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Planet Sleeps

Everything about this CD, from its eye-popping cool packaging to its beautiful booklet, is wonderful, perhaps peerless. It's a study that spans 16 countries, catching paeans to childhood sleep from varied traditions. The set traverses the Cape Breton Gaelic tradition with the Rankin Family, Haiti with pop stars Boukman Eksperyans, and the African continent with music from Tonga, Algeria, and Cameroon. Despite their distances from each other, at times the songs sound quite alike. Voices might begin alone but then gather into choral size, with a reliance on wordless passages to emphasize the flow of time as sleep encroaches. In execution, the surprises are many. Algerian Houria Aïchi sounds East Indian; the Traditional Japanese Music Ensemble of New York sounds poised somewhere between a stately concert of historical court music and a touching homage to childhood; and German singer Michelle sounds pop-music ready even as she toes the line on singing a sleep-triggering song. Beyond being a great collection of international music, this is probably the most interesting mix available of cultural voices approaching the issue of children sleeping. --Andrew Bartlett

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Customer Review:

A great cd, very relaxing for babies and adults!

My 4-month old daughter LOVES this cd. She is a very active baby who can have a hard time settling down, but she calms right down when this is on. She loves listening to it, and I really like it as well. I'm not sure that this cd would ever put her to sleep, but she loves to listen to it or to have someone dance with her while it plays.

Simplity Beautiful Music - Wish It Included Lyrics

I just wanted to say that I love this CD. My daugther, my husband and I sleep to it every night since I brought it about 2 weeks ago. I love all the songs and attempt to sing them to my daughter (no lyrics manuel :( ),even thoughout the day. I'm addicted.

The first time I listened to the CD I sat down and was captured by the beauty of all the songs so much that I listened to it again.

I highly recommend this CD to any music lover!

Not for MY baby...

I cannot imagine that this weird bunch of jungle music would actually help a baby sleep. The music is not "bad" per se, if you want a collection of foreign folk music. However, only the french song is remotely like a real lullaby. The other songs are just too stressful and weird. It is hard to believe that any of these songs help babies sleep, even in each song's country of origin. I suspect that IF my baby ever slept to this CD it would result in nightmares.

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Keywords: Alternative Pop/Rock; Folk Collections; Indian Classical; Int'l & World Music; Lullabies; Pan-Global; Pop; Worldbeat;

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Once More, with Feeling

While the idea of infusing a weekly TV series with a Broadway musical ethos isn't exactly a new one--think Randy Newman's ambitious Cop Rock--it became something of a turn-of the-century television mini-trend. But few have reached as far--or succeeded--like this November 2001 episode of Fox Network's Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Penned by series creator-producer Joss Whedon and performed by Sarah Michelle Gellar and cast, it's a loving, loopy musical pastiche that takes potshots at everything from Andrew Lloyd Webber to alt-rock. Paralleling the show's lovable pop culture tweaking, the musical styles here (the episode's musical conceit is a curse visited upon Buffy's hometown of Sunnydale) range from a patent footlight chorus of demons being interrupted by Gellar's hard-rocking stake thrusts on "Going Through the Motions" to Spike the Vampire's goth-metal complaint "Rest in Peace," with everything from parking tickets and mustard stain removal to climactic duels with the supernatural getting the Broadway send-up. Also includes strong orchestral score-suites from three other episodes, as well as Whedon and wife Kai Cole's demo for "Something to Sing About." --Jerry McCulley

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Customer Review:

Once More...And Again and Again

A must have for any Buffy fan! The majority of BtVS fanatics love the Once More With Feeling episode so, of course, those fans will LOVE to be able to hear the songs from the show. But these songs are awesomely cute (good music too!) and I think would appeal to those who are not even familiar with the show.

Wonderful episode of a Classic and Perfect TV Series.

This CD is a must own for all Buffy Fans. The soundtrack to one of the coolest episodes from The Buffy series is an absolute joy to listen to. Amazon lists The "Main Title" track as track #1 on the CD which is where it should be as that's where it appears in the episode, but that track is actually #19 on the CD, which I thought was odd. If you import the album into iTunes, you can reassign the track numbers and put "The Main Title" in its correct place as track #1.

AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME!

Loved this episode. It was....what's the word I used? Oh yeah...AWESOME!!!

Best episode in the series. One of the best in episodic television, period.

The songs moved you, meant something (the lyrics were substantive, emotion-filled, were in-synch with both the characters and what the characters were going through at the time...and rhymed to boot!) and were well paced, crafted and executed. The actors really put their all into it and did an EXCELLENT job. From giles and amber benson's great vocal performances to Sarah M.G.'s dancing at the end. It was just...great. Vocally- Amber Benson stole the show...too bad mr. whedon repaid her by killing off her character a few episodes later!!!!!!!(thank you joss...NOT!!!) Giles can REALLY sing as well..I mean..he puts it down. Everyone does a great job and j.w. really put in work with his lyric authorship.

BTVS pulled off quite a coup with this one!

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Keywords: Pop; Show Tunes; Soundtrack; Soundtracks; Soundtracks & Film Scores; TV Soundtracks; Television Music;

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The Opera Band

The debut of the young, classically trained international quintet of sopranos Jo Appleby and Tsakane Valentine, tenors David Habbin and Geoff Swell, and basso Nick Garret offers up a familiar take on the crossover formula that has enriched everyone from genre pioneers The Three Tenors to Russell Watson and beyond. While their occasionally electro-pumped rhythms and youth-angled marketing shtick ("The world's first opera band!") may borrow a page from Opera Babes and Bond, it still manages to evoke the spirit (if not the letter) of its eclectic classical sources. And if the world hasn't exactly been burning for yet another dramatized update of Turandot's melodic "Nessun Dorma," The Pearl Fishers, or--for that matter--"Unchained Melody," Amici Forever's takes on the pop side of the crossover equation are indeed promising, recasting Alex North's "Unchained.." ("Senza Catene") and their reworked theme to the miniseries Band of Brothers("Requiem for a Soldier") in a successful, neo-classical light. If Neopolitan-shaded originals like "Canto Alla Vita" and "Vita Mia" sound like Josh Groban clones, their glorious harmonic vocal reworkings of Faure's "Pavane" ("Whisper of Angels") and Elgar's "Enigma Variations" ("Nimrod: Lux Aeterna") bristle with an ambitious sense of adventure that's missing from much of their crossover competition. Serious opera buffs may still quarrel with the daring "impurity" of it all, but if Amici Forever prod a few more pimply punters to peruse Puccini, won't it all have been worth it? --Jerry McCulley

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Customer Review:

Opera for a new generation!

This quintet of gorgeous young singers from Europe and South Africa bring opera to a new generation who is so familiar with pop bands and pop singers. Their looks alone are enough to turn heads as well as their voices which blend well. I've seen Amici Forever perform live and the choreography and sets really bring a fresh perspective to what most people would think of as stuffy old opera. Each singer takes turns singing lead vocals on each song and they don't over power each other's vocals like Il Divo.
Definitely give this album a try!

Not for purists

Why do purists even sample CDs like this one? There's plenty of warning on the liner notes. I like classical opera and often listen and even attend when the opportunity presents itself. But I like Amici too. Why does classical music have to always be presented in the same old way? It's beautiful done many ways by many artists. (Except Sarah Brightman and Josh Groban - just MHO. If you admire them, that's great. That's what music is all about.) Amici's productions are lovely and new, and I for one enjoy hearing opera without all the earnestness and bellowing once in a while.

Incredibly moving and beautifully produced

I never write music reviews, but I'm making an exception in this case. As the daughter of an opera singer, and a musician myself, I grew up with a lot of the music on this CD. All I can say is it is one of the most moving albums I now own. The voices compliment each other, the delivery appears effortless, the musical arrangements excellent. I sincerely hope we get the opportunity to hear more of Amici. I, for one, will be standing in line waiting for their next CD on the day it is released.

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Keywords: Anthem; Choral; Choral Music; Classical; Classical Artists; Classical Crossover; Czech Romantic Opera; French Romantic Opera; German/Austrian Classical Period Opera; Italian Romantic Opera; Miscellaneous; Miscellaneous Music; Opera; Opera / Operetta / Oratorio; Vocal; Vocal Music;

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I Am Sam - Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture

Jessie Nelson's poignant tale of a mentally challenged man named Sam (Sean Penn) who recruits a lawyer to help him regain custody of his young daughter leans heavily on the lead character's obsession with Beatles songs, and his innocent trust in their wisdom and emotional truth. It's an artistic gambit that shrewdly lends itself to this mostly rewarding collection of Beatles covers by a wide range of contemporary artists, many of whom no doubt leapt at the chance to record a treasured song by their own musical heroes. The renditions are by and large faithful, and inform the elemental genius of the originals by the strength and variety of the artist's voices alone. The husband-wife team of Aimee Mann and Michael Penn (Sean's brother) can't help but find resonance in "Two of Us," just as Nick Cave's latter-day, heart-on-his-sleeve crooner infatuation makes "Let It Be" all his own. It's the reinterpretations that are riskier. While Paul Westerberg's stripped-down, nasal reading of "Nowhere Man" perceptively underscores Lennon's inherent Dylan fetish and Howie Day turns "Help!" from anxious plea to desperate dirge, Grandaddy smugly alt-rocks the energy right out of "Revolution." The Beatles hardly need anyone to burnish their reputation, but this album goes a long way toward underscoring their most undersung legacy as rock's most transcendent melting pot. -Jerry McCulley

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Customer Review:

Keep An Open Mind

First, a warning: if you're the kind of person who holds Beatles music sacrosanct, and believes nobody but the Beatles should be playing Beatles songs, you'll probably dislike this album intensely. Stay away from it.

For the rest of us (those of us who prefer that our music not be trapped in amber): if you like to hear good songs thoughtfully reinterpreted, this is the album for you. Some covers will probably appeal more than others, according to taste, but don't let your preconceptions stand in the way of liking a song on its merits - for instance, I'm not any kind of fan of Eddie Vedder or the Stereophonics in other contexts, but their respective cover versions here are favorites of mine.

So, once again: if you don't believe any popular music recorded since 1970 is worthy of your attention, don't buy this album. Everyone else: open your mind and your ears, and give it a spin.

A Travesty

I accidently heard this and think it is a terrible album. Why would anybody in their right mind want to listen to bad cover versions of classic songs by mediocre "artists?" Why not listen to the originals? Nobody should be allowed to touch The Beatles' music. Ever. The horrible versions of "Strawberry Fields Forever" and the masterpiece "Let it Be" are especially heinous, but they are all terrible in their own ways. Some are almost insulting. The people contributing to this soundtrack can only wish that they'll be remembered and relevant in 40 years. Maybe I'm sounding harsh, but if you are truly a Beatles fan, you will probably agree with me. Oh, and the movie was terrible too.

Ghastly

This is piece of filth. Beatles songs should not EVER be covered--especially by this untalented menagerie of "performers." The ghoul who sanctioned this album should be tracked down and psychologically evaluated (and imprisoned with a life sentence). I would never wish the trauma associated with listening to this garbage on my worst enemies. The songs are butchered beyond belief and some are almost unrecognizable. I shouldn't have expected any better based on the quality of the film and cast. Any true Beatles fan will be horrified by how badly these treasured songs were brutally maimed. I honestly get nauseous when seeing the track listing. I have never even heard of most of these singers (for good reason, obviously). So please do EVERYONE a favor and buy the original Beatles albums if you want to hear the songs the way they were meant to be heard.

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Keywords: Alternative Pop/Rock; Pop; Soundtrack; Soundtracks; Soundtracks & Film Scores; Tribute Albums;

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