Cockburn's Acoustic World of Wonders
926222
Bruce Cockburn's "Live Solo" Album is a marvelous collection of songs which range from early hits ("Wondering Where the Lions Are," "Rocket Launcher") to mid-career highlights ("Kit Carson," "Soul of a Man") to more recent gems such as "Celestial Horses" and "Last Night of the World."  That his songwriting and performing skills continue unabated is given evidence by songs making their live recording debuts here, such as the beat-driven "Wait No More" and the soulful, socially conscious "The City is Hungry."

Cockburn's "Slice O Life" is more than a "Best of" studio-recorded collection with a couple of new items tossed in (for that, pick up his unsurpassed "Anything, Anytime, Anywhere" collection), as it draws on a series of one-man acoustic concerts given across the northeastern states and Quebec.  Presented in live format on two CDs, it includes such in-concert moments as pre-show sound-checks, guitar tunings which meander into improvisation, and stories which illumine the singer's world and life.
2039954
This is a truly amazing piece of art.  Totally improvised and incredibly rich and deep, this CD gets played in our cars, house and anywhere else we can get it going on a daily basis.  It is best enjoyed as a whole, allowing the listener to truly transcend on a sonic journey.  I would recommend this for fans of Shpongle, Bluetech or any progressive ambient music.  The artists Jamie Janover, Michael Travis and Aaron Holstein have created a wondrous thing.
2403285
This is guitar playing at its most exquisite, refined best! Rupert Boyd takes us on a journey which spans 400 years of guitar repertoire and does it with keen attention to period detail and style, meanwhile creating a unifying arch between these (very different) selections. The recorded sound is pristine (as captured by John Taylor in the Holy Trinity Church of Weston, UK) and the liner notes informative and well written by Boyd himself. I very much look forward to his next album, as well as his LIVE performances - some of which I was lucky to attend in New York City.
271609
Many highlights and nice tune selection overall, with better sound quality than most of the Dick's Picks CDs. The performance is from their peak era and mostly uptempo. Weaknesses are fairly limted: Pigpen's neanderthal yowlings, and an anemic rendition of Wharf Rat with missing chords and lyrics. There are exceptional jams/medleys on discs 3 and 4, among their best work ever published.
758818
Sheryl Crow is a brilliant artist and this concert displays that. This is one of a very few concert dvd's that can be played beggining to end. There's not a dud to be found. Sheryl is so "on",that I found myself checking for overdubs but have yet to find any obvious ones. Her band is extremely tight,engaging,and fun to watch. This concert was filmed with Hi-Definition cameras,and the results are dazzling. There is no DTS track,but the dolby track is excellent! It's mixed very well,with nice separation of instruments,vocals,and deep,full bottom end. There wasn't a dry eye in the room after Sheryl played Safe and Sound. Wonderfully filmed,this is a total concert experience,and a great showcase of a supremely talented treasure.
1904041
I went to this same in San Francisco one week later. One of the best concerts I have ever been to. They do 2 entire albums. "Low
Spark of HighHeeled Boys" and "Shootout at the Fantasy Factory" Plus averything you can think of from prior years.
828337
Scott has come up with a beauty of a CD this time around . With  a very sympathetic and swinging trio to back him up (led by the underrated John Bunch), Scott's beautiful sound is never more in evidence than on this new recording. In addition , there is a  jaw-dropping, gorgeous version of "If You Could See Me Now" that will leave you stunned. And there is a hot, swinging take on "Move" that cooks from start to finish. Scott is inspired and extremely confident throughout. This is definitely a highpoint in his recording career with Concord. Get this and listen to the living embodiment of taste , swing and elegance.
4937370
I had the great pleasure to listen your album Spellbinder. It is mysterious, explorative and otherworldly. There is a back and forth of cosmic energy and earth energy. There is a push to get beyond the boundaries and a mission to bring the energy back here. When listening to it I feel like a cool kid that gets to go on an expedition of the great unknown beyond this earth. There is a level of mastery, sophistication with the musicians in this collection of music. A beautiful choreography of sounds the way everyone plays off each other in the landscape of each song with a special attention to percussion. This is heard throughout the album and is much appreciated. The percussion adds a force that is often missing. Perhaps its your love and dedication to the drums that comes through. It does something to the composition and the life of each song. There is energy in this album and I am inspired with each listen. This album has me spellbound!
4047863
As a great admirer of Dave Matthew's song writing and performing abilities it was a real treat to listen to this excellent double cd of an acoustic show that he and fellow guitarist Tim Reynold's performed at Radio City back in 2006. There are some fantastic versions of songs like stay or leave, crush, lie in our graves, two step and also there is a beautiful rendition of the Neil Young classic 'down by the river'. Also included are a few rare tracks such as sister, still water and eh hee. The quality of the recordings is excellent, though my only criticism with the production is that there is some talking and chatter that if edited out would have made the cd flow more smoothly. Apart from that it is a fantastic collection of DMB and Dave's solo songs.
3893451
To paraphrase Frank Zappa-writing about this collection of music is like trying to listen to architecture.  What more can be said about a consummate musician playing at the top of his game?  It's quite simply a stunning overview of Allman's work from his early days to near the end of his life.  Duane Allman is certainly one of the best guitar players-not only in the blues/rock/soul/r&b genres (also including his sometimes Coltrane like solos), but one of the best to ever pick up the instrument.  How could he play with such sensitivity-his solos full of feeling-and yet sometimes raw and smokin' hot?

Will there be some quibbling as to what's included and what should have been included?  Probably.  And that's okay, because his playing was so good that a lot of his equally fine music just wouldn't fit unless this collection was expanded to several more discs, and this is a retrospective of Allman's work.  But there's so much to enjoy here-even the familiar tunes seem to have added weight-because the music was judiciously chosen.  Hearing all this music in one place makes it even plainer that Allman was a one-of-a-kind-player.  I still remember hearing the ABB in their "Live Fillmore" period several times. And even towards the end of a tour, when the band was tired, Duane Allman would always rise to the occasion.  Those concerts are towards the top of my list of the best shows from the late 60's/early 70's.

The packaging is very nice.  Inside the substantial long box is a faux gold velvet lining, and two strings that are underneath the discs, which help get them out of the box.  Each disc is inside a soft paper envelope, with the tracks listed on the back.  The booklet (a bit shorter than the outer box) has an essay about Allman and the music included here. There's also an essay by Allman's daughter about her feelings for her father ("I am always searching for a song, a photograph, a moment saved in someone's memory to bring my father into sharper focus."), and gives this set a close personal feel.  The many photographs (b&w and color) are also well thought out.  Also included is a chronological track listing that has session details-most notably who played on what.

There's something for just about everybody here.  I say just about everybody because deep fans/collectors will certainly have most of this music.  But again, to hear Duane Allman's guitar (lead/slide/acoustic/electric/dobro) in the various contexts included in this set, makes for a powerful yet sensitive, exciting yet sometimes subtle, listening experience.  To fully hear and enjoy this collection, you'll need to listen to it a couple of times through-and just let the music run through your head.  Bouncing from the ABB to Ronnie Hawkins, to Lulu, and then Johnny Jenkins and John Hammond, not to mention the great Doris Duke, is touching on several genres of music in a relatively short time.  Likewise from Sam Samudio to Ronnie Hawkins (again), to Delaney and Bonnie & Friends, to the ABB, to the Grateful Dead-and then back to the ABB, to Herbie Mann-is quite a musical journey.  One last thing.  Why aren't the albums by Cowboy in print?  Their Capricorn Records albums need a good dusting off and given the "deluxe" treatment-remastering, period studio and live tracks-the whole works.  I still have the original vinyl albums and every time I hear them I wonder when they will be reissued.

I hope the fact that this is a "limited edition of 10,000" will allow all the people who want this set to purchase it.  On the underside of the box is that box's number of 10,000.  I thought long and hard about purchasing this collection because of the price.  But in the end art is priceless.  And Allman's playing is truly an art.
1421209
Dave Martone is a virtuoso across the entire spectrum of guitar styles and epochs.  That is impressive enough, but I think there is something deeper - something transformative - going on in Dave's playing , arising not merely from his mastery of the instrument itself, but from the creative imagination with which he explore's the limits of the guitar's musical possibilities.  He is obviously conversant with Classical forms and the natural laws of counterpoint and good voice leading - which is not something one has found in many rock guitarists of the past - but there is also a melodic eloquence and rich harmonic vocabulary in Martone's writing which is quite new to the genre. What Dave Martone is doing with the guitar seems to parallel what Beethoven and Rachmaninoff did with the pianoforte in the first halves of the 18th and 20th centuries, respectively:  Elevating it to an entirely new realm. Beyond this, I am just so glad to have found this music.  It just makes me so very, very happy every day. It is beautiful and uplifting. I never get tired of listening to it, and there have only been a few artists I could say that about.
4555416
This is a set of Bach monumental works for organ that will appeal to non- organ specialists as well as professional organists. Of all the sets I've heard - including two of the three by Marie Claire Alain, Vernet reigns supreme. His instruments, his registers, his voices all add distinct character that complements his superb interpretations. The variety holds my interest in a way that other sets do not. Bach created a universe of his own in these magnificent works. Vernet allows us to experience the wonder of experiencing Bach's universe.
720217
Fantastic recordings never before released. There's an entire Alternate Tusk album too, along with live recordings. Those were like finding whole new albums. (WHY did they not use the Peter Green-assisted version of Christine McVie's Brown Eyes? It's simply gorgeous.) There is also a booklet with commentary on each song from band members (mostly Lindsey Buckingham, followed by Stevie  Nicks, some from Mick Fleetwood). All in all, a really great album with lots of different versions of songs I have loved for so long. I just love this.
2439795
I've been a Bruce Cockburn fan since I first discovered 1984's Stealing Fire.  Upon hearing that album, I proceeded to buy all of Cockburn's back catalog I could find.  (This wasn't always easy since his popularity  outside his native Canada has unfortunately limited Cockburn to cult status  stateside.)
Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws (originally released in 1979)  still retains much of the folky feel of his earlier work since his  self-titled debut in 1971.  Cockburn's acoustic guitar playing is masterful  and his voice is a perfect fit for his reflective, pensive lyrics,  especially on the lovely "Badlands Flashback" (which is sung in  French).
Other highlights include "Hills of Morning,"  "Northern Lights" and "Wondering Where the Lions Are,"  the latter being Cockburn's only foray into the American Top 40 where it  peaked at No. 21.
This is a kinder, gentler Bruce Cockburn than the one  found on Stealing Fire and beyond, but that doesn't diminish the treasures  found on this album.  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
3429110
Steve Roach is the master at ambient and ethereal sounding music.  On this album he took basic instruments such as guitars and the such and dostorted and changed notes and made other alterations to create a new world of ethereal beauty.  With the exception of my favourite track (the over twenty minute "Spirit Moves") there are no drums.  This is the kind of music that will calm, inspire, and project your mind, body, and soul into another dimension of feeling and wonderment.  The music will take its time getting to where it's going and it is purely amazing.
2421971
Fabulous concert.  Highlight is Freddie singing one of their folk songs for sure.  A must have for ANY Queen fan.  The out takes and excerpts are superb.
3317909
an inspiring cd with a full range of genres to enjoy