Apollo

Track Listings

1. Arioso, Bach

2. Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Tartini

3. Song of the Birds, Casals

4. Serenade, Schubert

5. The Little White Donkey, Ibert

6. The Swan, Saint-Saens

7. Moses Fantasy Variations, Paganini

8. O Mio Babbino Caro (from Gianni Schicchi), Puccini

9. Addio del Passato (from La Traviata), Verdi

10. Una Furtiva Lagrima (from L'Elisor D'Amore), Donizetti

11. Speak Softly Love (from The Godfather), Rota

12. Torna a Surriento, De Curtis

13. Danny Boy

14. Meditation (from Thais), Massenet

15. Amazing Grace

Tracks:

Introduction To James Brown
I'll Go Crazy
Try Me
Think
I Don't Mind
Lost Someone
Medley: Please, Please, Please/You've Got The Power/I Found Someone/Why Do You Do Me/I Want You So Bad/I Love You So Bad/I Love You, Yes I Do/Strange Things Happen/Bewildered/Please, Please, Please
Night Train
Think
Medley: I Found Someone/Why Do You Do Me/I Want You So Bad
Lost Someone
I'll Go Crazy

Customer Reviews:

Black Music Treasure.......2007-07-11

This album is a must have for any R&B music catalog. Black music has been forever changed by the performances and performer on this album in 1962.

During the racially chargered violence of the 60's this performance was an escape from the absolute madness of society, giving the concert goers a night of unbelievalbe entertainment from an unbelievably great performer.

Many artist such as Prince and Michael Jackson were not even born yet, when this concert took place, yet thier careers have flourish behind the influence of James Brown electricfying and near breath taking performances.

The album doesnt get 5 stars because I thought the album's performances were redundant. James performs some of the same songs 3 times in the show. The concert is rather short, less than 1 hour. I'm assuming when you do 300 dates a year you can't afford to have 3 hour concerts.

Great album that will forever stand the test of time. Album of musical history that should be a blue print as to how the 21st centuries artist should create and/or put on live shows.

Look toward Prince and Michael Jackson who emulate James Brown... these two artist from James have influences a life time of music to come.

NOT FUNK... BUT STILL CRRRRAAAAAZZZZZY.......2007-02-07

For a lot of reasons this album is pretty much what made James Brown not just an icon of his day.. but for many days to come... and these reasons have to do with politics, as well as music so I'll stay away from them,.. however James Brown is certainly a name that willl never be forgotten at Harlems Apollo Theater.
This album was recorded live in 1962, when James Brown was still exclusively The Soul Brother no.1. He hadn't started developing his funk yet, however had already been tearing up the charts for sometime (mid fifties?) and was rapidly building a reputation as an amazing live performer. In order to prove that it wasn't just hype, Brown recorded this show at The Apollo (an excellent way to nationalize their name in the process, I'd have to say) and released it about a year later.
It's true that James Brown had a solid run of hit singles on the radio for over ten years.. but to hear that stuff in comparison to his live recordings always pales. No matter what era of James Brown you listen to.. the hit singles just ain't half as exciting as a complete live show.. and this proves it. I'LL GO CRAZY is amazing, one of the all time best performances of a song, ever.. and from here we go into a non stop frenzy, which, if you are seasoned to James Brown, may sound a little out dated, but no doubt as wild as his squeeeezieest funk juices. In typical James Brown fashion the songs just keep coming,..no breaks, constant motion. The crowd gets involved too, screaming and clawin'.... songs meld into other songs, then back into the original songs, and then into medleys, that meld with other medleys.. and then finally it all finishes back at the start with I'll GO CRAZY, as if you never left it to begin with. The way James Brown put on a show in 1962 would eventually become the influence for not only any good soul show, but rock, jazz, funk, dance, etc.... they all wanted his chops... and that is mainly because of what is contained on this record.... Enter the Hardest working man in showbiz....

The greatest showman who ever lived..........2007-01-12

If you want to sample James Brown's music, start here. Then, maybe pick up his '20 Greatest Hits'. He was a man of amazing, incomparable talent. I was fortunate enough to see him in concert about six times from 1964 to 1969. You would have to see him live to appreciate it when you hear that he was the greatest showman who ever lived. To see him and hear him live is to love him. This may sound like an exaggeration, but all who have seen him live know what I am talking about.

THIS IS ONE LIVE ALBUM I'LL GIVE A SECOND LISTEN TO.......2006-12-29

now i am not keen on live albums because then i'll become too much of a skeptic. however, this album is an exception. first of all, IT'S JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMES BROWN.........BROWN..............BROWN!!!! secondly, that one elongated song that i cannot think of.................just listening to those ladies scream and moan...............MY GOODNESS!!!!! that song alone is enough proof for me that mr. brown was comatose when it came to the stage!!!! don't think so............ask michael jackson, usher, justin timberlake, janet jackson, and plenty, plenty others. if you recorded it, then out on the BET awards that year when they were honoring james and michael came out and surprised him. this is just a sample though, remember that.

Great, but don't forget about other soul stars.......2006-12-27

This is a landmark album and I greatly enjoy it.Many consider it one of the best live 1960's soul recordings but I think that Sam Cooke's "live at the Harlem Square" is much better. James Brown was more musical but Sam Cooke worked his audience over better.

If you are new to James Brown and want to sample him, start out with James Brown's "20 all time hits"...that is a KILLER cd. You have a great selection of early, funky and more produced James Brown. Early James Brown is very raw and the studio versions are actually more organic/rawer sounding then some of these songs since the instrumentation was much more sparce.

Average customer rating:

A classic soundtrack to inner visions
Celestial Heaven
RELAXING FORGROUND
Fantastic ambient album
Still My Favorite Brian Eno Album

Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks

Manufacturer: Astralwerks
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Ambient | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B0007GFFUW
Release Date: 2005-03-22

Tracks:

Under Stars
The Secret Place
Matta
Signals
An Ending (Ascent)
Under Stars II
Drift
Silver Morning
Deep Blue Day
Weightless
Always Returning
Stars

Amazon.com essential recording

If you ever wondered what ambient music is all about, you could do worse than listen to the soundtrack by Brian Eno that accompanied the stunning visuals of NASA's Apollo missions to the moon. Created with an intoxicating mixture of acoustic and electronic, the music makes the now-classic space travel images more magical and memorable, introducing a dreamlike element to scenes of cold reality. "An Ending (Ascent)" is about as close to an actual tune as you'll get, but, as with every track, a shining example of what ambient music reveals about itself--slowly and carefully. --Paul Clark

Customer Reviews:

A classic soundtrack to inner visions.......2007-04-06

While APOLLO: ATMOSPHERES & SOUNDTRACKS is retrospectively regarded by older Enophiles as one of his last truly great albums, it stirred considerable controversy at the time of its summer 1983 release. On vinyl, the Daniel Lanois' mood-breaking pedal steel guitar on "Silver Morning" and "Weightless" couldn't be bypassed with the click of a remote. More than one listener mistook the deep trembling tones on "Under Stars" for turntable rumble, a problem compounded by a poor domestic pressing. Since then, APOLLO has been recognized as one of Brian Eno's most elegant integrations of the ambient aesthetic with the short melodic form.
In response to a query posed below: this reissue represents only a marginal sonic improvement over the '80s EG/Jem CD. An attentive listener will note a slight increase in detail and vividness of stereo imaging, but Astralwerks' APOLLO remaster isn't in the same class as THE PLATEAUX OF MIRROR or THE PEARL, which open up layers of ethereal sound absent from the earlier editions.
Though Eno has recorded/compiled several albums with the phrase "music for films" in the title, APOLLO has proved particularly popular (beyond its original application) with filmmakers. "Deep Blue Day" reached a new generation in the TRAINSPOTTING soundtrack, and "An Ending (Ascent)" can be heard in TRAFFIC, 28 DAYS LATER, CLEAN, and the forthcoming ECSTASY.
I feel the repackaging warrants comment. Astralwerks' Original Masters series digipaks come in useless clear plastic slipcases, an environmental offense. The disc rests on clear plastic tray, the background to which is put to use for an anti-piracy warning. Throughout the series, the cover art is consistently grainy, apparently scanned from LP sleeves.
APOLLO: ATMOSPHERES & SOUNDTRACKS remains an album of eerie beauty, but this re-release doesn't render the earlier edition obsolete.

Celestial Heaven.......2007-01-10

I really enjoy New Age music that is celestial. This is one of my favorites. Anyone who enjoys music that will take your mind for a trip through the stars will enjoy this CD.

RELAXING FORGROUND.......2006-08-25

Apollo is not the best of Eno's Background/Forground ambient experiments IMHO. But it's a very very nice recording and is recommended to those who desire soothing but not corney music.

Apollo is more of a relaxing forground recording. If you are looking for Forground/Background I'd say Thursday Morning is more interesting. Thursday Morning is very unobtrusive but very interesting and spatial on closer examination.

Apollo is more straigh forward, relaxing, pretty music. I want my copy to rip onto a mp3 player for backpacking. Specifically for those moments before sleep when gazing at the stars of the Milky Way overhead. A Perfect sound track for drifting out into the cosmos.

Does anyone know if the remastered version is superior?

Fantastic ambient album.......2006-07-22

As far as this type of music goes, I think this is one of the best albums in this style. Every piece of music here is a gem. If you like music to relax to or just listen to, this is a good choice. I would say if you close your eyes, put on headphones and just listen, it feels like you are floating through a big cloud.

Still My Favorite Brian Eno Album.......2006-04-23

Out of all his work, it's "Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks" that still resonates the most with me. I'm not sure why but I think it's because this album is the most spaced out and perhaps the most distinctive of the Eno works I've heard and I've heard quite a bit. I enjoy ambient space music immensely, it's not the right music for every mood but it sure feels perfect at 3 o'clock in the morning, doesn't it? Drifting blissfully through these electronic textures is what it's all about with Eno but whereas in earlier works like "Music for Airports", Eno can reach a severe aura of banality, in "Apollo" the banality is kept at bay and you are very much transported into space.

Several of the tracks seem out of place like some country rock mixed with ambient, but the final few selections redeem "Apollo" and bring it up to the finest in Eno's vast discography. Great album, don't miss it if you love ambient.

Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes of Madness

Average customer rating:

If Lord of the Rings was put in a blender with Led Zeplin...
a modern experience I'll never forget
Alan Dean Foster Meets Rush!
Great Album
Disappointing from an outsider's perspective.

Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes of Madness
Coheed & Cambria
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000AA302A
Release Date: 2005-09-20

Tracks:

Keeping The Blade
Always & Never
Welcome Home
Ten Speed (Of God's Blood & Burial)
Crossing The Frame
Apollo I : The Writing Writer
Once Upon Your Dead Body
Wake Up
The Suffering
The Lying Lies & Dirty Secrets of Miss Erica Court
Mother May I
The Willing Well I: Fuel for the Feeding End
The Willing Well II: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness
The Willing Well III: Apollo II: The Telling Truth
The Willing Well IV: The Final Cut

Amazon.com

There's a lot to be said for continuity and high concept, and Coheed and Cambria have invented an elaborate geeky parallel sci-fi world that spread over four CDs. If you follow the story line, it unfolds like some punk Harry Potter series; equally ambitious and didactic and almost as tightly written as the Moody Blues' "Days of Future Passed." You can also listen to each of the albums without a thought about the story and marvel at the musicianship, the intricately layered guitars, Claudio Sanchez's overwrought and rather pinched vocals and the sheer imagination displayed by these four musicians whose idiosyncratic emo seamlessly flows into prog rock. Epic, surreal, bigger than life, and utterly unlike anything you've heard in decades--even Geddy Lee expounding on free will. -- Jaan Uhelszki

Customer Reviews:

If Lord of the Rings was put in a blender with Led Zeplin..........2007-07-17

I wasn't excpepting much from this album before purchasing. I heard the Suffering which I thought was catchy, but I thought there was no way the album could be that good the whole way threw. I was wrong. The music ranges from rythmic harder rock (Welcome Home, and some of the later songs on the album) to really out there fast beats (Once upon your dead body, the Suffering).

Were this album really succeds is in it's great stroyline. The artwork of the album as well as the music relays a sense of epic-ness. You truly will not understand the depth of this Cd until you've heard it first-hand. Buy this CD I could not have been more pleased. In the great words of Apollo I and II, tonight the night on Burning Star IV...

You also may want to check out the Special Edition of the album. The Special Edition comes with a bonus DVD.

a modern experience I'll never forget.......2007-07-09

Luis Mejia (son) - I have to admit that I am one of those guys who love proffesional and complex music but I certainly lost my hope since mid 90's, specially in prog and good rock, and stayed in the era of the 70's, a magical era wich I didn't live. I never met the band 'till I heard the genre "new prog" and Coheed And Cambria was on the main charts, I also recognized the band because my cousin told me about it so I decided to give them a try, and this was the first album I bought seen the good critics and sales. Low in hopes, even when I heard the first track I was surprised they applied that kind of instruments in a classical way. Even more than a year that I've heard this album from the first track to the last one I'm still shocked of how excellent, delicate and professional it is!

I characterize this album more as heavy metal or progressive metal, even a litle bit of alt rock, but it stays a little apart from prog, even when it has certain characteristics of the genre.

The composition of each track is simple superb, delicate, heavy and well thought. Lisetn well, EVERY track is incredible and outstanding, one of the few album you don't have to skip any track; Welcome Home, Ten Speed (Of God Blood And Burial), the four fragments of The Willing Well (specially part 4), The Suffering and Wake Up are extremelly potent tracks that show every characteristic of the album, including soft ballads (until half of the album I never imagined a soft track), rythmical and confortable tracks like The Suffering, heavy, potential tracks with escapist sounds like Welcome Home and Ten Speed, the most likely prog songs like the fragments of The Willnig Well, and so on, each track is different from the other one. The moods of the CD are quite difficult to identify; I quite agree with those reviewers who characterize this album mainly EMO, and though it has many characteristics of EMO (wich I still do not think is a defined or even real genre) it also assimilates alt rock, prog, heavy metal, and so on; within the moods the songs are very different among each other but I can say their moods are agressive, hard, soft, constantly changing, experimental and a certain level of complexity.

Among the artists the guitar of Travis Stever is the best feature in the album, he's such a talented guitarrist, Claudio Sanchez vocals are very melodic and nice to hear but it isn't a voice such talented and trained but stunning as well, Josh Eppard drums are one of those instruments that in every song you listen to them carefully, and Michael Todd bass can be heard, you don't know how it bothers me not to be able to hear a bass in a song, but he makes it sound incredible.

Viewed as a concept album, its a little weird and even a little dumb as a concept album, I trully know that they are trying to make five albums about Teh Amory Wars but it's obvious that Coheed And Cambria would have a lot more credit and much better critics if it weren't for this detail.

In conclussion this band demonstrate among a world full of pitiful new music how still it can be excellent compositions written, if they only take their time, any musician can bring back the flame of music, good music, and the CD is a masterpiece, my sincere recommendations to everyone who appreciates good music.

Alan Dean Foster Meets Rush!.......2007-05-25

As my title states, Coheed & Cambria remind me of a really good sci/fi book set to music. Like a cross between Star Wars and Dream Theatre. I got IKSOSE first and still like that album better, I think simply because it is easier to follow the storyline. This album is much more musically complex though. It took me a long time to get used to the Claudio's voice because I a fan of Doom Metal not pop (not that they are a pop band), so it actually was the storyline that got me so interested. If you like concept albums, this is like trying to solve a really awesome riddle. I love the intro to Good Apollo with the violin!

Great Album.......2007-05-09

Yes C&C is an acquired taste, everything written in other reviews for all the albums pretty much spells out what people like about them. They are just what the current scene lacks, and bring back melodic, powerful, catchy metal in spades.....call it emo(the stupidest label ever coined bar none) or any other dumb term you want.....these guys simply rock.
The reviewer below is more interested in the album art, if thats your concern stick with cereal boxes or bazooka joe wrappers, this is rock n' roll. He also claims "sub par musicianship", which is an amazingly naive statement by someone who must know little about that which they speak. Grab a guitar and write tunes anywhere near this level. Sub par my a**. These guys are at the top of their game.

Disappointing from an outsider's perspective........2007-04-25

I am a huge fan of concept albums. Dream Theater's "Scenes from a Memory" and Queensryche's "Operation Mindcrime" are two of my all-time favorite albums because they bring together theme and form. In other words, the music fits the theme of the album, which is also complemented by the artwork and the composition's overall structure.

I am also a fan of new punk rock. Taking Back Sunday's "Tell All Your Friends" is an anthemic album that tugs at many strings, notably angst and self-conscious outcast. Thursday's "War All the Time" is a prime example of a relatively simple subset of music (emo/punk) reaching beyond its comfort zone into more controversial territory. Still organic, still cohesive.

"Cohesive", ironically enough, is not a word I'd use to describe Coheed and Cambria's "Good Apollo" album. It fails in both respects: it does not unify its theme (complex story) with its content (music & artwork) and the overall musicianship is subpar. Though I am not familiar with their previous albums (and therefore not familiar with the story that precedes it) I will strictly deal with this album as it stands alone.

At first glance, the album's song titles ("Ten Speed (Of God's Blood and Burial)", "Apollo I: The Writing Writer", "The Willing Well I: Fuel for the Feeding End") suggest an intricately woven story that will not easily reveal itself to the listener. A more negative viewpoint would say that the track titles are deliberately complicated; they are strange for the sake of strangeness. The artwork is dark, sinister and also suggests that the music will sound gothic or at least morose.

Convoluted story? Yes. Gothic, intricate music? No. What we have is the following:

A piano, string-quartet intro to start off the album. It begins with "Keeping the Blade", an instrumental piece that starts with a single ominous note, and gradually builds up to a full 4-string ensemble with a piano hinting at an eerie buildup. "Always & Never" is a warm acoustic piece that hints at singer/songwriter Claudio Sanchez' harmonized and pained vocals. Nothing heavy or intricate. "Welcome Home" takes this same acoustic guitar and adds a metal crunch to it. The song is 6 minutes of pinched vocals, squealing guitars, and epic strings.

This is as close as the album gets to its artwork and song title complexity. From there, you have simple guitar rock, campy "punk" songs, devoid of any real complexity. Songs that attempt to mimic odd time signatures ("Mother May I") end up sounding empty and poorly thought-out. Others, such as the insufferable mouthful "The Willing Well II: Fear Through the Eyes of Madness" are too flimsy to merit a 7-minute duration.

All in all, it is a lump of coal in a silver box. Attempting to say that Coheed and Cambria are bridging the gap between punk rock and progressive rock is almost insulting. The artwork and thematic construction of the album suggests that the songs will come together to create a progressive masterpiece. But (and I should have thought of this before buying it) it's an album written by an emo band. Though I don't want to discredit Sanchez' imagination, the music does not fit the rest of the album. He needs to up his songwriting to compete with the intricacies of his album's conceptual designs or tone the art in his future albums down to more accurately reflect the music within.

This is not a progressive masterpiece - it's a subpar emo album with a flashy exterior and one good song.

Stravinsky: Three Greek Ballets (Apollo, Agon, Orpheus)

Average customer rating:

Robert Craft & Stravinsky: 3 Ballets on Themes of Greek Mythology
A Return to the Greeks a la Stravinsky
Absolute Caftsmanship
Very good rendition
Fine Performances of Three Fine Stravinsky Ballets

Stravinsky: Three Greek Ballets (Apollo, Agon, Orpheus)

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0008JEKCW
Release Date: 2005-05-17

Tracks:

Prologue: The Birth Of Apollo - London Symphony Orchestra
Apollo's Variation - London Symphony Orchestra
Pas D'Action: Apollo And the Muses - London Symphony Orchestra
Variation Of Calliope - London Symphony Orchestra
Variation Of Polymnia - London Symphony Orchestra
Variation Of Terpsichore - London Symphony Orchestra
Variation Of Apollo - London Symphony Orchestra
Pas De Deux: Apollo And Terpsichore - London Symphony Orchestra
Coda: Apollo And the Muses - London Symphony Orchestra
Apotheosis: Apollo And the Muses - London Symphony Orchestra
Pas De Quarte - Orchestra Of St. Luke's
Double Pas De Quarte - Orchestra Of St. Luke's
Triple Pas De Quarte - Orchestra Of St. Luke's
Prelude - Orchestra Of St. Luke's
First Pas De Trois: Saraband-Step - Orchestra Of St. Luke's
Gaillarde - Orchestra Of St. Luke's
Coda - Orchestra Of St. Luke's
Interlude - Orchestra Of St. Luke's
Second Pas De Trois: Bransle Simple - Orchestra Of St. Luke's
Bransle Gay - Orchestra Of St. Luke's
Bransle Double (Bransle De Poitou) - Orchestra Of St. Luke's
Interlude - Orchestra Of St. Luke's
Pas De Deux/Piu Mosso/L'Istesso Tempo/Refrain - Orchestra Of St. Luke's
Coda/Doppio Lento/Quasi Stretto/Coda - Orchestra Of St. Luke's
Four Duos - Orchestra Of St. Luke's
Four Trios - Orchestra Of St. Luke's
Lento Sostenuto - London Symphony Orchestra
Air De Danse - London Symphony Orchestra
Dance Of the Angel Of Death - London Symphony Orchestra
Interlude - London Symphony Orchestra
Dance Of The Furies - London Symphony Orchestra
Air De Danse - London Symphony Orchestra
Interlude - London Symphony Orchestra
Air De Danse - London Symphony Orchestra
Pas D'Action - London Symphony Orchestra
Pas De Deux - London Symphony Orchestra
Interlude - London Symphony Orchestra
Pas D'Action - London Symphony Orchestra
Apotheosis - London Symphony Orchestra

Customer Reviews:

Robert Craft & Stravinsky: 3 Ballets on Themes of Greek Mythology.......2006-12-20

Naxos is doing us all a most welcome favor by re-releasing the Robert Craft performances of Stravinsky (and some Webern, and some Schoenberg) that earlier passed through on labels like MusicMaster and Koch Classics.

On this disc we get three of the later ballets that the composer did, based on Greek themes in mythology.

The earliest of these works is the ballet, Apollo. Or Apollon musagete. (1928) Craft seems to have had a complex relationship to the master, part family, part soul-mated colleague, and maybe part worshipper of the muses. He leads a deft and balanced reading of Apollo with the LSO. Do not let yourself be misled by the mainly diatonic, or major-key based, nature of this neo-classically fresh music. It is euphonius, and transcends its analytical means.

After visiting for a day with the composer, the Russian impresario Diaghilev wrote to a friend, "...it is, of course, an amazing work, extraordinarily calm and with greater clarity than anything he has done: filigree counterpoint around transparent, clear-cut themes, all in a major key, music not of this world, but from somewhere above ..."

Diaghilev got it, then, and so do Robert Craft and the players.

Second comes the latest of these 3 ballets, Agon. (1957) By this time the master was going serial, or twelve-tone, in his very own special way. He finished Agon close to his 75th birthday, and there is little or nothing quite like it in most of the published twelve-tone literature. Somehow, Stravinsky finds the intense economies that we associate with Webern while staying true to himself. There is no published scenario to Agon, as if the music were its own reason for being a ballet. The Orchestra of St. Luke's is smaller than the LSO, but no less musically gifted. Yet again, Robert Craft's leadership is astute, and he seems to have an ear no less incisive than Pierre Boulez when it comes to pitch, texture, and rhythm. What he offers that Pierre Boulez sometimes does not, at least as recorded, is a certain warmth and involvement, a certain sensory richness and physicality.

The last ballet on this disc is the one written in between Apollo and Agon: Orpheus (1946). The choice of subject originated with Georges Balanchine who was much taken with the Orpheus myth, but ballet stage designer Isamu Noguchi also deserves credit for bringing the work to life as dance, as scene, and as total art work. Stravinsky's genius was supported and nourished by the other two, and so we get a sort of return of the younger composer, all that much wiser for being able to embrace sensuality again after having survived two world wars and ending up settled amid the posturing glitz of Hollywood and southern California. Craft leads the LSO in another fine reading.

Apollo and Orpheus were caught in Abbey Road, U.K., and Agon in an auditorium at SUNY, Purchase. The sound matches the clarity, brilliance, and sensual heft of these three performances. Never flashy. No kitsch. But generous and scintillating, nonetheless.

Check out the whole Robert Craft series of recorded Stravinsky. This disc is just one among a string of finely matched pearls, waiting for the black velvet of your listening room's expectant quiet.

A Return to the Greeks a la Stravinsky.......2006-06-24

This marvelous CD presents three Stravinsky ballets that deal with Greek mythology and span Stravinsky's output from 1927 through 1957 allowing us to hear the manner in which Stravinsky continued to grow with the musical changes of the times (if not invent them!). The conductor is Robert Craft, Stravinsky's longtime colleague and promoter and in these recordings, each made originally on separate sessions, he conducts the London Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Lukes, both ensembles having an affinity for these works.

'Apollon musagete, ballet in 2 scenes for string orchestra' (1927) is probably the finest of his neoclassical period works for orchestra alone. It can be steely cool in other's hands, but here Craft draws an achingly beautiful sound from the London Symphony. It is meditative, serenely poignant and ethereal.
'Agon, ballet for twelve dancers & orchestra' (1957) is one of Stravinsky's twelve tone works that manages to go beyond the usual constrictions of that form to become an unusually melodic work. Craft and the Orchestra of St. Lukes offer a performance that gives all of the sixteen variations individual importance.

'Orpheus, ballet in 3 scenes for orchestra' (1947) concludes the recital with the admixture of both Stravinsky's neoclassicism with his early penchant for seething romantic melody lines. This is the work of the three that will find widest audience appeal for those not yet captivated with the Stravinsky 'cerebral works' and it makes a fine way to complete this exploration into Greek themes so cleverly programmed by the reconstructors of this first class CD. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, June 06

Absolute Caftsmanship.......2005-07-17

Robert Craft was one of Stravinkij's best friends and worked closely with him in several circumstaces over the course of the years until the composer died. Craft was almost like a borther for Stravinsky (he lived with the russian composer's family both in California and later in New York City, and shared with him many ideas and projects which eventually culminated in a artistic relationship. Crafts wrote the libretto for The Flood and became the major biogarpher and Stravinskij's scholar publishing several numbers of books and essays on Starvinsky's ouvres and asethetic.

In this recording Craft is actually the best interpreterof Starvinsky's ballet music. Before I listened to this extraordinary Naxos CD, I thought tha Ansermet went farther than anybody else did --even more than Stravinskij himself. Craft made me change my mind: when you listen to his intepretation of this music, you have the feeling that he is talking to his longstanding friend Igor while conducting his music.

This recording will mark a milestone in revealing the beauty of Stravibnskij's music. Buy it, you won't regret it!

Very good rendition.......2005-07-01

I am so glad to find all three of these ballets on one CD.

The performance is beautiful. I could find nothing wrong with the interpretation, and I can assure you I am quite picky.

Anyway, I highly recommend this CD.

Fine Performances of Three Fine Stravinsky Ballets.......2005-06-10

Whoever had the idea of putting these performances of three of Stravinsky's ballets based on classical Greek themes on the same CD should get a medal. They are plucked and combined from several Koch Classics releases of a few years ago. Naxos seems to be reissuing all of Robert Craft's Stravinsky performances from the Koch label, and that's good. Craft, who has an unwarranted reputation as a dry-as-dust conductor, actually puts quite a bit of juice in these lovely scores. Similar as they may be in thrust, these three scores are really quite different from each other. 'Apollo' (1927-28) is for strings alone and is quintessential neoclassicism. 'Orpheus' (1947), for full orchestra, mixes neoclassicism with old-fashioned lyrical romanticism; indeed it is Stravinsky's first work since 'Firebird' to use the marking 'espressivo.' 'Apollo' and 'Orpheus' are narrative ballets but 'Agon' (1957) is plotless. It is very nearly atonal and varies the orchestration for nearly all the sixteen variations; the full orchestra is never used for any of them. Yet, within a few notes anyone familiar with Stravinsky's sound will immediately identify the composer of any of these works. It's always seemed amazing to me that a twelve-tone work by Stravinsky still sounds like him.

In 'Apollo' (or 'Apollon musagète' as it is called in French) all violence and abrasiveness (as one might expect from the composer of 'The Rite of Spring') are eschewed. Rather the work coolly and lyrically limns the birth and life of Apollo in music that is like some 18th-century court ballet filtered through 19th-century French ballet composers like Adam and Delibes. Delicious. And deliciously performed here by the London Symphony under Craft.

'Orpheus' was commissioned by Lincoln Kirstein for George Balanchine who had suggested the subject. It was originally intended to be coupled with 'Apollo' in performance but in fact that did not happen at its première. Although narrative, it is intensely hieratic and uses neobaroque gestures including canon, other kinds of counterpoint, restless bass lines, ostinati and the like. It is more austere than 'Apollo' but lyrical nonetheless. It, too, is given a lovely, flexible, suave performance by the LSO.

'Agon' (Greek for 'contest') is essentially a dance contest before the gods. Not really quite atonal, but making use of a 12-tone row, it combines Renaissance dances (including a galliard in C major with a canon featuring harp and mandolin), coupled with what Stephen Walsh in Grove's calls 'high-speed stream-of-consciousness chromaticism.' Its première was conducted by Robert Craft, and here, conducting the Orchestra of St. Luke's, he leads a fast-moving performance that occasionally gets a little out of breath, but is energetic and energizing for all that.

There have been other recordings of these works, including those conducted by Stravinsky himself, but these are satisfying and in modern sound.

Recommended.

TT=77:45

Scott Morrison

Average customer rating:

Help Me, I'm Stuck in 1992 (and Loving It)
Everything is catching on fire
funny stuff
They Write Theme Songs Good, Unfortunately, That Doesn't Count For Anything
Oh, Dem Golden Fingertips!!

Apollo 18
They Might Be Giants
Manufacturer: Elektra / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Flood
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ASIN: B000002HA4
Release Date: 1992-03-24

Tracks:

Dig My Grave
I Palindrome I
She's Actual Size
My Evil Twin
Mammal
The Statue Got Me High
Spider
The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)
Dinner Bell
Narrow Your Eyes
Hall Of Heads
Which Describes How You're Feeling
See The Constellation
If I Wasn't Shy
Turn Around
Hypnotist Of Ladies
Fingertips
Untitled
Untitled
Untitled
Untitled
Untitled
Untitled
Untitled
Untitled
Untitled
Untitled
Untitled
Untitled
Untitled
Untitled
Untitled
Untitled
Untitled
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Untitled
Untitled
Space Suit

Amazon.com essential recording

Genuinely clever, profoundly sophomoric -- this NYC duo carry on tweaking pop songcraft in fine Bonzo Dog Doo Dah tradition. "The Statue Got Me High" is the zippy standout; other winners include "Narrow Your Eyes," "Guitar" (a smarmy remake of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight") and the cut-and-paste dementia of the 21-part "Fingertips." --Jeff Bateman

Amazon.com essential recording

Customer Reviews:

Help Me, I'm Stuck in 1992 (and Loving It).......2007-01-16

I recently discovered 4 Non Blondes "Bigger, Faster, Better, More!" from 1992 (check out my review in here for the backstory). Awhile before that I bought "Apollo 18" by They Might Be Giants. Other than the year of release and their being two of my current favorites there's not much in common between 4NB's melange of blues, folks and mostly rock and TMBG's pop absurdist lyrical extravaganza.

TMBG cover some of their usual subjects--science with "Mammal" and "See the Constellation" and language with "I Palindrome I", and they include a clever cover of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" as "Guitar". But the highlight of the CD is Tracks 17-37; called "Fingertips" on the CD cover and lyrics sheet, but actually an amalgamation of 21 song fragments--the ideas for 21 different songs--ranging from about 5 seconds to 20 seconds long. The Johns get a variety of vocal help on these to fit the genre and content of each fragment. Among my favorites (if one can have favorites in the 10-second song category) are "what's that blue thing doing here" and the ultra-dramatic "mysterious whispers". Maybe the montage is a tribute to Paul McCartney's brilliant side two of "Abbey Road". If so, I join in that tribute and add my own to TMGB's terrific "Apollo 18".

This is a 4.5 star rating--5 stars of listening enjoyment with a half point taken off for the mostly goofy content. It's great stuff, but not the overall equal of such true 5 star recordings like Paul Simon's "Graceland" and Van Morrison's "Moondance" (both of which I've reviewed in here).

Everything is catching on fire.......2005-11-16

This cd is beyond belief. Beyond all known things. Beyond imagination of the imaginable imaginative. I have listened, and have found, that time and space are now a mystery to me. You MUST for your own health,safety,and sanity, purchase this beautiful display of words placed in no certain order. On a scale of one to ten, this cd is awesome.

funny stuff.......2005-07-14

The only way to explain this c.d. is that it is like a strange adult version of children sing-a-longs. Pretty catchy with odd lyrics (such as; I walk along darkened cooridoors or turn around, theirs a skull there on the ground)my favorite one being either mammels or turn around.
All and all this is a good c.d. for something completely different, and a good chuckle

They Write Theme Songs Good, Unfortunately, That Doesn't Count For Anything.......2005-06-30

All this is iis a bunch of 1:00 long songs that are all crap. They should have put This Might Be A Wiki or at least Boss of Me on here. But, unfortunately, it's a FLOP! FLOP! FLOP! Useless noise!

LOCAL CRAZY MONKEY

Oh, Dem Golden Fingertips!!.......2005-06-08

My best friend in high school, who actually was a huge John Williams/Weird Al fan (as mentioned in the review of "Flood"...weird!) tried to get me into this in high school, and i didn't quite bite. But 8 years later i found myself thinking about the masterpiece "F I N G E R T I P S ! ! " and had to buy it. I was not let down, amigos! This album is a little disjointed, sort of hit and miss (although even the 'misses' are quite nice), but the sheer weirdness and effort put into Fingertips is worth it. Totally bizarre and wonderful.

And yes, I am over the age of 13.

Apollo 13: Music From The Motion Picture

Average customer rating:

I Wish There Weren't Any Songs
Great score. Where is it?
Captivating the 'Golden Age' of the American Space Experience
I'd like less fluff, but...
One of James Horner's better scores

Apollo 13: Music From The Motion Picture
James Horner
Manufacturer: Mca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000002OW6
Release Date: 1995-06-27

Tracks:

Main Title - James Horner
One Small Step - Walter Cronkite And Neil Armstrong
Night Train - James Brown
Groovin' - The Young Rascals
Somebody To Love - Jefferson Airplane
I Can See For Miles - The Who
Purple Haze - Jimmy Hendrix
Launch Control - Dialogue/Soutdtrack
All Systems Go - Dialogue/Soutdtrack
Welcome To Apollo 13 - Dialogue/Soutdtrack
Spirit In The Sky - Norman Greenbaum
House Cleaning - Dialogue/Soutdtrack
Houston, We Have A Problem - Dialogue/Soutdtrack
Master Alarm - Dialogue/Soutdtrack
Into The Lem - Dialogue/Soutdtrack
Out Of Time - Dialogue/Soutdtrack
Darkside Of The Moon - James Horner
Failure Is Not An Optinon - Dialogue/Soutdtrack
Honky Tonkin' - Hank Williams
Blue Moon - The Mavericks
Waiting For Disaster - Dialogue/Soutdtrack
Re-Entry And Splashdown - James Horner
End Titles - James Horner

Customer Reviews:

I Wish There Weren't Any Songs.......2006-11-20

"Apollo 13" marks James Horner's return to scoring evocative, adventure, epic music in a long time. The main title presents the evocative part as Tim Morrison (from Boston Pops fame) plays the trumpet in a very solemn way. The adventure part is best represented in the tracks 'Launch Control' and 'All System Go/The Launch', showcasing Apollo 13's lift off. I mean I was so happy to hear Horner back in the adventure arena. Then there is spectacular action in the two-minute track 'Master Alarm'. Then there are the quiet moments, the best being 'The Darkside Of The Moon', where Annie Lennox is heard wailing or singing -I don't know, but it's beautiful nonetheless. The album closes with Annie Lennox singing the adventure theme in the first quarter of the end credits, a track that compiles the three major themes of this fine Horner score.
But why am I giving three stars to this album? Call me a film score freak, but I have always loved soundtrack albums with orchestral score only; unless there are songs written by the composer hired for the movie -in this case, James Horner. However, there are songs which were popular at that time; I may not have a problem with that as long as I listen to them in the film, but together with Horner's music in the album...Well, that I don't like. Plus there are dialog and sound effect excerpts from the movie, and that makes the listening experience kinda hard to digest. Really.
I would have wished an only-James-Horner-score album, but I'm sure that, because of merchandising reasons, that could not have been possible. So I have no choice but to stick with this album...for the time being.

Great score. Where is it?.......2006-07-19

The powers that be should have released an "orchestral score only" Apollo 13 soundtrack, as was done for (for example) _L. A. Confidential_. As it is, James Horner's beautiful, inspiring, and amazing work is obscured by intercutting with dialog and period pop tunes. As a matter of fact an "orchestral score only" CD was actually compiled and pressed, but distributed to Motion Picture Academy members only for award consideration; it sometimes turns up on ebay. It can be identified by its all black-and-white insert photo. Or, the orchestral score (as released on that CD) plays behind the title menus on the movie DVD.

Captivating the 'Golden Age' of the American Space Experience.......2005-07-20

This compact disc will stir the hearts and minds of all patriotic Americans who deeply love their country. As part of our colorful history and the 'Golden Age' of space travel done by NASA, this c.d. instantly captures the suspense and the triumph of modern technology overcoming the dangers of space exploration. If you liked other John Williams musical scores such as E.T., Saving Private Ryan, Jurassic Park, and Star Wars, then you will love this soundtrack as well.

I'd like less fluff, but..........2005-05-28

This is a good, if not great, rendition of the music for "Apollo 13". Problem: soundtracks which seem to cut against the mood established by Horner's original music. Truth is, when I hear this one, I frequently avoid everything but Horner's original compositions and the movie dialogs. THEN you can feel as if you were watching the movie. Two more things: 1)the female vocalist adds an almost dreamlike mood to the score; 2)the main title, which is excellent, draws and expands upon Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man". Listen to it and be make your own conclusions.

One of James Horner's better scores.......2005-05-12

Apollo 13 is one of James Horner's better scores, and it's pre-Titanic, so Apollo 13 is actually pretty original. The score is moving and patriotic and totally enthralling. Unfortunately, the score is constantly interrupted by dialogue from the movie and songs from the 60's. As a person born in 1980, these songs have no relevence to me, and I program my cd player to skip the because they detract from my enjoyment of the cd. Overall, I rate Apollo 13 very high as a score, but I gave it 4 stars because of the annoying songs.

Average customer rating:

APOLLO 100
Been looking for this for years!
High energy & good karma
anything instrumental
A Blast from the Past

Joy: Best of Apollo 100
Apollo 100
Manufacturer: Repertoire
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Rock Instrumental Classics, Vol. 3: The Seventies
Popcorn
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ASIN: B0007SMERC
Release Date: 2005-03-14

Tracks:

Mendelssohn's 4th
Hall of the Mountain King
Danse Macabre
Joy
Reach for the Sky
Air on a 'G' String
Libido
Tamara
Exercise in 'A' Minor
Classical Wind
Beethoven 9
Telstar
Nut Rocker
Listening to Mozart
William Tell
Amazing Grace
Custer's Last Stand
Valleys
Besame Mucho
I Will Return
Matthew and Son
Orange Blossom Special
On the Rebound
Lady Madonna
Cast Your Fate to the Wind
Walk in the Black Forest
Soul Coaxing
Tapestry
Melody on My Mind
Nabucco

Album Description

An English studio group, Apollo 100 was assembled by arranger Tom Parker and consisted of musicians Clem Cattini formerly of the Tornados, Vic Flick, Z. Jenkins, Jim Lawless and Brian Odgers. Parker, a multi-instrumentalist, had built a career as a session musician when he decided to form Apollo 100 in 1972. This Best of Collection features the Hit's 'Danse Macabre', 'Reach For The Sky' and the group's first single 'Joy'. Repertoire. 2005.

Album Details

Anthology of the Band Enjoyed Enormous Success During the 70s with their Attractive Light Blend of Classical Themes Spiced Up with a Rock and Pop Beat. Their Biggest Hit was an Electrified "Joy".

Customer Reviews:

APOLLO 100.......2007-02-16

I originally purchased the LP version of this record way back when. With the coming of CD's I wanted to upgrade this record to cd but could not find it anywhere. With the help of some computer literate people we found it on Amazon.com. I am thrlled to add this to my collection. I will definitely use Amazon.com when looking to upgrade future records. The CD has every song on the LP with the addition of several more which I have been looking for. A real treat to find them all in the same place. As this was a Christmas present from James to me, his father Al, I must say it has been a pleasure dealing with you.

Been looking for this for years!.......2006-05-21

I have been searching for this music for years. Was so thrilled when I finally found it, and since getting the CD, have listened to it over and over. I love it! This is for anyone who loves instrumental music. It's both a lot of fun to listen to as well as sentimental. I may even need to get a second copy!

High energy & good karma.......2006-04-25

I remember buying the original Apollo 100 album in the early 70s, thinking that 'Joy' was worth having the album by itself.

It turned out the entire album was incredibly well crafted and all the instrumentals were breathtaking. So, I'm very glad to be able to get the original tracks and more from Amazon.

I have to admit that watching 'The 40 Year Old Virgin' had something to do with my looking for this item. It was well placed in the movie and is such a great source of inspiration.

Get it before it becomes obscure and OOP...

anything instrumental.......2006-03-26

it is fantastic!! when i saw it was an import, i was a bit apprehinsive, but then when i got it i was relieved to see it was manufactured in germany, because in my opinion the germans are the best engineers in the world, after liveing there for 2 years. i did have a bit of a problem ordering it & the other one i ordered at the same time "rock instrumental classics" {volume 3 the seventies}. i noticed one came from californis , & the other from illinois.. the problem was in changing my payment method, as i have 3 accounts, & my credit card is a debit card, & there was not sufficient funds there to cover the transaction. & i made several attempts to change from the previous order, & for some reason i was unable to, & as a result i was charged a $34 overdraft charge, & i thought " JOY BEST OF APPOLLO 100"
WAS A BIT EXPENSIVE AT $25.. THANKS GAREY D. HAYES P.S. THE CARD YOU USED IS ALRIGHT NOW, & IT WILL BE THE ONE I WILL BE USING IN THE FUTURE GAREY

A Blast from the Past.......2006-01-29

This is a charming set of music from a powerfully influential but not overly well known group from the early 1970s. There is real musicianship here by taking classics from the masters and putting them to a pop/rock format. I searched for and purchased this Apollo 100 CD because I heard a segment of their pop version of Ode to Joy (Beethoven)in the movie "The 40 Year Old Virgin". It's good music, has a bouncy happy feelings, has tracks that you don't mind blasting in your enclosed car, and transports you back to a time of musical experimentaion. And by the way, I wouldn't be surprised if Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) didn't get some of their ideas from this influential group. Go out and get this CD; you'll be glad you did.

Average customer rating:

Musique de la Grece Antique: Sherri's Opinion
Beauty can survive destructive time
Interesting.
A collector's item for any music lover
Unique Find

Musique de la Grece Antique

Manufacturer: Harmonia Mundi Fr.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Melpomen: Ancient Greek Music
Music of the Ancient Greeks
Ancient Egypt
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ASIN: B00004TVG7
Release Date: 2000-10-10

Tracks:

Anakrousis
Orestas Stasimo
Premier Hymne Delphique A Apollon
Plainte De Tecmessa
Papyrus Wien 29825/G 13763/1494
Hymne Au Soleil
Hymne A La Muse
Hymne A Nemesis
Papyrus Michigan
Aenaoi Nefalai
Epitaphe De Seikilos
Pean. Papyrus Berlin 6870
Kolon Exasimon/Allos Exasimon/Tetrasimos/Allos Exasimos/Dodekasimos/Allos Dodekasimos...
Premiere Ode Pythique
Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 2436
Hymne Chretienne D'Oxyrhynchus
Homero Hymnus
Papyrus Zenon. Cairo Fragment
Terencio. Hecyra 861
Poem. Mor 1, 11f. Migne 37, 523
Second Hymne Delphique A Apollon
Papyrus Oslo A/B. Epilogos-Katastrophe

Customer Reviews:

Musique de la Grece Antique: Sherri's Opinion.......2007-04-11

This music is almost like hearing ghosts. In a way the listener does hear ghosts, for the music has been saved from oblivion, and experts do not know everything about it. As much as possible, traditional instruments have been reconstructed based on pictures found on documents like vases and paintings. Sometimes you hear only a little fragment of something, about a minute. It's intriguing to think about who may have sung/played this music. The notes explain some of the technical details; musicologists will find that interesting. Because I know little about music, I wish for better notes about other things. For example, I would like more information in English about provenance, titles, and lyrics--as far as they are known. I wanted to know the words I heard sung. Other than the shortage of helpful notes, this is very interesting music.

Beauty can survive destructive time.......2006-04-27

The first remark concerns the instruments of this music, instruments that have been reconstituted on the model of the ancient ones. We will consider them as germanely faithful, and they create sounds, a sound environment or ambience that is particularly original. The second remark is that this music is based on the pythagorian five-note scale that corresponds to the first five degrees of our modern major scale. Then a second group of these five degrees and intervals are added to the first five in a second identical group constituting a ten-note scale that will be the basis of all western music up to the Renaissance, and thus the basis of all Christian sacred music of the Middle Ages, a music known as gregorian. So, in this surprising sound ambience we also recognize some elements we have already heard and enjoyed in our heritage. Just take track # 3, ? Premier hymne delphique ? Apollon ?. Some of the chords are so close to gregorian music, and yet the instruments are so different, that we may think we are at the crossroads between some extraterrestrial music and gregorian chanting. In fact we are here at the very source of gregorian music that was to borrow everything from ancient Greek music. And then put this track # 3 in parallel with track # 16, ? Hymne chr?tienne (sic) d'Oxyrhynchus ? and you will hear the direct filiation. Track # 8 will provide you with the model of the traditional musics we find in the mountainous areas of the Mediterranean, Sicilia, Sardinia, Corsicca and Provence, among others, the music of shepherds and fishermen when coming back to land, a music that will become religious and christian later on and that still exists, mainly in the form of a polyphony. But the worst part - and also the best in a way - is that we only have fragments, tidbits, and that it is the concrete realization of the tremendous waste history has willed us and yet also the concrete evidence that history is never able to destroy something completely and that we have the means to reconstruct what has been destroyed with a specific procedure of genetic musical archaeology. To conclude we must take into account this recording is from 1978, i.e. a long time ago. To get a more complete vision we have to look for more recent recordings.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, Universit? Paris Dauphine, Universit? Paris I Panth?on Sorbonne

Interesting........2003-12-29

I was expecting something a little more vigorous. But it is still fun. In a sober way.

A collector's item for any music lover.......2003-12-26

Pretty much everything that I can think of to say about this CD has already been said here.

I agree that it is a bit weird. I don't listen to it very often either.

But having said that my tastes in music are not so much driven by intellect, so it doesn't bother me that liner notes might not be as complete as they could be.

I bought this CD in Japan back in the mid-1980's when compact discs were still an upcoming trend and LP's dominated. It's believable but still somehow amazing that I paid the equivalent of more than thirty U.S. bucks for what is now practically a steal.

I also am wondering why the quality of this old disc is deterioriating. Yes! There are scratchy sounds abounding where studied silence was once 'heard.' Consequently, I listen even less than I would otherwise. (I had considered putting it on an MD with the soundtrack to 'Gladiator' and then listening to both on the 'shuffle' mode.)

Unique Find.......2002-09-11

I loved this cd. It has a professional feel to the music. It evokes images from the period that are distinct, useful, and complimentary to examination of the time. There seems to have been a real effort at authentication of the sounds of the era without over stepping the claims of its ultimate veracity. I was delighted and surprised at its very existence.

Tracks:

Introduction To The James Brown Show - MC Frankie Crocker
Think - James Brown/Marva Whitney
I Wanna Be Around
James Brown (Thanks)
That's Life
Kansas City
Sweet Soul Music - Bobby Byrd
It's A Man's Man's World
Caravan - James Brown/The James Brown Band

Tracks:

Introduction To 'Star Time' - Frankie Crocker/Sad Sam
Money Won't Change You/Out Of Sight
Bring It Up
Try Me
Let Yourself Go
There Was A Time
I Feel All Right
Cold Sweat
Prisoner Of Love
My Girl (Instrumental Interlude)
Maybe The Last Time
I Got You (I Feel Good)
Please, Please, Please
Bring It Up (Finale)

Amazon.com

Thanks to the paradigm-shifting success of his first Live at the Apollo LP from 1963, James Brown and the famed Harlem theater were all but synonymous in the '60s. By the time Brown recorded there again in early summer of 1967, his music had undergone tremendous changes, as revolutionary for R&B as John Coltrane's sheets-of-sound approach was for jazz. This second Live at the Apollo caught Brown giving full stick to both his classic soul-ballad style and the funk his band was developing practically in front of the crowds' ears. Even better than previous issues is this terrifically remastered version. It adds nearly 25 minutes of previously edited tape, most significantly the pivotal "Let Yourself Go"/"There Was a Time"/"I Feel All Right" funk workout and an "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" that extends to a third of an hour here. The revisions add to the you-are-there feel of one of Brown's must-own albums, as do photos and credits that acknowledge everyone from stellar players like Maceo Parker and Clyde Stubblefield to the troupe's hairdresser and Learjet pilot. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews:

Dissapointed.......2006-11-06

One of the main reasons I purchased this CD was because of the song "Money Won't Change You." This song is listed as #2 on Disc Two and it is not there! I checked all of the songs on this 2 Disc CD and "Money Won't Change You" is no where to be found. I would appreciate some feedback and an exchange on this CD as it is not what I expected nor paid my hard earned money for.

JAMES and the FLAMES.....PURE DYNAMITE !!.......2006-10-13

THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST LIVE ALBUMS EVER RECORDED...dynamic and powerful...It was surpassed only by LIVE AT THE APOLLO, VOLUME ONE That is quite an accomplishment for any group ..yes- but for an R&B group...unprecedented ! And yes, JAMES BROWN AND THE FAMOUS FLAMES are,or at least WERE..a VOCAL GROUP ! There's been a great deal of CONTROVERSY and CONFUSION over the last 40 years as to just who the FAMOUS FLAMES were.Were they a BAND?...or were they a VOCAL GROUP ? Many writers and music historians still DONT KNOW .. To this day they still mistakenly write in article after article that the FLAMES were a BAND..that FRED WESLEY, MACEO PARKER , SINCLAIR PINKNEY..AND OTHER BAND MEMBERS were the FAMOUS FLAMES...WRONG!! IT'S TIME TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT RIGHT NOW ...The FAMOUS FLAMES were originally a combination vocal/instrumental group from Georgia fronted by singer /musician BOBBY BYRD...who actually was the man who discovered JAMES BROWN..while he was still in a Georgia Juvenile Detention Facility..BOBBY's family sponsored his release and James and his FORMER cellmate/friend JOHNNY TERRY joined Bobby's group..this was the group,(the original FLAMES), that originally recorded PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE and several other songs over a two year period in the mid '50's..but that group broke up...around '58 James RE-FORMED THE FLAMES ..this time as a straight VOCAL GROUP ....BACKED by the old JC DAVIS outfit...which became the first incarnation of what would become the JAMES BROWN BAND...But the FLAMES were always a SEPARATE ENTITY from the band ...THEY WERE A SINGING GROUP.After several members came and went over a period of 2-3 years,Original members BOBBY BYRD and JOHNNY TERRY rejoined the group...and new members BOBBY BENNETT and the late LLOYD STALLWORTH were added..TERRY (who was the co writer of PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE along with JAMES} eventually left the group ...and the remaining members- BYRD, STALLWORTH, AND BENNETT became the best known and remembered FAMOUS FLAMES lineup...this is the group on this album and that was featured in two Hollywood motion pictures: SKI PARTY (part of the famed "BEACH PARTY" series of movies featuring FRANKIE AVALON}and the 1964 concert film "THE TAMI SHOW " where they and JAMES stole the show from THE ROLLING STONES ,THE SUPREMES , and everyone else.THE FLAMES also appeared with James on the ED SULLIVAN SHOW TWICE ,dressed differently than the band, and ,sadly,uncredited.JAMES has made it clear in his autobiography and even on the DAVID LETTERMAN show that "the FAMOUS FLAMES are not a band - they're a SINGING GROUP " ...yet many writers and music historians still DONT GET THE MESSAGE.This confusion has persisted to this day... and has cost the FLAMES a possible spot in the ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME along with JAMES.,which they so richly deserve. THE FAMOUS FLAMES are one of the great UNSUNG GROUPS in rock & r&b history .Though they sang with JAMES on such big million selling hits as PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, TRY ME,I'LL GO CRAZY, OH BABY,DON'T YOU WEEP, THINK, BEWILDERED,and others, Their faces never graced a single album cover, and most fans today don't remember that they even existed !! Everyone today only talks about JAMES AND THE BAND. They deserved much better.THE FLAMES were a POWERFUL SINGING GROUP, WITH TIGHT HARMONIES , AND DANCE STEPS THAT WOULD PUT EVEN THE HIGHLY TOUTED TEMPTATIONS TO SHAME !! DON'T BELIEVE IT ? ASK ANYONE WHO'S SEEN THEM WITH JAMES AT THE APOLLO !! In 1964, THE FLAMES stopped recording with JAMES in the studio...but they continued performing on stage with him for another 4-5 years... and their name still appeared on the records ,so most thought people thought the name applied to the band. Although THE FLAMES played an important ,CO STARRING ROLE with JAMES on the the 1st two live albums , LIVE AT THE APOLLO (VOL 1 ) AND PURE DYNAMITE:LIVE AT THE ROYAL, by the time this album appeared ,they were relegated to THIRD BANANA STATUS behind JAMES and the band.On the original album release , KING RECORDS even went so far as to cut their name from the show's original introduction !! At least now , on the EXPANDED CD RELEASE, THE FAMOUS FLAMES' name has been rightfully restored to it's proper place. Hopefully ,one day, THE FLAMES THEMSELVES, BOBBY BYRD, BOBBY BENNETT, LLOYD STALLWORTH, AND JOHNNY TERRY, will be restored to THEIR rightful place in music history.

Should have left well-enough alone.......2005-10-13

Get the original version of this album, rather than the remastered version. The first is tight and powerful; the second adds a bloated, interminable version of "It's a Man's Man's World" and some tepid instrumentals for his back-up dancers. If you buy the remastered version, you'll be hitting the skip button more often than you should on a live James Brown album.

Excellent.......2005-04-20

If you were to get one live album in your life, make it this one. It just blows volume I out of the water.

Highlights include "It's a Man's World", "Sweet Soul Music", "Kansas City", "Let Yourself Go", "Bring It Up", "I Feel All Right", "Cold Sweat", "Prisoner of Love" (except the orchestra and the backup vocals), and the Best Song Ever, "There Was a Time".

However, there are a couple overly-orchestrated tunes, such as "I Wanna Be Around". Don't ask me why. But you should still just get the album. Every song is at least listenable, and there are many gems.

A Funk Is Born.......2005-01-16

James Brown has made four albums at Harlem's Apollo, the first in 1963 introducing the James Brown Show to a whole new audience and staying in the top selling lists for well over a year. By the time of this second album, selected mainly from the second of two shows recorded during a record-breaking 10-day run in June 1967, he had played there a further 200 times and claimed to know the stage so well he would recognize it blindfold from the sound of the fans in the balcony.
The concerts caught the James Brown Band at an important transitional phase. The previous month Pee Wee Ellis had taken as over musical director and with Maceo Parker recently restored to the line-up on tenor sax the music had taken a new, more funky direction (at a time when funk didn't exist), as demonstrated on the first groundbreaking piece they had recorded together that same month, Cold Sweat. James Brown did not waste the opportunity to bring his audience up to date with his sound, performing new titles such as Cold Sweat and Let Yourself Go, the current single.
However, less than two minutes into the latter song the Band go into an extended locked groove jam called There Was A Time, with both Clyde Stubblefield and Jabo Starks whacking out the tempo on twin drum kits, plus bongos by Ronald Selicoe, and this soon developed a life of its own when an edit of the performance appeared as the B-side of the next single, I Can't Stand Myself (When You Touch Me). It did better in the R&B charts than the A-side, reaching number 3, and boosted sales of this legendary live album. The liner notes claim that this track "may well be the single most riveting Brown performance on record."
However, James Brown was off to Las Vegas the following month and also had an eye for the mainstream, so as well there are violin-filled renditions of standards like That's Life and I Wanna Be Around, which owes as much to Tony Bennett as it does to Dinah Washington.
This two CD set reconstructs the original set-list as far as is possible, restoring material edited from the original 1968 double-album because of running-time constraints, including in their entirety Sweet Soul Music from Bobby Byrd's set and the James Brown Band's revival of Duke Ellington's Caravan, and edits removed from longer pieces such as It's A Man's Man's Man's World, There Was A Time, I Feel All Right and Cold Sweat, with its Maceo Parker sax solos, all taken from the four-track remote recording master tape

Average customer rating:

GREAT!
A relaxing journey into our Colonial past
Fantastic!
Cold Mountain type music that's great

Colonial America

Manufacturer: Maggie's Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Irish Folk | Traditional British & Celtic Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | International | Styles | Music

General | Celtic | International | Styles | Music

General | International | Indie Music | Stores | Music

International Folk | International | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Early American Roots
The World Turned Upside Down
Music of the American Revolution: The Birth of Liberty
Celtic Roots
The Spirit of '76 and Ruffles and Flourishes

ASIN: B0000C9Z9X
Release Date: 2003-09-01

Tracks:

Rickett's Hornpipe/ Fishers Hornpipe
Maiden Lane/ Jack O' Lent/ Chestnut/Bonny Broom
Parting Friends/Primrose
Flowers of Edinburgh/East Neuke of Fife
Prelude / La Catherine
Planxty Browne/Planxty Burke
Cutie Clat Her
John Come Kiss me Now
Scots Tune
Carolan's Farewell to Music
A Port
Yeil, yeil
Kedron/Saint's Delight/Promised Land
Gird the Logie
La Belle Cavalier
La Luxillier/La Balanje
Federal Overture
Death & Life

Album Description

Spirited new sounds from across the sea to the shores of the New Land. From the first colonists to the American Revolution and the birth of our republic Hesperus Early Music Ensemble's music reflects a time of new ideas, freedom and vitality. In town and village, parlor and ballroom, from the Appalachians to the great concert halls hear the musical pulse of early American music performed on a wide variety of folk and early music instruments. Includes: lively country-dance tunes, evocative Shape Note Hymns, old time Appalachian fiddle tunes, graceful European parlor music, French cotillions, divisions and improvisations. Introduction -The English Colonies in America were a patchwork-not just of territories whose boundaries became state lines, but of people from different places and classes with widely different values and experiences. This recording presents music from that patchwork; from England, the Colonial homeland; Scotland and Ireland, the homes of the largest groups of immigrants outside England; and France, the ally of the Patriots, and music written in the United States. More recordings by HESPERUS from Maggie's Music are Celtic Roots featuring Scottish fiddler, Bonnie Rideout and Early American Roots. Hesperus Ensemble is THE sought after musical group for period music that is both authentic, and most important fun, lively and spirited. They are frequent performers at the Smithsonian's Institute of American Music and can be heard on the soundtrack or the Paramount film with Johnny Depp entitled Sleepy Hollow! Excerpts from liner notes:2.A Set of English Country Dance Tunes: Maiden Lane, Jack O'Lent, Chestnut, Bonny Broom - The visionary London music publisher John Playford first published his English Dancing Master in 1651. It was reprinted 18 times over the next 77 years and is still popular today. 3. Parting Friends/Primrose - These tunes have come down to us in choral arrangements called shape-note hymns .

Customer Reviews:

GREAT!.......2007-05-20

This cd travels everywhere with me and you can easily imagine a ball at Monticello given by Mr. Jefferson when you hear it.
Try not to daydream too much while driving as i had done several times..lol..it's hard not to with this cd..:)
Perfect for a colonial reenactment or party.

A relaxing journey into our Colonial past.......2006-03-16

I bought this CD to provide me with another dimension to my studies of period events. It truly contains a wealth of music, and takes it place as an important addition to my musical library. Living in the Mt Vernon area, I often travel with the CD playing while visiting historical places, and it provides a wonderful companion to "set the mood" for the myriad locations in the area. The quality of the sound is remarkable, the musicians superb, and the breadth of song selection provides a musical landscape for the period. Highly recommended!!

Fantastic!.......2004-03-04

I first heard the "Colonial America" CD by Hesperus when I visited Monticello recently (the home of Thomas Jefferson) where they were playing the songs in the gift shop. Imagine my dismay to find that only one cassette tape was left of the fabulous music of Hesperus; however, that tape held me spell-bound all the way home, from Virginia to North Carolina.

It was an incredible journey from the past that has stayed with me since, and every day I drive that one hour back and forth to work. This music has changed everything about the trips, and I can't wait for more.

Thanks to Amazon.com I was able to buy all three CD's, including "Early American Roots," "Colonial America" and the incredible "Celtic Roots" with the most beautiful violas imaginable.

Thank you Hesperus! Please play more!

Cold Mountain type music that's great.......2003-11-15

Novels and movies like Cold Mountain, Oh Brother Where Art Thou? and Song Catchers are showing the growing interest in traditional music and this recording hits the mark. It is music from the days of early America--the time when the first colonists come to America. You can hear the fiddle playing tunes still popular in the Appalachian mountains today and also hear shape note music arranged by Hesperus as wonderful instrumentals. The music takes you to a time when folks were making music in their homes-before TV, before the internet! This recording is good for teachers or educational purposes too- with informative liner notes. All the music is played on folk and early music instruments and it's lively and an enjoyable listen.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

Remission EP [EP]

The Best of Tchaikovsky, Vol. 2

The Real Folk Blues/More Real Folk Blues [Original recording remastered]

Orange

Out of the Fire: Live on the BBC 1973 & 1978 [Live]

Thank You [Import]

Sophisticated Lady [Import]

Symphonic Poems

Spiritual Songs And Dances Of The Native Americans

The Procrastinator

The Woods [Limited Edition]

Sangre Nueva

Solo Para Adultos [Explicit Lyrics]

Heaven & Earth

Complete Recordings 2

1. Arioso, Bach
2. Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Tartini
3. Song of the Birds, Casals
4. Serenade, Schubert
5. The Little White Donkey, Ibert
6. The Swan, Saint-Saens
7. Moses Fantasy Variations, Paganini
8. O Mio Babbino Caro (from Gianni Schicchi), Puccini
9. Addio del Passato (from La Traviata), Verdi
10. Una Furtiva Lagrima (from L'Elisor D'Amore), Donizetti
11. Speak Softly Love (from The Godfather), Rota
12. Torna a Surriento, De Curtis
13. Danny Boy
14. Meditation (from Thais), Massenet
15. Amazing Grace