Category: Music Reviews
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Music Album Review: ‘Casablanca – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack’
Casablanca – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Labels: Turner Classic Movies Music/Rhino (1997);Sony Music (Reissue) Year of Release: 1997 (Original), 2010 (Sony Music reissue) Genre: Film Score/Standards/Spoken Word 🎶 Casablanca Soundtrack: Memory, Melody, and the Music of Longing Of all the soundtrack albums I’ve collected over the years, none is quite as haunting—or as structurally unusual—as…
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Music Album Review: ‘The Empire Strikes Back (Symphonic Suite from the Original Motion Picture Score’ (Gerhardt/National Philharmonic Orchestra)
The Empire Strikes Back (Symphonic Suite From The Original Motion Picture Score)Composer: John WilliamsPerformed by: The National Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Charles GerhardtLabel: Varese SarabandeGenre: Film Scores, Symphonic MusicYear Released (This edition): 2006 For those of us who grew up with the original vinyl and cassette editions of John Williams’s score for The Empire Strikes…
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Music Album Review: ‘Holst: The Planets’
Holst – The Planets: Chicago Symphony Orchestra/James Levine Label: Deutsche Grammophon Released: 1991 Genre: Classical/Symphonic Review: Holst’s The Planets – A Celestial Tapestry in Seven Movements Two years before Pluto was demoted to dwarf planet status (not that Pluto minds, I suspect), I wrote an earlier version of this reflection on Gustav Holst’s The Planets,…
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Music Album Review: ‘Cinema Serenade 2 – The Golden Age’
Cinema Serenade 2: The Golden AgeItzhak Perlman, John Williams, Boston Pops Orchestra Label: Sony Classical/Sony Masterworks Year of Release: 1999 Genre: Movie themes, Orchestral music, Violin solos, Boston Pops Following the success of Cinema Serenade, violinist Itzhak Perlman and conductor John Williams reunited for a second cinematic journey—this time with the Boston Pops Orchestra. Cinema…
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Music Album Review: ‘Great Performances: Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez/Fantasia para un gentilhombre’
🎼 Echoes of Spain: A Journey Through Rodrigo and Albéniz with John Williams There’s something quietly transcendent about hearing the guitar sing in the hands of John Williams. Not the film composer, but the Australian virtuoso whose fingers seem to coax memory itself from the strings. In Great Performances: Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez/Fantasia para un…
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Music Album Review: ‘Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire’ (1996)
🎬 Rediscovering Shadows of the Empire: When Star Wars Became More Than a Movie Back in 1996, as fans braced for the re-release of the original trilogy and whispers of Episode I grew louder, Lucasfilm ventured into bold territory. “Everything but the movie”—that was their creative mantra. The result? A multimedia narrative tapestry called Star…
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Music Album Review: ‘Superman: The Movie – Original Sound Track (1987 CD Edition)
💫 Superman: The Movie (1987 CD Soundtrack Review & Reflection) Before Rhino Records unveiled its deluxe 2-CD edition 25 years ago, the 1987 Warner Bros. release was the lone CD version of John Williams’ score for Superman: The Movie. Conducted by Williams and performed by the mighty London Symphony Orchestra, this abridged album still captures…
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Music Album Review: ‘Billy Joel Greatest Hits, Volume III’ (1997)
Billy Joel’s Greatest Hits, Volume III: A Late Discovery Worth the Wait I’ll admit it — I nearly passed this one by. When Greatest Hits: Volume III dropped in 1997, I hesitated. Joel’s post-An Innocent Man output hadn’t exactly lit up my radar, and with my classical collection growing, I wasn’t keen on spending limited…
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Longest Day, Shortest Royalty Check… But Who’s Counting?
Friday Afternoon, June 20, 2025 – Miami, Florida Hi, everyone— A few notable highlights from this first official day of summer: Now for a little personal update: Kindle Direct Publishing has processed my April royalties, and I’m set to receive a not-so-whopping (but still smile-worthy) $78.21. Most of that comes courtesy of Reunion: Coda, though…
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42 Years Ago, in a High School Not So Far Away (A Tempus Fugit Gig)
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Billy Joel, Blogging, Cold War (1945-1991), Computers, John Williams (Composer), Life in Florida, Life in Miami (1972-2016), Life in South Florida, Personal History, Personal Thoughts, Personal Thoughts, South Miami Senior High School, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Tempus fugit, U.S. History42 Years Ago, in a High School Not So Far Away…. Late Morning, Tuesday, June 17, 2025 — Miami, Florida “It was only high school, after all—arguably one of the most bizarre periods in a person’s life. How anyone emerges well-adjusted is nothing short of a miracle.” — E.A. Bucchianeri, Brushstrokes of a Gadfly A…
A Certain Point of View, Too 