Nazi Best Music

Cool, classic John Barry soundtrack for superb Michael Anderson spy thriller starring George Segal, Alec Guinness, Max Von Sydow, Senta Berger. Music first appears on LP from Columbia label in 1966. Inspired by fresh script from Harold Pinter, drawn from Adam Hall best seller, Barry avoids James Bond style of spy music, nods instead towards atmospheric West Germany locale, bleak theme of rising neo-Nazi movement. For the record, composer produces perfect album offering majority of his score in vivid stereo sound. Haunting main waltz-theme "Wednesday's Child" anchors, suspenseful cues play in contrast. Album also features Matt Monro in vocal version of theme. Intrada CD features album program in stereo from Columbia master tapes, courtesy Sony. For album fans, original artwork features on one side of booklet, all new artwork features on other side. Take your pick! John Barry conducts.

Chicago-based Cedille label's ambitious "The Soviet Experience" series continues with this set of early Shostakovich string quartets from the 15 years surrounding World War II, along with one unusual Prokofiev quartet of the same period. In addition to reflecting the situations in which he lived, Shostakovich's quartets deal with a different kind of legacy as well: the Beethovenian tradition of the string quartet as it developed through the 19th century and became an outlet for inward emotion refined into well-crafted melody and counterpoint.

Magdalena Kozena presents a recital of Czech songs, together with the Czech Philharmonic under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle. The first impression of Czech songs may be atmospheric nature scenes, or stories about pretty peasant girls and village pranks, but the selection on this album demonstrates that the imagination of Czech song composers stretched far wider. For example, Bohuslav Martinu's Nipponari were inspired by Japanese culture, whereas his folksy Songs on One Page obtain a deeper meaning knowing that he wrote them in the US, having fled the Nazi threat. His colleagues and contemporaries Hans Krasa and Gideon Klein did not manage to get away, and both died in concentration camps.

Magdalena Kozena presents a recital of Czech songs, together with the Czech Philharmonic under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle. The first impression of Czech songs may be atmospheric nature scenes, or stories about pretty peasant girls and village pranks, but the selection on this album demonstrates that the imagination of Czech song composers stretched far wider. For example, Bohuslav Martinu's Nipponari were inspired by Japanese culture, whereas his folksy Songs on One Page obtain a deeper meaning knowing that he wrote them in the US, having fled the Nazi threat. His colleagues and contemporaries Hans Krasa and Gideon Klein did not manage to get away, and both died in concentration camps.

Magdalena Kožená presents a recital of Czech songs, together with the Czech Philharmonic under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle. The first impression of Czech songs may be atmospheric nature scenes, or stories about pretty peasant girls and village pranks, but the selection on this album demonstrates that the imagination of Czech song composers stretched far wider. For example, Bohuslav Martinů’s Nipponari were inspired by Japanese culture, whereas his folksy Songs on One Page obtain a deeper meaning knowing that he wrote them in the US, having fled the Nazi threat. His colleagues and contemporaries Hans Krása and Gideon Klein did not manage to get away, and both died in concentration camps.

Along with its companion volume Changes One, this is one of the great sessions from one of the best working bands of the 1970s. Starting with the spirited "Free Cell Block F, 'Tis Nazi U.S.A," this volume also includes the vocal version of "Duke Ellington's Sound of Love" with guest singer (and acquired taste) Jackie Paris, a remake of the classic Mingus composition "Orange Was the Color of Her Dress, Then Silk Blue," Jack Walrath's "Black Bats and Poles," and Sy Johnson's "For Harry Carney." The challenging repertoire from these December 1974 dates sustained the Jazz Workshop for several years; these are the definitive performances.

This latter period Chumbawamba collection benefits from the inclusion of "Give the Anarchist a Cigarette," "Ugh! Your Ugly Houses" (a sideswipe at the non-taste of the celebrities featured in Hello magazine), "Enough Is Enough" (originally recorded with Brit rappers Credit to the Nation) and the catchy/cloying "Timebomb." Most of the material is taken from Anarchy (1994) and Swingin' With Raymond (1996). "Mouthful of Shit," the highlight of Anarchy, makes a welcome return. 23 tracks is surely enough Chumbawamba for even the hardiest of die-hards, but if you don't have the studio albums, this is the best place to start.