Memory Palace [Import]

memory palace [import]

Track Listings
1. Thunderstorm
2. Stone The Memory Palace
3. Beyond Love
4. Transobsession
5. Trash 3
6. Listen To Me
7. Listen Again
8. Take A Chance
9. Give Me Time

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
The work of the late, great ex-Associates singer Billy Mackenzie with Paul Haig (ex-Josef K). The recordings date from late '93 to mid '95. 1999 release. Standard jewel case.

Memory Palace,Haig/Mackenzie,Rock/Pop

Memory Palace [Import]
Blue Minor: Chamber Music by Elizabeth Brown
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Wicked, Woozy and Wondrous
 Blue Minor: Chamber Music by Elizabeth Brown

Manufacturer: Albany Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Chamber MusicChamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
General ChristmasGeneral Christmas | Holiday | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music
General ChristmasGeneral Christmas | Holiday Music | Special Features | Music
ASIN: B0000YTPJ8
Release Date: 2003-12-30

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Wicked, Woozy and Wondrous.......2004-01-17

One of the joys of listening to music by little-known composers is that sometimes you really luck onto something wonderful. And that is what has happened for me with this CD of some chamber music by Elizabeth Brown; I'd known of her as a flutist, but not as a composer. Music must drip from her finger tips; it all seems inspired in the way that Mozart's music is inspired, as if it simply flowed out of her. I have no idea how difficult it was for her to write these pieces, but they are so smoothly wrought that it sounds as if she simply served as the music's vessel. OK, I know that sounds very 19th-century, but it feels as if nothing had impeded its composition. Partly, I'm sure, that is because Ms Brown knows what she wants to do and has the technical means to do it. Fortunately, also, she has an ear for intriguing sounds, memorable melodies, and an ability to limn emotion musically. Everything on this disc is attractive, and it has an unmistakably personal sound that so many composers seem to lack. The music rarely rises above a mezzo-forte, and the commonest mood is a kind of gentle melancholy, a ruminative reflection, but there is also occasional drama, frequent wry good humor, abundant lyricism. There is a good bit of Asian influence--indeed in one piece, 'Acadia,' (so named because she wrote if while at Acadia National Park in Maine), she plays both flute and shakuhachi. Her music occasionally quotes, sometimes mercurially, sometimes obsessively, old familiar tunes (e.g. 'Au claire de la lune' in 'Liguria') that somehow fit right in to the overall sound-picture. One suspects that she has been influenced by the music of, say, Lou Harrison or Colin McPhee as well as good ol' Charlie Ives. Another element is microtonal bending of tones; I have rarely felt comfortable with microtonal techniques, but here it not only is accessible and enjoyable, it also adds piquancy and point. Sometimes, too, it is simply laugh-out-loud funny, hence the use of 'woozy' in my subject line. There is an occasional 'in-joke' aspect to her music; I suspect that's one reason she has been able to round up such a distinguished group of chamber musicians to make this recording. I can only imagine they had a wonderful time playing her music.

The pieces are 'Blue Minor' (2001) for flute and string quartet, 'Liguria' (1999) for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano, 'Acadia' (1999) for solo flute and solo shakuhachi (both played by Ms Brown), 'Figures in a Landscape'(1995) for violin, viola, cello, bass and piano, and 'The Memory Palace' (1990) for flute, cello and piano. I won't attempt an analyis or even a detailed description of the music beyond what I've written above. 'Blue Minor,' in four movements ('In the deep bare garden; Alone; Be still; Listening to the evening') is the longest piece at about 15 minutes. 'Figures in a Landscape' is slightly shorter at 14 minutes; recorded in Ms Brown's Upper West Side apartment in New York, in 'Figures' there is an unscripted appearance by a distant siren wail from the street below; it not only doesn't interfere with one's pleasure, it somehow adds to it.

A final word about Ms Brown's musical style. Most of the music is unabashedly tonal, although sometimes stretched to its limits and polytonal at times. The microtones, glissandi, intentionally out-of-tune double stops and the like are like carefully considered decorations, adding to the music's overall spiciness. There is also a dream-like quality to much of the music; partly that's the use of multilayering and partly the character of the material itself. Formally the pieces are probably best described as fantasias, but there are cyclic elements and some instances of free counterpoint that hew to Western templates. There are occasional sudden tempo and dynamic changes, sometimes like those in, say, Ive's 'Unanswered Question', arising out of the layering. And craftily done, too.

The sound is clear and lifelike, subtly resonant and with breathing space around it. The performers, most of them New York jobbing musicians, include such musicians as violinists Curtis Macomber and Joanna Jenner, pianists Margaret Kampmeier and Susan Walters, clarinetist Jo-Ann Sternberg, violist Betty Hauck, cellists Greg Hesselink and Joshua Gordon, bassist Dennis James, as well as the composer playing flute. Hats off to all of them; this is exemplary playing.

Recommended.

TT=57:06

Scott Morrison
Memory Palace
Average customer rating: Not rated
    		Memory Palace
    Haig , and Mackenzie
    Manufacturer: One Little Indian
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

    GeneralGeneral | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
    Indie RockIndie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Pop | Styles | Music
    Pop RockPop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
    RockRock | Imports | Stores | Music
    ASIN: B0006LCPWO
    Release Date: 2005-02-07

    Tracks:

    1. Thunderstorm
    2. Stone the Memory Palace
    3. Beyond Love
    4. Transobsession
    5. Trash 3
    6. Listen to Me
    7. Listen Again
    8. Take a Chance
    9. Give Me Time
    10. Give Me Time [Dennis Wheatley Mix][*]
    11. Beyond Love [Remix][*]
    12. Stone the Memory Palace [Remixi][*]
    13. Thunderstorm [Instrumental Mix][*]

    Album Description

    Assembled from the variety of sessions recorded by the two singers between 1993 and 1995, when both found themselves at loose ends and disenchanted by the record business, Memory Palace makes for both a welcome addition to Billy Mackenzie's tragically limited canon and a fine example of Paul Haig's own magpie-like musical pursuits. 2005.

    Album Details

    The Music on this Album was Recorded in Sporadic Bursts Between December 1993 and July 1995, When Both Mackenzie and Paul Haig were Label-less.
    Memory Palace
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      		Memory Palace

      Manufacturer: Centaur
      ProductGroup: Music
      Binding: Audio CD

      General ModernGeneral Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
      PianoPiano | Keyboard | Instruments | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
      GeneralGeneral | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music
      GuitarGuitar | Strings | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music
      GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
      GeneralGeneral | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
      GeneralGeneral | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
      ElectronicaElectronica | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music
      ASIN: B0000057W5
      Release Date: 1993-12-28

      Tracks:

      1. I. Allegro Assai Con Alcuna Grottesco - Peter Longworth
      2. II. Andante Moderato, Riposta - Peter Longworth
      3. III. Allegro Con Fuoco - Peter Longworth
      4. IV. Adagio Con Ugalita - Peter Longworth
      5. I. Joyfully - Lori Freedman
      6. II. Clear And Warm - Lori Freedman
      7. III. Dirge - Lori Freedman
      8. IV. Relaxed And Dreamy - Lori Freedman
      9. Country Blues/Solemn/More Aggressively - William Beauvais
      10. I. Energetically - Kate Smith
      11. II. Passionate But Harsh - Kate Smith
      Memory Palace
      Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
      • Memory Palace
      		 Memory Palace
      Haig , and Mackenzie
      ProductGroup: Music
      Binding: Audio CD

      GeneralGeneral | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
      Indie RockIndie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
      GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
      Pop RockPop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
      RockRock | Imports | Stores | Music
      ASIN: B000042O2O
      Release Date: 2000-01-31

      Tracks:

      1. Thunderstorm
      2. Stone the Memory Palace
      3. Beyond Love
      4. Transobsession
      5. Trash 3
      6. Listen to Me
      7. Listen Again
      8. Take a Chance
      9. Give Me Time
      10. Give Me Time [Dennis Wheatley Mix][*]
      11. Beyond Love [Remix][*]
      12. Stone the Memory Palace [Remixi][*]
      13. Thunderstorm [Instrumental Mix][*]

      Album Description

      The work of the late, great ex-Associates singer Billy Mackenzie with Paul Haig (ex-Josef K). The recordings date from late '93 to mid '95. 1999 release. Standard jewel case.

      Album Details

      This is the Work of the Late, Great Ex-associates Singer Billy Mackenzie with Fellow Musical Maverick (Ex-josef K) Paul Haig. Recordings Date from Late 1993 to Mid-1995.

      Customer Reviews:

      3 out of 5 stars Memory Palace.......2000-03-24

      A must-have for anyone interested in the late Billy Mackenzie's music. Not remotely different in style from his last solo cd "Beyond The Sun", so if you like that album, this shouldn't disappoint.
      Crawling Up the Wall/Singing the Pictures/Pulse Palace/Memory Drums
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        		Crawling Up the Wall/Singing the Pictures/Pulse Palace/Memory Drums

        Manufacturer: Donemus Records
        ProductGroup: Music
        Binding: Audio CD

        Chamber MusicChamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
        ElectronicElectronic | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music | Computer
        GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
        GeneralGeneral | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
        Experimental MusicExperimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music
        ASIN: B00000I55Z
        Release Date: 1999-03-02

        Tracks:

        1. Crawling Up the Wall for Instrumental Ensemble
        2. Singing the Pictures for 10 Instrumentalists
        3. Pulse Palace for Orchestra
        4. Memory Drum for Loos and Live Electronics

        Music:

        1. Messenger
        2. Mony Mony [Import]
        3. M.Y.O.B. [Import]
        4. Newborn Pt. 2 [Import]
        5. Nos Annees Punk 1977-80 [Import]
        6. Nowhere to Here
        7. O [Limited Edition] [Import]
        8. Plays Andrew Lloyd Webber [Import]
        9. Quadra
        10. Radio Dream [Import]

        Music

        music