Dream Big

Track Listings

1. Come on In

2. You Come to My Senses

3. Go Where the Love Flows

4. Be Strong

5. Dream Big

6. We Trust in God

7. Except for Grace

8. He'll Be Holdin' His Own

9. Count Your Blessings

10. More Like a Whisper

Dream Big, Music, The Martins, CCM, Gospel/Christian Music, Pop, Religious / Contemp. Christian, United States of America

Average customer rating:

This CD has a couple of good songs

Great music--idiotic DRM (copy protection)

Great music, can't live with the copy protection

A windows down, dancing with the steering wheel or out on the deck, sippin' a beverage kind of CD!

How should I know how good it is, I can't get it to play.

Dream Big
Ryan Shupe & the Rubberband
Manufacturer: Liberty
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Dream Big

Jasper County

Real Fine Place

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Tough All Over

ASIN: B000AHJ82Y
Release Date: 2005-09-06

Tracks:

Banjo Boy
Even Superman
Dream Big
Simplify
Would You Love Me
Ambush
New Emotion
Rain Falls Down
Never Give Up
Oh How I Miss You
Hey Hey Hey

Amazon.com

OK, let's get this out front: Their name is obnoxious, and sets up low expectations of the KC and the Sunshine Band kind. But this Utah-based group, with a handful of independent albums to their credit, is comprised of real musicians who craft a hard-to-categorize, acoustic-centered approach. At their best, they circle a progressive bluegrass, Béla Fleck & the Flecktones/Nickel Creek sound, with outstanding banjo work from Craig Miner. But they dilute that ambience with tepid reggaeish numbers, bubblegum pop, and jive lyrics that aim for cool. "Dream Big," a motivational ballad that should inspire a sea of lighter flames, is the hit here, but the more interesting tunes--the tongue-in-cheek "Banjo Boy" and the rap/jazz "Simplify," which Weird Al Yankovic would love--showcase a healthy sense of humor. Mixed bag, for sure. Think of this as a musical smiley face with occasional moments of studied calm. --Alanna Nash

Album Description

Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand are a breathtaking blast of manic musical virtuosity. Sheer joy seems to pour out of the speakers when they start playing, and it may be that they sound that way because the five members of the band--Roger Archibald (guitar, vocals), Colin Botts (bass, vocals), Craig Miner (banjo, bouzouki, guitar, mandolin and vocals), Bart Olson (drums), and Ryan Shupe (lead vocals, fiddle, mandolin and guitar) are not only extremely talented, they're having a great time. This same spirit also infuses Dream Big; it's an album that aptly captures their passion to perform.

"There's something magical about a band," says Shupe. "I really like how it morphs and grows and ebbs and flows like one entity." Drummer Olson notes, "A lot of times it's kind of an adventure to figure out how each song will end up, because nobody really knows when we start out." Guitarist Archibald adds, "We're like a really tight family, and that's important to have in a band because it's just much more fun that way. We love to play music, and we love who we're playing music with."

The five musicians share a ravenous appetite for all types of music, with the band's influences including such diverse performers as Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Bob Marley, the Police, AC/DC and Bela Fleck. Most have dabbled with a number of different instruments, all have been playing since they were kids. Shupe, a generous frontman, writes the songs, but doesn't demand ownership of them. "I always have something in my mind that I think a song's going to be, but when I bring it to the band I try not to hold on to that too much. I love to get everybody's input because I think that the guys in the band are so amazing. The song might take a different turn than I'd originally thought, but it always turns out the way it's supposed to be."

Customer Reviews:

This CD has a couple of good songs.......2007-06-20

A couple of good songs, yes. But the rest are a little annoying. Keep in mind that I am an adult, and this is marketed to teens. He has a lot of potential, but will get old after the first time around. Something milder is good, unless you are in Jr. High.

Great music--idiotic DRM (copy protection).......2007-05-28

Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband are amazingly talented musicians, and this is one of my favorite CDs. But this CD is a textbook example of why DRM (digital rights management, AKA copy protection) ultimately hurts both artists and the record labels themselves.

I bought this album originally from the iTunes Music Store to play on my iPod Mini. Unfortunately, the iTMS sells only copy-protected AAC files. Still, I love the music--it's so good I was going to purchase a CD so I could re-rip it into a different format for my non-iPod MP3 player, a Cowon iAudio X5L.

Then I found out it was a copy-protected CD that I wouldn't be able to play on my computer, or store in digital format on my hard drive, without installing a separate program. Forget it!

You have to understand that I believe strongly in supporting musicians and in their right to profit from their art. I have no problem paying for music. But once I buy a CD, it should be mine to do with as I please. I WILL NOT support record labels who hobble their product with DRM and copy protection.

My solution? Burn the album I purchased through iTunes to CD, then re-rip it into high-quality Ogg Vorbis files for good measure. Yes, there is some loss of audio quality in the transcoding process, but it's very faint. Now I have DRM-free audio files and a CD that will play in anything.

It's too bad--I really wanted to support the guys in the band, but their record label needs to get a clue. All DRM does is cause inconvenience for honest users. It does nothing to stop big-league music piracy. If and when I can buy a Ryan Shupe CD without copy protection, or download unencumbered MP3 files, I'll do it. Until then, they don't get my money, and they shouldn't get yours, either.

It _is_ a wonderful album, though.

Great music, can't live with the copy protection.......2006-09-01

I've been listening to Ryan Shupe & the Rubberband on the Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour podcast and I was ready to buy all their CD's. That is until I saw the review here that mentioned the copy protection. I'm not planning on stealing their music, I just want to rip it to the device of my choosing and it appears that I can't do that. After the problems with Sony and their rootkit, I'm not letting anyone install software to my computer just to listen to music. Sorry guys, you sound great and I'd like to support you through the purchase of your music, but I can't do it given your label's approach to copy protection.

A windows down, dancing with the steering wheel or out on the deck, sippin' a beverage kind of CD!.......2006-05-30

My husband's cell phone rings the tune, "I play the banjo..." and we had no idea who sang it (hubby plays banjo so thought ring would be cool). Anywho, then we find out this ringtone is an actual song and is on a CD... WE LOVE RYAN SHUPE! Funny thing now, the "Banjo song" is our least fav. Get the CD (play it the old fashioned way) or download and burn it. We actually bought it for $9.99 online from Yahoo Music (or get just the songs you want for .99cents each). Once you buy the download, you can burn it like 5 times too. Get the CD, you won't be disappointed... asuming you have any taste for good music!
(We are also fans of -and suggest adding these to your library, if not there already- Carbon Leaf, Entrain, Rusted Root, Nickel Creek, Bela Fleck, Blues Traveler, Ellis Paul...)
SMILE!

How should I know how good it is, I can't get it to play........2006-05-27

The music sounds great on the radio, and after laying down my hard earned money for this drink coaster, I was looking forward to put it on my Creative Zen. I opened up the "CD", put it in my computer, and, WTF, it wanted me to download a special program just to play it! I can't put the music on my MP3 player, and I can't make WMA files for my collection.

Well, I did some searching on the web and it seems there is a program called Limewire you can use to find the songs on the internet. So I guess I have to go do that now to get the music I already payed for. This is the last Ryan Shupe CD or EMI label CD I will buy. I guess I will start doing what everyone else is doing and get my music over the internet.

BTW, it won't play in my car CD player either.

Music for a Darkened Theatre, Vol. 1: Film & Television Music

Average customer rating:

Great compilation - and that's just the first half.
The best of Elfman!!!
Great Collection, A LIttle Too Eclectic
What Great Music
super

Music for a Darkened Theatre, Vol. 1: Film & Television Music

Manufacturer: Fontana Mca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000002OEB
Release Date: 1990-10-15

Tracks:

Excerpts From: Pee Wee's Big Adventure
Excerpts From: Batman
Excerpts From: Dick Tracy
Excerpts From: Beetlejuice
Excerpts From: Nightbreed
Excerpts From: Darkman
Excerpts From: Back To School
Excerpts From: Midnight Run
Excerpts From: Wisdom
Excerpts From: Hot To Trot
Excerpts From: Big Top Pee Wee
Excerpts From: The Simpsons
Excerpts From: Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Jar
Excerpts From: Tales From The Crypt
Excerpts From: Face Like A Frog
Excerpts From: Forbidden Zone
Excerpts From: Scrooged

Customer Reviews:

Great compilation - and that's just the first half........2005-09-14

I first got this on cassette in the summer of '94 and listened to it every day, drawn by its thematic range and compositional depth. And that was just side-one.

Elfman pioneered the sound that drives today's movie adaptations of comic-books and darker-themed children's stories. Side-One kicks things off with a rollicking, hyper-cartoonish theme from the first Pee-Wee movie - the one where Pee-Wee searches for his beloved bike. Elfman's theme contains layers of different rides - on tightropes, highways, in the middle of a NASCAR rally - which rudely yet melodically crash into each other.

The Batman entry actually contains several pieces - the opening credits, the extended sequence in the cathedral and the climax - which show Batman's darkened extreme at its "Frank Miller" best. (Dir. Tim Burton couldn't sustain the mood in the next sequel, and the franchise took a turn towards the camp of the TV series with the next 2 movies.)

The theme for "Dick Tracy" is perhaps the most romantic on this disc, a quality that surpasses the theme's comic-book origins, but ends on an ironic note that's pure Elfman.

"Beetlejuice" (opening & closing credits) gives Elfman's childish ID a chance to stretch its legs, or in this case, slam-dance.

"Nightbreed" is an enigma wrapped in a dark mystery, and that's just Elfman's score. Elfman's work on this movie is as good as the movie wasn't, having a more powerful narrative than the script - easily the best track on the entire disc, one likely to exceed the movie in its dose of chills.

"Darkman" doesn't quite rise to the occasion, though the score may be hobbled by the movie itself, which seldom surpassed one of the many "Batman" clones of the early 1990's. "Darkman" (the movie, I mean) excelled as a parody of many comicbook staples (the wronged hero, the relentless villain, the scientific breakthrough with just one flaw), but not enough to escape being largely anonymous. Within those constraints, it's still a moving if scary piece.

When is Elfman not like Elfman? When he was in the mid-late `80's and scored "Back to School" (A Rodney Dangerfield vehicle) and "Midnight Run". Horns in "School" bring it closer to Elfman's over-the-top style, while "Run" sounds like a love-theme for the run-down, out-of-the-way parts of America that seldom appear in Elfman-movies. "Run" is a fun score for a fun movie - it's nothing like Elfman's previous work but it perfectly captures the on-the-road-without-a-map craziness of the movie.

To this day, I don't know why I never ventured to Side-two, but it's irrelevant. Even half this disc is worth it

The best of Elfman!!!.......2005-09-05

I was obsessed about getting this CD right from when I heard about it. I found it at the library and was so excited about it, and it didn't let me down. In fact, it was a lot better than I expected. It's a fun and creepy (strange mix, but it really works!) collection of Danny Elfman's film and television soundtracks. The first track, Pee Wee's Big Adventure, is probably my favorite. Also, I really like Batman and Wisdom. Batman is creepy and dark, and Wisdom is just weird, in the best possible way.
I'd recommend this to anyone who likes film music, or everyone who is even the tiniest bit an Elfman fan. It's amazing!

Great Collection, A LIttle Too Eclectic.......2003-08-19

You should be able to tell from the movies and TV shows listed here whether or not you'd be interested in this collection. It's a little too eclectic for my tastes (hence only 4 stars) but better than volume 2. I think thatthe miscellaneous collected ites here along with the previously unreleased stuff should make this worth buying. Especially if you're a fan of Elfman's movie soundtrack work.

What Great Music.......2003-05-11

I fell in love with the music of Danny Elfman when Beetlejuice came out. There was something different about the music that he made. When Edward Scissorhands, and then Nightmare Before Christmas - I knew this man was a musical master. Its the verbal form of surrealism.

super.......2003-04-17

What a great CD. Danny's music is so original and inventive. this CD contains his pre 90's quirky, gothic music. it's all very well written and beautifully orchestrated. batman and darkman contain some really excellent long, dark, gothic cues that really take u away from reality. in my opinion no one, apart from howard shore, is as inventive and original as danny in the world of filmmusic. he far surpasses the repetitive works of williams or horner. buy this, and volume two, and keep supporting one of the greatest film composers of all time.ohh...and buy fellowship of the ring and two towers by howard shore....amazing work!

Average customer rating:

terrific singer songwriter
One multi-talented musician!
Wonderful Singer and Songs - Spoiled by the bacground musicians.
"Something's lost, but something's gained..."
A real accomplishment.

Big Dream Boulevard
Antje Duvekot
Manufacturer: Black Wolf Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B000FOT9DA
Release Date: 2006-04-28

Tracks:

Dandelion
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Jerusalem
Sex Bandaid
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Customer Reviews:

terrific singer songwriter.......2007-01-19

great CD. I actually like the accoustic version of a couple of songs but it is still a great CD.

One multi-talented musician!.......2007-01-10

Antje's vocals are purely angelic! Her songwriting skills are outstanding. I laughed;I cried;I was happy;I was angry.It's an album that surely will spark us all into more beautiful humans. I saw her live with just her guitar and was equally enchanted.Antje Duvekot is truely a gift to the music world.

Wonderful Singer and Songs - Spoiled by the bacground musicians........2006-09-11

ANTJE!. I have your other CD's - they are great. Simple acoustics, very personal and intimate. Your unique singing style is wonderful, although sometimes the recording quality is not quite as good as I would like. Unfortunately on this new CD You have been homogenised and commercialised - I am tired of electric guitars and percussionists that dominate beautiful songs and wonderful voices.
Antje - if you are going this way - turn down the volume on those background people - I don't buy your music to hear them dominate your wondrous lyrics and special voice.
Please do not get done over!

"Something's lost, but something's gained...".......2006-08-05

This CD contains both studio re-recordings of earlier works ("Judas", "Dandelion", "Anna", etc.) as well as new songs.

I have some sympathy for Ben Fassett's earlier comment. Those who have heard Antje Duvekot's earlier works ("Little Peppermints" and "Boys, Flowers, Miles") may be surprised by her sound in this CD.

I was fortunate enough to hear her live in concert the other night, and was completely impressed by her presence and performance. Her earlier CDs convey the power of her solo performance; think Patty Griffin's "Living with Ghosts" as a comparable example. Paradoxically, less is more.

This CD, on the other hand, adds string arrangements and other instruments to her voice and guitar. I think that some of the raw emotion and poignancy can get lost in the production, and her voice can occasionally be muted. In her concert, she performed some of the new songs from this CD, and they were very much in the style of her earlier CDs.

The earlier CDs also reveal her live demeanor which is quite shy, humorous and self-deprecating. You should really try to see her in person if you have a chance.

On the other hand, this CD represents more Antje Duvekot, and that is never a bad thing. It is still well worth the purchase, but consider also "Boys, Flowers, Miles" to hear the power of her solo voice.

A real accomplishment........2006-07-31

Antje's voice is simply beautiful and her lyrics are astonishing. It's very rare that I go completely ga-ga over a singer/songwriter, but Antje has me. There isn't a single track on this CD that I skip. The songs stand equally in their studio produced versions as they do stripped down live. I'd strongly encourage you to have both experiences. :-)

Average customer rating:

Loved "Summon the Heroes"
Inspirational music during awards
Rousing but....
Enjoyable romp through Olympic Themes
One of the most uplifting and motivating albums!!!

Summon the Heroes

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Customer Reviews:

Loved "Summon the Heroes".......2007-03-17

Great soul-stirring music! Highly recommended for anyone who loves Olympics orchestral and similar music.

Inspirational music during awards.......2007-01-22

I use the music on this CD as background when I give awards during track. It's very inspirational & uplifting to the athletes. They love it.

Rousing but...........2006-02-24

This CD, with John Williams at the baton, summons the heroes in a rousing manner with a wide range of Olympic as well as "heroic" (e.g., "Parade of the Charioteers" from "Ben Hur")selections. Three of the twelve tracks were written by Williams himself with his "Olympic Spirit" being recorded for the first time. The electrifying "Ode to Zeus" by Mikis Theodorakis is probably the single greatest selection.
In an amazing oversight, however, this CD does not include the Olympic Theme.

Enjoyable romp through Olympic Themes.......2005-09-01

In the US at least, John Williams is known more for his movie scores (Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark to name a few), but he has put his stamp on the Olympics with his several themes and fanfares for the Olympics. Dating back to 1984, Mr. Williams has composed many well known fanfares to the Olympics, and this compilation contains several of his fanfares in addition to music used in other Olympics. The original release for the disc was 1996, which makes it current through the Atlanta Games; if you're looking for the work that John Williams composed for the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics (2002), you have to go with American Visions (I believe that's the title).

On the whole, the music is well done, but I'm more used to the faster pace of the Parade of the Charioteers found on Eric Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops' Hollywood's Greatest Hits Vol. 1.
One other quibble (minor, really) is that people tend to think of the 1984 Olympic Fanfare as being always merged with the traditional Olympic Fanfare, but you can find it separately on By Request by John Williams and the Boston Pops. You'll also have to hunt around for the full composition of what people consider the traditional Olympic Fanfare on another disc, but that's a minor issue.

One nice item on the disc is The Olympic Spirit, which was composed for the NBC Broadcast of the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, but never used. My children really like that piece a lot, and usually request it to be replayed when it finishes.

One of the most uplifting and motivating albums!!!.......2005-07-19

When I first listened to this album, I was in awe of the beauty and grandness of the music composed/performed by John Williams. John can make composing music an exalted art. His music is purely genius and captures the ideas of the album in which the score is in. Back to the album . . . it is AWESOME! This includes many well-known songs but also many undiscovered treasures. Of the twelve songs, I especially enjoyed:
Track One-Summon the Heroes
Track Three-Bugler's Dream/Olympic Fanfare and Theme
Track Twelve-The Olympic Spirit
Bottom Line: BUY THIS ALBUM!!!!!!!! A TREASURE!!!!!

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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Overture To 'Tannhauser'
Domna, Pos Vos Ay Chausida
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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)
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The Natural Upper Notes Of The Violins Have A Unique Emotional 'Grab'.
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Elsewhere, Britten Uses The Same High Register To Create A Very Different Mood.
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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'
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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:

Hummingbirds
Montana
Soul Sloshing
Wordless May
Alice
Lumberjacks
Beautiful Spain
The Bells
Springtime #2
Honey
Sonic Boom
Bella Luna

Customer Reviews:

Big Beautiful Voice.......2006-06-04

I first heard Venus Hum on radioparadise.com, which has been a source of good music for me lately.

The singer has a great voice and very appealing attitude. You really should see their "Hummingbirds" video. She is awesome in it.

If you like singers like Cranberries, Vienna Teng you will definetely like this CD.

SLIGHTLY QUIRKY, COMPLETELY BEAUTIFUL.......2005-12-18

This is such a great album. Amazing vocalist, unusual yet very appealing voice. Very recognizable as well, I believe. I think that I have heard her vocals on a number of other non-Venus Hum songs, such as "Southern Sun" on Paul Oakenfold's album Bunkka (Am I right? I don't have the physical CD or insert/sleeve for Bunkka, I downloaded it from iTunes) The music on this album, Big Beautiful Sky, is itself equally dynamic and fantastic - also unusual, but accessible. The result? Perfectly matched vocals and music.

I have had this album for some time now, a few years maybe, and love to listen to it fairly regularly. The front half of the album is my favorite - Hummingbirds, Montana, Soul Sloshing, Lumberjacks and Beautiful Spain are my favorite tracks on this album, particularly Soul Sloshing - such a funky, odd, feel-great track. This CD is worth its bargain price for that one track alone. The rest of the album is great as well, a little more downtempo than the first half, but I find myself routinely gravitating to the songs listed above and tend to have those on repeat more often than those bringing up the rear.

Give this one a listen, then pick it up. Also check out their EP Songs for Superheroes, which is equally fantastic. I look forward to listening to, and purchasing, all of Venus Hum's future efforts.

One of the must-have albums of this century.......2005-09-16

Absolutely stunning! If you like ethereal female singers with really good near-operatic voices like Kate Bush, Lana Lane, Tarja Turunen of Nighwish... although my list might confuse you 'cause this is not pop-metal but rather trip-hop-dance-pop. Anyway, comparisons to Bjork are not very good, IMHO - this is not Bjork, not at all! - this stuff is really much more accessible and enjoyable.

Anyway, getting on with the review. What is amazing here is that almost every song (with only 1-2 exceptions) is really really good and very professionally produced. Hooks abound! Jumping, throbbing, trip-hoppy comtemporary dance-pop with simple lyrics which is ultimately hundred-percent redeemed by not only beautiful but oh so very sincere voice of Annette Strean.

Now for the songs. "Hummingbirds" was the first one I heard and it was simply love at first sight (no wonder that a snippet of it was used in a TV commercial). "Montana" is very good, although I liked some remixes of it more than the original. Then come "Soul Sloshing", "Beautiful Spain", "Wordless May" and "Bella Luna" - all first-class. Others are good but they are somewhat obscured by the hits - not to mention that some of them sound almost the same and this is something that guys from Venus Hum should think about when doing their next full-length record.

By the way, I am not sure why they have already released three EPs: "Hummingbirds" and new "Songs For Superheroes" and "Switched On Chrismas" but there is no new LP... what's up with that? some problems with their label, perhaps? Also, how on earth are people supposed to listen to these new songs if they are not even available anywhere? weird...

Anyway, as I said before, this is a record which is without any doubt, $15-worthy... I want to come up with a better sounding (or looking) term but am stumped for now. Go and buy it now!

Fill me up with sound.......2005-09-16

Good music is like a good book in that it has the power to sweep you away to another place. When I listen to Venus Hum I'm taken back to a place of innocence, happiness, sunshine, and unconcern. There is music I listen to when I want to be pouty, or angry, or serine; but I listen to this album when I want to feel joyful and lighthearted.

Yes, this album does have a spiritual undertone and she does mention Jesus in a song; being a not-so-religious person, this is a slight antipathy. However, I respect other people's beliefs and think it is beautiful when they can express them in a non-preachy way with alluring music; and Venus Hum does just that. In fact, the song that mentions Jesus, `Wordless May', is one of my favorite tracks. It's just a beautiful song.

Annette has such an amazing voice. She has passion mixed with innocence in her voice. The music just swirls into your ears and after a while you can't get it out of your head. You'll find yourself throughout the day humming the melody.

I actually just happened to come across them here on Amazon, and I'm very happy I did.

Somewhat Disappointed.......2005-09-04

Like a lot of people, I first heard of Venus Hum when Annette Strean (Venus Hum's lead singer) sang "Feel so good" on the Blue man group's "Complex rock tour" (a gread DVD). They announced her as Venus Hum. She rocked the house down and was the highlight of the show. So I figured that was the kind of music Venus Hum played. It's not. They're more like Techno-pop or something.
The first few songs are kind of catchy, hence the 2 stars; but it drops off quickly after that. Guess I should have listed to the short audio clips on Amazon first.

Varese Sarabande 25th Anniversary Celebration

Average customer rating:

A good value
The Sound Track Since Bernard Hermann
Good mix of film music
A mixed collection of movie music
Uplifts your soul, takes your mind into the heavens

Varese Sarabande 25th Anniversary Celebration

Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Star Wars | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Paramount 90th Anniversary Collection: Scores
In Session: Film Music Celebration
The Essential Elmer Bernstein Film Music Collection
Jerry Goldsmith: 40 Years of Film Music
Music In Film (National Public Radio Milestones Of The Millennium)

ASIN: B00008WI90
Release Date: 2003-04-22

Tracks:

The Man from Snowy River (Bruce Rowland)
The Winds of War (Bob Cobert)
Blue Velvet (Angelo Badalamenti)
Witness (Maurice Jarre)
Raising Arizona (Carter Burwell)
Pee Wees Big Adventure (Danny Elfman)
Halloween (John Carpenter)
A Nightmare On Elm Street (Charles Bernstein)
The Fly (Howard Shore)
RoboCop (Basil Poledouris)
The Empire Strikes Back (John Williams)
The Right Stuff (Bill Conti)
The Final Conflict (Jerry Goldsmith)
The Abyss (Alan Silvestri)
Brainstorm (James Horner)
Peggy Sue Got Married (John Barry)
My Left Foot (Elmer Bernstein)
The Dead (Alex North)
Stanley & Iris (John Williams)
The Milagro Beanfield War (Dave Grusin)
Driving Miss Daisy (Hans Zimmer)

Tracks:

Steel Magnolias (Georges Delerue)
Unforgiven (Lennie Niehaus and Clint Eastwood)
Raggedy Man (Jerry Goldsmith)
The Grifters (Elmer Bernstein)
Green Card (Hans Zimmer)
City Slickers (Marc Shaiman)
Father Of The Bride (Alan Silvestri)
While You Were Sleeping (Randy Edelman)
Babe (Nigel Westlake)
The Adventures Of The Great Mouse Detective (Henry Mancini)
The Adventures of Robin Hood (Erich Wolfgang Korngold)
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (Laurence Rosenthal)
The Secret Garden (Zbigniew Preisner)
A Little Princess (Patrick Doyle)
Rudy (Jerry Goldsmith)
Iron Will (Joel McNeely)
Memphis Belle (George Fenton)
Eye Of The Needle (Mikl)
Total Recall (Jerry Goldsmith)
Back To The Future Part III (Alan Silvestri)

Tracks:

To Die For (Danny Elfman)
The Player (Thomas Newman)
Black Robe (Georges Delerue)
Medicine Man (Jerry Goldsmith)
2001 (Alex North)
Star Wars: Shadows Of The Empire (Joel McNeely)
The Crow (Graeme Revell)
Blade (Mark Isham)
The Omen (Jerry Goldsmith)
Vertigo (Bernard Herrmann)
Scream (Marco Beltrami)
The Sixth Sense (James Newton Howard)
Xena: Warrior Princess (Joseph LoDuca)
Air Force One (Jerry Goldsmith)
Starship Troopers (Basil Poledouris)
The Matrix (Don Davis)
The Iron Giant (Michael Kamen)
Youve Got Mail (George Fenton)
A Little Romance (Georges Delerue)
Pleasantville (Randy Newman)

Tracks:

Sunset Boulevard (Franz Waxman)
L.A. Confidential (Jerry Goldsmith)
Rounders (Christopher Young)
The Score (Howard Shore)
The Replacements (John Debney)
Gone In 60 Seconds (Trevor Rabin)
The Bourne Identity (John Powell)
Rush Hour 2 (Lalo Schifrin)
XXX (Randy Edelman)
Die Hard (Michael Kamen)
The Last of the Mohicans (Trevor Jones)
Moby Dick (Christopher Gordon)
The Mists Of Avalon (Lee Holdridge)
Cleopatra (Alex North)
Life As A House (Mark Isham)
Emma (Rachel Portman)
In The Bedroom (Thomas Newman)
Cast Away (Alan Silvestri)
One True Thing (Cliff Eidelman)
Unfaithful (Jan A.P. Kaczmarek)
Far From Heaven (Elmer Bernstein)
Ice Age (David Newman)
Shrek (Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell)

Customer Reviews:

A good value.......2007-05-17

I wasn't expecting to have 4 discs for this price, and the music is a quality selection of film music, giving a good scope of the genre, and a very listenable transfer.

The Sound Track Since Bernard Hermann.......2006-07-25

This collection is bound to capture your heart and evoke a tin ear on successive tracks. I found much to like and some duds - easy to skip over.
Very good value.

Good mix of film music.......2006-07-02

Good mix of films!
I'm a big fan of this soundtrack music and will be looking for more CD's like this.

A mixed collection of movie music.......2006-02-23

For the price, this CD is a great bargain. The musical selections, as you might expect, are mixed in quality ranging from extraordinary to so so, the balance being worthwhile and interesting. Sonically the CD is excellent.

Uplifts your soul, takes your mind into the heavens.......2006-01-06

I have been listening to great scores for many years and this collection is truly inspirational in so far as the choice of different scores takes you on a journey of listening pleasure matched by only a few collections.The price is incredibly reasonable for hours of listening pleasure. Don't pass this one up

Heigh-Ho! Mozart: Favorite Disney Tunes In The Style Of Great Classical Composers

Average customer rating:

Just amazing
A Disney Classic!

Heigh-Ho! Mozart: Favorite Disney Tunes In The Style Of Great Classical Composers
Eugenia Zukerman , Shanghai Quartet , Los Angeles Guitar Quartet , Anthony Newman , Paul Barritt , and Voices Of Ascension
Manufacturer: Delos Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Children's Music | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Bibbidi Bobbidi Bach: More Favorite Disney Tunes
Ragtime at the Magical Kingdoms
Beauty and the Beat: Favorite Disney Tunes in Steelband Style
Symphonic Suites of the Animated Classics
Disney Spectacular

ASIN: B0000006UX
Release Date: 1995-06-16

Tracks:

Colors Of The Wind, from Pocahontas, in the style of Anton Dvorak
Heigh-Ho! from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, in the style of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Beauty and the Beast, in the style of Sergei Rachmaninoff
The Second Star from the Right, from Peter Pan, in the style of Thomas Tallis
Under the Sea, from The Little Mermaid, in the style of Scott Joplin
I Wanna Be Like You, from Jungle Book, in the style of Heitor Villa-Lobos
Can You Feel The Love Tonight, from The Lion King, in the style of Piotr Ilyitch Tchaikowsky
With a Smile and a Song, from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, in the style of Frederic Chopin
Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf, from The Three Little Pigs, in the style of Johann Strauss
A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes, from Cinderella, in the style of Edvard Greig
Main Street Electrical Parade, in the style of Antonio Vivaldi
Feed the Birds (Tuppence a Bag), from Mary Poppins, in the style of Johannes Brahms
Little April Shower, from Bambi, in the style of George Frederick Handel
Winnie The Pooh, in the style of Sergei Prokofiev
Prince Ali, from Aladdin, in the style of Bela Bartok
When You Wish Upon a Star, from Pinocchio, in the style of Richard Strauss

Customer Reviews:

Just amazing.......2001-08-08

This album I got at Disneyland Paris. I saw it and just knew that I had to have it. It's classic disney tunes in the style of the great composers. And it really do remind of them. As a lover of classic music and disney music, this couldn't be a better album.

A Disney Classic!.......2000-03-09

This cd is a great introduction for little ones into the world of classical music. My children ages 6 and 4 have "worn out" their first copy of this lively cd. If you enjoy disney music, this is a must for your children's music library.

Average customer rating:

Helen Forrest--She Always Rates 5 Stars
The best single-disc Helen Forrest collection
HELEN FORREST'S DEFINITIVE VOCALS!

I Had the Craziest Dream
Helen Forrest
Manufacturer: Asv Living Era
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Traditional Jazz General | Traditional Jazz & Ragtime | Jazz | Styles | Music

Vocal Jazz General | Vocal Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Classic Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Contemporary Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Traditional Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Vocal Jazz | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Traditional & Vocal Pop | Pop | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Queen of Big Band Swing
Moonlight in Vermont
The Voice of the Big Bands
Sweeter as the Years Go By
Vol. 2: Sweet and Simple

ASIN: B00003E44D
Release Date: 2000-01-11

Tracks:

Thanks For Everything
Deep In A Dream
They Say
I Poured My Heart Into A Song
Comes Love
Melancholy Mood
All The Things You Are
How High The Moon
I Can't Love You Anymore Than I Do
Taking A Chance On Love
I Don't Want To Walk Without You
He's My Guy
I Heard You Cried Last Night
Manhattan Serenade
I Had The Craziest Dream
Mister Five-By-Five
I've Heard That Song Before
Long Ago And Far Away
Time Waits For No One
It Had To Be You
Together
I'll Buy That Dream
Some Sunday Morning
I'm Always Chasing Rainbows
Oh, What It Seemed To Be

Customer Reviews:

Helen Forrest--She Always Rates 5 Stars.......2005-09-13

It's hard for a lover of Miss Forrest to find fault with anything she did. This album is no exception. Her voice is scintillating as always. The sound quality is excellently reproduced--remember these songs are primarily from 78's. And the price is right. Is there anthing negative to say? One always wishes for more: if only the CD contained more selections! Helen was the best of her era. Everybody knew it then. And many of know that she is "for the ages." This album helps us understand why. (This reviewer invites people who love her to write him at pjones.@mail.nwmissouri.edu Let's keep her alive in our hearts.)

The best single-disc Helen Forrest collection.......2002-04-29

Helen Forrest was the greatest of the female big-band singers and, in my opinion, the equal of Frank Sinatra, the best of the male big-band singers. For anyone who wants to learn what she was all about, this is the place to start. Existing fans already familiar with her big-band work will want this collection as well, if only for the post-World War II duets with Dick Haymes.

This intelligently-produced single-disc collection brings together not only her best work with Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, and Harry James, both also the best of the Haymes duets. The 25 tracks offer about as much music as you can fit on a CD. The engineers have done a good job of restoring the recordings. In some cases they sound even better than reissues from BMG and Sony, who own the masters.

The disc includes seven recordings each with Artie Shaw, Harry James, and Dick Haymes, three with Benny Goodman, and one postwar solo recording. This makes a lot of sense because Helen Forrest came to prominence and matured as a singer with Artie Shaw and did her best-known work with Harry James. The stint with Benny Goodman, who hired her after Shaw disbanded his orchestra in 1939, was a very unhappy one for Helen and Goodman did not handle her properly. The postwar duets with Dick Haymes are nothing short of wonderful and show that she was a fully mature, intelligent singer who could make just about anything sound good.

Frankly, I will never understand why Helen Forrest did not go on to a successful career after World War II, as did Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, and Doris Day, for example. With the exception of Ella Fitzgerald, who had "gone solo" early in the 1940s and was not a part of the big-band era for very long, Helen Forrest was not only the equal of any of the big-band singers who went on to successful careers but, in fact, was better than most of them.

HELEN FORREST'S DEFINITIVE VOCALS!.......2000-02-06

Surely one of the greatest female vocalists of the 30's and 40's, Helen Forrest's voice shines in this fantastic collection. A gifted vocalist with a liquid and ethereal voice,Forrest began her career on radio singing under various names when Artie Shaw hired her to sing with his band in early 1938. Forrest then briefly sang for Benny Goodman (a personally unhappy experience) and afterwards joined Harry James in 1941 where her voice was complimented by James' schmaltzy trumpet and fine arrangements. After singing for James, Helen went solo; she died in 1999. Listen to "Manhattan Serenade" (with James) "Time Waits for No One" and terrific duets with Dick Haymes including "It Had to Be You" "Together" and "I'll Buy That Dream".

Plays for Dancers in Love/Plays for Dream Dancing

Average customer rating:

Dance The Night Away
Hard to find cd
The Dream World of Postwar Ballroom Dancing, Reborn

Plays for Dancers in Love/Plays for Dream Dancing
Ray Anthony
Manufacturer: EMI Gold Imports
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Vocal Jazz General | Vocal Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Classic Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Contemporary Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Dream Dancing II
Plays the Standards
Capitol Collectors Series
Dream Dancing in the Latin Mood
Ray Anthony and His Orchestra: 22 Original Big Band Hits

ASIN: B00005B4G7
Release Date: 2001-06-11

Tracks:

Day By Day
You Do Something To Me
I Hadn't Anyone Till You
Easy To Love
Where Am I?
I've Got You Under My Skin
Through! (How Can You Say We'reThrough?)
Falling In Love With Love
I'll Close My Eyes
Blue Champagne
Where Or When
Dancers In Love
This Love Of Mine
Dream Dancing
I'll Never Smile Again
Out Of Nowhere
I Only Have Eyes For You
Embraceable You
Street Of Dreams
Stars Fell On Alabama
I Don't Know Why (I Just Do)
Laura
Moonlight In Vermont
September Song

Album Details

Two-on-one, digtally remastered disc of two Anthony classics.

Customer Reviews:

Dance The Night Away.......2005-12-31

Snuggle up close to your sweetie for dream-dancing to this "two-fer" CD. Sparkling arrangements turn each song into a new memory. 'I Hadn't Anyone Till You', 'Out Of Nowhere', and 'I Don't Know Why (I Just Do)' get my honey and I up off our seats, and out onto the instant dance floor of our living room, every time!
Even if you can only dream, as you nod your head to another time and another place, this CD is worth the price of admission. Buy it for your Grandparents, or your parents, and make sure you buy another copy for yourself!

Hard to find cd.......2005-09-18

Took 3 weeks for this item to arrive. I think too long.

The Dream World of Postwar Ballroom Dancing, Reborn.......2004-10-12

Ray Anthony took the clarinet-octave-lead-over-the-saxes sound from Glenn Miller's civilian band, added strings like Major Miller did in his AAF band, and, with his arrangers (including Don Simpson), made it all more hi-fi and even sweeter for dancing pleasure. And it IS pleasure: sensual, indulgent, maybe even "escapist," but in perfectly disciplined STYLE...If the ending of "Embraceable You" (Track 18) doesn't strike you as the PRETTIEST combo of big-band woodwinds and soft brass,
run-don't-walk to the nearest audiologist.

Now sure, as a trumpet player, Ray Anthony wasn't Harry James (who else WAS for Godssakes?), but what he HAD he sure could USE...No, this isn't "jazz," it's scintillatingly-arranged commercial big-band-and-strings, with jazz inflection...But taken on its own terms this disc is an unabashed pleasure from start to finish.

DREAM DANCING is the more famous of the two LPs resurrected here, and it's a jewel.

Still, the earlier LP, DANCERS IN LOVE (1957 ? ), is one of those sweetly, pungently recorded Capitol albums of the late mono era: everything is perfectly focused, and if it's possible, "better than stereo."

If you can't recreate a big-band ballroom or install a revolving mirror-ball in your own abode, then at least have a few old friends over to your patio, porch or deck; serve some hors d'ouevres, light some lanterns, pop open some bubbly, and play tracks 1 thru 12...By the time "Blue Champagne" is over, you'll think you see Marilyn, in that green & white-print summer dress she wore in SOMETHING'S GOT TO GIVE, smiling at you from the edge of the patio..."Sure, why not, you silly old thing."

Music Review:

Music Review

Music Review

1. Come on In
2. You Come to My Senses
3. Go Where the Love Flows
4. Be Strong
5. Dream Big
6. We Trust in God
7. Except for Grace
8. He'll Be Holdin' His Own
9. Count Your Blessings
10. More Like a Whisper