Fargo 05

Carter Burwell's darkly mysterious orchestrations play a significant stylistic role in both Barton Fink and Fargo, two of the best films from acclaimed independent filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen, particularly in light of the oft-violent content of the Coens' stories: violence can of course be laughable when the characters are too goofy to be believed, and tragic when the characters are too believable to be goofy, but the Coen brothers' creations are somewhere in between. They strike a precarious balance between a broadly comic Beckett-esque absurdism and a more straightforward, three-dimensional naturalism. Consequently, Burwell's grave, sweeping scores are a crucial reassurance that the Coens are not taking their characters' personal tragedies less seriously than are their audiences.

Duke Ellington - The Duke at Fargo 1940: Special 60th Anniversary Edition (2000) {2CD Set, Storyville 84385-38932 1}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 557 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 367 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 14 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1940, 2000 Storyville | 84385-38932 1
Jazz / Big Band / Swing / Early Jazz

The widely heralded recordings made of Duke Ellington & His Orchestra during a 1940 concert in Fargo, ND, have been justifiably praised for their historic value as well as for the surprisingly good sound obtained by a pair of young amateur engineers with a portable disc cutter. Both the soloists and Ellington's unique-sounding blend of reeds and brass are very distinct. Some of these tracks previously appeared on the Jazz Society label, followed by a Book-of-the Month Club set, and all of them appeared on the now-defunct Vintage Jazz Classics, but this latest version tops them all for sound quality.