Soft Parade

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
After considerably broadening their sound on Waiting for the Sun, the Doors decided to continue pushing the envelope with their next release. Incorporating brass, strings, and even a full orchestra, The Soft Parade is easily the most challenging album in the Doors' catalog--if not the most accomplished. Though the hit "Touch Me" and other tracks ("Shaman's Blues," "Wild Child") hearken back to the band's edgier self, the title track is a multipart rock suite that evokes some of the psychedelic era's worst excesses. Robby Krieger's "Wishful Sinful" serves up some uncharacteristic melancholy, but elsewhere there's a sense that some of the "experiments" here just might be filler. --Jerry McCulley

Tracks:

Tell All The People
Touch Me
Shaman's Blues
Do It
Easy Ride
Wild Child
Runnin' Blue
Wishful Sinful
The Soft Parade
Who Scared You (Bonus)
Whiskey, Mystics And Men (Version 1) (Bonus)
Whiskey, Mystics And Men (Version 2) (Bonus)
Push Push (Bonus)
Touch Me (Dialogue) (Bonus)
Touch Me (Take 3) (Bonus)

Album Description

THE SOFT PARADE, first released in 1969, climbed to #6 and featured the #3 hit "Touch Me," "Shaman's Blues," "Wild Child," and more. Boasts in-depth liner notes by Rolling Stone writer David Fricke. Six bonus tracks include a previously unissued version of "Touch Me," the previously unheard "Push, Push," and two unreleased takes of "Whiskey, Mystics And Men."

Customer Reviews:

Worth the money for extra material.......2007-05-30

I don't have much of an opinion about the remastering, other than to note that it sounds clear and I really enjoy the music. I consider the original a 3-star album. If you like The Doors, you'll like the original. My particular favorites include Shaman's Blues, Wild Child and the title track.

The Rhino remix includes several additional tracks including Who Scared You and 2 versions of Whisky, Mystics and Men. These tracks are hard to find elsewhere, very strong, and bump this version of the CD up to 4 stars.

Good and Bad.......2007-04-25

I haven't yet decided what I think about this remix/remaster. On one hand, there is greater clarity and detail, the recording breathes, and the instruments are well defined in their own space. On the other hand, it lacks fullness and warmth due to being lower-midrange deficient, and it is slightly bass-shy. How many times are they going to sell this to me before they finally get it right?

The remix is another issue: I have nothing against remixing classic titles when they try to duplicate the original mix in an effort to improve the overall sound quality. I also don't have a problem when they remix to deliberately alter the music, but I'm not sure if they don't belong in a box set or as bonus tracks. In this case, the only significant alteration occurs on the title track, and I don't care for it. Unfortunately it's not presented as a bonus track, but as a part of the original album.

This smells like another attempt to simply sell us the same title again. All I want is an identical remix, remastered to sound as good as possible - but if they did that, I wouldn't have to buy it again!

5 stars for the remaster..3 stars for the music.......2007-04-15

The Soft Parade:the Doors 4th lp/cd. Some very memorable songs and some filler.Some very lousy tracks as well. But, with these remasters, longtime Doors fans are in for a real treat! The music is sharper, clearer and fuller sound. For each remaster, bonus tracks..many which are cool to listen to..some nothing special to some that are excellent and some incredible ones.
I really enjoy listening to Whiskey Mystics and Men..a beautiful song.
As many have said before, this is the Doors weakest album. New fans should buy this one last. It is still a pretty good album since it includes Wild Child, Shaman's Blues and Touch Me. Some songs are pretty awful: Tell All the People( cringes) Do It, Wishful Sinful and Easy Ride are pretty lousy too. Heavens only knows why these songs made it to the master stage.
Anyways, with the bonus tracks, this CD now has the reedeming quality of being purchased again. Furthermore, all the other remasters are excelllent
They have surpassed all my expectations. They are definitely the definitive masters and beyond any discerning fans expectations.
Cheers
Mike

Yes but......................2007-04-06

I think these are going to actually be the definitive versions. On the doors website it states the 99 mixes will not be replaced once they sell out. Thats kinda of a shame because the music is slightly different. I don't like it as much. The vocals are pushed back. It still sounds great though. The package is nice with the bonus tracks and lyrics.

Remixed? - YES - that's the whole point!!!.......2007-04-04

OK, I had to write a review to counter the guy who gives a caveat against buying this version of the Soft Parade. This is the 40th Anniversary remix, it's supposed to be different. If you want the original mix pick up a copy of the last release of this album. I don't see any problem with the Doors re-vamping thier catalog. I've got all the 40th Anniversary remixes and all of the last round of re-mastered CD's. What's the problem? If you're a serious Doors fan you'll dig hearing the extra stuff, I'm digging these right now. Sure these remixes are different but they don't suck. Just do a little homework before you buy and you won't be disappointed.

Average customer rating:

Focused.
Wonderful, Upbeat, Unpredictable Brit-Pop

No Need To Be Downhearted
The Electric Soft Parade
Manufacturer: Better Looking
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Britpop | British Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
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Favourite Worst Nightmare
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Traffic and Weather
The Boy with No Name
Baby 81

ASIN: B000NQR7T8
Release Date: 2007-04-24

Tracks:

No Need To Be Downhearted (Part 1)
Life In The Back Seat
Woken By A Kiss
If That'S The Case, Then I Don'T Know
Shore Song / Surfacing
Misunderstanding
Secrets
Cold World / Starry Night #1
Have You Ever Felt Like It'S Too Late?
Come Back Inside
Appropriate Ending
No Need To Be Downhearted (Part 2)

Amazon.com

Thomas and Alex Wright, the brothers who formed Electric Soft Parade are unmistakably fond of guitars and keyboards braiding melodies in crafty twists, as they do throughout No Need to be Downhearted. Acoustic guitars, bells, and keys open "Shore Song Surfacing," while the brothers harmonize languorously, capturing a mix of pop and art not unlike the Beta Band and Super Furry Animals. Melodies emerge from shadows throughout Downhearted, from the plugged-in, clipped-riffs of "Life in the Backseat" to the lo-fi acoustic latticework of "Secrets," which sports this beaten-down lyric: "Keep your feelings well hid / They'll only get trodden on." Perhaps the subtle emergence of tunes is super-intentional, meant to mirror the band's lyrical fixation on isolation and alienation ("I wanna get rid of this feeling / I wanna be a part of everything / Like the way it all should be," goes the opening of "Cold World Starry Nite #1"). With the band's expert harmonies and crisp, economical use of guitar distortion along with keyboards, the cumulative impact is otherwise delightful, leading to head nods even while the Wrights sing from the fringes, from which they're trying to step forward. --Andrew Bartlett

Album Description

Their highly-anticipated full-length is epic and adventurous while retaining its pop shimmer. It follows their 2002 debut "Holes In The Wall", the 2003 release of "The American Adventure", and "The Human Body" EP, the latter of which was a perfect mid-point between their previous efforts and a teaser of greater things to come. With this new record they're at it again, this time as space-age power-balladeers and digital terrorist rockers.

Customer Reviews:

Focused........2007-06-07

Die hard fans, annoying little buggers, are going to whine that they've lost alot of their 'edge'. But Electric Soft Parade have finally decided to drop the whole "Hey...Try and enjoy this average music listener" and adopt a more listener friendly sound.

They have crafted a lush and melody heavy pop record. Fantastically instrumented and played. It even takes a few turns into ambient noise pop. But really it's just another in a growing line of stubborn indie bands looking at pop music and saying "I can do better than that!" And then "GASP!" actually delivering. Get it, enjoy it. Your girlfriend will love it.

Wonderful, Upbeat, Unpredictable Brit-Pop.......2007-05-13

Having heard the band name, but having never heard their music I had no idea what to expect upon popping in the 3rd release [First one released in the US] from ESP. After a somber opener, this album explodes in one of the best, funnest tracks I've heard this year, if not the last 5 years. "Living In The Backseat" with its awesome chord progressions, fuzzy guitars and superb buildup, this track could absolutely own alternative radio and I have no idea why its not getting any exposure.

Living In The Backseat sets the tone for the rest of album. This band really sets themselves apart from the pack because they have amazing songwriting ability. Only a couple of the tracks sound like processed manufactured pop, the rest of the album is a surprise, a burst of sunshine in a mostly dull music year. If I had to compare the band to anyone, it would be Electric Light Orchestra. I'd guess they're a pretty big influence for ESP, particularly tracks like "Mr. Blue Sky"
but if you're a fan of dreamy, bouncy, psychadelic brit pop, you will LOVE this album. From the dreamy "Woken By A Kiss" to the spacey "If That's The Case, Then I Don't Know" this is maybe the album of the year thus far.

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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Britten: Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra Op34; Simple Symphony Op4
The Life and Works of Ludwig van Beethoven
What to Listen for in Music
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ASIN: B00006O0NT
Release Date: 2002-12-03

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Tracks:

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

Customer Reviews:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tracks:

Tell All The People
Touch Me
Shaman's Blues
Do It
Easy Ride
Wild Child
Runnin' Blue
Wishful Sinful
The Soft Parade

Amazon.com

After considerably broadening their sound on Waiting for the Sun, the Doors decided to continue pushing the envelope with their next release. Incorporating brass, strings, and even a full orchestra, The Soft Parade is easily the most challenging album in the Doors' catalog--if not the most accomplished. Though the hit "Touch Me" and other tracks ("Shaman's Blues," "Wild Child") hearken back to the band's edgier self, the title track is a multipart rock suite that evokes some of the psychedelic era's worst excesses. Robby Krieger's "Wishful Sinful" serves up some uncharacteristic melancholy, but elsewhere there's a sense that some of the "experiments" here just might be filler. --Jerry McCulley

Album Description

Digitally remastered pressing of The Doors fourth studio album from 1969, which saw them experimenting with brass and strings. The Doors' mixture of Rock, Blues and Jazz combined with vocalist Jim Morrison's poetic lyrics and powerful vocals created a musical Molotov cocktail that could make your senses explode...in a good way! Nine tracks including 'Wild Child', 'Shaman's Blues' and the huge hit 'Touch Me'. Warner.

Customer Reviews:

A Transitional Experimental Album-One of the Best.......2007-04-13

I find it hard to believe that people don't take this album for what it is. A Transitional album were the musicians are attempting new songs and finding a new aspect of there music by introducing new sounds and styles. This album should be compared to The Rolling Stones Beggars Banquet. There are hints of Blue Grass and Country and blues both albums produced exceptionally long songs that are incredible to listen to and that can be squarely referenced in the time period they were created in and yet also sound timeless. Both Albums also sound different in many ways from the prior or later work. If you enjoy understand the whole catalog of a group or artist this is a can't miss album. If you just want the hits don't buy this one.

A Favorite..........2007-02-15

I don't care if it sounds "pop." I don't care if it has strings. I don't care who thinks the album is a "sell out." I've even heard the mighty Jim Morrison didn't much like it, but I don't care, I just don't care.

I love it.

Sure, "Morrison Hotel" and "LA Woman" ARE funkier. "The Doors" is the record that set THE standard for this kind of music (the boys didn't make "Strange Days" for me, so I won't comment about it).

Regardless, this is a solid, meaty record that I have enjoyed on a regular basis since the day it dropped, and I'm as serious a Doors fan as anyone who will read this. What really matters is that the record is fun (yes, it is, and it's okay to be fun), it's cool, and it is the Doors, for pity's sake. What more do you want?

When I hear people quibble about this album, I'm always reminded of the people who claim that there are too many songs on the Beatles' "White album." No there weren't, and there's nothing at all wrong with this record either.

The song, "Soft Parade" has always been a favorite of mine, and I can dance to "Touch Me" without beer. What else do you need?

No qualifications. This is a great record. Try it out.

deserves more attention but maybe a slightly changed songlist would have approved.......2007-01-23

Undoubtely the least populair of the 6 Jim Morrison era studio albums and that is not only because of the use of brass and strings alone. After having released 3 other albums, the first two being more a pair together, and with "Waiting for the Sun" (without the title track which appears on "Morrison Hotel") which sounds more towards what in latter days is called popmusic (here not meant negative in any way), The Doors unveiled their fourth release with an orchestra and several sidemen. Gone is the original 4 manbandsetup (vocals, keyboards, guitar and drums), in which place bassplayers (among them Doug Lubahn who shows up one more albums) sax, trombone and english horn appear, together with mandolin, fiddle and also congas. It is therefore no surprise that the already familair bandsound has changeds somewhat, to say the least. There are only a mere 8 short tracks and it ends with another epic, the titletrack. Not on all the songs do they play with other musicians so it is sort of a mixed up album and therefore not very consistent. If they wanted to sound completely different from the earlier albums they succeeded but it did them not very good. The opening "Tell All The People" is not a Doors song in the sense of earlier songs and sounds more towards Frank Sinatra. You can hardly hear the band, it is more Morisson with an orchestral backing. "Touch Me" is complete different, it really wins with the help of a brass section. The same can be said of "Wishful Sinful" with strings. Omitted is a song in the same vein "Who Scared You" (then only available on the first compilation "Weird Scenes inside the Goldmine") and information is scarce wyh exactly this song was not on the album. The same goes for "Whiskey, Mystics and Men" (which never at all appeared on any album) with its own remarkable instrumental setting, including a jugblower, mellotron, marxophone and mandolin. I find that if these two beautiful songs were on The Soft Parade album this would have been more on balance. They could easly change their place with "Wild Child" and "Shamans Blues" which, being very strong songs and have more the original Doors sound, would have found a far better place on "Morrison Hotel". The other songs "Do It", "Easy Ride" and "Runnin Blue" are not very special, although pleasant to listen to. Closer "Soft Parade" is not one song but fragments of different songs made one. It starts with an announcement "You Cannot Petition the Lord" (on its own also on "Absolutely Live"/"In Concert" and "Live in New York" on the Doors Box Set), the second piece "Can You Give Me Sanctuary" is just beautiful but then Morisson comes across the third part where he again croons like Sinatra. Not very Doors like though. Afterwards he is having all the fun there is and shows it, he shouts it litterally. Form there on the song goes on and on for some more minutes and builds rapidly up. But all together it is less strong than "The End" or "When the Music Is Over" which have a more tight soundspectre. All in all this album again shows the songwriting and performing musicianship of the Doors as a band and their ability to experiment with other styles and involve new musicians but whether they succeeded in finding a new fanbase is in dubio. Likewise they did not play much of its material live. In total it was more a real studioalbum than mentioned to play outside.

a real stinker of a Doors album...-the one to avoid.........2007-01-21

Okay, I'm usually very liberal when it comes to rating cd's I just purchased.
Fortunatley, i didnt buy this.it's so embarrasingly bad. Whatever you do...NEVER PLAY THIS AT A PARTY..ALL YOUR FRIENDS WILL THINK YOURE A DORK, AND NEVER RETURN YOUR CALLS! It really sucks that bad. There's classic Doors
FIRST ALBUM, STRANGE DAYS, WAITING FOR THE SUN, MORRISON HOTEL AND LA WOMAN.
you cannot go wrong with any of those cd's. They ALL ROCK! but unfortunately the doors recorded and released this piece of audio dirrahea. I'd say Touch Me is the nly memorable track..and thats being nice. The rest sucks bad!!
Stay away from this one at all costs.

When pretentious inebriated poetry meets bad music.......2007-01-08

....you have THE SOFT PARADE, by the Doors.

The title piece, "The Soft Parade," is truly one of the silliest things ever committed to vinyl. With words like: "Peppermint miniskirts, chocolate candy-- Champion sax and a gur-ull named Sandy," the myth of Jim Morrison's supposedly brilliant lyric-writing abilities was laid to rest for all time. You can almost hear Morrison drunkenly hiccoughing during his ad-libbed "This is the trip" nonsense on what is an overlong, wincingly putrid musical montage.

His physical damage from drug and alcohol overconsumption and rapid decline were never more apparent than on the vocals for "Touch Me" and "Tell All The People." The man's lack of sobriety on the first and unsteady weakness on the second are almost painful to experience. "Wishful Sinful" and "Wild Child" are more of the same.

The only standouts on this one are "Easy Ride" and "Runnin' Blue." My guess is Jim was sober for those sessions. The rest here is totally forgettable. If you must own all the Doors albums, buy THE SOFT PARADE last. Its that poor, and that sad. Probably should have been called THE SAD PARADE.

Average customer rating:

re-discovered
Very disappointing
Worth shelling out the cash...
Great sounds, great thoughts.
Excellent debut album for Brtiains'newest kids on the block!

Holes in the Wall
The Electric Soft Parade
Manufacturer: Bmg/Db Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The American Adventure
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Favourite Worst Nightmare

ASIN: B00005UDVK
Release Date: 2002-02-11

Tracks:

Start Again
Empty At The End
There's A Silence
Something's Got To Give
It's Wasting Me Away
Silent To The Dark
Sleep Alone
This Given Line
Why Do You Try So Hard To Hate Me
Holes In The Wall
Biting The Soles Of My Feet
Red Balloon For Me

Album Description

Picked out by NME as 'one of the ten hottest guitar bands in the UK' & nominated for a 2002 Mercury Music Prize Award. The long awaited debut for the British indie act influenced by Buffalo Springfield, the Beach Boys, the Boo Radleys & Charlatans. Tracks include, 'There's A Silence', 'Red Balloon For Me', 'It's Wasting Me Away', 'Silent To The Dark', 'Something's Got To Give' & 'Empty At The End'. 2002.

Album Details

'...the Choruses of Teenage Fanclub, the Attitude of a Streetcorner Liam (Gallagher) and the Psychedelic Capabilities of an Early Verve'--nme

Customer Reviews:

re-discovered .......2006-01-27

now let's take a trip down memory lane as i review this album but the duo whom make up "the eletric soft parade" the band whom had alot of promise when this album came out 5 years ago in the good old times of 2001 i was just gettin' into good rock music and abandondin' my less musical taste of "artful dodger craig david" i was hugely into oasis and this band had the brit-pop feel but not so far down memory lane that they sounded date
i love the single "silence in the dark" catchy fun song i bought the limited edition single and saw fit to go ans buy the album as i thought it would be the same and it was full emersing
garage rock and roll that could pack a punch of two,
with a hint of electronica too help them diverse
by the time this album was in full swing my hair was hangin' among my shoulders i had flourished into a hippie and got onto things like "aerosmith" the stones hendrix cream etc
and saw fit not to play this album for over a year so i decide to get rid of it..and thought i won't miss it..
and i didn't until just today i found it in my charity shop i work in..so i dug into my pocket and bought it again too see if the magic the first time around was there again and to my surprise it was
a great album that puts the white stripes to shame this is the real deal..with no warts

Very disappointing.......2004-08-29

I'd heard a lot about this cd, and was excited to play it. I kept waiting, and waiting for a tune that would stick with me. No compelling melodies, or any reason to hear any song twice. I'm more of a melodic pop/rock, power pop type, and this is definitely not that. Not recommended for fans of that genre. I suppose it was somewhat experimental (not a bad thing), but there was nothing to take home at the end of the journey.

Worth shelling out the cash..........2002-11-20

A good friend of mine started on about these guys about 3 months ago. I started spreading the word about a week later. They're young, and there's only two of them, and "Something's Got To Give" is just, well, excellent. And so is nearly every other track. This has been firmly entrenched in my Top 5 of 2002 list and looks to make the cut within the top three.
Trust me. Shell out the bucks for the import. If you've found this review, you'll like it. A varied, rocking, sometimes soft, good-for-a-party disc that you can definitely sing along with. In fact, your next party will be that much better with this on the hi-fi. Guaranteed.

Great sounds, great thoughts........2002-08-05

I love these guys. They are so wise beyond their years, musically and lyrically. The have a British pop rock sound to them that is so old faishioned, yet so unique, created by creative sound quirks and entertaining loops. Very hip. My faves are "Silent to the Dark", "This Given Line", "Empty at the End", and "Red Balloon For Me". Unfortunately, I don't own this cd, but have downloaded all of the songs. They rock. Some songs do get annoying after awhile, which is why I gave it four stars instead of five.

Excellent debut album for Brtiains'newest kids on the block!.......2002-07-07

What makes an album unforgettable? Well, I guess everyone has a different opinion on that, but for me balance is the main criteria while evaluating an album. Oke, so an album has a couple of nice songs on it, but that makes it legendary? No, an album becomes legendary when ALL songs reach a certain admirable level. This is definitely the case with ESP's Holes in the Wall album. Fans of Muse, The Verve & Mercury Rev should pay attention because this album might just represent the coming out of a band that might just give these bands a run for their money! Can't wait for their follow-up!

Average customer rating:

The Human Body EP
The Electric Soft Parade
Manufacturer: Better Looking
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The American Adventure
Holes in the Wall
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ASIN: B000F3AJEE
Release Date: 2006-05-09

Tracks:

A Beating Heart
Cold World
Stupid Mistake
Everybody Wants
The Captain (US Bonus Track)
Kick In The Teeth
So Much Love

Album Description

This EP finds Brighton, England's band at a perfect mid-point between the guitar-pop rush of their first album (2002's "Holes In The Wall") and the studied, symphonic arrangements of their second (2003's "The American Adventure"). These seven tracks (plus a US bonus track) are ESP's best work to date. Most notably, "Cold World" skips along like a Paul McCartney-penned Strokes track and "Everybody Wants" is a sweeping epic of a song that punctuates the band's enduring ambition.

Average customer rating:

Rambling Charm
A nice discovery

The American Adventure
Electric Soft Parade
Manufacturer: BMG UK & Ireland
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Holes in the Wall
Centuries Before Love and War
Sound of Silver
The Boy with No Name
New Moon

ASIN: B0000CFXNX
Release Date: 2003-10-20

Tracks:

Things I've Done Before
Bruxellisation
Lights Out
Wrongest Thing in Town
Lose Yr Frown
American Adventure
Chaos
Headacheville
Existing

Album Description

Brighton-based indie prodigies the Electric Soft Parade return with their second studio album. 'The American Adventure' is the follow-up to their 2002 debut album 'Holes In The Wall', which received considerable critical plaudits, a Mercury Music Prize nomination, & the title of Q Best Newcomer. Recorded in Brighton, Cowfold & Chiswick, & mastered at Abbey Road, the nine tracks on the 'The American Adventure' find the band dirtying up their indie jangle with elements of U.S. alternative rock. Packed full of crystalline melodies & guitar driven hits, standout tracks include the Radiohead-esque 'Lights Out', the anthemic 'The Wrongest Thing In Town' & the storming Sonic Youth-influenced title track. Includes the single 'Things I've Done Before'. Copy Controlled. Arista. 2003.

Customer Reviews:

Rambling Charm.......2004-02-07

I wasn't crazy about this record the first time through -- it felt unfocussed and rambling. But then it crept up on me the same way The Libertines did. In fact, rambling is part of its charm. These 9 cuts are the sound of English boys figuring out their place in the world -- if they sound confused, it's because they are. But guitars and drums and bass help them find their way, especially on the confessional "Things I've Done Before", and the lover's kiss off "Lights Out".

A nice discovery.......2003-12-31

It's the kind of thing you need to listen to when you think you must have heard all good music in the entire world ... once you've heard this record, you know there's hope and much more !!!

Average customer rating:

A Transitional Experimental Album-One of the Best
A Favorite...
deserves more attention but maybe a slightly changed songlist would have approved
a real stinker of a Doors album...-the one to avoid..
When pretentious inebriated poetry meets bad music

The Soft Parade
The Doors
Manufacturer: Elektra
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000264WN
Release Date: 2006-08-29

Tracks:

Tell All the People
Touch Me
Shaman's Blues
Do It
Easy Ride
Wild Child
Runnin' Blue
Wishful Sinful
Soft Parade

Amazon.com

Album Description

Customer Reviews:

A Transitional Experimental Album-One of the Best.......2007-04-13

A Favorite..........2007-02-15

deserves more attention but maybe a slightly changed songlist would have approved.......2007-01-23

a real stinker of a Doors album...-the one to avoid.........2007-01-21

When pretentious inebriated poetry meets bad music.......2007-01-08

Average customer rating:

British Film Music, Vol. 3

Manufacturer: Pearl
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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British Film Music, Vol. 2

ASIN: B000058A00
Release Date: 2001-04-24

Tracks:

The First Of The Few: Spitfire Prelude - The Halle Orchestra/William Walton
The First Of The Few: Spitfire Fugue - The Halle Orchestra/William Walton
Spellbound: Theme From The Concerto - Queen's Hall Light Orchestra/Charles Williams
Henry The Fifth: The Death Of Flastaff - The Philharmonia String Orchestra/William Walton
Henry The Fifth: Touch Her Soft Lips And Part - The Philharmonia String Orchestra/William Walton
Odette: The Saga Of Odette - Charles Williams Concert Orchestra/Charles Williams
Desert Victory: March - Band Of The Grenadier Guards/Lt. F. Harris
A Matter Of Life And Death: Prelude - Queen's Hall Light Orchestra/Charles Williams
This Man Is Mine: Theme - Queen's Hall Light Orchestra/Charles Williams
Sleeping Car To Trieste: Sleeping Car Train - London Symphony Orchestra/Muir Mathieson
Sleeping Car To Trieste: Waltz - London Symphony Orchestra/Muir Mathieson
The Rake's Progress: Calypso - London Symphony Orchestra/Muir Mathieson
Wanted For Murder: A Voice In The Night - Eric Harrison
Hungry Hill: Waltz Into Jig - London Symphony Orchestra/Muir Mathieson
Esther Waters: Derby Day 1886 - The Royal Phil Orchestra/Muir Matheson
The Loves Of Joanna Godden: Romney Marsh/Joanna Godden/Sheepshearing/Work On The Farm/The Fair... - The Philharmonic Chorus/Ernest Irving
The Loves Of Joanna Godden: Ellen And Harry Trevor/Adoption Of Motherless Lamb... - The Philharmonic Chorus/Ernest Irving
Woman Hater: People In Love - The Royal Phil Orchestra/John Hollingsworth
Woman Hater: Dinner At Lady Datchett's - The Royal Phil Orchestra/John Hollingsworth
The Weaker Sex: Victory Parade Montage - London Symphony Orchestra/Muir Mathieson
The Weaker Sex: London Scene - London Symphony Orchestra/Muir Mathieson
So Long At The Fair: Carriage & Pair... Long Forgotten Melody - Charles Williams Concert Orchestra/Charles Williams

Average customer rating:

"early beginnings from the vaults ~ Percy Faith"

Delicado

Manufacturer: Asv Living Era
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Koga Melodies/Ryoichi Hatori Melodies

ASIN: B0001EMM2Y
Release Date: 2004-06-29

Tracks:

Amor [From Broadway Rhythm]
Negra Consentida
Embraceable You
Baia (Ne Baixe de Sapateiro) [from The Three Caballeros)
If There Is Someone Lovelier Than You
Tico-Tico [From Bathing Beauty]
Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year [From Christmas Holiday]
Bem Te VI Atrevido
I Love You
Capullito de Aleli
Long Ago (And Far Away) [From Cover Girl]
Cumparsita
Stardust
Stars in Your Eyes
Bim Bam Boom
I'll Close My Eyes - Percy Faith & His Orchestra, Hildegarde
There's No Holding Me - Percy Faith & His Orchestra, Hildegarde
Dancing in the Dark
That Old Black Magic [from Star-Spangled Rhythm)
All Through the Night
Begin the Beguine
Touch of Your Hand
Tia Juana
Temptation [From Going Hollywood]
Noche Caribe (Caribbean Night) [From Starlift]

Tracks:

Swedish Rhapsody No. 1, Op. 19: Midsummer Vigil
Body and Soul
Du - Ray Charles Singers, Percy Faith & His Orchestra
Deep Purple
Fiddle Derby
My Dream Concerto - Ray Charles, , Percy Faith & His Orchestra, Chorus
Dizzy Fingers - Percy Faith & His Orchestra, Magic Voices
I Got Rhythm
Flight 33 1/3
Solitude
Nervous Gavotte - Percy Faith & His Orchestra, Lou Stein
Mosquitoes' Parade - Percy Faith & His Orchestra, Chorus
Mer (Beyond the Sea)
Kitten on the Keys - Percy Faith & His Orchestra, Stan Freeman, Bernie Leighton, Chorus
Whirlwind
Cumbanchero [From Cuban Pete]
Goodbye John - Ray Charles Singers, Percy Faith & His Orchestra
Perpetual Notion
They Can't Take That Away from Me [From Shall We Dance?] - Percy Faith & His Orchestra, Chorus
Soft Lights and Sweet Music
Oodles of Noodles
Would You?
Cumana
Delicado
Song from Moulin Rouge (Where Is Your Heart?)

Customer Reviews:

"early beginnings from the vaults ~ Percy Faith".......2005-02-15

Living Era presents "Delicado", fifty original mono recordings from 1944 to 1955 featuring Maestro Percy Faith who was churning out some of the best releases with top notch arrangements...each song had an upbeat and faraway tone to it...beautiful ballads from composers Harold Arlen, Waldir Azevedo, Irving Berlin, Nacio Herb Brown, Hoagy Carmichael, Zez Confrey, Peter De Rose, Jimmy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Rafael Hernandez, Johnny Green, Jerome Kern, Frank Loesser, Cole Porter, Arthur Schwartz ...beautifully recorded representing Faith's limitless talent at crafting musical arrangements to fit an evolving music scene.

Now for the real treat...songs composed by Percy Faith with his unmistakable arranging "NOCHE CARIBE " (Caribbean Night), recorded in New York 1947..."DA DU", with Ray Charles Singers recorded 3/04/1952..."FIDDLE DERBY", recorded in New York 1951..."FLIGHT 33 1/3", after Rimsky-Korsakov: Flight of the Bumble-Bee, recorded New York 5/11/1950..."NERVOUS GAVOTTE", with Lou Stein on piano recorded New York 5/22/1951..."PERPETUAL NOTION", recorded New York 6/02/1949...Percy's arrangements comes from the heart and weaving a magic spell over the listener...compilation goodies on two compact discs for all the Faith Fans!

Sweeping and gliding strings, beautiful renditions of all time favorite Faith arrangements, such a statement of string counter melodies within the orchestration...many were favorites of my parents when they were dating...these songs represent some of the best arrangements in my Faith collection...when you put this collection on, you're in for a magic carpet ride sprinkled with the "Percy Faith Touch"...every arrangement has the signature of his pen and baton, two totally different tempos and rhythms surface within the boundaries of his genius...no doubt he was a master at his craft, they'll never be another like 'em, they only pass this way once...thank you Living Era for sharing these rare gems with the fans that encountered Maestro Percy Faith!

Total Time: 2-CD-Set ~ Living Era 278 ~ (6/29/2004)

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