Jimmy Webb: Still Within the Sound of My Voice

"Kris Kristofferson and I go back to the glory days of The Highwaymen: Kris, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash. He witnessed some of the high and low points of my life. One day in Irving, Texas at Willie's picnic, a.k.a. Farm Aid, Willie asked me to join them on stage to sing my song 'Highwayman.' ... Kris gently coaxed me out in front of 65,000 people who were expecting Johnny Cash. 'Jimmy, they can't tell the difference from way out there!' Here he is on another of my songs, a country hit for Glen Campbell, 'Honey Come Back.' It's a song that has a 'talkin' part.' Glen always hated the talkin' part and wouldn't perform the song live. On the other hand, thespian/Renaissance man Kris just couldn't resist the role of the humble, forgiving hero of this tear jerker! Who can speak or sing with more emotion than Kris Kristofferson? I want to thank him for making so many guest appearances in my life and career" (CD notes by Jimmy Webb).

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Remembering the Beach

"Another excellent recording by William Berz's Rutgers Wind Ensemble. ... The music is cerebral. Virgil Thomson's little pieces, mostly arrangements, are whimsical and insistently dissonant. 'At the Beach' was composed for violin and piano in 1929, then arranged for trumpet and band in 1949. American Brass Quintet trumpeter Kevin Cobb gives the nostalgic, amusing work a strong reading. 'Portrait of a Lady' was called 'Insistences: A Portrait of Louise Crane' when Thomson wrote it for piano in 1941; this band setting is from 1949. The unusual beginning -- the band slowly, methodically plays long, unison notes in circle-of-fifths order -- precedes a quirky middle. ... 'Edges: A Portrait of Robert Indiana' (1966) is busy and dissonant until a final gong ..." (Barry Kilpatrick, American Record Guide, Sept./Oct. 2013, p. 245).

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Haim: Days Are Gone

"The buzz has paid off for Haim, whose debut album, Days Are Gone, entered the chart at No 1 on Sunday. The Los Angeles sisters beat Justin Timberlake, who had been narrowly ahead in the midweek chart, to the top. Sisters Danielle, Este and Alana Haim have been tipped for success for more than two years. They signed to Polydor, part of the Universal Music Group, in June 2012 – the night they played a London show given five stars by the Guardian – and were named as winners of the BBC's Sound of 2013 poll in January. Even the New Yorker claimed recently that they had become 'everyone's favourite band in America.' Haim recently defended themselves against accusations that their success was an overnight sensation built on hype. 'What's really funny about this 'overnight success' is that we've been playing together for over 15 years,' Danielle Haim told the Daily Telegraph" ("Haim's Debut Album Enters UK Charts at No. 1," Guardian, 10/7/13).

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Cher: Closer to the Truth

"'Getting older sucks the big one,' Cher said recently, yet ageing seems to have instilled a fierce energy. On her last album, in 2001, she was a bellowing dance-commander, and now she's gone one better, cranking up both the beats and her propensity for blasting. And she can blast like nobody else: Pink and Jake Shears are credited as backing vocalists on I Walk Alone and Take it Like a Man respectively, but they're inaudible against Cher's Auto-Tuned foghorn. Happily, though, her many producers and writers have matched her with a batch of pounding Eurodisco tracks that can take the punishment. There's a reason the single Woman's World reached No 1 on the US dance chart: it's classic diva territory, combining empowerment sentiments, wonderfully kitsch techno and Cher's most commanding performance" (Caroline Sullivan, "Review," Guardian, 10/10/13).

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Mozart: Symphonies nos. 35-41; Karl Böhm, conductor

"This is really the first of Mozart's symphonies - and he had written at least 36 before (no. 37 is a misnomer) - in which Mozart transforms the social and entertainment functions of a piece of grand orchestral music into signifiers of a different kind of discourse. In virtually every bar of this piece, you hear him straining at the limits of what his invention, his orchestra, and the symphony can do. ... The Prague has three movements rather than the by then conventional four; Mozart does without the minuet because of the scale of this symphony's first movement and the andante. ... Karl Böhm/Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra: old school? Definitely and defiantly - Böhm eschews the repeats in the first movement, but this is music-making on a big scale" (Tom Service, "Symphony Guide: Mozart's 38th - 'Prague'," Guardian, 10/1/13).

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Nine Inch Nails: Hesitation Marks

"In the last four years, Trent Reznor got married and won an Oscar, and those Big Life Changes bring renewed verve to his first NIN record in five years. 'Came Back Haunted' nods to the abrasive industrial sound of his '90s hits; 'Satellite' has a bumping gothic-disco pulse. He doesn't sound as brooding these days, even when singing 'Yesterday I found out the world was ending ... Well, I don't mind.' From him, it's an inspirational verse" (Kevin O'Donnell, People, 9/16/13, p. 46).

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Bruckner: Mass no. 3 in F minor

"This is quite wonderful. The soloists are all fine, despite the fact they work mostly as a quartet and have relatively little to do! Of more significance is the excellent chorus, large enough to project the power of Bruckner's message and at the same time responsive enough to sing with excellent diction, ensemble, and dynamic control. Intonation can always be a problem in Bruckner's chromatic choral writing, but the Berlin [Radio Choir] handles everything with ease. [Conductor Marek] Janowski is likewise excellent. He paces the work well, using tempos that are standard, and the [Suisse Romande Orchestra] sounds terrific. And indeed it is the fine sound from Pentatone that puts this in the top rank" (Paul L. Althouse, American Record Guide, Sept./Oct. 2013, p. 88).

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Kenny Rogers: You Can't Make Old Friends

"Growing up in the San Felipe Courts housing projects of Houston’s Fourth Ward, Kenny Rogers used to walk to elementary school through better neighborhoods, admiring what he came to recognize as the mark of success: automatic water sprinklers. In the 1980s, in the middle of a run that earned him 12 Billboard-chart-topping albums and 24 No. 1 hits, Mr. Rogers built an 18-hole golf course at his home near Athens, Ga., and covered it in automatic sprinklers. ... Last year, Mr. Rogers documented what is a true rags-to-riches story in 'Luck or Something Like It: A Memoir,' which was released in paperback last month. And on Tuesday, Mr. Rogers released a new album, 'You Can’t Make Old Friends,' which reunites him with Dolly Parton, with whom he had the No. 1 hit 'Islands in the Stream' in 1983" (Andy Langer, "Duets, Messages, Crowds and the Country-Pop Blend," New York Times, 10/12/13).

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Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7

"[Conductor Vasily] Petrenko sounds unhurried leading up to the march [in the first movement], almost relaxed. The march seems to have little personality at first; it's not dire at all -- it sounds more like bureaucrats on parade, until the cymbals and bass drum come in. Now, that may not be a bad thing; certainly the slow grind of bureaucracy in the USSR was one of its most exasperating and finally dangerous features. Toward the end of the march, terror begins to take over. Petrenko loses no power in the counterpoint that follows. ... In [the second movement] the big tutti is brilliant, like fireworks. The string playing at the beginning of III is searing in the louder parts and sorrowful in the quieter sections; the fast middle section is urgent, blazing in tone if not in speed. ... [T]he sonics are excellent (as they have been through all of Petrenko's cycle) and the [Liverpool Philharmonic] orchestra is responsive" (Stephen Estep, American Record Guide, Sept./Oct. 2013, p. 184).

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John Mayer: Paradise Valley

"'Paradise Valley' is meant to represent his staking a claim to maturity, both as a musician and as a person. ... 'Waitin’ on the Day' is one of a few declarations of domesticity and calm on this album, which includes some of his strongest songwriting. ... On 'Wildfire,' he virtually whispers, 'You can rest your head/On my shoulder if you/Want to get older with me.' (There’s also a second 'Wildfire,' a wonderful 85-second interlude with Frank Ocean, who sings heartbreakingly about tough love.) Another part of growing up is moving past the overcompensations of your youth. Musically, he accomplishes that here with guitar playing that’s emphatic but not ostentatious" (Jon Caramanica, "A Crooner Decides to Speak Through His Music," New York Times, 8/20/13.

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Blondie: Parallel Lines

"Parallel Lines is the third studio album by American new wave band Blondie, released in September 1978 by Chrysalis Records. Selling over 20 million copies worldwide, the album proved to be the band's commercial breakthrough in the United States. Parallel Lines was also the first Blondie album to be produced by Mike Chapman. The album reached number one in the United Kingdom in February 1979 and number six in the United States in April 1979. ... According to Allmusic's William Ruhlmann, the album's 'state-of-the-art pop/rock circa 1978' showed Blondie deviating from new wave and emerging as 'a pure pop band.' Music journalist Ken Tucker said that they eschewed the 'brooding artiness' of their previous albums for more hooks and pop-oriented songs. ... Parallel Lines contains several of Blondie's best-known hits, including 'Heart of Glass', 'Hanging on the Telephone', 'Sunday Girl' and 'One Way or Another'" (Wikipedia).

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Tegan and Sara: Sainthood

"Sainthood is the sixth studio album by the Canadian rock duo Tegan and Sara, released on 27 October 2009, by Sire Records. The album was a shortlisted nominee for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize. ... This is the first album by Tegan and Sara to feature a song co-written by the pair, as they usually choose to write separately. However, it was not written while Tegan and Sara stayed together in New Orleans as an attempt to write together. No songs from that time made it on to the album, although one such song lends its title to that of the record. The album title was inspired by a Leonard Cohen lyric. The record also includes co-written songs from Tegan's side project with Hunter Burgan, bassist of AFI. The album is described by the band as such: 'Tegan and Sara's sixth studio album – Sainthood – addresses secular themes of devotion, delusion, and exemplary behavior in the pursuit of love and relationships ...'" (Wikipedia).

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25 Opera Favorites

This compilation leads off with the closing episode from the overture to Rossini's opera William Tell, about which Wikipedia states:
"The Finale, often called the 'March of the Swiss Soldiers' in English, is in E major like the Prelude, but is an ultra-dynamic galop heralded by trumpets and played by the full orchestra. It alludes to the final act which recounts the Swiss soldiers' victorious battle to liberate their homeland from Austrian repression. Although there are no horses or cavalry charges in the opera, this segment is often used in popular media to denote galloping horses, a race, or a hero riding to the rescue. Its most famous use in that respect is as the theme music for The Lone Ranger, so famous that the term 'intellectual' has been defined as 'a man who can listen to the William Tell Overture without thinking of the Lone Ranger.' The Finale is also quoted by Dmitri Shostakovich in the first movement of his Symphony No. 15."

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Halloween Hits

Yes, Halloween has come and gone, but it's never too late to catch the captivating strains of "Monster Mash," which leads off this holiday-themed compilation. According to Wikipedia: "'Monster Mash' is a 1962 novelty song and the best-known song by Bobby 'Boris' Pickett. ...  Pickett was an aspiring actor who sang with a band called The Cordials at night while going to auditions during the day. One night, while performing with his band, Pickett did a monologue in imitation of horror movie actor Boris Karloff while performing The Diamonds' 'Little Darlin'.' The audience loved it and fellow band member Lenny Capizzi encouraged Pickett to do more with the Karloff imitation. Pickett and Capizzi composed 'Monster Mash' and recorded it with Gary S. Paxton, Leon Russell [!], Johnny McCrae, Rickie Page, and Terry Berg, credited as 'The Crypt-Kickers.' ..."

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Van Halen: The Best of Both Worlds

"The Best of Both Worlds is a greatest hits album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released on July 20, 2004 on Warner Bros. The compilation features material recorded with lead vocalists David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar; omitting Gary Cherone's three-year tenure with the band. Prior to The Best of Both Worlds' release, Sammy Hagar reunited with Van Halen, and the band subsequently recorded three new tracks to include on the release. Debuting at #3 in the US, the album was subsequently followed by a reunion tour, and certified Platinum. It is the last album to feature new material with bassist Michael Anthony. ... The compilation features 16 tracks taken from the six David Lee Roth era albums (1978–1984), and 17 from the four Sammy Hagar era studio albums (1985–1996), plus three new songs with Sammy Hagar" (Wikipedia).

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Michael Jackson: Off the Wall

"George Duke, who began his career as a jazz pianist in the 1960s but made his name by crossing musical boundaries, died on Monday in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 67. ... The name of the instrument with which Mr. Duke is perhaps most closely associated also describes his approach to music: synthesizer. While he remained a respected figure in the jazz world, over the years he also played keyboards with Frank Zappa and Michael Jackson, sang lead on a Top 20 single and produced pop and rhythm-and-blues hits for others. His work has been sampled by hip-hop and electronic artists, including Daft Punk. ... While he pursued a career as a leader, he continued to participate in recording sessions for notable albums like Michael Jackson’s 'Off the Wall'" (William Yardley, "George Duke, Keyboardist Who Crossed Genre Boundaries, Dies at 67," New York Times, 8/6/13).

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