Monteverdi: L'Incoronazione di Poppea

Advantages: Good background listening
Disadvantages: Odd mixture of music on the Uplifting disc

...Last Night of the Proms be without him? This is an OK track, though not particularly uplifting. 8 Kats-Chernin - 'Eliza's Aria'. We don't hear much about Australian composers but apparently Elena Kats-Chernin is one. This piece was originally from a ballet score and is currently being used for the Lloyds TSB bank advert. It's another Ok piece, though not one I want to listen to over and over. 9 Monteverdi - 'Deus in Adjutorium from the Vespers of 1610. I love this one. It's a very powerful choral piece, unfortunately also very short at only 2 and a half minutes. 10 Leoncavallo - 'Mattinata'. The composer wrote this popular song for Caruso. On this CD it's sung by Pavarotti and it's nice to hear his rich voice. 11 Rossini - 'Largo al Factotum' from The opera The Barber of Seville. Cannot stand this one personally... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Some good tracks...
Disadvantages: A lot of it is very samey...

...Arcan, but this could be because it is one of only three non-English songs here. It stands out because of the change in language and I happen to prefer her singing in her natural tongue. Although it has the same kind of beat and feel to it, it sounds somehow more complete and less derivative than most of the album. The other Ukrainian songs - Kolomyika and Hutsul Girl - are good tracks too and some of the best on the album. The former has a lovely haunting slow opening to it, but doesn't sound as fresh as Arcan, perhaps suffering from its placing on the CD. By the twelfth track, even my enthusiasm is waning. Kolomyika does have a few interesting musical accompaniments going on and some angry shouting from Olexander Ksenofontov, which is very effective, but the shi-ga-di-na-donna bits are very reminiscent of Wild Dances (which provided... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Powerful, honest, dedicated effort by an up-and-coming musician.
Disadvantages: Some may not like the bold approaches to controversial topics.

...In 1990, New York-based folk musician Ani DiFranco launched Righteous Babe Records, an independent record label designed to share "unorthodox" music with a culture engrossed in MTV and VH1 pop and rap trends. Along with this successful label, Ani also released her self-titled debut album - an outstanding mix of folk rock and slight country with faint influences of jazz, blues, and a tiny shred of funk here and there to keep things interesting. DiFranco grabs your ear from the first track: "Both Hands," a very simple acoustic guitar piece that cuts right to the heart of the matter. In this song, Ani's slightly-lilting, raw-edged voice pleads with her lover to touch her with both hands. "I am writing graffiti on your body / I am drawing the story of how hard we tried..." It's an emotional, tense ballad that keeps listeners glued... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful