Behind the Eyes

Editorial Reviews
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Art offers a snapshot of the inner workings of an artist at the moment that piece of art was created. In the case of music, since most records are a collection of several songs, a record can be a particularly insightful journey through the heart of the composer. In fact, it could be argued that the performing songwriter is the most vulnerable of all artists--being both the one who creates the art and the one who brings it to the masses.

Well, welcome to Amy Grant's heart of darkness. With Behind the Eyes the first lady of Christian pop presents an unvarnished set of musical reflections on life, love and loss. Grant is no stranger to these themes, but she has never approached them with such a sense of harsh realism. And unlike the title cut from Lead Me On (1988) and "Ask Me," from Heart in Motion (1991), in which she sings of the pain and anguish of others, here almost every piece is sung in first person, not surprising considering she wrote or co-wrote 10 of the 12 tracks.

In fact, from the first line of the opener, "Nobody Home," Grant makes it clear that this isn't going to be what you're expecting: "Main Street U.S.A. boarded up and dry...." Not exactly "Every Heartbeat."

That sense of uncomfortable honesty continues and grows as you get deeper into Behind the Eyes. The airy production throughout contributes to the feeling of nakedness that permeates this record. Most of these songs have an open feel and sparse arrangement that enhances the feelings of loneliness ("Missing You"), sorrow ("Cry a River") or resolve ("Every Road"). The acoustic-based production gives off a vibe not unlike the "unplugged" segment of Grant's 1996 House of Love tour.

In "Like I Love You" Grant asks the hard question, "Why do lovers drift apart/And how does love fade away?" In "Cry a River," perhaps the record's boldest song, Grant lays bare the sadness of a forbidden love that "...was a long wait/It was just the wrong time." Here she reveals a struggle that almost makes the listener feel like an intruder, "How do you argue with a feeling in your bones/'Bout what is and what isn't meant to be?/Some things you live with/And you never let it show/Like the pain I felt/The day I watched you leave."

Grant also addresses issues of truth and trust with a feeling of being burned once too often. In "The Feeling I Had" you can hear the fatigue in her voice as she admits, "I cannot take the heat," and goes on to say, "I'm just a little weary of/All the talk and all the buzz.../Words are cheap and sometimes cruel/And stuff you hear is seldom true/And all I ever wanted was/The feeling I had with you." In fact, by the time Grant sings, "So much pain and no good reason why" on the last song, "Somewhere Down the Road," she actually sounds like she's approaching exhaustion. Catharsis can take a lot out of you.

But the strangest thing about Behind the Eyes is that throughout this deluge of brutal honesty, a thread of hope remains. In "I Will Be Your Friend," Grant pledges, "I'll make you laugh at a broken heart." In the record's first single, "Takes a Little Time," she notes with forthright clarity that things definitely need to change, and--eventually--change they surely will. In "Turn This World Around" she hopes that, "Maybe one day we can turn and face our fears." In "Every Road" she faces both the true difficulty of a committed relationship ("There you go making mountains out of such a little hill/Here I go mixing mortar for another wall to build.../I'd be lying if I said I had not tried to leave a time or two") and a determination to survive the struggles ("But there is nothing that we can't resolve when love's at stake"). And most significantly, in "Somewhere Down the Road" she knows that there are "mighty arms" that "hold the answers at the end of the road."

The record's two most engaging tracks also contain a sense of the hopeful grounded in the reality of life. In the acoustic shuffle of "Curious Thing," Grant discovers that life is "seldom what it seems." And only in the escapist "Leave it All Behind" does she hint that there still may be a pop star left after all this soul-baring. Although she confronts a friend's sense of a trapped existence ("You say your life is all but chiseled out in stone/And all you want is just a taste of the unknown"), the ultra-singable chorus--reminiscent of 1986's "Stay for Awhile"--and lilting guitar break aptly give the record its most truly carefree moment.

So Behind the Eyes is not a total downer--as it seems to be on a first listen. It's just that the hope here is a sober, melancholic hope. It's a distant hope seen confidently from a thick, heavy reality. In a time when many listeners are screaming for more authenticity and less candy-coating on their Christian pop, Amy Grant--at considerable risk to her "image"--bravely delivers a heartful of unadorned truth. -- Derek Wesley Selby (c) 1997 CCM Communications, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Tracks:

Nobody Home
I Will Be Your Friend
Like I Love You
Takes A Little Time
Cry A River
Turn This World Around
Curious Thing
Every Road
Leave It All Behind
Missing You
The Feeling I Had
Somewhere Down The Road

Customer Reviews:

Behind the Eyes Amy Grant.......2007-05-20

Hello, this CD has some good songs on it too. I like she sounds on this one. It has some happy songs on it.

One of Amy's best pop albums..........2006-10-05

This is a sad and thoughtful album, indeed, and Amy writes one of the saddest songs on this album (Missing you). Many of the songs are about unrequited love, marriage, and hardships in life. This album def. reflects Amy's feelings on her marriage to Gary Chapman, and her love for Vince Gill. It is a beautiful, heartfelt album from a beautiful singer. Buy it if you like Amy's previous pop albums, or if you like sad songs (Which I do!)

Choice tracks:
Nobody home
Cry a river,
Leave it all behind,
Missing you,
The feeling that I had,
Somewhere down the road.

Good stuff, if not overwhelmingly strong..........2006-06-24

I grew up listening to Amy Grant. Her "The Collection" album is one of my absolute favorites. Not only is the music great, but the lyrics are profound and powerful.

In contrast, the music in this album is much simpler, and that's not a bad thing. This has a very accoustic, almost bluesy, feel to it at parts, and it's a very pleasant sound.

The slight disappointment with "Behind the Eyes" is the somewhat generic lyrics. In contrast to her earlier work (which was primarily written by others), some of these songs are downright cheesy. ("It takes a little time to turn the Titanic around." Come on!!)

In any case, I still enjoy this album and definitely recommend it.

Behind the Eyes - An Intimate Look into the Heart of Amy Grant!.......2006-03-26

Some albums are pure fluff - they serve as the soundtrack for roadtrips and lazy summer days in the sun, when life is good and all's right with the world. And then there are albums that change your life. These albums make you re-evaluate your journey on earth and lift you up on a ray of hope by simply reminding you that in your darkest hours, when life is messy and full of problems too great to bear, you're not alone. Amy Grant's "Behind the Eyes" is just such an album for me.

Initially, the dramatic shift in both lyrical content and production on "Behind the Eyes" from the synth pop sound of one of my then favorite albums, 1994's "House of Love," was incredibly jarring. After years of anticipating new music from Amy, I didn't quite know what to make of the album but I kept listening. In September of 1997, I had just entered my freshman year of high school and, like Amy, was doing a lot of growing while I explored the various themes and emotions on "Behind the Eyes." After a while I warmed up to the album and over the next couple of years it seemed that every few months I'd cite a different song from "Behind the Eyes" as my new favorite, depending on my mood and stance in life. Through crushes and first loves, breakups and funerals, September 11, 2001 and my recent graduation from college, the album provided the soundtrack to my constantly maturing view of the world both echoing my joy at reaching a new stage in my life and comforting my sorrow when events ultimately ended.

Today, I listen to "Behind the Eyes" more frequently than any other Amy Grant album and with each new listen it continues to reveal layers of depth and meaning to me, even when I thought I knew the album inside and out. I'm constantly finding new levels of solace and hope and peace within Amy's honest lyrics. Her pain and suffering throughout the writing and recording process of "Behind the Eyes" shines through the finished product and that rawness elevates the album to a higher status; a benchmark, if you will, among her accomplished discography that all future albums will no doubt be judged against.

With all I've said, I'm not sure how to end this review. I will say, though, that "Behind the Eyes" IS NOT OUT OF PRINT! For everyone desiring a copy of this album, check your local Christian Book/Music retailer. They can most likely special order it for you if they do not have it in stock or you can simply avoid the middleman and order it yourself at http://www.christianbook.com. I've bought products from them in the past and I can attest that they are an extremely reliable online retailer. It is a shame that Amazon.com doesn't carry what is arguably the best album of Amy's pop career in the 90s!

Dismayed...........2006-03-17

I was just planning to buy this Audio CD of the masterful Amy Grant, and - I see that it is (in the words of the book world) "out-of-print"!). I remember playing this album years ago on long walks during a very dark time. And to be honest, great music like this can literally save a life, just for companion's sake. Hopefully, "Behind the Eyes" - one of Amy Grant's absolute best albums of all time - will be back. Right now, all I can do is pray that I will be able to "meet" her there, once again.

Average customer rating:

Gilding the Lilly
Excellent!

Traditionally British

Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Regimental Marches of British Army, Vol. 1
Best of Brass
Grimethorpe
Regimental Marches of the British Army, Vol. 2
Old Rugged Cross: 24 Brass Band Favourites

ASIN: B000000A88
Release Date: 1992-10-28

Tracks:

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The British Grenadiers
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The Minstrel Boy
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Customer Reviews:

Gilding the Lilly.......2007-02-05

The selection of songs for this cd is excellent, however unable to leave well enough along they include overblown intros, restarts, embellishments etc making the original tune almost unrecognizable. The arranger should be shot.

Excellent!.......2006-03-23

Beautifully patriotic. Even if your not British.
This is music that makes your upper lip stiff.

Average customer rating:

Justin Lanning

Behind These Eyes
Justin Lanning
Manufacturer: Smc Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000QUU4YQ
Release Date: 2007-07-10

Tracks:

Voices
Fingertips
Take My Breath Away
Closer to You
Hold On
Waitin' on You
Frozen
Without You
Bleed
Find a Way
Light on My Face
Behind These Eyes
[CD-Rom Track]

Customer Reviews:

Justin Lanning.......2007-07-12

Boy has this guy tapped into my childhood pain! I thought I had exericised those
demons years ago, and there they are with each listen of this record. I found
a funny video through a link on youtube that led me to his myspace page -
his myspace WORLD is more like it - I've never seen anything like it beofre
(after it takes 5 minutes to load of course).

Great songs, incredible voice and overall good vibe - certainly a welcome
change to all the crap that is on the radio - YUK! Anyway - I like it and
its worth a trip to his mypace page just to check it out - if you don't
like the music you can't help but love the world he has created there!

(Not) Your Standard Spike Jones Collection

Average customer rating:

Great set of wartime rarities
Cure for the Blues
Standard Transcription Collection

(Not) Your Standard Spike Jones Collection
Spike Jones
Manufacturer: Collector's Choice
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Strictly for Music Lovers
Spike Jones - Greatest Hits
Fonk
Spiked!: The Music of Spike Jones
The Spike Jones Story

ASIN: B00007JR3K
Release Date: 2003-04-08

Album Description

Holiday blues comin' on? Well, put a spike in `em! Here's the zaniest, wildest and just plain sickest Collectors' Choice Music exclusive yet—79 tracks from Spike Jones and his City Slickers! These represent Spike's complete Standard Transcription sides, but these tunes are anything but standard; Mr. Jones brought his full bag of tricks for these non-commercial recordings (made in Hollywood during the early `40s). Add to that the fact that most of these have never been on CD or even LP, and any lover of Spike's mayhem-filled mixture of laughs and hot licks is going to flip over this set! Notes and great pictures accompany this 3-CD walk on the wacky side from the greatest novelty band of all time.

Customer Reviews:

Great set of wartime rarities.......2003-05-14

Spike Jones was the king of the novelty song performers, with hits like "Der Fuehrer's Face" and the parody version of "Sheik of Araby" becoming huge hits during World War II. This is a swell 3-CD set, gathering a full eighty-one of Jones' best tracks from his 1940s heyday, drawn from an extensive archive of radio broadcasts made for the Standard Transcription service. The tightness of his City Slickers band is amply demonstrated in these manic, kookily orchestrated performances. Toots, squonks, blatts and bleats whiz by at lightning speed, as one daffy song after another will delight devoted fans. Amazingly, Jones had the unusual, almost unique ability to perform a repertoire almost entirely made up of comedic material, and yet still be quite listenable and engaging. His jazz chops were hardly in question, and from time to time Jones would dash off a non-novelty ballad or two, just to give the rubes something to think about. Of course, just as often he would perform a song that *sounded* like a straight ballad, but would turn out to be another goof. (One great example of this is the sultry "Serenade To A Jerk," sung in slinky, burlesque tones by Myrtle Horwin.) This collection may seem a little overwhelming, but like his studio recordings, these radio performances have a certain brilliance and joie de vivre about them that will leave you enchanted. Definitely worth checking out!

Cure for the Blues.......2003-04-25

Here's the zaniest, wildest and just plain sickest Collectors' Choice Music exclusive yet-79 tracks from Spike Jones and his City Slickers! These represent Spike's complete Standard Transcription sides, but these tunes are anything but standard; Mr. Jones brought his full bag of tricks for these non-commercial recordings (made in Hollywood during the early `40s). Add to that the fact that most of these have never been on CD or even LP, and any lover of Spike's mayhem-filled mixture of laughs and hot licks is going to flip over this set! Notes and great pictures accompany this 3-CD walk on the wacky side from the greatest novelty band of all time.

Standard Transcription Collection.......2003-04-12

This collection has remastered material from the large stack of Standard Transcription discs from the early 1940's. There are many songs not recorded on RCA, many on the theme of wartime ("48 Reasons Why"), and the quality is excellent. The packaging is threadbare but this is an essential CD package for true music lovers.

Average customer rating:

Best collection of marches!
The Best Sousa Album
Sousa Marches
There are 2 sections in this CD
A Bit TOO "Budget Buy" For Sousa

Sousa Marches

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Sousa's Greatest Hits
Stirring Marches of the USA Services
Fennell Conducts Sousa
Stars & Stripes Forever and the Greatest Marches
The Military Band: Salute to the Services

ASIN: B000004293
Release Date: 1996-11-19

Tracks:

Stirring Marches Of The USA Services: Stars And Stripes Forever
Stirring Marches Of The USA Services: El Capitan
Stirring Marches Of The USA Services: The High School Cadets
Stirring Marches Of The USA Services: The Washington Post
Stirring Marches Of The USA Services: The Picador
Stirring Marches Of The USA Services: The Invincible Eagle
Stirring Marches Of The USA Services: Semper Fidelis
Stirring Marches Of The USA Services: Manhattan Beach
Stirring Marches Of The USA Services: The Liberty Bell
Stirring Marches Of The USA Services: The Thunderer
Stirring Marches Of The USA Services: King Cotton
Stirring Marches Of The USA Services: Hands Across The Sea
Stirring Marches Of The USA Services: US Navy Anchors Aweigh
Stirring Marches Of The USA Services: US Coastguard Semper Paratus
Stirring Marches Of The USA Services: US Cavalry She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
Stirring Marches Of The USA Services: West Point March
Stirring Marches Of The USA Services: The Ballad Of The Green Berets
Stirring Marches Of The USA Services: US Army The Caissons Go Rolling Along
Stirring Marches Of The USA Services: The Marine Corps Hymn
Stirring Marches Of The USA Services: US Air Force The Army Air Corps
Stirring Marches Of The USA Services: Commando March
Stirring Marches Of The USA Services: US Pacific Forces Guadalcanal March
Yankee Doodle: Thru' The Years 1776-1969

Customer Reviews:

Best collection of marches!.......2006-08-07

In spite of the mixed reviews below, after listening to the samples, I had to send for this CD. I am so glad I did - this is the best collection of marches I have ever owned. It's worth noting that the Band of the Grenadier Guards is a British military band whose history goes back 300 years!

The Best Sousa Album.......2005-09-06

This is the best album of marches I've heard. I agree with the reviewer who said they like these versions better. The orchestral versions are good, but I used to play in the band in high school (no, I don't have any "this one time, at band camp..." stories), so I like this type better.

Sousa Marches.......2005-08-15

I like this CD better than any of the others I previewed, and when it came I wasn't disappointed. I purchased the CD to use with my dog, Nina. She loves it and it has helped her relax and gait more smoothly in preparation for exhibiting in dog shows. This CD was the only one that wasn't performed by a string orchestra. It's more like you would actually hear a marching band at a half-time football game.

There are 2 sections in this CD.......2005-06-30

There are two different sections in this CD. Section 1 includes marches 1 to 12 and it is not the best recording that I have ever hear for Sousa Marches. However, Section 2 includes marches 13 to 23 and I consider that this is one of the best recording I have ever heard for the marches of the USA Services. So, even if the two sections are very different, you may buy this CD if you have never listened the Sousa marches; it will give you the opportunity to hear them. After that, if you wish to buy a high quality CD of Sousa Marches, continue to shop on Amazon.

A Bit TOO "Budget Buy" For Sousa.......2004-05-16

I have become quite the Sousa fan in the past year. While my ear for classical music is that of a casual fanboy and not a seasoned classical music critic, I have become particular in my Sousa preferences, and this particular release left me cold. The pace of the marches on this CD are sluggish, and sounds tinny even to a listener with a tin ear.

Tracks:

Cocktails For Two
Chole (Song Of Swamp)
Behind Those Swingin' Doors
Red Wing
The Covered Wagon Rolled Right Along
Clink, Clink, Another Drink!
Little Bo Peep Has Lost Her Jeep
Pass The Biscuits, Mirandy
Der Fuhrer's Face
I Wanna Go Back To West Virginia
Hotcha Cornia (Black Eyes)
Leave The Dishes In The Sink, Ma
Serenade To A Jerk
Holiday For Strings
The Blue Danube
You Always Hurt The One You Love
Hawaiian War Chant
Libestraum
That Old Black Magic
The Nutcracker Suite: Part 1: 'The Little Girl's Dream' - Miniature Overture; March
The Nutcracker Suite: Part 2: 'Land Of The Sugar-Plum Fairy' - Lemon Frop Waltz; Dance Of The...
The Nutcracker Suite: Part 3: 'The Fairy Ball' - The Chinese Dolls; Chinese Dance; Dance Of The...
The Nutcracker Suite: Part 4: 'The Mysterious Room' - The Forbidden Room; Arab Dance
The Nutcracker Suite: Part 5: 'Back To The Fairy Ball' - The Dance On The Seat Of Their Pants...
The Nutcracker Suite: Part 6: 'End Of The Little Girl's Dream' - Waltz Of The Flowers (Part 2)...

Customer Reviews:

Wild and Crazy!.......2001-07-04

These guys are Wild, we need more of good times like this in todays music! Good old fashion fun and nobody gets hurt, well, maybe Hitler. Just a good time CD, enjoyed it a lot!

A Spike Jones chronology of his earliest records.......1999-01-19

This British import is actually a chronology of Spike's earliest 78s for Bluebird / RCA, from his first recording session in 1941 ("Red Wing") through 1945. Included are his hits ("Cocktails for Two," "Der Fuehrer's Face") and obscure B-sides ("The Covered Wagon Rolled Right Along," "Leave the Dishes In the Sink"). Spike's band was in its prime during this time, making for a good collection. Editing is good, especially joining the six parts of "The Nutcracker Suite." But note that the source material is scratchy 78s!

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

Average customer rating:

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

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00005S85Q
Release Date: 2001-12-11

Keep On Smiling: Songs By Irving Berlin, 1915 - 1918

Average customer rating:

Great for home and classroom

Keep On Smiling: Songs By Irving Berlin, 1915 - 1918
Benjamin Sears , and Bradford Connor
Manufacturer: Original Cast Record
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000004CRG
Release Date: 1996-09-17

Tracks:

The Circus Is Coming to Town
Araby
I've Got a Sweet Tooth Bothering Me
Until I Fell in Love With You
Cohen Owes Me Ninety Seven Dollars
When I Leave The World Behind
Down Where The Jack O'Lanterns Grow
Polly Pretty Polly (Polly With A Past)
The Eyes Of Youth See The Truth
The Sterling Silver Moon
While The Band Played An American Rag
The Voice Of Belgium
The Devil Has Bought Up All The Coal
They Were All Out Of Step But Jim
Smile And Show Your Dimple
Dream On Little Soldier Boy
When I Get Back To The U.S.A.
I'm Gonna Pin My Medal On The Girl I Left Behind
Yip-Yip-Yaphank Medley: Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning/Kitchen Police (Poor Little Me)...
We're On Our Way To France

Customer Reviews:

Great for home and classroom.......1999-03-21

No other composer so closely kept his fingers on the pulse of American thinking and gave the country so much of what it thought it wanted. "Yiddle on Your Fiddle" tells us more of the second-generation immigrants' desire to become Americanized than all the history and sociology books can ever do. So it is a double pleasure to announce the appearance of "Come on and Hear!: Early Songs by Irving Berlin, 1909-1915" and "Keep on Smiling: Songs by Irving Berlin, 1915-1918," two fantastic CDs or tapes on Oaktown label and released through a friendly little Connecticut company calling itself Original Cast Records. Between the two sets, you have 41 tracks of the Berlin output from "Everybody's Doing It Now" to "We're on Our Way to France." The soloist is Benjamin Sears, who with pianist Bradford Conner has something of a reputation around the Boston area. Now some of this material is duplicated by the more widely known Joan Morrison on two RCA Victor releases, possibly out of print by now; and like those discs could use another voice now and then. (Conner does join in where a duet is called for, but my point remains.) Sears is a capable if not an outstanding baritone, who does justice to these historic expressions of Americana. So not only do I recommend both of these sets for their enjoyment value, but I wish to continue to point out to Social Studies teachers how valuable sets like this would be to classes who have no concept of how people really felt (as opposed to what they merely said and did) "way back when." And I might even stick out my neck so far as to offer to come to any school (in reasonable distance of where I live) to give a sample lesson on how these sets can be used.

Average customer rating:

Second Rate Civil War Music

Blue and Gray: Songs of The Civil War
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Altissimo Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Marches | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

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Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00007JXQU
Release Date: 2002-11-26

Tracks:

Blue And Gray Medley 1 includes: Girl I Left Behind, Aura Lee, Hail Columbia
Yankee Doodle
Battle of Shiloh March
Blue And Gray Medley 2 includes: Maryland, My Maryland, Tenting On The Old Campground, John Brown's Body, Battle Hymn Of The Republic
The Story of "The Battle Hymn Of The Republic"
Turkey In The Straw
My Old Kentucky Home
Blue And Gray Medley 3 includes: Battle Cry Of Freedom, Dixie, When Johnny Comes Marching Home
Long Time Ago
Shenandoah
Taps
Taps with Orchestration
Amazing Grace

Album Description

Favorite Songs of the Civil War as perfomed by The United States Army Field Band, The United States Air Force Band and Singing Sergeants, The United States Marine Band, The United States Navy Band and Sea Chanters Chorus.

Customer Reviews:

Second Rate Civil War Music.......2004-07-17

This potporri of Civil war tunes played by a selection of US service bands falls short on many levels. For one thing the CD is under 60 mins and yet is a top priced item. Also, many of the selections on here are copied from other Altissimo titles. So there is not much original music here. Its hard to know why "Amazing Grace" is here other than just for additional filler. Yes, the tune was known back then, but its hardly Civil War era music! Altissimo! just threw it in to add a few minutes more to this CD. The linear notes are an improvement from the none-existant ones of the past, but overall this is a second rate Civil War CD. The modern arrangments of the music also do not carry very well.

The Wizard of Oz - Vintage Recordings from the 1903 Broadway Musical

Average customer rating:

A Collection of the Original Oz Stage Productions
Ain't it a Shame!
Why the 1903 "Wizard" was forgotten
A long overdue revisit to a classic American musical
Long-Forgotten Broadway Hit Gets First Rate Revival

The Wizard of Oz - Vintage Recordings from the 1903 Broadway Musical

Manufacturer: Original Cast Record
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00009MPYQ

Tracks:

Wizard of OzSelection (Arthur Pryor's Band)
The Bullfrog and the Coon (Ada Jones)
Pocahontas (Edward M. Favor)
Daisy Donohue (Harry Tally)
Down on the Brandywine (Collins & Harlan)
Come Take a Skate with Me Sung (Collins & Harlan)
I Love You All the Time (Harry Macdonough)
The Moon Has His Eyes on You (Ada Jones)
When You Love, Love, Love (Thomas E. Whitbred)
When We Get Whats a-Comin to Us
Mister Dooley Sung (Edward M. Favor)
Julie Dooley (J. W. Myers)
Meet Me Down at the Corner (Jones & Spencer)
Budweisers a Friend of Mine (Billy Murray)
Theres a Lot of Things You Never Learn at School (Bob Roberts)
Under a Panama (Billy Murray)
Good Bye Fedora (Collins & Harlan)
Sitting Bull (Collins & Harlan)
I Love Only One Girl in this Wide Wide World (Harry Macdonough)
Sammy (Harry Macdonough)
The Tale of a Stroll (Morgan & Stanley)
Cant You See Im Lonely? (Ada Jones)
Are You Sincere? (Byron G. Harlan)
Hurrah for Baffins Bay (Collins & Harlan)
Football (Dan W. Quinn)
Id Like to Go Halves in That (Burt Shepard)
Rejoice!The Wizard is No Longer King
The Traveler and the Pie
Must You? (Dan W. Quinn)
Thats Where She Sits All Day (Dan W. Quinn)
The Sweetest Girl in Dixie (Henry Burr)
Scarecrow Laugh (Fred Stone)

Tracks:

Sammy Mira (Music Box Disc)
Must You? (Mira Music Box Disc)
Opening Prayer
Phantom Patrol
Just a Simple Girl from the Prairie
Poppy Song
Love is Love
When We Get What's A-Comin' to Us
The Traveler and the Pie
When You Love, Love, Love
Rejoice! The Wizard is No Longer King
Phantom Patrol (Aeolian Piano Roll)
My Little Maid of Oz Aeolian Piano Roll
The Tik-Tok Man of OzSelection (Rythmodik Piano Roll)
The Tik-Tok Man of OzSelection (Piano Roll)
Ask the Flowers to Tell You (Macdonough & Dunlap)
My Beautiful Dream Girl (John Barnes Wells)
My Pretty Little Piece of Dresden China (Bessie Wynn)
Gay Paree (Montgomery & Stone)
Travel Travel Little Star (Montgomery & Stone)
A Scotch Moriah (Montgomery & Stone)
Hurrah for Baffins Bay (Dan W. Quinn)
Daisy Donohue (Trombone Solo by Arthur Pryor)
Mr. DooleyMedley (Xylophone Solo J. Frank Hopkins)
Down on the BrandywineMedley (Edison Military Band)
The Bullfrog and the CoonMedley (Six Brown Brothers)
Ill Take You Back to Italy (Ada Jones & Billy Murray)
Father Goose Songs (Sallie Osbourne)

Album Description

The Wizard of Oz a musical with book and lyrics by L. Frank Baum and music by Paul Tietjens premiered on June 16, 1902, at the Grand Opera House in Chicago. It was an instant hit and made stars of David Montgomery (the Tin Woodman) and Fred Stone (the Scarecrow). On January 21, 1903 the show opened at the Majestic Theatre in New York. It ran for nine months and set out on the road with a second company right on its heels. The show toured, came back to New York, toured, and returned to New York again many times until finally disbanding around 1911. Stock and amateur companies continued to present it into the 1930s when it was overshadowed by the classic MGM film starring Judy Garland.

The show was legendary for its success and its impact on American culture. It was the Cats or Les Mis of the early 1900s--but the show has been swallowed by history. What made audiences of the early 1900s devour the show and return for more again and again? In this unprecedented 2-CD set—featuring over 145 minutes of vintage recordings and 64 pages of lyrics, photos, notes and synopsis—you can discover how The Wizard of Oz entertained the American public for the first two decades of the 20th century. And like the audiences of nearly a hundred years ago, you can hum along to "Budweiser," "Sammy," and "Hurrah for Baffin's Bay"—everyone's favorite songs from The Wizard of Oz! Also included in this comprehensive collection are recordings from later Oz musicals, The Woggle-Bug and The Tik-Tok Man of Oz written by Oz creator L. Frank Baum, as well as vintage non-Oz recordings by original "Wizard of Oz stars" Montgomery & Stone and Bessie Wynn

Customer Reviews:

A Collection of the Original Oz Stage Productions.......2006-12-07

This Double-Disk Collection contains music from the original and varied Oz Stage Productions: "the Wizard of Oz", "the Woggle-Bug" (based on 'Marvelous Land of Oz) and "the Tik-Tok Man of Oz" (based on 'Ozma of Oz'). There are plenty of "Wizard" songs and music, but there isn't a lot of "Woggle-Bug" and/or "Tik-Tok Man".
I often wondered how different the 1st & Original Production of 'Oz Wizard' was different to the book, and thanks to Mark Evan Schwartz's book "Oz: Before the Rainbow" I found out for myself (WORTH A READ!!). Later I got this CD to go along with the book's stage telling (more or less) and I listened in interest to the songs which, I read, were entirely different to the future Musicals of Oz. The songs are good, but not all of them are actually completely restored to perfection, so the singing may/will sound somewhat muffled. Also, due to the time it was made (for some reason), the songs don't actually fit into the story (even the stage's rewritten story) and sound distant/unrelated. But there are songs that sound similar to the original story ("Rejoice! The Wizard is No Longer King"). CD 2's Track 3 has music played during Silent Oz Film "His Majesty, Scarecrow" on the MGM 3-Disk DVD.
The best thing about this CD Collection is the two booklets packaged along with the disks: the first (entitled "The Records") has writing on "What the Wizard Was" with a synopsis of the stage production story and "About the Recordings", a listing of all the songs on CD 1 (which are helpful for "Selection" Tracks not specifically named on the back) and notes on the songs like their origins and background. Booklet 2 (entitled "The Lyrics") has the words to the songs (in case you can't make out the words/want to sing-along). BOTH CDs include b&w photos of the actors, performance (few of which can be seen in "Oz: Before the Rainbow" book) and even reprints of a few illustrations made for the stage. The pictures are the best part of this purchase.
The Entirely Different Songs may not fit with the story, original or rewritten, but there's nothing really wrong with the music when one enjoys to what they're listening to.
I know that there is also another 'Oz on Stage' CD Collection called "Before the Rainbow" . . . hmmm, I wonder if I should get that too?

Ain't it a Shame!.......2006-05-20

I think that this is a wonderful album of HISTORICAL value. Not too many people know this, but "the wizard of oz" was made into a smash hit in 1903, but because all the history was BARELY in obscurity, hungry tiger press wanted to educate the blockheads in the world about this remarkable piece of history. that being said, david maxine collected all of the old material, such as Piano rolls (my especial favorite of all of them is "the poppy song", i LOVE the bass notes: "nnn-ded-deh mmmm-ded-deh"), and music boxes, and cylinders, and records!
however, it is quite a shame that that CRAPPY movie with judy garland pushed this lovely musical into obscurity. i would have liked to see it in my day, but it was already lost in darkness, but thanks to the highly DIGNIFIED people in the world, this cd is available!! BUY IT!!!! I *ORDER* YOU!!! YOU CANNOT BE DIGNIFIED WITHOUT THIS REPLACING YOUR "RAP" GARBAGE WITH THIS JEWEL!!!!

Why the 1903 "Wizard" was forgotten.......2004-03-20

This truly remarkable 2-disc collection of old cylinders, discs, music boxes and piano rolls explains why the 1903 musical version of "The Wizard of Oz" did not survive the early thirties. It wasn't because it was before its time or even of its time, but simply because it was way behind the times. Its producers resisted composer's Paul Tietjens' attempts to write plot-driven numbers. His contribution survives only in the incidental music preserved on piano rolls (and the most interesting element on this collection) linking very disparate and even incongruous vaudeville acts by various authors and performers that graced the stage during the musical's multi-decade run. In other words, Baum was telling a story and the songs were telling another... As fascinating as they are for historical reasons, those numbers are commonplace, mostly uninspired flash-in-the-tin-pan ditties, with timid syncopation and a stong reliance on musical clichés. There is not a single standard among them and not even a decent lyric where "fine" doesn't rhyme with "mine" and "love you" doesn't rhyme with "I do"- or even "I know you know I know you do", as happens more than once. As an assemblage of shtick pieces and ephemeral sentimental or nonsensical ditties, this collection cannot be topped and it represents a monumental effort. Without it and its very generous and informative liner notes, I would not have the same appreciation for the absolute genius of Victor Herbert's operettas ("Babes in Toyland" came out the same year) where the more memorable songs are plot-driven and introduced and linked by the most luscious, inventive and varied incidental music ever heard outside an opera house. This sort of unified concept would culminate in Jerome Kern's "Show Boat" and it remains a truth today that the integration of plot and music - reminiscent of opera - is the true secret of successful and perennial musicals, whatever the current idiom. This collection also makes one appreciate the complete originality of the Hollywood film for actually going back to Baum's books, entrusting the songs, lyrics and music to Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg and Herbert Stothart and scrapping the musical's colourful but checkered history (except for casting ex-vaudevillians as the main characters, of course!). Highly recommended for its nostalgia value, its irreplaceable rarities and a better understanding of the history of American popular music.

A long overdue revisit to a classic American musical.......2003-09-30

Although it was one of the most financially successful stage musicals of the early 1900's, very little information is presently available on the 1903 production of THE WIZARD OF OZ. In what was obviously a labor of love, David Maxine has done much to correct this oversight by releasing a 2-CD set with over 145 minutes worth of extremely rare recordings of music from this and other OZ-themed musicals dating back to before World War I. Recorded materials include vintage acoustical disc and cylinder phonograph records, piano rolls, and music box discs, many of which go back almost a century. In addition, he has included two booklets worth of historical background information on the 1903 WIZARD OF OZ production, its stars, the individual musical numbers, and lyrics for the songs included on the CDs. (Lavishly illustrated with rare old black and white photos and artwork, these booklets, and the information they contain, are themselves worth the price of the set!) Several bonus CD tracks are included that offer rare recordings by Montgomery & Stone (the original Tin Woodsman and Scarecrow) and Bessie Wynn, who was also in the 1903 cast. Not just for dedicated Oz fans, this set is a "must have" for anyone interested in the history of American musical theater and American popular culture of the early 1900's.

Long-Forgotten Broadway Hit Gets First Rate Revival.......2003-09-17

One hundred and three years ago, author L. Frank Baum published the best-selling children's book of the 20th century, THE WIZARD OF OZ. Although the book was adapted several times as plays, silent motion pictures, animated cartoons, and radio shows in the next few decades, it is the 1939 MGM film that most people think of as THE WIZARD OF OZ. The success and popularity of that film completely eclipsed the memories of previous incarnations and even the book itself in popular culture. However, prior to the film's release, there was a successful stage version which premiered on Broadway in 1903 and delighted audiences for many years, making stars of Fred Stone and David Montgomery, the original Scarecrow and Tinman. As with the MGM film, chilren who saw THE WIZARD OF OZ on stage carried fond memories of the production into adulthood. Ray Bolger was so impressed with the Fred Stone's Scarecrow, that he remembered it vividly as an adult and based his own protrayal of the character in the movie on Mr. Stone's stage version.

Unfortunately, time and Judy Garland have pushed the once popular Broadway Smash into history. It has been all but forgotten...until now.

As the show moved from theater to theater and casts changed, so did the songs. Many of these were recorded on the primative equipment of the day: Wax cylinders, 78-RPM records, piano rolls, and music Boxes, and surprisingly many of these still exist. Now, thanks to those hard-working gents at HUNGRY TIGER PRESS, you can own these historic recordings on this awesome 2-CD set. THE WIZARD OF OZ: Vintage Recordings From The 1903 Broadway Musical contains over 145 minutes of terrific early 20th century music. You won't find "Over the Rainbow" or "Ding! Dong! The Witch Is Dead!" here. Instead, this WIZARD OF OZ contains tracks like "Budweiser's a Friend of Mine", "Sammy", "Hurrah for Baffin's Bay", and "Rejoice! The Wizard is No Longer King", each one a portal over the rainbow to the Broadway stage of a century ago.

Obviously the play was quite different in plot from the movie--Dorothy travelled to Oz with her cow Imogene instead of Toto, for starters--, but the songs represent the style of popular music of 100 years ago and are collected here in a beautiful compilation. The set contains two booklets of liner notes which contain credits, lyrics, a written history of the production, and are extensively illustrated with photos and illustrations. Although the sound quality of the source material is not always up to today's standards, the songs are presented in the best versions possible, and the music is highly enjoyable. With 60 tracks and the wealth of information contained here, both written and photographic, this 2-CD set is good value for the money. A must-have for all collectors of WIZARD OF OZ memorabilia, an insightful look at popular music and Broadway history from a century ago, a glimpse into ethnic and racial stereotypes that were accepted at the time, and a curiosity for fans of the 1939 film, this set is big on appeal. Kudos to the Hungry Tiger Press for rescuing this treasure trove of musical history from obscurity!

Music:

Music

Music