Dreams of a World

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
This disc is obviously aimed at the world-music audience, if one judges from its title and the subtitle, "Folk-Inspired Music for Guitar." But that shouldn't dissuade listeners interested in more serious music. Isbin has collected original pieces and arrangements from Spain, Latin America, Appalachia, Ireland, Israel, and Greece--all of them quite lovely. It's really amazing to hear, for example, the "Londonderry Air," better known as "Danny Boy," in such a sympathetic arrangement by the late Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu. She plays with such technical mastery that you wind up taking it for granted, while appreciating her songful delivery of this highly varied program of music, which was mostly first intended for the human voice. The uncommonly attractive booklet, including photos of Isbin as a world traveler, is another asset to this fine program, as is Teldec's realistic recorded sound. --Leslie Gerber

Tracks:

Harem
What A Wonderful World
It's A Beautiful Day
What You Never Know
The Journey Home
Free
Mysterious Days
The War Is Over
Misere Mei
Beautiful
Arabian Nights
Stranger In Paradise
Until The End Of Time
You Take My Breathe Away

Amazon.com

If one's notion of "world music" promises a touch of the exotic and indigenous, often overlooked is the fact that the influence of western pop music has seeped into every corner of the globe, creating a hybrid that's often more than merely the sum of its influences. Theater vet Brightman steps into that pan-cultural hall of mirrors here, wedding her fascination with the music and rhythms of the "forbidden places" (the title's Arabic meaning) of the Middle East to her own oft ethereal vocal charms and rock-solid sense of drama. And if the diva's equally sound crossover sensibilities (and that of longtime producer Frank Peterson) sometimes mire it in familiar world-beat pastiche, Brightman's charmed muse manages some transcendent moments nonetheless. Her musical borrowings (Borodin for the title track; Puccini's *Madame Butterfly* for "It's a Beautiful Day") are as compelling as her choice of collaborators: classical violin star Nigel Kennedy and Iraqi vocalist Kadim Al Sahir add compelling touches to the weary timeliness of "The War is Over." The musical influences range from Europe across the Mediterranean and as far East as the Indian roots of "Bollywood" composer A.R. Rahman's "The Journey Home" and Brightman's own "You Take My Breath Away" to evocative recastings of the emblematic standards "Stranger in Paradise" and Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World," while ex-Killing Joke keyboardist Jaz Coleman provides the savory East-meets-West orchestrations that ensure Brightman's star turns the seamless foundations they deserve. --Jerry McCulley

Amazon.com

Sarah Brightman Photos

More from Sarah Brightman

Time to Say Goodbye
Diva: The Singles Collection
Eden

Diva: The Video Collection
Live from Las Vegas
La Luna (Live in Concert)

Customer Reviews:

harem .......2007-05-28

As usual a quick and effecient service ,especially for people who live abroad.Keep up the excellent work John Williams.

New to Sarah Brightman.......2007-03-12

I'm very new to Sarah brightman's music and I enjoy this CD. I think she has an amazing voice. Very talented young woman and this cd was very relaxing and joyful to listen to. I like to learn and heard more from Sarah Brightman.

Stranger in Paradise - More Like Stranger in a Lost Cause.......2006-12-30

I'm not throughly pleased with this album! This CD is only good if you know how to dance in a Middle-Easters fashion. About half of each track is dominated by all orchestrations and no Sarah. Plus, Pop-Sarah isn't really for me. I much prefer the Classical-Sarah. Some of the tracks are okay, like "Harem", "The Journey Home", "Beautiful", and "Stranger in Paradise". Really, this is a good CD for your collection, but I wouldn't listen to it on a 24/7 basis.

No voice like hers in the world.......2006-10-01

I own this cd. I saw her in person at the "Harem" concert. Never had I heard or seen any voice like this. What a performer, best concert I'd ever seen. Beautiful voice, I can never get enough of Sarah Brightman's music. It is so comforting at times. I have all her music and this cd makes you wonder, how can she top this? Thank you Sarah Brightman for giving us your beautiful gift of music.

Brilliant Brightman, Her best CD........2006-09-18

Sarah is just the best, she can hit any note and her individuality shines on this CD. She sings "The Journey Home" from the musical Bombay Dreams and her voice just soars. "Harem", "Mysterious Ways" and "You Take My Breah Away" are songs that take me to dreamland. Amazing! A master piece!

Average customer rating:

Irish at it's best.
Irish Magic
Just got your Kleenex
Wonderful!
The Very Best of the Irish Tenors is just that!

The Very Best of The Irish Tenors
The Irish Tenors
Manufacturer: Music Matters
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Ellis Island
The Irish Tenors / McNamara, McDermott, Kearns, Tynan
Home for Christmas
Sacred
We Three Kings

ASIN: B000069JJ6
Release Date: 2007-01-08

Tracks:

Toora Loora Looral
Will Ye Go Lassie Go
Spanish Lady
When Irish Eyes Are Smiling
Percy French Medley: Phil The Fluther's Ball, Come Back Paddy Reilly, The Lay Of The West Clare Reailway, Are Ye Right There Michael?
Amazing Grace
Nearer My God To Thee
Danny Boy
Fields of Athenry
Only The River Runs Free
Molly Malone
Last Rose of Summer
She Moved Through the Fair
Maggie
New Medley (combination of the 2 medleys

Product Description

1. Toora Loora Looral
2. Will Ye Go Lassie Go
3. Spanish Lady
4. When Irish Eyes Are Smiling
5. Percy French Medley: Phil The Fluther's Ball, Come Back Paddy Reilly, The Lay Of The West Clare Railway - Are Ye Right There Michael?
6. Amazing Grace
7. Nearer My God To Thee
8. Danny Boy
9. Fields Of Athenry
10. Only The River Runs Free
11. Molly Malone
12. Last Rose Of Summer
13. She Moved Through The Fair
14. Maggie
15. New Medley (Combination of the 2 medleys)

Format: CD

Amazon.com

In the short time since they grouped together a few years ago to form their sensationally successful trio, the Irish Tenors have already put out an impressive array of recordings and DVDs, including some bona fide gooseflesh-inducing live concert performances. So, if you still have the enviable pleasure of discovering these amazing vocalists--or want to turn a friend on to their musical charms--this compilation CD will do the trick nicely. It brings together such classics as "Danny Boy," "Toora Loora Looral," "Last Rose of Summer," and "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" (featuring John McDermott)--all rendered with the kind of passionate, heartfelt, and harmonious crooning that is their signature style, whether they're singing as an ensemble or as highlighted soloists. And even if you have the complete Irish Tenors, this anthology includes several numbers not found on their previously released CDs. Hard to think of a sweeter treat for a fan of singing too good to ever go out of fashion. --Sarah Chin

Customer Reviews:

Irish at it's best........2007-05-07

This album is really the number two album from this trio. It is very good and well worth the investment. The five star album by The Irish Tenors would have to be Heritage. Both albums rate high in my book.

Irish Magic.......2006-08-21

This is my first CD of the Irish Tenors. And what a joy! I played it as soon as it arrived. I like the blend of their voices,the passion and enthusiasm they bring to this CD. What I find is a real treat is the words to all the songs are in the booklet.I love this CD.

Just got your Kleenex.......2005-12-25

I suggest a box of Kleenex for each person in the room when you play this CD or VHS recording. Mom won't let me play it anymore because she...well, you know what I mean.

Wonderful!.......2005-12-12

When it's cold and frightful here, I play The BOYZ!

So wonderful. So much fun.

Up here in backwash Maine, there ain't much, believe me. But these guys are great. Sincere, care about what they're doing, true artists.

Ah, to go to Ireland again. Well, not unless the price of natural gas recedes!

The Very Best of the Irish Tenors is just that!.......2005-01-22

This recording is wonderful. Ronan's "last Rose of summer" is unique, the Percy French medley shows all three in great voice, Finbar's Maggie is wonderful and the laurels have to go to Anthony for his magnificent rendition of "She moved through the fair", wow!!!!

Well worth buying.

Isaac Chute

Average customer rating:

perfect score for a perfect movie
Pleasant "ethnic" melodies
Third Man & Other Original Records
The first man of the zither
This is the one you're looking for.

Third Man & Other Original Recordings
Anton Karas
Manufacturer: Jasmine Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Very Best of Anton Karas
The Third Man
The Third Man (50th Anniversary Edition) - Criterion Collection
Austrian Zither
Vienna, City of Dreams

ASIN: B00006J9M2
Release Date: 2004-04-05

Tracks:

Third Man Theme (The Harry Lime Theme) (Original Version)
Anton Karas Second Theme
Cafe Mozart Waltz (Original Version)
Carol Theme
That Dear Old Song (Original Version)
Rendezvous Waltz (Previously Unissued)
Farewell To Vienna (Previously Unissued)
Alt Wiener Tanz In C-Dur
Visions Of Vienna
Danube Dreams
Anton Karas Medley Pt. 1
Anton Karas Medley Pt. 2
Im In The Middle Of A Riddle (V. Kay Arment)
Where Do I Go From You? (V. Kay Armen)
Zither Rhythm Of Anton Karas
Vienna, Women And Song (Later Version)
Cherry Stones
Wo Grunes Kranzel Hangt
Silent Night, Holy Night
Vienna, City Of My Dreams
Vienna, Women And Song (Original Version)
Third Man Theme (Later Version)
Cafe Mozart Waltz (Later Version)
That Dear Old Song (Later Version)
Wenn Der Herrgott Net Will / The Third Man Theme (Brief Reprise)

Customer Reviews:

perfect score for a perfect movie.......2007-02-19

Carol Reed's veteran cinematographer Robert Krasker's quirky angles under Reed's direction perfectly framed the ready-made-for-an-art designer bombed out shadows and stark, isolated street lights of post-war Vienna and its underworld. Unique to cinema history the whole score (but for some canned incidental cafe music) was just the brilliant zither playing of Anton Karas, adding his nuances to every dramatic transition. Krasker won an Oscar, and Karas was nominated.

The "Third Man Theme" (also known as the "Harry Lime Theme") is alternately brittle, jaunty, bittersweet, romantic, wry, and even sardonic piece of music--which fits the mood of the story and the film perfectly -- that, once heard, can't be forgotten.

The "Third Man Theme" turned Anton Karas into a wealthy man after 28 years of toiling in obscurity an relative poverty in Vienna.

One night, Carol Reed was passing by a wine tavern where growers offer their own wines for sale directly, and heard Anton Karas's playing in the background. Reed had never heard a zither before and found the sound to be attractive. He approached Karas and persuaded him to play for him at his hotel, and made a recording, which Reed brought back to the studio to test. He liked the effect when the zither's sound was placed against the recorded dialogue and, ignoring the protests of many around him, hired Karas and brought him to London for 12 weeks.

Anton Karas screened the movie hundreds of times, devising music for each scene. The Third Man ended up with a vast amount of music, scored in virtually every scene of its 104 minutes. Ironically, the piece that became known as the "Third Man Theme" was something that Anton Karas had written two decades earlier and hadn't played in over 15 years. As he later explained to Reed, playing the zither for a whole night for tips was hard work, and one tended to play the easiest pieces the most often, to save the fingers.

Other zither players never got it to sound just right. The truth was that as recorded for the movie, "The Third Man Theme" was one of the first practical examples of overdubbing on a hit record, rivaling Les Paul's work--Anton Karas had gotten just the right effect working underneath Reed's kitchen table, and had gotten the piece just right by recording and mixing more than one zither part.

The Third Man was finished and prepared for release, and Reed and the production company, London Films, tried to raise interest in it through the music. None of the record companies, however, was interested in recording Karas or releasing the "Third Man Theme." The music was too strange and different, and although British movies had produced some soundtrack successes in the past, those were usually more conventional light classical pieces, not a jangly piece of music played on a central European folk instrument.

Pleasant "ethnic" melodies.......2007-01-22

The tunes on this disc have a nice, comforting sound. Some of the selections are haunting, some have a peasant-liveliness. Nothing great or revolutionary, but plain good zither music, very enjoyable.

Third Man & Other Original Records.......2006-11-10

We bought it for a friend. They loved it.

The first man of the zither.......2006-03-10

The CD didn't sound as good as the movie sound track. Ity sounded a bit rushed as if the sampling during the transfer was not sufficient

This is the one you're looking for........2004-04-26

You've been looking for the original version of the music in "The Third Man", right? Every other CD on the market wouldn't work for you. But lucky for you, this is the one! Don't go wrong.

A.I. - Artificial Intelligence: Original Motion Picture Score

Average customer rating:

The music is masterfully composed with wit, majesty, and soul
Beautiful
John Williams does his best Minimalist Impersonation with Fine Results
Will one day be considered among the best he's written
Almost Impeccable

A.I. - Artificial Intelligence: Original Motion Picture Score

Manufacturer: Warner Bros / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Minority Report
Catch Me If You Can
War of the Worlds
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Hook: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

ASIN: B00005LLVS
Release Date: 2001-07-03

Tracks:

The Mecha World
Abandoned In the Woods
Replicas
Hide And Seek
For Always
Cybertronics
The Moon Rising
Stored Memories And Monica's Theme
Where Dreams Are Born
Rouge City
The Search For The Blue Fairy
The Reunion
For Always (Duet)

Amazon.com

Packed with Big Ideas about the future of mankind and dispatched with a distant, often icy veneer, Steven Spielberg's Artificial Intelligence can scarcely camouflage its roots. It was begun by the late Stanley Kubrick in the mid-'80s; Spielberg collaborated briefly a decade later, bowed out, then inherited it upon Kubrick's death in '99. And while the late auteur's cold vision seems largely intact (if now infused with Spielberg's enduring Pinocchio fetish), it's safe to say that Kubrick's often challenging musical tastes would probably not have led him to composer John Williams's doorstep. Nonetheless, the acclaimed veteran again rises to the occasion, ably demonstrating that he's hardly been indifferent to 20-odd-years of minimalism and postmodernism and that, as always, the best film music is often a subtly crafted pastiche of sensibilities and styles. Setting the tone of the film's robotically enhanced not-so-distant future, "The Mecha World" crackles and glistens with Steve Reich's rhythmic urgency and John Adams's dense coloration, while "Abandoned in the Woods," "Hide and Seek," and "Rouge City" succeed by setting Williams's more traditional sense of melody against Phillip Glass's hypnotic arpeggios. There's also a sense that the composer has craftily evoked the ghost of Kubrick music past and 2001 in particular; "Replicas" and "Stored Memories" bring to mind Ligeti, while the mournful strings of "Cybertronics" seem a ghostly echo of Khachaturian's "Gayane Ballet Suite." David Foster's ballad "For Always" (in a solo rendition by Lara Fabian and a duet between Fabian and Josh Groban) seems twice-included strictly to enhance the album's radio allure. Completists should also note that Ministry's dark contribution to the film's Flesh Fair sequence, "What About Us?" is not included on this soundtrack, but is available on their Greatest Fits compilation. Arguably Williams's most musically adventurous score since his landmark Close Encounters, A.I. should take its place among the most distinctive of the composer's long and bounteous collaboration with Spielberg. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews:

The music is masterfully composed with wit, majesty, and soul.......2006-06-19

A.I. means Artificial Intelligence. But there is nothing artificial about John Williams' organically emotional score and his 17th collaboration with Steven Spielberg. A.I. studies the unique fellowship between human and machine and John has woven a musical interface. John's score pierces the mystery of a robot (mecha) child's short existence. His name is David and he never had a birthday, but was engineered to give and revieve the love of the family he is placed in. The music underlines and then transports David on his jounrey of discovery from his inception to his tanscendence and John does this with wit, majesty, and soul. John's music is of our world and of theirs and finally of a world shared by both orga and mecha. And like so many of John's scores from Spielberg's movies, you really don't need the images to have the story told to you. He is the greatest musical storyteller of all time.

Beautiful .......2006-02-20

This is a wonderful score. It features Josh Groban, Lara Fabian, and of course the master... John Williams.

I would definately say this is one of his best. It reminds me of some of the other Spielberg collaboration scores. Mainly, Empire of the Sun, and War of the Worlds. Lots of the score is wonderful emotional underscoring. It's very complex, and full of interesting scales and keys. Of course, there is plenty of gorgeous thematic material to make the score complete. Honestly, I have never heard a bad John Williams score. Come to think of it, I've never heard one that was less than brilliant and amazing. Really, give this a listen.

Please vote me helpful!

John Williams does his best Minimalist Impersonation with Fine Results.......2006-02-05

If you're at all familiar with various work by John Williams, then you might be surprised at his soundtrack for the Spielberg movie A.I. Artificial Intelligence. Here Williams seems to shy away from his usual heroic, orchestral canvasses and focuses more on repetitive, rhythmic music with a much more subdued feel to it. Some people might be reminded of minimalist composer Phillip Glass but it's not always Glass that Williams emulates here, it's another major figure in the minimalist music movement, John Adams. Even if Williams emulates others at times, it's still pure John Williams throughout.

Of course Williams, just like Steven Spielberg, can't help but pour on the schmaltz once in a while. The main theme of the film is the one used for the song " For Always ". When this music is played by piano and orchestra it's quite beautiful. When the soprano Barbara Bonney sings it with wordless vocals, it's very evocative of the mood in the film. HOWEVER, I have no idea what John Williams was thinking when he basically turns this beautiful, simple theme into a corny pop song. Oh wait, I know exactly what he was thinking, he was trying to generate a pop hit! Ugh. When Lara Fabian sings " For Always " on track 5, you grind your teeth and barely make it through. When on track 13, Lara Fabian is joined by Josh Groban for a duet version of the same song, it becomes intolerable schmaltz at it's worst.

So yes, there is much satisfying work here by everyone's most lovable film composer John Williams, just don't listen to tracks 5 and 13 so your musical sensibilities won't be irreparably damaged!

The last word from me, A.I., terrific soundtrack that rivals Williams' best, sayonara!

Will one day be considered among the best he's written.......2005-12-29

This score is a masterpiece. Although many critics found Steven Spielberg's film to be uneven, I feel that the score perfectly gives it heart. The score helps to understand what the film is all about -- a boy's love for his "mother."

This score by John Williams will one day be considered among the best he's written. Highly underrated, yet greatly poignant.

I agree with other reviewers who have warned that this is not in the Star Wars / Indiana Jones vein. If you're looking for big, bombastic symphonic music, look elsewhere. This is very sentimental, but beautifully done music. It demonstrates John Williams' talent for matching the music to the film's intention. As his resume' demonstrates, John Williams can write music for just about every film, including a misunderstood "Spielberg/Kubrick" collaboration.

"The Reunion" (final track) is one of the best tracks of orchestra/piano music ever written. The lullaby-like song is the same melody as was used in "For Always," and it is achingly beautiful.

Appropriately, this final track is played in the film while David being (finally) reunited with his "mother."

Almost Impeccable.......2004-04-26

John Williams continues in the fine tradition of his previous work. This sondtrack is finely balanced, with delicate medleys, haunting themes, and some lullaby pieces that are almost enough to make one weep. Contrary to many of his previous works (Star Wars, Superman, et al,) Mr. Williams avoided writing loud, brassy fanfares that would have deeply conflicted with the dark, pensive nature of this film.
Several tracks stand out in this masterpiece. The twin versions of "For Always," one featuring Lara Fabian and the other featuring Josh Groban in a duet with Ms. Fabian are wonderfully pure. In solo form, Lara's voice is wonderfully smooth and has a subtle almost untrained quality that lends a genuineness to her singing. In the duet, Mr. Groban's silky smooth baritone perfectly offsets Lara's clear soprano. The penultimate song, titled "The Reunion" is a stunning, gorgeous lullaby of a piece that features a plaintive, almost childish piano theme. The simplicity is subtlely complex as the theme winds through an entire emotional range, from triumphant happiness to simple joy to black despair, and finally back into an almost heartbreaking lullaby.
Mr. Williams has displayed a wide variety of musical styles in this soundtrack. For fans of his that are desiring a "Star Wars" fanfare and overpowering orchestral pieces, this soundtrack is not for you. I personally prefer this collection to most of his other works.

Average customer rating:

Spiritual Rapture
Celtic Dreams indeed!
CELTIC DREAMS
Sweet Celtic Dreams.
OK CD, nice voice

Celtic Dreams
Meav Ni Mhaolchatha , and Aruna
Manufacturer: Valley
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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A Celtic Journey
Lisa
The Water Is Wide
Walking in the Air
Raining Up

ASIN: B000FUF8HA
Release Date: 2006-07-18

Tracks:

Blackthorn
When I Was In My Prime
Aisling
Beati Quorum Via
The Mermaid
St. Nicholas
Codail A Linbh
The Sea
Geantrai
Ardaigh Cuan
Annaghdown
Nobilis Humilis
Midnight

Product Description

Ardaigh Cuan (solo Meav Ni Mhaolchatha)
Blackthorn (solo Meav Ni Mhaolchatha)
Annaghdown (solo Meav Ni Mhaolchatha & Roisin Dempsey)
Midnight (solo Meav Ni Mhaolchatha)
Codail a Linbh (solo Meav Ni Mhaolchatha & Monica Donlon)
The Mermaid (solo Meav Ni Mhaolchatha & Eimear Quinn)
When I was in My Prime (solo Meav Ni Mhaolchatha, Roisin Dempsey & Michael McGlynn)
Geantrai (solo Meav Ni Mhaolchatha)
Aisling
Beati Quorum Via
St. Nicholas
The Sea (solo Lucy Champion)
Nobilis Humilis (solo Meav Ni Mhaolchatha, Eimear Quinn, Caron Hannigan & Miriam Blennerhassett)

Format: CD

Amazon.com

In 1994, Irish soprano Mèav Nì Mhaolchatha (pronounced Mäev Nee Wail-cot-ha) became a featured soloist with Anùna, Michael McGlynn's Dublin-based choral ensemble. Her star rose after the group toured with the Riverdance troupe and quickly achieved international renown. Then, in 2005, an extravaganza called Celtic Woman debuted, and its five female singers---Méav plus Chloë, Lisa, Órla, and Máiréad---followed its massive success with a torrent of solo albums: Méav's eponymous release (2002) and Silver Sea (2004) are only two examples thereof. These offered still more Enya-esque, mostly ethereal ballads from Irish and other sources: all very effective in their way but pure mass-market show-biz and best avoided by die-hard traditional music fans. But the material on the current reissue dates back to the Riverdance era and is another matter entirely. It showcases thirteen tracks recorded by Anùna during the original Riverdance sessions, the vast majority with Méav singing lead. The stately and elegiac program harbors recollections of composers Edward MacDowell and more recently, Patrick Cassidy, or even Ralph Vaughn-Williams, who so often incorporated British folk and early music sources into his works. --Christina Roden

Customer Reviews:

Spiritual Rapture.......2007-07-08

There are two songs that particularly send one into states of rapture when listening to them during meditation they are: Nobilis Humilis and Beati Quorum Via. The entire album is quite a spiritual journey full of mystical melodies and angelic voices.

Celtic Dreams indeed!.......2007-03-22

The songs are different but they are growing on me. Meav is awesome as usual. Her voice is as high and clear as ever. I'm so glad this was released. Makes my collection of all things Meav easier to obtain. Great listening!

CELTIC DREAMS.......2007-03-09

OUTSTANDING, TOTALY MESMERIZING, BEAUTIFUL VOICE. WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT ABOUT A WOMAN WITH AN ANGELISTIC VOICE? A MUST HAVE FOR YOUR COLLECTION

Sweet Celtic Dreams........2006-11-02

Celtic Dreams is another fine preformance by Meav in her early years. I highly recommend this to everyone, especially fans of Meav and Anuna.
John Cranmer

OK CD, nice voice.......2006-08-05

I like Meav's voice, and this CD is OK, if you like this kind of stuff. Think slow and somewhat depressing. I think Irish music has moved on so much since Bill Whehlan of Riverdance brought it into the modern times, and came up with this vocal sound, I guess to hark back to earlier times, which worked well because Riverdance has so much contrast in it and the choir songs only appear as relief to the other music. This is all a bit samey and dull. I would say saved by this lady's fine voice though.

Average customer rating:

Peace, Joy and the Way of Life
Sheet music also available
Musical Landscapes of SW/ Andes Mountain Flying Dreams
Alone with yourself and Mother Earth
Peacefull and just great

Flute Dreams
Alice Gomez , Madalyn Blanchett , and Marilyn Rife
Manufacturer: Talking Taco
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

While the Eagle Sleeps
Journeys of the Flute
Obsidian Butterfly
Gathering of Shamen
Echoes of the Land

ASIN: B000003626
Release Date: 1994-03-03

Tracks:

Mystic Temple
Ancient City
Civilizations Lost
Pyramid Of The Sun
Where Eagles Pass
Earth Prayer
Clouds Dancing
Aztlan
Teotihuacan
Sierra Madre

Product Description

A top-selling collection of compositions featuring the flute and reflecting the cultural heritage of the Native peoples of the Americas. The music ranges in scope from primal to symphonic and uses an array of instruments including Native American percussion as well as keyboards. A unique sound is created on various selections by several flutes playing in unison.

Customer Reviews:

Peace, Joy and the Way of Life.......2007-02-09

Discovered this at Red Rock Canyon. It turned out to be the best flute music I have ever heard.

Sheet music also available.......2006-01-20

If you love this CD as I do, you might like to know that you can also buy the sheet music for most of the tracks. Be aware however, that most of the flutes in the tracks are not actually native american flutes but are in fact recorders.

Musical Landscapes of SW/ Andes Mountain Flying Dreams.......2005-04-25

The CD consists of original musical compositions by Alice Gomez played on Native instruments primarily the flute and drums. Each track has a beautiful melodic line and musical passages that enhance the original lyrical quality of the piece. The music captures the listener's attention, clears the mind, creates a clear, open, uncluttered space for enjoying the adventure into the canyons of the Southwest, the purple mountain views, seeing tall peaked snow-capped mountains in the distance, or flying condors overhead and llamas grazing on the hillsides of the Andes Mountains. The serene calm creative music on this CD is nearly indescribable. On some tracks, the synthesizer creates smooth transitional musical phrases while on other tracks the native flutes play in unison creating a magnificent chorus of joy and exuberance ... it feels like a festival or celebration in a village in Peru. Truly this CD is more than worth its price. Erika Borsos (erikab93)

Alone with yourself and Mother Earth.......2000-09-18

Another winner from Alice Gomez. If you liked "While the Eagle Sleeps", you'll like Flute Dreams. More of the same spiritual onesess with Mother Earth feeling, but with a slightly different sound.

Turn out the lights, put yourself in a position of serene isolation with your soul and Mother Earth. Allow yourself to rythmically flow with and enter into the music. Allow the flutes to pierce your soul with harmony and in soulfull isolation with Mother Earth. Feel It! Be It!

Peacefull and just great.......2000-08-28

I bought this record during a USA-trip in 1997 while i was in New Orleans. And now i like to listen to it at least twice a week or when ever i'm feeling down or stressed. I really enjoy listening to this peacefull music.

Average customer rating:

The Most Beautiful Recorded Tenor Voice?
Very, very truncated.
incomplete pleasure
Finally available on CD!

Babes in Toyland / The Red Mill
Victor Herbert , Kenny Baker , and Eileen Farrell
Manufacturer: Decca Broadway
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Victor Herbert: Babes in Toyland; The Red Mill

ASIN: B00006AWG2
Release Date: 2002-07-30

Tracks:

Opening - From Babes in Toyland (Herbert & MacDonough) with Kenny Baker and Karen Kemple
Toyland
Floretta
Never Mind Bo-Peep, We Will Find Your Sheep
March of the Toys
I Can't Do the Sum
Go To Sleep, Slumber Deep
Song of the Poet
The Military Ball
Hail to Christmas
Finale: He Won't Be Happy Till He Gets It and March of the Toys
When You're Pretty and the World Is Fair - From The Red Mill (Blossom & Herbert) with Wilbur Evans, Eileen Farrell, and Felix Knight
Moonbeams
In the Isle of Our Dreams
Because You're You
Every Day is Ladies' Day With me
The Streets of New York

Customer Reviews:

The Most Beautiful Recorded Tenor Voice?.......2005-06-22

Is any recorded, tenor, singing voice as lovely as Kenny Baker's? As a child, I often heard him during the 1930s on the Jack Benny show, but have scarcely thought of him since. Amazon.com offers him on four CDs: BABES IN TOYLAND, LOVE WALKED IN, THE STARLIT HOUR and WEILL FROM BERLIN TO BROADWAY. Over the years, I have heard the recorded voices of many tenors, mostly operatic. Their fine voices were excellently trained, often to a wider range and more difficult music. But note for note, their sound as recorded is not I think as sheerly beautiful as Kenny Baker's. A splendid, unspoiled, unstrained, natural gift, put to disciplined and tasteful use! His enunciation is remarkably clear, and his musical line, perfectly smooth. He makes each song a different story, as in the six pieces here from BABES IN TOYLAND.

My claim is easy to test. This website has CDs with excerpts for listening to the best tenors of the 20th century, including Enrico Caruso, John McCormack, Giovanni Martinelli, Beniamino Gigli, Tito Schipa, Richard Tauber, Richard Crooks, Jussi Bjoerling, Morton Downey, Mario Lanza, Giuseppe di Stefano, Nicolai Gedda, Jan Peerce, Leopold Simoneau, Fritz Wunderlich, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras. Of course, the earlier the career, the greater the damage to the recorded voice from primitive technology. Heard live, who knows which voice was most beautiful? But at least we have what earlier centuries could only imagine: lasting copies of live performances. Listen to Kenny Baker's voice on tracks 2 and 8 of BABES IN TOYLAND, and then compare.

The numbers from THE RED MILL will make you want to hear more. This operetta, also composed by Victor Herbert, was first produced in 1906, three years after BABES IN TOYLAND. "Moonbeams" (well sung by Eileen Farrell) is lovely; "Because You're You" (a duet between Farrell and Felix Knight) is quite simple but surprisingly affecting. The last two are the best: "Every Day Is Ladies' Day with Me," and "In Old New York." They are patter songs, perhaps inspired by, and surely as deft, as the ones that Gilbert and Sullivan were writing two decades earlier. Both are sung by Wilbur Evans, in a rich baritone, with perfect enunciation and marvelous comic flair. Great fun!

The selections on this CD were recorded in 1944 and 1945, then released in 1946 on both 78s and 10" LPs. For this CD, they were remastered from wartime lacquered-glass originals. Baker and Evans emerge in radiant form, surely much closer to live sound than reached our family radio via AM transmission 65 years ago. The orchestral and choral sound is less attractive. Poorly miked?

Very, very truncated........2002-12-09

The scores of Victor Herbert's "Babes in Toyland" and "The Red Mill" are lovely classics, but the incomplete scores represented by this Decca Broadway remastering of its antiquated 78s are not the best reprentation. My advice: wait for the John McGlinn "Babes in Toyland" to be released. As for "The Red Mill", you'd do better to pick up the Ohio Light Opera's double-CD from Albany Records.

incomplete pleasure.......2002-11-09

Two terrible mistakes keep this from 5 stars.. BABES IN TOYLAND is not complete as they are missing the delightful IN THE TOYMAKER'S WORKSHOP. Why? In THE RED MILL they use a butchered take of EVERY DAY IS LADIES DAY WITH ME. Again, why?
John McGlinn will be out with a complete BABES soon - and there is a lot of music in it - so you may want to wait.

Finally available on CD!.......2002-08-01

Decca's 1946 album of selections from Victor Herbert's celebrated musical was a welcome addition to record libraries, covering most of the major songs plus some of the delightful dance music. The album was reissued as a ten-inch Lp in 1949. A later reissue in 1957 dropped 4 songs to fit the score on one side of a twelve-inch Lp backed by six selections from Herbert's THE RED MILL. That pairing is reproduced here but the CD contains the complete BABES IN TOYLAND program! It's nice to have it back too! Nice of Decca to give us this early Christmas present this year. But BABES IN TOYLAND is a score that enchants all year round. How strange that no other complete recording exists.

The six selections form THE RED MILL offer a nice bonus, and the selections are well sung.

Wishes [Audio CD] A Magical Gathering Of Disney Dreams
Average customer rating:

Wishes

Wishes [Audio CD] A Magical Gathering Of Disney Dreams
Walt Disney World
Manufacturer: Buena Vista Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Children's Music | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B000MTV5DA

Product Description

"Wishes", Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom Fireworks Display opened on October 9, 2005 and has been thrilling guests nightly ever since. Bursting with color, sound and emotion, "Wishes" is the biggest fireworks spectacular ever presented at the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom. This CD is dedicated to "Wishes", and continues to bring joy and happiness to thousands on a daily basis.

Customer Reviews:

Wishes.......2007-04-05

Plain and simple - this CD is the soundtrack to the "Wishes" fireworks show at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. I bought it for the memories, and because we like the arrangment. You should know what this is before you buy it.

Average customer rating:

Sadly, the last Savuka album, possibly Johnny Clegg's last strong offering
The one
Awesome Artist - a great unknown
A MUST HAVE
more solid afro-pop

Heat, Dust and Dreams
Johnny Clegg & Savuka
Manufacturer: EMI Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Africa | International | Styles | Music

South Africa | Africa | International | Styles | Music

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Shadow Man
Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful World
Third World Child
Scatterlings of Africa
In My African Dream

ASIN: B000008ECV
Release Date: 1999-02-08

Tracks:

These Days
Crossing
I Can Never Be (What You Want Me to Be)
Tough Enough
Promise
Inevitable Consequence of Progress
In My African Dream
Emotional Allegiance (Stand by Me)
Foreign Nights (Working Dog in Babylon)
Your Time Will Come
Your Time Will Come - Johnny Clegg

Customer Reviews:

Sadly, the last Savuka album, possibly Johnny Clegg's last strong offering.......2006-08-08

Heat, Dust & Dreams, by Johnny Clegg & Savuka. Release date: 1993. Currently out of print in the U.S., so you'll have to buy used or as an import. But do buy it if you like worldbeat or African music at all.

The opening track, "These Days", kicks off with the buzz of bagpipes and immediately informs the listener that they are listening to some serious fusion here. The styles blended by Johnny Clegg are South African mbaqanga, Western pop, Western rock, Celtic, reggae, and even Indian music, which makes it very hard to define. "These Days" is pretty heavy, with Clegg belting out the lyrics in one of the angriest, most biting tones he's ever done on any song. It makes "Soweto", off of 1982's Ubuhle Bemvelo, sound gentle. And, considering what South Africa and the world have just been through and what the future seems to hold for the tattered Africa, it's appropriate. What is surprising is the absence of hope or celebration even in the wake of the release of Nelson Mandela and the fall of apartheid.

The next song is one of the group's best. It's a short, softer piece in memory of a friend and former bandmate - the little note on the lyrics reads simply "For Dudu" - entitled "The Crossing (Osiyeza)". The song deals with the crossing from life into death, and how Clegg feels that it's like "coming home". It also deals with the impression that the departed leave behind. The Zulu chorus is effective, as usual.

"I Can Never Be (What You Want Me To Be)" has the subject matter of a man who feels inadequate and unsuitable for the woman that he loves and is bitter that she will never accept him because she's always want him to be someone who he can't be, which is oddly at ease with the uptempo, happy-go-lucky bounce of the instrumentation. Somehow, it works - it's charming and, most important of all, it's honest. Works for the Goo Goo Dolls; works here, too.

The next song is...well, it's honestly one of the best songs I've heard recently. "When The System Has Fallen" - even the name is promising. It starts off strong, with the always-awesome jaw harp and then the introduction of excellent, sharp vocals from Clegg, and just gets better, featuring a powerful Zulu-language chorus, which is almost always excellent and is brilliant here. Later in the song, the English and Zulu chorus lines are layered; the ending has downright majesty as the Zulu chorus is chanted over and over. The instruments drop down to drums, then finally the drums fall out and the last ten seconds are chanted a cappella. Definitely a "whoa" moment.

The fifth song on the album, "Tough Enough", kicks into gear with some cool concertina playing by Clegg. The lyrics aren't classic, but they work for the song. It's not a brilliant piece, but it's worth listening to and it's on my iPod, even if "When The System Has Fallen" and "The Crossing (Osiyeza)" are a lot better. This rock is fairly political, and has its merits. The bridge, which takes things down a notch, is pretty good.

And it's certainly a great deal better than "The Promise", which is weak. Clegg tries singing in a fashion that doesn't suit his vocal style at all, and the lyrics fall flat. It serves the purpose of calling attention to the main theme of the album, which is survival and "making it through".

It is followed by "Inevitable Consequence Of Progress". Now, the reviews I read said that this song was "brilliant", and it sounded promising: the perspective of a naive helicopter gunner shooting down native African tribesmen. Unfortunately, Clegg takes the previous bad vocals of "The Promise" to a whole new extreme of awful. There are really no words past that.

"In My African Dream" has good verses and a good bridge, but a very poor chorus with female backup singers that sound ridiculously out of place. There's a nice repeating keyboard thing going on beneath the main instrumentation of the song. Overall, the song doesn't hold up well. The chorus is regrettable.

The next song opens in a way that really shocked me. There's a heavy Hindi influence here; the usual bilinguality of the songs is between English and Zulu. Here, it's between English and Hindi. It's not that bad of a song, but it's not very good either, and the references to "the story of Ram" give the impression that Johnny Clegg just heard about some inspiring Hindu mythology and decided to write a funky song all about it. Definite slump over these past four songs.

Thankfully, "Foreign Nights (Working Dog In Babylon)" pulls it out. It's not a jaw-droppingly amazing or powerful song, but it's a good, solid track and is a marked improvement over the past four.

The closing piece is mostly Zulu and is awesome. It's called "Your Time Will Come". Towards the end, the deserved hope and celebration finally breaks through, as if the album itself symbolizes the dark times of apartheid that finally, at the end, break into the future: "I saw the Berlin Wall fall / I saw Mandela walk free / I saw a dream whose time has come / Change my history - so keep on dreaming". And that's a hell of a way to end an album.

Despite four songs in a row of "meh", I still have to recommend this for the rest of the album's worth of material. It's not for everyone. If you're only comfortable on the manufactured pop of the '90s and '00s, or the gangsta rap and hip-hop of the recent generation, or the shrieking, growling heavy metal of the U.S. of A., don't bother unless you want to break free. But if you like classic rock music, there's something for you here; if you like world music, it's quite recommended; if you like the bouncy sort of power ballads popularized by bands like Styx, Foreigner, and Boston, give it a go; if you just want to try something new, I can guarantee that it is definitely new.

The one.......2005-09-01

The best of the regrettably small catalogue. If you have the hits Crossing and Tough Enough already from a best of compilation, do not hesitate to purchase this anyway. African Dream, When The System Has Fallen, and Foreign Nights are outstanding songs also, easily worth the price of the CD. The background chorus is unique and inspiring.

If you're like me and would not have had the opporunity to see them live, I seem to remember them making an appearance on SNL many years back that you could catch.

Awesome Artist - a great unknown.......2004-11-27

I first heard Johnny Clegg in the early 1980's, just before I had the pleasure of seeing Juluka in concert. After Sipho McHunu left, the band was renamed Savuka, and is just as good to me. More accessible to western pop & rock listeners, but still very rooted in African music. Zulu is a beautiful language and this album is accented with zulu background and chorus vocals.

Out of the thousands of vinyl LPs and hundreds of CDs I have, this album remains in my eternal top 20. If I were stranded with only a CD player and 10 CDs, I would hope this would be one of them.

A MUST HAVE.......2004-07-25

Johnny Clegg is overlooked in the U.S., and this album proves he is 100 times better than the majority of dreck on the airwaves today. This album succeeds on many levels...strong hooks, enchanting rhythyms, memorable melodies and lyrics...even the Zulu language parts of the songs blend so well with the English lyrics that you will start to phonetically sound them out and try to sing it...you can't stop dancing, singing and loving this album...older fans of Clegg's various bands will think this more commercial and slick...it is a little different than his Juluka band days, but great nonetheless! A must have in any collection.

more solid afro-pop.......2003-04-18

Typical Johnny Clegg sound and lyrics, but somehow this album just doesn't measure up to "Third World Child" and "Cruel Crazy Beautiful World". There are still 6 or so good tracks on here, so well worth a listen. Just don't make it the first Johnny Clegg album you buy.

Average customer rating:

Sublimely fantastic
Finally!
One of Ladysmith's best albums!

Journey of Dreams
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Manufacturer: Warner Bros / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Africa | International | Styles | Music

South Africa | Africa | International | Styles | Music

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Long Walk to Freedom

ASIN: B000002LF2
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Mercy Of God
Get Ready
You Cry For Me
The Stumbling Block
Watch
Dark Or Blue
No More Passbook
Destroy Not This Beauty
Wings To Fly
Don't Waste Her Time
Don't Forget
The Lion Song
Amazing Grace

Customer Reviews:

Sublimely fantastic.......2006-09-21

LBM does another great job of amazing harmonies and emotional lyrics. This is another homerun of superb African choral music.

Finally!.......2001-07-24

While this album has been out a while, it is a rare find in that it is one of the few Ladysmith albums that is well produced.

Credit this group's biggest fan, Paul Simon, with applying just the right deft touch to the magic voices of this legendary troupe.

Several of the self-produced Ladysmith albums I am in possession of lack the clarity and definition that seem necessary to fully appreciate the strength and passion in this group's voices.

And oh, what voices.

Funny liner note fact: Black Mombaza means "black axe" and was a name applied to Ladysmith by competitors in South African singing contests. Apparently Ladysmith never lost.

A fabulous special bonus awaits those to listen through to the 13th cut, "Amazing Grace," with Paul Simon singing lead.

Too cool.

One of Ladysmith's best albums!.......2000-08-30

This is the most recent addition to my Ladysmith collection, and I couldn't be happier with it! This is a collection of some of their most beautiful music. It is full of great beats and fun sounds to enjoy, as well as a BEAUTIFUL rendition of Amazing Grace with Paul Simon. There are a few songs with English words, and the rest is in Zulu, but it comes with a CD booklet with all of the words so you can follow along. This is a must-have for Ladysmith collectors and for anyone who likes the song "Amazing Grace"! You won't be disappointed!

Music Review: