Femme Fatale (1991) Andre R. Guttfreund, Colin Firth, Lisa Zane, Billy Zane

Charly Records presents The Chess Story, Vol. 3: From R&B to Soul. Jan Bradley, Sonny Boy Williamson, Tony Clarke, Little Milton, Ramsey Lewis, Etta James and many others.

The quintet Femme Fatale formed in Albuquerque and relocated to Los Angeles in 1987, during the years when hair metal acts were enjoying high visibility and platinum-level sales. Fronted by Lorraine Lewis, the group consisted of guitarists Mazzi Rawd and Bill D'Angelo, bass player Rick Rael, and drummer Bobby Murray…

Arriving mere months before Document took the group into the Top Ten, the B-sides and rarities collection Dead Letter Office sums up all of the quirks and idiosyncrasies that made R.E.M. the leading underground guitar pop band of the '80s. While only a handful of songs on Dead Letter Office rank among the group's best, the record is extremely entertaining, even for casual fans, particularly because it captures the wild spirit of R.E.M. that was evident at their concerts, but not always on their records…

Barbirolli made later recordings of all the works on this CD and these have become cornerstones of the catalogue. These are earlier recordings that he did with his own orchestra, the Halle, in the 1950s. To start with, the recording quality is pretty amazing. They were recorded on 35mm film tape rather than half inch recording tape by the Mercury team and have astonishing immediacy and amazingly lifelike. Barbirolli uses an organ in the finale of the Enigma Variations. The recording is a little bass heavy but this is a small caveat. For people who consider Barbirolli to be a bit indulgent as a conductor, these recordings may come as a surprise. The performances are very direct and nicely flowing. They therefore complement rather than compete with the later recordings. Of course, Barbirolli's later recording of the Cello Concerto with Jacqueline du Pre is a very famous and special rendition of the work. However, it is not without its detractors. Andre Navarra, by contrast, plays with golden tone. He plays gorgeously. Highly recommended.