With a distinctive voice and controversial statements, Sinead O'Connor was briefly in the limelight and quickly in the doghouse. But even her opinionated politics can't take away from the beautiful work she's contributed to the post-punk canon. O'Connor's poignant delivery of Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U," is still heart-wrenchingly painful. "Troy" is equally evocative. So Far… The Best of Sinead O'Connor provides a thorough sampling of O'Connor's early years. Emotionally charged rockers like "Emperor's New Clothes" and "Mandinka" are essential inclusions, as are her rhythmic explorations with Bomb The Bass, "Empire," and the early "I Want Your (Hands On Me)." Sadly, her Cole Porter contribution to Red, Hot, And Blue was omitted. But O'Connor proves she rightfully deserves diva status with her rendition of "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina." As if there were ever any doubts.
“IVANHOE is a romantic opera in three acts based on the novel by Sir Walter Scott, with music by Sir Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by Julian Sturgis. It premiered at the Royal English Opera House on 31 January 1891 for a consecutive run of 155 performances, unheard of for a grand opera. Later that year it was performed six more times, making a total of 161 performances.
9CD reconfiguration of original Atlantic box set, featuring every A-side the label released during those nine years, as well as several B-sides. The set is a definitive portrait of gritty, deep Southern soul. For any serious soul or rock collector, it's an essential set, since Stax-Volt was not only a musically revolutionary label, its roster was deep with talent, which means much of the music on this collection is first-rate. 11 of these singles charted on Billboard.
Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) is Denmark's most famous composer. He studied with Niels Wilhelm Gade at Copenhagen Conservatory and went on study trips to Germany, Austria, Italy and France. Nielsen was court music director in Copenhagen and taught at the Royal Danish Conservatory. His works display strong counterpoint and polytonality as well as traditional melody shapes.