His compositions are brilliant and he was way ahead of his time with ...
353324
Birdsong has to be one of the biggest unsung musical geniuses of his era. His compositions are brilliant and he was way ahead of his time with this masterpiece album. Superlative keyboards - but all the musicians who worked on this album are first rate, particularly Ronnie Drayton on guitar. Edwin's vocals are so earthy and "real" - not like the over processed vocals that are commonplace today. This album IS a fusion of musical style and technique. Can't say enough. Flow Through My Heart, Any Color, Rising Sign, If I Ever are among my favorites, but the entire album is complete with solid performances. I wish there were more than five stars for this one!
4186115
I never heard this performance till recently, because Previn was and is an odd conductor. At his best he was very skilled and arty with creating a "sound", almost like a movie composer. And it is relevant in that regard that no doubt his very best recording was the Alexander Nevsky music with LA forces, which never received remotely just a great reading. Similarly, his Shostakovich Fifth from decades ago.  evokes a terrific movie version almost of Soviet music. A truly fun reading in every way. But a lot of his others performances seem lost in a careening aesthetic. As if he didn't know what aura to give a piece, and so ended in neutral by default. I have been enjoying this performance, but almost in a funny way. First you have to like the symphony itself, which many don't. In which case, this performance which sounds like an attempt to make the work into something like the Brahms Second would seem the most ridiculous thing ever. The "sound" of Brahms looms marge for many generally, and in more Romantic works giving a piece a Brahmsian mien is a pretty common trope with conductors if they are trying to make things sound "serious". But the Rach Second?! The approach reaches its high point in the last movement, where instead of the soaring lines of virtually every other performance, we get the sound of an integrally woven Brahmsian texture in the orchestra. Even some of the ascending and descending brass lines are made to sound like  those in the Brahms Haydn Variations. It is funny, but enjoyable to me. A more ultimately successful example of this approach was James Loughran's from years ago with the Halle forces, but in a very bespoke way, not by actually trying to evoke a movie version of Brahms showing up for a Russian symphony.
71239
That Yo-Yo Ma is one of the more important cellists playing today would be an understatement. Not only is he a brilliant musician, an impeccable musicologist, and an empathetic performer who has a devoted following, he also stretches his musical borders to include projects like the Silk Road Project.  Here he approaches the music of the gifted film composer Ennio Morricone and together they have produced and album of some of the finest music written for film.  Yo-Yo Ma at times embellishes these works, at times takes the lead voice of the melodic line and at times he simply blends into the score.

Ennio Morricone conducts the Roma Sinfonietta Orchestra and with Ma as featured artist the album opens with the famous theme from 'THE MISSION' entitled 'Gabriel's Oboe', and true to Ma's style he does not take the melody away form the oboe he instead provides embellishment.  Also from this film is 'The Falls'.  The other works on this recording include the following:
THE GUISEPPE TORNATORE SUITE ('The Legend of 1900', 'Cinema Paradiso', 'Malena' and 'A Pure Formality'); THE SERGIO LEONE SUITE ('Once Upon a Time in America', 'Once Upon a Time in the West', 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly'); THE BRIAN DE PALMA SUITE ('Casualties of War', 'The Untouchables'); MOSES and MARCO POLO SUITES; and  THE LADY CALIPH SUITE.

In every way the music works well. This is a fine example of film music written and performed beautifully.  Grady Harp, January 11
3938175
Amazing here sounds like potter is still when he was using his HR mpc. so that isinteresting as a sax player but also the compositions are deep and colorful and of course Potter's solos are genius.
2584511
I consider Mahler one of the greatest symphonists of all time. In fact, when I happen to be listening to any of his great symphonic works, I place him No. 1 for his combination of melodic skill and his skill as a fantastic orchestrator. The organic nature of the compositions - covering the entire sonic range of orchestral colors - is for me pure genius. I don't know how he did it, but he even makes these complex works sound as though they came easily to him. They didn't of course, but for the listener there's such tremendous inspiration captured with dazzling skill.

This past weekend I have been completely absorbed in the Boulez and Szell performances of this fantastic symphony. Just to weigh in on the order of the 2nd and 3rd movements, after rearranging the order myself while burning copies for my own personal use...I MUCH prefer the Andante before the Scherzo because I consider the Andante's love theme the most moving of all here, though it is not as dramatic, weighty or complex as the first and fourth movements. Since Mahler himself was torn between which should come first - and composers can sometime have blind spots of indecision about their own works, i.e. Bruckner - I feel that the door is open to make my own aesthetic choice after the scholars have had their say. I feel that the *contrast* between the movements of the symphony as a whole are brought out to their greatest effects when the Andante comes first and the driving thrust of the Scherzo returns after it; otherwise you have two movements back to back with a similar driving thrust, and the symphony sounds out of balance with itself. I also prefer this order because I found that I was impatient for the gorgeous Andante movement to arrive and was marking time waiting for the Scherzo to be over with. With the Scherzo as the third movement, it acts as effective lead-in to the fourth, rather than as a follow-up to the first, and I'm more into it even if the movements weren't recorded in that order... it still works. I encourage listeners to play with the order of these two movements and decide for themselves without pressure from anyone. Regardless of Mahler's so-called final decision about these two movements, if he decided on the Scherzo first, I feel he made the "wrong" decision - at least for me.

In any event, I wouldn't want to be without either of the Boulez or Szell versions. Sometimes I will even play both performances of this deeply satisfying symphony back to back. To my ears, the composition is dazzling perfection, and I like Boulez's straightforward approach that makes Mahler sound modern and forward-looking rather than playing Mahler as an early 20th Century relic who looks to the glories of the past. While Mahler was writing about his own past in sound, and dealing with the entire range of human existence, I feel that his message is for TODAY and that he'd want to be viewed in that light. That's Boulez's genius here. And because Boulez is not forcing a Mahler aesthetic on anyone, the listener gets to grow naturally into a deeper appreciation of Mahler's symphony with repeated listenings. The highlight for me in this performance is the deeply moving Andante, which Boulez does to perfection; it's much warmer than it may sound at first blush.
751683
I was in 9th grade.  I was watching the Oscars, like always.  I'd been writing since age 6.  This was the first year that something other than the awards struck me: Schindler's List won several of them, and each time this haunting theme was played.  The composer, John Williams, won an award (I later found out it was his fifth, and his 3rd for a Spielberg film).  Soon after, I got this brilliant CD.  Now, I only listen to soundtracks when I write - and less than a year after that, I began winning awards for my writing - 10 years after I began.
2227687
I've been a fan of Ryuichi Sakamoto's since, I guess, The Last Emperor Soundtrack. I go out of my way not to overuse, or even use, the word "genius."  Sakamoto's a genius, and an extraordinarily sensitive musician and composer. He also impresses me with the remarkable range of his work.  There could hardly be much more distance between his terrific collaborations with Alva Noto in the sort of quasi-glitch area and this soundtrack to Silk, which is lush and dramatic. And then there's all kinds of wonderful work in other genres and styles. If you're new to Sakamoto, and you love this recording, your next stop ought to be his soundtrack to The Sheltering Sky.
245114
Bernard Herrmann is undoubtedly a genius, but he was also a tortured man. His ability to churn out scores under pressure for radio and then film is simply astonishing. He also found the time to orchestrate his scores, which was not common at the time.

His films scores added immeasurably to the the films they served - Vertigo, Psycho, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Ghost and Mrs Muir, Taxi Driver, Citizen Kane, North by Northwest, The Magnificant Ambersons to name but a few. But despite this success he craved recognition as a "serious" composer and conductor. This book does him justice and it is hard to manage a better biography of the great man.
3550714
Saw him live when he performed with Vienna Teng.  Amazing the wondrous sounds he can make with his cello and his songs are intelligent, funny, fun, touching or any combination thereof.

Plus it doesn't hurt that he did his recent tour on bicycle!!!
1117484
Absolutely brilliant, I listen to it all the time.  This guy is more than a musician, he is a true poet and wordsmith.
3033662
Whether you're already a fan of his solo music, or if you're a fan of his band Pilot, or as a lead singer for The Alan Parsons Project, Camel, or Beagle Hat, this is a really incredible album.  After only three listens this album is definitely my favorite of his solo works. It has all the elements I already love (moving vocals, a lot of feeling,  catchy songs & excellent musicianship) but this one seems to have a bit more of a progressive rock edge that is classic sounding, but with a modern touch especially in the excellent production.  The lyrics even seem to go a bit deeper on this album, which didn't surprise me with an album title like "Fellow Man" and the opening symphonic instrumental piece. The songs are poignant and have a lot to say. (I'll let the listener derive the specifics on that)
2856132
Fred Katz is one of and I don't use this term loosely, most original, creative and far-out jazz composer's and arranger's of all time. That may be hard to take in but if you give his works a listen you will understand. His incorporation of the cello into the jazz front line was brilliant and his instrumentation ensembles that he combines to create his sound is stunning. Along with the Chico Hamilton Quintet he created the film score for the great film (The Sweet Smell of Success) starring Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis. Also scoring for orchestra was Elmer Bernstein. He also scored the films (The Little Shop of Horrors) and (Bucket of Blood). His work is far understated and somewhat neglected and this is a shame. He ranks up there with some of the greatest jazz composers of all time, I'm very serious. This is one of his most popular and well known works along with Zen. His use of unusual combinations of instruments makes for very inventive, creative and enjoyable listening. If you like far-out and simply stunning progressive jazz at it's finest, give this a shot. I think that you will be amazed at how good it is. Check out his other works too if you like this one. He is one of my favorite jazz composer/arranger/musicians. I would give this 10 stars if that were possible. Do yourself a favor and grab this recording quick. Check out my other reviews.

John W. Shearer
34778
As a non-musician I'm not entirely sure that I even have the right to review this album, but here goes anyway.

The compositions are very dense and sophisticated, as any fan of Alex Machacek would expect - even more so than on this trio's wonderful debut recording, and the playing - not just from Machacek but from a drummer and bass player that are truly his peers - is just gorgeous.

People often mention Holdsworth, Zappa and perhaps some ECM artists when writing about Machacek's music but what I'm hearing here is startlingly original music that defies categorization. Brainy yet funky, cerebral yet swinging, melodic one moment and joyfully dissonant the next. This is genius level music that deserves to be heard. Here's hoping that, despite the sorry state of the music business these days, these guys are able to tour in the U.S. I'd travel a long way to hear them.
1019894
This is an incredibly unique and brilliant work by Thomas Newman. I own several of his scores, and this one holds up VERY well! It is full of strange sounds, atmospheric clicks and whistles, and occasionally very "unfortunate" sounding orchestra sections.

If you have heard Newman before, and are already in love with his sense of style, buy this. If not, I reccomend starting with Meet Joe Black, and then buy this. You will love it!
2876908
Incredible live performance of this genius in his prime. This guy was way ahead of his time. And unlike his good friend Nick Drake, he was appreciated artistically
1257729
I have been a fan of his since IBM 1401 but he out did himself on this one.  This is by far his best album to date and I like all his of them.  I want this played at my funeral, don't get me wrong its not a sad album, its simply beautiful.
2638882
Those who have heard the first "Window in Time" CD have an idea of what to expect here.  Wayne Stahnke has worked magic with Rachmaninoff's piano roll performances.  Pay special attention to the Chopin performances  -- the F-major Nocturne, for instance, is languid and rich, with amazing  definition in the left-hand voicing.  The Schubert Impromptu is played at  dizzying speed, without sacrificing accuracy or expression.  This and the  previous "Window in Time" CD are excellent evidence of  Rachmaninoff's astounding mastery as a pianist.  Not to be missed.