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Since we are dealing with NON-soundtrack purchases (which I think a lot of people here chose to ignore, essentially thumbing their noses at the stated purpose of this thread), the cupboard is pretty bare lately. I did contribute twice to the cause to resurrect the old off-Broadway show "Man With A Load Of Mischief" to get 2 copies of the original cast album, finally digitized for fundraising, getting one copy for myself and another for a friend. I'm always buying more piano, including yet another interpretation of the Chopin Preludes. And another copy of the amazing Sergei Bortkiewicz Piano Concerto #1 with Stephen Combs and Jerzy Maksymiuk conducting the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra -- I think that most soundtrack lovers would love that music (and may have never even heard of its composer). I've collected everything by singer Linda Eder, but several months ago misplaced the CD she recorded of the concept album of "The Scarlett Pimpernel" and missed it so much that I broke down and bought the CD again. And just one more left to buy: The update of the Rodgers & Hammerstein "Flower Drum Song" story to the time of Tiananmen Square, starring José Llana and Lea Salonga, which was loaned to someone who never returned it.
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Juno Reactor - Live In Tokyo (DVD)
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I have only heard through Lifelines once. I remember finding it OK, especially the songs produced by Stephen Hague (one of my favorite producers), but I didn't really want to put it on again straight away...
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Just today I received the 2-albums-on-one-CD of Robert Goulet's "On Broadway 1 & 2," which I had a sentimental attachment to about 48 years ago (yikes!), with the LP of #1 belonging to a roommate I had back then when we were both barely past 21. Well, you can't go home again. While I still like a few of the songs, most of the 23 show their age. What I decided to do was alternate each Goulet song on a playlist with a more interesting version, with artists like Colm Wilkinson, Sammy Davis Jr., Mary Martin, Robert Preston, Lena Horne, Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli, Robert Weede, Louis Armstrong, Richard Kiley, and others to make it more interesting. I'm trying to find a way to still be able to listen to Goulet's versions without being stuck solely with them.
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Steve Haun - Midnight Echoes (CD)
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This past month:
Robin Thicke: Blurred Lines
Passenger: All the Little Lights
MGMT : Congratulations
MGMT: MGMT
MGMT: Oracular Spectacular
MGMT: Time to Pretend
MGMT: Late Night Tales
Townes Van Zandt: Rear View Mirror
Reflektor: Arcade Fire
David Bowie: The Next Day
Mika: The Origin of Love
LP: Discovery
The Aqua Velvets: Guitar Noir
Small Black: Limits of Desire
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Darren Hayes: Secret Codes and Battles
Foy Vance: Joy of Nothing
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Pet Shop Boys - Format: B-sides And Bonus Tracks 1996 - 2009 (2CD)
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Two "80s" bands newest albums:
Tears For Fears - Everybody Loves A Happy Ending (CD 2004)
Cock Robin - Songs From A Bell Tower (CD 2010)
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Two days ago I received the compact but still massive "GARY GRAFFMAN: THE COMPLETE RCA AND COLUMBIA ALBUM COLLECTION." Inside the hard box are 24 CDs, each inside careful facsimile's of the original albums, and I finally found time to listen to 6 of the 24 CDs today. Forgive the stream-of-consciousness that follows, but here's my rather superficial Amazon customer review:
REVEALING, REWARDING, REVELATORY: What a fantastic collection!
I have long been a fan of pianist Gary Grafman, and while I already have a few of these recordings, I just couldn't pass up getting the rest at such a great price. Since most of the reviews here have already reported what is included, I'd like to just quote some thoughts I jotted down as I spent my first day listening to some of these.
I opened the sturdy box holding the 24 slim CD jackets with their Gary Graffman treasures, and, not at all surprisingly, first put on his wondrous Gershwin "Rhapsody In Blue" (with Zubin Mehta conducting the New York Philharmonic), long my favorite recording of that work, even though I already have 2 copies of the CD and have listened to it many times. Next I put on the older recording of Prokofiev's 3rd piano concerto (with Enrique Jorda and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra), recorded in 1957, with a warning on the back of the facsimile of the original album to "Beware the Blunted Needle." The warning ends with "Make sure your needle is in good condition before you play this record. If in doubt, have it checked by your dealer -- or buy a new needle." Remember those days? Ahhh … that wondrous 3rd movement of Prokofiev's 3rd piano concerto! What a joy! And the Beethoven 3rd piano concerto (with Walter Hendl and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra) is magical!
I just read, in the booklet that comes with it, Jed Distler's "An Improbable and Fulfilling Career," which made me appreciate Gary Graffman even more. Funny, but listening to his Gershwin and Prokofiev and now Beethoven makes me want to listen to only classical music and not go back to anything else, not even to the instrumental soundtracks that have meant so much to me over the years. Alas, too often I stray from classical music, although it's usually an unmitigated joy to return to it! While Beethoven's 3rd piano concerto is my third favorite of his 5 (after the 5th and 1st), this is still gorgeous music. Graffman recorded it on 5-5-59, over 54 years ago, and while it can't entirely hide its age, it's still marvelous and I don't want to stop. More Beethoven? Yes. I put on the "Waldstein" sonata, a favorite, which has, for me, belonged to Emil Gilels. Recorded 8-9-68, Graffman's playing seems far more frenetic than I'm accustomed to hearing this work, and the second movement far too leisurely. Graffman's pace was at odds with how I'm used to hearing this wonderful piece, but I still enjoyed it and will try to play it again. Later I put on his Chopin album, only intending to play a couple of pieces, but couldn't take it off until I had played it all. Later I put on Graffman's OTHER recording of the Prokofiev 3rd, recorded over 9 years later (with George Szell and his Cleveland Orchestra), and it sizzled! Yes indeed: revealing, rewarding, revelatory! I'm SO glad I bought this!
Forgive my self-indulgence, but those were some of my thoughts as I played 6 of the 24 CDs and came away from it, first, very glad I had bought it, and, second, looking forward to playing even more of it very soon. Now in his 80s, Graffman had to give up a lot of his performing and recording because of medical problems with his right hand, although he became quite adept as a performer of pieces for the left hand, and commissioned some new ones himself. And he's long been recognized as a fine instructor. Lang Lang, at 14, became one of his students, and provides the thoughtful and emotional foreword for the generous booklet that comes with this compact box with all its treasures.
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Posted: |
Dec 13, 2013 - 7:03 AM
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By: |
Tall Guy
(Member)
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I've recently picked up a couple of Sparks albums - Angst In My Pants and Plagiarism - to add to my treasured and growing collection (about half of them so far). Two very different albums, the first being a studio album and the second being covers (with some guests) of some of their own songs. This contrasts fascinatingly with the live album from about a year ago of the Two Hands, One Mouth tour.
In all cases, the usual Mael brothers traits are fully evident - quirky melody and lyrics full of caustic wit. I think Sparks are like Marmite. I know many people who wrote them off years ago because of Russell's treble rendering the lyrics sometimes difficult to follow, and Ron's unusual demeanour and toothbrush moustache (Hitleresque or Chaplinesque according to taste). I liked them as soon as I heard "This Town Ain't Big Enough" in 1974 and in the last five years or so have come back around to them in a big way, being thoroughly astounded by their longevity and invention.
Perhaps their relative lack of commercial success down the years has helped to avoid complacency, forcing them to reinvent constantly. Anyway, there will be more Sparks acquisitions as I come across them. Can't wait.
Another aspiration is to collect all the Vasily Petrenko Shostakovich symphonies with the Liverpool Philharmonic, the cycle being very reasonably-priced on Naxos. I've heard one or two so far, and it seems that this will be a required purchase for die-hard Shostakovich fans.
TG
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TG: Re "Another aspiration is to collect all the Vasily Petrenko Shostakovich symphonies with the Liverpool Philharmonic, the cycle being very reasonably-priced on Naxos. I've heard one or two so far, and it seems that this will be a required purchase for die-hard Shostakovich fans."
I've long been a Shostakovich fan after discovering a Russian recording of his thrilling 5th symphony when I was 19 or 20, and would go on to buy many of his symphonies and other works by a variety of orchestras and conductors. As a sometimes obsessed collector, I bought just about anything of his I could find, including 2 large LP boxes of his string quartets. But I no longer play them and, frankly, except for maybe his 5th, 6th, and 7th symphonies, rarely play anything else by him. But I was delighted when Stanley Kubrick used the Waltz 2 from Shostakovich's Jazz Suite as his principal theme for the rather unfocused "Eyes Wide Shut."
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... my wallet isn't big enough for my addiction!
