#37: Rossini: The Barber of Seville

#37: Rossini: The Barber of Seville. Decca,  1964 (CD 1999). Total time (2 discs): 144:52.

#36: Jeff Buckley: So Real: Songs From Jeff Buckley

Details: Jeff Buckley (1966-1997), So Real: Songs From Jeff Buckley. Legacy, 2007. Total time: 72:37.

Jeff Buckley drowned in the Mississippi River near Memphis in 1997 at the age of 30 -- which always makes one wonder what he would've done in the nearly two decades since he died. 

That said,  what he did in his young life is remarkable still. He took a song composed by the wizened genius Leonard Cohen, "Hallelujah," and at a young age recorded what still stands as the definitive version of a truly great song -- one that has been recorded by countless other people since.  Yet Buckley's haunting, heartfelt version still shines beyond any other -- including maybe even the original.

He contributed other great song performances that as my father used to say stand the test of time: the great "Last Goodbye" which I remember hearing on the radio, one of the very few singles that was released in Buckley's lifetime.  

Other notable songs on this collection include So Real, Grace, a passionate version of Lover You Should've Come Over, a truly mindblowing remake of a 1930s song by French chanteuse Edith Piaf (!) and the epic closing song, I Know It's Over, a live performance that you don't want to end.

#35: Lunasa: The Kinnitty Sessions

Details: Lunasa: The Kinnitty Sessions.  Compass, 2004. Total time: 40:30.

#34: U2: Wide Awake in America

 

Details: U2: Wide Awake in America.  Island,  1985. Total time: 20:44.  

#33: Rachmaninov: The Piano Concertos; Paganini Rhapsody

Details: Rachmaninov: The Piano Concertos; Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Stephen Hough and Dallas Symphony Orchestra, conductor A. Litton. Hyperion, 2004. Total time: 145:35. 

Personal. Emotional. Romantic.  These words can be used to describe Rachmaninov's music especially these pieces. Also he is a bridge between 19th and 20th centuries: perhaps more accurately his music sounds more 1800s than 1900s.

Ultimately it is musical and melodious--so much so that Eric Carmen lifted much of the 2nd movement of the 2nd concerto for his 1970s pop hit, "All By Myself," and parts of the soundtrack to the hit movie "Home Alone" sound inspired by Rhapsody on a Theme By Paganini  (which itself was inspired by someone else).

My favorite is the 2nd concerto which is full of reflection and sounds very personal which it is. Rachmaninov reportedly struggled to compose it during a time of personal difficulty in his life and overcame creative challenges with the help of a therapist and wrote the beautiful opening chords of the 2nd concerto's first movement. This is a crowdpleasing, iconic piece of music and was featured in an iconic Marilyn Monroe movie, The Seven Year Itch.

The 3rd concerto is known as one of the most challenging accomplishments for any pianist to achieve and Stephen Hough is up to the challenge.  The Dallas Symphony does a great job throughout.  The 4 concerti were all recorded live while the Paganini variations apparently were not.  

#32: Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto -- Mutter/Vienna/Karajan

Details: Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto,  Anne-Sophie Mutter and Vienna Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan, conductor. Deutsche Grammophon,  1988. Total time: 38:34.

#31: Peggy Lee: At Last: The Lost Radio Recordings

Details: Peggy Lee (1920-2002), At Last: The Lost Radio Recordings.  Real Gone Music,  2015. Total time (2 discs): 92:57.

Holy Toledo! Talk about old-time radio.  Just released on CD this week, the 45 songs here are from the legendary jazz singer-songwriter, Peggy Lee. In 1951 and 1952 during some of her peak performance years Miss Lee had a radio program, The Peggy Lee Show, and all these superb song performances are from then. 

More than 60 years later this material sounds so damn good and how exciting that these long lost intimate radio performances, many of them romantic ballads, others swinging numbers, are finally being made available.

I believe although she is no longer with us Peggy Lee is still relevant in music today.  Even here with recordings that sound just a little scratchy, it is delightful to listen to her distinctive voice singing classic songs backed by a great band and pianists. One of the words I use to describe Peggy Lee's singing voice is this: smile.  Listening to her singing you can hear her smile so clearly. 

My only complaint is while reaching inside one of the pockets of the cardboard CD holder for the liner notes I ripped the front cover a bit. Other than that this 2-disc album is perfect.

#30: Electric Light Orchestra: Out of the Blue

Details: Electric Light Orchestra, Out of the Blue.  CBS, 1977. Total time: 70:23.

#29: Radiohead: OK Computer

Details: Radiohead, OK Computer. Capitol, 1997. Total time: 53:27.

A fascinating blend of technology, automation, and the human.  Ultimately of course,  despite the album title,  and several of the overt song titles, the human wins out through the voices, melodies; instrumentals, beats (heartbeats), noise, rhythm, tone, mood, words, emotions and message of the songs. 

Music originates from human creativity.  Technology has provided us with vehicles to preserve and share music, but the source of music is not mechanical -- it comes from the human spirit. 

#28: Stan Getz: A Life In Jazz: A Musical Biography

Details: Stan Getz (1927-1991), A Life In Jazz: A Musical Biography.  Verve, 1996 (compilation).Total time: 67:33.

Stan Getz was a saxophonist whose peak was in the 1950s and 1960s although he played before then with big bands and performed up to his death.

Getz's saxophone playing had a smooth singing sound and he experimented with different styles including strings on a much respected 1961 album,  Focus, and later that decade popularized Latin jazz, particularly  bossa nova.

The first track on this compilation is a piece with strings which is quite good. From the bossa nova period there is a great performance of Quiet Nights (more recently recorded by Diana Krall) and other tracks include a nice version of Summertime (unreleased until after his death) and a collaboration with the great Ella Fitzgerald.

This album apparently was a companion to a book, a biography of Getz. Not sure what happened to the book but once again this CD comes from my dad's collection. 

#27: Bill Evans: Conversations with Myself

Details: Bill Evans (1929-1980), Conversations with Myself.  Verve, 1963. Total time: 43:59.

My father's favorite musician again.  Here he is overdubbed playing piano, dueting and even seemingly trio-ing by himself.

This is the first time I've really listened to this entire album although I've heard Evans recordings for much of my life. The opening chords are startling--sounds so much like Debussy. Once again a reminder of Evans' roots studying classical music as a youngster.

The recording technology that enabled this overdubbing in 1963 must have been remarkable to see in action.

Also this album reminds me of another virtuoso pianist and contemporary of Evans:  Glenn Gould. Both men died tragically young and at about the same age,  and both were masters at the piano who experimented with recording technologies. I wish I had gotten the chance, like my father and brother Michael, to see Evans play piano in person. 

Most of the Evans recordings in my collection were either my father's or were given to me by him. My dad had an expansive collection of LP  records.  I used to joke that he had every recording ever made by Evans including a few that Evans himself was unaware of. 

#26: Chris Tomlin: See the Morning

Details: Chris Tomlin (b. 1972). See the Morning. Sparrow, 2006. Total time: 46:19.

This album is a follow-up to the smash hit,  Arriving,  previously written about here (#25). It is noticeably different in tone and tempo, much more subdued and stripped-down.

It sounds more like an album from a worship leader than an uptempo rock style CCM album in the vein of U2 or Coldplay, although there are still a few uptempo energetic numbers here and there, e.g. Rejoice.

Unchanged is Tomlin's earnest vocal delivery and skilled songwriting. Standout tracks are  the first three (How Can I Keep From Singing, Made to Worship,  and Let God Arise) and the final one, Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone), an excellent partial remake of the classic hymn.

#25: Chris Tomlin: Arriving

Details: Chris Tomlin (b. 1972). Arriving. Sparrow, 2004. Total time: 45:59.

CCM, or contemporary Christian music,  has been around for decades (think Amy Grant) but last decade it seemed to take flight in terms of number of records, sales, tours, media (including seeping into secular airplay), and quite frankly from this listener's perspective, the quality of songwriting, performance and production. 

Gone is the often clunky sound from past decades.  If you don't listen to the words this could be U2 or Coldplay, for example. Chris Tomlin has been consistently good for years now and this is one of his earlier offerings.  The first 5 or 6 tracks are infectious and uplifting with the first three (Indescribable,  Holy is the Lord, and How Great is Our God) real standout songs in terms of his career.

As the album progresses Tomlin's earnest vocals continue but the song quality slips a bit. Still these are all in all very good songs by a talented singer-songwriter who is also a worship leader.  The production is clean and his band is made up of great supporting talent. 

#24: Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli: Claude Debussy -- Preludes Vol. 2

Details: Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920-1995): Claude Debussy -- Preludes Vol. 2.  Deutsche Grammophon, 1988. Total time: 39:09.

As good as the first disc of Debussy piano works by Michelangeli that I previously wrote about (#23), this one is perhaps even better. 

What a wonderful exhibition of thoughtful virtuosic playing here. It seems a little dismissive to refer to the Debussy pieces here as mere "preludes" (vol. 2) as they are very complex, developed compositions. For example one of my favorites, "Bruyeres" (v.), sounds more like a nocturne or ballade a la Chopin. 

The piece de resistance, of course, is the final work, Feux d'artifice (Fireworks), a brilliant piece that could be called a nocturnal etude. Having seen this piece played up close and personal (in the home,  as a child) and hearing Michelangeli's recording of it gives an interesting sensation of the visual along with the aural. 

As mentioned in #23, very few people have achieved the level of artistic quality with these Debussy compositions as Michelangeli did on these recordings (this one from 1988 and the prior ones from 1971 and 1978).

#23: Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli: Claude Debussy -- Preludes, Vol. 1; Images I & II

Details: Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920-1995): Claude Debussy -- Preludes Vol. 1; Images I & II. Deutsche Grammophon, 1971/1978. Total time: 72:48.

Michelangeli was a true virtuoso of the piano and his recordings of Debussy here are for the ages -- really brilliant stuff.  It's remarkable to hear him conquer this material when more often I associate him with Beethoven, for example.  

The Italian Michelangeli was legendary for his precision, even perfection. On recordings and in recitals he is known to have made perhaps two audible mistakes...In total. Which makes it all the more remarkable to hear his technical expertise at the keyboard matched by a subtle, thoughtful interpretation of the French composer's musical paintings.

Debussy creates illusions in a way, including the illusion of improvisation when in fact his composition is precise and intricate. Debussy's magical music seems to blend Oriental sounds with Western, visual with sonic art forms, melody and chords into sound effects, and seems to have predicted jazz before it was invented.

Of course once again here is a parental influence.  I heard several of these preludes played on the family piano by my mother,  most memorably the Feux d'artifice (Fireworks) from Preludes Vol. 2 (subject of the next blog entry) and I can still see my mother's hands flying up and down the keyboard playing arpeggios, scales and chords.

My mother's three favorite composers were (in order) Bach, Beethoven and Chopin. Debussy might've been #4. This music is hardly ever played in live recitals anymore, and hasn't been for a long time.   I'm not sure why that is. Maybe it's just a phase and the pendulum will come back at some point?

#22: Joan Sutherland: The Art of the Prima Donna

Details: Joan Sutherland (1926-2010): The Art of the Prima Donna. Decca, 1960 (CD: 2000). Total time (2 discs): 108:32.

Another parental influence I suppose. Joan Sutherland was far and away one of my mother's favorite singers and the near-unanimous assessment of 20th century sopranos is that she is second only to Maria Callas.

One of my mother's favorite habits was cooking and baking on Saturday afternoons while listening to the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts. Undoubtedly Sutherland was a frequent performer on these broadcasts and was one of the first singing voices I think I learned to recognize.

Sutherland, an Australian, had an incredibly advanced vocal gift--superb technical skills and the ability to convey emotion and drama while hitting every note perfectly and delivering a dazzling array of trills and runs.

This album is an intentional collection of well-known arias and from what I have heard has been used by many sopranos over the years as a learning tool.

It was recorded in Aug. 1960 in London, and the second track on disc 1 (Let the bright seraphim, by Handel) was the song that made her famous in 1958, also in London. Then, after her performance of this aria, the audience gave her a sustained 10-minute standing ovation.

The album includes her brilliant renditions of Bellini's Casta diva and Verdi's Sempre libera as well as 14 other arias from Rossini, Bellini, Gounod, Mozart and Verdi among others. 

Listening to this album left me with a taste for lasagna, salad, garlic bread and cannoli.

#21: Billie Holiday: First Issue: The Great American Songbook

Details: Billie Holiday (1915-1959): First Issue: The Great American Songbook.  Verve, 1994. Total time (2 discs): 136:42.

I am pretty certain that this one was once my late father's. This two-disc set is invaluable.  One of the all-time great American singers and a generous collection of her recordings of about 40 of the best standards from the great American songbook--American classical music in a way. 

The instantaneously recognizable voice of Billie Holiday, rich with character, the emotions of her vocals as visible as a smile, as tangible as a tear. She is supported by superb musicians--pianists,  drummers,  horn players and so on. 

The instantaneously recognizable songs: Day In, Day Out. Our Love Is Here To Stay. Let's Call The Whole Thing Off. One For My Baby (And One More For The Road). A Foggy Day. Classic songs from the best songwriters: Rodgers & Hart, Gershwin, Kern, Porter, Ellington, Mercer, Berlin, Van Heusen, Arlen.

And that Voice. So human with perfect imperfections. This is great artistry and so help me if it ever goes out of style or is forgotten....

#20: Walking Stones: A Celtic Sojourn

Details: Walking Stones: A Celtic Sojourn. Dorian, 1997. Total time: 63:49.

Traditional music like this is best heard in an Irish pub--and better yet a pub in Ireland where all pubs are Irish pubs. 

Listening to this album's reels, jigs and airs should set a toe to tapping and a face to smiling. If not then a pulse check may be in order. 

One element on this album that makes it particularly attractive is the hammered dulcimer, an instrument that when well played has such a sparkling joyous sound.  It's a well-named instrument too as dulcimer comes from the same word for sweet.

The sweet sounds on this particular album helped me get through a bittersweet  time in my life a number of years ago.  That is one of the values and benefits of music to life. 

#19: Leonard Cohen: More Best Of

Details: Leonard Cohen (b. 1934): More Best Of. Sony, 1997.

As I steadily and slowly work my way through my CD collection, I realize that several of my albums rather defy categorization. Here is another one. And here is another album made by a very unique voice -- one of those that you recognize quickly once you've heard it before.  Cohen is a brilliant Canadian songwriter whose voice isn't the purest but it fits his songs like a glove.  He's a storyteller and a troubadour and a poet, more than a pure musician.

This album contains what will make up the few of his truly memorable songs: 

* Everybody Knows, a midtempo number in which he quietly tends to a slow burn

* Anthem, which lives up to its title in every way possible

* Democracy, from the 1980s and still relevant today, which both celebrates and pleads for it to come to the USA

* Hallelujah -- which may become his singular contribution to songwriting, or maybe it has already.  His version is the original by the original, of course, and along with Jeff Buckley's legendary interpretation of it (which I think is a bit better), there are no two better versions of this remarkable song despite countless renditions of it performed and recorded over the years by others.

When I put this album on or hear anything by Cohen, I feel like I'm being spoken to, and taught, by a wise man who pushes up against conformity. You don't want it to end or stop because the wisdom is so good to hear and be present to.

#18: Frank Sinatra: In the Wee Small Hours

Details: Frank Sinatra (1915-1998): In the Wee Small Hours.  Capitol, 1955. Total time: 50:00.

The cover.  The album title.  The track list. The opening song's lyrics: "In the wee small hours of the morning, while the whole wide world is fast asleep,  you lie awake and think about the girl and never ever think of counting sheep. When your lonely heart has learned its lesson...."

Is this the original concept album?  Even if it's not the first one it surely is one of the best ever recorded.

All of these songs were recorded by Sinatra, the master, at or near his peak artistic performance in a matter of about 4 weeks, in Los Angeles with Nelson Riddle's orchestra. This was one of the early LPs. Most recording sessions were in February 1955 (60 years ago!) with a few the following month.

While this album represents a peak artistic,  musical and recording achievement in a legendary career, it was also inspired by heartbreak: Sinatra's painful breakup with Ava Gardner that left him reeling. This truly wonderful album has no weak points and is a great exhibit of great pain inspiring great art.

After six decades the songs still sound fresh and immediate. The songwriters represented on this album are the creme de la creme: Ellington.  Rodgers & Hart. Van Heusen.  Carmichael.  Porter. Arlen.   Great singing, great songs, and genuine heartbreak are things that will never go out of style.