has been a staple of my musical tastes. From there I expanded my play list of folk artists with a political message.

Although I had probably heard Woody's `This Land is Your Land' at some earlier point I actually learned about his music secondhand from early Bob Dylan covers of his work. While his influence has had its ebbs and flows since that time each succeeding generation of folk singers still seems to be drawn to his simple, honest tunes about the outlaws, outcasts and the forgotten people that made this country, for good or evil what it is today. Since Woody did not have a particularly good voice nor was he an exceptional guitar player the message delivered by his songs is his real legacy.

Woody's relationship with the American Communist Party while no secret is not widely known. Even Bob Dylan, a worshipper of Woody's in his youth, was not aware of it. What is interesting is that the subjects of his songs fairly closely reflect the party line as it changed to reflect the winds blowing from Moscow. Woody's best work is reflected in the Popular Front style of ` This Land is Your Land' when the party developed its class collaborationist policy with the Rooseveltian Democratic Party and accordingly all liberals were good fellows and true. The Hitler-Stalin Pact was not good news for his style. Political differences between us aside, listen to his recordings and learn about hard times and struggle.

Woody Guthrie... Start here..........2005-10-02

Woody Guthrie has become an indelible part of 20th century American history. Many probably romanticize his story well beyond the realities of his life, but Guthrie's influence remains strong and unyielding. Many also know of the mesmerizing effect Guthrie's music had on the young Bob Dylan (see Dylan's "Chronicles, Vol 1"). Others soon jumped on the wagon, and Guthrie ended up speaking to subsequent generations long after his death in 1967.

Guthrie sang folk songs. Some he wrote himself, some he borrowed from others. Doing this today would result in heavy brickbat throwing along with accusations of "rip off!" But in Guthrie's day folk music meant borrowing. Times have changed. Long before constrictive copyright laws and the bizarre idea that artists must possess 100% originality to have relevance songs roamed the land in many forms. Folk songs came with a collective license (somewhat similar to today's Open Source software movement). It was not unusual for a singer to take another singer's music and put it to his or her own use. Guthrie did this. In fact, even Bob Dylan did this here and there on some of his earliest albums and in his Gaslight shows. That was folk music then. So some of the melodies on this CD may turn up on other folk singer's albums of the day. But that's okay.

Nonetheless, Guthrie was a songwriter of startling orginality. His lyrics alone comprise one of the most impressive collections in popular music history. Their themes and subjects trace back to the themes of early American folk music. Guthrie sat comfortably in this tradition. But Guthrie stuck mostly to his times, and he absorbed the times and the people, especially the disenfranchised, and the legends of his own time. He wrote about the down and out, about scandals, about tragedies, and human nature.

This CD showcases Guthrie's amazing versatilty and range as a folk singer. Many of the recordings date from the 1940s (though for sme no recording date exists). Three versions of Guthrie's most famous song, "This Land is Your Land" sit between some two dozen of Guthrie's best and well known songs. The second version includes the "Private Property" lyrics (they weren't included in the original release of the song and they rarely get sung in contemporary performance). There are also songs for children ("Car Song", "Why, O Why?"), songs about World War II, Hitler, Charles Lindbergh (particularly his infamous visit to Hitler and the "America First" organization), the Spanish Civil War ("Jarama Valley"), American landmarks and landscapes ("Grand Coulee Dam", "New York Town", "Pastures of Plenty"), working (the hilarious "Talking Hard Work"), legends ("Jesse James"), lonliness ("Hobo's Lullaby", "I Ain't Got Nobody", "Hard, Ain't it Hard"), tragedies (specifically sunken ships; "When That Great Ship Went Down", "Sinking of the Reuben James"), and even Jesus Christ. Nothing from Guthrie's time seems out of his scope.

Guthrie's voice may not appeal to everyone. But it contains a drawl and an accent that speaks directly to the themes he sings about. Guthrie would not have "worked" as a swooning crooning nightingale (a similar argument stands for Bob Dylan's voice). His voice contains grit, experience, and unpolished raw personality. These aren't Broadway songs and Guthie was no Broadway singer. His songs spoke to the average person (and also to the Smithsonian Institution's Moses Asch who recorded these tracks).

Guthrie told it as it was. The song "Why, Oh Why?" says it best. In response to the impossible questions the song poses, Guthrie sings simply "Because, because, because, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye." Things are the way they are, but work and songs can act as a vehicle for change. Guthrie stands as a symbol of the meaning music can have for a person, a country, and a world.

Average customer rating:

Eeww!
this land is your land
America's Favorite Patriotic Songs
Great Place to Start a Patriotic Music Collection

America's Favorite Patriotic Songs
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Brentwood
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

United We Stand: Songs for America
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Patriotic Country
Music of the U.S. Armed Forces

ASIN: B0000649N4
Release Date: 2002-04-23

Tracks:

America, The Beautiful - Katherine Lee Bates
God Bless America - Irving Berlin
This Land Is Your Land - Woody Guthrie
The Star Spangled Banner - Francis Scott Key
Armed Forces Medley - The Caissons Go Rolling Along, Anchors Aweigh, Semper Paratus, The Wild Blue Yonder, From The Halls Of Montezuma - Don Marsh
My Country 'Tis Of Thee - Don Marsh
God Bless The USA - Lee Greenwood
The Battle Hymn Of The Republic - Julia Ward Howe
If My People - Joel Lindsey
God Save America - Dean Diehl
The Stars And Stripes Forever Medley - John Phillip Sousa

Customer Reviews:

Eeww!.......2006-06-19

This is like the music to one of those theme park Celebrate America type shows. The musical arrangements have that hokey, somewhat dated, overly sweet and enthusiatic feel I hate. I thought I was getting the standard versions of these songs but what I got was the cruise ship extravaganza, yuck!

this land is your land.......2006-04-17

to think that "this land is your land" is a patriotic song is laughable at best, however is a common misconception of the song. you'd think that the creators of this cd would research the songs they put on the cd a little more, and find that "this land is your land" is actually a protest song (original lyrics contained lyrics such as "on that sign there it said private property/but on the other side it didn't say nothing/that side was made for you and me", an obvious attack on capitalism".

America's Favorite Patriotic Songs.......2005-09-30

The title says it all.
Good old fashioned "goose bump" music.

Great Place to Start a Patriotic Music Collection.......2002-09-12

This choral collection features a majority of the best known and loved patriotic songs from our country's history. I'll admit I was a little leery of the choral part when I first picked it up, but I've found that, for the most part, it works really well.

It especially stands out on the acappella version of "My Country 'Tis of Thee." It's absolutely stunning. Other fun songs are "This Land is Your Land," which I really wasn't familiar with before I bought this, and a personal recent favorite song "God Bless the USA." I love having the "Armed Forces Medley" on here so I can learn these songs. And the instrumental arrangement on "Stars and Stripes Forever Medley" at the end has me taping my toes every time I hear it.

There are a couple missteps, however. I've heard better versions of "The Star Spangled Banner." I think one reason I'm disappointed with it is that they only include one verse. I love the other verses of our national anthem, and wished they'd included at least one more since they included multiple verses of all the other songs. Also, "If My People" and "God Save America," while find songs, just don't seem to fit here.

Tracks:

Stay Awake
Over The Rainbow
What A Wonderful World
Moon River
Somewhere A Star Shines For Everyone
Prelude In A
Once Upon A Summertime
My Love Goes With You
Edelweiss
Sonata No.8
Bye-Lo
It Is Well With My Soul
Now The Day Is Over

Amazon.com

The Innocence Mission have, over the course of a decade, created a half dozen albums which celebrate small pleasures, fragile details and the wistful edges of life. As the title suggests, Now the Day Is Over offers a set of lullabies. The dozen covers and one original were not all written as bedtime reveries, but it's a testament to the graceful nuances Don and Karen Peris that such a familiar song as "What A Wonderful World" can bring out the twinkling stars of nighttime with heartfelt purity. Free of embellishments, either internal or studio created, Karen's vocals are at once magical and direct. The trio has done much more than to simply streamline or slow down these selections, they've found the core of each number and built around it only that which is necessary. -- David Greenberger

Customer Reviews:

Innocence Mission is an appropriate name.......2007-06-02

Not the worst cd I have and certainly not offensive. However, lacks depth, character, and content. Could be good for the kids. Bought it because I fell in love with a track I heard on Radio Paradise. Overall I could have spent the money in other ways.

Sickenly too sweet.......2007-05-12

I am new to the Innocence Mission. We have a one year old baby, so a friend gave us this CD as a gift. For me, Karen Peris's voice has the "nails across the blackboard" effect on me. She has no range and her voice is cloying. I am not expecting rock 'n roll or anything like that, but I just cannot find anything attractive in her voice. She absolutely "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," a classic and a song that I want to associate with my relatively unspoiled childhood. Oh well, different strokes for different folks.

absolutely love this album.......2007-01-12

I play this album as part of my daughter's bedtime routine. I absolutely LOVE it. Has such a beautiful calmness to it. And as I sit their rocking with my daughter before I put her in her crib, it often brings both smiles to my face and tears to my eyes.

I Love You, Innocence Mission........2007-01-04

In the winter of '89-'90, I picked up The Innocence Mission's eponymous debut on cassette one evening in a mall in Muncie. During my solitary rural Indiana backroads return to Taylor Univ., I was introduced to the delightfully solid intangibility of these troubadours of Heart, Soul, and Mind. I wanted Don and Karen Peris to mother and father me, or to marry Karen, or to be a brother or sister of one, to experience in my life the meaningful connections that in song resonated on and strong without dwindling into the inevitable nihilism that so much of art does nowadays. (Soon realized they were Catholic Universalists or something like that.)Fan for life.

And so, I kept up with their oeuvre. Enjoying the experimental phases of beauty along with the return to simple folk beauty. "Bright as Yellow", on "Glow", piqued the world's interest on the "Empire Records" soundtrack. They toured at least a little with Lilith Fair one year. I found later they've done a blatantly spiritual album "Christ Is My Hope", and that Don (genius of guitar understatement/suggestion) has a couple of his own albums out. I still need to get those 3.

Anyway, the idea of a lullaby album from The Innocence Mission is so perfectly obvious that I never expected it. I mean, she sang songs to her "Someday Coming Child" (on "Umbrella") years before she birthed!

It is as perfect as it could be. Minimal in performance, maximal in effect. (With 3 little boys, I'm a connoisseur of artfully-lulling lullaby albums. Get the Disney Lullaby Album too--no, really--Greg Diakun and Fred Mollin create real art right under DisneyCorp's nose.)

Finally, Karen can sing me to sleep--and my family too.

works beautifully.......2006-10-18

I am a mother of twins and this CD was given to us as a gift. My babies fell asleep to this time after time and it was pleasant listening for both mom and dad. I plan on giving this as a gift to all my new parent friends.

Average customer rating:

Sublime and ridiculous
Eeeeeeeeeeewwwwwww
Better than I thought it would be
Brava Renee
Art is always new.

Haunted Heart
Paul McCartney , Gustav Mahler , Joni Mitchell , Emile Paladilhe , Arthur Schwartz , James ("Jimmy") Van Heusen , Various Composers , Heitor Villa-Lobos , Jimmy Webb , Richard A. Whiting , Stevie Wonder , Guy Wood , Bill Frisell , Fred Hersch , and Renée Fleming
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Sacred Songs
Renee Fleming - The Beautiful Voice ~ Gounod, Lehaair, Orff, Puccini, Rachmaninov, Strauss
Renée Fleming
Handel
The Inner Voice : The Making of a Singer

ASIN: B0007Z9QUS
Release Date: 2005-05-10

Tracks:

Haunted Heart
River
When Did You Leave Heaven?
You've Changed
Answer Me
My Cherie Amour
In My Life
The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress
Wozzeck/The Midnight Sun
Liebst du um Schit
My One And Only Love/This Is Always
Can do Amor
Psych
Hard Times Come Again No More

Amazon.com

While countless fans flock to see soprano Renee Fleming's performances of the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro because she's got the voice and the dramatic ability to handle such meaty roles, the versatile singer throws her fans a curveball on Haunted Heart, singing popular standards and ballads as well as a few altered classical pieces. In her liner notes, Fleming calls this album a "look back at the road not taken" -- she played a weekly gig in a jazz club while in school. Nonetheless, her feel for the material here is undeniable. Interestingly, she drops her voice a full octave from her usual tessitura, and the change reveals a robust gospel-oriented approach filled with dramatic breaths and moans. The lyrical Fred Hersch (piano) and the idiosyncratic Bill Frisell (guitar) provide support, and both are adventurous jazz players who create subtle and uniquely haunting backdrops. It adds up to an interesting cross-section of ideas well carried off by the generous talents of all involved. --Tad Hendrickson

Interview with Renee Fleming
Renee Fleming speaks about recent projects, including her memoir The Inner Voice and her recent Handel CD, in our interview.

Customer Reviews:

Sublime and ridiculous.......2007-06-13

The sublime: much of the artistry of this recording is about sound, and the subtle blending/responding of voice with guitar sounds and / or piano sounds. It is in the sensitive musical interplay between the artists where this effort shines. Definitely not recommended for road trips!

The ridiculous: Fleming ended the majority of most phrases in most of the songs with a guttural of some sort which for me becomes irritating to the point of distraction. These punctuations are mostly quite awful: really tasteless, clumsy, and overused big time and I'm amazed at how this ever got released. Without these ersatz testifyin' noises this CD would be stunning.

So, if you have the ability and inclination to edit out this garbage from your perception as you listen I think you'll be glad you experienced these artists at work together. (Unfortunately I'm not up to it).

Eeeeeeeeeeewwwwwww.......2007-06-06

Ugh. Like a manufactured home vs. a stick-built house, Fleming's manufactured (aka "training and technique") blues voice compares unfavorably to other jazz/blues singers/lounge acts. Would not, COULD not, listen to this recording straight through--one big long, breathy, minor key train wreck in the making. Took the CD on a road trip and had to pull over and remove from queue--either that or drive into a wall.

Better than I thought it would be.......2007-04-10

I have to admit, Haunted Heart was a lot better than I thought it would be,especially her recordings of "River", "The Moon's a Harsh Mistress, "My Cherie Amour" and "In my life".
I think this is the most artistically successful recording of Pop/Jazz by a classical singer. I enjoyed it even better than the Anna Sophie Von Otter'/ Elvis Costello CD.
The perspective I am coming from is that of a classical singer who started out as a pop singer/songwriter. I perform and teach cross-genre but love a world class instrument such as Flemming's
I wanted to get the perspective of a friend who used to sing jingles and is also a trained singer but is usually critical of any attempts that opera singers make at crossing -over.
My friend is very familiar with Flemming's voice, but did not recognise it in this context when I played the CD for her. Her reaction was very complimentary, although she did comment that the diction was a bit strange.
She then played it for her brother a well known jazz singer and arranger who had a somewhat negative reaction.He found the singing to be overly dark and round. He prefers a cleaner more 'spoken' approach to this style of singing. I understand this perspective and therefore personally prefer Ella to Sarah as well, but let's not get too picky. Obviously, Rene Flemming is of the Sarah Vaghan School of jazz singing, which is not too shabby.

I will continue to enjoy this CD and will wait for another opera diva to top this one. But, somehow I think the next really good CD of Pop/ jazz from an opera star will also come from Rene.

To those who have been unreasonably mean and negative towards her, I can only say you are not fit to polish her shoes!

Brava Renee.......2007-04-09

This talented woman can sing anything. I really enjoyed this cd with the lights turned down and a glass of wine to relax after a very stressful day at work. Renee could definitely have another singing career outside of opera should she choose. Hearing her drop that gorgeous voice down one octave rivals the best chanteuses in the business - Cassandra Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Regina Belle, Sarah Vaughan, etc. This cd of different musical styles reminds me of Nina Simone and Cassandra Wilson, two great singers whom could interpret any song genre and make their versions special. I loved all the songs and the standouts here are "Haunted Heart", "River", "My One and Only Love", "My Cherie Amour", "Cancao do Amor", and Beatles "In My Life", and "Hard Times Come Again No More".
I hope Renee keeps recording whatever catches her fancy because I'll certainly always listen.

Art is always new. .......2007-03-10

Renee Fleming is an artist bringing us something new, and beautiful. The poor will always be with us as manifest in those who resent other's movement from their established zones. Renee Fleming is a great female voice with accomplishments her detractors will never have, but in their dreams.

I welcome Renee's elan demonstrated with her recent recordings, Love sublime with Brad Mehldau, and Haunted Heart with Fred Hersch and Bill Frissell. Bravery, fun, and talent combined by artists and for people who are listening. Hearing long time favorites Mehldau, Hersch, and Frissell is all the more sublime.

Average customer rating:

If only more U.S. pop bands asked the same question....
Incredible
long live antibalas
Antibalas- is more than its music
great recording but you've gotta see them live

Who Is This America?
Antibalas
Manufacturer: Artemis Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Africa | International | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Liberation Afro Beat, Vol. 1
Security
Talkatif
The Best Best of Fela Kuti
Red Hot + Riot: The Music and Spirit of Fela Kuti

ASIN: B00025ETIM
Release Date: 2004-06-08

Tracks:

Who Is This America Dem Speak Of Today?
Pay Back Africa
Indictment
big Man
Obanla'e
Elephant
Sister

Amazon.com

As a hard-hitting Afro-beat orchestra that embellishes vintage Fela-style grooves with touches of gritty funk and fiery salsa, Antibalas quickly won over a sizable local audience in New York City with its sweaty live shows and relentlessly danceable rhythms. But while the band's past two efforts sounded fresh amidst a landscape of retro-rock cool, the discs never measured up to the band's galvanizing live show: Liberation Afrobeat Vol. 1 was a piecemeal effort of live and studio material; Talkatif was woefully short. Now on Who Is This America, the band constructs a great-sounding 70-minute studio effort where the seven songs are skillfully woven together, not because they all sound like one long Afro-beat song, but because there is imaginative arrangements and tasty musicianship. Here multiple percussion players are the launch pad and the funky horn charts ignite liftoff whether it's the tightly wound "Indictment" or the slowly building "Sister." Undoubtedly the band's finest work to date. --Tad Hendrickson

Customer Reviews:

If only more U.S. pop bands asked the same question...........2007-05-07

Listening to this cd after watching TV for several hours was like a mind cleanser. Great rhythms and beats, very complex, and very funky. The band is absolutely enormous, but tight like a drum. The artwork on the cover and inside is beautiful and subtle. The lyrics are poetic and simple. I do find myself wishing the songs were a bit shorter at times, but other times I appreciate the endurance quality of their lengths. My two year old loves this stuff.

Incredible.......2005-07-13

You can't deny the incredible horn riffs put forth by this album, they're simply amazing. You'll get goosebumps listening to this album for the first time. Although at times some of the songs can become tedious, it is still one of the best jazz albums out there.

long live antibalas.......2004-08-21

let's face it, antibalas can do no wrong. all the way from "liberation..." and "talkatif" to "who is this america?" every album a must have. this album brings political awareness to the forefront along with tight percussion, pulsating horns and thought-provoking lyrics.
but i have to admit, to get the full antibalas experience, i highly recommend going to one of their shows where you can't help but dance until the very end. antibalas deserves respect, not just as musicians, but also as caring citizens of this world who strive to bring issues to the ears of many who are deaf and make this world a more aware and peaceful place to live. with everything going on in the world today, we need more bands like antibalas.

Antibalas- is more than its music.......2004-07-10

After many years of anticipation, I saw Antibalas in NYC. Being from LA- and somewhat distant-at least geogrphically- it was a blissful experience.
Antibalas, has become more entrenched in its political ideology. Unabashedly anti establishment, the album is provactively inducive. Despite the instrumental monotony throughout its albums, Antibalas delivers this time. From the graphics of the CD cover to its lyrics, it indeed questioning of our system. Political Economy, Globalization, Racism, philosophy, history; it is all here. Cant wait to see the Antibalas again in LA.

great recording but you've gotta see them live.......2004-07-08

This band truly dedicates themselves to the feel of the groove. Their live show is full of energy that defies you to remain still....truly something to behold.

Average customer rating:

Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material!
Beginner or Expert
Very Informative and Enjoyable
Frank's view
Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra

Instruments of the Orchestra
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Britten: Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra Op34; Simple Symphony Op4
The Life and Works of Ludwig van Beethoven
What to Listen for in Music
Study of Orchestration, Third Edition
The Life and Works of Frédéric Chopin

ASIN: B00006O0NT
Release Date: 2002-12-03

Tracks:

Overture To 'Tannhauser'
Domna, Pos Vos Ay Chausida
We Don't Merely Use Instruments, We Play On Them. And They Play On Us.
Hungarian Dance No.7
The Violin Is One Of The Most Tender And Beautiful Instruments Ever Invented.
Violin Concerto In D Major (Adagio)
But For A Long Time It Was Seen As The Instrument Of The Devil.
The Soldier's Tale: Triumphal March Of The Devil
The Manipulative Seductiveness Of The Gypsy Violin.
Csardas Music
The Violin And The Initiation Of Nature
The Four Seasons (Spring, Mvt 1)
Birds Are Again Evoked In The Second Concerto, Especially Music's Natural Favourite.
The Four Seasons (Summer, Mvt 1)
Like The Devil, The Violin Is A Master Of Disguise.
Old Viennese Dance No.3 'Schon Rosmarin'
The Menacing Sensuality Of Ravel's Tzigane: A Very Different Side Of The Violin:
Tzigane
Do We Now Have The True Measure Of This Instrument? Not Just Yet.
Caprice No.24
The Many Effects Of The String Tremolando: Brandenburg Concerto No.4 (Last Mvt)/From Joy To Fright/Quartettsatz In C Minor/The String Tremolo Practically Spells The World Agitato.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No.7)
Prokofiev's Tremolo In Romeo And Juliet Should Not Be Heard Just Before Bedtime.
Romeo And Juliet: Act IV
Vivaldi Use It To Illustrate The Shivering Of Travellers Crossing The Ice.
The Four Seasons (Winter, Mvt 1)
The Violin Muted
Clair De Lune
The Gentleness Of Muted Strings Persists Even When A Whole Orchestra Plays.
Piano Concerto No.21 In C Major, K.467 (Slow Mvt)
The Pizzicato Violin
Pizzicato Polka
In Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, The Accompaniment Is Pizzicato.
Violin Concerto No.2 In G Minor (Slow Mvt)
Varieties Of Pizzicato: Colas Breugnon (The People's Feast)/Now A Drier, Leaner, Hungrier Pizzicato. There's Not A Lot Of Comfort Here./Capriol Suite (Tordion)/The Use Of Pizzicato As 'Percussion'/Romeo And Juliet (Act I)/Mahler Used Pizzicato...
The Planets (Mars - The Bringer Of War)
The Technique Of Double-Stopping Enables The Violin To Play Duets With Itself./Sonata No.3 In C Major For Unaccompanied Violin (Fugue)/Now A Later Example Of The Same Technique
Hungarian Dance No.4
Double-Stopping Is A Standard Feature Of A Lot Of Folk Music.
The Four Seasons (Autumn, Mvt 1)
Now The Same Technique, But The Sound Might Have Come From Another World.
Bolero
Double-Stopping Can Only Approximate The Sound Of A Real Violin Duet.
Cadenza To The Violin Concerto By Brahms
Now Compare That With A Real Violin Duet.
Forty-Four Duos (No. 1: Teasing Song)
Another Duo By Bartok, Demonstrating The Violin's Rich Lower Register
Forty-Four Duos (No.2: Maypole Dance)
And Now What May Be The Most Beautiful Accompanied Violin Duet In History
Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
The Soul Of The Violin Is In Song; But What About This Weird Passage?
Violin Concerto No.1 In D Major (Mvt 2)
The Use Of Harmonies In The Orchestra Can Be Both Magical And Unsettling.
Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 1, Opening)
Tchaikovsky's Use Of Harmonics In The Sleeping Beauty Is Both Strange And Darling.
The Sleeping Beauty (Act II, No.15: Entr'Acte)
Ravel's Harmonics In Mother Goose Effect A Magical Transformation.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
Stravinsky's Harmonics In The Firebird Transport Us Almost Into Another World./The Firebird (Introduction)
The Natural Upper Notes Of The Violins Have A Unique Emotional 'Grab'.
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Of The Afterworldsmen)
Still In Their Upper Register, The Violins Unleash The Energy Of A Young Colt.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No. 4)
Elsewhere, Britten Uses The Same High Register To Create A Very Different Mood.
Four Sea Interludes (Dawn) From 'Peter Grimes'
To End This Outing With The Violins, A Charming Little Elfin Dance
Elfenreigen

Tracks:

Introduction To The Viola
Viola Concerto (Mvt 1)
Khatchaturian Gets A Very Different Sound From It: Fuller, Fruitier, More Exotic.
Gayane Suite No.1 (Armen's Solo)
Very Nearly The Whole Of The Violin's Upper Register Is Also Available To The Viola.
Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'
The Viola Can Bring A Special, Rich Twanginess To Pizzicato That The Violins Lack./Don Quixote/Berlioz Drew Sounds From It That Retain Their Metallic Strangeness Even Today.
Harold In Italy (Mvt 4)
The Muted Viola: Intimate, Gentle, Poignant In Dvork
Cypresses (No.9)
The Massed Violas Of The Modern Symphony Orchestra In Mahler
Symphony No.4 (Mvt 3)
The 'Period' Viola In Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No.6 (Last Mvt)
The Cello: A Voice Of Unique Nobility
Suite No.1 For Unaccompanied Cello (Prelude)
Brahms And The 'Soul' Of The Cello
Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat Major (Mvt 3)
Most Orchestral Composers Tend To Emphasize The Cello's Lower Register.
Cantata 'Herz Und Mund Und Tat Und Leben', BWV 147 (Soprana Aria: Bereite Dir, Jesu)
In The Time Of Beethoven The Cello Remained As Fundamental As Ever.
Symphony No.3 'Eroica' (Finale)
But The Cello Is Not Condemned To Spend Its Life In The Basement.
Elfentanz, Op.39
Not Only In Recital Showpieces Like That Is The Cello Is Used In Its Highest Register.
The Protecting Veil (Opening)
A Cello With An Identity-Crisis: The Pizzicato Flamencan
Flamenco
Double-Stopping In The Lower Reaches Of The Cello's Range
Solo Suiet For Cello And Piano (Sardana)
It's In The Middle Register That The Cello Really Comes Into Its Own.
Oriental Dance, Op.2 No.2
It Was To The Cellos That Beethoven Gave Two Of His Most Famous Themes./Symphony No.5 (Mvt 2)/Still More Famous Than That Theme Is This One From The Ninth Symphony.
Symphony No.9 (Finale)
Introduction To The Double-Bass
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Elephant)
But The Double-Bass Can Be Intensely Expressive And Graceful.
Elegy No.1 In D Major
The Range Of The Double-Bass Is The Greatest Of All The String Instruments/Allegro Di Concerto, 'Alla Mendelssohn'/And It's Also Capable Of Very Considerable Virtuosity.
Capriccio Di Bravura
Double-Bass Solos In Orchestral Scores Are Rare But Often Memorable./Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 3)/In His Third Symphony Mahler Makes A Very Different Use Of The Instrument./Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1)
The Double-Bass Muted In Prokofiev/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Kije's Wedding)/In Another Work Prokofiev Uses The Double-Bass To Enhance The Winds./Romeo And Juliet (Act III)/And He Combines The Bass Clarinet With A Shivering Tremolo From The Double-Basses....
Symphony No.5 (Mvt 3)/So Much For The Strings/On Now To The Winds

Tracks:

The Antiquity And Magic Of The Flute
Prelude A L'Apres-Midi D'Un Faune
The Versatility And Agility Of The Flute
Orchestral Suite No.2 In B Minor (Badinerie)
The Flute In Fifteenth-Century Spain
Sa'Dawi
Other Flutes: The Bass And Alto
Chamber Music No.II
The Piccolo - Aptly Named
La Naissance D'Osiris (Mvt 6)
From A Piccolo Of The Eighteenth Century To One Of Its Descendants In The Twentieth
Suite No.1 For Small Orchestra (Valse)
A Variety Of Techniques
Chamber Music No.II
Flutter-Tonguing. But Tchaikovsky Got There Eighty Years Before.
The Nutcracker (Act II, No.2: Scene)
From The Transverse To The Vertical: The Baroque Recorder
Recorded Suite In A Minor (Menuet II)
An Unfamiliar, Early Vision Of The Instrument
Naelden, Naelden
The Bachian Oboe
Cantata 'Ein Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott', BWV 80 (No.7: Duetto)
Introduction To The Cor Anglais Or 'English Born'
Symphony No.9 'From The New World' (Mvt 2)
The Loneliness Of The Cor Anglais
The Swan Of Tuonela
The Cor Anglais Joins The French Horn In Haydn.
Symphony No.22 'The Philosopher' (Opening)
Introduction To The Oboe D'Amore, Beloved Of Bach - But Also Of Ravel
Bolero
The Clarinet Family: Boxing The Compass, From The Depths Of The Bass Clarinet.../The Egyptian (Violence)/...To The Raucous And Squealy.../Taras Bulba (The Death Of Ostap)/...To The Shrill And Complaining...
Petrushka (No.8: Peasant With Bear)/...To The High Sprits Of A Playful Puppy./Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)/And To The Downright Jazzy/Romeo And Juliet (Act II)
As The High Clarinets Tend To Be Loud, So The Bass Tends To Be Soft:
Gayane Suite No. 1 (Mvt 5)
The Bass Clarinet Is Used By Most Composers Mainly As A Colouring Agent.../Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/...But It Does Occasionally Get A Whole Tune To Itself./Iberia (Almeria).
The Range Of The Normal Clarinet Parts Goes Quite High...
The Snow Maiden (Scene 5: Melodrama)
...And Quite Low.
Peter And The Wolf (The Cat)
The Clarinet As Concerto Soloist
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
But That's Not The Instrument Mozart Wrote It For; This Is:
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
Introduction To The Saxophone
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 4)
The Soprano Saxophone Has Quite A Different Feel To It.
L'Arlesienne Suite No.1 (Minuet)
The Little Sopranino Sax Goes Even Higher.
Bolero
The Most Famous Use Of The Saxophone Is In An Orchestration By Ravel.
Pictures At An Exhibition (The Old Castle)
The Saxophone Can Be Quite Contagiously Good-Humoured.
Sax-O-Phun
The Puffa-Puffa Image Of The Bassoon
Peter And The Wolf (Grandfather)
The Bachian Bassoon, In Accompanimental Mode
Cantata 'Weichet Nur, Betrubte Schatten' ('Wedding Cantata'), BWV 202 (Aria No.1)
Bizet Leaves The Puffa-Puffa Image Out, Allowing The Bassoon To Sing./Carmen Suite No.1 (Les Dragons D'Alcala)
And Ravel, Also In Spanish Mode, Does Likewise.
Bolero
The Bassoon As A Voice Of High Seriousness, Indeed Desolate Loneliness
Symphony No.3 (Opening)
The Eerie Bassoon In Its Highest Register
The Rite Of Spring (Opening)
Stravinsky Now Draws On Its Lowest Register, Lonely And Melancholy.
The Firebird Suite (1919, Berceuse)
The Bassoon As Concerto Soloist, Avoiding All Exaggeration
Bassoon Concerto In G Minor (Finale)
The Deep-Voiced Contra-Bassoon, As A Fairy-Tale Beast
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
The French Horn Under Its Woodwind Hat
Wind Quintet, Op.43 (Last Mvt)
Now A More Prominent Role, In A Woodwind Quintet From An Earlier Era
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Mvt 2)
The Horn In Harmonious Blend With Strings In Another Quintet
Horn Quintet, K.407 (Finale)

Tracks:

The Trumpet As Virtuoso Soloist
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Last Mvt)
The Special Brillance Of Paired Trumpets
Concerto In C For Two Trumpets, RV537 (Mvt 1)
The Ceremonial Trumpet
Fanfare For The Common Man
Trumpets And Drums - An Incomparable Alliance
Messiah (The Trumpet Shall Sound)
The Versatility Of The Trumpet, From The Most Public To The Most Lonely
Piano Concerto In F (Slow Mvt)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of The City/An American In Paris/The Trumpet As Recruitment Officer/The Soldier's Tale (The March)/The Trumpet As Swaggerer
Carmen Suite No.2 (Habanera)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of Strength And Courage
Carmet Suite No.2 (Toreador's Song)
The Trumpet Muted/Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Opening)/The Trumpet As The Voice Of Weariness
Billy The Kid
The Trumpet As Character Actor
Pictures At An Exhibition (No.6)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of God
Mass In B Minor ('Et Exspecto')
The Birth Of The Trombone
Aenmerckt Nu Hier
The Birth Of The Brass As A Family
Canzon 12 In Double Echo
The Trombone In The Eighteenth Century
Trombone Concerto In B Flat Major (Finale)
The Tone Of The Tenor Trombone/Romance For Trombone And Organ/The Memorable Voice Of The Bass Trombone/Requiem (Mvt 2)/But The Bass Trombone Is More Than An Instrumental Bullfrog.
Hosannah
The Trombones Become Part Of The Orchestra.
Symphony No.5 (Finale)
The Wagnerian Trombone:/Overture To 'Tannhauser'
The Trombone As Caricaturist
Pulcinella (No.19: Vivo)
The Trombone As Raspberry/Concerto For Orchestra (Intermezzo)
The Horn And The Hunt
Horn Concerto No.4 In E Flat, K.495 (Finale)
The Challenging Horn Of The Baroque
Abaris Ou Les Boreades (Menuet)
The Scarcity Of First-Rate Players In Handel's Time
Walter Music (Minuet 1)
The Horn As Magician/The Firebird Suite (1919, Finale)
Horns And The Sound Of Nobility
Overture To 'Tannhauser' (Opening)
The Special Sound Of The Horn In Its Higher Register
Mass In B Minor ('Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus')
The Trumpet-Like Sound Of Massed Horns
Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1, Opening)
The Tuba - Unfairly Maligned?
Symphony No.6 (Mvt 3)
The Tuba Perfectly Cast By Ravel
Pictures At An Exhibition (Bydlo)

Tracks:

Introduction. And We Begin With A Bang.
Fanfare For The Common Man/The Bass Drum On The Battlefields/Wellington's Victory, Op.91 (Opening)
At The Opposite Extreme Is The Triangle.
Piano Concerto No.1 In E Flat (Scherzo)
Categories Of Percussion: Tuned And Untuned. The Side Drum
Overture To 'La Gazza Ladra' - The Thieving Magpie (Opening)
The Side Drum In An Effective But Unexpected Role/Clarinet Concerto (Mvt 1)
The Tambourine. One Of The Oldest Instruments In The World
Den Hoboecken Dans
Even Older Is The Originally Oriental Gong.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
No Single Instrument Can Match The Gong In Evoking The Breaking Of Waves./Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'/But Gongs Don't Have To Be Struck To Be Effective.
Gymnopedie No.2
The Cymbals Are Generally Discovered Early In Life./The Sanguine Fan/And They Do More Than Clash Together Loudly. They Can Be Clashed Together Softly./Studio Example: But They Needn't Be Clashed Together At All/Studio Example: They Can Be Lightly...
Other Untuned Percussion Instruments Include The Whip.: Piano Concerto In G Major (Opening)/And Here Are No Fewer Than Twenty, Cracked By Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Act I, Scene 5)
More Versatile Than The Whip Are The Wood Blocks.../Studio Example/...Which Crop Up All Over The Place In Twentieth-Century American Music.
Rodeo (Hoe-Down)
Related To The Wood Blocks, By Sound, Are The Castanets./Jota Aragonesa/But The Castanets Were Also Used By Monteverdi Back In The Seventeenth Century.
Scherzi Musicali (Damigella Tutta Belle)
A Still Earlier Example From Fifteenth-Century Spain
Yo M'Enamori D'Un Aire
The Birth Of The Bongo
Symphonic Dances From 'West Side Story'
From The Streets Of New York To The Blacksmith's Shop/Il Trovatore ('Anvil Chorus')
Desert-Island Decibels: Grand Canyon Suite (On The Trail)/Arcana
From One Vegetable To Another: The Humble Squash, Or Marrow/Huapango
Onwards To The Tuned Percussion. First, The Timpani
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Introduction)
But The Drum Roll Can Be More Effectively Frightening Than The Big Bang.: Symphony No.2 'Resurrection' (Mvt 3)
Not One Drum Roll, But Many/Grand Canyon Suite (Sunrise)/Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)
Taking Advantage Of Tunability
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Mvt 2)
The Russian Composer Rodion Shchedrin Takes A Downward Turn./Carmen Suite (Changing Of The Guard)/Tuned, Yes; But For The Truly Melodic We Must Look Elsewhere.
Introducing The Glockenspiel/Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Saint-Saens And The Xylophone
The Carnival Of The Animals (Fossils)
Ravel And The Xylophone
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
Introducing The Marimba/Carmen Suite (First Intermezzo)
Introducing The Vibraphone
The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Narange Dolce)
The Vibraphone Goes Russian.../Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)/...And Is Joined By The Marimba./Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Introducing The Hungarian Cimbalom
Folk Dances
The Cimbalom And The Symphony Orchestra
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 3)
Introducing The Tubular Bells
Hary Janos Suite (Viennese Musical Clock)
A More 'Up-Front' Approach From Rodion Shchedrin
Carmen Suite (Introduction)
But The Bells Can Also Make The Sinister Even More Sinister./Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
Introducing The Celeste
The Nutcracker (Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy)
Magic, In The Use Of Collective Percussion
Miroirs (La Vallee Des Cloches)
Plucked Instruments: The 'Undercover Percussion'/Carmen Suite (Scene)
A Prime Case In Point Is The Harp, Irresistible To The Romantics./The Nutcracker (Act II, No.1: Scene)/The Non-Solo Harp As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Hungarian Rhapsody No.1
The Traditionally Subservient Role Of The Harpsichord In The Baroque Orchestra
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Slow Mvt)
The Piano: King Of The Tuned Percussion/Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Mvt 3)/And A Quarter Of A Century After That:
Petrushka (Russian Dance)
The Anti-Romantic Piano As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Last Mvt)

Tracks:

Keyboard Instruments In The Orchestra - The Most Powerful Of Them All:
Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Finale)
But Things In Handel's Day Were Very Different.
Organ Concerto In B Flat, Op.4 No.3 (Last Mvt)
The Organ Is Difficult To Classify.
An Unexpected, Organ-related Guest
Concerto Pour Zampogna (Last Mvt)
Peasant-Fancying... And A Touch Of The Roaming Cowboy
Les Miserables (Drink With Me)
Outside Artefacts And The Power Of Association
Mahler's Sleighbells
Symphony No.4 (Opening)
A Roll-Call Of Some Unusual Guests/The Typewriter/Parade
Chains, And More/Integrales/An American In Paris/Sandpaper Ballet
Purpose-Built Oddities: Wind Machines/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Opening)
Don Quixote (Variation VIII)
National Calling Cards: The Guitar For Spain/Concierto De Aranjuez (Finale)
And The Guitar's Poor American Relative, The Banjo/Washington Breakdown
And Poorer Still, The Mouth Organ/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Packing Up)
The Balalaika For Russia/Romeo And Juliet (Act II: No.14)
The Maracas For Mexico/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (El Desayuno)
The Bongos And Congas And A Whole Wealth Of Other Drums For Africa And Central America/Studio Example
The Sitar Of India/Evening Raga: Bhapoli
The Accordion For France (Especially Paris)/Paris Canaille
The Zither For Vienna/The Third Man (Theme)
The Cimbalom For Hungary/Folk Dances
The Guitar As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Rondena
There Are Whole Orchestras Of Balalaikas./Sveit Mesiats
The Effect Of The Wordless Human Voice, Used Purely As An Instrument/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
Nocturnes
Instruments And the Imitation Of Nature. The Clarinet As Cuckoo
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Cuckoo)
The Flute As An All-purpose Aviary
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aviary)
The Oboe As Duck
Peter And The Wolf (The Duck)
The Recording Of Reality. Does It Work As Well?
The Pines Of Rome (The Pines Of The Janiculum)
The Recording Of Reality Electronically Reborn In New Guises
Cantus Articus - Concerto For Birds And Orchesra (Mvt 2)
Beethoven Turns Avian: Cuckoo, Nightingale, And Quail
Symphony No.6 'Pastoral' (Andante Molto Mosso)
Some Improbable Casting: The Violin As Braying Donkey
The Carnival Of The Animals (Persons With Long Ears)
A Truly Orchestral Hee-haw To Be Reckoned With
Overture To 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
A Thunderstorm In A Million
Symphony No.6 'Pastoral (Allegro-Allegretto)
the Instrumental Depiction Of A Silent World
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aquarium)
Saint-Saens' Menagerie Takes A Curtain Call.
The Carnival Of The Animals (Finale)

Tracks:

The Grouping Of Instrumental Families. An Additive Approach. First, Two Violins
Forty-Four Duos (No.4)
A Great Contrast, Of Both Pitch And Character: Violin And Viola
Duo For Violin And Viola In B Flat Major, K.424 (Finale, Vars 1 & 2)/Studio Example
Arrival Of The Standard String Trio: Violin, Viola, And Cello
String Trio In B Flat (Menuetto)
The String Quartet: Two Violins, Viola, And Cello
String Quartet In F, Op.18 No.1 (Mvt 3)
The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Viola
String Quartet No.5 In D, K.593 (Adagio)
The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Cello
String Quintet In C (Mvt 3)
The String Sextet: Two Violins, Two Violas, And Two Cellos
String Sextet In B Flat (Mvt 2)
The String Octet: The Standard String Quaret Times Two
Octet In E Flat, Op.20 (Mvt 1)
Double The String Octet: A Fully Fledged String Orchestra
String Symphony No.2 (Finale)
The Massed Strings Of A Symphony Orchestra
Fantasia On A Theme Of Thomas Tallis
Contrasts Of Pitch And Instrumental 'Colour' In The Woodwind Section
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Theme)
In The First Variation It's The Horn That Gets The Lion's Share.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 1
In Variation Two The Torch Is Handed To The Bassoon.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 2
In Variation Three The Oboe Leads.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 3
Variation Four: Conversation Before Returning To A Solo-dominated Texture
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 4
And Variation Five is Dominated By The Clarinet.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 5
The Next To Be Featured Is The Virtuoso Flute.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 6
Individual Farewells And A Closing Chorus
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 7
A Mixed Group: Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, String Quartet, And Double-Bass
Octet In F (Mvt 3)
The Early Classical Symphony Orchestra Of Haydn And Mozart
Symphony No.29 In A, K.201 (Finale)
Strings, Wind, But No Brass. What Haydn And Mozart Never Knew
Canzon 28
Beethoven's Fifth: Two Horns, Two Trumpets, And Three Trombones Join The Team.
Symphony No.5 (Finale)
From Beethoven To The Massive Orchestras Of Berlioz, Wagner, And Mahler
Beethoven Changed The Face Of The Symphony And The Orchestra Forever
Symphoy No.6 'Tragic' (Mvt 1)
The Cult Of Orchestral Elephantiasis Reaches Its Peak.
Symphony No.1 'Gothic' (VI: Te Ergo Quaesumus)
When Large Doesn't Necessarily Mean Loud: Debussy
Images (Gigues)
A Crisis Of Confidence; The Orchestra's Survival Hangs In The Balance, But It Still Develops. The Ondes Martenot:
Turangalila Symphony (Chant D'amour 1)
The Advent Of The 'Early Music' Movement Brings A New Vitality And Freshness.
Balle De Xerxes (Gavotte En Rondeau)
Computer And Synthesiser: Friends Or Foes?
Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
A Speculative Look Ahead/Mass In B Minor ('Dona Nobis Pacem')

Customer Reviews:

Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material!.......2007-04-04

This set lends itself to greatly enhancing one's knowledge of the orchestra, instruments in it, and their usage. I am a huge music buff, and I still picked up a great deal I previously did not know. I highly recommend this for all who wish to understand the origin of music, as well as the processes that are employed to create music!

Beginner or Expert.......2007-03-12

This CD is excellent for the beginner or expert! To be able to haear the instrumets separately and then together really provides a good education. and/or refresher. The book thaty comes with the CD is alomost worth the price by itself!

Very Informative and Enjoyable.......2006-11-20

Whether you're a music novice or pro, "The instruments of the Orchestra" is a very worthwhile purchase. The 7 CDs, with a total of 8 hours, are expertly narrated by Jeremy Siepmann. He's a great speaker, very much like the late Leonard Bernstein was. Mr. Siepmann takes you on an unforgetable musical journey covering the origins and use of the various orchestral instruments throughout musical history. The balance between his narration and a wealth of musical examples, which range from snippets to entire movements, is superb. The comprehensive enclosed booklet is excellent and faithfully follows the 7 CDs in content. Even with my 40+ years of music training I still learned new things from this wonderful collection. Considering the excellence of the content, and a cost that translates to about $5 per disc, this collection is a great value. Grab it, you won't regret that you did. Five solid stars!

Frank's view.......2006-08-19

This boxed set of CD's with booklet achieved all I had hoped that it would. There are good samples of individual instruments and well done commentary on each. The only drawback was that some of the samples were too brief and could have been longer, hoiwever I guess this fits in with time constraints of the medium. It has given me a lot of clues as to future purchases of CD's for listening to individual instruments. Altogeth a satisfactory purchase and a welcome addition to my collection.

Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra.......2003-11-08

I've listened to classical music for years and am interested in composition. I bought this CD set to learn how an orchestra and its instruments work. I thought the CDs would be a nice but boring lecture. They aren't! Not only are they FUN but they are informative as well. I learned a huge amount from each CD and couldn't wait to listen to the next one.

The narrator and writer is a great speaker and holds your attention well. He is definitely knowledgeable. He provides musical examples for each point he makes, so you get to "hear" what he just talked about. I'd say the CDs are about 65% music and 35% narration. You'll learn about the range of instruments, some history, different ways to play them, how they sound, and how they are used in the orchestra. This CD set was a great learning experience and is sold at such a low price!

I recommend this CD for those who want to learn about classical music and those who know about it but are interested in learning more about the inner workings of an orchestra. You'll learn much useful information. For instance, the Rite of Spring (with that eerie start) is written for bassoon! I never knew a bassoon could sound like that but now I do.

Tracks:

Fanfare Alleluia/Praise To The Lord, The Almighty
Come, Thou Fount Of Every Blessing
This Is My Father's World
Hallelujah Corus
Fugue In C Major
Come, Come, Ye Saints
O Home Beloved
Come Let Us Anew
Bound For The Promised Land
Shenandoah
Cindy
Danny Boy
Climb Ev'ry Mountain
Battle Hymn Of The Republic
Praise TO The Lord, The Almighty (Reprise)
God Be With You Till We Meet Again

Customer Reviews:

Perfect starter CD!.......2005-02-12

I'm surprised that no one has reviewed this CD yet. Released in conjuction with the Nationally-released PBS documentary "America's Choir" - this album is a perfect starting place for people who wish to have a sampler of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Serving as both a latter-day "greatest hits" and a stand alone album, this CD gathers six tracks from the Choir's recently released albums "Consider The Lilies," "Spirit Of America" and "Peace Like A River" and adds TEN brand new tracks recorded specially for this project, creating a perfect sampler of both the Choir's magnificent history and it's current sound. It highlights the strengths of the Choir's repetoire, from well-known hymns ("Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing") to patriotic standards ("Battle Hymn Of The Republic") to folk songs ("Shenandoah," "Bound For The Promised Land") and even some surprises, like the traditional Welsh anthem "O Home Beloved" and the "Fugue In C Major (Jig)" for organ and orchestra. A wonderful, wonderful CD, with startling changes in mood and tempo, but with the unifying artistry of the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Sqare.

Music:

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