Country G Music

First, the facts: this CD is a welcome compilation of VW recordings made by Adrian Boult between 1967 and 1970, and culled from various LPs where they served as fillers or flip sides to collections. By chronological order, The Lark Ascending completed the 6th Symphony in 1967, Norfolk Rhapsody # 1 came with the 4th Symphony in 1968, In the Fen Country served as a filler for Symphony No. 3 that same year, Serenade to Music was the complement to the Fifth Symphony in 1969. Finally, Fantasia on Greensleeves and English Folk Song Suite came with Elgar's Enigma Variations in 1970. Three of Boult's customary orchestras are involved: London SO ('67 and '68), LPO ('69) and New Philharmonia ('70). TT on this CD is 65:42 and its good to have these tidbits (which were left out when EMI reissued the symphonies in the early days of the CD) gathered on a single disc.

The compositions span roughly the first half of VW's compositional career, from 1904 (In the Fen Country, the first work he allowed to remain in his catalog, although in a version and instrumentation subsequently revised) to 1938 (Serenade to Music). Stylistically, they can be divided between VW's early impressionistic and atmospheric style, very much smacking of Delius and even Sibelius at times (In the Fen Country, Norfolk Rhapsody #1 from 1906), his lighter Folk-Song inspiration (English Folk Song Suite, originally written for military band in 1923 and here given in Gordon Jacob's arrangement for orchestra), and the pastoral and sentimental style of his middle years (The Lark Ascending, 1914 revised in 1920 and Serenade to Music, 1938), both with the typical, wailing solo violin (but I guess I've entered the realm of opinions, now)

Opinions, then: interpretively, where comparisons are available to me, these versions from the older Boult (he was 78 in 1967) are a mixed bag. His Serenade to Music his commendable for being true to the original version and request of conductor Henry Wood for his Jubilee, with 16 vocal soloists, and for its superb cast, starting with the truly stellar soprano Norma Burrowes - an advantage over Bernstein, who also did the original version in 1962 (THE ROYAL EDITION - Vaughan Williams: Symphony 4 / Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis / Fantasia on 'Greensleeves' / Serenade to Music). Boult is also to be lauded for not over-sentimentalizing, unlike Bernstein through the adoption of an excessively slow opening tempo. But Bernstein's orchestra is much more present and dramatic at the climaxes; Boult misses many opportunities for bite, and his orchestra is at times distant, as if it had been recorded independently from the soloists, with the two later mixed together. That said, the layout I prefer is the one adopted by Malcolm Sargent, with four soloists and chorus (Vaughan Williams:Overture 'The Wasps'/Fantasia on 'Greensleeves'/Fantasia on a Theme by Tallis/Serenade to Music/ Toward the Unknown Region): the chorus has a silk in the softer passages and a power in the climaxes that, whatever their merits, 16 soloists simply cannot match, and the interplay between "ripieno" (soloists) and "continuo" (full chorus) comes out with much more drama.

Unlike in the Serenade, it is not VW's original version that Boult plays in the Greensleeves fantasia but the arrangement by Ralph Greaves, which substitutes two flutes to the solo violin. I prefer the original for strings alone (with harps), because of its baroque Concerto Grosso flavor, with dialogues of ripieno and continuo. The original version is what Bernstein plays. Although here again Boult adopts an animated beginning tempo which avoids over-sentimentalizing the music (which doesn't need it), another questionable feature of his reading is his adoption of a very moderate tempo in the middle section (an elaboration of a Norfolk folk-tune), which robs it of any contrast with the framing Greensleeves theme and makes the piece into some kind of continuous, brooding dirge.

Norfolk Rapsody # 1 (in case you wonder about # 2 & 3, the composer withdrew them) illustrates VW at his most impressionistic and atmospheric. The version by Normal Del Mar heading the City of Birmingham SO (Toward the Unknown) is slightly more animated than Boult's, rhythmically more precise and sonically more spacious. Contrary to some other reviewers, I prefer this recording of The Lark Ascending with Hugh Bean to Boult's earlier one, made in 1954 with Jean Pougnet (Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 6 in E minor/ A Song of Thanksgiving/ The Lark Ascending or Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem and Other Works): the incomparably better sonics, Boult's extra spaciousness and Bean's silky tone make a significant difference.

These interpretive comments are meant for those who really care for these niceties. As they are, Boult's readings do not betray the compositions nor (except perhaps in the middle section of Greensleeves) give a distorted view of the music. The music remains enjoyable and entertaining, if not manifesting a striking compositional originality (one can only dream of what Britten might have done with Shakespeare's text in Serenade to Music), and given his strong association with the composer any Vaughan Williams recorded by Boult will be of significance. In my case, though, since I'm desperately trying to make shelve-room, the only reason for me to keep this disc is for The Lark Ascending and for the stellar cast in Serenade to Music - although I'm not very interested in the composition itself, which, despite its beautiful solo melismatas, I find excessively sentimental and cloying, and derivative in its language (of Wagner, Debussy's Pelleas, and I hear whiffs of Zemlinsky's Lyric Symphony or of Griffes" "The Pleasure Dome of Kublai Khan" as well).

Short but informative liner notes

Not quite what I expected and not as good as I had hopped for.
My Fault - not theirs

Many have already reviewed this CD very positively, so just a brief word. This is probably the most attractive intro. you could have to Vaughan Williams - all the works, whether well known or not so well known, are most beautiful, the recording is excellent and the performances under Boult, who knew exactly how to get the beauty and the poetry out of VW without losing sight of the structure, could not be better. You just can't go wrong - it's a glorious CD.

Vaughan Williams: Serenade to Music; The Lark Ascending; Fantasia on Greensleeves; English Folk Song Suite; In the Fen Country; Norfolk Rhapsody No. 1

While this is a re-issue of a 1969 recording it is an excellent presentation by conductor Sir. Adrian Boult.

Prior to this CD, I have never owned a Vaughan Williams recording. I had heard of him through a friend of mine who was a big opera and Broadway musical buff in the early 1990's and I assumed he was of the latter. Ted Libbey had recommended "The Lark Ascending" as a potential funeral memorial piece and I was curious and listened to the teaser 30 second spot on Amazon. It was intriguing enough so I bought it.

After listening to it twice (in a row!), I must say that it is very appealing. Symphonically, it has rich sound and there are many beautiful serene passages. I very much like the "Serenade to Music." The voices are soaring and beautiful. In addition, the "English Folk Song Suite" and the other remain pieces are also very engaging. Boult conducts with tenderness and conviction. Libbey is right, "The Lark Ascending" has star quality as a memorial or simply a beautiful lifting and reflective symphonic movement. The mind can imagine the bird rising free into the air and Hugh Bean's violin takes you there.

This CD is a total turn on and I look forward to hearing more Vaughan Williams!

Memories, of course, also a side of Elvis I just never 'got' before. What a truly nice guy. I look forward to seeing him in heaven. Maybe we'll sing a few licks? Great music thoughout. Well worth the money and the time ! !

if u are elvis fan! u need this dvd it is awsome! i put it in & play for hours at a time! buy it u will luv it too! debi

Love Elvis, Love this DVD, if your an Elvis fan this is a must have.

I can't review this as both disks were blank and I misplaced my reciept in the process of moving. Maybe you can help me with this.

Thank You

I loved this DVD set. There were a lot of interesting details of Elvis' spiritual recordings and interviews with friends and musicians who were involved. The title is apt for this video. I would highly recommend it to fans of Elvis and those who may just be curious about the man or what inspired him.

I love Pat Green, and the song Wave on Wave- which is the reason that I got this CD- other than the one song that I bought it for, there are only a couple of songs on there that are good.

Yes this album is a bit more commericial than his previous ones, but still overall great music!

I love this album. Wave on Wave is a classic song. I read some other reviews, and have to say I never heard Mike and the Mechanics "In the living years" in this song. This album is a little more commercial that Pat has been in the past, but that's ok. Because he makes this work too. He's our bar singing Texas boy, and still will be, but puts a softer touch on this album, which I can only call growth since it's still a great album. Other mentionable songs are "Poetry", and Guy like me, and Wrapped. His music is always going to be something you can kick back, and soak in - the background of anything you have going on.

Pat Green is a stocky, blond John Hiatt!

Love him!

I agree that "Wave On Wave" is too similar to Mike And The Mechanics' "In The Living Years".

Anyone else think so? there is a poll on pat greens bulletin board.

Too bad they left out 'Devil in the Bottle', 'Mr. DJ', 'Rollin' with the Flow' and 'Pigskin Charade' (probably because they were by T.G.'s original producer and label - business politics stink!). It's a shame because T.G. had some great songs on those early albums, too.

I didn't realize T.G. Sheppard had all these hits - this CD took me back quite a few years and brought back some great memories. Favorite tracks are "Somewhere Down The Line," "Only One You," and "I'll Be Coming Back For More." Great CD - listen to it often.

Judging by those 5-star reviews, some people are easily satisfied. That may have been alright at the start of the CD age when most of the big companies rushed out minimal-track compilations covering their stars which also contained absolutely nothing in the way of background notes. Such as this one from Warner.

It also misleads to some degree by claiming to be his "all time greatest hits" which, to anyone who followed his career, was clearly stretching things a bit. They ARE certainly representative of his all time greatest with Warner/Curb as tracks 1 to 4, 6, 7, and 9 to 12 were all # 1, with I Loved 'Em Every One, Only One You, and Finally all crossing over to the Billboard Pop Hot 100 [at # 37, 68, and 58 respectively]. Another crossover, Make My Day with Clint Eastwood in 1984, went to # 52 Hot 100 as well as # 12 Country, but that is not included.

Track 8 was a # 6 Country in 1980 and Somewhere Down The Line a # 3 in 1984. Faking Love, a # 1 for 4 weeks in late 1982/early 1983 was a duet with with Karen Brooks.

But T.G. goes all the way back to late 1974 when his first release on the Melodyland label, Devil In The Bottle, was also a # 1, as was his second release, Tryin' To Beat The Morning Home. Between those, and the first included here [Last Cheater's Waltz], he added two more Melodyland hits, four for Hitsville, and another six for Warner/Curb, including a # 8 1978 cover of The Turtles' 1967 hit Happy Together.

Between Faking Love and Slow Burn he had a # 12 with Without You, a # 57 duet with Judy Collins on Home Again in 1984 for the Elektra label, and in 1984/85 added two more Warner/Curb hits with One Owner Heart [# 4] and You're Going Out Of My Mind [# 10]. In 1985 he joined Columbia and put up nine more hits to 1988, including the # 1 Strong Heart in 1986, and three # 2 hits. His last came in 1991 for Curb/Capitol when Born In A High Wind petered out at # 63.

It's not a bad bargain, certainly, at the price indicated, and the AAD sound quality is excellent. But 12-track compilations without any background information or discography are no longer acceptable. Consumers now want a bigger bang for their buck, especially when the CDs cover stars from the past with many years of success. In Sheppard's case, that was 42 Country charters from 1974 to 1991, including 14 # 1 hits (more than the number of tracks on the CD under review) and seven that ranged from # 2 to # 5. Seven were crossovers to the Billboard Pop Hot 100 and six to the Adult Contemporary charts.

How about a decent 25-track release?

Great collection but where is the song "I Feel Like Loving You Again" (the studio version)? I can't seem to find it anywhere except on his "Live at Billy Bob's" CD. That song was #1 according to Billboard Country so why isn't it on any of his greatest hits recordings?

I saw T.G. Sheppard twice in person and thought both shows were excellent. I always loved his music. This CD has some of his best and I liked everyone of them. Excellent buy for the money.

A wonderful collection of his most popular songs. The only downside is the disc isn't long enough. It would've been better if they combined all the songs into one disc instead of two

This is a great DVD there are good songs and I like the older videos.

Plenty of good songs - must buy if you are a country music fan let alone Alan Jackson.

The prize of this collection is Jackson's "Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)". Mr. Jackson spoke for the voice of American in this heartbreaking song. It's a voice of tragedy, as well as salvation - and hope. Singing with a most persuasive bittersweetness, Jackson captured, for all time, the sentiments all of us felt on that awful day when, indeed, the world stopped turning. Thanks to Jackson for this heartfelt expression of a black day that affected all of us. He is the voice of America. The tears of tragedy are eloquently conveyed; it is the song for the ages.

This DVD contains five of Alan Jackson's videos that come from his Greatest Hits Volume II CD, as well as "It's All Right to be a Redneck" off the "When Somebody Loves You" CD, and are a treat; it's priced reasonably and packaged as "Disc 1", so doesn't last long (approximately 23 minutes), but the content is nevertheless strong.
Alan's excellence as a songwriter, musician, and performer make him one of my favorite artists in any genre, and I especially love the beautiful Kieran Kane song, "I'll Go on Loving You", with it's floating dancer and terrific effects.
The DVD comes with no credits for the videos, as far as authorship or director; you get the six videos, and no more, but it's not quantity but quality here, and there's a lot of quality, and worth it for "I'll Go on Loving You" alone, as well as "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)", which means so much to so many of us.

# 1, "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere"; the big hit Alan co-authored and sings with Jimmy Buffett, and includes two bartenders with some fancy moves !
# 2, "I'll Go on Loving You"; Kieran Kane's gorgeous song, with a perfect interpretation by Alan. One of my favorite videos by any artist in any genre.
# 3, "Little Bitty"; Tom T. Hall's song is full of rich color and fun, with a dancing scarecrow.
# 4, "It's Alright to be a Redneck"; very entertaining with lots of good reasons from a diverse group of people.
# 5, "When Somebody Loves You"; Alan wrote this lovely song, and it's filmed in b&w, with some marvelous stop-action photographic effects.
# 6, "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)", Alan's moving lyrics express what many of us felt on that tragic day in September, and his teary-eyed rendition is heartfelt and sincere.

Hi. I am familiar with a lot of classical music. However, I knew little about the oeuvre of Vaughan Williams. What a great find! Getting so much of his instrumental work is truly a bargain. He evokes the English countryside and folk traditions very effectively. "The Lark Ascending" is relaxing while also being a virtuoso piece of work. Makes me wonder if J.R.R. Tolkien, with his love for rural England, ever attended a concert by Vaughan Williams...

Highly recommended! :)

Each piece on this CD is wonderful to listen to. My 2 year old daughter takes her nap everyday with this CD playing softly in the background. This CD is a great deal as it includes 2 CD's including Vaughan Williams: Fantasies; the Lark Ascending; Five Variants. Which is also a wonderful CD, we got it for 2 friends at our church. But better to get this CD with 2 CD's for the price of one. My favorite is Fanatasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis!

While not all his works are to my taste, his pastoral ones are so gorgeous that you don't really care that the more boisterous ones are wanting.

As an overview or introduction to some of Ralph Vaughan Williams most well-known and beloved works--the Tallis Fantasia, the Greensleeves Fantasia, The Lark Ascending--this set from Decca will service most needs. It features an attractive program that, alongside the more popular works, includes some that aren't so universally well-known yet probably deserve to be--namely the Oboe Concerto and the Concerto Grosso.
The problem I have, as someone who has known most of these works for many years, is with the performances. The wonderful, spritely Oboe Concerto is given a dull and quite slow performance that seems to want to bring out pastoral qualities that aren't entirely there (it has its pastoral moments, but it's actually a very vivacious, impish piece). I was quite disappointed when I first heard it and immediately regretted no longer owning the Nimbus, Maurice Bourge recording.
The Tallis Fantasia too is disappointing. I find it quite under-played and interpreted in a somewhat 'choppy' manner--I wanted more flowing lines, more sweeping, powerful climaxes. It's all a bit too subdued.
Most of the other performances fare better but I still can't help but feel that Decca are being pretty stingy here: I mean, really, is Barry Wordsworth conducting the New Queen's Hall Orchestra the best they could give us for the Tallis, the Norfolk Rhapsody no.1 and In the Fen Country? I know it's a budget release but they have better in their vaults I'm sure.
Despite all this, it's not a HORRIBLE compilation and many will enjoy it as an introduction or sampling of Vaughan William's gorgeous music, but I strongly suggest that if you know these pieces well you should look elsewhere.

Vaughan Williams is certainly one of the consummate English composers who took the folk song of his country and compsed delightful orchestra works around them.

This budget worthy 2-CD set displays this in two parts, the first performed by the Acadamey of St.Martin in-the-Fields while the second disc features more period instruments with the New Queen's Hall Orchestra and the London Philharmonic.

Celia Nicklin is superb with the Oboe Concerto nusancing this pastoral yet lively offering. Iona Brown likewise contributes a fine solo violin performance with "The Lark Ascending"

The strings also provide a strong offering on the "Tallis Fantasia", one of his strongest compositions on this selection.

Excellent example of this prominent English composer's love with folk song interpretation, in this recording done passionately and naturally.

Very enjoyable collection of Spike Jones' most beloved songs. If you like funny and sometime schmaltzy songs, you'll really like this 3 disk collection

Spike Jones was the king of the novelty song performers, with hits like "Der Fuehrer's Face" and the parody version of "Sheik of Araby" becoming huge hits during World War II. This is a swell 3-CD set, gathering a full eighty-one of Jones' best tracks from his 1940s heyday, drawn from an extensive archive of radio broadcasts made for the Standard Transcription service. The tightness of his City Slickers band is amply demonstrated in these manic, kookily orchestrated performances. Toots, squonks, blatts and bleats whiz by at lightning speed, as one daffy song after another will delight devoted fans. Amazingly, Jones had the unusual, almost unique ability to perform a repertoire almost entirely made up of comedic material, and yet still be quite listenable and engaging. His jazz chops were hardly in question, and from time to time Jones would dash off a non-novelty ballad or two, just to give the rubes something to think about. Of course, just as often he would perform a song that *sounded* like a straight ballad, but would turn out to be another goof. (One great example of this is the sultry "Serenade To A Jerk," sung in slinky, burlesque tones by Myrtle Horwin.) This collection may seem a little overwhelming, but like his studio recordings, these radio performances have a certain brilliance and joie de vivre about them that will leave you enchanted. Definitely worth checking out!

This collection has remastered material from the large stack of Standard Transcription discs from the early 1940's. There are many songs not recorded on RCA, many on the theme of wartime ("48 Reasons Why"), and the quality is excellent. The packaging is threadbare but this is an essential CD package for true music lovers.

Here's the zaniest, wildest and just plain sickest Collectors' Choice Music exclusive yet-79 tracks from Spike Jones and his City Slickers! These represent Spike's complete Standard Transcription sides, but these tunes are anything but standard; Mr. Jones brought his full bag of tricks for these non-commercial recordings (made in Hollywood during the early `40s). Add to that the fact that most of these have never been on CD or even LP, and any lover of Spike's mayhem-filled mixture of laughs and hot licks is going to flip over this set! Notes and great pictures accompany this 3-CD walk on the wacky side from the greatest novelty band of all time.

Video List:

1. You Win My Love
2. You're Still The One
3. From This Moment On
4. That Don't Impress Me Much
5. Man! I Feel Like A Woman!
6. I'm Gonna Getcha Good!

This is a good dvd, however her Platinum Collection has all of these vids but the "gonna getcha good video". So unless you really like "gonna getcha good" video, I would buy the "platinum".

I purchased this CD just because I found the song "Only One You" was there. The other songs are fine, easylistening.

Most of the hits presented here can also be found on the Top 100
POP hits of the Billboard charts. Formerly in the 50's and 60's that
was a general fact although the songs then were pure country and crossed
over because everybody loved that kind of music. Later on during the
the 80's & 90's, crossover artist sang a mixture of "some" C&W roots
with a lot of modern POP something I personally do not like. That's
the reason of the 3 stars. I love C&W and I Love POP as well as BLUES
and HONKY TONK but each kind of music in its own way. How come that
wonderful singers like Gene Watson, Johnny Duncan, Ricky van Shelton,
Don Williams and so many others never "crossed over" ? They are
genuine country artists!

With the addition of "Devil In The Bottle" and "Mr. D.J."
it is a bargain at any price-could have done without "Make
My Day". A great CD.

Excellent album, has all original music and all of his really good hits.

This one is preferable over the "All Time Greatest", simply because it has "Devil in the Bottle" to go along with the eight others duplicated on both cd's. My main gripe with this one is that they felt it necessary to include the remake of Bryan Adams' cheesy power ballad "Everything I Do (I Do it For You). Why they felt compelled to include the throwaway novelty hit "Make My Day" and "Mr. D.J." is also a mystery. Still, as long as you've got the stereo remote handy you can skip those.