What Are You Listening To? April 2023

Status
Not open for further replies.
Various Artists - 1935: Les chansons de cette année-là (comp. 2010)

ab67616d0000b273882d7c82ae47aea1c8a323bc


Paris must have been a lot of fun in 1935. Every song here is bursting with a joie de vive that belies the Depression gripping the world. Maurice Chevalier is the only name that is familiar here in the USA but torchy singers Frehel and Damia have become big favorites with me, thanks to this series.

images

Frehel

images

Damia
 
Roosevelt Grier - Welcome To The Club (Cat King Cole comp. 2010)

Mi0xMzgxLmpwZWc.jpeg


As a kid I recall the exploits of #76 Rosey Grier in the Rams' "Fearsome Foursome". After he hung ‘em up, he was best known for his acting and needlepoint, but as a singer he more than held his own. No big hits here but his soulful growl covered a lot of ground, from standards ("Moonlight In Vermont") to pop fluff ("Pizza Pie Man"). Social consciousness isn't overlooked either, as he warbles a paean to the joys of life "In My Tenement":

Clothes on the wash line never look new
Smoky air turns them gray
Sun can't pass through the dirty window
But I kinda like it that way...

In my tenement
At the top of the stairs
In my tenement
She'll be waiting there

In my tenement
She gives me everything
In my tenement
This poor boy is a king

Fearsome_Foursome_Rams_1965_t580.jpg
 
Various Artists - 1935: Les chansons de cette année-là (comp. 2010)

ab67616d0000b273882d7c82ae47aea1c8a323bc


Paris must have been a lot of fun in 1935. Every song here is bursting with a joie de vive that belies the Depression gripping the world. Maurice Chevalier is the only name that is familiar here in the USA but torchy singers Frehel and Damia have become big favorites with me, thanks to this series.

images

Frehel

images

Damia
Paris looks different from when I was there.
 
Black Sabbath - Live At Hammersmith Odeon (rec. 1981-2, Rhino Handmade 2007)

NS04Njk3LnBuZw.jpeg


This exclusive Rhino Handmade release was issued for pre-sale on May 1st, 2007 in a numbered, limited edition of 5,000. It sold out in hours, making it the quickest to sell out in Rhino Handmade history. There are a few for sale now on eBay and Discogs for between $80 and $150. :oops:
 
Márton Borsányi ~ Johann Pachelbel (Works for Harpsichord and Organ, Vol.1 ) (2017)

johann pachelbel marton borsanyi.jpg

I bought a copy of Vol. 1 after Sam described Vol. 2.

On this new album from the audiophile German label Klanglogo, the excellent harpsichordist/organist Márton Borsányi offers us a rich insight into Pachelbel's œuvre for keyboard instruments in best sound with best interpretation. One of the most exciting baroque discoveries of the current classical music year so far and proof that Nuremberg has always had more to offer than gingerbread and sausages.

Organ or harpsichord? That was always the question of this first solo release by Márton Borsányi, which the virtuoso early music specialist answered individually for each of Johann Pachelbel's works. For this he has chosen a select set of instruments, for which prominent models of the 17th century were the inspiration: The harpsichord follows the tradition of the famous harpsichord-building dynasty Ruckers-Couchet, and the small organ from the house of Peter Meier is oriented in its sound to the Nuremberg organ-building master Nicolaus Manderscheidt.

On these instruments one can feel how colourful the sound spectrum of 17th century music is. The joy of experimentation and discovery with which Márton Borsányi gives each individual piece its own characteristic proves that music that was played over 300 years ago is anything but dusty. In a fascinating way, it is able to depict a whole range of colours: from pale floating to sparkling brilliance.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top