Stranger In Paradise - Tony Bennett

Advantages: Classic songs given a new slant
Disadvantages: One or two weak tracks

...They say that you start to turn into your parents as you grow older, and in terms of musical appreciation, I've probably been undergoing that metamorphosis for the past couple of years. That's not to say, however, that I've lost touch completely with contemporary music, and I'm always intrigued when artistes from different generations and musical genres get together to perform, whether it's on-stage or in the recording studio. Having reached the age of 80 earlier this year, Tony Bennett has followed in the footsteps of his great mentor, Frank Sinatra, by recording an album of duets with some of today's musical giants, including such "youngsters" as Paul McCartney, Elton John and Billy Joel, along with the likes of Sting, Bono and James Taylor. When it's your 80th birthday party, it's only fair that you get to choose not only the guests... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: A CD that can be listened to anytime, anywhere.
Disadvantages: Just a couple of weak tracks

...In this CD we have what is arguably the very best of Shadows music. Originally released in 1961 and 1962 respectively, what we have here is their first two albums rolled into one, THE SHADOWS and OUT OF THE SHADOWS, making it good value for money. The first album sees the group with their original line-up of Hank Marvin,Jet Harris,Bruce Welch and Tony Meehan; while in the second Jet and Tony are replaced by Brian Bennett on drums and Brian Locking on bass guitar. It was this change of line-up that altered the Shadows sound to what we recognise today. Previous to this the group had a raw, rocky edge to it, emphasised by Jet Harris's style of bass playing, and Tony Meehan's penchant for playing a highly-tuned snare drum. The bass playing of Brian Locking never matched the dynamics of Harris, and Brian Bennett's style was, although... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Great selection of tracks.
Disadvantages: Its not long enough.

...It is a 3 disc compilation album with a total of 55 classic hits from the 60's. Each disc starts with one of the introductory riffs from radio caroline a different one on each disc, also known as jingles. Each disc case and disc has a picture of the actual boat the radio station was broadcast from. There is a guide booklet included tracing the history of the station with a round up of a fe of the famous DJ's from the period such as Johnnie Walker, Tony Blackburn and Simon Dee. Some of the featured artists are Status Quo, Sandie Shaw and Manfred Mann with classic tracks such as Pictures of Matchstick Men, There's always something to remind me and Pretty Flamingo. CD one has 18 tracks, CD two has 18 tracks and CD three has 19 tracks. The following is the complete track listing. CD One 1. House Of The Rising Sun - Animals 2. Shakin... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful