All that talent and this is what they come up with? Phoned it in.
596630
Boring. Every song sounds the same. No imagination here. This is the group that created Powerslave? An album so varied, theatrical, limitless and exciting... then this 90 minute recycled snooze fest? Really? Sounds like they recorded every song that didn't make the cut as 'filler' in other albums. Then filled this with it. No catchy songs, nothing special, nothing that makes you say... "they did it again". Take the vocals out and it could be any other wanna be D- opening band for Priest. The band nobody pays attention to. I will see them live again (of course). If they're gonna put this crap out, stick with touring, fellas, this is sub-par. Almost laughable for the talent in this band.
4727979
I don't know how to describe this music so that I come across as some sort of expert. I don't even know how to categorize this style. But I know when I'm hearing a talented group of songwriters and musicians. Not the best thing I've ever heard but there's some talent in there and that's more than most of the stuff I hear. I'm pretty sure you'll find something on here that you'll like.
2759219
Incredible lyricism, head bangin production and a few guests who actually keep up. You need more?!
649291
Great group of stars all working (and playing) together for some ultra-fine music.
1862607
What an amazing idea:  Taking songs we have all heard over and over again and doing themcompletel differently?  Brilliant.  There is so much talent on this album.  Ive never heard of these guys individually...but i will be certainly looking them up.  This CD has everything from classics like "ANNIE" to newer shows like "WICKED."  But the way these singers perform these songs is completely original.  Its so exciting!  This is cd is amazing for people who love showunes AND for people that have never been to theater before.  What a great way to introduce this music to all of the GLEE and pop music fans.

Great arrangements.  Great singers.  Great collection of music.  Great album.
963601
It's genius, the design, and concept of it.
4200124
After their brilliant performance in their Britain's Got Talent audition, I wondered about several things like how would Jonathan do with a less dramatic piece and could they balance each other on a serious duet. They do have very different styles of voice and selecting repertoire to perform effectively could be difficult. Jonathan answered my first concern with the "Ave Maria." His "small" voice is clear and solid and works very well with Charlotte's more pop voice. Their signature song, "The Prayer", is more polished and balanced than their audition performance, if a little less dramatic. I particularly liked the "Il Mondo E' Nostro" and was definitely surprised with "La Prima Volta," having not heard this as anything but a solo piece and not in Italian. If I have any complaints they would be fairly techincal. In a couple of places I felt the orchestration and background chorus was a little heavy for their voices, but I was not listening to it on a very high quality system. That may go away with a better sound system. The other concern is that all of the songs appear to have been selected to showcase Jonathan's outstanding voice. Charlotte held her own but many of the selections had her singing in her upper register, ala Sarah Brightman. She has a very nice, solid voice but to me she carries more weight with Jonathan in her lower register. In conclusion, as I listened to this for the first time, I came away totally captivated at the maturity of both of their voices. Individually and together, they can only improve as they age and gain confidence in who they are and what they are capable of achieving. This is a keeper especially to compare it to what they will be doing ten years from now.
3694846
My expectations were high, and they were met. They even got a few of the marvellous side-stories in.

Get it, it's really hitting the fan in this one.
2798085
The CBC deserves credit for having the foresight to take on a challenge as tough as Gould, stick with him over the years, document his genius and eccentricities. and then just lay it all out--help yourself. take what you wish. No adornment. Just a majestic, and erratic artistry that Gould could shape better than anyone: --move from Beethoven to Hindemith, Prokofieff to Petula Clark (not to mention Bach--which is unnecessary), and defy you to look elsewhere while he was at work, or play. I was privileged to be at CBC in Toronto some those days, and I can only thank the stars that , someone, perhaps only a janitor, made the decision to put such a treasure in a vault, or more likely, stow it away in a closet until somebody else could decide what to do with it. Well what was put away was not only the blueprint of one of the most daring, exciting and fulfilling artists of our day, but a generous and talkative--yes he was that--endowing us with his insight into the music of our time. And he gave us a hell of a lot of fun doing it.
3066595
I asked myself, who needs another album of standards? There are millions, and none top the originals. I had the feeling this was just him playing around with his money, putting out something "different" for his fans so he can make even more money. But then you delve into the details, and you see that he played with his money out of his passion for the music, and for the genre. He used his fortune to allow him to live his dream, and for that, I applaud him. He really pulled out all the stops, not just from the microphone choice, but the fact that he was recording to tape as well. For the truest authenticity, this should have been a live to 2-track recording. That would've made the overall mix more difficult to pull off, but it shouldn't have been too hard to do, considering the tracks were cut live anyway.
I also wonder what microphones were placed on the orchestra. That many mics wouldn't have been used back in the day. It results in a much more modern sounding record.
Good to see he used ATR tape as well, even if they did use 2" in the initial tracking phase, which would have not been used in that time period. For authenticity, they could have also gone with a much warmer, vintage tape. One that would have had a hard time getting hit at 0 VU, let alone +9 VU.

I can only hope that the LP was mixed to tape as well, and mastered from the original mix master and not some digital transfer, or on a digitally delayed tape machine.

Well, there's my rant. Even if not 100% authentic, if my hopes turn out to be reality, then the end product of this project should turn out to be an audiophile's dream!
2391617
Big name artists got together to make an album of the type of music they really wanted to do.  The result is perfection!  I wish they had done more than one!
884622
WOW Keenan Just WOW.. At least they came through it together... I loved the interview read at the end... And time to continue... Til next time bye
2364810
They are doing really well here. Showed up in great shape.
2271542
Every perp looks like the cops worked them over.
3392142
They do the job they are designed to do and do it well.
4113656
This toy looks like the people who made it put both their time and effort into making this  toy. It is real great!
4062790
All the people who give this product a bad review are just people who were taken in.
Everybody thinks they can do magic.
They see someone do it, someone is willing to sell it to them, they buy it, they realize it takes talent, it's done away with.

With talent, practice, and creativity, these things are awesome.

When your just some goober that saw the guy do it and thought everything was going to be handed to you on a silver platter for $5, well lesson learned.