Strings of my Heart

MovieScore Media continues its partnership with composer Pessi Levanto (Oma maa, Psychosia, Swingers) through the new Finnish mystery drama series Piece of My Heart (Pala sydämestä). Directed by Hanna Maylett, Piece of My Heart is a about child care workers and the impact that their work has on their lives. After returning to work from her suspension, social worker Rita (Lotta Lehtikari) gets paired up with a new partner – young and inexperienced Laura (Niina Koponen). As the border between work and private life gets obscured, things get complicated in the dark side of society… The darkly romantic music explores these themes with a powerful, strings-heavy score covering everything between dreams and nightmares.

The legendary 101 Strings Orchestra present a set of West Coast-inspired standards with I Left My Heart in San Francisco. The collection comes courtesy of Countdown Media's restoration of the master tapes from renowned legacy label, Ashire/Somerset.
101 Strings Orchestra was a brand for a highly successful easy listening symphonic music organization, with a discography exceeding 150 albums and a creative lifetime of around 30 years beginning in 1957. 101 Strings had a trademark sound, focusing on melody with a laid-back ambiance most often featuring strings. Their LPs were individualized by the slogan "The Sound of Magnificence." The 101 Strings orchestra included 124 string instruments, and was conducted by Wilhelm Stephan.

The legendary 101 Strings Orchestra present a set of West Coast-inspired standards with I Left My Heart in San Francisco. The collection comes courtesy of Countdown Media's restoration of the master tapes from renowned legacy label, Ashire/Somerset.
101 Strings Orchestra was a brand for a highly successful easy listening symphonic music organization, with a discography exceeding 150 albums and a creative lifetime of around 30 years beginning in 1957. 101 Strings had a trademark sound, focusing on melody with a laid-back ambiance most often featuring strings. Their LPs were individualized by the slogan "The Sound of Magnificence." The 101 Strings orchestra included 124 string instruments, and was conducted by Wilhelm Stephan.

Due to all the great funk, R&B, and soul bands of the '70s, it's easy to overlook many of the lesser-known (but just as great) bands. Such is the case with the Trammps. Best known for their smash hit from the Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack, "Disco Inferno" (their only Top 20 appearance on the pop charts), the group had many other hits on the R&B charts, which were just as deserving of crossover success. Just about any track from the excellent This Is Where All the Happy People Go: The Best of the Trammps compilation is a solid example of '70s R&B at its finest and most expertly crafted. Many overlooked and forgotten gems reside here, such as "Hold Back the Night," "Trammps Disco Theme," "That's Where the Happy People Go," and "Zing Went the Strings of My Heart."

If the only essential Judy Garland record from her Capitol years is Judy at Carnegie Hall, this three-disc set from British EMI makes the perfect accompaniment for those who want to delve yet deeper. With 2007 digital remastering performed on every track, it includes the complete contents of four records – 1956's Judy, 1957's Alone, 1958's Judy in Love, and 1960's That's Entertainment! – plus highlights from many others (Miss Show Business, Garland at the Grove, The Letter, the soundtrack for I Could Go on Singing, The Judy Garland Show). Judy and Alone are not only career landmarks but a pair of the best vocal albums of the '50s, with arrangements from Nelson Riddle and Gordon Jenkins (respectively) that pulled out all the stops in a manner that had only ever appeared on Sinatra albums. Bonus material includes two previously unreleased alternate takes from The London Sessions and mono mixes for several LP tracks (that were chosen because they were judged superior to existing stereo mixes).

Boasting 92 tracks, ‘Box Of Pin-Ups’ takes in the market leaders as well as the year’s hard-up heroes and nowhere men. Established Top Ten acts like Manfred Mann, The Hollies and The Yardbirds are joined by cult names and such glorious one-shot unknowns as Glenn Athens & The Trojans and Irish band The Spectres, both now legally included on CD for the first time.

Good news: "The Man That Got Away" is not on this tribute to the Judy Garland songbook. Yes, it's an extraordinary song, but how many versions of it do we need? Apart from that absence, Linda Eder tackles many well-known nuggets long associated with Judy Garland–or as Leslie Bricusse puts it in his fawning liner notes, "Picasso Sings Rembrandt." Eder, a belter par excellence, lacks Garland's brittle vulnerability, and so she isn't at her best on songs that require a delicate touch, such as "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart."

Boasting 92 tracks, ‘Box Of Pin-Ups’ takes in the market leaders as well as the year’s hard-up heroes and nowhere men. Established Top Ten acts like Manfred Mann, The Hollies and The Yardbirds are joined by cult names and such glorious one-shot unknowns as Glenn Athens & The Trojans and Irish band The Spectres, both now legally included on CD for the first time.