Oscar (1991 Film) [Soundtrack]

oscar (1991 film) [soundtrack]

Track Listings

1. Largo Al Factotum

2. Grifting

3. Lisa Dreams - Ralph Grierson

4. Tea and Romance - Bing Crosby

5. Revelations - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra

6. Cops and Real Crooks - Fred Waring & His Pennsylvanians

7. Sweet Georgia Brown

8. Rockin' in Rhythm

9. Tea for Two

10. Plain Dirt - McKinney's Cotton Pickers

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Oscar was Sylvester Stallone's agreeable, 1991 effort at broad comedy, a fast-talking, suspender-snapping gangster farce featuring the Rambo star as a 1930s Chicago mob boss, Snaps Provolone, trying to go straight during overlapping personal crises. No, this isn't Billy Wilder, but director John Landis (Coming to America) has crackling fun with Oscar's fruit salad of traditional comic themes and tools, including mistaken identities, a powerful man's weakness for his children, and a nonstop parade of outre secondary characters. The cast includes Kirk Douglas as Stallone's father, whose deathbed wish compels Snaps to go into legitimate banking at the exact moment the latter's daughter (Marisa Tomei) announces her love for a chauffeur. Meanwhile, another woman claiming to be Snaps's offspring is engaged to a fellow (Vincent Spano) who has stolen $50,000 of the big man's money. Wackiness ensues. The winning cast includes Peter Riegert, Don Ameche, Chazz Palminteri, Eddie Bracken, Harry Shearer, Yvonne DeCarlo, and Bruce Davison. --Tom Keogh

Oscar (1991 Film),Elmer Bernstein,Varese Sarabande,Big Band,Classic Jazz,Soundtrack,Soundtracks & Film Scores,Swing

Oscar (1991 Film) [Soundtrack]

Average customer rating:

Night Train - Oscar Peterson
Amazing performance, less than perfect recording
Must Buy, Especially For Jazz Pianists
Essential Peterson
A mature Oscar Peterson

Night Train
Oscar Peterson Trio
Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Jazz Samba

ASIN: B0000047D4
Release Date: 1997-05-20

Tracks:

Happy-Go-Lucky Local (AKA 'Night Train')
C-Jam Blues
Georgia On My Mind
Bags' Groove
Moten Swing
Easy Does It
The Honeydripper
Things Ain't What They Used To Be
I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
Band Call
Hymn To Freedom
Happy-Go-Lucky Local (AKA 'Night Train') (Alternate Take)
Volare
My Heart Belongs To Daddy
Moten Swing (Rehearsal Take)
Now's The Time
This Could Be The Start Of Something

Amazon.com essential recording

This 1962 recording represents Oscar Peterson at his most commercially accommodating, yet his trio with Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen never fails to swing. The program includes such familiar melodies as the title track (which began life as Duke Ellington's "Happy Go Lucky Local"), "Georgia on My Mind," and "The Honeydripper." With the notable exception of the gospel-like original "Hymn to Freedom," most of the tracks clock in at around three minutes. This reissue contains several alternate takes that were wisely left off the original LP, including such unlikely jazz vehicles as "Volare" and "My Heart Belongs to Daddy." --Rick Mitchell

Customer Reviews:

Night Train - Oscar Peterson.......2007-06-26

Nice, easy listening jazz.

One tune is repeated and some studio tracks end rather abruptly, but the rest is great.

Amazing performance, less than perfect recording.......2007-06-20

Each song is full of passion, creating a heart-warming atmosphere. One drawback of this CD is that the sound quality is not very good. I wish there was an SACD version of this recording.

Must Buy, Especially For Jazz Pianists.......2007-04-24

Wow, this is a great CD. I love listening to it and many great pianists have been influenced by Oscar Peterson. He is an amazing genius.

Essential Peterson.......2007-03-23

This is the Oscar Peterson album that everybody should have. Committed followers know its one of the very best, and newcomers won't find anything too dificult on it. This is the first CD I ever bought 21 years ago and I've been playing it ever since.

The basic feel of the album is blues. C Jam Blues, Night Train, Thing Ain't What They Used To Be, Moten Swing and Honey Dripper are all blues or blues related. However there's great variety amongst these tracks, contrast the mellow version of "Things Ain't What..." with the swinging version of "Honey Dripper".

On this album Peterson makes everything sound effortless, whether its his uptempo playing or superb ballad playing (such as on I Ain't Got It Bad..). My favourite track is Ellingtons Band Call. At the end of the track Oscar plays 3 increasingly syncopated resolutions leading on the 4th occasion to the end of the tune.

Perhaps the only thing you don't get on this album is the virtuoso Peterson (try the "The Trio" or "Tracks" for this). Sure some of this stuff requires excellent technique, but even at this level Oscar still has another gear.

As previous reviewers have said, special mention should be made of "Hymn To Freedom". This is a marvellous Peterson original with a great performance. A fitting way to end a superb album.

A mature Oscar Peterson.......2007-01-14

Oscar was 36 when he and his favorite bass player, Ray Brown, teamed up with Ed Thigpen on drums to record this confident, mature cool jazz collection in 1962. In a very good sense this is a commercially enjoyable studio-recorded collection of safe tunes and some originals. Generally upbeat defined by Oscar's fingers dashing from one end of the keyboard to the other.

If you're unfamiliar with Oscar's work, this is the place to start...then go backward in time and forward. This son of Canada is still living, and may he do so for a long time.

South Pacific (Original 1949 Broadway Cast)

Average customer rating:

Best ever !
beautiful recording of a very important musical......
Enchanting Evening Always.
Some Enchanted Soundtrack!
Wha-?

South Pacific (Original 1949 Broadway Cast)
Richard Rodgers , and Oscar Hammerstein
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The King and I: A Decca Broadway Original Cast Album (Original 1951 Broadway Cast)

ASIN: B00000DHSL
Release Date: 1998-11-10

Tracks:

Overture
Dites-moi
A Cockeyed Optimist
Twin Soliloquies
Some Enchanted Evening
Bloody Mary
There Is Nothin' like A Dame
Bali Ha'i
I'm Gonna Wash that Man right outa My Hair
A Wonderful Guy
Younger than Springtime
Happy Talk
Honey Bun
You've Got to be Carefully Taught
This Nearly Was Mine
Finale: Dites-moi (reprise)
Loneliness of Evening
My Girl Back Home
Bali-Ha'i
South Pacific: Symphonic Scenario for Concert Orchestra

Amazon.com essential recording

Based on James Michener's Tales of the South Pacific, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Pulitzer prize-winning South Pacific is one of the most beloved musicals ever to hit the stage. The appeal is simple: a collection of stunning compositions--immense symphonic sound orchestrated by Rodgers collaborator Robert Russell Bennett--and characters with a simple though cohesive through-line. On this original Broadway cast recording, the lovely, girlish Mary Martin (Peter Pan, Annie Get Your Gun) is the heartily feminine American nurse Nellie Bly to the dashing former Metropolitan Opera bass Ezio Pinza as French plantation owner Emile de Becque. This release takes from the original high-quality tapes cut in 1949 (rather than the acetates, which were recorded simultaneously for the vinyl release of the day). There are alternate takes of a few songs and the restored original version of the hard-hitting racial commentary number "Carefully Taught." Pinza's "Some Enchanted Evening" is tender and lovely without being cloying. Martin's confidence and warm vocal expressiveness on numbers such as "Twin Soliloquies" and the bonus track, "Loneliness of the Evening," are stellar, and the choral numbers are both solid and spunky. --Paige La Grone

Customer Reviews:

Best ever !.......2007-07-10

South Pacific has been part of my life, forever, from when I listened to it on 78's from the book until now on CD. With its great music, thought provoking lyrics and a "just right" cast, nothing in my opinion is wrong with it. Every time I play it I am lost in the whole being of it. Pure and utter enjoyment that crosses the generations. Leaves you feeling you are a cockeyed optimist!!

beautiful recording of a very important musical.............2007-05-19

Though, SOUTH PACIFIC was made into a successful movie, I would take this, the original recording with Mary Martin (as Nellie Bly) and Enzio Pinza (as Emile de Becque) over it any day! For starters, there is so much spunk and great chemistry between the two leads--star crossed lovers who meet, by chance, in the South Pacific, when Bly is working as an on-site nurse for soldiers stationed there. This beautiful musical really has it all. Romance, humor (though, sometimes a little dated!) and drama. The sweeping score and powerful, punchy lyrics, written by the great team of Rodgers and Hammerstein, remains as compelling today as it was, at first release on Broadway, in 1949.

Some of the best-loved songs (plus many more) are featured on this remastered recording, available on CD. They include "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught," which alludes to racism and also how we are raised to be products of our environment, "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair," and "Some Enchanted Evening." You will really hear the powerful messages that the more dramatically intense songs convey and will smile over the others that are more light-hearted in nature. Just wonderful! They don't write songs like this anymore.

Enchanting Evening Always........2007-01-19

This Broadway Show Original Recording CD is still the best. Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza are unmatchable. It is a treasure and a pleasure to listen again, and every time the whole score provides an enchanted evening. Look also at American Medicine MisManaged Care: How we can improve quality, cover the uninsured, add pharmacy and have $billions left over. This is the time to make it happen.

Some Enchanted Soundtrack!.......2007-01-17

I have an original copy of the Broadway cast recording of South Pacific on vinyl. The vinyl is in excellant condition and plays as if it were a brand new record. Mary Martin is superb in the role of Nellie Forbush. I love to hear this lady sing, she is excellant! Ezio Pinza provides his rich bass voice as Emele DeBeck and Ray Walston sings up a storm as Luther Billis. This soundtrack is pure enchantment!

Wha-?.......2007-01-09

Although I love the message behind the story, I must admit that the soundtrack left me a bit...cold. Mary Martin must have been one of those "you had to be there" actresses- because her voice seemed flat and lifeless to me. I am sure I will get a lot of flack about this comment, Mary Martin was my mother's favorite actress, topped only by Ethel Merman and any kind of review less than stellar will irk many.

Stan Getz & The Oscar Peterson Trio: The Silver Collection

Average customer rating:

Great - The Best of the Best
"I'm Glad There Is You . . ."
Great rythym section
Herb Ellis & Ray Brown: Rhythm Machine
Essential

Stan Getz & The Oscar Peterson Trio: The Silver Collection
Stan Getz & The Oscar Peterson Trio
Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000046ZJ
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

I Want To Be Happy
Pennies From Heaven
Ballad Medley: Bewitched, Bothered, And Bewildered/I Don't Know Why I Just Do/How Long Has This...
I'm Glad There Is You
Tour's End
I Was Doing All Right
Bronx Blues
Three Little Words
Detour Ahead
Sunday
Blues For Herky

Amazon.com

Stan Getz and Oscar Peterson were both consummate performers, comfortable at any tempo, when they met for this 1957 recording, and they're clearly enjoying one another's skills on ballads and uptempo tunes alike. The group is one of the finest editions of Peterson's trios, with bassist Ray Brown and guitarist Herb Ellis. It's virtually a machine for quiet swing, and the absence of a drummer lets Getz's silky sound come to the fore with all its details intact. For all his fame as a virtuosic pianist, Peterson is an underrated accompanist. He complements a soloist with deft fills and unobtrusive propulsion, and the backgrounds he supplies here are as subtle as his solos are extroverted. The program is a good mix of standards and Getz originals, including the joyous "Tour's End," while the extended ballad medley could define jazz lyricism. There's also a brief but infectious version of Ellis's "Detour Ahead," the guitarist's early and highly successful foray into songwriting. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews:

Great - The Best of the Best.......2007-01-27

There are so many superlatives about this album. The first thing one new to the Peterson trio may notice is the lack of drums. And yet, the trio swings so hard that it's very easy to forget. Getz's soft, gentle tone on sax makes a stark but highly effective foil to Peterson's high-energy keyboard acrobatics and staggering virtuosity. The bass and guitar hold everything together transparently, working together in perfect syncronization during the solos, to keep the energy at a proper pitch at all times, then peeling off to do their own magic when it's their turn to solo. The speedy opening cut, "I Want to Be Happy", constantly pops with surprises and new textures. Often, I'll play it twice in a row because it's so much fun to listen to. This album is top jazz musicians at the top of their game.

"I'm Glad There Is You . . .".......2007-01-27

"This is one of the enjoyable recordings I've ever made. How refreshing is it to play with these pros." ~ Stan Getz ~

"This memorable session was Stan Getz and Oscar Peterson's first and only meeting in the recording studio as co-leaders. Stan Getz and Oscar Peterson Trio remains a most satisfying collaboration and is presented here - in its entirety - for the first time." ~ Nat Hentoff ~

Stan Getz with Oscar Peterson, Herb Ellis and Ray Brown? Yes, indeed, on this CD! The group will utterly delight you with their outstanding performances. While I tremendously enjoyed this CD in its entirety, the part I love most is the ballad medley, which the group perfectly performed. I believe this medley is the crowning glory of this album. It's so beautiful that I can just put track #3 on a repeat mode and forget the rest of the tracks! What a brilliant idea to do a medley of all these songs so meaningful to me. This medley alone is worth the price of the CD. The songs and its respective soloists are as follow.

"Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered" - Stan Getz, tenor sax
"I Don't Know Why, I Just Do" - Herb Ellis, guitar
"How Long Has This Been Going On" - Oscar Peterson, piano
"I Can't Get Started" - Ray Brown, bass
"Polka Dots And Moonbeams" - Stan Getz, tenor sax

Also one of my favorites tunes here is "I'm Glad There Is You." Stan Getz's genius shows in every note of this superb and melodic track, and Herb Ellis plays his guitar in a very creative fashion. This is one of the most sublime and notable instrumental versions of all-time. It starts off artistically with Ellis' guitar then Getz joins in slightly overpowering Ellis' guitar to make the most enchanting mix of sax and guitar simultaneously, then comes that gorgeous "solo showdown" between Getz and Ellis. It's so beautiful! I listened to it with a few repeats.

Stan Getz can swing, too! Just listen closely to "I Want To Be Happy," "Pennies From Heaven," "Three Little Words" and his very own "Blues For Herky" and "Tour's End." He plays his favorite instrument effortlessly with ease, precision and virtuosic flair.

When jazz greats get together for a gig, the result is one fantastic album such as this.

An enjoyable musical journey.

Great rythym section.......2006-11-04

As a jazz guitar player, i personally love stan getz, and to hear him with ray brown, one of my favorite and greatest bass players ever. This was also the first i have listened to Herb Ellis play, his parts are a bit quiet but hey all guitarist were quiet until Charlie Christian. All in Four Really great musicians playing together, if you like this , check out russell malone, ray brown and monty alexander's Cd.

Herb Ellis & Ray Brown: Rhythm Machine.......2006-10-04

I love this recording, and all the other reviews have discussed the many reasons why it is so great. I just want to mention something that Herb Ellis said about playing with Ray Brown. Herb said that Ray's bass playing made him feel like he was being physically lifted up and carried along by some super-strong giant. Mr. Brown is the model of powerful swing - massive,deep tone, atomic sense of time. On this (and other) OPT recordings you can hear him lift-'n-carry the whole band.

Essential.......2006-08-09

This is hands-down, the best jazz album I've ever owned. Whether sitting in front of the speakers with eyes closed, absorbing every note, or using it as unobtrusive (but swingin') background music while I work, this album shines.

If you're an audio snob who expects every last KHz of treble to be there, you will be dissappoined. The audio quality is only on par with a good cassette tape, but the music more than makes up for it.

Average customer rating:

AWESOME!!
MacRae and Jones soar in this tragic R&H musical
Great Music
Response to David Pabian's review below
Gummed up an Original

Carousel (1956 Film Soundtrack)
Shirley Jones , Claramae Turner , Robert Rounseville , Cameron Mitchell , Barbara Ruick , Robert Rounseville , Richard Rodgers , Oscar Hammerstein II , and Gordon MacRae
Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00005A7XD
Release Date: 2001-03-13

Tracks:

Introduction - Gordon MacRae/William Le Massena
Main Title: The Carousel Waltz - 20th Century-Fox Orchestra/Alfred Newman
You're A Queer One, Julie Jordan - Barbara Ruick/Shirley Jones
When I Marry Mr. Snow - Barbara Ruick
If I Loved You - Shirley Jones/Gordon MacRae
June Is Bustin' Out All Over - Claramae Turner/Barbara Ruick
June Is Bustin' Out All Over Ballet - 20th Century-Fox Orchestra/Alfred Newman
Soliloquy - Gordon MacRae
Blow High, Blow Low - Cameron Mitchell
When The Children Are Asleep - Robert Rounseville/Barbara Ruick
A Real Nice Clambake - Barbara Ruick/Claramae Turner/Robert Rounseville/Cameron Mitchell
Stonecutters Cut In On Stone - Cameron Mitchell
What's The Use Of Wond'rin - Shirley Jones
You'll Never Walk Alone - Shirley Jones/Claramae Turner
Ballet - 20th Century-Fox Orchestra/Alfred Newman
If I Loved You (Reprise) - Gordon MacRae
You'll Never Walk Alone (Finale) - Shirley Jones
Carousel Waltz (LP Version) - 20th Century-Fox Orchestra/Alfred Newman

Amazon.com

Richard Rodgers always considered Carousel his favorite score, even though it didn't generate the number of popular hits of some of the other shows he produced with lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II. Their adaptation of the Ferenc Molnar play Liliom is marked by three especially sublime moments. "The Carousel Waltz," Rodgers's alternative to the traditional Broadway overture, serves as an orchestral backdrop to the opening scene and is one of the best miniatures ever written for the theater. "If I Loved You," which establishes the romance of carnival barker Billy Bigelow (Gordon MacRae, a late replacement for Frank Sinatra) and nice girl Julie Jordan (Shirley Jones), is a musical minidrama in which the pair's discussion of how they are not in love reveals just how much they are in love. "Soliloquy" is Billy's powerful solo that foreshadows the action to come in Act II. Add the inspirational anthem "You'll Never Walk Alone," and you have Rodgers and Hammerstein's most extraordinary, near-operatic score. On the soundtrack for the 1956 film, MacRae and Jones are in exceptional voice (following their success in 1955's Oklahoma) and the orchestra sounds glorious, but unfortunately some of the numbers were shortened, most notably "If I Loved You." Extensive production notes, an interview with Jones, and a synopsis are included. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews:

AWESOME!!.......2007-05-12

LOVE SOUND TRACTS FROM OLD MOVIES - SING ALONGS AND THE BEST ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU ARE TRAVELING AND CAN SING LOUD. IT IS A KEEPER

MacRae and Jones soar in this tragic R&H musical.......2007-02-11

This film adaptation of Carousel came shortly after the Oklahoma! film and reunited Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones. Although the film was not well-received at the box office, the soundtrack shows MacRae, Jones and the superb cast performing their roles to their heart's content. Their performance helps bring out the pathos in this tragic R&H musical, which Rodgers himself considered his favourite of all his works.

MacRae shines vocally as Billy Bigelow, bringing an open-hearted musicality and sincerity to his stout-hearted portrayal. MacRae stands out in Billy's pivotal Soliloquy, which some reviewers have considered one of the finest vocal performances of the 20th century. He is well-partnered by Shirley Jones, who lends her tender voice and personality to her portrayal as Julie. Listen to the chemistry they exude during the pivotal If I Loved You duet, as if they're overcoming their shyness and drawing sustenance from each other with their love. The supporting cast also gives its all in performing their roles. Claramae Turner's hearty Nettie brims with sincerity, warmth and tenderness, and she leads a rousing rendition of June is Bustin' Out All Over and renders You'll Never Walk Alone touchingly. Barbara Ruick and Robert Rounseville are superb as Carrie and Mr. Snow, although I admit I would have liked a little more humour. I also admit I would have liked Cameron Mitchell as Jigger to sound more sinister, like Fisher Stevens did in the 1994 Broadway revival recording. But even as it is, everyone sings gloriously and is given sumptuous backing from Alfred Newman's superb arrangements and the 20th-Century Fox Orchestra, when it shines out in the ballets.

If I'm adding to the praise of these critic-proof performance, you'll wonder, why am I giving only 4 stars? Well, it's because the extra sound effects from the unreleased sequences tend to jar after a while. I know some of you are complaining that the dance sequences are plagued by extraneous sound effects and noise. I share the same feelings too and also wish that the producers had utilised the original studio pre-recordings for a sumptuous listening experience. However, let us at least be grateful that Didier Deutsch and his production team have made these unreleased sequences available on a soundtrack CD reissue. At least it's a step in the right direction before the entire canon of R&H film soundtracks (yes, including South Pacific and The Sound of Music) gets its due as deluxe 2-CD sets, complete with underscore.

However, don't let this gripe dissuade you from buying this soundtrack. It offers a complete musical experience that one could only dream of in the previous CD reissues of the soundtrack. And it demonstrates the element that Rodgers & Hammerstein were discovering in their musicals.

Great Music.......2007-01-04

Rogers and Hammerstein were in a different league when it came to writing musicals. Their music, lyrics and story are never alike. These two partners were exceptional and their music shows it. Carousel is a tragic story but also shows that human nature can rise above adversity. The music is wonderful and the characters believable. A great movie.

Response to David Pabian's review below.......2004-06-30

Response to David Pabian's review:

My review was not in error, as Mr. Pabian expects. The review was for the original CD release, not this expanded version. Amazon lifted it out of that spot and dropped it here, which of course makes it anachronistic. Why they did it without reading it is certainly an inept decision.

Gummed up an Original.......2003-06-10

This overblown "completeitis" has got to stop. The original soundtrack album Carousel Waltz is now relegated to Appendix status, and terrible sonics accompany dancers' footstomping in the "new" expanded musical sequences, taken directly from the soundtrack rather than from still-existing musical tracks. There was a reason soundtrack recordings were studio performances. The proportions were right, the timings were correct for an overall BALANCED listening experience. These gawdawful expanded editions, often with dialogue thrown in, completely throw off those balances. An argument might be made for expanded sequences appropriate to a CDs longer playing time than the standard L.P. 45min., but possibly only if those sequences are from their original studio-recorded, pre release-print mix -- which could have easily been done in this case. A quick word on one of the above reviews: This is not the first time the complete Carousel Waltz is heard in stereo. There were two previous CD remasterings of the original soundtrack whereon it was included. And the reprise of "If I loved You" was part of every soundtrack release, mono and stereo.

The Sound of Music (1965 Film Soundtrack)

Average customer rating:

The music makes me feel that life is beautiful.
The best music
Great CD
It breathes new life with every play... even more than forty years later.
It's a joy for your heart

The Sound of Music (1965 Film Soundtrack)
Richard Rodgers , Oscar Hammerstein II , and Julie Andrews
Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00004WFNP
Release Date: 2000-08-22

Tracks:

Prelude And The Sound Of Music
Overture And Preludium (Dixit Dominus)
Morning Hymn And Alleluia
Maria
I Have Confidence
Sixteen Going On Seventeen
My Favorite Things
Do-Re-Mi
The Sound Of Music
The Lonely Goatherd
So Long, Farewell
Climb Ev'ry Mountain
Something Good
Processional And Maria
Edelweiss
Climb Ev'ry Mountain (Reprise)

Amazon.com essential recording

Rodgers & Hammerstein wrote the music for this film starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The scene in which Andrews crests a hill with her arms spread singing the title track is one of the greatest in American film. Hearing that song forever fills the listener with that image, and remains as fresh and even chilling as it was initially. Unfortunately much of this has been co-opted by television advertisements or whatever, and so could languish because of the clichéd quality of it. Fortunately, conductor Irwin Kostal delivered a wonderful score, and the vocal delivery is as vibrant as any in the storied history of film musicals. --Scott Wilson

Customer Reviews:

The music makes me feel that life is beautiful........2006-05-13

This is one of my favorite CD. The song I like most is `Prelude and the Sound of Music'. The lyric is so wonderful: My heart wants to beat like the wings of the birds that rise from the lake to the trees / My heart wants to sigh like a chime that flies from a church on a breeze / To laugh like a brook when it trips and falls over stones on its way / To sing through the night like a lark who is learning to pray....It seems that the song is telling me "Although sometimes people have to be realistic, there is much beauty in life. Just treasure and cherish your life." Each time I listened to this CD, I felt pleasant or even cheerful ^_^ I once gave it to a friend as a Christmas gift. I think songs in this CD are genuine.

The best music.......2006-02-21

Una de las bandas sonoras más formidables de todos los tiempos. Prueba de ello fue la inclusión de tres de sus canciones en el top 100 de las mejores bandas sonoras de los 100 años del cine.
Canciones como "My favorite things", "Do-re-mi" y "The sound of music" son ejemplo de la calidad de las composiciones.

Excelente proceso de restauración y remasterización... Se lo recomiendo a todos los amantes de las bandas sonoras.

Great CD.......2006-02-17

The music is great and excelent quality, but It should come with the lyrics

It breathes new life with every play... even more than forty years later........2006-01-05

Few times does a movie compile so naturally so many fabulous pieces of music. The soundtrack to the "The Sound of Music" almost feels like an album of greatest hits of the twentieth century. Starting with the title track, it's impossible not to be transported to the first scene in the movie, with Julie Andrews spreading her arms at the top of a mountain in the Austrian Alps. It's a non-stop sequence of incredible songs: "Sixteen Going On Seventeen", "My Favorite Things", "Do-Re-Mi", "So Long, Farewell", and the list goes on, all the way to the intimate and melancholic "Edelweiss".

Balancing quite perfectly the sad with the uplifting, the album does it all, and breathes new life with every play... even more than forty years after the world first heard "The Sound of Music".

It's a joy for your heart.......2005-11-20

I saw the movie as a young child (under the age of 10) and can vividly remember the songs. To hear Julie Andrews sing the main theme, you feel as if you too are on a mountaintop and the world is at your fingertips. It's envigorating, enlivening, and energizing - to say the least. Every song on this soundtrack is a gem. Watch the movie if you're not sure about this purchase. It's certain to convince you that you will want to hear these tunes again and again. Falls into the category of "what I want to hear after a tough day at work"!!

Soul of the Tango: The Music of Astor Piazzolla

Average customer rating:

Excellently performed, Not much Variety
A Classy CD
Great Music BUT - Stupid Sony CD
Very good but not what I heard live in Cerritos
Fantastic Marriage of Two Worlds

Soul of the Tango: The Music of Astor Piazzolla

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Classic Yo-Yo

ASIN: B0000029XQ
Release Date: 1997-10-02

Tracks:

Libertango
Tango Suite: Andante
Tango Suite: Allegro
Tango Suite: Sur: Regreso Al Amor
Tango Suite: Le Grand Tango
Tango Suite: Fugata
Tango Remembrances
Mumuki
Tres Minutos Con La Realidad
Milonga Del Angel
Cafe 1930

Amazon.com essential recording

Yo-Yo Ma might seem like an unlikely protagonist for the tango, but this intrepid musical explorer has taken his task seriously, collaborating with experienced tango musicians. Ma even participates in a posthumous collaboration with one 1987 Piazzolla recording. Furthermore, while he's obviously the headliner here, he doesn't dominate the arrangements nearly as much as he does the billing and photography of the disc. While the result isn't your essential Piazzolla album (that would have to include more of the composer's own playing), it's an atmospheric and convincing collection, perhaps a good introduction for those who don't know the music. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

Excellently performed, Not much Variety.......2007-01-12

Yo-Yo Ma leads an all-star cast in his "Sould of the Tango" project. He offers fresh new arrangements of Piazzolla's masterpieces including "Libertango," "Tango Suite," "Fugatta," and more. The arrangements are expertly performed and the playing is exciting and energetic. There is a lush palatte of sound colors coming from guitars, cellos, pianos and the bandoneon. The music is beautiful and flashy. Pieces are reorchestrated such as the "Tango Suite" pieces which are originally guitar duos now with a cello in the mix and the last track on the album, "Cafe 1930" was originally flute and guitar but Ma performs it on cello and bandoneon. The result is freshly interpreted Piazzolla masterpieces that feature new sound color and new perspective. The music is really quite enchanting.

The only problem with this particular recording is that I think Piazzolla is better heard in moderation. Piazzolla wrote in such a constrianed genre, (classical tango), and thus a whole hour of Piazzolla is a little much to take. This great album doesn't make for much of a great straight through listen, but is much better as a plesant surprise when the computer library or iPod is on shuffle.

A Classy CD.......2004-06-23

Great intro to tango, great to relax and read to.

Great Music BUT - Stupid Sony CD.......2003-07-16

I love this music - plays great on my CD player, but when I tried to play it on my computer at work, I wouldn't work. Sony wanted me to install something that didn't work on my machine (my computer is farely new), so I ended up having a friend copy the music over to a new CD without all that SONY stuff they use to stop pirating probably. Now I can listen at work and it is wonderful. BUT BEWARE ON BUYING CDs like this!

Very good but not what I heard live in Cerritos.......2003-03-05

When I first heard Yo-Yo Ma live in Cerritos several years ago, his closing piece was from the yet released Soul of the Tango.
With that music, the subdued audience was enlightened. With only a Cello and a Piano, the music that was created was unbelievable. It was several months before the CD came out and I was a little disappointed that the energy that was present in the live concert did not translate to the CD. I hope that a Live recording or DVD will eventually be released which does capture the real Soul of the Tango.

Fantastic Marriage of Two Worlds.......2003-03-05

I have always thought that Tango deserved a more elevated standing with both professional and amateur music lovers and what better way to attain that wish than having Yo Yo Ma join in for a session.(Is that a question or statement?) This is a remarkable CD that ranges a wide spectrum of Tango music, most of it exciting, sensual and daring.

Piazzolla, a transcendent artist, was determined to broaden Tango's appeal and he did so admirably. Lovers of jazz and classical now appreciate this fusion and nowhere is it expressed better than this offering. Ma admits he was delighted with the chance to work with the other artists and though he is the star it is never totally given over to the cello. As much as I like the cello, it cannot hold a candle to the bandoneon, perhaps the closest thing to a human voice outside of humanity.

Some of these works are magnificent interpretations and in the case of Tango, what is important is staying true to the spirit and not the letter of the note. I love the subtle, whining melodies, the rising and falling of the "voice"...the continual yearning.

Tracks:

Overture
Dites-Moi / Oh, and what's that flower over there?
A Cock-Eyed Optimist
So when you joined the Navy...
Twin Soliloquies
One waits so long for what is good
Some Enchanted Evening
Dites-Moi (Reprise)
Bloody Mary
Say, is that a boar's tooth bracelet on your wrist?
There Is Nothin' Like A Dame
Ah, hello... you make trouble for me?
Bali Ha'i
Bali H'ai (Reprise)
So tell us, Nellie, what did old Ironbelly want?
I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair
Hello, is that a new American song?
Some Enchanted Evening (Reprise)
Will you come to my party Friday?
A Wonderful Guy
What should I do, Captain? / Bali H'ai (Reprise)
You wait, Lootellan...
Younger Than Springtime & Bali H'ai (Reprise)
A Wonderful Guy (Reprise)
This Is How It Feels & A Cock-Eyed Optimist (Reprise)
Finale Act 1 - Some Enchanted Evening (Reprise)
Entr'acte
Happy Talk
It is my great pleasure to bring you our skipper...
Honey Bun
You've Got To Be Carefully Taught
This Nearly Was Mine
Well, de Beque, I take off pretty soon for Marie Louise...
Some Enchanted Evening (Reprise)
Alright, Let's Start Those Trucks... / Honey Bun (Reprise)
Finale Act 2 - Dites-Moi (Reprise)

Amazon.com

From the second the majestic overture of Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1949 show starts, you know you're in for a treat: In this age of diminished Broadway pits, hearing the 45-piece Orchestra of St. Luke's firing on all cylinders is just thrilling. And that's only the beginning of the fun in this most traditional, most delightful musical, recorded live at Carnegie Hall in June 2005. As Nellie Forbush, Reba McEntire deploys a homespun Southern charm that works marvels against the urbane Emile de Becque, i.e., Brian Stokes Mitchell and his impossibly buttery baritone (check out his rendition of "Some Enchanted Evening"). Of course we shouldn't be surprised, since country star Reba had turned out to be musical-theater star Reba when she replaced Bernadette Peters in Annie Get Your Gun on Broadway. Here, she brightly delivers classics (yes, the show is packed with them) like "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair" and "A Wonderful Guy." And let's not forget Lillias White, chewing the scenery in spectacular fashion as Bloody Mary ("Bali Ha'i," "Happy Talk"--what was that about the show being packed with memorable tunes again?). When the classic American musical is done with such gusto, it's hard not to be won over. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Customer Reviews:

Better than I could have imagined.......2007-06-09

To compare this recording with the original cast recordings of the 1950's is like comparing a jr. high science experiment with a space shuttle launch. Reba McIntyre is wonderful, giving a slight country twang just where and when it was needed (wasn't Nellie from Arkansas, after all?) And what can one say about Mr. Mitchell? That booming baritone filled every nook and cranny of Carnagie Hall, and his clever, halted, French-accented dialogue made his character interpretation enjoyable and realistic. Danieley and White were probably who Rogers and Hammerstein had in mind when they wrote this musical. I loved every song and every word of dialogue.

Fantastic.......2007-05-14

A great recoding. I think Reba makes a much more believable Nellie than Mary did. I keep it in my car, to play frequently.

Sensational!.......2007-03-25

I approached watching this production on PBS with some trepidation, especially after the R&H organization's last attempt at mounting this piece, that hideous television film version with Glenn Close.

I was especially wary of the casting of a "country" singer to play Nellie. But Reba's warmth and sincerity in the role won me over. This was a splendid choice. Nellie is indeed a "hick" and Reba takes that character clue quite literally. Though the role was originally written for a girl from Texas, Mary Martin, she never took the character too far in that direction, at least from the evidence of the cast recording and the television performances I've seen. But Reba does, quite courageously, never totally shedding her "country" approach to the role, and yet, really singing it! Quite an achievement.

The rest of the casting achieves the same level of perfection. Stokes-Mitchell is not quite an opera singer (the role was written for Ezio Pinza, an operatic bass-baritone) but he manages the part nicely, though his "French" accent is a little inconsistent. Alec Baldwin is totally hilarious as Billis, taking the role in another direction than others have, but it works.

Someone here commented on the casting of black actors in the Polynesian roles, rather than using Asian actors. I would normally agree with the writer, but not in this instance. This show was written in 1949 to directly address the racial inequality between blacks and whites in mid-century America in a way that had never been done before, and in the orginal production, black actors were used to make just that point. This is an attempt to do an "authentic" production, true to the show's original intent. So I respect the producers' decision in this production.

This concert performance is "authentic" in that it uses all of Bennett's original orchestrations, which are a joy to hear, and most if not all of the dialogue, keeping all the songs in their original context. Some songs that never made sense to me in the original cast recording, heard here in context for the first time, suddenly make total sense.

In a way, I prefer the CD of thios performance to the video presentation. One can listen to it and imagine this is NOT a concert performance, but a fully staged one, with a live audience present. It's quite an authentic experience. I did not see the original Broadway production, but I did see the New York City Opera's revival in 1965, and this audio recording helps me relive those memories of a live stage performance.

Truly wonderful!.......2007-02-06

"South Pacific" seems to be one of those "forgotten" classics of the musical theatre. The score is magnificent, and the overture is enough get a dead man's heart beating again.

There's not enough to say about Brian Stokes Mitchell. I first saw him in "Kiss of the Spider Woman" and haven't missed his starring roles since them. His version of "This Nearly Was Mine" gave me chills. He is a truly gifted performer.

Reba McIntire is obviously having a great time with the role of Nellie Forbush. She's endearing in the role, and I hope she finds other avenues besides country music to show off her talents.

I liked Alec Baldwin's portrayal of Luther very much. He's not exactly a major musical talent, but he gives it all he's got.

Very highly recommended!

WHAT AN AWESOME PERFORMANCE!.......2007-02-01

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS RENDITION OF THE STAGE PLAY. I LISTEN TO IT AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK, OFTEN DAILY. YOU WILL LOVE IT!

Average customer rating:

TV Movie; Rodgers & Hammerstein Cinderella
Fast Service - Thank You!!
Good
Cinderella Soundtract (1965 Television Cast)
Cinderella ( 1965 Telivision Cast )

Cinderella (1965 Television Cast)
Richard Rodgers , and Oscar Hammerstein II
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella

ASIN: B00000291S
Release Date: 1993-09-21

Tracks:

Overture - Orchestra
Loneliness Of Evening - Stuart Damon
Cinderella March - Orchestra
In My Own Little Corner - Lesley Ann Warren
The Prince Is Giving A Ball - Don Heitgerd/Ensemble
Impossible!; It's Possible! - Celeste Holm/Lesley Ann Warren
Gavotte - Orchestra
Ten Minutes Ago - Stuart Damon/Lesley Ann Warren
Stepsisters' Lament - Pat Carroll/Barbara Ruick
Waltz For A Ball - Orchestra/Chorus
Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful - Lesley Ann Warren/Stuart Damon
When You're Driving Through The Moonlight/A Lovely Night - Jo Van Fleet/Lesley Ann Warren/Barbara Ruick/Pat Carroll
Finale - Orchestra/Ensemble

Customer Reviews:

TV Movie; Rodgers & Hammerstein Cinderella.......2007-06-04

Quality product. Got it for the grandkids for family shared activity.

Fast Service - Thank You!!.......2007-05-26

Very fast shipping and a really great product - thank you very much!

Good.......2007-05-26

The CD was new, but the cover was broken maybe in shipping. Very fast!!! recomended

Cinderella Soundtract (1965 Television Cast).......2007-05-14

All the music from the 1965 production of Cinderella with Stuart Damon and Lesley Ann Warren as Prince Charming and Cinderella. The sound/quality is perfect. Love it!

Cinderella ( 1965 Telivision Cast ).......2007-02-14

This CD brought back memories of when I first viewed the show on television many years ago. The quality of the voices and music was fantastic. It was great hearing the songs that touched me so many years ago.

Signed,
Hugh

Average customer rating:

Interlude is great.
great musik
A must have!
Put it on and dream
Lots of instrumental pieces

The Color Purple

Manufacturer: Dreamworks
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000A2H8Z8
Release Date: 2005-08-09

Tracks:

Overture- QUINCY JONES
Main Title- QUINCY JONES
Celie Leaves With Mr.- QUINCY JONES
Corrine And Olivia- QUINCY JONES
Nettie Teaches Celie- QUINCY JONES
The Separation- QUINCY JONES
Celie and Harpo Grow Up/Mr. Dresses to See Shug- QUINCY JONES
Careless Love - QUINCY JONES
Sophia Leaves Harpo- QUINCY JONES
Celie Cooks Shug Breakfast- QUINCY JONES
Junk Bucket Blues- QUINCY JONES
The Dirty Dozens- QUINCY JONES
Miss Celie's Blues (Sister)- QUINCY JONES
Don't Make Me No Never Mind- QUINCY JONES
My Heart (Will Always Lead Me Back To You)- LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS HOTFIVE
Three On The Road- QUINCY JONES
Bus Pulls Out- QUINCY JONES

Tracks:

The First Letter- QUINCY JONES
Letter Search- QUINCY JONES
Nettie's Letters- QUINCY JONES
High Life / Proud Theme- QUINCY JONES
J.B. King- QUINCY JONES
Heaven Belongs To You- QUINCY JONES
Katutoka Corrine- QUINCY JONES
Celie Shaves Mr./Scarification Ceremony- QUINCY JONES
I'm Here- QUINCY JONES
Champagne Train- QUINCY JONES
Celie's New House / Body And Soul- QUINCY JONES / COLEMAN HAWKINS & HIS ORCHESTRA
Maybe God Is Tryin' To Tell You Somethin'- QUINCY JONES
Reunion/Finale- QUINCY JONES

Customer Reviews:

Interlude is great........2007-03-09

I wanted a CD that captured the mood and feelings of the movie. The score sort of recycles itself. Its important to know the title of the song so that you can understand the music. This is really a great Soundtrack.

My favorite part is the interlude, its a little long but how else can you capture the whole movie in just a few minutes!

great musik.......2007-03-08

This cd is the parfait double of the film.
You just have to lesson it for being in the film. Great tunes.

A must have!.......2007-02-21

This is a good cd, although it was not exactly what I was expecting. I was hoping for more lyrics in the songs rather than just the music, as it was sung in the movie. Although I love the music just the same.

Put it on and dream.......2007-01-09

The music is so pleasant. It is something that inspires thought.

Lots of instrumental pieces.......2007-01-05

This is a great CD, but if you are looking for a lot of gospel tunes you might be disappointed, there are many instrumental peices, that are pretty however.

Average customer rating:

A soundtrack without a movie
ohh weird!
Danny Elfman turns the music world on it's ear.
Elfman's Classical Album a Must Have
Danny Elfman's masterpiece...

Serenada Schizophrana
Danny Elfman , Bruce Morgenthaler , Christian Kollgaard , Connie Deeter , Drew Dembowski , Edward Meares , Frances Liu Wu , Oscar Hidalgo , Richard Feves , and Susan Ranney
Manufacturer: Sony Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000HEZF7C
Release Date: 2006-10-03

Tracks:

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IV. The Quadruped Patrol
V. 'I Forget'
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Improv For Alto Sax

Amazon.com

As the New York Times put it when Danny Elfman's Serenada Schizophrana was performed live at Carnegie Hall in February 2005: "Better good Hollywood music than second-rate Brahms." Elfman, better known for his soundtracks to Tim Burton movies, had been commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra to write a concert work, and the Serenada Schizophrana in six movements was the result. It appears here under the baton of John Mauceri, known for his crossover work with Los Angeles' Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Fans of Elfman's soundtracks won't be disappointed—or even very much surprised—by this venture into the concert hall. The composer's style remains very much the same, probably because his habitual orchestrator, Steve Bartek (whose contribution is crucial to Elfman's sound), worked on four movements, with Edgardo Simone handling the remaining two. Blending Bernard Herrmann, Duke Ellington, Max Steiner, and especially JG Thirlwell (a.k.a. big-band industrialist Foetus), Elfman has come up with an audience-friendly piece that actually sounds more convincing than similarly high-reaching works by Paul McCartney or Elvis Costello.--Elisabeth Vincentelli

Customer Reviews:

A soundtrack without a movie.......2007-06-27

Danny Elfman is one of Hollywood's most talented score writers, with more than 100 movie soundtracks under his belt. His musical arrangements never fail to impress, and he has an almost mystical ability to match the mood of his music to the action on-screen -- particularly when he's working with filmmaker Tim Burton.

Commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra, this symphonic piece gave the former Oingo Boingo frontman a new challenge -- working without the visual cues of a movie to inspire him. But, while the resulting tracks are entertaining on an aural level, they still sound like a soundtrack to me. And, without my own visual memories to accompany the music, my imagination filled them in -- I mostly saw scenes of Johnny Depp emoting or the stop-action hijinks of a skellington at play. Appropriately, it was later picked for use as a soundtrack for the IMAX film, Deep Sea 3D.

So really, it's simple. If you enjoy Elfman's soundtrack work, get this and you'll love it. If you think soundtracks should only be heard in the background of a film, skip this or get yourself to an IMAX theater for a little underwater exploration with narrators Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet and, of course, Elfman.

by Tom Knapp, Rambles.(n e t) editor

ohh weird!.......2007-04-26

Weird and Good! You can definitely identify it being an Elfman work. I really enjoy this ride. I would like to see a modern ballet put to this!

Danny Elfman turns the music world on it's ear........2007-04-13

Mr. Elfman is always traveling new roads in discovering what he can accomplish. "Serenada Schizophrana" is a good example of starting at square one and producing a whole new world for our ears to digest. In a musical landscape as far away from mainstream, one would expect no less than ears that could digest. Mr. Elfman is always flexing his artistic muscles, we can expect more greatness in his career.

Elfman's Classical Album a Must Have.......2007-03-20

This is vintage Danny Elfman but on the grand level of a full orchestral classical recording. I played this for my students, and they love the dark recording. A fantastic album.

Danny Elfman's masterpiece..........2007-02-14

Danny Elfman has long been a favorite of mine, going all the way back to his days with Oingo Boingo. I've been following his career closely since I heard his Beetlejuice score in 1988. He followed it with the classic Batman score in 1989. He made wonderful music throughout the nineties, often accompanying Tim Burton's films (he scored all of them save for Ed Wood). In my opinion, it took until 1999 to surpass his work on Batman, with the release of the Sleepy Hollow soundtrack. And now, with the release of Serenada Schizophrana, Sleepy Hollow has been dethroned. It'll take an impressive score to take this last composition's place.

This orchestral suite showcases Elfman's versatile influences and he sounds better than ever. Sometimes dark, other times playful with more quiet and subtle parts, this was a completely different project than his usual film scores. He had a lot of freedom for this symphony and it shows. Serenada is divided in 7 movements and contains a bonus track.

If some of the cuts sound familiar, it's because it was heavily featured in last year's Imax film Deep Sea 3D, narrated by Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet. It fit perfectly well with the mysterious underwater world unfolding in 3D on the oversized screen.

If you're a fan of Elfman's, you'll love Serenada. If you love movie scores, chances are you'll enjoy it too. The only downside with this CD has nothing to do with its content, but rather with its encoding. This is a SACD (Super Audio CD) and therefore will not be playable on your computer. It is designed for super audio players so you might want to check if your CD player can play it. It plays fine on mine and on my DVD player. The sound quality is much clearer than your average CD, but I find it disappointing that I'm not able to listen to this great suite on my IPod. Still, it's well worth it for the opening track alone!

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