Too Late

1. Angel Baby Love

2. What Am I Living For

3. One Night

4. No Sweeter Flower

5. Men of the Fields

6. Bring Me Morning

7. Elvis is Watching You

8. Nothing Matters but You

9. Too Late

10. Even a Gray Day

11. All is Well

12. Lullabies

Product Description

Product Description:
Unblushing love songs in colloquial dress sport high gloss lyrics while well groomed harmony goes steady with hair down instrumental romps.

Tracks:

Wish I Could
Sinkin' Soon
The Sun Doesn't Like You
Until The End
Not My Friend
Thinking About You
Broken
My Dear Country
Wake Me Up
Be My Somebody
Little Room
Rosie's Lullaby
Not Too Late

Amazon.com

Although the music of Norah Jones continues to blend pop, soul, folk, and country with a seasoning of jazz, her third album for Blue Note is the first where she's written (or collaborated on) all the material. Beneath the smooth surface lie darker strains on the album-opening "Wish I Could" (about a boyfriend lost to war), intimations of mortality in "The Sun Doesn't Like You," and the post-election horrors of "My Dear Country." The last seems to channel the inspiration of Brecht/Weill, while the equally bleak "Sinkin' Soon" is set to a jaunty Dixieland rag. Throughout, Jones's vocal intimacy and melodic warmth remain as disarmingly understated as ever. The soulful "Thinking of You," the countryish "Wake Me Up," and the syncopated "Be My Somebody" reflect the captivating style of her previous work. Although too much in the same midtempo mode becomes a dreamy lull, cut by cut, Jones's voice is irresistible. --Don McLeese

From Blue Note

Album Details

1. "Wish I Could" (Norah Jones-Lee Alexander): Norah Jones: vocals; Jesse Harris: acoustic guitars; Julia Kent: pizzicato cello; Jeffery Ziegler: bowed cello

2. "Sinkin' Soon" (Lee Alexander-Norah Jones): Norah Jones: vocals, piano; Daru Oda: vocals; M. Ward: vocals; Jesse Harris: guitjo; Kevin Breit: mandolin; J. Walter Hawkes: trombone; Lee Alexander: bass; Andy Borger: drums, slit drum, pots and pans

3. "The Sun Doesn't Like You" (Norah Jones-Lee Alexander): Norah Jones: vocals, piano; Jesse Harris: acoustic guitar; Adam Levy: electric guitar; Lee Alexander: bass; Andy Borger: drums; Paul Bryan: Chamberlain keyboards

4. "Until The End" (Norah Jones-Lee Alexander): Norah Jones: vocals, Wurlitzer, piano; Jesse Harris: acoustic guitar; Adam Levy: electric guitar; Lee Alexander: bass; Andy Borger: drums; Larry Goldings: Hammond B-3 organ

5. "Not My Friend" (Norah Jones): Norah Jones: vocals; Jesse Harris: acoustic guitars; Adam Levy: backwards electric guitars; Lee Alexander: bass; Andy Borger: marimba, cymbals

6. "Thinking About You" (Norah Jones-Ilhan Ersahin): Norah Jones: vocals, Wurlitzer; Chuck Mackinnon: trumpet; Rob Suddith: tenor sax; Lee Alexander: bass; Tony Mason: drums; Devin Greenwood: Hammond B-3 organ

7. "Broken" (Norah Jones-Lee Alexander): Norah Jones: vocals, electric guitar; Julia Kent: outro cellos; Lee Alexander: pizzicato, bowed basses

8. "My Dear Country" (Norah Jones): Norah Jones: vocals, piano; J. Walter Hawkes: trombones; Jose Davilla: tuba; Bill McHenry: tenor sax; Larry Goldings: Hammond B-3 organ

9. "Wake Me Up" (Norah Jones-Lee Alexander): Norah Jones: vocals, acoustic guitars; Lee Alexander: bass, lap steel; Andy Borger: drums

10. "Be My Somebody" (Norah Jones): Norah Jones: vocals, Wurlitzer; Richard Julian: vocals; Tony Scherr: electric guitar; Lee Alexander: bass; Andy Borger: drums; Larry Goldings: Hammond B-3 organ

11. "Little Room" (Norah Jones): Norah Jones: vocals, acoustic guitar; Lee Alexander: bass; Daru Oda: whistle

12. "Rosie's Lullaby" (Norah Jones-Daru Oda): Norah Jones: vocals, Wurlitzer; Daru Oda: vocals; Adam Levy: electric guitar, vocal; Robbie McIntosh: electric guitar; Lee Alexander: bass; Andy Borger: drums

13. "Not Too Late" (Norah Jones-Lee Alexander): Norah Jones: vocals, piano, Mellotron; Lee Alexander: bass; Andy Borger: drums

Produced by Lee Alexander

Norah Jones Photos (by Danny Clinch)

More from Norah Jones

Come Away with Me
Feels Like Home
New York City

Customer Reviews:

LOVE IT!.......2007-07-19

What's not to love about Norah? She once again gives us super music on this cd. Can't think of anything bad to say about it.

The Voice and the Soul.......2007-07-15

Bought this CD after hearing "Wish I Could" on the radio; this is a gorgeous, hauntingly beautiful, moving song.

I too am surprised to see the strongly negative reviews here. Her 3 CDs have sold more than 39 million copies worldwide, so there is clearly a strong fan base somewhere! The added plus on this third CD is that Norah wrote or co-wrote every song, so we are gaining a glimpse into her musical soul as well as hearing the beauty of her voice.

There are some real gems here. "Sinkin' Soon" evokes 1930's jazz with its honky-tonk piano (played by Norah) and its wah-wah trombone. "Until the End" has country roots. "Not My Friend" is a mellow, dreamy, wistful song with dagger-sharp lyrics. "My Dear Country" is a lament about what election day hath wrought. The final title cut, "Not Too late," winds things up on an optimistic note.

It is not surprising that Norah has good musical genes. Her father, Ravi Shankar, brought his sitar to the Beatles and Indian music to a global audience. Norah's seamless blending of country, jazz, blues, pop, and folk brings great talent and aural delight to a new musical generation.

Not as strong as the her first two releases.......2007-07-11

In my opinion, this CD is simply not as strong as her first two CDs. Most of the songs are fine, but forgettable. A couple are just a bit weird-sounding for my taste. Out of her 3 CDs, I preferred "Come Away With Me", although I understand that Ms. Jones feels that her current CD is a truer reflection of her musical style.

Right after I bought this CD, I was privileged enough to see her in concert. She is clearly talented, and has an accomplished band. The concert was wonderful and was over before I knew it. Her performance got rave reviews in the local newspaper the next day.

I look forward to her next release, mostly to see how her artistic style evolves.

Not her best.......2007-07-11

I own all three of her CDs. Come Away with Me is the best IMO. Her passion and talent shine through. Each song was worthy to be on the CD. In Feels Like Home, it seemed she relaxed a bit, had a little more fun, but lost some of the passion, a couple of the songs were not up to what I expected, but passed as entertaining. This third CD is the worst. My impression was that now that she has made a name for herself she can put any track on a CD without much scrutiny. I have listened to it a few times, but it just doesn't do anything exciting for me. A big disappointment.

Insipid and inoffensive, uninspired and uninspiring.......2007-07-08

That's about the highest praise I can muster for this effort. It isn't that it's BAD, but it just never achieves "lift off."

I wish I could wax enthusiastic, but after quite a few listens at this point, I don't think my opinion is likely to change appreciably.

Time for Ms. Jones to find her passion. It isn't evident on this CD.

Average customer rating:

Not Too Late
Norah Jones is superb
Disappointing Trend
Norah In General
No Mere Grammy Guzzler

Not Too Late
Norah Jones
Manufacturer: Blue Note Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Contemporary Blues | Blues | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Adult Contemporary | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Blue Note Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

Box Sets at 30% Off | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

Pop | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

Alternative Rock | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

Jazz | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

All Blowout Music | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

More Titles at Least 25% Off | Blowout Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Norah Jones and The Handsome Band - Live in 2004
Not Too Late
The Little Willies
Feels Like Home (CD+DVD)
Feels Like Home

ASIN: B000KRN07S
Release Date: 2007-01-30

Tracks:

Wish I Could
Sinkin' Soon
The Sun Doesn't Like You
Until The End
Not My Friend
Thinking About You
Broken
My Dear Country
Wake Me Up
Be My Somebody
Little
Rosie's Lullaby
Not Too Late

Amazon.com

Album Details

1. "Wish I Could" (Norah Jones-Lee Alexander): Norah Jones: vocals; Jesse Harris: acoustic guitars; Julia Kent: pizzicato cello; Jeffery Ziegler: bowed cello

5. "Not My Friend" (Norah Jones): Norah Jones: vocals; Jesse Harris: acoustic guitars; Adam Levy: backwards electric guitars; Lee Alexander: bass; Andy Borger: marimba, cymbals

7. "Broken" (Norah Jones-Lee Alexander): Norah Jones: vocals, electric guitar; Julia Kent: outro cellos; Lee Alexander: pizzicato, bowed basses

8. "My Dear Country" (Norah Jones): Norah Jones: vocals, piano; J. Walter Hawkes: trombones; Jose Davilla: tuba; Bill McHenry: tenor sax; Larry Goldings: Hammond B-3 organ

9. "Wake Me Up" (Norah Jones-Lee Alexander): Norah Jones: vocals, acoustic guitars; Lee Alexander: bass, lap steel; Andy Borger: drums

11. "Little Room" (Norah Jones): Norah Jones: vocals, acoustic guitar; Lee Alexander: bass; Daru Oda: whistle

13. "Not Too Late" (Norah Jones-Lee Alexander): Norah Jones: vocals, piano, Mellotron; Lee Alexander: bass; Andy Borger: drums

Produced by Lee Alexander

Deluxe DVD content includes:

1. "Thinking About You" (Music Video)

2. "Until The End" (Music Video)

3. "Sinkin' Soon" (Music Video)

4. Interview with Norah

5. "Thinking About You" (behind the scenes at the video shoot)

6. "Sinkin' Soon" (behind the scenes at the video shoot)

PLUS two live bonus tracks from Rehearsals.com filmed in Burbank, CA, in November 2006.

Norah Jones Photos (by Danny Clinch)

More from Norah Jones

Come Away with Me
Feels Like Home
The Little Willies

Customer Reviews:

Not Too Late.......2007-05-13

The product is what I expected. It arrived on time and in the condition advertised.

Norah Jones is superb.......2007-05-06

I bought this CD / DVD right before attending her show here in Boston. It is a great CD. I haven't watched he DVD yet.

Disappointing Trend.......2007-03-23

I loved Norah's first album, her second was good, but not as good, the third had me wondering and this last album is a real disappointment. I think Norah believes she has to have dark and somber themes in order to be considered a serious artist, but her strength lies in her soothing, comforting, sensuous, "wrap me in a warm blanket" voice, which is largely absent from this work.

Norah In General.......2007-03-17

This album is another solid performance from one of my favorites.
I have listened to it many many times and I like it better as listen to it more. Once again we have the voice and the piano. There are a few new moves she shows us but nothing heart stopping.
At the end of the day I don't think most of us care what she sings frankly, her voice is addicting and is like a drug to us. Oh you say you wish she would sing something different and stretch her talent and grow and yada yada but most of us would listen to her no matter what she sings because you become so addicted to the voice and sound that it doesn't really matter if she is singing an old country song like Cold Cold Heart, an early rockabilly like Love Me (from the Little Willies) a Bob Dylan number or somthing of her own composition. In the end it is just the soothing that we want and that is what she does. Her music is sometimes interesting, sometimes a little boring but always soothing. Even if she is talking about a broken heart and lost love she is making us feel like with her voice to hang on to we can make it.
So I love her and listen to whatever she puts out. I am not enough of a music expert to judge her artistically, I like what I like and if it sounds good to me I say it is good. Norah..you are as good as it gets.

No Mere Grammy Guzzler.......2007-03-13

Like her 2004 sophomore effort, "Feels Like Home," Norah Jones' latest maintains the sound that brought her national acclaim while still furthering her artistic endeavors.

"Not Too Late" proves she is not given to relying on a cash- cow formula; she not only continues to add inflections of country like last time around, but she eschews the American songbook in favor of a uniformly original array of songs -- all of which she co-wrote. This aids the record's warm, intimate atmosphere, which glimmers and glows despite the absence of the late legendary producer, Arif Mardin.

The slinky blues of "Thinking About You" is the ideal lead single. With its plaintive melody, organic jazz horns and restrained yet expressive vocals, it is musical chocolate cake. "Sinkin' Soon," meanwhile, is the most perplexing track. With its curious lyrics ("Like the oyster crack in the stew/The honey in the tea/Like the wheel of cheese high in the sky/We're gonna be sinkin' soon), the song sways and jerks with Jesse Harris (writer of her monster hit "Don't Know Why") on banjo and drummer Andy Borger working pots and pans. It continues the theme of fame's fickle nature that began with "Carnival Town" on her last LP.

In spite of her popularity with white collar right-wingers, Jones is not afraid to infuse her music with passionate liberal beliefs. With its lush, nervous mix of pianos and guitars, "Wish I Could" is the story of a lonely war widow and even lonelier other woman ("She says love in the time of war's not fair/He was my man but they didn't care/I don't tell her that I once loved you too"), while "Broken" finds a soldier irrevocably hardened by war ("He's got blood on his shoes and mud on his brim/Did he do it to himself or was it done to him?").

"My Dear Country," with a cabaretlike interlude, waxes on a terrifying election and a "deranged" politician without naming names:

"I cherish you my dear country/I love all the things that you've given me/And most of all that I am free/To have a song that I can sing/On election day."

The soothing "Wake Me Up" appropriately follows with its resigned, world-weary attitude, bringing in sounds of the heartland that continue in "Rosie's Lullaby" and the fun-loving "Be My Somebody," the latter marked by cheeky lyrics: "Last night was a record to be broken/It broke all over the kitchen floor."

"Little Room" attempts to shed her fuddy-duddy image with sexual undertones, while "Not My Friend" finds her safe in her own company -- not content to maintain a relationship with someone who wishes her unhappiness.

"The Sun Doesn't Like You" and "Until the End" are full of grace and character, and "Not Too Late" closes the disc with spare piano/vocal simplicity. Its optimistic message provides a perfect conclusion and its overwhelmingly pristine melody makes it an instant classic.

If "Come Away With Me" was rich, delicious comfort food, "Not Too Late" is more complex and sophisticated. Making artistic leaps and bounds, Jones proves that she is not a Grammy guzzler laughing all the way to the bank -- she is an artist's artist.

This limited-edition version contains a DVD jam-packed with goodies, most notably the eye-popping video for "Sinkin' Soon," while iTunes has an exclusive alternate version of the aforementioned track available.

Kiss Me, Kate (1948 Original Broadway Cast)

Average customer rating:

The best and maybe the last CD of this great musical.
Beautiful remastering of historic original cast recording
the peerless original cast
Who Put The Shake In Shakespeare?
TIMELESS BROADWAY SHOW

Kiss Me, Kate (1948 Original Broadway Cast)
Cole Porter , Alfred Drake , and Patricia Morison
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

Classic Musicals | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

Musicals | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Kismet (1953 Original Broadway Cast)
South Pacific (Original 1949 Broadway Cast)
My Fair Lady (1956 Original Broadway Cast)
Guys & Dolls: A Decca Broadway Original Cast Recording (1950 Original Broadway Cast)
Gypsy - A Musical Fable (1959 Original Broadway Cast)

ASIN: B000007OHT
Release Date: 1998-06-02

Tracks:

Act I: Overture
Act I: Another Op'nin', Another Show
Act I: Why Can't You Behave?
Act I: Wunderbar
Act I: So In Love
Act I: We Open In Venice
Act I: Tom, Dick Or Harry
Act I: I've Come To Wive It Wealthily In Padua
Act I: I Hate Men
Act I: Were Thine That Special Face
Act II: Too Darn Hot
Act II: Where Is The Life That Late I Led?
Act II: Always True To You (In My Fashion)
Act II: Bianca
Act II: So In Love (Reprise)
Act II: Brush Up Your Shakespeare
Act II: I Am Ashamed That Women Are So Simple
Act II: Finale: Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate Overture

Amazon.com

Opening at the tail end of 1948, Kiss Me, Kate became an instant classic--and amazingly didn't receive a full-scale revival until 1999. All the more reason to revel in its original version. With its cunning play-within-a-play premise (a musical update of The Taming of the Shrew reverberates in backstage feuds), brilliant mix of high and low comedy, and of course some of Cole Porter's better-known songs--"So in Love," "I Hate Men," Too Darn Hot," "Always True to You (In My Fashion)"--Kiss Me, Kate remains a funny, zesty hall of mirrors. Hard as you may try to find a fly in the ointment, there's no fault with the cast either--Patricia Morison, for instance, is a perfectly petulant Lilli Vanessi. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Customer Reviews:

The best and maybe the last CD of this great musical........2006-02-20

Now is the perfect time to buy the CD of this.

Sony's transfer engineers used state-of-the-art restoration software to remove the roughness and surface noise from the originals, but (thankfully) they resisted the urge to tart-up the sound with artificial reverb, faux stereo, and thundering bass. This is by far the best-sounding CD of this ever released, and it may be the last.

The age of music ownership in America could be drawing to a close. Five years from now, this music may only be available by download, you might only be "borrowing" it, and it probably won't come with the the authentic cover art or the 26-page booklet.

(See also the original broadway CD of Out of This World.)

Beautiful remastering of historic original cast recording.......2004-05-24

Recorded in January 1949, this album of KISS ME KATE has remained in print adn a steady best-seller for over 50 years now.

The sound on this newly remastered CD is crisp and clear and easily surpasses all previous issues. Sony even uses the original artwork from the very first LP release.

The performances remain as fresh as ever. Alfred Drake was Broadway's top leading man and sounds just glorious. Pat Morrison had less of a career but sounds just perfect as Lilli. Lisa Kirk is wonderful as Lois, and Harold Lang makes the most of his few moments on the record as her boyfriend, Bill. In an unusual move these peopel reunited 10 years later to re-record the score for Capitol in true stereo. They still sound great on that recording (on CD as part of the Broadway Angel series) but the performances are fresher on this recording made just 2 weeks after KIS ME KATE had opened on Broadway to rave reviews.

The CD booklet has good info about the show, though curiously, no synopsis. There are, however, a half dozen pictures of the original production. This edition featureds longer takes of "We Open in Venice", "I Hate Men" and "Too Darn Hot" though the total extra music adds but a minute to the album's running time. A bonus track of the Overture dates from a 1958 stereo recording by Lehman Engle.

KISS ME KATE was the first Tony Award winner for Best Musical (1949). The 1999 revival won a Tony for Best Revival.

the peerless original cast.......2004-03-04

KISS ME KATE is still regarded as Cole Porter's greatest musical; a charming backstage story detailing feuding ex-spouses Lilli Vanessi and Fred Graham as they star in a musical version of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew".

Very rarely has the score been bettered than the original 1949 cast album, reissued here on the Columbia Broadway Masterworks label. Patricia Morison plays Lilli, with Alfred Drake (OKLAHOMA!, KISMET, GIGI) as Fred, the feuding, ego-ridden leads. Lisa Kirk (ALLEGRO, MACK AND MABEL) is the sexy young starlet Lois, with Harold Lang (PAL JOEY) as her caddish boyfriend Bill.

KISS ME KATE opened at the New Century Theatre on Broadway in 1949, making history in its run of over 1000 performances. Patricia Morison is perfectly-suited to the role of Lilli. She offers a glowing rendition of "So in Love", whilst her duet with Alfred Drake in the tongue-in-cheek "Wunderbar" is sublime. Lisa Kirk gets three of the big showstoppers ("Why Can't You Behave?", "Tom Dick or Harry" and "Always True to You in My Fashion"), and nails each and every one. Harold Lang was a better dancer than he ever was as a singer, but is quite good on this disc.

A must-own.

Who Put The Shake In Shakespeare?.......2001-04-11

Who put the 'shake' in 'Shakespeare'? Cole Porter, of course! Kiss Me Kate is the best of his musicals, and this recording is the best of the recordings! The original Broadway cast performs with much old-style, vaudeville jazz!

The story is set in a Baltimore theatre where a divorced couple, Fred Graham and Lilli Vannessi, are in the two leading roles of a musical version of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. Fred currently dates a colorful light-heart named Lois Lane, while Lilli is about to head off to get maried in the south. Lois, by the way, will 'always be true' to her boyfriend, the gambling player Bill Calhoun. The story takes off from there!

The show originaly opened on Broadway in 1948. It's timelessness has still not worn off after so many years. The classic script by Bela and Sam Spewack, and the best music of Cole Porter, we cannot fail! The show has been performed since then in many many countries, and has been performed in many languages! It has only recently been revived on Broadway.

Kiss Me Kate has become a staple of classic Broadway, and this is the cast that will not be outdone. Patricia Morrison is a perfect, operatic, Lilli Vanesi. She is strong, yet thoughtful. Her voice fills the CD with a lively 'Wunderbar' and the raging 'I Hate Men.' Alfred Drake is a manly and appealing Fred Graham who will have you laughing out loud! His 'Where Is the Live...?' is yet to be surpassed. Harold Lang is a sexy, and hypnotic Bill Calhoun. He takes the role for himself, and his 'Bianca' is done to the point of perfection! His voice is misty and self-confident, and has the qualities all Bill Calhoun's should. And of course, there will be no one as good as Lisa Kirk for the role of Lois Lane! Her tongue-in-cheek performance on this CD is flawless! She is teasing, sympathetic, funny, and has the right voice to win her part! I can't imagine anyone who can do what she has done with 'Alway True to You' and 'Why Can't You Behave.' The classic character songs are very nice! The balladic, and melodic 'So In Love' will ring in your head. 'We Open In Venice' will make you dance! And 'Brush Up Your Shakespeare'(performed with much humor by Jack Diamond and Harry Clark) will give you a laugh the next time you read 'Romeo.' You won't be disapointed!

The nostalgic quality of the 40's is alive and well in this recording. Columbia has done a great job restoring the work, and the scratching that were a part of the original releases. The sound quality is crisp and clear, and the music sounds wonderful! The magic hasn't worn out yet!

There have been a few more recordings of the work, including a complete London recording, and the new Broadway revival cast. None can do as well as the original recording, however. In the revival recordng, however, they come close. Brian Stokes Mitchell has the voice for Fred, but runs through his lines a bit fast, and without much enthusiasm. And the orchestrations for the new recording are a bit overdone, and they sound more like PBS's Jazz, than Broadway.

Altogether, this is great recording. I was very pleased with my buy, and hope that you will add it to your collection right away! It's time to Brush Up Your Shakespeare!

TIMELESS BROADWAY SHOW.......2001-01-11

COLE PORTER'S most famous musical play hasn't lost none of it's power over the years;it's one of those few shows in which all the elements clicks:cast,songs,libretto, to make a great entertainment product.Without getting to cynical,KISS ME KATE has enough good songs to fill 3 BROADWAY shows of today ,and i am not kidding,it's a fact.While the revival is also of interest,it's always a delight to hear the original with PATRICIA MORRISSON and ALFRED DRAKE, both terrific in their parts.I can assure you that you'll play this record more than twice.It's not only WUNDERBAR ,it's WONDERFUL!You can't actually single out one number because they are all good.All right, if we have to choose one, it's SO IN LOVE.

Average customer rating:

Too great to cry
Alison Krauss' Strong Debut
Debut album set the standard for those that followed
Oh, my. Oh, oh, my......
The first !!!

Too Late to Cry
Alison Krauss
Manufacturer: Rounder / Umgd
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Contemporary Country | Country | Styles | Music

General | Country | Styles | Music

General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music

General | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music

Contemporary | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music

Traditional | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Rounder Records | Specialty Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Two Highways
I've Got That Old Feeling
Every Time You Say Goodbye
So Long So Wrong
Forget About It

ASIN: B0000002HZ
Release Date: 1992-02-14

Tracks:

Too Late to Cry
Foolish Heart
Song For Life
Dusty Miller
If I Give My Heart
In Your Eyes
Don't Follow Me
Gentle River
On The Borderline
Forgotten Pictures
Sleep On

Amazon.com

On the surface, Alison Krauss's 1987 Rounder debut is a well-executed, completely satisfying bluegrass album with both traditional and contemporary elements. Once you realize that the sublime singer and expert fiddler you hear is a mere 15 years old, it becomes extraordinary. True, hearing a 15-year-old sing about "my whiskey on ice" and other such mature themes is a bit disconcerting, but what amazes is not what she's singing about but the masterful command she has over her angelic voice. And her fiddle licks are even more impressive. The record simply oozes potential and poise, even if the best was yet to come. --Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews:

Too great to cry .......2006-11-10

This album demonstrates how absolutely phenomenal a singer and fiddler Alison Krauss since her early teens! Sheer delight to trace her gracious development as artist, leader, and influence over the decades.

Alison Krauss' Strong Debut.......2004-06-26

In 1987 Alison was only 15, and some of the songs on this CD are kind of "honky-tonky". In "Song For Life" the lyric begins "I don't drink as much as I used to...." and it's a little incongruous putting the words together with the 15 year-old voice. Her vocal tone was a little twangy and nasal-sounding, almost strident as she belted out some of these tunes, and I wonder if she was influenced maybe a little by some of the Nashville Big-Hair bunch like Reba.

Still.... if she had not appeared until today and suddenly this recording appeared, it would be at least as head-turning today as it was 15 years ago. No other vocalist in the genre approaches this kind of material with this kind of instrumentation with THAT kind of voice. Alison surrounded herself by superstars like Sam Bush and Jerry Douglas, so the supporting cast was top-notch.

In her first recording she was both astonishingly new and talented, but also showed great promise of things to come. In the recordings that followed she has unfailingly measured up to that promise. Even in her first record she began showing her taste for sorrowful mournful tunes of doomed love, even on uptempto tunes like "Don't Follow Me" and the title "Too Late to Cry". She also began demonstrating her talent for beautiful slow ballads like "Gentle River".

Required stuff for those who want the complete Alison Krauss collection, but I knock it down to 4 stars because the maturity of her voice and mastery of material would show up in full on later recordings.

Debut album set the standard for those that followed.......2004-04-09

Alison was just fifteen when she made her recording debut with this album but, even at that age, she was ready for it. She is both only a talented musician and a wonderful singer with a great voice, which has echoes of Dolly, Reba and Emmylou while not being too much like any of them. Her music has changed significantly through the years so fans of her more recent albums may not like her early work. My eclectic taste in music allows me to enjoy all her music though I generally prefer the early stuff.

The songs are mostly obscure, the most widely known being Song for life, which is a classic from the pen of Rodney Crowell. Alison plays the fiddle on all tracks where one is used, but there are two instrumentals, both covers (Tony Trischka's Forgotten pictures and the traditional Dusty Miller) that demonstrate Alison's skills as a fiddler very clearly. The remaining songs are only originals, mostly from the pen of John Pennell.

This may not be the best album that Alison ever recorded - though some think it is and I can understand why - but it is certainly among the best. It's not difficult to figure out why Alison has been so successful. If you are unfamiliar with Alison's early music, you should first try Now that I've found you - A collection. If you enjoy that, particularly the track Sleep on (taken from this album), give this a listen.

Oh, my. Oh, oh, my.............2003-05-15

I remember distinctly when I first heard one of the cuts on the lp version of Too Late to Cry on a radio show called Grass Roots or something like that out of Kalamazoo, MI. I stopped whatever I was doing to listen closely to "Don't Follow Me", and then the first chance I got to get up to Lansing's Elderly Instruments (the best darn music & instrument store in Michigan)I bought it.

I think this recording is just about as perfect as anything since Abbey Road. Each song is a little gem. I really prefer Alison's voice as it sounds in these earlier recordings: stronger, more nasal. She purposely changed it to the softer, more pop-friendly version around the time of the "Every Time You Say Goodbye", I believe. But her singing is not the only treat; she had won many awards for her fiddle playing by this time, and it shines; and she is backed up by only the best musicians in bluegrass---Jerry Douglas & Sam Bush, for example.

Peppy, strong, and true to bluegrass roots.

The first !!!.......2002-11-21

What a breath of fresh air in the Country music field. Such an excellent CD. Shania and Faith should listen to this, see what a real singer is like (at 15 no less) and then quit the business.

Average customer rating:

cant touch A Night in SF
Van Morrison "A Beautiful Mind"
This is a Live album - Second to none
Peerless
Van at his best!

It's Too Late to Stop Now
Van Morrison
Manufacturer: Polydor / Umgd
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

Soft Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Adult Contemporary | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Live Albums | Pop | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Live Albums | Pop | Styles | Music

General | R&B | Styles | Music

Blue-Eyed Soul | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Live Albums | Rock | Styles | Music

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Saint Dominic's Preview
Magic Time
Veedon Fleece
Into the Music
Tupelo Honey

ASIN: B000002GNN
Release Date: 1997-06-03

Tracks:

Ain't Nothin' You Can Do
Warm Love
Into The Mystic
These Dreams Of You
I Believe To My Soul
I've Been Working
Help Me
Wild Children
Domino
I Just Want To Make Love To You

Tracks:

Bring It On Home To Me
Saint Dominic's Preview
Take Your Hands Out Of My Pocket
Listen To The Lion
Here Comes The Night
Gloria
Caravan
Cyprus Avenue

Amazon.com essential recording

Given his early roots in Irish show bands steeped in American R&B, Van Morrison's power as a live performer is as riveting in his "on" nights as it can be frustrating when he's not in the mood. But his sheer power as a singer, and his long tradition of crack bands, has translated to an awful lot of good nights--enough to spawn three compelling live albums, of which this is the first and best. Recorded during his San Franciscan residency of the early '70s, with his ambitious Caledonia Soul Orchestra, this double album documents Morrison at an early vocal peak and benefits from a set list culled from his early solo masterpieces, including Moondance and Astral Weeks. As such, It's Too Late to Stop Now clicks as both anthology and coherent concert document--a classic live album. --Sam Sutherland

Customer Reviews:

cant touch A Night in SF.......2007-07-11

Okay the only reason I am going to flunk this CD, its yes this is okay, is firstly, this CD cant touch A Night in SF double CD set, not in quality or sound. The real simple reason is its price

I have all of Vans CD's and have had them all for years, so looking for something different, and seeing this one listed for sometime at these prices all I kept thinking was man o man must be some killer show! its gotta be better or at least equal to the SF show CD, so I pulled the trigger and bought it.

Its clear cut, not even close.

So the reason I am writing this, the one and only bad Van review, is if you have the A Night in SF CD, save your money, if you want a good CD and don't have that one, again save your money and buy that one.

So now you know, spend or not, you have been warned.

IF you really rich and money is no object, well then maybe that's who these other reviewers are in here.

poor me I guess, complaining on getting on getting by on 85k a year.

Van Morrison "A Beautiful Mind".......2007-07-01

This CD simply shows Van at his best. When Van is at his best, as he is on "It's Too Late to Stop Now", NOBODY can top him. From the great songs he writes like "Cypress Avenue" to "Into The Mystic" and others, there is no question about it, Van IS THE MAN. He delivers the goods here time and time again. And let's not forget those great musicians backing him either, especially the string section. Do yourself a favor when listening to this CD sometime, close your eyes and "follow" (focus on) the string section only. Put Vans voice alittle in the background on this listen through. You will find that the string section will take you to a most glorious, peaceful and beautiful place. You will be happy. This CD is Van Morrison at his very best. If you're reading this, "It's too late to stop now" so buy it and go to dreamland.

This is a Live album - Second to none.......2006-10-06

Van on a bad night is better than 99% of the performers out there today. This is not a bad night. This is what a live album is meant to be. But first, most performers don't have the voice Van has to pull this off.

And BTW, I've seen many times (5 times since 2000) and his voice still rocks. Not like this record, but again it is still superb. Van is a professional. No garbage.

Peerless.......2006-04-09

Let me get it out now, I consider this the GREATEST LIVE ALBUM OF ALL TIME. Over the past 32 years I have worn out two vinyl versions and am on my third year in CD.This collection of Van's best music(it is the best of three nights in three different venues)captures one of the original geniuses of modern music at his absolute peak.Totally original yet completely accessible,Van brings blues,rock,folk,gospel,pop and soul together to the delight of a frenzied audience.Having seen him three times I know how rare this is.
The band he is with at this time could not be tighter or more accomplished. Give it a listen and the word "production " takes on a new weight.This is one of those very rare albums that grows in stature as the years pass by.

Van at his best!.......2006-03-09

From the opening number "There Ain't Nothing You Can Do", you can tell Van is on his game on this CD. It's recorded in 1973 and his voice is superb. 100 times better than his later live offerings.

Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch

Average customer rating:

Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch...
Zappa got into a lot of unsuspecting teenagers' minds with this album...hehehehe
Zappa's best release
Metallica Ten Years Before
"We're talking Lord God King BU-FU..."

Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch
Frank Zappa
Manufacturer: Zappa Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive | Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

The Man from Utopia
Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention
You Are What You Is
The Grand Wazoo
Jazz From Hell

ASIN: B0000009T4
Release Date: 1995-05-02

Tracks:

No Not Now
Valley Girl
I Come From Nowhere
Drowning Witch
Envelopes
Teen-Age Prostitute

Customer Reviews:

Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch..........2007-06-04

Frankly, I bought this album for the Song, "Valley Girl" which was a hit in the early 80's from Frank's daughter Moon! I had forgotten about his level of musicianship - that man had skills! Four stars!!

Zappa got into a lot of unsuspecting teenagers' minds with this album...hehehehe.......2006-09-24

One of the greatest things about this album is that, thanks to the song Valley Girl, a lot of people who would never even think about owning a Zappa album bought one. So all the teenagers who really dug the Valley Girl song actually got to listen to 5 other great Zappa tracks. Granted, there's probably a few of them out there who played the album once, and never played it again. But they always say to themselves "what was that really long song on side two? I never heard anything like that. I can't get it out of my head! AARRGGHH!!!!" The stuff got inside their heads, and stayed there. I do rather like this album, especially the title track (the 12 minute one) and No Not Now. Envelopes is OK (I prefer the LSO version), and I do like Valley Girl.

Zappa's best release.......2006-03-31

(of the four I have)
I can't say that I am a diehard Zappa fan, but I immensely enjoy this album. Frank Zappa is amazing at writing music.

The album:
No Not Now: Probably the worst on the album, but it is a good listen every once in a while (whenever I find the time to listen to the album all the way through). 3/5

Valley Girl: Frank Zappa's hit song. Insanely funny. I've heard that this song is where the term Valley Girl actually comes from. Wouldn't surprise me if Zappa had coined it. He was an extremely unique and influential guy. 5/5

I Come From Nowhere: The lyrics are decent (although the first stanza is excellent). The real star here is the music, which is excellent. 4.5/5

Drowning Witch: The star of the album. The lyrics are pretty good, but again, the music is what makes the song great. 5/5

Envelopes: Zappa can really write instrumentals. This is one of his best that I've heard so far. 5/5

Teen-Age Prostitute: A decent end to the album. It's kinda cute. 4/5

An excellent album put out by Zappa. 5/5

Metallica Ten Years Before.......2004-12-15

I always wished Zappa could have kept the sound and intensity he achieved in "Ship Arriving Too Late ..." for at least one more record.

The first song, "No Not Now" has ridiculously stupid lyrics and an excellent blues/doo-wop melody straight from "Cruising with Ruben and the Jets" welded to an infectious hardcore popping bass riff.

Valley Girl has one of the most crushing bass and guitar parts heard then or ever in semi-popular music. because moon zappa's vocal is so funny and off the wall it is easy to forget contemplating the weirdness of this song charting in the top 40 at the end of the 1970s with such a heavy and grinding musical chassis.

There is a very surfy California sound to this entire album, part in the rhythm, the guitar sound, bass sound, the drum sound, and the lyrics. In some ways the sound and attitude reminds me of California bands like Agent Orange and the Minutemen and the Dead Kennedys. It's a light and carefree sound but also deceptively serious. Because Frank Zappa was practically a southern California native, a desert rat Army brat from deep in the Mojave, I like to think that he had this sound in his skin and bones and on Ship Arriving Too Late ... it just oozed out of his pores.

"I Come From Nowhere" has always been one of my favorite Zappa songs. It fuses some of Frank's most aggressive speed metal rhythm and solo guitar playing, an astoundingly tight rhythm section, a completely insane vocal delivery with lyrics that are as funny and disturbing as "Who Are the Brain Police?"

The opening section of Frank's guitar solo is as violent a piece of music as can be found anywhere and his guitar tone rips your head off. Patrick O'Hearn's astounding bass playing takes the song into a whole different category.

It would take nearly a decade, until Metallica, before music this intense, abrasive and highly structured found any audience.

Side two of Ship Arriving Too Late is a 17 minute medley that defies description. Typical of Frank during this period, it contains a continental plate collision of loosely improvised and difficult, highly rehearsed music all performed live, with Steve Vai all over it on some of the weirdest and hardest live guitar parts ever recorded. Scott Thunes on bass deserves huge accolades for anchoring this bizarre concoction, as does drummer Chad Wackerman. This type of stuff shouldn't work but I love it. Frank sarcastically named a bunch of live CDs "You Can't Do This on Stage Anymore" but hearing this stuff I think he was just telling the truth.

"We're talking Lord God King BU-FU...".......2004-04-17

SATLTSADW is a short [34 min.] album introducing future-regular time-keepers Chad Wackerman and Scott Thunes; Wackerman plays drums throughout, and Thunes plays bass on four tracks. The album features both studio and live-material, and often both at once (yes, there are over-dubs). It's another album where Steve Vai is credited for "impossible guitar parts", which are performed in e.g. the instrumental composition "Envelopes", and in the heavy-metal-opera-like "Teen-Age Prostitute"; songs that give this album a lot of status, as does the guitar-solo on "Drowning Witch" - it proves that Zappa did right when deciding to keep this drummer and bassist together until the end of his rock'n'roll-band years.
Feminine voices dominate the album; Moon Zappa plays the part of the "Valley Girl" (a hilarious tune), and Lisa Popiel plays the part of the "Teen-Age Prostitute".
The album isn't a must, but is recommended to regular FZ fans, since it--with the exception of "Drowning Witch" and "Envelopes"--only features songs that cannot be heard on any other Zappa album. However, the versions of the two above mentioned tracks are here performed at their best.

Average customer rating:

"The Summer Smiles, The Summer Knows"
Magnificent Monica!
She's chocolate and creme!
Astonishing
Monica's Latest is the best yet

Cinema Paradiso
Monica Mancini
Manufacturer: Concord Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

Traditional & Vocal Pop | Pop | Indie Music | Stores | Music

General | Soundtracks | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Monica Mancini
Dreams of Johnny Mercer
Ultimate Mancini
Cinema Paradiso: Original Soundtrack Recording (1988 Film)
Surrender

ASIN: B00006LSQE
Release Date: 2002-11-05

Tracks:

Cinema Paradiso (from Cinema Paradiso)
A Day In The Life of a Fool (from Black Orpheus)
A Love Before Time (from Croutching Tiger, Hidden Dragon)
Senza Fine (from Ghost Ship)
I'll Never Say Goodbye (from The Promise)
The Shadow of Your Smile (from The Sandpiper)
Alfie (from Alfie)
Soldier in the Rain (from Soldier in the Rain)
Too Late Now (from Royal Wedding)
The Summer Knows (from The Summer of '42)
Baby Mine (from Dumbo)
Somewhere Over The Rainbow (from The Wizard of Oz)

Album Description

Featuring the title track from the Warner Bros. Motion picture 'Ghost Ship.' The love theme from the film Cinema Paradiso has been given an English lyric for the first time and makes its debut on this recording. Until now the composer Ennio Morricone has never accepted an English lyric for Cinema Paradiso. Concord Records. 2002.

Customer Reviews:

"The Summer Smiles, The Summer Knows".......2006-01-07

"When Monica Mancini set out to record this retrospective of songs from films, she clearly had her passions in order. Monica comes by her affinity for the medium honestly, having grown up in a house permeated with some of the best film music in history, from the pen of her incredibly prolific father, Henry. So it is no surprise that this collection has all the artistry, pathos, and musicality that it so deserves." ~ Dave Grusin, Liner Notes - 2002 ~

Dave Grusin, an expert arranger, conductor, pianist, film scorer himself has described this album so perfectly. The choice of material in this CD is impeccable with Monica Mancini's graceful interpretations and not to mention the flawlessly beautiful arrangements by Torrie Zito, John Calandrelli, Michael Lang, Patrick Williams, George Doering, Ray Ellis, Harvey Cohen and John Frizzell. There are twelve theme songs from various remarkable films in this recording and most of the tracks were backed up by an orchestra with the exception of a few.

The theme song from the movie "Summer of '42" penned by the creative husband-and-wife-team of Alan & Marilyn Bergman and composer Michel Legrand "The Summer Knows" is one of my top choices from this collection. Splendidly arranged by Michael Lang and Harvey Cohen on string section, she renders this timeless song so true to its essence and making it the most beautiful version, bar none!

Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "Alfie" (from the movie of the same title), is a moving song accompanied only by the sublime piano playing of Michael Lang. She has an exquisitely beautiful voice, the kind that still shines without the trimmings and backing up of an orchestra, (the kind that still glows even on A Cappella singing). Another affecting song and a favorite of mine is "Too Late Now," a Burton Lane and Alan Jay Lerner treasure and theme from the movie "Royal Wedding." The orchestral arrangement was done by Torrie Zito, a fine pianist/arranger/conductor who worked briefly with the legendary musical icon, Frank Sinatra. I loved the way he injected a classical touch on his arrangement, almost sounding like one of Claude Debussy's masterpieces. I would say that this is one of the best tracks. Ditto with another Torrie Zito arrangement, Johnny Mandel and Paul Webster's "The Shadow of Your Smile" from the movie "The Sandpiper." Ms. Mancini gave these classics the retire-the-trophy-treatments and made them her very own.

The lovely opener, Ennio Morricone and Gregg Field's "Cinema Paradiso," arranged by Jorge Calandrelli, is also one of the standouts. Another beauty is "I'll Never Say Goodbye" from the movie "The Promise" with piano accompaniment by Michael Lang. The finale "Over The Rainbow" from "The Wizard of Oz" is simply divine with orchestral arrangement by Ray Ellis.

This recording produced by Ms. Mancini's musician husband, Gregg Field, truly showed off not only the singer's vocal artistry, but her classy and elegant style of singing. Thank you Ms. Mancini for your wonderful gift of music. Music to enjoy forever!

Magnificent Monica!.......2004-06-28

My favorite song of all time is "The Shadow of Your Smile" from the movie "The Sandpiper". Until now, the 2 best versions of it were by Barbra Streisand and Tony Bennett. By FAR, this is THE best version of that song. Pure, without "vocal gymnastics", screaming, yelping or other artificial "stylings".. here it is sung as it was written, perfectly performed with beautiful orchestration. The rest of the album is no less miraculous. It is stunning. "A Day in the Life of a Fool", "Cinema Paradiso" and the haunting and tender "Theme from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" are just as lavish and well-crafted. Okay Monica, now could you release one album a year instead of one album every 3 years? Pleeeeassee??

She's chocolate and creme!.......2004-01-29

Seeing Monica Mancini on stage singing the theme from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, hearing Gregg Field's drums, seeing the multi-media film clip behind her... is like having chocolate and creme!

Monica does not belt you to death, she does not yell at you, she does not punch notes into your being... she soothes you to her, lures you, with a voice that has been hidden for years.

Her voice is perfect in pitch, tone, and her ability to hit every single note as if she were born to sing. Clearly having inherited talent from her mom Ginny and her dad Henry.

On this cd I love the way she embraces other composers songs..."Baby Mine" just one of them. I about melted when she sang that song.

She has a great sense of humor on stage, is spontaneous, and is herself.

She has a great secure personality and stage persona and she has the family roots to give you a chill in your bones when she shares them with you in stories and song.

Hearing her sing live is like being home!

Astonishing.......2003-09-04

I sample A LOT of jazz vocalists (for some reason most contemporary jazz vocalists seem to be female) but initially dismissed Monica Mancici because she's the child of a famous father. Henry was very classy and as accomplished as musicians get, and such qualities rarely get passed down the line. What a mistake. I only heard her Mercer album because it was -- thankfully -- being played in a store I was visiting. I bought it, loved it, and was primed for this collection. A solid Five Stars. There's new stuff here (for me) and old songs done splendidly. Over The Rainbow, aside from its original iconic take by "Judy," has been covered hundreds of times. And Monica's take? Quite simply as good as any. With this release I've recognized what I love about Monica's voice: Aside from being simply perfect technically, her voice glows like a crackling fireplace! I mourned the recent passing of Rosemary Clooney, and now feel that there's a relatively new vocalist who I can follow for many years. Live or recorded, I'll be there ...

Monica's Latest is the best yet.......2003-06-04

Sorry, but I don't worry about the nuts and bolts of every particular detail of an album. I play what I enjoy and Monica's albums bring me that enjoyment. Cinema Paradiso has rarely left my CD Player. I'm only sorry she appears not to have a web page. Where someone like Michael Jackson or Dixie Chicks are all over the Internet, virtually no information is available concerning Monica Mancini. It's impossible to find a concert schedule. I hope she produces another album soon, I've worn out her others.

Average customer rating:

As good of introduction to Vitus as any
Excellent Stoner Metal
Purging Doom Metal Casualties
Doom is good
Classic doom/stoner/punk....heck with that, CLASSIC PERIOD.

Born Too Late
Saint Vitus
Manufacturer: Sst Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Death Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Mournful Cries
V
Relentless
Sleep's Holy Mountain
Day of Reckoning

ASIN: B000000M16
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Born Too Late
Clear Windowpane
Dying Inside
H.A.A.G.
The Lost Feeling
The War Starter
Thirsty And Miserable
Look Behind You
The End Of The End

Customer Reviews:

As good of introduction to Vitus as any.......2006-07-11

This album marks the transition between the Reagers era, and the Wino era, at vocals. Without question, the band was different with each--but great, and always still Vitus. This is probably the slowest, and most basic, of their material. Born too Late may be the truest doom of Vitus' era (except for their self-titled first album), which is saying a lot, since it's all unarguably "true." It pounds, it depresses, it bemoans, it laments. It seldom strays from simplicity musically, and yet, for all its simplicity, there is much going on. The wah-wah pedal and fuzzed (almost static-like)guitar bits really comes into their own here (a later Vitus trademark), creating an absrasive (as opposed to dreamy) pschedelic/noise influence. It's basic, primitive, but very memorable. Because of these aspcts, if one listens carefully, he or she can see the slightest of Hendrix influences here, even though overall, this is a poor man's Sabbath, hungover and slowed down.

Lyrically, this piece of art definitely epitomizes the feeling of the outcast, the forgotten, the sullen. Whereas a lot of metal lives off anger, this expresses enough indignation to offer signs of life, but teeters ever so close to the edge of total resignation. Every time I hear it, and then read these guys are from LA, I picture guys living in rat-infested apartments off skid row in the dingiest part of town, lost in the 70s, and finding just enough work to keep from going over the edge. This isn't exactly intended as a compliment, but it is to say, they are authentic, genuine, and they feel what they are singing about. If LA is the home of glam rock, these guys are anti-glam, and not self-consciously so; they simply ARE. They are average in talent, but excel at "creating a vibe"--and their sincerity resonates in every dragged out note, every moaned phrase. Simply put, Vitus is for the downtrodden, but not the weak.

Excellent Stoner Metal.......2006-06-02

One day I was browsing through my cd collection and I happened to find a cd, which I do not remember acquiring. It was called Born too Late. How it got into my stack of cd's I will never know, but I remember as I first listened to it on my walkman and immediately liked the slow and heavy sounds that this band made with tremendous eaze.

The musical style reminds me somewhat of other stoner metal bands like Bongzilla and Sleep, but they don't seem to be borrowing as much from Black Sabbath as those other bands are. Instrad Saint Vitus seems to be borrowing a lot more from the psychadelic movement, but blending it with the heaviest music this side of Cathedral (actually that is kind of an interesting correlation as there is a Saint Vitus Cathedral in Prague).

This cd is infinitely listenable, whether or not you have a handful of the good green stuff or not. They surprise me even when I am not paying attention to what they are singing. Sometimes a guitar line will just jump out and grab me by the ear lobe and pull me back in.

Purging Doom Metal Casualties.......2005-11-23

Teeming with an abundance of distorted, wah-wah pedal, tidal wave of slow-motion catharsis, California's Black Sabbath derived hippy weed worshipers, Saint Vitus, released this moody monolith in 85'. Many metal fans were unable to relate to its mastodon pace and counter culture themes of alienation, and the hardcore/punk crossover crowds found it laughable. It's what made BTL so unique; its self awareness was soulfull, heavy, at the forefront. I was one of those long haired weirdos who got it when it came out because by the pyschedelic pink cover with its cobwebbed crucifix stain-glass window, I knew it would smoke, and it sure did {I'm no autograph hound, but Wino signed my vinyl copy} I only break it out once in a blue moon as it represents something I more so related to when I was younger. The emotions conveyed reduce it to takes-one-to-know-one status; you either immediately love it or hate it. I ended up having it tatooed on my arm, ha ...inked, and to beat out a rhythm. It's the personal element that makes this record so powerful; if you 'got' it, you took comfort in knowing there were others out there who felt the same way, and that they blasted out tunes that resonated with a lost breed. Vitus was born too late, yet, were oddly ahead of their time as their music, and this record in particular, turned out to be far more influential than I'm sure those guys ever dreamed of in their wildest hallucinations.

Doom is good.......2005-10-27

Dark, brooding powerful classic masterpiece heavily influenced by Black Sabbath. The music's riff's are so slow and so cool. This was my first Saint Vitus album and it opened my mind. The music deals with alienation, psychedelic drugs, alcoholism, war lust and depression. Don't get turned off by the term "doom" yes saint Vitus sings about pessimistic subject matter but I always feel much better after listening to it. Doom Rock dose not get any better when then when Wino and Chandler crank it out. In my opinion this is the 2nd best Saint Vitus album placing it right after Saint Vitus's Mind Blowing "V" check it out.

Classic doom/stoner/punk....heck with that, CLASSIC PERIOD........2005-08-20

Saint Vitus is an interesting band. Back when they were making music it has been sumised by the music know-it-all's that "no one was listening" and only now are they a classic. Well, I was listening back then, and so were many others. The truth is the idea of a music review is sort of pointless, as it usually involves laying down a blanket opinion, not knowing the potential listeners wants and desires. What I'm saying here is this review assumes that you are looking for some seriously heavy fuzzy rock music, and if that's the case you can't do poor with Saint Vitus. As far as I'm concerned this band is one of a kind and always were. They were playing slow, dirgy rock when very few bands undertook that approach, so that at least makes them original for their peak time (the eighties). Many have discussed their Sabbath-inspired sound, and while I'm sure even the band would acknowledge this, this band is no rip-off. The CD of "Born Too Late" also includes the EP "Thirsty and Miserable", the title track being the Black Flag song slowed down to a grinding pace. There are some incredibly rocking numbers on this album. I think it's one of their best, myself. Dave Chandler has got to be the master of "just what is needed" guitar essentials. There's no "c**k rock" 40 minute solo excursions on guitar, instead Dave simply destroys a run with killer use of the fuzzy wah and other effects. The verdict seems split by some about the better lead vocalist; the first one, Scott Reagers or "Wino" Weinrich. For my money, give me "Wino". Scott Reagers is cool too, but he has that whole warbly metal thing going that I just don't dig as much myself. "Wino" brings a darker sense to the band, ala his work in Obsessed. When Wino says, "..I'm losing all my friends and lovers" in "Dying Inside" (a song about booze addiction written by Chandler, I think), you better believe it. Once again, the guitar work is solid thru and thru with incredibly creative turns and twists on the soloing, and not being afraid to bring that needed hardcore abandon to the instrument, without sounding anything like any other band on the SST label at that time. My favorite thing about Dave Chandler is he has no problem with being a solid rhythm player. This seemingly basic approach to the guitar is brilliant in this band, and really makes the songs catchy, easy to rock on, and brilliantly heavy. The drums are good, the bass is right where it needs to be, and all around this is an amazing band, underrated, classic, or any other label placed on them. Get this album, and any others still out there before they get harder to get. By the way, vinyl collectors are going nuts over this band, and some of the early material, like "Hallow's Victim" with Reagers are going for a silly-insane amount of money.

Average customer rating:

They're back, and it's all good

The Too Late Show
The Lillingtons
Manufacturer: Red Scare
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Punk Revival | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Punk-Pop | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Death by Television
Total
The Backchannel Broadcast
Storm the Streets
Not Economically Viable

ASIN: B000I2IR14
Release Date: 2006-10-10

Tracks:

Gunbullet
Target Earth
All I Hear Is Static
Augur's Tale
Mars vs. Hollywood
Do It U.S.S.R.
Zombies
Vaporize My Brain
Russian Attack
Charlie Goes to Cambodia
Stay Tuned

Album Description

They're back and with the original lineup that earned them the title of "Fat Mike's Favorite Band" all those years ago! Straight outta The Blasting Room, THE LILLINGTONS have returned with an album chock full catchy hits. It's classic LILLINGTONS: the Red Menace, alien invasions, double agent spies, and every other kinda B-movie hijinx you can think of. Their vivid imaginations are matched only by their ability to write dynamic and catchy punk rock ditties. THE LILLINGTONS are back, and it's never too late to see what the legend is made of!

Customer Reviews:

They're back, and it's all good.......2007-04-24

I saw the Lillingtons years ago at the Black Cat in DC, and they were opening for someone who I don't even remember now. I was blown away. I was crushed when I found out they had broken up. Death by Television is one of my all time favorite albums from anyone ever, and I have to say that the Too Late Show measures up well. Aliens, zombies, kids, they are all back. Just buy it.