Falstaff was one of Verdi's greatest creations and this set is the finest of all reacordings of the work. Only Toscanini comes close and even then his cast is a shade less accomplished. Gobbi may not have a 'fat' voice, but his keen intelligence and magnificent shading of phrases and text more than compensates.
Lured out of retirement by bassist Ray Brown after taking extensive time off from the road, pianist Gene Harris recorded extensively from the mid-'80s until shortly before his untimely death in early 2000. This is the second Resonance CD to come from a 1996 engagement at London's Pizza Express, features the pianist with a group of European musicians (Scottish guitarist Jim Mullen plus two Englishmen, bassist Andrew Clyendert and drummer Martin Drew, the latter of whom worked extensively with Oscar Peterson). While they had not played together prior to this engagement, they are very much on the same wavelength. "Sweet Georgia Brown" opens softly, with Mullen showing a funky touch, but as the piece develops Harris takes hold with his driving soulful technique…
The Dream Roots Collection is a five-disc retrospective of Tangerine Dream's career, including one disc of previously unreleased material. All of the material on the collection has been remixed and reworked by Edgar Froese and his son Jerome, and while these remixes might not be historically accurate, they nevertheless retain the essence of the original versions, making the box an intriguing journey through the group's past. While the set is too extensive for casual listeners, hardcore fans will find the new mixes and rarities fascinating, making the set a worthwhile addition to their collection.
Following his second covers album, Kojak Variety, Elvis Costello set out to assemble a collection of songs he had written for other artists but never recorded himself – sort of a reverse covers album. As it turned out, that idea was only used as a launching pad – the resulting album, All This Useless Beauty, is a mixture of nine old and three new songs. Given its origins, it's surprising that the record holds together as well as it does. The main strength of All This Useless Beauty is the quality of the individual songs – each song can stand on its own as an individual entity, as the music is as sharp as the lyrics. Although the music is certainly eclectic, it's accessible, which wasn't the case with Mighty Like a Rose. Furthermore, the production is more textured and punchier than Mitchell Froom's botched job on Brutal Youth. All This Useless Beauty doesn't quite add up to a major statement, but the simple pleasures it offers makes it one of the more rewarding records of the latter part of Costello's career.
On April 21, 1988, two significant events occured in the Cradle of the Blues, Clarksdale, Missisippi. One was ZZ Top's dedication of a guitar made from a board from Muddy Waters' home to the Delta Blues Museum. Of equal significance were the incredible performances turned in by the "original" Muddy Waters Blues Band at John Mohead's Cotton Exchange Club. No overblown concert to mark the event, rather two authentic juke-joint shows by a special group of players, the likes of which invented the genre.
This two-CD set was distilled from those historic performances. Be warned! You'll hear crowd noise, clinking glasses, missed notes and feedback. You'll hear tade-ins and fade-outs, mainly because the original recording devices were not always operating at the right time…