duaneiac

Very good indeed

Earlier: Currently: Disc 2 of 2, featuring the album My Fair Lady Loves Jazz by the Billy Taylor Trio p;us some assorted bonus tracks led by Chet Baker, Art Blakey and Coleman Hawkins.

I've been listening to Discs 2 & 3 from this collection: I think a lot of people tend to dismiss the works of Burt Bacharach as lightweight pop fare. There is some of that in his work (even as a kid I couldn't stand the insipidness of "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head"), but the best of his work has so much going on with it. And heck, the best thing about the first film version of Casino Royale was his music, both the theme song (the second best Bond theme song, IMO) and "The Look Of Love". He may not have been another George Gershwin, but I would say his work is every bit the equal of the work of Richard Rodgers. This song, for example has always knocked me out. It's seemingly simple, yet there are more complex elements in the arrangement and the lyrics are far from boy-meets-girl stuff -- kind of reminds me of Rodgers & Hammerstein's "You've Got To Be Carefully Taught". That song is 50 years old now and still mighty relevant. This CD set also has 4 tracks by Lou Johnson, a singer I had not heard of or thought about in years. I forgot he was the artist who originally recorded these two songs: According to comments on YouTube, Mr Johnson is still alive at age 76, but in poor health.

Nick Brignola plays bari, alto and soprano saxes as well as clarinet on this 1992 "live" recording which was not issued until 2003.

I could do without the vocals of Mykia Jovan, but otherwise this is an enjoyable recording.

I hear they are planning a remake combing those two movies -- The Big, Short Sleep aka The Nap! Recently viewed another "Big" movie: The poster don't lie. It was indeed a "hunk of film". Unfortunately, the celluloid required to make this could perhaps have been better used as guitar picks. It does not escape its obvious roots as a stage play and there is some really ripe, overwritten dialogue. If they gave out awards for scenery chewing the way they do for hot dog eating, Rod Steiger would have been a leading contender for champion of 1955 with his performance in this film.

Among the "+6" trombones on the first album were Eddie Bert, Jimmy Cleveland and Urbie Green. The second album, a supposedly "live" recording, sure sounds like a studio session with canned applause and Mr. Johnson's song/band intros added. The band for that one included Nat Adderley, Tommy Flanagan, Wilbur Little and Tootie Heath.

red by a bit of conversation on another thread: An album of standards ranging from "What'll I Do" to "Hallelujah I Love Him So". Generally MOR arrangements, but all songs are beautifully sung.

Now playing Disc 1 of 3 from: I'd only seen this set in the longbox format, but a couple weeks ago I found it in a jewel box format and bought it. Unfortunately the liner notes include just the bar bones basics (aomposer, arranger credits, chart positions, etc.) so there's nothing to learn about the stories behind any individual songs/recordings. I assume the longbox version had more informative notes. Still the music is wonderful and in the early years covered by Disc 1 it's good to be reminded of some songs I don't usually associate with Burt Bacharach -- "Baby It's You", "The Story of My Life", "(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance", "Blue On Blue". Dionne Warwick only sings two tracks on this disc as versions of some songs I would associate with her are performed by other artists.

None of these Midnight Special programs on the DVDs are complete shows. These discs are selected highlights from the various episodes included. Of course, every one's definition of "highlights" will vary. I could do without any KISS or Paul Anka, but I really loved seeing a one-hit wonder band like Redbone perform their hit ("Come And Get Your Love" in their case -- I'm not sure if that was included on this set or one of the other Midnight Special DVDs I have). Just to speak up for Crystal Gayle, she did indeed "have much more going for her" than just the one song. That was her biggest hit and as has happened for many performers it was probably both a blessing and a burden because I'm sure her fans expected her to sing it at every show. I don't know much about her career, but I remember she had another pretty big country hit with "Why Have You Left The One You Left Me For?" and she later recorded a couple of albums of standards, one album being all Hoagy Carmichael songs. She had a beautiful voice and she sang that material quite well-- much better than Rod Stewart, to be sure. She also sang along with Tom Waits in the FF Coppolla film One From The Heart.

Can an album be simultaneously dated and fresh-sounding? This one is to me. It's clearly an product of its era, but the decades have not dimmed the shimmering vocals and "hip" arrangements. Recorded at the Great American Music Hall (hmmm, I wonder how many years it has been since they have featured any jazz performers there?) and the Paul Masson Winery (I know it has been decades since they have featured any jazz performers there, outside of Diana Krall) in 1982, with Martin Taylor, Diz Disley and Jack Sewing. Copyright 1977 on the album, but no info on when or where it was recorded.

Yes it is a good album, Even though there are a variety of performers playing different styles of music, it doesn't feel like some musical patchwork quilt. Every track is pretty solid. Now playing

I know nothing about the Shakespeare plays from which Mr. Welles compiled this material, but this stands on its own as one outstanding film. It's probably his greatest film performance and it's certainly a role with which he felt a great connection. Some magnificent editing, especially in the battle sequence, and some beautiful b&w cinematography throughout the film.

One side is all Love Songs and the other is all Ellington.

No jazz here, it's just the "Four Boys and a Guitar" format, but man did they know harmony!

Sorry I did not see your question before now, GA. The producers specified that all acts had to perform live on the show, but a small number of the acts I have seen on other DVDs from the show were clearly lip-synched. I think after a few years, in order to get certain acts, they had to allow some lip-synching, but generally most acts did perform live and I assume those will be the ones most likely to be included in the DVDs

Zazie dans le Metro -- 1960, Louis Malle. Basically a real-life cartoon with some genuinely funny moments, but it all seems too anarchic after a while and I for one was tired of it before it finally finished. The kid is an annoying little brat.

Polka rocks! Jeffrey Barnes rocks!