Everybody [CD-single] [Enhanced] [Import]

Everybody [CD-single] [Enhanced] [Import]

Track Listings

1. Everybody (Original Club Mix)

2. Everybody (Pete Heller Dub)

3. Destiny (Remix)

4. Everybody (Video)

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Young Parisian Martin Solveig Revisits the UK Charts with a Worthy Follow Up to "Rocking Music".

Tracks:

Cinnamon Girl
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Round And Round (It Won't Be Long)
Down By The River
The Losing (When You're On)
Running Dry (Requiem For The Rockets)
Cowgirl In The Sand

Amazon.com

Opening with the methodical, hard-rocking "Cinnamon Girl"--still one of the singer-songwriter's most-hollered requests in concert--Young's second solo album introduces the cockeyed harmonies and sloppy, chiming guitars of Crazy Horse. His wide swings from soft-spoken country-folk ("Round & Round [It Won't Be Long]") to menacing metal (the punch line to "Down by the River" is "I shot my baby") indicate the multiple personalities in Young's future. His second album of 1969 broadcasts a sincere passion for the peace-and-love '60s (dig the long guitar solos) but also predicts the dark introspection of "Tonight's the Night." --Steve Knopper

Customer Reviews:

sound quality not good.......2007-06-12

The sound quality did not sound as good as my old album.

a suggestion.......2007-05-30

You know what i think would be great?
If they gave this album one of those "Deluxe Edition" jobs like they've
done with so many others such as the first Weezer album and Blind Faith and on and on. Out-takes,demo's,alternate takes/mix's....it would all be catnip to the millions who love this album.
Actually, now that i think of it....if a "Deluxe Edition" job isn't possible, they could make a nice pairing of this along with the Neil and Crazy Horse at The Fillmore 1970 CD. That would be pretty deluxe!

A Classic----Everybody Knows.......2007-05-14

While sniffing around in the wine cellar, I looked into my considerable archive of music and this one, inexplicably, shuffled it's way off the shelf into my bony hands. Some people say that it's Universal Force and Enlightenment that did it. I suspect Guido from the empty bottles. In any event- it is an excellent choice.
What can one say about this album? Neil Young expanded beyond Buffalo Springfield with this one and, I think, came into his own as a considerable artist in his own right. With Crazy Horse, he examined and extended his creativity with pastoral landscapes, jagged-edged cliffs, outerworldly musings, and just plain country meets city sensibility. Not that it always makes sense, but that people is the magic of music. Interpretation is up to you, not the artist.
Even now, I am awed by the consistency Neil displays so early in his solo career. We are never relaxed, for one moment, that the sequence of songs will resemble sameness in any shape or form. It begins with "Cinnamon Girl" which, in some way, reveals the dilemma that many young people have a problem with. That is the in-between phase of being a child and adult. He wants to spend his life with her, but then again, "Ma, send me money". The need to be free but not quite there yet. This theme reveals itself in many of his tunes. It is a slow rocker but with such a memorable riff. Next up "Everybody Knows", a jumpy, sprightly groove that, again, reveals where he's at - between a dream and reality- essentially nowhere.
"Round and Round" is a slow acoustic sadness that, I feel at least, is about loss. A loss of yourself? Or perhaps someone close. "Down By the River", aside from allowing Neil to stretch his jagged lead guitar, proposes another dilemma for the astute listener. The protagonist is lead to possibilities with this woman - but is her non-compliance a reason to shoot her? Down by the River? An enigmatic song at best and I dare not ask Neil the meaning.
We then get to "The Losing End" which reveals an easy-going country groove with some electric guitars helping it along. The theme? Good ol' country heartache. A mainstay in that genre - now and always. The mood then changes, into some outerworldly, ethereal regret and deception. This song reveals a darkness of the mind, and this is brought forth so effectively with the inclusion of violins. An eerie offering, but so very different.
"Cowgirl in the Sand", I think, is one of Neil's most potent songs. It can be taken on many levels. It is hard drivin' (but, it takes on a whole new perspective if you heard him do the acoustic version). Neil pleads with her to stay in her company. But, her place of command is the desert. Desolation. And, this song tries, desperately, to make her see her worth. Neil knows she is a beauty. She feels she is "purple words on a gray background". I feel that this song is an aching plea. It also allows Neil to experiment with lead guitar breaks, gritty and rough and insistent on it's purpose. In all, a brilliant conclusion to a brilliant album.
This album (plus the next two- After the Gold Rush and Harvest) complete the superb triumvirate of Neil's early career. As we know now, he was to go on to more creative terrain. Some of it successful, some of it not so. In any event, plain and simple, he is an amazing artist and, I think, one of the greats in popular music.
This one is definitely a classic and well worth the investment.
Now - if only Guido would replenish my bottles!

Your personal roadmap to reflection and music of worth--Metamorpho

an absolute rock and roll classic........2007-03-30

"tonight's the night" is my favorite neil young album. what's number two, though? "on the beach," "after the gold rush," or "everybody knows this is nowhere." hard to choose from those three great albums. might be "everybody knows..." though. such great songs. such stunning performances. "down by the river" and "cowgirl in the sand" have some of the most originally stunning guitar jams in the history of rock and roll. and the first of those two songs is simply about as haunting a piece of work as you will find in all of the rock and roll canon. "cinnamon girl," with its power chords and great melody is another classic. the whole album is just outrageously fantastic. don't miss it.

excellent early record.......2007-03-18

This is really one of Neil Young's most interesting albums. I love the two lengthy jams the most- lots of emotion in the guitar playing and the mood. "cinnamon girl" is probably overplayed, and the crunchy guitar riff never did a whole lot for me, but the title song and the rest of the album stand mighty proud as distinct tunes that will immediately take you back to the late 60's. Enjoy it. I wonder if Neil Young knew at the time that this album would still be remembered and praised nearly 40, yes that's right *40* years later.

Average customer rating:

A return to form
exactly.
Soundtrack for a Slow Summer Day
Best Sea and Cake album ever
A Rocking Return

Everybody
The Sea and Cake
Manufacturer: Thrill Jockey
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000O170Y4
Release Date: 2007-05-08

Tracks:

Up On Crutches
Too Strong
Crossing Line
Middlenight
Coconut
Exact To Me
Lighting
Introducing
Left On
Transparent

Amazon.com

A new record from the Sea and Cake is like a cool breeze, floating in off the water after a hot, sunny day. Unlike the dark, cerebral vibe of label-mates Tortoise (for whom drummer/producer John McEntire also plays and produces), The S&C plays loose. Still, the new record from Sam Prekop and company is especially relaxed, with songs that melt down into colorful smears. While 2003's One Bedroom was pointing in a more pop-oriented direction, Everybody is even more straightforward and stripped down, with only peripheral references to the jazzier sound of past efforts like 1995's The Biz. They're still capable of it though. Check out the free-form, jam-band vibe of "Left On," as McEntire's rollicking percussion dissolves over Prekop's gentle fadeout. But songs like the lead track, "Up on Crutches" are more representative, full of momentum and dynamics. Even the instrumentation is simpler; listen to the hand claps and the fuzz pedal on "Crossing Line." The Sea and Cake have never sounded uptight, but at times their beachy sound has seemed a little forced, like they were straining to suppress their experimental chops. But in challenging themselves to simplify, the band finally achieves a state of laid back clarity. It's the perfect soundtrack to lazy Sunday afternoons, letting Prekop's breathless voice dissolve like vapor against diffuse melodies and gliding guitars. Put on Everybody and tune out of the world. --Matthew Cooke

Album Description

Their first full-length in over four years continues to perfect their singular brand of dreamlike, hot-buttered pop music that sounds delicately handcrafted, yet effortless all the same. Sheets of glowing guitar tones skip along propulsive percussion underscored by gently funky, introspective bass lines, all adorned by breathlessly delivered lines of lyrical poetry.

Customer Reviews:

A return to form.......2007-07-04

With straight-up guitars, lyrics that are easier to follow, songs that are bit more tightly focused, "Everybody" is a step away from the process-heavy sound of "One Bedroom" and more in line with earlier work. Overall, the songs are way too short for how good they are. I frequently listen to this disc twice in a row. Not the masterpiece that is "Fawn" but highly recommended.

exactly........2007-06-21

I sat up and listened, immediately liking this release. It certainly pays off on The Sea And Cake's ability to seamlessly both rock and swing. There's just the right amount of dissonance underneath the propulsive grooves and guitar lines, which acknowledge a debt to West African polyrythm.

This was a very welcome listen, I'd hazard that The Sea And Cake is at the top of their game.

Soundtrack for a Slow Summer Day.......2007-06-19

I am new to The Sea and Cake, having bought the CD based on a strong review on The Onion's AV Page. I like this band's sound a lot. No song really jumps out at you, but they are all good. Their sound is not radio-friendly, you'd probably find them on a "light jazz/easy listening" station if at all, but that does their music a disservice. Their sound fits a slow drive through the wine country, or a breezy afternoon on the patio while reading a good book. The music is gentle without being boring. They sound like nobody else, probably best described as a mellower Sonic Youth, with less dissonance and more melody, with a little Modern English mixed in, only with more emphasis on mood rather than beat. The lead vocalist, Sam Prekop, has a soft, mid to high octave voice that sounds somewhere between a '70s folk-rocker and a present-day EMO warbler. In short, everything about this band is balanced and multi-influenced in a way to make their sound unique, accomplished, and worth hearing. I recommend this CD for everyone.

Best Sea and Cake album ever.......2007-06-11

I've been listening to this band since about 2000. I think I have pretty much all their music. Anyway, I originally heard of them when looking around for Tortoise CDs (both bands are apparently from Chicago). In my opinion, this is the best and most consistent album I've heard from them yet. I sure hope they put out a lot more music in the future.

As my girlfriend said, "I just don't understand why they're not the most famous band in the whole world!"

A Rocking Return.......2007-06-08

I really enjoyed this CD, I purchased it in pre-order status so that I'd get it ASAP. My friend got some tickets to see them in Solana Beach in the San Diego area, and I wanted to prep before their show with new music. Sounds great in concert and on CD. Can't really think of a song that I don't like. I particularly like Up on Crutches and Transparent, Too Strong is a really cool upbeat song too. Great addition to the Sea and Cake sound.

jxr

Average customer rating:

December's Children has too much filler
Their best early release in the US
Not an SACD
Not the Best, but pretty important
Stupendously Fantastic

December's Children (And Everybody's)
The Rolling Stones , and Rolling Stones
Manufacturer: Abkco
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00006AW2R
Release Date: 2002-09-03

Tracks:

She Said Yeah
Talking About You
You Better Move On
Look What You've Done
The Singer Not the Song
Route 66
Get off of My Cloud
I'm Free
As Tears Go By
Gotta Get Away
Blue Turns to Grey
I'm Movin' On

Amazon.com essential recording

Before this 1965 blues-rock masterpiece, the Stones were the best of the many British bands living out their Muddy Waters dress-up fantasies. They continue giving new life to old songs, such as Arthur Alexander's soul tearjerker "You Better Move On" and the Nat King Cole standard "Route 66," but there are several exciting new developments. Keith Richards and Mick Jagger discover their songwriting talents, coming up with the enduring "Get Off My Cloud" and "As Tears Go By" as well as the underappreciated "I'm Free." And drummer Charlie Watts focuses the swing-jazz fills that have defined the Stones as much as the writing, voices, and guitars. --Steve Knopper

Amazon.com

Dig how even a tossed-together cash-in by the Stones' U.S. label--the group's third American album of 1965--ends up smoking like all but their very best. They invent thrash with the opener, "She Said Yeah" (a Specialty Records obscurity penned, under a pseudonym, by Sonny Bono!) before laying down a leering "Talkin' 'Bout You," a frenetic "I'm Movin' On" and their most consistent, varied list of originals yet. Dig, too, how even "As Tears Go By" sounds like a sneer in the midst of "Get Off of My Cloud," "Gotta Get Away," "I'm Free" and the dourly off-key "Blue Turns to Grey." --Rickey Wright

Album Description

This Super Audio Compact Disc (SACD) recording offers high-resolution sound and is playable on both standard CD players and SACD-compatible devices.

Album Description

Full Title - December's Children (& Everybody's). Remastered reissue of 1965 album, suitable for standard & 'Super Audio' CD players. Digipak. Abkco. 2002.

Customer Reviews:

December's Children has too much filler.......2007-03-16

This is perhaps the weakest album in the Rolling Stones 60's catalog. But don't blame the band, this is the record companies fault. Sure there are some great tunes here like She Said Yeah, Get off of My Cloud, As Tears Go By and some decent tunes like You Better Move On and I'm Free. But there's just too much weak material, songs like Talking About You, Look What You've Done, The Singer Not the Song, Gotta Get Away and Blue Turns to Grey feel flat. Then the live renditions of Route 66 and I'm Movin' On are alright, but feel like fun filler.

December's Children (And Everybody's) ~ The Rolling Stones: 2 1/2 stars

Their best early release in the US.......2007-02-02

Even though it's a US compilation of British leftovers that weren't on the previous US albums. No matter, this record plays as the Stones best and strongest pre-aftermath album.

Not an SACD.......2007-01-31

I bought this because it is listed as an SACD.
What I was sent is a DSD disc. It does not register as an SACD on my player. It sounds miserable.
What gives, has the SACD been replaced by this other format?
It's one of my favorite Stones albums. I am not pleased.

Not the Best, but pretty important.......2007-01-16

December's Children comes off as a rather uneven document of the Stones' song-writing prowess and a scattershotrock record in its own right. Nonetheless, their identity as a band distinct from the British invasion clones really emerges on these tracks.

Stupendously Fantastic.......2006-06-13

This is an absolute stunner of a record. The bad boys of Rock and Roll really go to town with Chuck Berry's "Talkin' About You," and Bobby Troup's "Route 66." The latter being one of the two live songs on the record. The timeless "As Tears Go By," written by Mick and Keith along with group manage Andrew Oldham," has got to be one of the signature songs of a generation. According to my folks, it was the Boomer's big make out song. Hey, I've made out to it too, the song really is timeless. The other Mick and Keith songs that I really like are "Blue Turns to Grey" and "Get off My Cloud." Brian's slide guitar on the live version of "I'm Moving On" is stupendous, in fact the whole record is stupendously fantastic.

Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?

Average customer rating:

I want to make one thing perfectly clear
Good Album
Wow
Overexposed
The 5 star ratings here are a bit much

Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?
The Cranberries
Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Stars: The Best of the Cranberries, 1992-2002

ASIN: B000001DXL
Release Date: 1993-04-20

Tracks:

I Still Do
Dreams
Sunday
Pretty
Waltzing Back
Not Sorry
Linger
Wanted
Still Can't...
I Will Always
How
Put Me Down

Product Description

Practically BRAND NEW condition, never played, includes original CD, case, and paperwork, First class shipped, ask me for my CD List! :)

Amazon.com

Their first full-length shows a band fully formed, with faint debts to the Sundays and the Smiths, but turning out more-than-tuneful pop behind the gorgeous lilt of Dolores O'Riordan. "Dreams" and "Linger" both seem to weave magic spells that remain even after the tracks pass, and there is a glorious freshness to the performances that's impossible to resist. It remains their most satisfying outing. --Chris Nickson

Customer Reviews:

I want to make one thing perfectly clear.......2006-08-14

Despite your album title not everybody was trying to imitate 10,000 Maniacs in 1993, and so therefore the title doesn't apply to you. If you wanted to just say you were recording an album then that's fine, but don't say you are doing this because everyone else is SO THERE!!!!!! Now that my venting over the title is over now onto serious business: "Linger" is my first introduction of the Cranberries, and let's just say that it was as bad as getting a manly handshake from a woman. The melody is despicable, and the lyrics are too, and it was one of the bad memories of the first months in FL. That's where I was first introduced to this, so I feel that if everyone was rocketing to the moon in their underpants would you?

Good Album.......2006-08-04

I think this is a good album in the whole. Most of the songs are well written and well performed. The lead vocals do sound a bit the same after a while, but she has a nice voice so I don't mind hearing it over and over. I think this album still sounds good, it's better than most of the stuff out today.

Wow.......2006-08-01

In lieu of all of the recent negative reviews I've read, I feel this weird need to defend The Cranberries, and I don't know why.

So The Cranberries were a 90s band, sorry to all of you who think it's cool to rebel against gen x and hate the 90s. This cd doesn't sound dated really, just take a look at any given current 'indie' band, and you'll get pretty much a similar, softer sound to it. And even if one were able to identify this as a 90s band, this isn't horribly dependant on the age in which it was written like oh so many 80s pop/synth/rock acts.

I don't think anyone is going to accuse The Cranberries of being the most innovative, intelligent band ever, but they weren't trying to be. They made pop tunes and actually put a little heart into them, and thats a rare thing, I think. This is a very gorgeous, yet subtle cd; nothing is really going to jump out at you, and it may take more than one listen to really appreciate it.

So songs to listen to:
Dreams
Waltzing Back
Linger
Still Can't...
How

If you like the sound of these songs, then you won't be disappointed in the least. If they're not your cup of tea, then don't bother.

Overexposed.......2006-02-22

I originally purchased this album over nine years ago and, although I liked the songs and Dolores O'Riordan's voice, I find myself rarely listening to it now. For me, the excessive radio airplay of the songs "Dreams" and "Linger" killed the longevity of the album as a whole. It seemed as though throughout most of the nineties a person couldn't listen to the radio, walk around in a shopping mall, or watch TV without hearing "Dreams" or "Linger" at least once, if not more than once. I must have heard those songs a hundred times at least. Now I groan internally whenever I hear them. To me, this album will always sound like the nineties, and, unfortunately, the nineties haven't been gone long enough to make me want to reminisce. The Cranberries were a great band and it is a shame that much of their subsequent output wasn't as good. This is not a terrible album by any means, it has just been, to use a photographic term, overexposed.

The 5 star ratings here are a bit much.......2006-02-04

Yes, Dolores O'Riordan has a beautiful voice. Yes, many of the tunes here waft delicately and create a slightly melancholy ambiance.

The problem is that the songs rest TOO heavily on her voice without the songwriting to carry it. Too few of these tunes have solid bankable hooks that draw you back to them again and again and that counts against the longevity of this in the end.

In addition, the lilting quality of O'Riordan's voice takes on a near yodel affectation at times that means her singing style may take some getting used to. That's not to say this album is "bad"..just that much of it possesses a tendency to bleed into the background.

HIGHLIGHTS:
Driving drums and shimering guitar made "Dreams" a big hit as was the string-kissed "Linger". Outside of those, "Still Can't.." and "How" with its "Never before and never again" chorus settle in with repeated listening. It closes on a nice note with the otherworldly soaring backing vocals on "Put Me Down".

LOWS:
"I Still Do" is a prime example of a tune that I just can't recall once it stops playing and it was allowed to set the stage for the disc. While that's truth in advertising at its most extreme, it certainly doesn't start the CD to best advantage.

BOTTOM LINE:
A great voice can't carry songs on its own and this album is hit and miss but the best bits are majestic. Definitely one I'd borrow from a friend first before buying, though.

Average customer rating:

If only for one song alone, you'll love it.
Happy Music!!!
At last I found it!!
THE MAN IS A GENIUS!!!!!!!!!!!
Fantastic Album From A Modern Master

Something For Everybody: Baz Luhrmann
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Capitol
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000634X
Release Date: 2004-07-12

Tracks:

Bazmark Fanfare - Baz Luhrman
Young Hearts Run Free (The Overture Mix) - Kim Mazelle
Loverfool (Snooper Version) - Snooper
Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps - Doris Day
Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) Mix - Quindon Tarver
Che Gelida Manina (Your Tiny Hand Is Frozen) - David Hobson
When Doves Cry (Extended Mix) - Quindon Tarver
Love Is In The Air (Fran Mix) - John Paul Young
Nutbod (Houseboats Of Kashmir Mix) - Christine Anu/Royce Doherty
Happy Feet (High Heels Mix) - Jack Hylton
Angel (7in MIx) - Gavin Friday
Os Quindos De Ya Ya - Stanley Black
Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In - Helana
Time After Time (The S.F.E. Version) - Tara Morice
I'm Losing You - Lani
Now Until The End Of The Day (Single Version) - Christine Anu/David Hobson/Royce Doherty
Jupiter (From The Planets) - The London Symphony Orchestra

Amazon.com

One of the most surreal singles in memory, "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" has an even stranger story than you'd imagine: in 1998, a student lifted the text of an article columnist Mary Schmich had written for the Chicago Tribune and started sending it around the world, crediting it as a commencement speech given at MIT by Kurt Vonnegut. Film director Baz Luhrmann (who had taken a big part in designing the soundscapes of his films Strictly Ballroom and William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet) got his hands on it just as he was working on a remix of Rozalla's 1992 dance hit "Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)." Within a day, Luhrmann had hired a local actor to read the text, and a single was born. It's a wonderfully surreal pop-cultural moment on an album that strives for such things. Luhrmann's modus operandi involves the remixing and customizing of tracks until they have a fabulous sheen, and it owes a lot to the equally media-attuned Malcolm McLaren (and especially to McLaren's 1989 album Waltz Darling). Though he throws in a handful of time-tested songs (Doris Day's "Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps," La Bohème's "Che Gelide Manina"), Something for Everybody is very much of a specific moment--and though the moment may pass, fans will enjoy revisiting it time and again. --Randy Silver

Customer Reviews:

If only for one song alone, you'll love it........2007-07-06

I could tell you that song, but that would perhaps have you unscrupulously downloading it from some nefarious site. Besides, the whole album is a trip through musical spaces that no other compilation I have has taken me. It's that good.

Happy Music!!!.......2007-04-02

As described, it is truly is "music for all..." The "Wear Sunscreen" song is My personal favorite...

At last I found it!!.......2006-07-11

I'm from Spain and I really like Baz Luhrmann's music. I used to have this Cd but I lent it to somebody and never got it back. You can't imagine how difficult is to find it in Spain! And at last, I decided to buy it here because I really wanted theis album again.
I'm really happy with the service. I recieved it very fast! Thanks very much!!

THE MAN IS A GENIUS!!!!!!!!!!!.......2004-12-11

WHAT AN INCREDIBLE ALBUM. IT IS TRUELY SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY!

Fantastic Album From A Modern Master.......2003-03-01

If you've ever had the good fortune to see STRICLY BALLROOM, ROMEO + JULIET or MOULIN ROUGE, then you've been exposed to the pure visual and musical genius that is Baz Luhrmann. This pre-MOULIN ROUGE album covers a wonderfully wide range of music - mainly original and remixed music from Luhrmann's first two films, two of his theatrical productions for the Australian Opera (LA BOHEME & MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM), his production of HAIRCUT for the Sydney Theatre Company, and music from LAKE LOST.

Fans of STRICTLY BALLROOM will again recognize the original versions of Doris Day's classic "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" and Stanley Black's "Os Quindos De Ya Ya" as well as remixed versions of "Happy Feet," "Love Is In The Air" and Tara Morice's "Time After Time." ROMEO + JULIET lovers can hear fantastic remixed versions of "Young Hearts Run Free," "Everybody's Free," "When Doves Cry," and "Angel."

The real treat for Baz Luhrmann fans, however, are the tracks from and inspired by his works for The Sydney Theatre Company and the Australian Opera. They range from the purely operatic "Che Gelida Manina" from LA BOHEME (which has since been brought to Broadway) to the fantastically funky electronic "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In" from HAIRCUT.

Tracks:

Busy Woman's Blues, The
Everybody's Talkin' 'Bout Miss Thing
Big Fine Daddy
Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You?
Now or Never
I've Got A Feelin'
Roll the Boogie
Honey Pie
I Want a Little Boy
Blow Me a Fat Note
Voo-It
He Beeped When He Should Have Bopped
Hootie Blues
Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?
Sent For You Yesterday
Winter Wonderland [Special Bonus Christmas Track]

Amazon.com

And just like that, the "swing thing" disappeared. Of course, San Francisco's Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers were at it years before the revival took hold and were always a cut above the rest of the pack anyway. That's because Smith and her pianist and musical director Chris Siebert have such a deep wealth of musical knowledge to draw on, the courage and good taste to recruit world-class veteran players from across the jazz world, and a passion and respect for the style of music they play. Boasting a buoyant mix of boogie-woogie, jump blues, sophisticated swing, and even bebop, 2000's Everybody's Talkin' follows up their enormously successful indie debut, One Hour Mama, which sold nearly 40,000 copies in the 3 years after its release on their own Fat Note label. The crafty arrangements, courtesy of Siebert and big-time Ellington expert David Berger, never get in the way of momentum or mood. It all revolves around Smith's versatile voice, which can convey strength and vulnerability, innocence and smut, sweetness and wickedness--often all at once. --Marc Greilsamer

Album Description

This is quirky pop record from 2 guys from Canada. This is great CD for those who like a little variety, satire and spirituality in their music

Customer Reviews:

jazz to drive to.......2007-05-13

enjoyed her piano jazz sultry voice- every song on the album is worth listening to.

Second album is even better than the first!.......2007-04-02

Nice job with songs that hit the spot! New and exciting singer - great backup talent also.

Outstanding.......2005-12-03

Lavay Smith brings back the torchsongs of the 40s, backing herself with some of the best musicians from the Big Band era. A welcome respite from the overprocessed music being churned out. Truly spectacular.

A worthy addition to any music collection.......2005-11-24

This album conveys everything you want in in a jazz album with a swing emphasis. A great introduction to those not already immersed in jazz, yet satisfying to those with an understanding of the evolution of jazz and possessing a music collection to match. Lavay Smith has a voice that transcends genre, emotion, and the vast majority of modern singers of any category. The musicianship stands out on this album; she is backed by a top-notch band. Great music for parties, driving, and as a conversation backdrop.

Billie Holiday of modern days!.......2004-06-24

She's singin' like a Billie Holiday, and Red Hot Skillet Lickers is great band! But they don't just imitate! This is one helluva record!

Average customer rating:

A simple message set to the right beat gets the word out
You know...
Masterpiece
get this song!
WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)
Luhrmann
Manufacturer: EMI Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Something For Everybody: Baz Luhrmann
Wear Sunscreen
Desiderata
The Change-Your-Life Quote Book
Mulan: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack

ASIN: B00000JHTT
Release Date: 1999-06-07

Tracks:

Everybody's Free (to Wear Sunscreen) (Edit)
Everybody's Free (to Wear Sunscreen) (Geopgraphic
Love Is In The Air (Fran Mix)

Album Description

Single featuring two versions of the 'Romeo & Juliet' director's spoken word hit/ graduation anthem 'Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)' (Edit & Geographic Factor's 15+ Mix), plus 'Love Is In The Air' (Fran Mix). No U.S. release exists! Slimline jewel case. 1999 release.

Album Details

Also known as the 'Sunscreen Song (Class of 1999)'; the song was conceptualized by film producer Baz Luhrmann ('Romeo & Juliet', 'Strictly Ballroom'). Inspirational, spoken word-type lyrics are applicable at any graduation, for any year. Includes a remix of the song plus the track 'Love is in the Air (Fran mix)'.

Customer Reviews:

A simple message set to the right beat gets the word out.......2006-02-27

Originally published in a column by Mary Schmich of The Chicago Tribune June 1, 1997. Baz Luhrman was inspired by the Vonnegut hype and got Quindon Tarver to do the vocals. Together they spread the word to the next generation who may not want or think they need advice from "ols farts, what do they know".

On August 3, 1997, Ms Schmich writes about the work that was heard round the world:
"But out in the lawless swamp of cyberspace, Mr. Vonnegut and I are one. Out there, where any snake can masquerade as king, both of us are the author of a graduation speech that began with the immortal words, 'Wear sunscreen.'
I was alerted to my bond with Mr. Vonnegut Friday morning by several callers and e-mail correspondents who reported that the sunscreen speech was rocketing through the cyberswamp, from L.A. to New York to Scotland, in a vast e-mail chain letter.
Friends had e-mailed it to friends, who e-mailed it to more friends, all of whom were told it was the commencement address given to the graduating class at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The speaker was allegedly Kurt Vonnegut."

The genius about the song is that it is funky and catchy and insidiously makes you think. Frankly all good art makes you think long after the performance is finished.

A+ to the collaborative effort of the 3 artists who made it oh so memorable!

You know..........2005-12-01

...WHY didn't they have this when I was a kid?!? WHY did this have to wait until I was a junior in high school to come out?!? I mean, EVERYTHING you need to know to survive life without insanely high therapy bills is in this. Junior high and high school would have been ridiculously easy if someone had told me all of this. But, I'm rambling...again. Buy it, listen to it often, and by listen, I mean LISTEN. And pass the word along to others. It's the greatest advice you'll ever find, even if it is fished from the disposal.

Masterpiece.......2005-11-01

Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) is truely one of the most amazing songs I've ever heard. It always brightens up my day when I'm feelings down. Baz has created a work of art here, and this CD is recomended to everyone. Please give this a chance and listen!

get this song!.......2005-03-11

after lisions it on the radio when it first came out, i just had to get it as this song will make u think about your loved ones and that your life is not so bad after all. this is a pick me up song that will make u keep smiling till the end. get this song NOW!!!

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?.......2004-06-21

Who-ever thinks this song is rubbish is an absolute idiot he must not understand the true depth and meaning to the song

Average customer rating:

This may be a long review - but this is one important album
How shopping should be
One of Bill's finest works....
A crossroads
The Magic and the Power

Everybody Digs Bill Evans
Bill Evans Trio
Manufacturer: Ojc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000000Y47
Release Date: 1991-07-01

Tracks:

Minority
Young & Foolish
Lucky To Be Me
Night & Day
Epilogue
Tenderly
Peace Piece
What Is There To Say?
Oleo
Epilogue
Some Other Time (mono)

Amazon.com essential recording

The superb pianist recorded this album, his second as a leader, in December 1958, more than two years after his debut. In between, of course, he was an integral part of Miles Davis's legendary sextet. Spurred by a rhythm section of bassist Sam Jones and drummer Philly Joe Jones, Bill Evans shows amazing versatility on these sides: his playing on "Minority," "Night and Day," and "Oleo" is surprisingly robust and even bluesy at times--certainly not adjectives usually associated with the cool pianist. He's delightfully playful on the midtempo "Tenderly." Then there are the slow, meditative numbers for which he's known, including three unaccompanied showcases. "Peace Piece," which was actually conceived merely as an introduction to Leonard Bernstein's "Some Other Time," is the most famous, but his reading of another Bernstein song, "Lucky to Be Me," is equally mesmerizing. Although the original record dropped it, the CD reissue does include a version of "Some Other Time," complete with the "Peace Piece" intro. --Marc Greilsamer

Album Details

Japanese Version featuring an LP Style Slipcase for Initial Pressing.

Customer Reviews:

This may be a long review - but this is one important album.......2007-07-03

Everybody Digs comes right after Bill Evans's brief stint with the Miles Davis Sextet. Exhausted from the band's busy touring schedule, stung by the criticism that he received from many who thought Davis should have hired a harder-swinging (which in this case meant African-American) pianist, and still sort of amazed that Davis insisted he remain in the group: according to Evans biographer Peter Pettinger, in the must-read How My Heart Sings, this is the emotional backdrop for the pianist's second major trio album. Moreover, "for most of November [1958], burned out after leaving Miles...Evans relaxed on his father's driving range in Florida. He reportedly took great satisfaction in shooting 41 for nine holes of golf. He also visited his brother Harry in Louisiana. "One of the reasons I left Miles was because my father was ill," [Evans] said. "I spent some time visiting my folks, and went through a rather reflective period. While I was staying with my brother in Baton Rouge...I remember finding that somehow I had reached a new inner level of expressiveness of my playing. It had come almost automatically, and I was very anxious about it - afraid I might lose it - I thought maybe I'd wake up tomorrow and it wouldn't be there" (Pettinger 66).

Perhaps all of this explains the blistering "Oleo," Night and Day," and "Minority," which at times consciously seem to assert, "I can swing my f*ck%n' a*s off with the best of them - just take a listen." I think it also explains the very moving rendition of "Lucky to Be Me," whose title Evans finds at once painfully ironic and blessedly true.

So what is there to say? Too much about all the astonishing things he does with these tunes. Evans sounds like the heir apparent to Bud Powell, only harmonically more "modern" and more fluid technically. Tons of credit also goes to Bill's favorite drummer (and fellow junkie in the Davis sextet) Philly Joe Jones, who swings his f*ck%n' a*s off, himself. Although Jones is sympathetic to everything the pianist does, even on the rather piano-centric ballads, he is absolutely explosive in the uptempo numbers. What a killer groove this guy could lay down! Meanwhile, Sam Jones keeps everyone grounded and shines in his unfortunately rare solo interludes.

There is an awful lot of talk about (and rightly so, for the most part) about the LaFaro-Motian-Evans trio - especially the way they expanded and tinkered with the time feel. But the germs of it (I'd say better than the germs of it) are all here. Take "Tenderly," a short waltz, but an absolute tour de force. Philly Joe gets this relaxed thing going; Evans goes all over the place, displacing the beat with sly interjections and letting loose with dizzyingly virtuosic scale passages; Sam Jones is strong, right there with them. Every time I hear it I almost have to restrain myself from laughing out loud it's so good. Why was this kind of exuberance so rare with LaFaro and Motian? In the end, I'm left feeling robbed of some great music knowing that Philly Joe, Sam Jones, and Evans didn't form a working group first.

* * * * * * * * * *
Some of the '61 Vanguard fanatics might also carp that the pianist hadn't yet perfected the elaborate system of inner voicings that became one of his trademarks. But as one who was first exposed to his later albums, I find the starker (and still extremely logical) harmonic and emotional content here both refreshing and invigorating. In an essay on Jean Sibelius, James Hepokoski says about the composer's Third Symphony, "A watershed in his career, the Third Symphony sets out...to restore the possibility of experiencing...the major triad...as a progressively deepening, revelatory event." Although Bill Evans certainly adds some 9ths, 13ths, and other extensions to his triads, he brings the same meaning to the most fundamental western harmony on this watershed album in his career and his art. After all, what is "Peace Piece" but a study of the I-V-I harmonic relationship foundational to all western music? The startlingly inventive improvisation (which dabbles in bitonality as much as the blues)'s startlingly simple two chord figure (CMaj7 - Dmin7/G), derived from an introduction to "Some Other Time," becomes the album's central meditation, showing up in the closing vamp of "Young and Foolish" and the final measures of "Lucky to Be Me," as well.

And there are no extraneous notes expended exploring this fundamental relationship or any other progression. Indeed, the open fifths left ringing at the end of "Peace Piece," or accompanying the devastating final chords of "Lucky to Be Me," are almost spiritual in their nakedness. Really more than ever, the pianist makes each added voice, each sustained pedal count. Pettinger writes, "With the two remaining ballads, Evans creates an illusion that overcomes the simple fact that tone dies on his instrument. Working this magic requires a certain mental attitude; it is necessary to "think through" a phrase to connect dying notes. On "What is There to Say?" and "Young and Foolish" he is the master at this, sustaining the lines with intensely yearning tone and melting harmony....But it is his ravishing use of tone that makes "Young and Foolish" his first truly lyrical trio track and one of those that goes deepest; played with muscular strength in the singing, it touches the heart" (Pettinger 69).

* * * * * * * * *
Ultimately, Bill's quotation about finding "a new inner level of expressiveness" and fearing that he would lose it says it best. Everybody Digs is the result of an artist who is burning to say something and now - finally - knows how to say it. Compare it to the first flush of a great romance or the steady flow of a stream where there once was only a trickling brook. Either way, Bill Evans reinvented jazz piano on this album, with the big heart, probing mind, and hitherto unimaginable sensitivity of touch that made him the giant he is.

How shopping should be.......2006-02-22

Item was in mint condition as advertised. Shipped quickly too. A+++

One of Bill's finest works...........2003-11-24

I've listened to this CD many times, and it never fails to enthrall me. One of the things I love about Bill Evans is the care with which he seems to select each note. "Peace Piece" is still my favorite track, Bill seems to bare his soul on this one. Anyone interested in building a serious jazz collection would do well to start with this one. Go for the 20-bit remastered version, I have both versions, the 20-bit is cleaner.

A crossroads.......2003-03-10

This album reflects a crossroads in Bill's career. Bill had two current's flowing--his romantic style and his bop style. His prior album New Conceptions, which caused a stir, was almost a hard bop album. His lines at that point reflected Horace Silver's influence. Hard driving, mostly right hand extremely long lines; the ballads were somewhat arranged and not with his characteristic emotion. He knew he had more work to do (rec hiatus for almost 2 years)
With Everybody Digs however, Bill hit his stride. He had tempered and became more choice with his vocabulary-around this time he was a member of Miles Davis group. Oleo is a stunning effort. It is bop based, but it is a highly original take on it. None of his contemporaries were quite able to take the bebop idiom and loosen it up from Powell's reigns in terms of a new direction. This harder driving style on this record(a la All About Rosie/George Russell) as other reviewers commented seem to have been abandoned after the 50's. You see a little of it on Undercurrents on
Funny Valentine.
The ballads--lucky to be me, what is there to say. That ballad touch--so characteristic and identifiable was now permanently stamped to vinyl. And Peace, Peace is really a wild experiment with fantastic results. Bill could often be very tidy and preprogrammed but when he did odd things like this he really showed his unique depth. Another example of Bill's capricious and often humorous side can be seen on "With a Song in My Heart" from Empathy with Shelly Manne and Monty Budwig. Anybody interested in this period of bill's playing would be interested in checking out his work as a sideman with Dave Pike, Art Farmer, Charlie Mingus and Eddie Costa.

The Magic and the Power.......2003-02-11

There may be a temptation to pass up this album in favor of the more "characteristic" Bill Evans of the later trios beginning with Lafaro and Motian. With a relentlessly swinging, earthy, "straight-ahead," bop and soul-oriented supportive team of Sam Jones and Philly Joe, Bill might be expected to fall into their insistent groove, providing at best a neo-Bud Powell impersonation. But the opposite is closer to the final result: the Jones' boys come under the spell of Evans' romantic, lyrical individualism. At the same time, Bill's lines are etched in bolder relief than is the case on the recordings of the later, more impressionistic and democratic trios. Take, for instance, "Night and Day." First, Philly Joe's tap dancing rhythms reference the musician for whom the song was written (Fred Astaire), then Sam lays down an irresistible dance beat, then Bill becomes the dancer--alternating between being a graceful, composite Fred-Ginger and a dazzling soloist, executing several stunning breaks without benefit of help from either accompanist.

Average customer rating:

Costa Has Got That Something
A unique favorite
Great Sound!
Truly Infectious
Funk and Soul are alive and well.....

Everybody Got Their Something
Nikka Costa
Manufacturer: Virgin Records Us
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00005B0S6
Release Date: 2001-05-22

Tracks:

Like A Feather
So Have I For You
Tug Of War
Everybody Got Their Something
Nothing
Nikka What?
Hope It Felt Good
Some Kind Of Beautiful
Nikka Who?
Just Because
Push & Pull
Corners Of My Mind

Amazon.com

Nikka Costa's fiercely bootylicious first single, "Like a Feather"--that song with the thick, clapped 16th notes--has already garnered the 28-year-old singer one hell of a buzz, and for the most part, she's got the goods to back it up. Already a platinum-selling artist in Europe and South America, the Tokyo-born, L.A.-bred singer's stateside debut bulges with ambition. It's a mixed bag of musical tricks that's equal parts '70s-style funk, hazy Led Zeppelin-inspired psychedelia, and angst-ridden alternachick yowling, with healthy dollops of soul, hip-hop, and thrash thrown in for good measure. Produced by Costa, Australian rocker Justin Stanley (who's also the singer's husband), and high-profile New York City DJ Mark Ronson, the album works best when it piles on the noise--like on the standout "Tug of War," which features the unmistakable rim-shot work of Roots drummer ?uestlove. On that track, a flurry of scratched samples, layers of soundboard-smeared noise, and a few luscious string sweeps break into gospel-choir harmonies that swirl gorgeously beneath Costa's reedy mezzo-soprano wails. It's a shame that she can't match this intensity on sparser down-tempo ballads like "Nothing" and "Just Because," where she sounds like Fiona Apple's slightly less annoying older sis. As the album's title says, everybody got their something, and Costa sounds best when she sticks to hers. --Sylvia W. Chan

Customer Reviews:

Costa Has Got That Something.......2007-02-10

With a guitar riff that traces straight back to Heartbreaker by the Rolling Stones, Nikka Costa gets out to a fast start on the first track, Like A Feather, and then shows her range as a songwriter/vocalist throughout this excellent CD.

She reaches deep into her soul for real interpretations of R&B, blues and gospel, with a variety of mixes in the production. Though I am not a fan of layered vocals, Costa is able to do an admirable job because of her range of expressions in delivering the parts.

She sings it like she's lived it in Push & Pull and Corners Of My Mind, with Tug Of War and the title track compelling enough to make you stop what you're doing and listen intently.

A dynamite CD likes this one means that the artist has refined the material over a period of years and may struggle to reach the same peak or is starting one of those magical runs of quality releases. Costa has set a solid foundation and Everybody Got Their Something will stand on its own no matter what the future brings.

A unique favorite.......2007-02-03

I've had this CD for awhile and it remains one of my absolute favorites. So it hasn't been played on the radio? I love finding a musical gem that others haven't heard, though why Nikka Costa remains obscure to radio stations is beyond my guess. This is one funky and unique collection of songs that sound like no other.

Great Sound!.......2007-01-17

This album has all the variety that showcases Costa. Motown, soulful, pop, rock, riot grrl. Not a boring cd. However, with that said. You do get the feeling that you heard the song before. But, great execution.

Truly Infectious.......2006-11-26

I had been hearing that song "Everbody Got Their Something" on the Desperate Housewives for the last year. Then I heard it again on an episode of Nip Tuck. I investigated..and I found a gem. This CD is TRULY infectious. Her voice, the lyrics, the music is all so beautifully put together. I can't believe a TRUE artist like Ms. Costa hasn't been recognized with mainstreem attention. I love this CD and i've only owned it for two hours now. The song "So Have i for You" gave me goosebumps the first time I heard it. Unbelievable!

Funk and Soul are alive and well............2006-01-31

I saw Nikka Costa perform "Like a Bird", live not lip-synched, on the "Arsenio Hall Show"(of all places). I could not believe the voice coming out of this, well, little woman. Didn't hurt that her band was just Kickin'! But she was just incredible. I finally got around to buying this CD and let me tell you, she is much, much more than just that "one-hit wonder" song (God I hate VH-1). This is one of those CDs that, if you're into the style of music, that you absolutely have to listen to from start to finish (after you get over the "What was THAT?" songs that you have to play 20 times in a row). Nikka Costa proudly continues the traditions of Janis Joplin, Sass Jordan, and other female singers who do what they want, when they want, and it kicks-your-ass every time. Make sure you pull the curtains and lock your door so you don't get caught "bad dancing and air-guitar playing". ;)

Take it easy,
JLE

Average customer rating:

Unworthy of This Show
Great.
Deserves a place in your Sondheim Discography
Dashed high hopes
Letdown from the original

Assassins (2004 Broadway Revival Cast)
Stephen Sondheim , Neil Patrick Harris , Marc Kudisch , Michael Cerveris , Denis O'Hare , and James Barbour
Manufacturer: P.S. Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0002B161Y
Release Date: 2004-08-03

Tracks:

Everybody's Got The Right
Ballad Of Booth
Ladies And Gentlemen, A Toast!
How I Saved Roosevelt
What Does A Man Do...?
Gun Song
Ballad Of Czolgosz
Unworthy Of Your Love
I Am A Terrifying And Imposing Figure...!
Ballad Of Guiteau
Have It Your Way
Another National Anthem
Take A Look Lee
Something Just Broke
Everybody's Got The Right

Amazon.com

"Everybody's got a right/To their dream." So begins Stephen Sondheim's 1991 show Assassins--and in this case, said dreams involve killing an American president. The characters form a veritable rogues' gallery, including John Hinckley, Lee Harvey Oswald and John Wilkes Booth of course, but also half-forgotten luminaries such as Leon Czolgosz (who killed McKinley) and "Squeaky" Fromme (who aimed for Gerald Ford with an unloaded gun). While Sondheim's lyrics are trenchant as ever, his music, which ranges from Sousa pomp to clever little waltzes, is technically brilliant but also oddly uninvolving. (Many fans prefer the recording of the 1991 Off-Broadway version, though "Something Just Broke," which was added to the 1992 London production, makes its recorded debut here.) Still, there are several high points. In "Unworthy of Your Love," for instance, Hinckley and Fromme wax poetic about their unrequited love for Jodie Foster and Charles Manson, respectively, in a Burt Bacharach-style ballad that's deliberately (I hope!) sappy. And of course as with most Sondheim shows, the cast of this revival--Michael Cerveris, Mario Cantone, Becky Ann Baker, Marc Kudisch, Denis O'Hare--is very good. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Customer Reviews:

Unworthy of This Show.......2007-03-01

Assassins is a masterpiece of American theatre. Through a revue of skits and songs, it examines ideas we don't want to face, and shows us the flip side of the American Dream. The score rates as one of Sondheim's best, and the overall effect, when the show is performed well, is incredibly powerful. For years, people have wanted to mount a production on Broadway.

Given this result, they needn't have bothered.

I am still amazed at how much this production got wrong. The principal cast is nothing short of dreadful: the acting is almost laughably overwrought; the pacing keeps getting disrupted by pauses held too long and lines spoken too slowly; some singers are frequently behind the tempo (notably Michael Ceveris as Booth), while others are painful to listen to (like Jeffrey Kuhn as Zangara and Mario Cantone as Sam Byck); the new orchestrations allow for more musicians in the pit, but are much less effective than the earlier arrangements.

To top it all off, this production includes "Something Just Broke", a song sung by the Ensemble as various "average" Americans of different time periods recalling where they were when the president was shot. The song was introduced in the London production, presumably for people who didn't understand the show to have something to latch on to, but it was mercifully kept out of the published vocal score and libretto. It's not a bad song in and of itself, but musically it does not fit in with the rest of the score, and dramatically it doesn't fit in with the rest of the script. Worse, it is placed right between the Kennedy assassination -- the climax of the show -- and the finale, thus skewing all the dramatic momentum and depriving the show of an effective resolution.

The result of all this is that the comic moments aren't funny, the powerful moments fail to move, and the wonderful music is left ho-hum.

I realize that the extraordinary cast of the original production of Assassins presents a dauntingly high standard for everyone else to compare to, but the college productions I've seen were better than this.

Great. .......2006-11-08

What an amazingly talented cast! Neil Patrick Harris, Marc Kudisch, Alex Gemignani (The new Valjean in the revival of Les Miserables) and of course, the former demon barber of Fleet Street, Michael Cerveris (in the role that won him a Tony)...Just to hear these giants of musical theatre perform together as an ensemble alone is worth the price of this recording. This recording is so wonderfully done, and I can't recommend this enough.

'Unworthy of your Love' and 'The Ballad of Booth' are heartbreakingly beautiful, strange that I say that considering the subject matter, but it's true, those two songs alone will stay with you for days on end. The Ballad of Booth has poetic and tragic lyrics like 'Damn my soul, if you must, let my body turn to dust, let it mingle with the ashes of my country...What I did, I did well, and I did it for my country. Let them cry 'Dirty Traitor!', they will understand later...'. and the hauntingly gorgeous melody that goes with those lyrics is just so well, romantic! But then you have the tongue-in-cheek, slightly macabre numbers like 'The Gun Song' and 'Everybody's Got The Right' with lyrics like, 'Everybody's got the right to be happy. Life's not as bad as it seems! Everybody deserves a little sunshine...' and 'All you have to do is, move your little finger...and you can change the world!'

What a rollarcoaster of emotion! I mean, seriously, who else but Sondheim could pull that off and make it the brilliant masterpiece that it clearly is?

One of my biggest regrets is not seeing this during it's brief run in 2004. :(

Deserves a place in your Sondheim Discography.......2006-07-28

Like other reviewers I was fortunate enough to see Roundabout's revival production but perhaps unfortunate that my total enjoyment of that production may bias my critical listening. I can't help but recall the proprietor (Marc Kudish) caressing a pistol into the hand of each assassin when listening to the opening Everybody's Got The Right.

However, while fans of Sondheim and musical theater will argue over every nuance, I find that both this and the original are excellent in their own way. Yes, the voices in the first recording are more refined, yet this recording seems to better capture the character's mannerisms in the vocal stylization, whether the twitchy madness of Guiteau (Dennis O'Hare) or the depressed howl of Sam Byck (Mario Cantone).

This is a worthwhile recording and one that provides me with a reprise of the excellent staging and acting of this quirky play.

Dashed high hopes.......2006-07-14

Assassins is a fascinating and surprising show. You can't imagine a more unlikely topic for a musical and yet, when you hear and/or see the show, you can't help to be impressed by the entire production. Maybe if I'd never heard the original cast recording, I would have given this a higher rating, but, to be frank, this recording suffers in comparison to the original recording in nearly every way.

While the diction on this recording is often impressive...especially Neil Patrick Harris's...too often it is accomplished at the price of tempo. Too many times the musical director has made the choice to slow down portions of the songs to the point of sluggishness. Absolutely NONE of the performances is superior to the original. That doesn't mean that any of the newer performances are horrible, it's just that they don't measure up. The one who comes the closest is Neil Patrick Harris whom I find naturally charming and vulnerable in anything he does.

The best addition to this recording is Mario Cantone's rant as Sam Byck. Unfortunately, I can't recommend getting this recording based solely on that. The biggest mis-step is the omission of the full, final, Kennedy scene. Hearing it on the original recording for the first time is an absolutely thrilling and chilling experience. Not having it all here is a MAJOR disappointment.

Buy the original recording first and check this one out from the library.

Letdown from the original.......2006-04-10

I have been a huge fan of Assassins since it first came out back in '91. While I've never had the pleasure of seeing the play in person, I've read it several times and listened to the original cast recording so often one can hardly believe it. So when I saw "Broadway Cast Recording" I was thrilled. Then I listened to it. I went from thrilled to appalled.

John Weideman, who wrote the music, seems to prefer the Broadway cast recording--at least he says so in its liner notes. I'm not sure why. While some of the songs are still excellent (like the Hinckley-Fromme duet "Unworthy of Your Love"), many of them are just plain painful to listen to. Most of the time the singing vaccilates between being totally flat of affect (most notably Moore in "The Gun Song") to hyperbolic melodrama. Booth mumbles to the point of near-unintelligibility in several songs; Zangara sounds eerily like the mob boss from 'Johnny Dangerously' that keeps calling everyone "farging bastages"; Moore sings nearly the whole time as if she'd OD'd on sedatives; and Guiteau sounds so stereotypically gay that GLAAD should be suing the producer.

It almost seems as if the cast are not sure what do do with their characters. The cast of the Original Cast Recording hit the characters perfectly--an outstanding mix of suffering, despair, anger and hostility. The Broadway cast can't seem to, in the language of the musical, "connect" to the characters. For me this is a huge failing, as the "charcaters" here are real individuals; if the performers can't connect to them, how can we be expected to?

There are also some content differences between this recording and the original. Several brief additions are made from elsewhere in the musical, and the new song "Something Just Broke" written for the Broadway revival is included on the recording. However, about half of the last act (which is included on the original) is cut out. Sadly, the material cut out is far more moving, unsettling and significant than the material added. Also, "Something Just Broke", while a fine song (and performed better than most of the rest of the material), unfortunately breaks up the natural link between the Kennedy assassination's triumphalist ending and the closing version of "Everybody's Got the Right".

I gave this three stars because I love Assassins. It is a brilliant and unnerving drama. But the Original Cast Recording is immensely superior to the Broadway Cast Recording in its ability to reveal this to the audience. I'm glad it was revived, and I'm glad it won three Tony awards--now it can get the recognition it deserves; but for me, I'll stick to the original version I fell in love with years ago. If only the Broadway recording has found a way to be "worthy of your love"...

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