We Had to Let You Have It

we had to let you have it

Track Listings
1. Rain
2. Hard Labour
3. Begger Man
4. In Memory of Lady X
5. How Long
6. System
7. Indian Rope Man
8. Ju Ju Man

We Had to Let You Have It,Noir,Breathless,Pop,Pop/Rock,Prog-Rock/Art Rock,Rock,Rock/Pop

We Had to Let You Have It
The John Adams Earbox: A 10-CD Retrospective
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Moved to tears
  • Nonesuch delivers.Again
  • harmonia in excelsis
  • Our greatest living composer
  • Wonderful CD
 The John Adams Earbox: A 10-CD Retrospective

Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:
  1. Steve Reich 1965-1995
  2. Naive & Sentimental Music
  3. John Adams: The Dharma at Big Sur/My Father Knew Charles Ives
  4. 25 Years: Retrospective
  5. Century Rolls

ASIN: B00001SID1
Release Date: 1999-10-19

Tracks:

  1. Lollapalooza
  2. John's Book Of Alleged Dances: Judah To Ocean
  3. John's Book Of Alleged Dances: Toot Nipple
  4. John's Book Of Alleged Dances: Dogjam
  5. John's Book Of Alleged Dances: Pavane: She's So Fine
  6. John's Book Of Alleged Dances: Rag The Bone
  7. John's Book Of Alleged Dances: Habanera
  8. John's Book Of Alleged Dances: Stubble Crotchet
  9. John's Book Of Alleged Dances: Hammer & Chisel
  10. John's Book Of Alleged Dances: Alligator Escalator
  11. John's Book Of Alleged Dances: Standchen: The Little Serenade
  12. John's Book Of Alleged Dances: Judah To Ocean (Reprise)
  13. Slonimsky's Earbox

Tracks:

  1. Two Fanfares For Orchestra - Tromba Lontana
  2. Two Fanfares For Orchestra - Short Ride In A Fast Machine
  3. Common Tones In Simple Time
  4. El Dorado - Part I. A Dream Of Gold
  5. El Dorado - Part II. Soledades

Tracks:

  1. Harmonielehre - Part I
  2. Harmonielehre - Part II The Anfortas Wound
  3. Harmonielehre - Part III Meister Eckhardt And Quackie
  4. Violin Concerto - Part I
  5. Violin Concerto - Part II Chaconne:
  6. Violin Concerto - Part III Toccare

Tracks:

  1. Chamber Sympony - Mongel Airs
  2. Chamber Sympony - Aria With Walking Bass
  3. Chamber Sympony
  4. Hoodo Zephyr - Tundra
  5. Hoodo Zephyr - Dissappointment Lake
  6. Hoodo Zephyr - Hoodo Zephyr
  7. Gnarly Buttons - The Perilous Shore
  8. Gnarly Buttons - Hoe-Down (Mad Cow)
  9. Gnarly Buttons - Put Your Loving Arms Around Me

Tracks:

  1. Ensemble - I Was Looking At The Ceiling And Then I Saw The Sky
  2. A Sermon On Romance
  3. Consuelo's Dream
  4. Mike's Song About Arresting A Particular Individual
  5. Tiffany's Solo
  6. Song About The On-Site Altercation
  7. Song About The Bad Boys And The News
  8. Your Honor My Client He's A Young Black Man
  9. Leila's Song; Alone (Again Or At Last)
  10. Three Weeks And Still I'm Outta My Mind
  11. Crushed By The Rock I Been Standing On
  12. Dewain's Song Of Liberation And Surprise
  13. !Este Pais! / This Country
  14. One Last Look At The Angel In Your Eyes
  15. Finale

Tracks:

  1. Lollapalooza
  2. John's Book Of Alleged Dances - Judah To Ocean
  3. John's Book Of Alleged Dances - Toot Nipple
  4. John's Book Of Alleged Dances - Dogjam
  5. John's Book Of Alleged Dances - Pavane: She's So Fine
  6. John's Book Of Alleged Dances - Rag The Bone
  7. John's Book Of Alleged Dances - Habenera
  8. John's Book Of Alleged Dances - Stubble Crotchet
  9. John's Book Of Alleged Dances - Hammer & Chisel
  10. John's Book Of Alleged Dances - Alligator Escalator
  11. John's Book Of Alleged Dances - Standchen: The Little Serenade
  12. John's Book Of Alleged Dances - Judah To Ocean (Reprise)
  13. Slonimsky's Earbox

Tracks:

  1. Harmonium - Negative Love
  2. Harmonium - Becuase I Could Not Stop For Death
  3. Harmonium - Wild Nights
  4. Shaker Loops - Shaking and Trambling
  5. Shaker Loops - Hymning Slews
  6. Shaker Loops - Loops and Verses
  7. Shaker Loops - A Final Shaking

Tracks:

  1. The Chairman Dances - Foxtrot For Orchestra
  2. Grand Pianola Music - First Movement
  3. Grand Pianola Music - Second Movement
  4. Grand Pianola Music - Third Movement: On The Dominant Divide
  5. Fearful Symmetries

Tracks:

  1. Nixon In China - Opening
  2. Nixon In China -
  3. Nixon In China -
  4. Nixon In China - Landing Of The Spirit Of '76
  5. Nixon In China -
  6. Nixon In China -
  7. Nixon In China -
  8. Nixon In China -
  9. Nixon In China - Cheers
  10. Nixon In China -
  11. Nixon In China - Opening
  12. Nixon In China -
  13. Nixon In China -
  14. Nixon In China -
  15. Nixon In China -
  16. Nixon In China -
  17. Nixon In China -
  18. Nixon In China -
  19. Nixon In China -
  20. Nixon In China -
  21. Nixon In China -
  22. Nixon In China -

Tracks:

  1. The Wound-Dresser
  2. Christian Zeal And Activity
  3. Five Songs - Thoreau
  4. Five Songs - Down East
  5. Five Songs - Cradle Song
  6. Five Songs - At The River
  7. Five Songs - Serenity
  8. Eros Piano

Amazon.com

Having earned his composing stripes after the 1960s, John Adams had the pioneering work of Steve Reich, Philip Glass, and Terry Riley close at hand as he ventured into his trade. And, while minimalism's historical continuum helps place Adams, he used Reich, Glass, and Riley (among others) only as a starting point. And here's proof: a 10-CD retrospective of nearly all Adams's recorded compositions on Nonesuch Records, the label that also issued Steve Reich 1965-1995 and Kronos Quartet: 25 Years. Adams's Harmonium, a choral work of startling energy and effervescence, appears here in a new recording, as do distillations of both The Death of Klinghoffer and Nixon in China, two path-clearing operas. Over the span of a career covered by Earbox, Adams has returned minimalism to traditional instrumental ensembles as well as to projects that at once advanced a political commentary and took that commentary back to orchestral audiences. And so, in far less time than his predecessors, Adams created works that now play like standard repertoire pieces: The Wound Dresser and Shaker Loops and the Violin Concerto--all of them are here. What these works demonstrate is a fierce creativity on the one hand and perhaps a hunger for commercial advances on the other. Adams may at times be a bustling free thinker, but he sounds ever conscious of what audiences are listening to. As for the works themselves, they remain every bit as daunting as when written.

Some may object to particular selections. I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky, for example, hardly ranks with Adams's best work. But this box isn't a mere best-of; it's an almost-all-of. At times terrifically American--especially in the news-aware operas and their narrative pragmatism--Adams well deserves a major box set, and its coverage is appropriate to his varied, stylistically diverse output. As with any large-scale retrospective, Earbox--which fairly bristles with Adams's new composition, Slonimsky's Earbox--has spots where fans might balk at the quality of the composer's writing. But it's got a fantastic accompanying booklet along with its many hours of inarguably modern and thoroughly listener-friendly music. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Moved to tears.......2004-03-18

Never before in my life was i moved so intensely and directly by classical music. I put the first cd in my player and a few minutes later tears are flowing. I find myself dancing and moving to a rythm i already seem to know. Wow, i just have to share that.

5 out of 5 stars Nonesuch delivers.Again.......2002-11-27

John adams is one of the most popular living composers of"modern" classical music[I believe the cutoff point, though arbitrary is usually WWII}.I came to him late, through my husband. Modersn classical music , I said? What the hell is that?My husband kept playing bits and pieces of adams for me, and more and more i found myself amazed. and swayed. His operas have been groundbreaking{Nixon in China} controversial{Death Of klinghoffer},his compostions sublimely beautiful{shaker Loops or harmonium].HIS STATURE IS WORTHY THEN OF SUCH A MONUMENTAL CAREER SPANNING BOX SET.This 10 disc set[great value, again from NONESUCH}encompasses Adams' entire career,and though there are some misses here{I was looking at the ceiling and then i saw the sky doesnt quite fit},it is still magnificent. the Highlights are ,{for me} the Wound Dresser, Chamber symphony,Violin Concerto, of course, Shaker Loops and Harmonuim are wonderful. The true jewels here are Nixon in China,the Chairman dances and the Death of Klinghoffer,which is simply a masterpiece. The set comes with a wonderful book, which contains essay's by Robert Hurwitz {An Uncommon Man}renaud Machart[John adams as seen from europe} and Essays before an earbox by Adams himself.A Chronology and dicography are included. A wonderful study of an American original,worth the investment, Highly highly recommended

4 out of 5 stars harmonia in excelsis.......2001-11-12

I must agree with Mr. Bartlett, particularly with regard to "Ceiling." It may well be because his Violin Concerto and Harmonielehre are so powerful. 4.5 stars.
Interesting, and likely intentional, is that two names in the extensive liner book fail to mention two great and glaringly obvious precursors: Carl Orff and Raymond Scott. Without "Carmina Burana," there would be no "Harmonium." Orff has his mark all over Adams's gifted and epic compositions. Similarly, though there are glib references to "cartoon music," the polymath engineer/musician Scott is a seminal figure in American music, and casts a large shadow over the witty juxtapositions and sense of play one loves in Adams's work. In all, an excellent career overview.

5 out of 5 stars Our greatest living composer.......2001-07-22

As a composer, I'm staggered that anyone could fail to be gripped by this music.

That anyone can use the words "spoiled, overrated" amazes me. I emphatically disagree with "A music fan"'s review.

I don't think it's "mind-numbing"; I think it's spiritual and exciting. To me it's the most substantial music being created in our times.

I'm really sorry that anyone could fail to enjoy it, and really recommend others to listen for themselves.

5 out of 5 stars Wonderful CD.......2000-04-02

This compilation should turn even the most curmudgeonly listerner into a fan. Beautifully recorded, great notes -- and it's a heck of a bargain!
Shakespeare's Songbook, Vols. 1 & 2
Average customer rating: Not rated
    		Shakespeare's Songbook, Vols. 1 & 2

    Manufacturer: Azica
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

    GeneralGeneral | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
    Similar Items:
    1. Shakespeare's Songbook
    2. Songs and Dances from Shakespeare
    3. Shakespeare Songs
    4. Shakespeare's Musick (Songs & Dances from Shakespeare's Plays) / Pickett, Musicians of the Globe
    5. William Shakespeare's Hamlet (Two-Disc Special Edition)

    ASIN: B0002IQL08
    Release Date: 2004-07-06

    Tracks:

    1. Ah Robin (Round)
    2. And Let Me The Cannikin Clink
    3. And Will He Not Come Again
    4. Be Merry, Be Merry
    5. Black Spirits
    6. Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind
    7. Bonny Sweet Robin
    8. But Shall I Go Mourn
    9. Can'st Thou Not Hit It
    10. Come Away
    11. Come Away, Hecate
    12. Come Live With Me
    13. Come O'er The Burn
    14. Come Thou Monarch (Version 2)(Round)
    15. Come Unto These Yellow Sands
    16. A Cup Of Wine
    17. Farewell, Dear Heart
    18. Fathers That Wear Rags
    19. Fear No More
    20. Fie On Sinful Fantasy
    21. Fill The Cup (Round)
    22. Flout 'Em And Cout 'Em (Round)
    23. Fools Had Ne'er Less Grace
    24. For I'll Cut My Green Coat
    25. The Friar And The Nun
    26. Full Fathom Five
    27. The George Alow (Version 1)
    28. Get You Hence
    29. The God Of Love
    30. Hark, Hark The Lark
    31. Have I Caught My Heavenly Jewel
    32. Heart's Ease
    33. Hold Thy Peace (Version 2)(Round)
    34. Honor, Riches
    35. I Am Gone Sir
    36. I Loathe The I Did Love
    37. It Was A Lover And His Lass
    38. Jepha
    39. Jog On
    40. Jolly Shepherd (Round)
    41. King Stephen Was A Worthy Peer
    42. Lawn As White
    43. Love, Love, Nothing But Love (Version 2)
    44. The Master, The Swabber (Version 2)
    45. No More Dams
    46. An Old Hare Hoar (Version 1)
    47. O Mistress Mine (Version 1)
    48. Orpheus With His Lute
    49. O Sweet Oliver
    50. Pardon Goddess Of The Night
    51. Roses Their Sharp Spines
    52. Sigh No More, Ladies
    53. Some Men For Sudden Joy (Version 1)
    54. Take, O Take Those Lips
    55. Tell Me, Where Is Fancy Bred
    56. That Sir Which Serves
    57. There Dwelt A Man In Babylon (Version 1)
    58. There Was Three Fools
    59. Three Merry Men (Round)
    60. Tomorrow Is St. Valentine's Day
    61. Under The Greenwood Tree
    62. Up And Down (Round)
    63. Urns And Odours Bring Away
    64. Walsingham
    65. Was This Fair Face
    66. Wedding Is Great Juno's Crown
    67. What Shall He Have (Round)
    68. When Arthur First In Court
    69. When Daffodils Begin To Peer
    70. When Daisies Pied
    71. When Griping Grief
    72. When Icicles Hang By The Wall
    73. When That I Was And A Little Tyne Boy
    74. Where The Bee Sucks
    75. While You Here Do Snoring Lie
    76. Who Is Silvia
    77. Why Let The Strucken Deer
    78. Willow, Willow (Version 1)
    79. Will You Buy Any Tape
    80. The Woosel Cock
    81. You Spotted Snakes

    Tracks:

    1. Awake, Awake
    2. Battle Of Agincourt
    3. Bride's Goodmorrow
    4. Broom
    5. Callino
    6. Carmen's Whitle
    7. Chi Passa
    8. Come Kiss Me, Kate (Round)
    9. Come Thou Monarch (Version 1)
    10. Cup Of Wine (Version 1)
    11. Damon
    12. Daphne
    13. Diana (2 Versions)
    14. Dulcina
    15. Eglamore
    16. Eighty-Eight
    17. Fortune My Foe
    18. George Alow (Version 2)
    19. Glass Doth Run
    20. Goddesses
    21. Go From My Window
    22. Greensleeves (2 Versions)
    23. Guy Of Warwick
    24. Hem Boys (2 Versions)
    25. Hey Ho for A Husband (2 Versions)
    26. Hobbyhorse
    27. Hold Thy Peace (Versions 1 & 3)
    28. Hunt's Up
    29. I Cannot Come Every Day (2 Versions)
    30. In Crete
    31. In Peascod Time
    32. Jack Boy (Round)
    33. King Cophetua
    34. King Lear
    35. King Solomon
    36. Light O Love
    37. Loath To Depart (2 Versions)
    38. Love, Love (Version 1)
    39. Master, Swabber (Version 1)
    40. Mounsier Mingo
    41. Mounsieur's Almaine
    42. My Mind To Me
    43. Nutmegs (Of All The Birds)
    44. Nutmegs (Wooing Of The Baker's Daughter)
    45. O Death (2 Versions)
    46. Old Hare Hoar (Version 2)
    47. O Mistress Mine (Version 2)
    48. O' The Twelfth Day Of December
    49. Oyster Pie
    50. Peg A Ramsey (2 Versions)
    51. Phillida (3 Versions)
    52. Please One
    53. Pyramus
    54. Queen Dido (2 Versions)
    55. Ratcatcher
    56. Rich Jew
    57. Robin Goodfellow
    58. Robin Hood
    59. Rogero
    60. Rowland
    61. Sellenger's Round
    62. Shore's Wife (2 Versions)
    63. Sick, Sick (3 Vesions)
    64. Some Men For Sudden Joy (Round)
    65. There Dwelt A Man (Version 2)
    66. Titus Andronicus
    67. Tom A Bedlam (2 Versions)
    68. Troilus
    69. Troy Town
    70. Wellady
    71. Whenas We Sat In Babylon
    72. Where Is The Life
    73. Whoop
    74. Why Let The Strucken (If Care Do Cause)
    75. Willow, Willow (Version 2)
    76. Will Ye Buy A Fine Dog
    77. With A Fading
    Leonard Bernstein: The 1953 American Decca Recordings
    Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    • It's wonderful to have Bernstein back, but the performances fall short
    • Come back Lennie, we need you
    • For Bernstein enthusiasts, it's like owning a gold mine
    • Bernstein's Early American Recordings
    		 Leonard Bernstein: The 1953 American Decca Recordings

    Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

    All Works by BeethovenAll Works by Beethoven | Beethoven, Ludwig van | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
    All Works by BrahmsAll Works by Brahms | Brahms, Johannes | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Dvorák, Antonín | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
    All Works by Robert SchumannAll Works by Robert Schumann | Schumann, Robert | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
    All Works by TchaikovskyAll Works by Tchaikovsky | Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyich | ( T ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
    RomanticRomantic | Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music
    GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
    Deutsche Grammophon: MusicDeutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music
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    3. Pierre Monteux Decca & Philips Recordings, 1956-1964
    4. Shostakovich: The Golden Age
    5. The Complete 1950s Chopin Recordings

    ASIN: B00067GKF6
    Release Date: 2005-02-08

    Customer Reviews:

    3 out of 5 stars It's wonderful to have Bernstein back, but the performances fall short.......2006-11-26

    These 1953 mono recordings catch Bernstein a decade after his famous debut with the NY Phil. and five years before he became their youngest-ever condcutor. It's great to hear that warm, comforting voice again, although his analyses--especially the longest one devoted to the Brahms Fourth--aren't as polished as they would become. He gets pedagogical at times and runs us through a rote example-and-explanation formula. Even then, howeer, colorful Bernstein touches peek out, and we are reminded of the man who taught an entire generation to venerate classical music.

    For me, the performances themselves fall short. They were often recorded in a rush, sometimes late at night after a summer concert. I know that the Stadium Sym. is actually the NY Phil., but they don't sound particularly fine, and Bernstein's interpreatations, though vigorous, often border on the slapdash. Plowing through Beethoven's 3rd, Dvorak's 9th, Schumann's 2nd, Brahms' 4th and Tchaikovsky's 6th, I found few sparks of originaity, much less genius. This is a tough admission from one of LB's geat admirers, but there you are. The original recorded sound is also a bit thin and harsh.

    5 out of 5 stars Come back Lennie, we need you.......2006-02-22

    This box is worth its price just for the five talks. Bernstein at this stage had a teaching style rather more stilted than the chatty sage of later years, but the combination of authority, insight and infectious enthusiasm is unique. Entertainingly offhand about the New World, he's at his best on the music he reveres most, i.e. Beethoven, Schumann, and Brahms, the first movement of whose Fourth Symphony gets a particularly in-depth analysis that left me yearning for more. Practically anyone could enjoy and learn from these talks - they're fascinating fun without a whiff of down-dumbing. When the classical and the popular cross over nowadays, the results are usually compromised and crass, but with Bernstein there doesn't even seem to be a gap to be crossed over - just a passion to share these wonders with as many people as possible. We need his all-embracing talent and vision today more than ever.

    Then there are the performances. I'm not the biggest fan of mono symphonic recordings, but these positively leap down your ears, unmannered, committed and electric. It's hard to believe what was achieved under the hasty recording conditions described in the booklet. The sound is a little fierce, but good enough to make this set a wonderful gift for any open-minded but symphonically ignorant acquaintance. I can easily imagine it turning someone on to classical music.

    4 out of 5 stars For Bernstein enthusiasts, it's like owning a gold mine.......2005-06-19

    This new album set is something that I had heard of, but never dared to hope would be released on CD. It consists of Leonard Bernstein's very first recordings of Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 (the "Eroica"), Dvorak's "New World Symphony", Schumann's Symphony No. 2, Brahms' Fourth Symphony, and Tchaikovsky's "Pathetique" Symphony. They are all conducted by Bernstein and played beautifully by an orchestra which bills itself as the New York Stadium Symphony Orchestra, but which is really the great New York Philharmonic, using the name that they gave themselves during summer concerts.

    The performances are a revelation, because they demonstrate conclusively that Bernstein did not always "exaggerate" or "overinterpret" great music, as critics frequently claim. His performances here are very, very direct and straightforward, more like Fritz Reiner or Toscanini than like Bernstein.

    If this album contained only Bernstein's early performances of these symphonies, it would be interesting, but it might not really attract that much attention, since he re-recorded all of these pieces in stereo in later years, and with the same orchestra.

    What makes this set so valuable is that it contains his long out-of-print lectures on these symphonies, and far from what the previous reviewer claims, they never become boring and monotonous. No musician in our time, or maybe even in the history of music, was a better or more articulate and sensitive lecturer on music than Leonard Bernstein. His legendary appearances on the "Young People's Concerts" did more for the appreciation of classical music than all the "Beethoven's Wig" albums combined. (If you don't know what "Beethoven's Wig" is, check it out and shudder at how far music appreciation has fallen since Bernstein's death.)

    Bernstein had a unique ability to make classical music accessible to everybody, without ever condescending to the listener or cheapening the music. His lectures on this album, previously only available to 1950's Book of the Month Subscribers (except for part of the Beethoven lecture, which is the only one that Bernstein did re-record in stereo), are invaluable both to music students and to those who are willing to listen. All of the lectures included cover all four movements of the symphonies discussed, except for the Brahms; that one is just as extensive as the others, but it covers only the first movement of the symphony.

    However--be warned, the lectures do have a flaw that the symphonies themselves do not, and that is why I have subtracted one star.

    The symphony recordings are obviously remastered from magnetic tape, but the lectures have been transferred from LP's. Thus, you will be able to hear an occasional click or pop from time to time, and there is a clearly audible "skip" on the Brahms lecture. It is NOT the CD being defective, or the laser beam on your player skipping; it is clearly the lecture recordings themselves. Deutsche Grammophon, which released this CD set, is very honest about the source of the transfers to compact disc, and is to be commended for this. (They mention it in the last page of the accompanying booklet.) But this shouldn't deter anybody from buying this enormously important Bernstein set.

    4 out of 5 stars Bernstein's Early American Recordings.......2005-04-02

    The most recent batch of DG's "Original Masters" box sets boasts several titles that will leave classical collectors rejoicing, "Leonard Bernstein: The 1953 American Decca Recordings" foremost among them. This 5CD set features Lenny in his earliest recorded performances of some of his trademark works -- Beethoven's 3rd, Dvorak's 9th, Schumann's 2nd, Brahms' 4th and Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphonies. Bernstein would later re-record all of five these symphonies with the NYPO (btw, the Stadium Symphony Orchestra of New York IS the NYPO) to greater acclaim for Columbia, but these early accounts capture a brilliant young conductor at the threshold of greatness. Also after each performance, Bernstein offers a musical analysis, simplifying what the listener just heard as only he could, which is again something the conductor would become famous for in years to come. Well then, if this is such a great set, why the four-star rating? First, while the performances sound very good, these are 1953 mono recordings and the casual fan needs to be aware that analog and digital stereo recordings of these works by the conductor do exist, and are generally preferable. Second, the musical analysis is a nice touch, but certainly does not warrant repeated listenings, as does the music. In fact, nearly half of the contents of these five discs is LB talking, and it could have been filled with music instead, or simply sold as a less expensive 3CD set. However, these shortcomings aside, "Leonard Bernstein: The 1953 American Decca Recordings" is another outstanding release in a fine series.
    Carmen (Sung in English)
    Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    • English is an asset and a drawback
    • You Will Love Opera After Hearing Carmen In English
    • A wholly credible "Carmen" -- finally!
    • I love Carmen!
    		 Carmen (Sung in English)
    Bizet , Bardon , Gavin , Plazas , Magee , and Parry
    Manufacturer: Chandos
    ProductGroup: Music
    Binding: Audio CD

    GeneralGeneral | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
    OperettasOperettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
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    5. Mozart - Don Giovanni / Garry Magee · Cullagh · Banks · Plazas · Shore · Tierny · PO · David Parry

    ASIN: B00007JGRN
    Release Date: 2003-03-11

    Tracks:

    1. Prelude
    2. In The Plaza
    3. Just Look At That Delicious Morsel
    4. Here Come Our New Soldier Boys
    5. Jose! There Was A Girl Here Looking For You Just Now
    6. Off With You Old Soldier Boys
    7. Corporal! Sir!
    8. We Have Heard The Bell Summon Us To Meet Here
    9. Ah, Just Look!
    10. But Why Hasn't She Come, Our Carmencita?
    11. Love's A Bird Wild As Any Rebel
    12. Carmen! We Will Follow You High And Low!
    13. The Cheek Of It!
    14. Give Me News Of My Mother!
    15. Your Dear Mother And I Were Leaving Church This Morning
    16. I See My Mother's Face!
    17. Wait A Moment - I'm Going To Read The Letter
    18. Come And Help
    19. So, Corporal: Tell Me What Happened
    20. Well, Carmencita: What Do You Have To Say For Yourself?
    21. Where Are You Taking Me?
    22. There's An Old Bar In The City
    23. Careful - It's Lieutenant!
    24. Entr'acte
    25. From Far Away Mysterious Sounds
    26. Bravo, Bravo! More! Keep Dancing!
    27. Hurrah! Hurrah! The Torero!
    28. Who's That? It's Escamillo, The Bullfighter From Granada
    29. Hurrah! Hurrah! The Torero!
    30. You're Most Kind
    31. We'll Come With You, Senor Torero
    32. Toreador, Be Ready!
    33. At Last! We Got Rid Of Them As Quickly As We Could
    34. There's A Little Job That We're Starting!
    35. Being In Love Is Not A Reason

    Tracks:

    1. To Bid You Welcome To Our Bar
    2. La La La La La La La La...
    3. Back To Camp!... Go At Once!
    4. That Flow'r You Threw To Me I Treasured
    5. No, It's Not Love At All!
    6. Hello! Carmen!
    7. Lieutenant Fair, It's True
    8. The Sky Above The Open Road
    9. Entr'acte
    10. Keep Going, Dear Old Friend, Kep Going!
    11. Right! Let's Stop For A While
    12. Shuffle! Cut Them!
    13. In Vain You Would Avoid The Bitter Things They're Saying
    14. You're Back!
    15. As For That Man, It Should Be Easy!
    16. Is This The Place?
    17. I Say That There's Nothing To Fear
    18. It's Him! I'm Sure It's Him Over There!
    19. Escamillo Is My Name, And I Come From Granada
    20. She Had A Lover Here
    21. Hola! Hola! Jose!
    22. You Should Take Care, Carmen
    23. Alas! Jose, Your Mother Is Ill
    24. Entr'acte
    25. A Few Cuartos! A Few Cuartos!
    26. Here They Come! Here They Come!
    27. If You Love Me, Carmen
    28. It's You! It's Me!
    29. Viva! Viva! What A Corrida!

    Customer Reviews:

    3 out of 5 stars English is an asset and a drawback.......2004-07-20

    The best thing about this recording of Carmen is the libretto. Conductor David Parry penned this facile and dramatic English translation. He avoids the pitfalls of literal translation to achieve an idiomatic flow that matches the rhythm of the original lyrics. I use this as a reference libretto for any of the French Carmens.

    Unfortunately, the performance suffers from being sung in English. The singers declaim their parts with such proper British diction that Carmen comes across as a school marm. The spoken dialog is delivered beat for deliberate beat and is dripping with reverb. It makes the plaza, tavern and mountain pass all sound like a sewer pipe.

    This is a good first Carmen for someone trying to understand the work. The libretto itself is a good investment for further listening. For an enjoyable performance with an emphasis on character and action, I recommend Regina Resnik on the London Double Decker set.

    5 out of 5 stars You Will Love Opera After Hearing Carmen In English.......2004-02-09

    What a perfect introduction to opera. This newly released recording will surely get you hooked into opera. Carmen, a French opera by Georges Bizet, is the most recognizable and most popular in the opera world. It's famous melodies- the overture, the Habanera, The Toreador Song have all been featured in everything from cellular phone ring tones to Superbowl Commercial (last year's Superbowl with The "Opera In English" label has been making Italian operas into English for a number of years now. Also on the market are Verdi's La Traviata in English (with soprano Valerie Masterson as Violetta) Handel's Julius Caesar with Janet Baker and even Wagner's epic Ring Of The Nibeling sung in English. This is a terrific recording and I highly recommend it if you want to get into opera. Listen to this version first and then try the real, original French version Bizet had written. Patricia Bardon is sensational, sexy and dramatic as Carmen.

    The real strength of this version is the dynamic drama. With the advantage of being sung in English, we get better insight on characters' emotions and motives, and we understand the drama a lot better. Carmen is all about great drama. Bizet drew the plot from the French writer Prosper Merimee's dark short story. Carmen is the ultimate femme fatale- a devil-may-care, sexy Gypsy living in Spain, seduces the conservatively raised soldier Don Jose, stealing him away from his fiancee, the passive Micaela, living a life of underground smuggling and rowdy taverns. "Habanera" and "The Gypsy Song and Dance" are very expressive of Carmen's extraordinarily liberal lifestyle. Don Jose, however, has fallen deeply in love- as he shows us in his song/aria "The Flower Song". But Carmen soon becomes tired of his constancy. Don Jose wants a committed, monogamous relationship with Carmen. But Carmen will not submit to love, since she is first and foremost a carnal creature. Eventually, she falls for the handsome Toreador Escamillo. Don Jose, consumed by jealousy, stabs Carmen at a bullfight after Carmen declares her love for Escamillo and rejects Don Jose's love. Don Jose's crazed, obscessive personality shines through in the English version as well. This tragedy has been done in English before so don't think this is the first time. Back in the 50's, there was a film, starring black actors "Carmen Jones" which was treated the same way as this opera- more like an English Broadway musical and with the dubbed singing voice of Marilyn Horne as Carmen. All in all, this recording is excellent.

    5 out of 5 stars A wholly credible "Carmen" -- finally!.......2003-09-17

    This recording really sells "Carmen" as a drama. Although I have two other recordings of this opera and have seen it performed several times, it never quite worked for me dramatically. But thanks to the fine performances, conducting, and translation here, I've become a "Carmen" convert. Producing a good English-language performance of a foreign opera, especially a warhorse like "Carmen," is much more difficult than it might appear. You need performers who not only can sing the parts (of course) but also can sing *English* and make it halfway intelligible and make it sound like English and make it dramatically convincing to English-speakers. The singers on this recording do an excellent job all around. Don't be put off if you don't recognize their names -- they are up to the task musically and (especially) in their acting. Admittedly, as with *all* English-language recordings, some passages are very hard to understand without reading along, but most of the time the words are clear and effective. I would recommend this recording to any opera beginner or opera lover, even those who normally turn up their noses at performances in translation.

    4 out of 5 stars I love Carmen!.......2003-08-15

    I do. I can think of no other opera with more melodic inventiveness, and few others with so sure a dramatic pulse. Carmen is popular and it thrills me to say that it is also a very good opera - not always true of popular things.

    And what of this recording? Carmen sits well in English, so it is good to hear in translation, although some of the detais in the text jar. Escamillo refers to Jose as "my dear", which sounds rather peculiar, and the guide's line to Micaela: "it's not exactly inviting, is it?" sounds distinctly Middle England rather than Rural Spain. Some of the performers, not least Carmen herself, make the words work, although there are long tracts, especially with the chorus, where the language is distinctly indistinct.

    The soloists are, by and large, strong. Patricia Bardon's deep, Handel-friendly voice adapts well to Carmen and she colours the music with phenomenal detail, sounding sexy and provocative from the start with an edge of pride and anger that emerges as the show goes on. She is out of her depth above the stave, though, and some extra top notes in the second act don't show her off to her best advantage. I have previously said that Julian Gavin is poorly served by recordings, though here he sounds much more even and gives a thrilling and musical performance (but his wooden spoken lines let him down). Mary Plazas is a lovely Micaela, rich-voiced and sincere (and word-perfect), but Garry Magee sounds miscast as Escamillo, lacking the ballast at the bottom of the voice to do justice to this tricky role.

    The supporting cast is good (Mary Hegarty seems to do nothing but Frasquita these days!) but the really treasurable thing is the conducting. Stepping out of Italian Ottocento, David Parry turns his hand to this French Comedie with an appropriate lightness of touch. His pacing and handling of the set pieces is exemplary and the enrtractes go with a real swing.

    A pleasure, then, for the Carmen naive or a novelty for the Carmen-acquainted. I nearly wrote Carmen-weary - but I don't think it's possible.
    We Had to Let You Have It
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      		We Had to Let You Have It
      Noir
      Manufacturer: Breathless
      ProductGroup: Music
      Binding: Audio CD

      GeneralGeneral | Pop | Styles | Music
      Pop RockPop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
      GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
      Progressive RockProgressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music
      ASIN: B0009PQG1S
      Release Date: 2005-06-06

      Tracks:

      1. Rain
      2. Hard Labour
      3. Begger Man
      4. In Memory of Lady X
      5. How Long
      6. System
      7. Indian Rope Man
      8. Ju Ju Man
      We Had to Let You Have It
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        		We Had to Let You Have It
        Noir
        Manufacturer: Disk Union
        ProductGroup: Music
        Binding: Audio CD

        GeneralGeneral | Pop | Styles | Music
        Pop RockPop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
        GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
        Progressive RockProgressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music
        ASIN: B00067ST3W
        Release Date: 2004-12-20

        Tracks:

        1. Rain
        2. Hard Labour
        3. Begger Man
        4. In Memory of Lady X
        5. How Long
        6. System
        7. Indian Rope Man
        8. Ju Ju Man

        Album Details

        Digitally Remastered Japanese Limited Edition in an LP-STYLE Slipcase.

        Rock Music:

        1. We Used to Be Friends [CD-single]
        2. Whatever Falls
        3. World Depraved [Import]
        4. Wounded & Time Lost [Limited Edition] [Import]
        5. Xlr8r
        6. You've Lost That Loving Feeling
        7. 60s Number 1's [Import]
        8. 60s Party Pack, 2nd Edition [Box set]
        9. Acoustic Live [Import] [Live]
        10. Acoustic, Vol. 4 [Import]

        Rock Music

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