Sam Brown

Excellent . beautiful job - recording encompasses several different music styles and they're all done with quality. Have recommended this one to several friends.

If you're a fan of THREE MO', don't miss out! A great mixture of blues, opera, jazz, and a little bit of gospel at the end! These men are SO talented. Beware! You will find yourself getting up and dancing, too!

I fell in love with this DVD. I miss this particular live performance in NYC, but the DVD has filled a void. These gentlemen are phenomenal.
I just saw the 2007 Three Mo' Tenors, and although they were absolutely great, nothing, but nothing outdoes the original Three Mo' Tenors. I look forward to seeing them in future shows, but I also look forward to other Three Mo' Tenor performances on DVD.

The word "Mo'" in the title got my attention. I bought the CD to compare it to the already popular "Three Tenors" (Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti and Jose Carreras). Wow! Was I surprised. I had expected an all opera, classical and possibly spiritual repetoire. But, the music varies from "Nessun Dorma" to "Love Train" was truly, truly delightful. I enjoyed the wonderful voices of Thomas Young, Roderick Dixon, and Victor Trent Cook and the variety of musical selections so much that I purchased several other copies for my family and friends. Then, several months later, I saw their performance on PBS. I immediately ordered the VHS offered by the TV station, paying way, way over the retail price. But, I had to have it. It was, and is, the most exciting musical performance that I have seen. Later, when I put the tape into the player at my son's house, my 5-year-old granddaughter Ciara stood next to the sofa to watch. I expected her to move away soon, but, she stood there, during the entire playback of the performance, and I do mean from beginning to end. I left the tape there so that son could see it later. The following day, and for most days during the next several weeks, Ciara asked to have the tape played, until she later was taught to handle it herself. The family has since replaced my VHS with the DVD so that now, when Ciara visits me, we can watch the show again (and again). "Three Mo' Tenors" was so surprisingly wonderful- with great voices, charismatic personalities, terrific orchestral arrangements, lively and precisely choreographed routines, and just an overall feeling of mutual admiration and respect among the three gentlemen. The beautiful cinematics, with frequently interspersed shots of the enthusiatic audience, contributes to the feeling that I am actually there at the concert. Every time I watch it, I see and hear something new. When I first heard the CD, I was not fascinated by the countertenor voice. After seeing Victor Trent Cook's heartwarming performance on the DVD, and hearing his comment about his mother's definition of a countertenor, I have been granted a new appreciation for his voice. Here it is, years later, and I'm still enamored, remembering Roderick Dixon's "Make Them Hear You" elicits tears, Thomas Young's "Twisted" makes me laugh, and the duet with Victor and Thomas (see, I'm now on first-name basis with them) is so beautiful. I could to on and on. In fact, it's time for another listen.

I would rate this CD more than five stars if I could! I picked up this CD not knowing anything about these guys, but, knowing that I liked some of the songs contained on it. I was absolutely blown away by this collection! These guys have it all. Voices, talent, showmanship, style, technique, etc. Everytime I listen to it, I feel like I'm sitting right there in the theatre. I am a huge fan of opera, jazz and gospel. This CD covers it all! Although my favorite tracks are La Donna e Mobile, Make Them Hear You, and Nessun Dorma, they are all so good! I wouldn't hesitate to buy this again. You have to hear them to believe them!

I picked this album up very much on a whim over six years ago, but as soon as I had heard it once through I knew the purchase must have been more like divine will. The multilayered opera is blended, but in no way overshadowed, by the sophisticated electronica, combining to form something completely new and seemingly inseparable. Of particular note to me at first, as a complete opera novice at the time, was track 4, Dido, hauntingly beautiful and difficult to ever escape from. This album was my stepping stone into pure opera, a genera I never imagined I would love so at age 24. This album, therefore, is to thank for many of my current tastes in music, and an added maturity to what my ears can appreciate that I may never have gained without it.

This is a Dr. Jeckal and Mr. Hyde CD. The singing is so incredibly beautiful but it's totally ruined with synthetic background "music". The drum machine parts are so bad it's like listening to a joke from Saturday Night Live.

A doctor buddy of mine and I were working the ER one weekend and he put this CD on. Now, I love just about any kind of music EXCEPT Opera and Country music depresses me after a few songs. Now, this CD sure smacked of opera but I was not offended. In fact, the longer I listened, the more I liked it. I didn't much care for the treatment of Bizet's "Carmen" but that was the only song I didn't care for just because I loved the original classical and just didn't like this arrangement. I guess I was primed for this sound through Yanni's "Aria" from his Dare to Dream CD. Thus the blending of contemporary instrumental music with an operatic voice or voices was born.

As for the disappointed opera fan/reviewer, this IS NOT opera and it was never intended to replace or even imitate true opera. Paul Schwartz was exposed to the opera, orchestral symphonies, rock music and dance clubs that were all within walking distance from his home as a young man. He simply took the sounds that appealed to him and put them together. Thus this, his first effort, leans heavily on traditional classical music that is familiar to a great number of people. I personally found his second release, "Aria, Vol. 2: New Horizon", to be much more enjoyable. "Aria 3: Metamorphosis" was released five years after "New Horrizon" and shows a more matured sound and is highly enjoyable. Paul embarked on another venture through the "State of Grace" series during those five years which I haven't heard, yet. I love listening to all three Cd's with #2 and #3 being my favorites of the three. So if you are an opera purest, Paul Schwartz's "Aria" compositions are NOT what you are looking for. But, if you're a New Age enthusiast with even a little appreciation for classical music, then you'll probably enjoy this CD along with his other works.

I listen to this CD over and over again. Traditional opera voices backed by modern instruments makes for distinct music that appeals to sophisticated adult ears. You don't need to be an opera fan to enjoy this beautiful, unique style of music. A true opera fan below was disappointed, but after buying Aria, I became interested in opera and added a couple of authentic aria CDs to my collection.

If I could give this CD 10 stars, I would certainly do so. Five stars is not sufficient to describe this wonderful work of art. I am an opera fan but I am certainly not offended by these contemporary arrangements which brings these wonderful works to a modern audience.

The selection "Willow" from Verdi's Otello is haunting and mystical. "Un Bel Di" from Puccini's Madama Butterfly soars. Other works from Purcell's Dido and Aeneas; or Mozart's The Magic Flute; or Bizet's Carmen are arranged to be unique and evoke the context of the original opera.

Rebecca Luker's voice is superb. The electonic approach to these classics updates them, but never replaces the originals. They were not meant to replace only to offer a unique approach to classics.

I first heard of Sam Brown when I saw The Concert for George. Her performance of Horse to Water as fantastic. I bought this CD in the chance the singing and songs would be of similar style. They were not. Ms. Brown is a talented performer and a gifted singer but this CD just isn't what I was looking for.

Great voice! I especially like her version of "Horse to the Water", which I first heard on the George Harrison Tribute DVD sung by Sam Brown and accompanied by Jools Holland. Lots of energy in her music and the depth of her diversity is apparent in this DVD.

...and this album was her debut release from 1988, though it spawned a couple of top twenty hits she has spent little time in the charts since but continues to produce some great work.
She has a huge cult following and has become an artist on the fringe of the mainstream which is a place many artists chose to be, and I believe she may be one of them; here they do not have to bow and scrape to popular demands and the whims of record producers. Here they can work freely, develop a strong fan base and maintian robust artistic integrity.
"Stop!" is recognisable now because Jamelia released it last year for the film, "Bridget Jones the edge of reason", but she has not even half the depth and richness of voice to belt the song out like Sam does on this original. It's an oldy but a goody and a descriptive work in terms where British pop/soul was headed in the late 80's before the manufactured craze took over. Buy "Stop!", and you won't stop with Sam Brown!

A&M Records UPC 075021519541
(there is an Import CD with 15 Tracks. This is original 12 Track Domestic Release with 12 Tracks which keeps a theme)
1. 3:43 Walking Back To Me
2. 4:10 Your Love Is All
3. 4:56 Stop
4. 4:36 It Makes Me Wonder
5. 3:17 This Feeling
6. 0:46 Tea
7. 2:57 Piece Of My Luck
8. 4:37 Ball And Chain
9. 3:13 Wrap Me Up
10. 5:16 I'll Be In Love
11. 3:09 Merry Go Round
12. 3:08 Sometimes

This listener first "discovered" Sam Brown when I had the good fortune to go to London in November 2002 and attend the Concert for George at the Royal Albert Hall.

I knew of her peripherally, because she had done backing vocals for George's remake of "My Sweet Lord" in 2000. But that's all I knew.

Until the night of the concert. Sam blew away the audience with her version of George's "Horse To Water." Here's this little British woman belting out this song with such power, emotion and a great sense of fun.

I've since managed to pick up all of her solo CDs. Stop! is the first, recorded in 1988. It is a great mix of soul and pop, and shows off Sam's amazing voice in a number of ways. She is playful, yearning and strong...and all are totally believable.

It's a shame that she's never broken into the market in the U.S., because a lot of people are missing out on a fine fine singer. I heartily recommend this CD to anyone who appreciates good vocalists.

to listen to while lounging around the house. :) Very peaceful and soft.

I find my favorite tracks are Dido, Secret Tear, and Willow, though I also like Pace Pace and other tracks. While looking for the lyrics for Dido, preferably in English, I tripped over Amazon's listing and these reviews. I WILL be going out to find Aria 2 and 3 right after work, because if 2 is even better than 1, I'd better not be doing anything else of importance when I listen to it. This first album is really great stuff, and now I know to look for more by Paul Schwartz. I can't get technical about the music, as I don't have that kind of expertise, but I can agree that these tracks are generally relaxing, and some of them REALLY speak to me. It would be nice if I understood what they were SAYING, so I'll continue my search for lyrics. :-D

Like every project composer Paul Schwartz takes on he bring it to life and this album is simply breathtaking! This may not be his best work ever but 'Aria' is his debut into the world of classical crossover and the material here shows great potential but with much room for improvement, and his growth as an artist has become apparent with every release thereafter. The sublime music he creates becomes more divine with each new endeavor and he's proven himself worthy of my attention time and time again, becoming a musician I deeply respect. His arrangements overtake me, filling me with the irrefutable beauty he provokes, causing my senses to soar as I close my eyes and allow the glorious sounds to seep in and release me into a momentary state of bliss.

"Secret Tear" was the first song I ever heard by Paul Schwartz and is probably my favorite on here but despite how many times I've heard "Un Bel Di" remade, aside from the operatic singing, the melody is distinctly his own with lovely Japanese strumming in the beginning and a jazzy saxophone that comes in after about 2-minutes of playing... Other highlights for me include "Willow" and "Dido", which are both positively gorgeous with lush strings and hypnotic beats (you can also hear a wonderful trance remix of the latter on DJ Tiesto's 'Summerbreeze'), and "Pamina Blue" is a hybrid of modern r&b and traditional opera with the primary vocalists being Rebecca Luker and Michelle Ivey throughout this album.

'Aria 2: New Horizon' is far better than this but fans of Paul Schwartz need this in their collection; however, good luck finding it new. I had to get mine used and it was a promotional copy that contained no booklet inside.

I recently got into Paul Schwartz's music in the past few months, beginning with "State of Grace". I absolutely loved that album, not to mention the concept of fusing classical and pop music together. The results simply takes my breath away. I moved on to "Earthbound", Paul's latest album which is another winner in my book. I didn't realize up until recently that I had already heard Paul Schwartz's work as a composer with his album "Aria". I kinda put that cd aside and allowed for other music to take hold of me in recent months. So I dug around in my massive cd collection and found my copy of "Aria" which I had purchased used at my favorite cd store. As I am listening to "Aria" for the first time in months, I immediately recognize Paul's work on this particular album. I can't really pinpoint my finger on Paul's sound but I definitely hear it here. On "Aria", the music is more classical with operatic vocals than what I'm used to hearing on "State of Grace" and "Earthbound" which are heavily influenced by pop music as well as classical music. The vocals are provided by Rebecca Luker and Michelle Ivey as opposed to Lisbeth Scott like on "State of Grace" and "Earthbound". And of course, Paul's choice in vocalists is impeccable. Both Rebecca and Michelle have absolutely stunning vocals. Musically, "Aria" is not my favorite Paul Schwartz album but it is still very good nonetheless. I jus prefer "State of Grace" and "Earthbound". I however enjoyed "Secret Tear", "Willow" and "Habenara" a lot. I am definitely a fan of Paul Schwartz's music and look forward to hearing more from him.

Maybe I've been living under a rock somewhere, but this music is all new to me and I'm blown away! Closing the gap in time and recognizing beauty in a relationship between the rhythms and sound effects of 21st century techno combined with the timeless passion of 19th century opera is an incredible concept! Equally balanced and not overpowering, it's the best of both worlds. This music will take you places if you let it! Even if you thought you'd never enjoy opera... this may change your mind!! Pace Pace mio Dio

When the BBC production of The Little Prince was playing on our local public TV station two years ago, I was sick on the couch--sick enough that I was there to see it 4 times as it was repeated over the week. I suspect I had West Nile, because in addition to various roving physical symptoms, I was in a slightly odd, emotionally reflective state of mind for days--during which this musical score of The Little Prince simply engraved itself into my head. Eventually recoverying from pining over the eventual demise of my '81 Subaru and again able to stand up and not pass out, I ordered this CD and the music to this day elicits a quiet wonder unique from any other favored music I enjoy. Something very special about this seemingly simple work.

Portman herself describes this as a "children's opera". It is full of children's voices, and, as one result of this, is so charming that one can easily underestimate its other qualities: its wit, its inventiveness (the duet between the adult soprano and the boy treble is especially unusual), and the sense it evokes of soaring, yearning flight. The libretto is beautifully judged, and the whole captures wonderfully the mirage quality of the book. A lovely, haunting, moving work.

An opera lover must be heartend when a major film composer decides to write an opera. It's doubtless less financially rewarding than writing film music, but still composers are drawn to this parallel form of musical story telling.

Unlike alpha-male symphonic film composers like John Williams or James Horner, Rachel Portman's scores have always maintained a certain delicacy--a certain distance from the writings of the old masters, and here she provides us with many charming and beautiful scenes. A smaller orchestra is employed, and much of the music has an impressionistic quality, with many plaintive solos for flute and oboe. Truly lovely melodies also emerge from the essentially through-composed work.

Yet Ms. Portman's unfamiliarity with operatic writing also shows through. First and foremost, I had a certain feeling of monotony. Each scene is beautifully scored, but how many times can one sing "Danny Boy" befoe one becomes sick of it? There was very little musical distinction between scnes. Secondly, the orchestral writing was much finer than the vocal writing, which often seemed repetitious and unimaginitive.

The fact that a boy soprano sings the lead shows a break with operatic tradion. In the end, this seems very much like a children's opera...though one that, like the beloved book upon which it is based, deals subtly with the meaning of love and death.

This bargain collection of showtunes is highlighted by the composition of Kurt Weill and the uniquely rolling tongue of Colette Lyons. I have a complaint about this compilation. It includes "Ol' Man River", but it excludes Al Jolson's rendition of "Ol' Man River." Otherwise, this collection gives you ample bang for your buck.

Earle Brown is one of the lesser known members of the American Avant Garde of the 50s and 60s, but his music has some inescapable element of satisfaction. His works tend to be short, concise, and refreshingly straightforward. While Stockhausen was going to for the glory of monumental works, Earle Brown was composing writing humble little pieces that, while perhaps less impressive, were typically far more inviting for the listener. I've always had great respect for his work.

That said, I was intrigued when I first learned of this CD. As many probably know, a number of Brown's scores are graphic (i.e. instead of traditional notation, they employ some alternate scheme). That's not to say they're merely "squiggles and dots" that can be interpreted as anything to anybody. They have a logic and a structure, and the performer, while called on to be a partner in the realization of the work, cannot simply to anything at all. The mark of a successful indeterminate work, in my opinion, is that it allows a certain amount of freedom while remaining unmistakably the work of the composer. The work may vary, but you one can tell immediately that it's Earle Brown.

When a contemporary musician performs a work of, say, Bach, there is sure to be an element of interpretation and the performer will leave a touch of his personality on the work. However, I would argue that when a performer realized a graphic score, the difference in time between the composition and it's milieu, and the time of its subsequent performance changes a great deal. Some of the NYC downtown's finest collaborate on this recording. Ikue Mori, Christian Wolff, Stephen Drury - even Merzbow makes an appearance.

I found the performances to be inspired and highly personal. It's clear that great care went into this compilation. For those who own any of Brown's material, comparison listening is a fascinating treat. For those who are new to Brown, but have an interest in experimental music, this is a fine collection to introduce some of his major works. There are other collections available, but the range of musicians and the diversity of their realizations make this CD especially interesting. Highly recommended.

Sam Brown is relatively unknown female artist outside of the UK, but became known to me on the George Harrison tribute CD. Her dad was a good friend of George and in fact gave the Beatles one of their first gigs. Sam Brown has that British Musician/Artist quality that is hard to describe. Suffice it to say, she rocks with the best of them.

i can't speak for the documentation differences, but thomas tallis himself would have had to have written and signed it for there to be a justification to spend at least three times more for the same music. i paid $35 u.s. for the exact same music (confirmed by the liner notes to the brilliant set, which indicates signum as the original label and matches all other info), released by brilliant. this is typical for brilliant, who provide many "complete works" at almost offensively low prices and before whom i bend my knee.

and if you're getting this particular release for collector purposes, you may as well keep this sealed and buy the brilliant release as the play copy. it's cheap enough, no??

Thank you Paul Schleuse. Your review is right on, and most importantly, I paid $113. (including shipping) from amazon.com/uk to Boston. Less than halk the price here.

This is a landmark set: the complete works of one of the most important composers of the 16th century, in performances of grace and clarity. However, you can get it for less than half of the US price by buying it at Amazon.co.uk. At GBP65.20, it works out to just over $100, or about $10 per disc--quite a bargain on a major addition to any serious early-music collection.