The Complete Geffen Recordings [Box set]

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Four CDs sporting Joni's complete recordings for Geffen during the '80s, including all four albums, Wild Things Run Fast (1982), Dog Eat Dog (1985), Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm (1988), & Night Ride Home (1991), that she recorded for the label plus some tasty rarities! Like a couple of demos, 'Two Grey Rooms' & 'Good Friends', & a cover of Bob Dylan's 'It's All Over Now, Baby Blue' that was recorded for the Night Ride Home sessions. & perhaps even more intriguingly for this elusive artist, Joni has provided a personal introduction & in-depth descriptions for each track. Rare photos, original artwork & 24-bit mastering complete the first of what we hope will be several Joni Mitchell boxed sets to come! 44 tracks packaged in a clamshell box. Geffen. 2003.

Tracks:

Chinese Cafe/Unchained Melody
Wild Things Run Fast
Ladies' Man
Moon At The Window
Solid Love
Be Cool
(You're So Square) Baby, I Don't Care
You Dream Flat Tires
Man To Man
Underneath The Streetlight
Two Grey Rooms (Demo)
Good Friends

Tracks:

Fiction
The Three Great Stimulants
Tax Free
Smokin' (Empty, Try Another)
Dog Eat Dog
Shiny Toys
Ethiopia
Impossible Dreamer
Lucky Girl
Good Friends (Demo)
My Secret Place

Tracks:

Number One
Number One
Lakota
The Tea Leaf Prophecy
Dancin' Clown
Cool Water
The Beat Of Black Wings
Snakes And Ladders
The Reoccuring Dream
A Bird That Whistles

Tracks:

Night Ride Home
Passion Play (When All The Slaves Are Free)
Cherokee Louise
The Windfall (Everything For Nothing)
Slouching Towards Bethlehem
Come In From The Cold
Nothing Can Be Done
The Only Joy In Town
Ray's Dad's Cadillac
Two Grey Rooms
It's All Over Now Baby Blue (Demo)

Album Description

Four CDs sporting Joni's complete recordings for Geffen during the '80s, including all four albums, Wild Things Run Fast (1982), Dog Eat Dog (1985), Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm (1988), & Night Ride Home (1991), that she recorded for the label plus some tasty rarities! Like a couple of demos, 'Two Grey Rooms' & 'Good Friends', & a cover of Bob Dylan's 'It's All Over Now, Baby Blue' that was recorded for the Night Ride Home sessions. & perhaps even more intriguingly for this elusive artist, Joni has provided a personal introduction & in-depth descriptions for each track. Rare photos, original artwork & 24-bit mastering complete the first of what we hope will be several Joni Mitchell boxed sets to come! 44 tracks packaged in a clamshell box. Geffen. 2003.

Customer Reviews:

Amazing.......2004-07-23

Simply the best artist of all times, a GREAT human being. A wonderful musician and a roll model for me, also a great spiritual friend of my soul. The world is still OK if Joni Mitchell is a part of it. Much love to you, Joni

For ardent fans only.......2004-06-16

If you're new to Joni Mitchell-don't look here.
Apart from Night Ride Home and about half the tracks on Wild Things... this is a poor selection of her talent.
I've never been able to listen to Chalk Mark or Dog Eat Dog albums without cringing, despite the fact that musically Joni is in my top 3 artists of all time.
Only buy this if you want the demo tracks and the packaged photos and notes; otherwise borrow copies of seperate CD's before you decide. To me, it's just a marketing ploy to rake in the dollars for the unreleased demo's. An expensive investment for little return.

Intriguing, challenging, beautiful - the Geffen years.......2004-03-26

The 4-cd Geffen set presents, repackaged and remastered, Joni Mitchell's post-jazz, return-to-pop period, from 1982 to 1991. True, Mitchell's 80s period is jazzier and more daring than conventional pop music, but these CDs nonetheless mark a major shift from the wordy and impressionistic jazz-rock fusion of her late 70s work to a simpler and perhaps more accessible pop-rock. By nearly anyone's measure these albums do not stand up to her finest work, the masterpieces Blue, Court and Spark, and Hejira. But their extraordinary production value (very appreciated by this fan if not by all), accompanied by some remarkable songs (Moon at the Window, Impossible Dreamer, My Secret Place and Cherokee Louise are the respective highlights, among others) make for intriguing, challenging and beautiful listening. Another highlight: the bonus demo of Two Grey Rooms, a track demonstrating better than any other found here (or perhaps before or since) what for me is the essence of Joni Mitchell's work: sensuality, desire, sophistication, love. I can't respond to another reviewer's claim that this set isn't adequately remastered. I detect a richer, fuller sound than the original CDs, and I'll have to leave it at that. The booklet contains extensive comments by the artist, some insightful, some spiteful, some amusing, all Joni.

NOT REMASTERED !!!.......2004-03-17

The Geffen era is the least liked period of Joni's music. Her early 70s folk fans and late 70s jazz fans (to put it bluntly) found these albums too commercial and overproduced. I'm not one of them! Being a teenager in the 80s, I totally soaked up this kind of sound. Conversely, I struggle with some of her early albums...

"Wild Things" and "Dog Eat Dog" are two of my favourite (Joni) albums. "Chalk Mark" has a few great gems but it is a bit uneven. "Night Ride Home" has more spacious, organic sound and it won back most of the fans. Overall, this is a batch of four very good albums. Still, I only give it three stars out of five.

Here is why. Most of Joni's albums have been re-released recently in glorious remastered HDCD sound and with fully restored artwork. Unfortunately, that proven recipe has not been used when reissuing these four albums. Instead, we get the Geffen box set.

The other re-releases didn't have bonus tracks, these have (except "Chalk Mark"). But that is hardly worth the hefty price of the box though, not even for a Joni fan. Where is the "Shiny Toys" remix, for example? The CD's come in very basic card wallets, neat but a bit cheap. There is a thick 86-page book(let), but is also a bit of a let-down. There is a spread of the unused art for "Dog Eat Dog", very nice. Joni has provided quaint comments for most of the tracks, but it almost seems she had better things to do, the further she got in the process. Only half of "Night Ride Home" apparently is worthy of commentary. Nothing to say about "Slouching Towards Bethlehem"? Astonishing.

My biggest complaint is sound quality. These CD's are NOT remastered (like it says on the top of this page). Nowhere on the box it actually claims this. 'Mastered from the original master tapes' simply means re-using the LP masters. Actual remastering would involve going back to the original multi-tracks and making a brand new mix, with digital playback in mind. That might sound like nitpicking, but the fact is that apart from raised sound level, there is practically no difference in sound - compared to the original CD's. They sound a bit tinny and thin and so do these. There is possibly a bit more bass on the first albums but no difference at all on the last two. I actually fooled myself a couple of times, thinking I was hearing an improvement in sound, when I was actually listening to the original 80s CD...

The Geffen box is one way to get these four albums - in case you're in the market to get them all on CD. But if you already have one of them, I would recommend getting the rest as the original CD's. You won't lose in sound quality and will get the albums the way they were meant to be released in, probably cheaper. If you own the original LP's: hold on to them! With no remastered CD's around - this box probably kills any chance of that happening - the best sound is still in the vinyls.

Joni..........2003-12-12

I am 43... I first heard of Joni, for a guy I met that was a day temp worker in a wood products factory in Denver, back in 1979. His name was Bernie, he was a free spirit, in every sense of the word, I was 19. He recommended that I get Ladies of the Canyon, to start out with. I had heard some of Joni's music before and I liked it for sure. But Bernie's recommendation's set me on a new path of musical enjoyment that will last my all of my life... From that time on there has not been a time tat I have not had Joni with me in some form or another, what ever the format, cassette, to CD. Yes I had 8-tracks.. but none of Joni... Lol... But once I took his recommendation and bought Ladies, I was on my way.. I think I had everything that was out for her at one point on cassette. When CD's came out I started converting of what I had buying new CD's for old cassettes. I had over 200 CD's and for some reason I never completed the change over for ever cassette to CD. But I did do so with 5 Joni cassette's. Those being, Ladies Of The Canyon, Blue, Court and Spark, Miles of Aisles, and The Hissing Of Summer Lawns(Perhaps my favorite, but its hard to say a favorite with Joni.) And last but not least, Night Ride Home.. Now I have seen some of the things said about Dog Eat Dog.. And I can not believe what I have seen sometimes.. That was an awesome CD... Yes a departure from some perceived style that someone might believe that she must adhere to, but... Its Joni man... Its Joni.. And it's a GREAT CD. No, if's and's or but's about it. I remember when Night Ride came out after it... I eagerly awaited it s release.. no doubt... I can honestly say there is not one song or musical release of Joni that I do not like... She is awesome. Miles of Isle's, Mingus, all of it... it's the best... I was just on a fan site and saw that the 7th of November was her 60th birthday... Happy Birthday Joni Mitchell!!! Many more, happy things for you in your life, and mine every time that I listen to ANY song that you have made... Thank You So Very Much From The Bottom Of My Heart... A devoted fan for ever... Dave Cate...

Cats: Complete Original Broadway Cast Recording (1982 Original Broadway Cast)

Average customer rating:

Buy it for Betty Buckley
Finest of all official English-language recordings of CATS.

Cats: Complete Original Broadway Cast Recording (1982 Original Broadway Cast)
Andrew Lloyd Webber , Cynthia Onrubia , Bonnie Simmons , Betty Buckley , Stephen Mo Hanan , Christine Langner , Harry Groener , Hector Mercado , and Marin Levan
Manufacturer: Geffen Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Musical Theater | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Cats - The Musical (Commemorative Edition)
Selections From Cats (1982 Original Broadway Cast)
The Lion King (1997 Original Broadway Cast)
My Fair Lady (1956 Original Broadway Cast)
Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, Illustrated Edition

ASIN: B00000DT2O
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Overture
Prologue: Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats - Company
Naming of Cats - Company
Invitation to the Jellicle Ball - Cynthia Onrubia,
Old Gumbie Cat - Donna King, Anna McNeely,
Rum Tum Tugger
Grizabella, the Glamour Cat - Betty Buckley, Wendy Edmead, Donna King
Bustopher Jones - Donna King, Anna McNeely,
Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer - Christine Langner, Timothy Scott
Old Deuteronomy - Harry Groener, , Ken Page
Jellicle Ball - Company
Grizabella - Betty Buckley

Tracks:

Moments of Happiness - Janet L. Hubert, Ken Page
Gus: The Theatre Cat
Growltiger's Last Stand/The Ballad of Billy McCaw - Harry Groener, , , , , Timothy Scott,
Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat
Macavity: The Mystery Cat - Kenny Ard, Wendy Edmead, Harry Groener, Donna King, Hector Mercado,
Mr. Mistoffolees - Timothy Scott
Memory - Betty Buckley, Cynthia Onrubia
Journey to the Heaviside Layer - Company
Ad-Dressing of Cats - Ken Page

Customer Reviews:

Buy it for Betty Buckley.......2007-03-24

This is not the best musical ever written, but the songs are a lot of fun. The main reason to buy this CD, though is to hear the amazing voice of Betty Buckley, who is one of the greatest singers ever to hit Broadway. Her power is unbelievable. If you're a fan of the song "Memory", this is for you.

Finest of all official English-language recordings of CATS........2005-01-08

This recording of CATS is what I consider the finest of all the official English recordings of the score of this Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. Compared to its London cast predecessor, I find this recording more spirited in nature, and better able to keep in tune with its quintisential Britishness. Notwithstanding revisions and rewrites, this cast does an excellent job at this, even with American accents that do not seriously jar the ear. And the recording quality, despite having a sense of theatrical atmosphere, tends to be a little too thick-textured, and sometimes clouded.

This fine performance boosts the stalwart Betty Buckley as Grizabella. Buckley is able to adopt the right kind of gorgeous voice in her portrayal of the fallen glamour cat, and she really is able to use this to great effect with her rendition of Memory. Elaine Paige may be regarded as the foremost interpreter of the role, but here Buckley is able to prove that she can hold her own against her arch-rival from the original London cast. Ken Page's portrayal of Old Deuteronomy is on the same high plain as Buckley's Grizabella, as he uses his sonorous voice to great effect in his solos. In particular, he gives a firm and commanding performance of The Ad-Dressing of Cats, and is warm, open and expansive, even during the short Moments of Happiness sequence. The rest of the cast is no less strong, especially the lower-level principals Timothy Scott, Harry Groener and Terrence Mann. Timothy Scott does a splendid job not only in his standout number but also on Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer, and Terrence Mann is a more forward and perhaps more humorous Rum Tum Tugger than Paul Nicholas of the London cast.Anyway, they both characterise their cat characters with as much slickness as you could hope for. But special mention should also go to Harry Groener's Munkustrap, who can hold his own with Michael Gruber due to his immediacy, warmth and engaging nature. It is a pity that this recording omitted the Pekes and the Pollicles, otherwise we could hear him in superb voice.

The rest of the cast proves that it is as strong as the major cast. All the cats prove that they can shine not only individually but also as a group, except for a small number that I will not mention here. Anna McNeely's Jennyanydots, Bonnie Simmons' Jellylorum and Donna King's Bombalurina all show each cat shining vocally in this musical, and the choral contributions from all the cats are done with fervour and energy. But perhaps the standout cat is Stephen Hanan as Bustopher Jones and Gus: the Theatre Cat. His Bustopher Jones has an astute and truly aristocratic air about it, and his Gus and Growltiger are both superbly done. Gus has a melancholic air about him when Hanan relishes the nostalgaic past of Gus when he sings the solos in his standout number. And his Growltiger is particularly fearsome and ferocious, with a laugh that could rival Satan and a powerful operatic voice in the Italian opera parody. The supporting orchestral accompaniment is nicely done too, and Stanley Lebowsky adopts near-perfect tempi that could perhaps have a little bit more spring and be a little more sprightly in some points.

Like the London recording, this CATS recording omits The Pekes and the Pollicles due to the need to accomodate space on record. Plus, there are also cuts in other sections of the score, such as the Mistoffelees dance, which could have been included with the time available.

On the whole, I find this CATS recording an enjoyable experience and I feel more than prepared to recommend it to anyone who is just venturing out into the score. The nicely-done booklet contains a cast list, credits and an adequately-produced libretto. For those who don't want to spend too much money on this 2-CD set, there is also an abridged version available. But, I would say that because the music is so infectuous, this 2-CD set is rather compulsive.

As these comments apply as much to this original Geffen issue of the recording as the Polydor reissue, I feel it is worth mentioning that even though the packaging is uneconomical, with each CD in a separate jewel case and its own individual booklet, the libretto is easier to read than on the Polydor reissue. It sometimes has spelling errors, but I don't think it hinders the delight of this superb version of CATS.

Music:

Music

Music