In need of money and wanting to quickly fulfill his contractual obligations to Riverside, Bill Evans recorded two albums worth of solos in one day. The emotional and rather stark music was not initially released until the late '80s although it is now available on a pair of CDs. Due to the lack of much mood or tempo variation, this particular set is recommended mostly for Evans completists and longtime fans. There are two medleys (the pianist was playing one tune after another and a few songs overlapped) and every number would be recorded by Evans (generally in trio formats) at other times.
During the early 1960s, rock and roll grew by leaps and bounds. The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, and Motown and Stax Records all entered the stage, and soon nothing would be the same. But, the more things change, the more they stay the same, and much of the Top 40 retained the classic ’50s sound – from teen idols like Jimmy Clanton (“Venus In Blue Jeans”) to nascent Tex-Mex by Sunny & The Sunglows (“Talk To Me”). Eric Records’ Hard To Find 45s On CD, Volume 10: 1960-1965 documents it all, from new sounds – like the Sir Douglas Quintet’s “She’s About A Mover” (in true stereo for the first time ever!) – to the loping rockabilly of Harold Dorman’s “Mountain Of Love.”
This is the fourth volume of the complete edition of Shostakovich Songs: The Unknown Shostakovich, which includes songs from motion pictures, Satires to Words by Sasha Chorny and the soloist-with-chorus work Anti-Formalistic Raree Show. As with the previous series offerings, Volume Four: The Unknown Shostakovich features impressive and impassioned performances by Victoria Evtodieva, Fyodor Kuznetsov, Liudmila Shkirtil and the piano and direction of Yuri Serov. Volume Four is made up of pieces that are quite varied……….
”Volume One” is the first album by She & Him, a collaboration between M. Ward and actress Zooey Deschanel. It was released by Merge Records on March 18, 2008. The album debuted at #81 on the Billboard Charts in its first week, and climbed to #71 in its second week. It has received a strong response from critics, receiving a score of 76/100 on MetaCritic, indicating overall positive reviews. It was also voted the #1 Album of 2008 by Paste Magazine. It came 30th in the 2008 Pazz and Jop poll. Volume One has sold 176,000 copies to date in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan and Billboard Brazil.
Two classic easy-listening albums by Paul Mauriat and His Orchestra, originally released in 1967 and 1968 on the Philips label, together on one CD and remastered from the original analogue stereo tapes for Vocalion's trademark crystal-clear sound. French composer/conductor Paul Mauriat is a classically trained musician who decided to pursue a career in popular music. His first major success came in 1962, as a co-writer of the European hit "Chariot." In 1963, the song was given English lyrics, renamed "I Will Follow Him," and became a number one American hit for Little Peggy March. Mauriat is best remembered for his 1968 worldwide smash "Love Is Blue."