Category: Album Reviews
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On Writing and Storytelling: Why “Somewhere” was the Only Song Jim and Marty Could Sing
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Books, Creative Writing, Films by Steven Spielberg, Melodies and Memories: Music, Songs, and Singers, Music, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, West Side Story (1961), West Side Story (2021), West Side Story – Original Broadway Cast (1957), West Side Story: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2021)Why “Somewhere” was the Only Song Jim and Marty Could Sing Every writer knows the moment when a story makes a choice for you. You think you’re the one selecting the detail — the street name, the shade of blue, the song on the radio — but in truth, the story has already decided. Your…
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Billy Joel: Greatest Hits Volume III — A Retrospective Review
Billy Joel: Greatest Hits Volume III — 1985–1997 Year of Release: 1997 Record Label: Columbia Genre: Adult Contemporary, Pop, Soft Rock I’ll admit it freely now: I almost skipped this album. When Billy Joel Greatest Hits: Volume III arrived in 1997, I was deep into my classical music phase, spending what little discretionary money I…
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On Writing and Storytelling: I Needed a Sabbatical – But I Can’t Wait For It to End!
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in Album Reviews, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Brazil, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany, Amazon Italy, Amazon Japan, Amazon Mexico, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon Sweden, Amazon UK, Blogging, Book Reviews, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Life in Florida, Movie Reviews, Movies, Movies & Television, Music, Music & Concert Specials, Music Reviews, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reviews, Summer 2026, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Jim Garraty Chronicles (Series), The Summer of Two Movies, Writing and EditingSunday, August 2, 2026 — Orlando, Florida Hello, everyone. It’s a gray, humid late-summer day in Central Florida. The temperature is currently 84°F (29°C) under mostly cloudy skies, but high humidity and a 12 MPH (16 km/h) breeze from the southwest make it feel like 88°F (31°C). We’ve already reached the forecast high, and scattered…
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Music Album Review: ‘West Side Story – Original Broadway Cast Recording’
West Side Story – Original Broadway Cast Recording (1957, 1990 CD Reissue) Label: Columbia – CK 32603 Format: CD, Album, Reissue Released: 1990 Genre: Classical, Stage & Screen Style: Soundtrack, Musical West Side Story has generated several indispensable recordings, but the 1957 original Broadway cast album remains the most historically revealing of them. Released shortly…
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On Writing and Storytelling: The Music Behind the Words
The Music Behind the Words: How Soundtracks, Standards, and Serendipity Shaped the Reunion Duology Most writers can point to a moment in their youth when they first felt the spark — that strange, exhilarating sense that imagination could be shaped into story. For me, that moment arrived in ninth grade at Riviera Junior High School,…
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Music Album Review: ‘Band of Brothers – Music from the HBO Miniseries’
Band of Brothers – Music from the HBO Miniseries: Music Composed and Conducted by Michael Kamen Label: Sony Masterworks/Sony Classical Artists: London Metropolitan Orchestra and Chorus Genre(s): Motion Picture/TV Scores, Classical, Orchestral Music Year of Release: 2001 Discontinued? No Michael Kamen’s Band of Brothers: A Requiem for Heroes Few television scores have achieved the emotional…
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Music Album Review: ‘Billy Joel – Greatest Hits, Volumes I & II (1973-1983)’
🎶 Billy Joel – Greatest Hits: Volume I & Volume II Some albums become more than music—they turn into companions. For me, Billy Joel’s Greatest Hits: Volume I & Volume II was exactly that. I received the cassette in 1986 for my 23rd birthday, one of my last big celebrations. That tape became a lifeline:…
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Omnibus in Progress, Comfort in Limbo
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in ACX, Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Autumn in Florida, Books, Brandon Padilla, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Computer and Video Games, Creative Writing, Garratyverse, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Kiri Sings Kern, Kiri Te Kanawa (Dame Kiri), Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Life in Madison (NH), Life in South Florida, MicroProse Software, Military History, Music, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Rick Atkinson, Sea Power: Naval Combat in the Missile Age, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777–1780, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, Things I MissMonday, November 3, 2025 – Orlando, Florida “Work. Don’t Think. Relax.” — Ray Bradbury There’s a certain comfort in structure, especially for those of us who live by stories. As much as I love the creative process—and I do, or I wouldn’t be doing this—I try to keep my writing life tethered to a Monday-through-Friday…
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Music Album Review: ’20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Louis Armstrong’
Review: 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Louis Armstrong Louis Armstrong may never have possessed the velvety croon of Bing Crosby, nor did he set out to reinvent the musical landscape with each recording. Yet what he offered was something rarer: a warmth, humanity, and sheer joy in performance that made…
A Certain Point of View, Too 