Lester Leaps Again (Original Recordings 1942-1944) - Lester Young

Advantages: Many great tracks
Disadvantages: One or two weak points in the songs

....independiente.co.uk www.travisonline.com I have not looked at these yet but they will probably be worth looking at, many in my experience are as they contain lots of information. ~ Packaging and CD Design ~ Yet again they have come up trumps with a great inlay and front cover design as well as a back cover design. The front cover of the inlay and the back of the back cover is all four-band members in the woods trying to disguise themselves in the woods (with limited effect, they stick out like a sore thumb). The front cover includes the title of the album as well as the band. The inside of the inlay has the lyrics written on a page for each one with a picture. These pictures are of a house (a beach house, country house, don't ask me) and of the band the members individually in the house and in the recording studio (in the house, maybe (not!)). Al... Read review

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Advantages: Highly original realisation, still sounds fresh today
Disadvantages: None

..., and massive church organ style crescendos. It is used during the “aversion therapy” scene, in which young villain Alex is strapped down in a chair with his eyes clamped open, and forced to view endless scenes of death, rape and destruction, in an attempt to curb his violent tendencies. Timesteps was featured in an abridged form on the Warner Brothers original soundtrack album, something which proved to be something of an annoyance to Wendy. No particular theme is persistent as the music shifts effortlessly from one passage to the next, each one contrasting superbly with the previous one. Wendy’s experience with Bach has left its mark here, as her obvious understanding of counterpoint pervades the entire piece. Strange unrelated melodies drift in and out, inextricably woven together with unbelievable precision, considering... Read review

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Advantages: Great jazz tunes from the Golden Age
Disadvantages: None

...than people like Charlie Parker. Doggin' Around, is another By Royal Appointment tune, this time from the orchestra of Count Basie. A rather lush, full sound, perhaps a little less avant-garde than Duke Ellington? Out of Nowhere by Coleman Hawkins makes use of jazz guitar (many of the jazz bands didn't) but this, combined with the other "traditional" instruments make for a satisfying jazz classic. Eventually Jango Rhinehart, the Gypsy/Roma jazz guitarist would change all that… Lester Young's Sad Eyes, is a no-nonsense jazz piece, with more than a nod to the Blues. Moving, firm piano, which moves round a central theme, soon joined by the other instruments to show how to make Sad Eyes glad again. Whose Honey Are You, by Fats Waller and his Rhythm starts with a smattering of scat singing, and then uses piano, rhythm, and jazz... Read review

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