International music reviews

This album, Joanie's first, serves as an exclamation point in an all too brief recording career. Joanie Sommers was once called "The Voice of The Sixties". For my money hers is THE VOICE of the 20th century. Marty Paich and Tommy Oliver's arrangements are awesome, Art Pepper's solos are what one expects from a premier saxophonist . . . perfection. However, the vocal interpretation is uniquely "Joanie". The timbre and annunciation are incredible and stand on their own merit but when you add that "Sommer's" glitch to the mix, along with her improvisational skills, suffice it to say the lady exudes magic with a flair bordering on genius. Every cut is beyond reproach. Every cut could serve as a lesson in "How To" for would be 21st century vocalists. The most amazing thing is Joanie recorded this album at the tender age of eighteen. The lady will make you laugh, make you cry and for the most sensitive listener . . . make you fall in love!

Tracks are: My heart belongs to daddy/Something I dreamed last night/It might as well be spring/I'm beginning to see the light/ Heart and soul/I like the likes of you/What's new/So in love/Oh but I do/That old devil moon/Squeeze me/ Too young for the blues --- Arrangers are Marty Paich & Sy Oliver ----- The best track is 'Heart and soul', an outstanding Joanie's smooth, calm & cool performance but there are excellent slow-tempo songs such as 'Oh but I do', 'It might as well be spring' and 'Squeeze me'....

This is CD is great but expensive and hard to get. Joanie is great and has been overlooked. Go to ccmusic.com and you'll find 3 new releases on Joanie they're great!

Add this one too to your collection.

This album is great. I've met him before, he's my grandma's sister's nephew. His songs are wonderful.He's great in concert too. I have all his albums, even his "before stardom" ones! I recommend to anyone who loves Tejano music like I do, to buy it...you won't be sorry!

MICHAEL SALGADO'S MUSIC IS AWESOME! IT HAS A NORTENO SOUND TO IT WHICH, MAKES HIS MUSIC UNIQUE. I SAW HIM IN CONCERT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ODESSA SEVERAL YEARS AGO AND I KNEW FROM THAT MOMENT HE WAS GOING TO BE HOT. MICHAEL IS LOVED BY MANY FANS.

I DONT KNOW WHY PEOPLE COMPARE HIM TO RAMON OR CORNELIO. HE IS UNIQUE IN HIS STYLE. HIS RASPY VOICE AND EXCELLENT PLAYING OF THE ACCORDEON ARE ONE OF A KIND. THIS MAN DESERVES CREDIT FOR HIS WORK.!!! HE IS EXCELLENT. AND I MET HIM PERSONALLY AT THE BONAVENTURE HOTEL IN LOS ANGELES ON 2/14/97. HE'S DOWN TO EARTH

I took a chance and purchased this and WOW..I was so excited to hear these guys sing again! I absolutely LOVED this CD and so happy to have found a good listing of their greatest songs! This band takes me way back to my teenage years watching every Sunday night on Channel 47. Going to see them in Radio City Music Hall NYC! My all time favorite was Charlie and Ricky Martin! If you loved them in the 80's you will LOVE this CD!

I ORDERED THE CD ON MONDAY AND RECEIVED IT TODAY. I'AM OVER THE MOON !!! GOSH !!! I REMEMBER MENUDO ALWAYS AND I'M STILL A FAN ! I LOVE EVERY SONGS AND MY FAVORITE WAS MIGUEL. WHEN I WAS YOUNG I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA MARRY HIM ! HE, HE ,HE. IF YOU ARE STILL A FAN FROM THE HEART THEN THIS CD IS FOR YOU !

i love every single song on this cd. i used to watch el show de menudo on ch 47 in n.y. i did not have a vcr so i had to record the songs from tv by placing my tape recorder next to the tv and doing the best i could. this cd is great if u love old school menudo. it is also great because they include a couple of the popular songs in english menudo put out. i only wish they would have included "if you're not here" by ricky. its a great song. they did include the spanish version though. i think the best song on the cd is "la fiesta va a empezar" by robi. he had the best voice. to sum things up GET THIS CD it is really great. u will be able to remember (at least for a few hours) when charlie,johnny,ricky,miguel and ray ruled.

Buen disco con las mejores canciones de Willie Colon, cuales las absolutas mejore son las que Hector Lavoe canta. The Best es una mejor coleccion que The Best Vol. II. Si te gusta la salsa vieja, este disco debe estar en tu coleccion.

This compilation is the ultimate collection of a legendary salsa artist and one of the original Fania All Stars. For those who are all time fans of New York Salsa and followed the careers of some greats like Willie Colon, Hector Lavoe and the late Celia Cruz will definitely recordar with this fine nostalgic collection of salsa hits. Not too much to say other than it is superb and for sure you will find the majority of your original favorites on this album. The really big hits of all time are: El Gran Varon, Pirana, Calle Luna, Calle Sol and La Murga. A must have if you like classic "old school" salsa.

this is truly one of willie colon's best hits. please bring it back. it brings me and my younger kids wonderfull memories.

I was living in brasil when this album came out. As another reivewer said, there are a lot of these songs that were on the radio. They were infectious. I just loved it everytime I was on the bus and they started playing. I purchased this album and it has by far become my favorite album. If you are going to buy one album, this is the one to get.

I'm not sure which genre this music is in. It's got a bit of everything. When I lived in Brasil, Pagode, Samba and Reggae were all huge. I think that it has a bit of each in Skank.

Living in Brazil, there was a song I kept hearing on the radio, and just HAD to have it . . . I hunted it down and sure enough it was "Pacato Cidadao," the last song on this CD. This album is fantastic--witty, both lyrically and musically. Both "E Proibido Fumar," where he sings about how he has trouble kissing girlfriends in no smoking areas, because of how hot it gets, and "A Cerca," an argument two neighbors have over a fence that gets REALLY personal, are hilarious. And the music is infectious, with definite ska, reggae, and alternative influence. Great stuff!

this cd was i believe my first cd, i remeber 5 years ago, siting on the couch and just relaxing, listening to this cd. It was such a great thing for the brasilian music! i will never forget this cd. i memorized many songs, and you dont have to understand portuguese to enjoy this cd, i have many american friends who enjoy skank, just because of their beat, it is shoking! i recomend this cd to everyone. bye, bruno

At first I didn't even know that this CD was a musical. My best friend brought it over from Britain in 01. I didn't even know the name of it because I looked at the cover once. It's needless to say that I immediately fell in love with it.

Then someone broke into his car and stole that CD. He was devastated. From that moment on I started to look for it knowing that one day I would find it and surprise him with it.

Problem was though that no one seemed to know about that little CD with the red heart on it. You know, the one with that "Caligula song" in it by the Pet Shop Boys.

About 1 month ago I was on the Internet when I tried the last resort. I typed the words Caligula Darling into a well-known search engine. Needless to say "Closer to heaven" came up on Amazon.com. There it was! The red heart. The CD!!!

I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier. But as all things happen for a reason. The timing couldn't have been more perfect.

I ordered it right away. It came in surprisingly fast. I was as giddy as a 9 year old.

His 40th birthday is coming up this weekend and as an added bonus I even mixed up the dance tracks into a 20-minute mega mix :-). It pays to be a DJ :-)

Now I am glad that I didn't find it earlier. It's the perfect present!!!

It's just my little tribute to my best friend (who shall remain nameless). To him who made it possible for me to go to Australia Darling! Where we danced like vampires in front of the Sydney opera house at the most amazing party EVER!

Now buy the CD it's great!

I haven't even finished listening to all of it, and from what I've heard, I'm in love with it! A new twist on some of the PSB's songs, such as In Denial? Very awesome. Not to mention, I don't know of any musicals that are SO upbeat! I'm tempted to watch the musical, I'm sure it's awesome, but I love this CD... Even if you aren't a fan of PSB, or haven't even heard of them, but love soft club music, I'm sure you'll love it. I recommend it to someone who is looking into trying out listening to something different and cool! :) PSB never stop amazing me, lemme tell you ^_^

Living in Australia, the existence of this musical took a while to travel to me. This meant that I purchased "Closer to Heaven" at the same time as "Release". In my opinion Closer to Heaven is the album which Release should have been.

The Pet Shop Boys (my joint favourite band along with New Order) appear to have been playing down their dance music roots on their recent albums. This is their most upbeat album since Bilingual. The sleeve notes indicate that this is Chris's determination that Closer to Heaven be a "Feel Good Musical".

A few of these tracks appear on the album "Nightlife", but the treatment here is sufficiently different for this not to detract, although PSB fans may find listening to songs they know sang by voices other than Neil strange at first.

My only complaint would be that the character played by Paul Broughton sounds very stereotyped (that grating Northern voice!).

Overall, though, this is a great Cd and has been on "heavy rotation" since it arrived. It has also inspired the rediscovery of several other PSB albums from my collection.

I hope that that musical is revived and produced outside the UK`.

I came by this music by accident when working late one night, I bought it simply because the name appealed to me. I played the cd whilst working on some new designs and found it to be very beautiful and thought provoking. Absolutely wonderful..I've played it many many times since, I shall be looking out for any more albums by Jim West.

I have been fan of Al and the band since the beginning in the early 80s, and have known for many years that the band was extremely talented. I am sorry it took me several years to stumble upon Jim West's amazing collection of Hawaiian acoustic guitar instrumentals. This CD instantly transports the listener to a tropical island paradise, with barely a hint of hula girls or tourist stuff. I already knew that Jim could make a guitar sound like any musical group or genre, but this is something else again. Just heavenly. I think the music could inspire some Hawaiian travel on my part -- if the islands are as serene as Jim's music, I need to go there soon. Even if Weird Al is not your cup of tea, don't miss this treat!

I use Celtic and other types of folk music for meditation and also when I am walking a labyrinth. This is one of my very favorite CD for that use. I find it very mesmerizing. It is one of the most played cds in my collection of over 160. I and it very relaxing and never tire of listening to it.

I am anxiously waiting for Jim to release at new cd. I vacation in Hawaii every and plan to go to Maui this year and I will make an attempt to locate him. I hope he performs in the Hana area.

As someone exploring the french vocal searching for some gems, I was delighted by her truely beautiful voice. The album has some great songs and it is by far the pick of my recent purchases along with Julie Zenatti "Dans Les Yeux D'un Autre". As an introduction to mainstream french music, it is a great start. The comparisons to Celine Dion are a little unkind!

I like the voice. Reminds me of Celine too much though. Rene (Mr. Celine Dion) discovered Natasha.

Natasha St Pierre has joined forces with Pascal Obisbo to create a CD that is typical of his work. Lush production, with plenty of synthesisers and strings. Above that is Natasha's voice, which soars; strong and natural.

This is a CD or rare value. A great young singer with a great voice, and with great songs (many co-written by Pascal). I am glad that I purchased this and her later work L'Instant d'Apres.

"Descanso" is the second best album this group produced, the best being "Entre El Cielo y el Suelo". What is significant in this album is the realization that of the two brothers, Jos� Ma. is the better composer, and his songs dominate this recond. His songs "Mujer Contra Mujer" and "Dal�" are vastly superior to anything Nacho ever wrote and released with Mecano. These two songs, more than any other, offer the best qualities of Mecano. The beautiful melodies, the witty lyrics, the tasteful arrangements and Ms. Torroja's stylings. Beautiful.
None of this is meant to denigrate Nacho Cano's work. "Nueva York", "Un A�o M�s" and "Sol/Luna" show that he is still the group's more adventurous arranger and a talent to be reckoned with, but the quality of his songs here do not match his brother's or even his own in "Entre el Cielo y el Suelo". That lack of balance is what makes "Descanso Dominical" inferior to "Cielo/Suelo"

Way back then, I think I was the only one in my school in East London fanatical about Mecano - never mind to have heard about them. Oh boy, did everyone else miss out.

I was delighted to see that Anne Dudley did some arrangements and even played (?) on Descanso Dominical - such was Mecano's calibre by the time this album was released. 'La fuerza del destino' starts out as a straight synthy-pop song but hiding some delicious twists and turns, it still bowls me over. 'Laika' pre-dates Bjork's epic sounds by quite a while. And 'Heroes de la antartida' despite its perky beat has some truly chilling lyrics (no pun intended). Most of the tracks are very strong and DD will always be in my collection - 1980s tag or not!

It is very hard to say wich of all of Mecano's album is better, because they all are great. But if I had to choose one this would definitely be. At the time of the launch of this album (1988) Mecano was a well knowned worldwide pop (synth pop) group and now after many years the band was enyoing great success. Nevertheless, that success didn't affect their creativity, they were even more creative and maybe a fact of that were that they were now famous and wealthy enough to worry about other things. This album contains the classic "La Fuerza del Destino" wich is a song with such a magic melody and rhythm you never get tired of hearing it and if it was to be released today it would again be a hit. Then you have other great melodies in "Laika" and a very "synth poppy" song with a great bassline and beat called "Los Heros de la Antartida". "Eungenio Salvador Dali" has a great chorus and "Un ano mas" has a very catchy chorus and a feeling of celebration as it was supposed to be (is a new years eve song). Well, what else can I say? Almost all the songs have a distinctive great melody that would not bore you. Try findind this characteristics on an album... not many albums do this, so that's a sign that you just can't be wrong about buying this album.

I just got this CD today was very excited to listen to it to my dissapointment is not as good as their later stuff so i cant recommend it dosent sound like reggaeton at all.

First off i knew the cd would be hot because dj nelson was featured on some tracks. Nelson was also featured in Luny Tunes mas flow album he's one of the best dj's around. Then to add to the mix you got baby rasta who absoulutely kills tracks maybe daddy yankee should learn from him. Gringo is ok but baby rasta's lyrics and nelson's beats keep this album fresh.

Well i wanna say two words....REALLY FABULOUS this two guys son los mejores in the rythm so i can tell ya to buy this cd porque esta perron..para perrear...enjoy it!!! peace out