Case

sure Johnny Cash was THE MAN and add a few others to the list.
I'd heard this several times and it piqued my interest.
Folk.....well maybe...country...? But one look at the cover, and I thought,
"here is someone who doesnt care for the conventions of 'country' -or cover art-how could it in any way reflect or give a clue as to what lie hidden inside?
This should be a cover for some eurotrash encentric goth band...(or close to)
well, maybe not. There is a sense of irony on the cover-and to the music-she is on her own path, for sure

And then the hand drawn cover is just the art-no artist/title/rca logo, very unconventional (at least mine didnt after it came out of the cardboard O-ring) Her label is with the logo of a B 52 bomber presumably represents a strong anti war statement
I think thats really cool and brave. Americans usually have to be hit over the head in consumerland-
IF the CD was put out by a major, im sure this act alone would have the top execs taking constant Valiums along with double scotches and having a nurse and defibrulator nearby.

If this were country-folk-it was some one with a sense of macabre humor.
And then I found the 2 CD version-and couldnt resist-
This became too good to pass up after hearing a haunting song on the FM
For me it took some getting used to. But that commanding voice takes you into another world-and leads you back again
I cant yet make objective comments since it is still so new.
FCBTF-what a strange title-and another risk
(On the back cover of BLACKLISTED an arrow points to the UPC/EAN code where she wryly notes "The numerals 6-8-6-4...etc really ruin the cover..." (as well as FBI and EXPLICIT! warnings embedded into cover art. )
Why dont the idiots pend the extra $1.00 pro-rated, per thousand and put STICKERS on the front wrapper?
But I still cant get over the cover and some of the inside drawings.
Good work, Neko!

Neko Case has a unique voice, both in terms of sound and writing and perspective.

Fox Confessor Brings the Flood is a wonderful example of a brilliant singer. Neko Case gets the nod as one of the most gifted American singers with a voice like silk and a delivery that is welcomely unusual. The album is painfully short, though, clocking in at just under 38 minutes. One has to wonder why.

As always, a couple of cuts I could live without. Overall, a very enjoyable CD, with "Hold On" being outstanding. Great new artist with room to grow.

I know people are not going to like this opinion, but I felt gypped to the point of annoyance with this album, so I will vent. Basically, her songs are very short on this album... most are two minutes. Or even less. She reaches the top of her range, and then her song ends. If the songs were longer, with a building of intensity, (Roy Orbison comes to mind)I could get into the song more, before it ended. After awhile I just kept saying, "yep, there it's over," to each one.
If only she could do a cover, I kept thinking, so I could really enjoy that voice. She has an amazing voice.
The album art also did not satisfy. There were many drawings, and admittedly I wanted to look at pictures of her instead. For another clue to what I thought I was hearing here. There was not a single photo of her inside the thick booklet. Pictures of billboards, stacks of tape reels, drawings of semi-trucks, instead. Kind of leading-away-from instead of leading-to.
Many people I'm sure would enjoy this album, but to me it was kind of oblique.

Since Furnace Room Lullaby's release, Neko Case has released 4 other albums and countless collaborations and appearances (like her membership in The New Pornographers). This album represents a great moment in time when her music moved from old time country recreation (The Virginian, although a great album on its own) to a true development of her own influences from country's darker side along with her own talent for spinning tales from the Northwest. The songs are all steeped in longing and heartache in a way that echoes her influences without merely copying them. Standouts are 'Twist the Knife' and the soulful title track 'Furnace Room Lullaby' along with a heartbreaking song about the loss of her own on 'South Tacoma Way'. Definitely a must have album from her overall catalog!

Neko Case makes the kind of songs that you can listen to over and over again and appreciate at all different levels. She's deep, powerful, authentic -- and makes music that kind of defies comparisons.

This record pairs really nicely with her latest, "Fox Confessor."

"Fox" is dark, a little mystical. "Furnace Room" has the energy and heart of old-time country from the 40s and 50s, though I hesitate to use that label because Case's lyrics and harmonies are always deeper and more interesting than country music generally.

On "Furnace Room" her luscious voice just blows you away. On "Fox" she's holding back a bit, focusing more on telling stories.

hmmm don't like it nearly as much as fox confessor, which was a tiny bit country, but more folksy and interesting lyrics - this one is just so country I can't even listen to it - she is a great musician, and if you like country music then buy it for sure-

It's not New Pornographers, it's not Corn Sisters, but it is Neko Case straight up, and easily my favourite of her solo albums. Full of raw, emotional vocals and engaging songs, this is a great album.

I have to say that as an introduction to Neko Case, this CD is a fantastic ride. It's full of sweet, sad and melodic tunes that, well A. make me want to hear more Neko, and B. make the hours pass quickly. For those New Pornographers fans (my first introduction), it's very different, but every bit as enjoyable.

Later in her career, Carol Burnett turned to loud humor based on family conflict, and I lost my taste for her. However, this is early Carol Burnett and displays her at her best. I would also add that she did an excellent turn as the queen in the recent television version of this musical.
There is a wonderful line in the play, just after Winifred's appearance climbing over the wall, that establishes her character, even before "I'm Shy." She looks at the crowd and exclaims, "I swam the moat." My remembrance of the Burnett television showing was that she gave an emphasis to the line. Both the Ullman telecast and the one community theater presentation I have seen threw the line away, and the point is largely missed. I thought I recalled the emphasis on this recording, but the line is not included.
As good as Burnett is here, she is not the only show. The story is playful, the music carries the plot, the rest of the cast are all beautiful in their roles. This recording preserves an important part of musical comedy history.

Since I am in an amateur production of this show, I found the original cast recording delightful and instructional to listen to. I'm sure those who are familiar with the show will agree with me that it's well worth adding to your collection. Carol Burnette is especially delightful as Pincess Winnefred.

I've really enjoyed this CD. I only wish the play was available on DVD.

Loved Carol Burnett then and love her now. This original cast CD is a lovely trip down memory lane.

No offense to any of the subsequent "Freds" but Carol Burnett OWNS this role. The recording is as fresh and funny as anything being done today and this is the version musical theatre fans should have in their library. Get it.

Having enjoyed the companion Elgar set, I bought this immediately when it came out. It is certainly extraordinary value for money, at less than $3 per disc. I am less taken with the content however. Many of the recordings are choral works which are less compelling to this listener than V-W's orchestral works. Moreover, the latter are just not that exciting when compared to other recordings that I already possess. The organization is also rather parsimonious, and short works--often interesting ones--are tucked away amongst very different tracks, making listening more active than I prefer. So, not actually a disappointment but its not dominating the CD player or replacing other versions in my collection. Kudos for the presentation however; the Elgar box is garish, while this is rather pleasing, although it does of course fall for the 'Shropshire lad' conceit that dogged the composer throughout his life.

This splendid set, an amazing bargain, provides most of Vaughan Williams's music in various, sometimes relatively recent, vintages of recordings. VW is a vastly underrated composer. Some of the symphonies are bonafide masterpieces, especially numbers 4 and 6, but the London Symphony (#2) and the 8th and 9th are pretty top drawer as well, if not as stunning as 4 and 6. But then, 3 and 5 are excellent in a more "pastoral" way, though hardly the "cow music" written about in a recent New York Times article. If VW has written any "cow music" my ears have never detected it. The First Symphony, however, a choral work based on text by Walt Whitman, is as uncowlike as you can get but too hysterically pitched for my taste (like Mahler's Eighth).

The sublime Tallis Fantasy is given an expert performance, the marvelous Oboe Concerto is well done. The two string quartets are little known but very worth listening to.

In all, at less than $2 per disk, it's hard to see why anyone would turn it down. The set's only serious defect is the pathetically inadequate documentation. One can hardly figure out who's performing what. The disks themselves lack track numbers, very inconvenient, and the booklet lacks notes. But the set is nicely boxed and at this price it seems churlish to quarrel.

This is indeed a very good opportunity to have a detailed view at this composer's work at a bargain price. To me, it has always been difficult to get Vaughan Williams's recordings as I'm out of the UK, where most of them are released individually. It is great to have a box like this to get closer to this marvellous orchestrator, with his compositions so full of instrumental colour. The price is excellent, the only disappointment is that thera are no booklet notes at all. At least the CD tracking details are ok.

I know people revere Boult and Handley and Hickox as the best of all possible interpreters for British music, along with Groves and Barbirolli and all of the other artists presented here. So please don't take offense as I pick apart this box set -- because it's not as great as some other reviewers make it out to be. Others can tell you why it's good (and it has LOTS of good stuff). Let me criticize it a little. Or a lot.

First, the packaging. I'm getting really tired of these box sets (Elgar on EMI, reissue of Stravinsky set on Sony, etc.) that are missing biographies or descriptions of the works outside of a track listing. Is it so hard to reprint the liner notes from the original releases? Why on earth do they not include a libretto?? I can barely understand a word of these choruses and unless you've heard Sir John in Love or Hugh the Drover before, I don't think you'll be able to figure a whole lot out without resorting to the Internet and digging pretty deeply. Like the Elgar set, about half of this set has vocal works. So it's a huge drawback not to have texts and librettos.

Second, these recordings are old. Fine. But they _sound_ old. I guess if EMI can't add liner notes, they won't spend the time to remaster their recordings before putting them back on the shelves. People who are replacing their vinyl recordings may be celebrating, but those of us who are young enough to have never owned vinyl or 8-track tapes will find that some of these recordings sound antiquated. This is especially true for those impossible-to-decipher vocal works. The songs are blurry and fuzzy (typical of low-end ADD), and there's nothing to be done without the help of a good sound engineer. It's clear much more care was put into the first half, which is full of the orchestral blockbusters that I'm sure have sold much better over time.

Third, EMI was so lazy that they just put the CDs in this set as they were released originally without any consideration of repetition. There are 3 different versions of the Serenade to Music (one for chorus, one for 16 singers, and one with orchetra) under 3 different conductors. It's a charming work, but not _that_ charming. The Piano Concerto in an orchestral version, and then in 2-piano form? Ugh, there's a reason why Vaughan Williams kept editing it -- it's about as dry and bland as overcooked turkey. Two versions of the Fantasia of the Christmas Carols? On my Scrooge days, one is too many.

I suppose the argument can be made that EMI has given choices, so you can pick the version you like best to put on your iPod. By why do that with such marginal works -- if they're going to have 2 versions of anything, it should be the symphonies. Handley's interpretations are five stars in my book -- they were good enough to convince me to sell my Slatkin set.

So, I guess it's a must-buy only because there's nothing more complete out there at such a low price. But lament the fact that it could have -- and should have! -- been so much better.

For lovers of Ralph Vaughan Williams' music, the prospect of obtaining most of his works on 30 CDs for $50 or less should be irresistible. It's a great way to fill in the gaps in your collection, or to become acquainted with RVW's less familiar works. Among the highlights of this box are the Serenade to Music and the Pilgrim's Progress (both conducted by Adrian Boult), Partita for Double String Orchestra (Vernon Handley), Riders to the Sea and Sir John in Love (Meredith Davies), Hugh the Drover (Charles Groves), and On Wenlock Edge and Ten Blake Songs (sung by Ian Partridge). Vernon Handley's recordings of the symphonies have received uniform 5-star reviews on Amazon.

In most cases, the performances and sound quality are very good to excellent. Hard-core fans will appreciate the inclusion of variants of a few works, such as the vocal and purely orchestral versions of the Serenade to Music. As would be expected in a compendium of this sort, a few of the items have performances or sound that is less than ideal. For example, Matthew Best's recording of A Song of Thanksgiving is far better than the one included here, but the Hyperion disc is no longer in print, and a used copy costs half as much as this entire package. The box lacks both notes and texts. Nonetheless, there's more than enough great stuff here to justify the modest price.

Stellar album (every pun intended). If you have to beg, borrow or steal to get to a live Neko Case show, do it. Steal the neighbor kid's lunch money if you have to. One of the best live performances I've ever seen, hands down.

Sometimes, the fates get together and slam dunk someone with a voice like Neko and throw in some great song writing skill. And, if all that wasn't enough, she just so happens to be performing with some great musicians.

This album is one of my favorites but I have to say, you can't go wrong with Fox Confessor or Blacklisted either. On this album, Hex simply stopped me in my tracks the first time I heard it. A Patsy Cline strong, velvet voice; an enveloping wall-of-sound vibe. Drown in it. This is what it sounds like when your ears die and go to heaven.

this is a great live concert from neko case. every song is good. the only improvement would be to make it a little longer. the sound is good.

As gripping and immediate as her last studio CD was (Fox Confessor) I have to say that this is an artist best enjoyed live. And you just can't say that about most artists (My Morning Jacket, White Stripes). As a consequence this CD really satisfies as it showcases her vocals in a live setting and conveys the excitement of the audience she's taken along for the ride. The only gripe is that this CD runs a bit on the short side.

Okay, so the last track is a little weird, maybe I just don't get it. But this really is a phenomenal CD by a woman to whom the Britney's, Christina's and other blonde bimbos could learn a thing or two. Suggest to anyone that's a fan of the Blues, Gospel, or just good rockin' music. Enjoy!

There are a few songs here that absolutely make me hair stand on end, it's unbelievable. The first track is true perfection and evocative of a great, epic western soundtrack. Then there is the fantastic old time country gospel of This Little Light which is electrifying. As far as sound quality: if anything, it adds to the "classic" feel found in vintage live recordings of the 70's. It's good AS IS. What is it about tigers that resonates with Neko? I envision a day when she performs these songs on stage with live tigers going berzerk in cages on each side of the stage. She could walk up to one of them, and the tiger would flash his paw through the bars, angry that he/she is being subjected to the loud noise, the audience. She could even bring a stool and sit next to the caged feline and serenade it.

If you're the kind of person who already owns Blacklisted, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, Furnace Room Lullaby, and perhaps even Canadian Amp or The Virginian, then definitely buy this album. But if you're new to Neko, or have maybe one album and are looking to expand your collection, pick up the other albums I listed first. And if you're looking for live Neko, start with The Tigers Have Spoken. In general, this is the last album of hers I'd recommend - although I still recommend it, on the grounds that I recommend that serious music lovers should own everything Neko Case has ever recorded!

The problem here is that it's too sparse and downtempo to sustain a whole album. It's an interesting experiment for a while, but several songs need a fuller sound, and the overall flow needs some uptempo. It's a good album to have in a shuffle mix on your iPod, but not to listen to straight through - try one of her phenomenal studio albums for a taste of what she can do with pacing!

Don't let this discourage you from buying this album, though... just buy other Neko Case albums first.

This cd is nicely done but does not contain any uptempo songs which while maybe not what she hangs her hat on are still very enjoyable. This cd grows on you but has no songs that leap out and grab you. I rate this the weakest of her cd's to date.

Beautiful album from a wonderful singer. She mixes country and folk as well as anyone. You would never believe this is a live recording. Don't nit-pik - just listen and enjoy.

Neko Case is this generation's Patsy Cline only with more attitude. Her appeal crosses over multiple genre's but you can't quite categorize her. Pick up any of her catalog and you'll find yourself searching for more.

For some stupid reason I thought the songs would be new. Imagine my chagrin when I learned this was taped in 2003! Anyway, she is definately talented and I love her voice. However, Fox Confessor is my favorite of hers. Live at Austin is a good buy and I would recommend it or anything by her to anyone.

When the original score was released in 1971, it left out most of the best tracks in the movie. This CD re-issue fixes that. Unquestionably the best one that was missing was 'Mr. Wint & Mr. Kidd' - the theme of the pair of effeminate killers & their antics with a scorpion. 'Moon Buggy Ride' is also a lively theme as 007 outraces Blofeld's thugs in an experimental NASA moon vehicle. About time the full soundtrack was released!

John Barry's complete score for "Diamonds Are Forever" is a memorable addition to the 007 catalogue, though it doesn't equal the high standards established by "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" and "You Only Live Twice." Nevertheless, this 1971 soundtrack far surpasses the mediocrity of "The Man With the Golden Gun." The title song by Shirley Bassey is guaranteed to ignite your stereo speakers.

Sean Connery's first return to the role of James Bond still sparks a lot of discussion among the 007 fans. Was DIAMONDS the first "camp" Bond film, as evidenced by the light touches and wild theatrics (gay hit men! Blofeld showing up in drag!)? Or was it still a dangerous spy thriller where Bond is nearly cremated alive and when he backhands Tiffany with his tie to get answers?

It's actually somewhere in between, I think, and that's why the movie is still cool after all these years.

John Barry produces another solid 007 soundtrack to give DIAMONDS its own feel and personality. My only quibble would be that the tracks are not in order but I understand from other reviews that they couldn't contractually produce it any other way. Maybe someday.

Everyone looked like they were having a good time in this movie, and it comes through the music as well. This is one of the CDs I always have in my car during my frequent trips to Vegas.

I never really enjoyed the music during the film (nor, for that matter, did I enjoy the film!). Very tacky, dated, too much American flavour to the whole thing. Sadly, listening to the extended soundtrack has reminded me only of why I never liked this film!

Particularly dislikable tracks included : slumber Inc, The Whyte House, Circus Circus.

That whole excessive use of 'vibrato' (?) and other musical techniques sound so dated...

I am a huge, huge fan of Barry's other Bond scores, esp You Only Live Twice, and OHMSS, Moonraker and others. I think OHMSS is the best. So wonderful, lyrical, exciting yet wonderfully romantic at times.

Sadly, these Diamonds just don't cut it for me...

of the original ten or twelve James Bond movies, are there really any bad soundtracks? The answer is no. And this one is one of the best. Lots of extra stuff here that wasn't in the movie, ended up on the cutting room floor, I guess. Great orchestral arrangements.