It's beautiful...nothing new
352208
A new album from Loreena is always a much anticipated event.  I've been a fan for about ten years now, and have bought multiple copies of all of the  existing cd's as gifts for friends to turn them on to her stunning  music.
After years of listening to all of the Loreena McKennitt cd's I  wondered about hearing live versions of these old favorites.  There are no  substantial changes here, so the cd was what you'd expect from these  numbers.
In fact if there is any disappointment here, it's that there  is nothing new.  There is no new material in terms of songs, nothing  substantially different with the arrangements, and there isn't even any  banter with the disturbingly respectful crowd.
The crowd IS  enthusiastic, calling Ms McKennitt back for two encores - but for a live  album they are astonishly quiet throughout the performances. I've heard  more noise on live symphony recordings...at least those audiences cough now  and then.
This is a beautifully recorded album and Loreena's material is,  as always, breathtaking.  But it's a bit disappointing for its  "greatest hits" quality. Serious fans of Loreena McKennitt will  undoubtedly love this cd because it's the "goddess" herself.  I  was hoping for a bit more.
1958500
Originally I saw this piece in The Museum Store & was thrilled to find it a bit cheaper here. However, it is not the same quality.  It's a "nice" reminder of the really beautiful one I saw, but it'll probably just be used as a bookend.
1468480
I was visiting friends and heard an Emmylou album as background music, didn't pay close attention but it sounded good. Later I said to my host, "I don't have any of her albums (and she's a classic, you gotta have at least one if not more), what do you recommend?" and this was it. It is a beautiful album but I was a bit disappointed (hence four stars not five) because most songs on the album seemed unnecessarily overproduced to me, with shimmering, echoing backgrounds accented with interesting guitar and synth sounds. I was expecting more traditional and simpler folk/Americana instrumentation (which is all Emmylou really needs) and for my first Emmylou album maybe I should have gone back further in her catalog. That said, her songwriting and voice here are superb, and it is a beautiful album. I suppose it is natural for an artist to want to keep up with new sounds and not always sound the same, and judging from the reviews her long time fans agree.
44762
It's a very pretty coffee table book. I bought it because three of my previous teachers are featured, but thought it was a bit stilted. And I didn't find the photos to be especially flattering-- though I certainly realize that that was not the focus. It didn't inform...
1760414
I haven't seen Hamilton yet but the soundtrack is magnificent.  This calendar is not magnificent.  It's just okay.  I almost feel duped in purchasing it- they never showed what the inside was like on the preview and when I opened it, I was hopeful for stills from the musical showing the colorful costumes, maybe a glimpse of the fascinating choreography, the drama between characters.  No.  Every month is a different closeup of the different characters in black and white with a line from the musical that applies to their character.  The photographs are lovely and represent well the original characters who played in the musical, but since I'll be seeing it in Chicago, I actually have no connection to the actors portrayed here other than their voices.  I would have loved images more in the context of the story.  I guess I can't complain.  It was only 8 bucks.
1605448
The artistry and evocation that this deck brings to the tarot is phenomenal; the materials used to manufacture the deck are mediocre. Previous posters have described and attested to the unique aesthetic and interpretation that Holly Sierra and Toney Brooks have presented in this work and there is nothing that I can add so my review is of the material used in the production of the deck.  The card stock is somewhat thinner than the other decks that are in my collection and does not have gilt edges. The box housing the deck is of the design and quality of a generic deck of playing cards and is too small.  The "tuck in" flap damaged the front cover of the instruction booklet the first time that I closed the box; I now purposely keep the instruction book in the front so a card(s) will not be damaged in the same way. The instruction book is VITAL to the understanding and enjoyment of this deck and should have been more detailed and treated as an aesthetic equal to the cards;  I had to refer to the Chrysalis website in order to obtain adequate interpretations.  As I own the Golden Tarot which is also manufactured by U. S. Games Systems, I expected the same construction format and materials for the Chrysalis deck.  As the concept of Chrysalis is unique, I will keep the deck for my collection though I am sorely disappointed in its tangible integrity.
396827
It didn't seem new, and it's pretty hokey.  I was expecting more.  If you know absolutely nothing about science, it's probably okay.  For me, it's just going to sit on the shelf and collect dust.
1168553
Abstract photography, like most other abstract art, is easy to do, but hard to do well.  Wynn Bullock, who's known primarily for his black and white landscape photography, also dabbled in abstract color.  This book is culled from those experiments.  The photos are ethereal swirls of color.  They're impossible, inexplicable, indescribable (no, really, they are), and beautiful.

Unfortunately, as wonderful as the photos are, the book is less so:

1) There are just too many pictures.  Someone should have sat down and made a hard edit, reducing the number of photos by at least a third.  As pretty as these are, it gets old.

2) In spite of the overwhelming number of photos, there is an appendix of thumbnail images showing us even more images that are available for purchase as prints.  Talk about tacky.  This is a $45 book.  The cost alone should exempt me from being advertised to like this.

3) The words that are interspersed with the photos add nothing to the images.  Just the opposite, in fact, they drag us out of the moment for no good reason.  Someone should've stepped up and either cut text entirely, or moved it to an introduction or appendix, where it wouldn't interfere with our appreciation of the art.

4) The fit and finish of the book isn't great.  The paper and typography are serviceable, but not great.  I'd love to have these photos on a thicker and less reflective paper.

In spite of my complaints about the book, I highly recommend this purchase--there's a lot of breathtaking photography in these pages.
1995791
While many scenes are pretty,I knew there was no music to them,when I bought it, and I am sorry I didn't buy one with music. You just FEEL there is something lacking.
921986
It's nice. But not nearly as nice as the picture would have you believe.
3059999
I have this book,and cannot complain about the price for the amount of info inside. But-I am a bit tired of seeing photocopies on fabric,made into quilts that look like they have been run over by traffic. This book has alot of this type of "fashionable" work. It seems like dirty.brown  and ugly is "IN" in quiltmaking comforters without comfort. Sheesh, how original an idea is that?
On the plus side, there is alot of stuff that did appeal to me. Jane Sassaman's work is uplifting and fresh to the eye.... I didn't find anything from Faith Ringold,an artist who is very famous,for reasons I can feel in my heart when I look at her work. Niether was  there anything in the book regarding the group of artists who work from Gee's Bend. What an oversight,Lark!

I am a lover of lark 500 series,just not in love with this particular purchase. It could have been better. It that isn't up to par as previous publications.
93255
I can't believe I'm about to say this, but Rasputina's new disk is a little underwhelming.  Don't get me wrong, there are some great songs on this disk: the cover art is, of course, beautiful and Meloura herself produced it so how can it not be perfect, you ask?
It is just my opinion, but I found the songs on Ether and Forest to be fascinating, beautiful and virtually flawless.  However, after listening to this cd for the 3rd time, there are about 5 or 6 songs which stand tall, side by side with any track off of the previous two albums, but sadly the rest of the songs have a thrown together quality which made me feel a bit disappointed.
With the other two albums, even her filler (think, "The pilgrims - HUH? -  The pilgrims" and "Dwarf Star") are perfect in every way, but these tracks on the new album sound painfully redundant of stuff on her prior records (especially How I Quit the Forest).
In fact, one of the reasons I love Meloura and her music is the fact that she changes and finds new ways to make her songs beautiful.  In How I Quit the Forest, she sang with this vibrato that made all the songs sound hauntingly original and melodically wonderful.  With this album she continues this trend and does not disappoint with her singing, for she does sing differently - limiting the vibrato and singing in a whine that is strikingly her own and beautiful to the listener.  I suspect her producing this effort may be partially to blame.  Although I loved her remix of The Olde Headboard from HIQTF, sometimes the production gets in the way or takes the place over clever songwriting (which is her specialty).
Please do not misinterpret my slightly disappointed review, the album is good, and under normal circumstances, I would give it 4 stars: but I don't want Meloura to give up challenging herself and become complacent.  I guess I am falling into the trap of reviewing an artists' entire catalogue, when instead, the idea is to just review a piece of work (in fact, I despise reviews where "true fans" shout out praises of everything an artist does no matter how trivial or thrown together the work obviously is). She has and can do better than this effort and I guess that is how I am judging this album.  I expect that this valiant effort will be a minor misstep in an otherwise perfect career.  Please buy the album because it is worth it, just don't expect a third masterpiece in a row.
4956672
I have been faithfully following Kate Bush's each new opus since her first (vinyl) LP, but I sort of gave up with the release of THE RED SHOES - it just wasn't on a par with all that came before. Glimmering, shimmering soundscapes, intricate but appealing melodies, otherworldly harmonies that never ceased to surprise, and fascinating lyrics were lost in boring repetitiveness. She was out of NEW ideas, and the fact that she stopped recording afterwards seems to confirm this view. Alas, years later, she still is.

It's not that this release is bad - it's OK, its listenable, if slightly low key... There are some nice songs, like the poignant (but musically uninspiring) CORAL ROOM. But after so much time without new material, I hoped for something of a similar caliber as HOUNDS OF LOVE, a "new," present-day Cloudbusting, Babooshka, or Army Dreamers; something that would at the same time be the quintessential Kate Bush, and yet musically belong clearly in 2005, not 1985. Funny, but the same wistful tones and quirky moods that seemed so artsy and intriguing in the work of a 20-something, suddenly seem annoyingly immature, dated, and affected in the work of a 40-something (Slooshy-shloshy, dirty shirty?). THIS Kate Bush seems stuck in, and recycling, past glories. It all sounds a little tired, slightly worn out, lackluster, faded. Somewhat "been there, done THAT, and much better". Or perhaps I was just expecting too much...
4752697
It looks neat and is unique, but it isn't the best quality in the world.  The cost speaks for that, which isn't a bad thing.
2950931
Yeah. It's also apparently really boring. But it's not falling apart or anything. Not a rip-off. Def not a rip-off. But hey, who wants a shiny turd?
1131780
I find that I liked this watch better in photos than in person. Its not that its a bad watch but there are just some off details about it.

The beige strap that I was hoping would make it neutral and able to go with anything, in person just looks too beige. Too plain. Too boring. It doesnt have the richness of brown leather or the pink of some other kate spade straps that achieve the same function. Also after hardly any wear time its already attracting dirt.

The silver dials that I thought upset the whole gold beige red thing based on the pictures, in person just add more shine and bling. Thats not necessarily a bad thing, but I would have preferred something a little more earth toned. Maybe rose or copper dials. It pulls the attention too much to the sub dials and away from making out the gold hands, especially the hour hand when its anywhere between 3 and 9. They should have made the hands silver instead of the dials. (I love the red second hand. It adds the only splash of color to the watch.)

The last little pet peeve of this watch is the domed case back. I'm not sure what the thought process behind that is? Maybe they wanted the watch to look smaller or more floaty like the new Apple products. Either way I find it makes what should be a light more out of the way watch a little more in the way. It rides higher and has gotten stuck on things like my pants or jacket pocket and is just generally not a feature I wanted or appreciated in a watch. Maybe it will be more appreciated when the cold weather leaves and it lets my wrist breath more, I don't know.

Either way this is a solid watch from kate spade, (like so many of them are) that is a little more of a fashion piece and a little less of a time piece (but aren't most watches these days?) I found that in person I didn't appreciate the color palate quite as much as I thought I would (having fair skin and blonde hair) and wish I had opted for a little more splash of color. But I chose this particular color and can always swap out the strap for a brighter one. The real point off comes from the obtrusive domed back and the color choices that result in this watch being difficult to read at a glance. I'm sadly one of those people that still has to attend meetings where your phone should be away at all times, and must wear a watch to stay on time. This is probably the most difficult to read out of all that I own.

Butttt I did get a compliment on it already so that means its inching its way to 4.5 stars!
4466571
IT IS NOT CONSISTENT WITH FRENCH PURITY. THE VISUALS COULD BE ASSOCIATED TO OTHER STYLES, NOT JUST
FRENCH. IT HAS A MORE UNIVERSAL APPEAL.  IT IS STILL A BEAUTIFUL ARRANGEMENT.