Bill Graham rides in on a giant mushroom. Etta James and Tower of Power Horns featured as well as the mercurial John Cipollina on "Not Fade Away", "Deal" and "Sunshine Daydream".
The Ghosts of Christmas Eve was a live show conceived for television by Trans-Siberian Orchestra, separate from their Christmas Trilogy of recordings, which they were two-thirds of the way through at the time. It aired in on the short-lived Fox Family network in 1999 with a cast that included Ossie Davis, Michael Crawford, and Jewel…
Rimsky-Korsakov’s Christmas Eve, based on a short story by Gogol, centres on the love of the blacksmith Vakula for the rich farmer’s daughter Oksana, who mockingly requires him to obtain for her the Tsarina’s shoes in order to win her hand in marriage. However, evil spirits are on the rampage imperilling their love – a witch on her broomstick gathers the stars and the devil steals the moon. Rimsky-Korsakov blends Christian and pagan elements, Ukrainian folk songs and carols, and atmospheric orchestral interludes in this vivacious and fantastical village romance. This is the disc version of the audiovisual release on 2.110738 and NBD0154V: ‘Sebastian Weigle leads the excellent Frankfurt orchestra and chorus in a spellbinding account of Rimsky-Korsakov’s score’, wrote MusicWeb International. It also won the German Record Critics Award for Quarterly Critics Choice and was a Musicweb International ‘Recommended’ release.
Eve is Beninese singer/songwriter Angélique Kidjo's first recording in nearly four years. Its title is inspired literally by her mother Yvonne's nickname, and metaphorically for the Judeo-Christian heritage's first woman. It is "dedicated to the women of Africa: to their resilience and their beauty." Produced by Patrick Dillett, the album was recorded in the U.S., France, Luxembourg, and Africa. The cast of musicians is stellar: Lionel Loueke and Dominic James on guitars, Steve Jordan on drums, Christian McBride on bass, and Jean Hébrail on programming and arrangements, plus a slew of percussionists and keyboardists and a horn section. Guests include Rostam Batmagli (Vampire Weekend), Dr. John, Bernie Worrell, Nigerian singer ASA, the Kronos Quartet, Steven Bernstein, Stuart Bogie, and, on the sweeping, nearly transcendent "Awalole," the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg.
High-tech samples with poetic and intelligent New Narrative-type texts, a fresh outlook and the occasional patterns suggesting floating big-city dreaminess inhabit much of this highly listenable CD. Selections include: "No Man's Land" (1995), "The Garden of Cyrus" (1984-86), "Preciosilla (1990), "Disappearance Act" (1993), and the title piece "Overstepping" (1991).