Paul Ubl

Paul Merton in China
TV rip | 720x400 | 29.970 fps | duration: 47 per episode | XviD MPEG-4 codec | MP3 210 kbit/s, | 700 MB | English | 2007

Comedian Paul Merton ventures into the unknown as he embarks upon a six-week tour of China for Five. Paul’s trip will take in the major cities of China, as well some of the most breathtaking countryside and remote backwaters that this vast country has to offer. In his own inimitable style, Paul will attempt to unravel the deep mysteries and baffling contradictions of this ancient country.

The Complete Album Collection is Paul Simon's Complete Recorded Works – minus Simon & Garfunkel, of course, along with "Slip Sliding Away" – and, as a whole, it is a mightily impressive body of work, showcasing an artist who remains restless and curious four decades into his career. The package is handsome, presenting each CD as a mini-LP, the sound is terrific, the price is affordable, and the scope is complete, so The Complete Album Collection is in every way an upgrade over the previous The Complete Studio Recordings.

It's been conventional wisdom for several generations that Solomon, great oratorio though it may be, contains a lot of deadwood; conductors have regularly cut some items and changed the order of others. (Even John Eliot Gardiner's excellent recording cuts about 30 minutes of music.) Leave it to Paul McCreesh to give us the complete score–and demonstrate that Handel's original structure makes plenty of sense and that every number is worthwhile.

The great patriotic opera of the 17th century, recorded here in a lively new performing edition after two decades in the Gabrieli’s touring repertoire. Notoriously difficult to present on disc or in concert, this version presented by Gabrieli was created to allow an obvious musical narrative, despite Purcell’s music often being completely dislocated from much of the original theatre context.