Tag: Music Reviews
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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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Music Album Review: ‘Yo-Yo Ma & Bobby McFerrin: Hush’
Yo-Yo Ma & Bobby McFerrin: Hush Artists: Bobby McFerrin (vocals), Yo-Yo Ma (cello) Year of Release: 1992 Record Label: Sony Masterworks Genre(s): Classical, Jazz Some recordings earn their place in a library because they’re impressive; Hush earns its place because it’s disarming. More than three decades after its release, this collaboration between Bobby McFerrin and…
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On Ethical Reviewing: Honesty is the Best (and Only) Policy
My Reviewing Philosophy: Loving Something Enough to Tell the Truth About It I’ve been a Star Trek fan for most of my life. I grew up with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. I admire William Shatner—yes, genuinely—and I wanted nothing more than to love Star Trek V: The Final Frontier when it premiered in 1989. I…
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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: ‘Billy Joel – 52nd Street’
52nd Street Revisited: Billy Joel and the Art of Returning There’s something hauntingly familiar about the first album that makes you feel seen. For me, it was 52nd Street—acquired through teenage negotiation, a bulky eight-track cassette wrested from my sister when she moved out. At the time, “My Life” felt like rebellion’s anthem, its defiance…
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Music Album Review: ‘I’ll Remember You: The D-Day Darlings: VE Day Celebration Edition’ (2020)
I’ll Remember You: The D-Day Darlings VE Day Celebration Edition Release Date: March 26, 2020 (Original version released on November 9, 2018) Record Label: Sony Music UK On Friday, November 9, 2018, Sony Records released I’ll Remember You: The D-Day Darlings, the recording debut of The D-Day Darlings, a British “wartime choir” of nine women…
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Music Album Review: ‘West Side Story – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack’ (2021)
West Side Story: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Label: Hollywood Studios Release Date; December 10, 2021 Formats: Compact disc, vinyl LP record, digital Genre: Movie soundtrack On December 10, 2021 – the same day that Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story began its theatrical release – Hollywood Records dropped West Side Story: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack in…
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Music Album Review: ‘The Essential Glenn Miller’ (2005)
He was neither an outstanding soloist nor showman nor an original composer. Instead Miller’s personality combined idealism with a formidable work ethic in a soul that was deeply musical. – Mike Plaskett, in the liner notes for The Essential Glenn Miller Boy, the way Glenn Miller playedsongs that made the hit parade…. – Charles Strouse…
A Certain Point of View, Too 