Chumbawamba Timebomb (london Rec. 857 745 2) (eu 1994)

Semiramide is Rossini's last opera seria. The title role was written for his wife, Isabella Colbran. The extremely florid vocal style is often a vehicle for spectacular vocal display rather than an intrinsic part of the score. The ensemble-scenes (particularly the duos between Arsace and Semiramide) and choruses are also of a high order, as is the orchestral writing, which makes full use of a large pit. The work starts with a well-known overture, and throughout it calls for outstanding singers in the leading soprano and contralto roles. Semiramide is occasionally performed but is not part of the standard operatic repertoire.

Italy was a very progressive country in the fine arts during the late medieval to the baroque eras; the arts were especially great in Florence! This is a fine tapestry of Italian renaissance music with rich instrumental sounds and voices that can swoon the senses. The instrumental arrangements are perfect and the singers sound like they're celebrating the songs, instead of performing them. Philip Pickett has always recorded some of the finest early music.

Balakirev worked on the second of his twosymphonies between 1900 and 1908 and it was first performed at a Free Schoolconcert in April 1909 under the direction of Liapunov. Work on his firstsymphony had been resumed thirty years after the first sketches, with no traceof a change of style. Similarly the second symphony, which makes use of theScherzo planned in the 1860s for the earlier work, is in a style that hadpassed. This, after all, was the age of Stravinsky's Firebird. It is,nevertheless, a compelling enough work, testimony to Balakirev's craftsmanshipand to the Russian source of his his inspiration.

This latter period Chumbawamba collection benefits from the inclusion of "Give the Anarchist a Cigarette," "Ugh! Your Ugly Houses" (a sideswipe at the non-taste of the celebrities featured in Hello magazine), "Enough Is Enough" (originally recorded with Brit rappers Credit to the Nation) and the catchy/cloying "Timebomb." Most of the material is taken from Anarchy (1994) and Swingin' With Raymond (1996). "Mouthful of Shit," the highlight of Anarchy, makes a welcome return. 23 tracks is surely enough Chumbawamba for even the hardiest of die-hards, but if you don't have the studio albums, this is the best place to start.

Marianne Faithfull doing Melanie Safka doing Marianne Faithfull is what you get when Mick Jagger's ex-girlfriend performs on a majestic version of "Ruby Tuesday" backed up by the London Symphony Orchestra. It's a reunion of sorts for Jagger and Faithfull, as the lead singer of the Rolling Stones follows his ex with a similar version of "Angie," with deeper textures than the original pop hit. This release is a worthwhile addition to the Rolling Stones' catalog of music. Sure there are "symphonic" albums of music by Creed, the Beatles, Depeche Mode, heck, even Symphonic Star Trek, but this package, all in black with silver ink, of course, is something special. "Angie" is downright eerie. Perhaps the late Michael Hutchence wasn't the best choice to open up the voices, beginning with his rendition of "Under My Thumb," but at least he's not awful…

Marianne Faithfull doing Melanie Safka doing Marianne Faithfull is what you get when Mick Jagger's ex-girlfriend performs on a majestic version of "Ruby Tuesday" backed up by the London Symphony Orchestra. It's a reunion of sorts for Jagger and Faithfull, as the lead singer of the Rolling Stones follows his ex with a similar version of "Angie," with deeper textures than the original pop hit. This release is a worthwhile addition to the Rolling Stones' catalog of music. Sure there are "symphonic" albums of music by Creed, the Beatles, Depeche Mode, heck, even Symphonic Star Trek, but this package, all in black with silver ink, of course, is something special. "Angie" is downright eerie. Perhaps the late Michael Hutchence wasn't the best choice to open up the voices, beginning with his rendition of "Under My Thumb," but at least he's not awful…

Jerome Richardson - Roamin' With Richardson (1959) {Prestige, OJCCD-1849-2, rel 1994}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 255 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 92 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 15 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1959, 1994 Prestige New Jazz / Fantasy | OJCCD-1849-2
Jazz / Cool / Hard Bop / Saxophone

Jerome Richardson has long been one of the most versatile of jazzmen, able to get a personal sound and to swing on flute, tenor, alto, soprano and baritone. For his quartet date with pianist Richard Wyands (who at this point often sounded like Red Garland), bassist George Tucker and drummer Charlie Persip, Richardson plays baritone on three songs (in a deep tone a little reminiscent of Pepper Adams and Leo Parker), two on tenor and one on flute.

Freezone 1: The Phenomenology Of Ambient (1994). The debut in the Freezone series looks at the world of mostly beatless ambient, courtesy of tracks by Porcupine Tree, Pete Namlook's Air, David Byrne, Deep Space Network, Moby, Deep Forest, Young American Primitive and Terre Thaemlitz…

This award-winning disc features the prodigious talent of 20-year-old Maxim Vengerov, the clarity of interpretation of 67-year-old Mstislav Rostropovich, and two brilliant concertos by the two greatest Russian composers of the 20th century. Vengerov plays a 1727 "Reynier" Stradivarius violin in both works, and the total effect is wondrous.