Richard Gotainer Perles et Bijoux ( re up New Link)

It's a little surprising to consider that Julio Iglesias didn't have a comprehensive hits collection until My Life: The Greatest Hits was released in the fall of 1998, but the result was so strong that it made the wait worthwhile. Featuring no less than 37 songs over the course of two CDs, My Life has all of his biggest hits, most popular duets, and fan favorites, including "To All the Girls I've Loved Before," "All of You," "My Love," and "Summer Wind," a duet with Frank Sinatra. With only a couple of exceptions, the first disc is devoted to English-language hits, the second entirely to Latin hits. For some listeners, it may be too much material to digest, especially in one sitting, but there's little question that this is the definitive Julio Iglesias compilation.

More than Cheap Thrills or even Pearl, Greatest Hits has helped keep Janis Joplin's short-lived recording career alive for listeners who came along after her 1970 death. "Me and Bobby McGee" is the biggest draw, of course–it was a posthumous No. 1 single–but the rest is equally exciting. Despite the familiarity of the titles here, this goes far beyond the merely serviceable. Finally, the cover photo of Janis smiling in a sunny park is as poignant a shot of her as exists…

The most important work in this DVD is the film of Alexis Weissenberg playing Petrushka. From the notes: "through the inventiveness of its framing, the subtlety of its composition and the attention paid to the photography, Petrushka, interpreted by Alexis Weissenberg and directed by Ake Falck, is a unique example of a musical cinematographic film.This film also had a considerable impact on Alexis Weissenberg's career. Notes by Michel Glotz, his Manager and friend.

Several months ago I read articles on the Dusty In Memphis cd reissues and it seems to be widely accepted that the 1992 Rhino issue is the best sounding one. Earlier this year I posted the 1999 Rhino Deluxe Edition which came in second to this one. I always thought that they were the same mastering but it seems that I was wrong. I just got this out-of-print mint cd last week on eBay and I wanted to share it with you guys.

From the notes: "The tapes from which these CD's are taken were discovered in Russia by a dedicated group of Richter enthusiasts. They bring us by far the most extensive sampling of Richter's live performances from the 1950's. And they do this in recorded sound that, while not the ultimate in fidelity, is superior to what we might have expected from early Russian tapes." Notes by Leslie Gerber [also the Producer]