Long

The music of "Lord of the Rings" reminds me so much of Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle. Well, the entire story of LOTR reminds me of The Ring Cycle. But apples and oranges aside, the musical themes (or leitmotifs) here are dazzling. From the "Orc Industry" to "The Fellowship" to "Hobbiton", they all so diverse and so distinctive. I love every minute of it (except for some overly bombastic parts that are very irritating to the ears). Kudos to Howard Shore, and to Peter Jackson who hired Howard Shore.

With the release of the Complete Recordings, Peter Jackson and Howard Shore gave their fans the opportunity to return into the mystics of middle-earths music deeper than before. While the ordinary soundtracks only had some selected parts of this epic score, fans are now able to listen to every single note, Shore wrote for this fantastic trilogy. You are able to learn everything about the history of the music, with lots of informations about the different musical themes, which you can hear through the 3 hours of music.
A fantastic CD-Box!

my wife is a big fan of the movie. this music is right from the movie. It is not music inspired from the movie like some of those disapointing cd i have atained in the past. it's right from the movie so if you watch the movie you have heard the music before. I don't like the wall art that media player wants you to look at as the music plays but in a cd player it sounds great. It is exactly what you would expect.

Even if you don't like the films, this soundtrack will take you to Middle Earth.

Prompt shipping, item came as described. My husband LOVES it and couldn't be happier with it! I'll have to buy the rest of the recordings soon!

I love his music, which is why I bought the CD. But the first track skipped, right out of the package. Had to take a CD cleaner to it to get it to play correctly.

Song 10, "Flying" had me flying - my favorite track on the album. Pity it's the last song.. And many of the songs are not as good, but there are some nice acoustic steel-string country blues numbers after that (bonus tracks) pre-dating Clapton's stuff but somewhat comparable. "Black Girl" stood out. Getting back into the rock side of it for the last two bonus numbers, I liked the second "It Ain't Easy" better than the original. I'm glad these were included.

not every cut on this album is a gem, but all are worthy of a hearing and, depending on your standards, at least half are keepers.

As I said previously... It was a plasure to hear these records ( "It Ain't Easy" and "Everything Stop for Tea") thirty years after I heard them first time. The sound is perfect.

i have never been so in love with an album as john baldry's it ain't easy. it is an album that pulls at my heart and touches my soul like only the best blues can do. if you want one of the best blues albums from one of the finest this is the album for you to cut your teeth on.

After seeing " DESPERATE MAN BLUES " on TV; I found out about this CD & knew that I had to own it. Even though ( as I indicated in a prior review ) I am NOT a 78 rpm Collector; I do know that this CD really is a TREASURE TROVE of some extremely special records that are definitely worth listening to. Kudos to JOE BUSSARD for being the superb Collector that he so obviously is & for putting this incredible Collection together !!!......My only question is ( as other reviewers have also inquired )......JOE; HAVING SOME AWARENESS OF THE EXTENT OF YOUR COLLECTION.....WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO FOLLOW UP WITH ANOTHER CD LIKE THIS ?????

Sell your shoes cause your goin to heaven after you play this one! You can finally say you've heard it all. Top drawer assemblage of roots, blues, and just plain fun. Uncle Joe say it ain't so... give us another, PLEASE!

If you're interested in the history of US music, as I am, you'll find this a fine addition. Cleaned up as well as can be expected but still some hum & hiss...but not enough to be distracting.

everything i've ever bought on the old hat label has been fantastic, and this is no exception. a must have disc for fans of old time music. and if you have no old time music discs, this would be as good a place as any to start with. great sound and a variety of musical styles make this disc a complete winner.

A generous 24-track helping of some of record collector extraordinare Joe Bussard's favorites. The examples included run the gamut of early 20th centruy roots music ranging from Hillybilly music to Blues, Jazz, Jug Bands and beyond.

Sound quality is top notch -- these guys really know how to do 78-RPM transfers. Also Joe's records seem to be in excellent condition to begin with so not a lot of noise reduction is required. This is one of the very finest sounding discs of 78-RPM transfers that I have heard.

Packaging is also lavish with a 70 page booklet that contains annotations for each of the 24 tracks, and lots of interesting photos of vintage record labels and packaging, as well as several essays and stories about Joe's record collecting career. There's much of interest here for those who love Roots music.

This piano/violin and cello cd allows you to believe,create and imagine visions within you own mind.
Like recalling a movie scene with a soundtrack, this cd captures how the lights shines on the first day of snow for me when I listen to it driving through Yosemite or sitting on my blanket near the ocean.
Relaxing sounds without being intrusive.

I just love this album and am disappointed to learn that Helen has no others to offer.

I am using this to stay focused as I work. It's so beautiful, and calming that I can work for many hours without distress.

I am rested. Thank you, Helen.

i liked very mucu the Jane Long's music and intend to by another cds.

Heklen Jane Long is an outstanding composer and performer. Her music is ethereal without being too spacey. It is very uplifting, making me want to cry it is so beautiful in places. The pieces are arranged well, with nice segues into each other. I also have Einaudi and I would say to compare, she is definitely more "lovely", you can tell the composer is female if you know what I mean, not as heavy handed as Einaudi, but definitely in his league. There are beautiful violin, viola and cello instruments accompanying her piano and so you have a beautiful arrangement altogether, not just piano. I play this music all the time and never tire of it. I highly recommend this CD! You wont be sorry.

There is good piano music, and then there is Helen's hauntingly beautiful work! If you have any interest in piano music at all, this should be on your list of things to purchase. I recommend that you pick up this album, at the very least it's great for concentration, musing, study and romance (heh heh! ;) ).

This was the book I first started learning jazz tunes from, and have since bought many copies for my pupils. There's some classic tunes in it that are easy to read, perform and learn basic improvisation. A good place to start for beginners to jazz, and to use as a practice aid for soloing.

Aptly named, Maiden Voyage features tracks that are nearly ideal for beginning jazz improvisers. The chord changes are not overly quick, nor are the tempi on the tunes. Like most of the packages that Jamey Aebersold has put together over the years, Maiden Voyage works best for players of melodic instruments (flute, trumpet, saxophone, trombone, guitar, etc.). This is useful for guitarists and pianists who want to practice their comping, as it is for bass players. The only problem with using the basic version of any of Aebersold's book/CD packages for comping or working out bass lines is that there is no soloist to react to. This features, however, a solid rhythm section and putting yourself into it requires practice. A nice selection of tunes. Some people that prefer a more chord-based approach to improvisation might find Aebersold's focus on modes a little tricky at first, but this kind of modal approach is basically where jazz has been for some time now. Besides, using a scale (mode) based approach will help the improviser develop a more flowing melodic style. Give Maiden Voyage an "A."

I'm an intermediate level bass player backing up a praise band at church and a company sponsored big band, but I'd never soloed or played a melody till I took a jazz class that used this book.

Melody lines in the tunes are very readable, even though I did not know most of the songs, and had never played any of them. Tempos are moderate for a productive learning experience--our jazz band performs "Impressions" a lot faster than Aebersold teaches it. And his improv technique got me up and playing pretty quickly. Now I know what in improv solo is and how to get there. It improved my backup skills as well, and overall improved my confidence to step out more even in the backup role. Had a great time, and I'm headed back for another class with another Aebersold book.

This is a terrific purchase for intermediate level players. The selections are in relatively slow tempos and there is a wealth of information if you are a multi-instrumentalist. The CD recording is good and allows you to mute either the bass or piano acoompaniment as they are recorded on separate channels. There is a recommended discography for each track. My only criticism is that it would be better to have the tracks recorded twice, once with just piano,bass and drums (what you get now) and recorded again with a lead instrument playing the notated themes in the supplied booklet.

Professional backup for you to solo in whatever key- c, bflat, eflat, your instrument is in. really fun to improvise and learn the "art" of jazz. This is a must for anyone wanting to learn how jazz musicans improvise.

Of course there should have been much more. I remember there been a Metropolian Opera series called CAST ALBUMS- 100 YEARS that was put out for a limited time only and had like five volumes.
As Peter Filichia noted they left out SHE LOVES ME, BRIGADOON and SWEENEY TODD. Also nothing from PACIFIC OVERTURES, BIG RIVER, CHESS, CRAZY FOR YOU, JEKYLL & HYDE, TITANIC, THE SCARLET
PIMPERNEL, FOOTLOOSE- THE MUSICAL, THE FULL MONTY, URINTOWN...
But they couldn't have put it all. I would have done without Lee Remick's
"Anyone Can Whistle", because the show was a flop. I guess because it was Sondheim's first "serious" show...

The first three discs were only OK. I had forgotten how much better the later Broadway musical recordings were. The last two discs were very good, maybe because I could relate better to the shows or perhaps the productions were better.

Packs into 5 CD's a sampling of Broadway tunes from the 20's thru (almost) today, mostly from original cast recordings. Includes not just well-known hits, but also some lesser-known gems. Sound quality is first rate, booklet is informative too. Have given this as a gift to several friends with rave reviews.

This is THE definitive collection of Broadway hits. I have other collections, and none of them measure up. A great deal of care was obviously taken in compiling and presenting this box set. It covers a lot of ground, starting with some long-forgotten but still very enjoyable hits from the days of yore, and finishing with present-day favorites. To the best of my knowledge, the recordings are by those who made them famous. You won't be disappointed.

THESE BROADWAY MUSICALS CD'S ARE A BROADWAY LOVERS DREAM. WITH EACH SONG, MEMORIES COME FLOODING BACK. BOTH THE FAMILIAR AND THE FORGOTTEN SONGS ARE A TRUE LISTENING PLEASURE. IF YOU LIKE BROADWAY, YOU'LL LOVE THIS SET.

Some highlights: The CD takes you through II-V-I progressions in all keys, major and minor. There are scales to look at, if you want to look at them when you start. There are some sample etudes. There is a long list of sample runs in D that start out simple and gradually grow in difficulty. Some of them have comments to explain the techniques used.

This set is a versatile tool - the CD tracks have a great band accomaniment that you can use to practice improvising on your own, learn some comping skills, practice your own comping, practice scales and chords, . . . Exercises are in Bass, Treble, Bb and Eb, so just about anyone that doesn't play F french horn can use them easily. The charts in the book are extensive. The set is as good as you care to make it.

I had a small customer service that the publisher remedied instantly and courteously. Bravo!

If I could change one thing, the exercises in D might be a little more musical and a little less "classroom". I wouldn't recommend playing many of them "as is" in a real setting. However, you aren't tied to those examples when using the CD, so it's not really a big issue. A CD with 12 tracks of ii-v-i, one in each key (major and minor) instead of just D, might be a nice addition for the beginner level, but it is also beneficial to jump around different keys as some of the exercises do.

Why four stars instead of five? I have a personal bias. Music books that "change your life" with minimal user effort get five stars from me. Music books that "change your life", but only with considerable effort on your part, get four. Call me lazy.

Even though this CD is older, it is well worth listening to again and again and again. It brought pure delight before I had the privilege of seeing Ronan perform in person and that delight is only heightened by the love and power he brings to all his music.

Another wonderful CD bt the master of the Irish Tennors. Again he sings an entire CD of great songs in the best style possible. DR. Tynan makes all songs better.

This CD is just as great as the more recent "Ronan" CD. I clicked on 3 stars in error. This is a 5++ star album! His voice is sheer perfection, and the songs are wonderful. I also highly recommend the DVD of "The Impossible Dream," even though I didn't care at all for the London Community Choir who sing four songs. Note: The American version of the DVD doesn't have the 25-minute "Dr. Courageous" extra on it that the Irish version does. I saw him in concert last month, and besides having a voice that soars to the rafters, he is warm, funny and endearing.

I've always been a rock and roll fan since back in the 60's. Listening to this cd could easily convert me into a classical music fan as well. Wow what a voice.

Having seen Ronan in person recently in the U.S., I was impressed first and foremost by his singing ability, and second by his stage presence and warmth. He is a special performer and human being. I am proud to be a Ronan Tynan fan.

Is there anything better out there? Sure, maybe, does it matter? My only knowledge of John Baldry was the commercial piece "Boogie Woogie" and the "Conditional Discharge" intro for the song. I surfed iTunes and Amazon and found this--one of the best bits of blues I've every heard. What I hear is 'American' Blues with a Brit twist coupled with incredible keyboards and guitar. Baldry wraps the blues in a unique 70's British presentation. Go ahead and listen--find as many influences as you can. The sound of all the old Blues guys in America are here, as well as some current ones--Rick Estrin of Little Charlie & the Nightcats, Curtis Salgado from Portland, Oregon must have gleaned something from Baldry. I am not a music reviewer or a writer, so it's difficult to put it all in to words. So, just listen to this CD. Enough said.

Excellent recording... It was a pleasure heard this record and "It Aint Easy" thirty years after I heard them first time. LJB was the best musician of english R&B.

i have just recently discovered john baldry while shopping for b.b. king. someone had misplaced it or maybe had placed it there for fellow blues fans. i looked at the back and saw the record was produced by rod stewart one of my all time favorites and elton john. i was very curious and had to have a listen. i must say i have never been so impressed by an album as i was with it ain't easy. everything stops for tea is the next step in a journey for anyone searching for the right kind of blues that you feel deep down within. i reccomend john baldry to everyone with a little bit of blues in their soul.

Just having recently rediscovered Long John's music, I was thrilled to again hear this classic. His humour, sensuality and zest for life is recorded for posterity. We miss you, John.

...as soon as i can afford to order some music, i will have, though.

However, i have strong and fond memories of the original album, so this review is based on those (thus, i won't be discussing the bonus tracks or the CD quality/packaging).

I guess that the saddest thing i have to report, to begin with, is that Long John stepped on a rainbow two months before the release of this disc, dying in hospital in Vancouver on July 21, 2005.

But the important thing is that great artists -- even mediocre or poor artists, for that matter, live on after their deaths through their works.

An example -- I was just listening to a Fairport Convention live recording from 1974 featuring the late great Sandy Denny, who died in 1978; but there was her incredible voice and music, right there for me to hear for the very first time, thirty-one years later.

And so it will be with Long John; with any luck, as long as there are blues fans, Baldry's work will be available to electrify our consciousness.

Long John (at 6' 7", there weren't any other nicknames more likely) Baldry was born in England in 1941, and by the time he was twenty, he was spreading the gospel of the blues.

It is virtually certain that, without Baldry's influence, the growth of British blues would have been rather different; one almost wonders if there would have been any significant Brit blues movement (or English Invasion, as we know it) at all.

Consider the following list of some of the early bands that Baldry either formed or fronted vocally, and of some of the people who were in them:

1962-Blues Incorporated
Mick Jagger
Alexis Korner
Jack Bruce
Charlie Watts
Notes: Brian Jones, Keith Richards, and Paul Jones (also appeared with Blues Incorporated)

1963-Cyril Davis and The All Stars
Jimmy Page
Nicky Hopkins

1964/65- Long John Baldry and the Hoochie Coochie Men
Rod Stewart

1965/66- The Steam Packet
Rod Stewart
Brian Auger

1966-1968 -Bluesology
Reg Dwight (later known as Elton John)

(Reg Dwight took the "John" part of his stage name from Long John.)

So, when it came time to make this album (and "It Ain't Easy", which, i believe, cme out the year before) there were a lot of old mates Long John could call on, and two of them -- the afore-mentioned Messrs. Stewart and Dwight -- each produced one side of both LPs, and contributed performances, as well.

"Mother Ain't Dead", a folk-gospel, with Stewart and Baldry duetting, is almost painfully beautiful.

"Wild Mountain Thyme" is a lovely reading of what i believe is a semi-genuine Scottish folk song.

"Iko Iko" is a New Orleansy, hard-edged, percussion/guitar driven call-and-response number (The MP3 can be downloaded at the official Long John Baldry website, and i heartily recommend it.); somewhere in my collection, i have a recording of "Iko Iko" featuring Professor Longhair and Gatemouth Brown, and i think Baldry's is the better.

The title song is a British music hall number from some revue from the 30's or 40's -- a nice change of pace, and the intro, portraying Baldry as a Power in the music industry (John Lennon is begging him to use one of his songs on his next album...) being driven totally up the wall by the pressures of fame, survivng the day only because "Everything Stops for Tea" is nicely silly.

I haven't heard any of the bonus tracks, but if "I'm Just a Rake & Ramblin' Boy" is the Ramblin' Jack Elliott song i suspect it is, i look forward to it with great anticipation.

Based solely on the original content from 1972, let alone the neet-sounding bonus tracks, you need this album.

(BTW -- the cover painting, portraying Baldry as the Mad Hatter in an "Alice in Wonderland" setting, is by Ron Wood. Yes, that Ron Wood.)

When I heard the first single on the air waves, I requested the heck out of it. But that was only because I wanted to hear Sublime to tell you the truth. Thats not what I got at all. When the CD came out I rushed to get it. Then I stuck it in and skipped over it alot. I like maybe 3 songs from it. If you have ever heard of Sublime's "Robbin' The Hood", it kinda sounds like that. A bunch of stuff with a few good but incomplete songs thrown in. The replacement singer is the guy who does the artwork on all the Sublime albums. His voice is off key a little sometimes. I only seem to like it when the mood is right and the sun is shining on a Summer day.

They call themselves "Dub Allstars" To Sound Cool, this aint Dub music people. Though they may, on occasion, throw in some Dub elements don't fool yourself this might as well be ska...

Let's clear up a few things first, the closest thing to Dub on this album is track one "Righteous Dub". From there out they use far more different approaches to there music than Dub. Anyway, I'm not docking them for this minor flaw, You think if you can write chill reggae music you would know wtf Dub music is. I'm only complaining about there name and the illusion of what sound they really have.

The different approaches here work in an oddly effective way. The biggest problem w/ this album is when they start thrashing in there songs: The end of "My Own Life", not only does this take away from everything this album is but it sounds bad, I'm sorry, I could do w/ out the attempt at punk ska. But for some reason this is why Sublime is so popular, mixing the two elements. But LBDA are just the opposite in a way. Anyway, no punk ska thrashing nonesense, it just doesn't blend. Other than that their are some real classic reggae songs on here. "Kick Down" and "Pass It On" are instant stoner anthems.

Exceptional, but inconsistantcy kills what could've been a classic. If your looking for more reggea go for this one instead of Wonders Of The World.

ok, for all you people saying that it sucks cuz its not sublime and bla bla bla...well. hm, maybe thats why they changed their damn name. if they were trying to make the same music as they did when they were sublime they would have kept the name. but they didnt cuz brad is gone, yeah that sucks, yes he was awesome but the rest of the homies gotta make a living so they kept goin on doin what they rock at doing. this cd is awesome, as is their next cd, buy that one too damn it.

the band that was sublime is no more. these cats need to stop expecting long beach to be sublime- which is utterly hopeless. it is just different with brad gone. as much as we all miss him and wish he were here creating wonderful music, his passing must be accepted. long beach, as far as i know, doesn't claim to be sublime. it's evident in their music. they have progressed and really are still an excellent group. you can't hold them responsible for brad or hold them to that musical style. you can still feel a little of the old sublime with long beach, but they obviously will never be the same. well, enough about the past...right back is a really solid album. i really enjoy this album for what it is as any one must do. you will not like it if you can't accept that it's a new band, so be open minded. A must have for any collection and i find it to be extrordinarily good in the summer time

this album is awesome. if you like reggae/ska to surf to or just kick it, then get it. and if you want brad, then buy sublime. it's all sweet as pie. chill-