2009. szeptember 29., kedd

Jean Shepard - Someone`s Gotta Cry

Jean Shepard

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01. A Thief In The Night
02. You'd Better Go
03. Mockin' Bird Hill
04. Lake Lonely
05. It's Never Too Late
06. I Love You Because
07. I'd Rather Die Young (Than Grow Old Without You)
08. One Less Heartache
09. A Tear Dropped By
10. You're The Only Good Thing (That's Happened To Me)
11. You Win Again
12. The Waltz Of The Angels
13. I Can't Stop Loving You
14. Nobody But Myself
15. Born To Loose
16. I'll Hold You In My Heart
17. Half A Mind
18. I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes
19. Two Voices, Two Shadows, Two Faces
20. The Violet And A Rose
21. I Can't Seem To Say Goodbye
22. Two Little Boys
23. When Your House Is Not A Home



Jean Shepard

* "A THIEF IN THE NIGHT" *

This is our last kiss, our last moment of bliss
Darling, our love can never be right
For your ring's on her hand and my heart just can't stand
Stealing love like a thief in the night

Never more shall we meet on some dim-litted street
Darling, two wrongs just don't make a right
So I'm sending you home for I just can't go on
Stealing love like a thief in the night

Never more shall we meet on some dim-litted street
Darling, two wrongs just don't make a right
So I'm sending you home for I just can't go on
Stealing love like a thief in the night

(Artist: Jean Shepard
Songwriter: Harlan Howard)
---
* After departing the smaller GRT label at the end of the 1970s, Shepard did not record again until 1981, when she released a final studio album under the label Laselight titled, Dear John, which included remakes of her hits, including "A Dear John Letter" and "Slippin' Away," but also included a new song, "Too Many Rivers."

She continued to perform at the Grand Ole Opry and tour, particularly in the UK, where she had a strong fan base. Her work has also been reissued by Bear Family Records. Although in her seventies, Shepard continues to regularly tour and perform. Her touring show, "The Jean Shepard Show," has toured the U.S. and she performs at the Grand Ole Opry regularly.

In 2006, Shepard celebrated 50 years as a member of the Opry and is the longest-living female member of the Opry to date. *

2009. szeptember 28., hétfő

Perry Como in Italy 1966 LP


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Side A
01. Souvenir d'Italie
02. Oh Marie
03. Cominciamo Ad Amarci
04. Traveling Down a Lonely Road (Love Theme from La Strada)
05. Forget Domani
06. Anema e Core

Side B
07. Giorno Dopo l'Altro [One Day Is Like Another]
08. Santa Lucia
09. E Lei (To You)
10. Toselli's Serenade [Dreams and Memories]
11. 'O Marenariello
12. Arrivederci Roma [Goodbye to Rome]

Patsy Cline - Fingerprints

Patsy Cline -Fingerprints

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01 - A Church, A Courtroom And Then Goodbye
02 - A Poor Man's Roses
03 - Cry Not For Me
04 - Fingerprints
05 - Got A Lot Of Rhythm In My Soul
06 - Honky Tonk Merry Go Round
07 - Hidin' Out
08 - I Cried All The Way To The Altar
09 - I've Loved And Lost Again
10 - I Can't Forget
11 - In Care Of The Blues
12 - Just Out Of Reach
13 - Let The Teardrops Fall
14 - Never No More
15 - Stop The World And Let Me Off
16 - Today, Tomorrow And Forever
17 - Turn The Cards Slowly
18 - Too Many Secrets
19 - Three Cigarettes In An Ashtray
20 - Walkin' After Midnight



Patsy Cline (September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963), born Virginia Patterson Hensley, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s. Since her death at age 30 in a 1963 plane crash at the height of her career, she has been considered one of the most influential, successful, revered, and acclaimed female vocalists of the 20th century.

Cline was best known for her rich tone and emotionally expressive bold contralto voice, which, along with her role as a mover and shaker in the country music industry, has been cited and praised as an inspiration by many vocalists of various music genres. The story of her life and career has been the subject of numerous books, movies, documentaries, articles and stage plays.

Posthumously, millions of her albums have been sold over the past 46 years and she has been given numerous awards, which has given her an iconic status with some fans similar to that of legends Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley. Only ten years after her death, she became the first female solo artist inducted to the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 2002, she was voted by artists and members of the country music industry as number one on CMT's television special of the 40 Greatest Women of Country Music, and in 1999 she was voted number 11 on VH1's special The 100 Greatest Women in Rock and Roll by members and artists of the rock industry. According to her 1973 Country Music Hall of Fame plaque, "Her heritage of timeless recordings is testimony to her artistic capacity." Among those hits are "Walkin' After Midnight," "I Fall to Pieces," "She's Got You," "Crazy" and "Sweet Dreams."


Patsy Cline -USA stamp


Born September 8, 1932, in Winchester, Virginia, she was the daughter of Sam and Hilda Patterson Hensley, a blacksmith and a seamstress; Hilda was only 16 when Patsy was born. Patsy was the eldest of three children, the others being Samuel and Sylvia. The three children, despite their given names, were called "Ginny," "John" and "Sis", respectively. Patsy grew up a poor girl "on the wrong side of the tracks," but except for the fact that her father deserted the family in 1947, when she was 15, the Hensley home was quite happy.

The family lived in many different places around Virginia, before settling in Winchester. Cline often said as a child that she would one day be famous, and admired stars such as Judy Garland and Shirley Temple. A serious illness as a child caused a throat infection which, according to Cline, resulted in her gift of "a voice that boomed like Kate Smith's." Well-rounded in her musical tastes, Cline cited everyone from Kay Starr to Hank Williams as influences. As a child, she often sang in church with her mother. Cline was also a by-ear pianist who sang with perfect pitch.

Patsy Cline -painting by Jeff D`Ottavio

Cline began performing in area variety/talent showcases. She went to the local radio station (WINC-AM) in Winchester and asked DJ Jimmy McCoy if he would let her sing on his radio show. He did, which was a great opportunity for Patsy, as McCoy's radio show was a great showcase for local talent. As she grew older, she began to play in popular nightclubs.

To help support her family after her father abandoned them, she dropped out of high school and worked various jobs, soda jerking and waitressing by day at The Triangle Diner across the street from her high school, (John Handley High School). At night, Cline could be found singing at local nightclubs, wearing her famous fringed Western stage outfits she designed herself and which were made by her mother, Hilda.

Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline

During this period in her early 20s, Cline met two men who would provide early influence in her rise to stardom. The first was contractor Gerald Cline, whom she married in 1953 and divorced in 1957. The dissolution of the marriage was blamed not only on a considerable age difference, but also Patsy's desire to sing professionally and Gerald Cline's lack of support of Patsy's quest for stardom. While she dreamed of a career as a superstar, he wanted her to conform to the role of a housewife first. The second was Bill Peer, her new manager, who gave her the name "Patsy", from her middle name and her mother's maiden name, "Patterson".

Cline began making numerous appearances on local radio, and she attracted a large following in the Virginia/Maryland area — especially when Jimmy Dean learned of her. She became a regular on Connie B. Gay's Town and Country television show, broadcast out of Washington, D.C, which also featured Dean, himself an established young country star. She also began making appearances at the Grand Ole Opry.

Patsy Cline


Patsy Cline

In 1955, Cline was signed to Four Star Records. However, her contract only allowed her to record compositions by Four Star writers; Cline disliked this, and later expressed regret over signing with the label. Her first record for Four Star was "A Church, A Courtroom & Then Good-Bye," which attracted little attention, although it did lead to several appearances on the Grand Ole Opry. Between 1955 and 1957, Cline recorded honky tonk material, with songs like "Fingerprints," "Pick Me Up On Your Way Down," "Don't Ever Leave Me Again," and "A Stranger In My Arms," the latter two both co-written by Cline, and also experimented with rockabilly. None of these songs, however, gained any notable success.

According to Owen Bradley, her Decca Records producer, the Four Star compositions only seemed to hint at the potential that lurked inside of Cline. Bradley thought her voice was best suited for singing pop music. However, the Four Star producers insisted that Cline would record only country songs, as her contract also stated. During her contract with Four Star, Cline recorded 51 songs.

Cline made her network TV debut on January 7, 1956 on ABC-TV's Grand Ole Opry; followed by an appearance on the network's Ozark Jubilee later that month, returning in April.

The year 1957 was a year of great change in Cline's life which made her undoubtably one of the greatest country and western singers of the 1950's. as she found national stardom and she met Charlie Dick. Dick was a good-looking, well-known ladies' man who frequented the local club circuit Cline played on weekends. His charismatic personality and admiration of Cline's talents captured her attention. Their relationship resulted in a marriage that would last the rest of Cline's lifetime. Though their dramatic love affair has long been publicized as controversial, it was he whom Cline regarded as "the love of her life."

While looking for material for her first album Patsy Cline, a song appeared titled "Walkin' After Midnight", written by Don Hecht and Alan Block. Cline initially did not like the song because it was, according to her, "just a little old pop song." However, the song's writers and record label insisted she should record it.

She auditioned for Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts in New York City, and was accepted to sing on the CBS-TV show on January 21, 1957. Godfrey's "discovery" of Cline was typical. Her scout, actually her mother Hilda Hensley, presented Patsy who sang her recent release, "Walkin' After Midnight". Though heralded as a country song, recorded in Nashville, Godfrey's staff insisted Cline not wear one of her mother's hand crafted cowgirl outfits but appear in a cocktail dress.

The audience's ovations stopped the meter at its apex, and for a couple of months thereafter Cline appeared regularly on Godfrey's radio program. Initially, Cline was supposed to sing the song "A Poor Man's Roses (Or a Rich Man's Gold)"; however, the show's producers insisted Cline instead sing "Walkin' After Midnight". That night, she won the competition and was invited to return. The song was so well-liked by the audience that she decided to release "Walkin' After Midnight" as a single. In short, although Cline had been performing for nearly a decade and had been recording and appearing on local Washington, D.C. TV for more than two years, Godfrey was responsible for making Cline a star.

The song was released in early 1957, and before long it was a hit, reaching #2 on the country charts and #12 on the pop charts. Cline became one of the first country singers to have a crossover pop hit. Cline rode high on the hit for the next year, doing personal appearances and performing regularly on Godfrey’s show and on Ozark Jubilee (later Jubilee USA). She couldn't follow up "Walkin' After Midnight" with another hit, however, in part because of the deal with Four Star that limited her to songs from its publishing company. After the birth of their daughter, Julie, in 1958, Patsy and Charlie moved to Nashville, Tennessee.

In 1959, Cline met Randy Hughes, who became her manager. With Randy's promotion and a new contract with Decca Records-Nashville, Cline would begin her ascent to the top.

When her Four Star contract expired in 1960, Cline signed with Decca Records-Nashville, under the direction of legendary producer Owen Bradley. He was not only responsible for much of the success behind Cline's recording career, but also for the careers of Brenda Lee and Loretta Lynn.

Thanks to her vocal versatility, and with the help of Bradley's direction and arrangements, Cline enjoyed both country and pop success. Bradley's arrangements incorporated strings and other instruments not typical of country recordings of the day. He considered Cline's voice best-suited for country pop-crossover songs, and helped smooth her voice into the silky, torch song style for which she is famous. Nevertheless, she did not really enjoy singing pop material. This new, more sophisticated instrumental style became known as “The Nashville Sound,“ founded by Bradley and RCA’s Chet Atkins, who produced Jim Reeves, Skeeter Davis, Connie Smith, and Eddy Arnold.

Cline's first Decca release was the country pop ballad "I Fall to Pieces" (1961), written by Hank Cochran and Harlan Howard. The song was promoted at both country and pop music stations across the country, leading to success on both country and pop charts. The song slowly climbed up the charts, until it officially hit No. 1 on the country charts — Cline's first No. 1. The song also made No. 12 on the pop charts, as well as No. 6 on the adult contemporary charts, a major feat for any country singer at the time, especially a woman. The song made her a household name, and proved that a woman country singer could enjoy as much crossover success as a man.

In 1961, Cline also joined the cast of the Grand Ole Opry, realizing a lifelong dream. She became one of the Opry's greatest stars, and is believed to be the only person granted Opry membership merely by asking for it.

Believing that there was "room enough for everybody", and confident of her abilities and appeal, Cline befriended and encouraged a number of women when they were starting out in country music, including Loretta Lynn, Dottie West, Barbara Mandrell (with whom Cline once toured), Jan Howard, and Brenda Lee, all of whom cite her as an influence in their careers. According to Lynn and West, Cline always gave of herself to her friends, buying them groceries and new furniture when they were hard up. On occasion, she would even pay their rent, enabling them to stay in Nashville and continue their quest for stardom. In Ellis Nassour's 1980 biography Patsy Cline, Cline's friend, honky tonk pianist and Opry star Del Wood, was quoted as follows: "Even when she didn't have it, she'd spend it — and not always on herself. She'd give anyone the skirt off her backside if they needed it."

Cline also befriended Roger Miller, Hank Cochran, Faron Young, Ferlin Husky, Harlan Howard, and Carl Perkins, male artists and songwriters with whom she socialized at Tootsies Orchid Lounge, next door to the Grand Ole Opry. In the 1986 documentary The Real Patsy Cline, singer George Riddle said of her, "It wasn't unusual for her to sit down and have a beer and tell a joke. She'd never be offended at the guys' jokes, because most of the time she'd tell a joke better than you! Patsy was full of life, as I remember".

Cline used the term of endearment "Hoss" to refer to her friends, and referred to herself as "The Cline." Though she never met Elvis Presley, she admired his music, called him "The Big Hoss", and recorded with his male vocal backup group, the Jordanaires.

While Cline would continue to thrive in 1961, she also gave birth to a son, Randy. However, on June 14, 1961, Patsy and her brother, Sam, were involved in a head-on car collision on Old Hickory Boulevard in Nashville, the second and more serious of two during her lifetime. The impact of the accident threw Patsy into the windshield, nearly killing her. Upon her arrival at the scene, singer Dottie West picked glass from Patsy's hair, while Patsy insisted that the other car's driver be treated first (when West was fatally injured in a car accident in 1991, she insisted that the driver of her car be treated first ). Patsy later stated that she saw the female driver of the other car die before her eyes at the hospital.

Suffering from a jagged cut across her forehead that required stitches, a broken wrist, and a dislocated hip, she spent a month hospitalized. While in the hospital, Cline, according to the Nassour biography Patsy Cline and to friend Billy Walker (who died in a vehicle accident of his own in 2006), rededicated her life to Christianity. She received thousands of cards and flowers sent by fans.

When she left the hospital, her forehead was still visibly scarred. For the remainder of her career, she wore wigs and careful makeup to hide the scars and headbands to relieve pressure on her forehead. She returned to the road on crutches, determined to be a survivor with a new appreciation for life.

Years later in the 1990s, a series of recordings from her first concert since the accident was released. These archives, recorded in Tulsa, Oklahoma, were found in the attic of one of Cline's former residences by the current owners and given to the family. The album, released in 1997, is titled Patsy Cline: Live At the Cimarron Ballroom, and features dialogue of Cline interacting with the audience, thus giving an historical archive of what her live performances were like.

After the success of "I Fall to Pieces", Cline needed a follow-up, particularly because the car accident had required that she spend a month in the hospital, which meant lost time from touring and promotions. The famous follow-up to her hit was written by Willie Nelson and called "Crazy", which Cline originally hated. Her first session recording "Crazy" turned out to be a disaster, and Cline claimed that the song was too difficult to sing. She tried to record "Crazy" like its demo recording, which featured Nelson's idyosyncratic singing, but had a tough time recording it not only because of its demo, but because she found the high notes hard to sing due to her injured ribs from her car accident. The entire day in the studio at Decca was a head-on fight between Cline and Owen Bradley.

However, Cline finally recorded the song the next week in one take, a version completely different from the demo. Because of this, it turned out to become a classic and, ultimately, Cline's signature song – the one for which she remains best known. In late 1961, the song was an immediate country pop crossover hit, and was also her biggest pop hit, making the Top 10. Friend Loretta Lynn later reported that the night Cline premiered "Crazy" at the Grand Ole Opry, she received three standing ovations.

"Crazy" was a hit on three different charts in late 1961 and early 1962 — the Hot Country Songs list (No. 2), the US Hot 100 list (No. 9), and the Adult Contemporary list (also No. 2). An album released that November entitled Patsy Cline Showcase featured Cline's two big hits of 1961. The album brought success to Cline late that year...


* As stated in the 1980 Ellis Nassour biography, Patsy Cline, friends Dottie West and June Carter Cash both recalled Cline telling them that she felt a sense of impending doom and didn't expect to live much longer in the months leading up to her death. Cline also told Loretta Lynn of this, along with Cash and West, as early as September 1962. Cline, though known for her extreme generosity, even began giving away personal items to friends, writing out her own last will on Delta Air Lines stationery and asking close friends to care for her children if anything should happen to her. She reportedly told Jordanaire back up singer Ray Walker as she exited the Grand Ole Opry a week before her death: "Honey, I've had two bad ones (accidents). The third one will either be a charm or it'll kill me."

On March 3, 1963, Patsy, though ill with the flu, gave a performance at a benefit show at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall, Kansas City, Kansas, for the family of a disc jockey, Cactus Jack Call, who had recently died in an automobile accident. Also performing on the show were George Jones, George Riddle and The Jones Boys, Billy Walker, Dottie West, Cowboy Copas, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper, and George McCormick and the Clinch Mountain Clan. Cline wore a white chiffon gown and closed the show with her performance to a thunderous ovation. Her last song was the last one she recorded during her last sessions the previous month, "I'll Sail My Ship Alone."

Dottie West, wary of Cline flying, pleaded with her to ride back in the car with her and her husband, Bill. Cline, anxious to get home to her children, refused West's offer, saying, "Don't worry about me, Hoss. When it's my time to go, it's my time." She called her mother from the airport and then boarded a Piper Comanche bound for Nashville, flown by her manager Randy Hughes, along with Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins. After stopping to refuel in Dyersburg, Tennessee, the plane took off at 6:07 pm. According to revelations by the airfield manager in the Nassour biography, he suggested that they stay the night after advising of high winds and inclement weather on the flight path, but Hughes responded, "I've already come this far. We'll be there before you know it."

However, they never made it to Nashville. The plane flew into severe weather and crashed at 6:20 p.m., according to Patsy's wristwatch, in a forest outside of Camden, Tennessee, 90 miles from the destination. There were no survivors.


Patsy Cline -Plane crash

Throughout the night, reports of the missing plane flooded the radio airwaves. Roger Miller told Patsy Cline author Ellis Nassour that he and a friend went searching for survivors in the early hours of the morning: "As fast as I could, I ran through the woods screaming their names — through the brush and the trees, and I came up over this little rise, oh, my God, there they were. It was ghastly. The plane had crashed nose down."

PCline-Crash site WestOfCamden,BentonCity,TN


Not long after the bodies of the victims were removed, scavengers came to take what they could of the stars' personal belongings and pieces of the plane. Many of these items were later donated to The Country Music Hall of Fame; the white chiffon dress that Patsy had worn for her last concert was never found.

As per her wishes, Cline was brought home to her dream house for the last time before her memorial service, which thousands attended. Hours later, news that singer Jack Anglin had died on the way to her service surfaced, and the Opry mounted a tribute show to honor the victims.

She was buried in her hometown of Winchester, Virginia, at Shenandoah Memorial Park. Her grave is marked with a simple bronze plaque, which reads: Virginia H (Patsy) Cline "Death Cannot Kill What Never Dies: Love." A bell tower in her memory at the cemetory, erected with the help of Loretta Lynn and Dottie West, plays hymns daily at 6:00 p.m., the hour of her death. A memorial marks the place where the plane crashed in the still remote forest outside of Camden, Tennessee.

Patsy Cline - Dreaming 16 original great hits

Patsy Cline

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01 - I Fall To Pieces
02 - Heartaches
03 - Crazy
04 - Tra Le La Le La Triangle
05 - Have You Ever Been Lonely
06 - There He Goes
07 - Back In Baby's Arms
08 - Faded Love
09 - Sweet Dreams
10 - Your Cheatin' Heart
11 - San Antonio Rose
12 - She's Got You
13 - Walking After Midnight
14 - Three Cigarettes In An Ashtray
15 - When You Need A Laugh
16 - Always



Tragically, Patsy Cline`s success was to be shortlived and on March 5, 1963, she perished in the plane crash that also took the lives of stalwart performers Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Patsy Cline Memorial

Hawkins. Her name, and chart records, lived on and ten years after she was afforded country music`s finest honour by gaining entrance into the Country Music Hall Of Fame.
Patsy Cline
Sadly, Patsy Cline`s life was too short and her catalogue of recordings too small, but the legend was estabilishes and, over the years, her material has always continued to sell and attract new fans. Then, in 1985, she became the focus of attention of a brand new generation with the release of the biographical motion picture "Sweet Dreams", in which Jessica Lange gave a vivid portrayal of the tempestuous singer. The soundtrack album become an instant best seller which led to a complete revival of the singer`s recordings. In 1987 Patsy Cline was back in the pop charts with the Willie Nelson song "Crazy", a quarter of a century after she first delighted local audiences. *
(Tony Byworth, 1988)


* REMEMBERING MARCH 5, 1963 *

Patsy Cline

* On one of the darkest days in country music history, a private plane carrying Opry stars Cowboy Copas, Hawkshaw Hawkins, and Patsy Cline, as well as Cline’s manager Randy Hughes, crashed near Camden, Tennessee, killing all on board. They were returning from Kansas City, where they had taken part in a benefit concert for the family of Cactus Jack Call who had died in an automobile accident. Hawkshaw Hawkins was married to Jean Shepard who is still a regular performer on the Opry.

Cline’s musical legacy is well known, but Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins are unfamiliar names to many people today. *
---
Patsy Cline Memorial

Jean Shepard - Honky Tonk Heroine

Jean Shepard

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01 Twice The Lovin' (In Half The Time)
02 Crying Steel Guitar Waltz
03 A Dear John Letter
04 My Wedding Ring
05 Two Whoops And A Holler
06 Don't Fall In Love With A Married Man
07 A Satisfied Mind
08 Beautiful Lies
09 Sad Singin' And Slow Ridin'
10 Under Suspicion
11 I Want To Go Where No One Knows Me
12 The Other Woman
13 Act Like A Married Man
14 A Thief In The Night
15 He's My Baby
16 How Do I Tell It To A Child
17 Color Song (I Lost My Love)
18 The Root Of All Evil (Is A Man)
19 Under Your Spell Again
20 One White Rose
21 I've Learned To Live With You (And Be Alone)
22 That's What Lonesome Is
23 Cigarettes And Coffee Blues
24 Second Fiddle (To An Old Guitar)
"You gaze at that guitar on your knee
In a way that you never look at me
This love affair of yours has gone too far
And I’m tired of playing second fiddle to an old guitar"

(From “Second Fiddle (To an Old Guitar),” Capitol Records, 1964)

* Kitty Wells may have been the reigning Queen of Country Music during the the 1950s, but in the eyes of many (including myself) Jean Shepard had at least as good a claim to the title. Whereas Kitty Wells, after the uncharacteristically defiant “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels,” reverted back to songs of domestic bliss and of being the “wronged woman,” Jean Shepard kept pushing the boundaries for female country singers. Jean may not have pushed things as far as Loretta Lynn did during the late 1960s and 70s, but she laid the groundwork for Loretta and those to follow. Among Europeans, whose tastes in country music run to more traditional sounds, many regard her as the greatest of all female country singers, a sentiment that was echoed by such leading British county music journalists as Pat Campbell, Bob Powell, and David Allen. While I don’t regard Shepard quite that highly, on my personal list of the greatest female country singers of all time, she would be well within my top five (greatest, as opposed to most popular or most influential, singers). During her peak years (roughly 1953-75) she was a definite force of nature.

Born Ollie Imogene Shepard on November 21, 1933 in Oklahoma, she was the child of parents who moved to Bakersfield, California, as a result of the Dust Bowl that engulfed the midwest during the 1930s. Since Shepard has been staunchly performing modern traditional country music for over sixty years, it seems only fitting that she grew up and started her career in the area surrounding Bakersfield, CA.

Jean began her career as a bass player in the Melody Ranch Girls, an all-female band formed in 1948. Not long thereafter, she came to the attention of Hank Thompson, who, impressed by her talents, helped her get a record deal with Capitol Records–where she worked with Thompson’s producer, Ken Nelson. At the time she inked her deal, Shepard was still a teenager.

On her Capitol recordings, Shepard was a honky-tonker whose hard-core sound could rival any of her male counterparts. While her first single “Crying Steel Guitar Waltz” failed to chart, it showed enough promise for Capitol to team her with another promising singer, Ferlin Husky, for the 1953 chart-topper “A Dear John Letter,” a song which resonated with many returning Korean War veterans. After this, the solo hits started coming with “Beautiful Lies” and “A Satisfied Mind” being among the biggest hits of 1955 ( “A Satisfied Mind” was also a major hit for Porter Wagoner and Red Foley, but after you’ve heard Jean Shepard’s version, you will forget about the others).

Along the way, Shepard became a part of Red Foley’s Ozark Jubilee (broadcast from Springfield, MO on ABC TV) from 1955 to 1957, and she was inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1956, where she has remained a member to this day. It was during this period that Jean released what may have been country music’s first album centered around a theme in Songs of a Love Affair. Shepard had a hand in writing all twelve songs on this album.

She continued to have hits throughout the fifties and sixties, although like many other traditional country singers her hits became increasingly smaller as rock ‘n roll and the Nashville sound came into prominence. Lost in the shuffle were such excellent singles as “Act Like A Married Man,” “Tomorrow I’ll Be Gone,” “I Used To Love You,” and “Have Heart, Will Love.”

In 1960 Shepard married Hawkshaw Hawkins, a minor star whose forte was his live stage shows rather than recording success. Jean was pregnant with his son Hawkshaw Hawkins, Jr. at the time of the 1963 plane crash that claimed Hawkins’ life (as well as that of Lloyd “Cowboy” Copas and Patsy Cline).
Jean Shepard & Hawkshaw Hawkins


After her son’s birth, Shepard dealt with the tragedy of her husband’s death by pouring herself back into her career. In 1964 she rebounded back near the top of the charts with the feisty “Second Fiddle (To an Old Guitar),” a song which spotlighted her yodeling ability. The next few years would produce more hits including “Seven Lonely Days,” “Many Happy Hangovers To You,” and a rare ballad “Another Lonely Night.” She also teamed up with Ray Pillow for several duets, including the big hit “I’ll Take the Dog” in 1966.

Between 1965 and 1970 Shepard charted fifteen Top 40 hits. Eventually, though, Capitol–blessed with a deep roster that included Wanda Jackson, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Glen Campbell and Sonny James–quit pushing her recordings to radio.

A switch to United Artists (UA) in 1973 re-ignited her career as her first single for the label, the Bill Anderson-penned “Slippin’ Away,” went to #4, and was followed by such great singles as “At The Time,” “I’ll Do Anything It Takes (To Stay With You),” “Poor Sweet Baby,” “Tip of My Fingers,” and “Another Neon Night.” One of her UA albums, Poor Sweet Baby, was comprised entirely of songs written by Bill Anderson. Shepard remained with UA for five years. Since then she has recorded only occasionally for various minor labels.

Along the way, Shepard married Benny Birchfield, (best known for his tenor harmonies during his tenure with the Osborne Brothers bluegrass group). She also served as president of the Association of Country Entertainers, the perfect spokesperson for this very traditionalist organization.

Jean Shepard continues to perform regularly on the Grand Old Opry where she is indeed, the “Grand Lady of the Opry,” and a national treasure. She also tours occasionally, sometimes performing with her son Hawkshaw Hawkins, Jr. She’s lost a little off her vocal ‘chops’ over the course of time, but even 85% of Jean Shepard is a lot more than 100% of most singers.


Jean Shepard


Shepard issued a number of albums on vinyl during the period of 1953 to 1975. Albums on either Capitol (1953-1969) or United Artist (1970-1975) will all capture Jean at the peak of her vocal prowess. Later albums will still catch Jean in good voice but with less care given to the accompaniment and production, although the album Stars of the Grand Ole Opry issued in 1981 on Pete Drake’s First Generation Records, is a pretty good effort.

The CD catalog for Shepard isn’t what it should be, although the Bear Family boxed set titled Melody Ranch Girl is available. The folks at Collector’s Choice Music describe it thus, “151 legendary Capitol sides from the woman who broke through the thick gender barrier in country music without looking back! This is everything Jean recorded from 1952–1964—from ‘A Dear John Letter’ up through ‘Second Fiddle (to an Old Guitar)’—including her landmark album ‘Songs of a Love Affair,’ the first concept album recorded by a female country artist, plus her ‘Got You on My Mind, Lonesome Love’ and ‘Heartaches and Tears’ albums. A 36-page book with a newly researched biography, discography and rare photos completes the story.”

For folks wanting to sample Jean’s work without shelling out over $100, the pickings are fairly slim at the present time. Collector’s Choice Music currently has only one title available The Best of the Best which contains but nine songs. I am not sure of the vintage of the recordings used on this particular disc.

The Ernest Tubb Record Shop currently lists eight titles available, including the above-mentioned Melody Ranch Girl boxed set and Best of the Best, plus the CD version of Stars of the Grand Ole Opry. I am not sure of the vintage of the recordings on the other sets available from Ernest Tubb, but if you call them, the folks taking your order often can give useful information.

The Country Music Foundation in 1995 issued the stellar Jean Shepard: Honky-Tonk Heroine, which has 24 songs taken from her tenure at Capitol. It may still be possible to obtain this disc. That same year Castle Communications (Australasia) issued A Satisfied Mind which has 26 tracks (17 Capitol recordings and 9 United Artist recordings)–this is the only set (of which I am aware) that contains original United Artist recordings.

Other collections available are of uncertain vintage. Jean has issued some CDs herself (Jean, Personal Favorites, and perhaps other titles) that are often remakes but contain some song titles otherwise unavailable.
(Paul W. Dennis)

This is our last kiss, our last moment of bliss
Darling, our love can never be right
For your ring's on her hand and my heart just can't stand
Stealing love like a thief in the night

Never more shall we meet on some dim-litted street
Darling, two wrongs just don't make a right
So I'm sending you home for I just can't go on
Stealing love like a thief in the night

Never more shall we meet on some dim-litted street
Darling, two wrongs just don't make a right
So I'm sending you home for I just can't go on
Stealing love like a thief in the night

(Artist: Jean Shepard
Songwriter: Harlan Howard)
---
Jean Shepard

2009. szeptember 27., vasárnap

Slágeremlékek - emlékezetes ságerek - Hit memories Memorable Hits



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01. Újra itt vannak a boldog napok! Happy Days Are Here Again (Jack YelIen - Milton Ager) BILLY VAUGHN CHOR. 1956
02. Fekete szemek! Otchi-Tcor-Ni-Ya (Black Eyes) (Trad. arr: Armstrong) LOUIS ARMSTRONG 1958
03. A chattanoogai cipőtisztító fiú! Chattanooga Shoe Shine Boy (Harry Stone - Jack Stapp) RED FOLEY 1954
04. Vártam rád! Cest Sí Bon (Betty - Hornez - Seelen) EARTHA KITT 1953
05. Csinos kék szemek! Pretty Blue Eyes (Teddy Randazzo - B. Weinstein) STEVE LAWRENCE 1959
06. Kőszív! Heart ot Stone (Rudy Jackson - Eddje Ray) THE FONTANE SISTERS 1954
07. A szerelem dalai Melodie d’amour (Henry Salvador - Leo Johns) EDMUNDO ROS 1956
08. Torreador!Torero (Carosone - Nisa) RENATO CAROSONE 1957
09. Miért vársz?! Why Wait? (Perez Prado) PEREZ PRADO 1958
10. Bűvölet! Fascination (Marchetti - Manning) NAT KINO COLE 1957
11. Mesebeli Afrika! Skokiaan (August Msarurgwa - Tom Glazer) THE FOUR LADS 1954
12. Cukorbokor! Sugarbush (Joset Marais) EVE BOSWELL 1952
13. Zambezi (Nico Carstens - Anton Dewaal) . . LOU BUSCH 1958
14. Hernando rejtekhelye! Hernando’s Hideaway (Richard Adler - Jerry Ross) THE JOHNSON BROS 1955
15. Kár, kár! Pity Píty (Ergas - Lawrence - Ascher) PAUL ANKA 1959
16. Híd a Kwai folyón! RiverThe Kwai March (Malcoím Arnold - Kenneth Alford) MITCH MILLER 1958
17. Amikor a fecskék visszatérnek Capistranóba! When The Swallows Come Back (R. Leon) PAT BOONE 1958
18. A világ tetején ülök! l’m Sitting on Top the World (R. Henderson - J. Young - A. Lewis) LES PAUL ü MARY FORD 1953
19. Emléktárgyak! Souvenirs (Cy Coben - Johnny Bartels) BILL RAMSEY 1959
20. Pajkos nő az árnyas úton !The Naughty Lady ot Shady Lane (S. Tepper - R. C. Bennett) THE AMES BROTHERS 1955
21. Grandes Boulevard (Glanzberg - Plante) THE HOT HOTCHA TRIO 1958
22. Viszontlátásra Róma! Arrivederci Roma (Renato Rascell - Garineri - Giovanni) RENATO RASCELL 1954
23. Calcutta (Gaze - Vance - Pockris) VALIANTS 1958
24. Igen, ma éjjel Josephine ! Yes, Tonight Josephine (W. Scott - O. Goodmann) JOHNNIE RAY 1957
25. Párizs szegény népe! Poor People ot Paris (Monnot) WINIFRED ATTWEL 1958
26. Mindenki szeret egy szeretőt! Everybody Loves a Lover (Allen - Adler) GUY MITCHELL 1958
27. Jezebel (Wayne Shanklin) FRANKIE LAINE 1951
28. Várlak! ‘m Waitin’ (Vaughn) BILLY VAUGHN 1958

Frank Sinatra - Live At The Meadowlands


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CD 1

01 - Overture 03:40
02 - Without A Song 04:13
03 - Where Or When 03:41
04 - For Once In My Life 02:48
05 - Nice N' Easy 03:00
06 - My Heart Stood Still 03:14
07 - Change Partners 03:45
08 - It Was A Very Good Year 04:52
09 - You Make Me Feel So Young 03:07
10 - The Gal That Got Away 04:23
11 - Theme From New York, New York 04:12
12 - Monologue 03:03
13 - Come Rain Or Come Shine 03:43
14 - Bewitched 03:36
15 - Moonlight In Vermont 03:53
16 - L.A. Is My Lady 03:07
17 - I've Got You Under My Skin 04:42
18 - Someone To Watch Over Me 03:10
19 - One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) 05:48
20 - Mack The Knife 04:21
21 - New York Bows (Theme From New York, New York) 01:18

CD 2

01 - Let Me Try Again 03:29
02 - Bad, Bad Leroy Brown 02:45
03 - You Are The Sunshine Of My Life 02:51
04 - The House I Live In 06:51


cd1: 77:36
cd2: 15:56
Release Notes:


Recorded live in concert at the legendary Meadowlands Arena in New
Jersey, this is the most sought after Sinatra concert recording.
Housed in a striking package and presented with a 24 page
collectors' book of rare photos and extensive notes by long-time
Sinatra associate Hank Cattaneo, this previously unreleased
recording features 21 digitally remastered songs on one compact
disc, as well as a bonus disc of Sinatra concert classics.

2009. szeptember 26., szombat

Big John Patton - Let Em Roll (1965)


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01 - Let 'Em Roll 6:48
02 - Latona 7:23
03 - The Shadow of Your Smile 6:55
04 - The Turnaround 6:49
05 - Jakey 6:48

Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson (1961)


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Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson - Bye-Bye, Blackbird
Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson - How Deep Is The Ocean
Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson - In The Wee, Small Hours Of The Morning
Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson - Sunday
Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson - The Touch Of Your Lips
Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson - This Can't Be Love
Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson - When Your Lover Has Gone

Ben Webster and Joe Zawinul - Soulmates (1963)


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01 Too Late Now
02 Soulmates
03 Come Sunday
04 The Governor
05 Frog Legs
06 Trav'lin' Light
07 Like Someone in Love
08 Evol Deklaw Ni

Ben Webster - Gentle Ben


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01 Ben's Blues
02 The Man I Love
03 My Nephew Bent
04 How Long Has This Been Going On
05 Sweet Georgia brown
06 Don't Blame me
07 Did You Call
08 Barcelona Shout

Ben Webster - At Montmartre 1965-1966

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01 Pennies From Heaven
02 Blues In B-Flat
03 My Romance
04 In A Mellow Tone
05 How Long Has Been Going On
06 Sunday
07 Someone To Watch Over Me
08 Cottontail
09 Danny Boy
10 Gone With The Wind
11 Cottontail (version 2)
12 My Romance (version 2)

--------------------------

Ben Webster, tenor saxophone, with:

Tracks 1 - 9:
Piano: Kenny Drew
Bass: Neils-Henning Orsted Pederson
Drums: Alex Riel
Recorded 21 January 1965

Tracks 10 - 12:
Piano: Atli Bjorn
Bass: Neils-Henning Orsted Pederson
Drums: Rune Carlsson
Recorded 12 May 1966

Coleman Hawkins Encounters Ben Webster (Hawkins, Coleman)
Songs I Like to Sing! (Humes, Helen)
Bean & Ben (Hawkins, Coleman)
Bill Harris And His Friends (Harris, Bill)
Battle of the Saxes (Various Artists)
The Complete Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster Sess (Mulligan, Gerry)
Album (+5 Bonus Tracks) (Tatum, Art)
Havin' a Good Time (Williams, Joe)

Artist: Ben Webster
Guest Artists: Kenny Drew; Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen; Alex Riel
Label: Storyville

BBC Big Band - Age Of Swing

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01. BBC - Big Band - Let's Dance
02. BBC - Big Band - One o'clock Jump
03. BBC - Big Band - King Porter Stomp
04. BBC - Big Band - Little brown Jug
05. BBC - Big Band - Sweet Georgia Brown
06. BBC - Big Band - I get a Kick out of You
07. BBC - Big Band - American Patrol
08. BBC - Big Band - Opus in Pastels
09. BBC - Big Band - St. Louis Blues March
10. BBC - Big Band - Swingin' the Blues
11. BBC - Big Band - What is this Thing called Love
12. BBC - Big Band - In the Mood
13. BBC - Big Band - The very Thought of You
14. BBC - Big Band - Boogie Woogie Maxine
15. BBC - Big Band - Serenade in Blue
16. BBC - Big Band - Solitude

2009. szeptember 24., csütörtök

SDS All-Stars - Electone and Brass - Digital transfer, noise cleaning and mixed, at Audio Design Studio Home Sound Recording Studio 2009.


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Gordon Jenkins - In A Tender Mood LP


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01 - I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles
02 - Just One Of Those Things
03 - Gone With The Wind
04 - When Your Lover Has Gone
05 - And The Angels Sing
06 - Blues For Beverly
07 - Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo
08 - Begin The Beguine
09 - Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise
10 - I'll Remember April
11 - Paradise
12 - Stella By Starlight

Benny Goodman - Hello Benny


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01 - Great Day
02 - La Boheme
03 - Call Me Irresponsible
04 - People
05 - Hello Dolly
06 - The Girl From Ipanema
07 - The Pink Panther Theme
08 - The Lamp Is Low
09 - Hallelujah, I Love Her So
10 - Them There Eyes

Hammond and Jazz vol 1


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01 Cissy Strut - Big John Patton
02 D'angelo - Corone Antonio Bento
03 Down Home Funk - Richard 'groove' Holmes
04 Dr Jeckyll & Hyde Park - Alan Hawkshaw
05 Executive Party Dance - Andre Previn
06 Hole In The Wall - The Bar-Kays
07 Hunk 'o' Funk - Jack Mcduff
08 If There's Hell Below - Lou Donaldson
09 Jackie Mittoo - Groovy Spirit
10 Mdd - Mondo Di Domani
11 Real Mother For Ya' - Mel Davis
12 Shirley Scott - Walkin'
13 War - City, Country, City

Danny Hodgson - Non stop Hammond


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01.Medley 1
02.medley 2
03.Medley 3
04.Medley 4
05.medley 5
06.medley 6
07.Medley 7
08.Medley 8

Tommy Morgan and The Warren Barker Orchestra - Tropicale - 1958 LPDigital transfer, noise cleaning and mixed, at Audio Design Studio 2009.


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Side One

101 Baia
102 Bali Ha'i
103 Poinciana
104 Ebb Tide
105 Moon of Manakoora
106 Misirlou

Side Two

201 Beyond the Reef
202 Ruby
203 The Beach
204 The High & The Mighty
205 Off Shore
206 Taboo

Tommy Morgan blows romantic harp over Warren "77 Sunset Strip" Barker's orchestra as they
cover some of the best known Exotica tunes from the 50's.
Considered one of the best harmonica albums ever - judge for yourself!

2009. szeptember 18., péntek

Bontovics Kati - Ártatlan bűn [1979]

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01 Artatlan bun
02 Hallgatnek egy kis rock and rollt
03 Csak itt es veletek
04 Csak szalj
05 Zene nelkul az elet tevedes
06 Az utca vegen nem egett a lampa
07 Szerelem
08 Ki tiltja azt
09 Amikor Ahogy ebredsz mellettem
10 A szoba ures
11 Kie vagyok en
12 Huvos van



Bontovics Kati

Jazzénekesnő.
1953. január 30-án, Budapesten született. A gimnázium második osztályát végezte, amikor a budai Ifjúsági Parkban elindult egy tehetségkutató énekversenyen, s ha már ott volt, meg is nyerte azt. Pályája is itt indult el, ugyanis a tehetséges fiatal lányra a műsort kísérő zenekar, a Scampolo is felfigyelt, és Faragó István „Judy” különdíjként meghívta a maguk közé, mint az együttes szólóénekesét.

Így 1969-75 között a Scampolo zenekar tagja volt, akikkel szép sikereket értek el.

1970-ben készült el az első rádiófelvétel.

1972-ben pedig az első kislemezük jelent meg, miközben egyre szélesebb körben lettek ismertek és elismertek.

1973-ban iratkozott be a Bartók Béla Zeneművészeti Szakiskola dzsessz tanszakának ének részlegére.

1977-ben kitüntetéssel fejezte be tanulmányait. Külföldön is sikerrel szerepelt: fellépett valamennyi akkori szocialista országban, de Ausztriában is örömmel fogadták a képzett hangú magyar énekesnőt.

1979-ben önálló lemezzel jelentkezett, amelynek az „Ártatlan bűn” címet adta. Zeneszerzőként Jakab György és Másik János, szövegíróként pedig Adamis Anna segítette munkáját. Az albumra a kor ízlésének megfelelően elsősorban disco-nóták kerültek fel.

1980-ban - szintén Másik János közreműködésével - egy 80 perces animációs film –„Habfürdő” - főszerepét énekelhette el.

1989-ban ismét nagylemeze jelent meg, amelynek az „I fell so good” címet adta, és rajta többnyire blues és dzsessz dallamok találhatóak. Szólólemezein és koncertjein főként a Nautilus zenekar segítette.

Többször fellépet a Vukán György trióval. Hosszú éveken keresztül kísérték az énekesnőt, számos sikeres dzsessz koncerteket tartottak együtt.
Később a Bontovics Kati együttessel aratott szép sikereket. Társai: Berdisz Tamás (dob), Cselik Gábor (zongora) és Friedrich Károly (harsona)

2009. szeptember 16., szerda

Andre Rieu - Live In New York


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01 - My Way 05:12
02 - Godfather Waltz 05:12
03 - The Music Of The Night 04:52
04 - Pie Jesu 04:12
05 - A Whiter Shade Of Pale 05:23
06 - Torna A Surriento 05:01
07 - Nuns Chorus 04:05
08 - I Will Follow Him 04:26
09 - Seventy-Six Trombones 02:15
10 - Amigos Para Siempre 05:21
11 - The Washington Post 02:38
12 - Yackety Sax 02:21
13 - Dont Cry For Me Argentina 05:55
14 - America The Beautiful 02:01
15 - The Stars & Stripes Forever 03:34
16 - Amen (Bonus Track) 05:30
17 - Oh Happy Day (Bonus Track) 05:48
18 - Amazing Grace (Bonus Track) 02:48

The Spotnicks - Amapola


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Disc 1/2
--------
1. The Rocket Men 2:30
2. Amapola 1:58
3. Riders In The Sky (Ghostriders In The Sky) 2:11
4. Johnny Guitar 2:58
5. Hava Nagila 2:23
6. Gunshot 1:50
7. I Listen To My Heart 2:07
8. Karelia 2:32
9. Last Date 3:09
10.Highway Boogie 2:56
11.Old Faithful 2:12
12.Cape Kennedy 2:16
13.Walking Back To Happiness 2:58
14.Old Spinning Wheel 2:36
15.Lovesick Blues 2:31
16.The Spotnicks Theme 2:07

Disc 2/2
--------
1. If You Could Read My Mind 3:12
2. Happy Guitar 2:04
3. Love Is Blue 2:53
4. Amazing Graze 3:25
5. Misty 3:51
6. Blue Bayou 3:14
7. The Entertainer 2:31
8. Love Me Tender 3:12
9. Vuffeli - Vov 3:10
10.Another You 2:48
11.A Handful Of Songs 2:33
12.Nikita 4:40
13.Greensleeves 2:30
14.One Way Ticket 2:50
15.It's Over 2:46
16.Way Down Yonder In New Orleans 2:55
17.Albatross 4:27

The Charades - Wild Cards


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01. Comin' Home (2:17)
02. Green Grass (2:37)
03. Danger Level 125 (2:43)
04. Star Wars (3:31)
05. All Time High (2:35)
06. Magnificent 7 (2:17)
07. Get Carter (2:50)
08. Pocket Rocket Twist (2:10)
09. Lupin The 3rd (2:30)
10. Sea Of Love (2:53)
11. Futari Dake No Umi (2:49)
12. Mrs Robinson (2:28)
13. Tribute To The Pluto (1:58)
14. Charade (3:08)
15. Shanti Baba (2:57)
16. Kozakai Warrior (2:48)
17. Hikari - Valot (2:56)

Sipan - The Golden Pan Flute

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01 El Amor es Gris (The Love is Grey)
02 Flor de Luna (Flower Moond)
03 Polvo en el Viento
(Dust in the Wind)
04 Sonidos del Silencio
(The Sounds of Silence)
05 Woman In Love
06 Pastor Solitario ( Lonely Shepherd) Ű
07 Noches de Blanco Saten
(Night in White Satin)
08 El Tren que nos Separa (Tornero)
09 El Condor Pasa
10 Aranjuez
11 Quieres ser mi Amante
12 Romeo y Julieta
13 Lagrimas en el Cielo
(Tears in the Heaven)
14 Yesterday
15 Eres tu
16 La Casa del Sol Naciente
(House of the Rising Sun)

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra - Debussy - Dutilleux - Ravel - M.Jansons - D.Sitkovetsky


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01 - Debussy La Mer 01 De L'aube ŕ Midi - 09:25
Sur La Mer
02 - Debussy La Mer 02 Jeux De Vagues - 07:32
03 - Debussy La Mer 03 Dialogue Du Vent - Et De La Mer 08:31
04 - Dutilleux_L'arbre Des Songes - 05:29
(D. Sitkovetsky, Violin) I Librement
05 - Dutilleux_L'arbre Des Songes - 02:48
(D. Sitkovetsky, Violin) Interlude
06 - Dutilleux_L'arbre Des Songes - 02:10
(D. Sitkovetsky, Violin) II Vif
07 - Dutilleux_L'arbre Des Songes - 02:12
(D. Sitkovetsky, Violin) Interlude 2
08 - Dutilleux_L'arbre Des Songes - 05:57
(D. Sitkovetsky, Violin) III Lent
09 - Dutilleux_L'arbre Des Songes - 01:19
(D. Sitkovetsky, Violin) Interlude 3
10 - Dutilleux_L'arbre Des Songes - 06:11
(D. Sitkovetsky, Violin) IV Large Et
11 - Ravel_La Valse 1 Mouvement De Valse - 06:35
Viennoise
12 - Ravel_La Valse 2 Un Peu Plus Moderé - 04:19
13 - Ravel_La Valse 3 Mouvement Du Début - 01:34
14 - Ravel_La Valse 4 Applaus - 00:25

Total - 64:27



Claude Debussy - La mer After Debussy had
cast off tonality in such an individual
way (according to Pierre Boulez, one
could rightly claim that the first
awakenings of contemporary music had
occurred with Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un
faune (1894)), he set out to tackle the
problem of symphonic structure with La
mer, trois esquisses symphoniques. With
the hollowing out of the tonal dialectics
of thematic material as a principle of
creating structure, the foundation on
which the symphony rested at the end of
the nineteenth century had indeed also
begun to crumble. Unlike Schoenberg,
however, Debussy did not wish to invoke a
new doctrine. Following this line of
reasoning, he would thus have to go in
search of a unique musical language, one
to be applied perhaps only once, yet so
effective that it could be 'understood'
by others. Debussy would have to get it
right the very first time, and that is
precisely what he did. Besides embodying
an entirely original musical language, La
mer also uses unambiguous symphonic
rhetoric. When he started working on La
mer in 1903, Debussy, whose father had
served in the marine infantry, wrote to
his colleague Andre Messager from
Bichain, in Burgundy, (that he had been
destined for the fine life of a sailor
and that it was only by chance that he
was led away from it.) 'You perhaps do
not know that I was destined for the fine
life of a sailor and that it was only by
chance that I was led away from it.' As a
young man, Debussy himself had
experienced danger on more than one
occasion and had witnessed a storm on the
coast of Brittany [; the memory of the
sensation of fear had always stayed with
him.] 'It is a passionate feeling that I
never before experienced - Danger! It is
not unpleasant. One lives!' To Messager,
incidentally, he relativised, 'You will
say that the ocean doesn't wash the hills
of Burgundy and that what I am doing
might be like painting a landscape in a
studio.' Indeed, Debussy tried in La mer
- despite the literary titles of the
sketches - not so much to tell a story
but to 'paint the sea in sound'. The idea
of parallels existing between painting
and music were prevalent at the time.
Camille Mauclair wrote in La Peinture
musicienne et la fusion des arts (1902),
'Claude Monet's admirable landscapes are
simply symphonies of luminous waves, and
Mr Debussy's music, based not on a
succession of themes but on the
comparative power of the sounds in
themselves, has remarkable similarities
to those paintings. It is Impressionism
in patches of sound.' Impressionism was,
in fact, well past its peak by that time;
interestingly enough, Debussy chose work
by the Japanese artist Hokusai, whom Van
Gogh and Gauguin admired, to adorn the
cover of the score. Compared with an
Impressionistic work such as Prelude a
l'apres-midi d'un faune, La mer, like the
Japanese prints, has a more accentuated
structure and wilder - 'fauvist' -
colours. The image of the sea can be
brought into relation not only with the
static, intangible harmonies in Debussy's
music, but also with the fast-moving
figures repeated as if swirling in a
whirlpool, or even the long-held 'pedal
points' expressing the calm of the waves.
In this way, the first movement portrays
the sun slowly climbing above the horizon
and the sea coming to life, with the
famous 'melting' melody just before the
climax at the end - a unique combination
of alto oboe and cello - depicting the
midday heat. Changing tonalities can be
distinguished, but, owing to the lack of
tonic in the chords, only a vague feeling
of forward motion remains without the
slightest tonal development. With its
abstract interplay of lines (and its
title), the second movement looks ahead
to Debussy's Jeux (1912), the very first
'cubist' piece of music. Within the
overall symphonic structure of the work,
one could describe this 'play of the
waves' as a scherzo. The triptych is
concluded with the tempestuous dialogue
of the wind and the sea, in which the
drama of the first movement and certain
motifs return, but without resulting in
formal symmetry. It is no exaggeration to
say that La mer ushered in a new
symphonic style. Henri Dutilleux -
L'Arbre des songes Henri Dutilleux
belongs to that generation of composers
who are virtually impossible to place,
having embarked on their careers right
before the Second World War broke out.
After a slowdown in the 1930s, the
modernisation of French musical life,
initiated by Debussy, now came to a
complete standstill. Dutilleux was too
young to align himself with Messiaen and
La Jeune France. After the war, a
somewhat younger generation of composers
quickly came to power under the
leadership of the radical Pierre Boulez.
Dutilleux maintained his isolated
position, which in retrospect proved a
boon to his career. Today, he is
considered one of the most original
voices in twentieth-century music.
Dutilleux developed a style unrelated to
any tonal system or school, a style in
which intuitive processes play an
important role. It is based on a
typically French existential world view:
all his works are rooted in the mystery
of existence. Subscribing to the
Proustian idea of artistic creation as
croissance progressive, continuous growth
from a single source, Dutilleux turned
away from traditional multi-movement
symphonic forms. His central tenet became
the principle of metamorphosis, the
gradual process of transformation in
different stages. In L'Arbre des songes,
the four main sections are joined by
three interludes in which earlier
elements return with an altered
structure, thus in turn forming the basis
for what follows. Pauses between the
various sections are strictly forbidden.
The entire work forms an organic whole -
one that in this case is modelled on a
growing tree, starting at the roots and
ending in leafy branches. Dutilleux
initially wanted to call this violin
concerto 'Broceliande'. A second
philosophical idea is connected to the
work - one that states that every
perception of a phenomenon is merely a
snapshot of an intangible 'true form'.
That is why Dutilleux's musical motifs
never have a definite form but serve as
the basis for other, new developments. In
this continuing development, he uses
recognisable pivot notes - without
further tonal significance - like a
Proustian aide-memoire or other points of
reference for musical memory. Dutilleux
had no wish to write a traditional
concerto in which the soloist is pitted
against the orchestra. The solo part is
fully integrated into the overall
orchestral structure. The third interlude
is based on the violinist's warm-up
exercise. In the French tradition, timbre
is a very specific and structural element
in the work. The whole composition has a
unique 'ringing' quality to it owing to
the use of chimes, antique cymbals,
vibraphone, piano/celesta, harp and
cimbalom. As the work progresses, their
role becomes increasingly important.
Debussy was one of the first composers to
include the cimbalom in the orchestra in
his orchestral arrangement of La plus que
lente (1910). Here, as in his next
orchestral work Mystere de l'instant,
Dutilleux has used the instrument
sparingly like an expensive spice. Back
in 1946, the Royal Concertgebouw
Orchestra, conducted by Eduard van
Beinum, performed one of Dutilleux's
short early works, followed in 1953 by
his First Symphony (1951). The
orchestra's performances of the Second
Symphony in 1960 and Metaboles, the third
key symphonic work in Dutilleux's ouvre,
in 1966 were given soon after both world
premieres. Since then, the orchestra has
maintained its close relationship with
the French master, who has come to
Amsterdam several times to hear his works
performed. Ravel - La valse Although
Debussy was an important model for Ravel,
particularly in the beginning (Romain
Rolland described him in 1904 as being
'plus Debussyiste que Debussy'), these
two composers, so often associated with
each other, are strikingly different,
mainly because of their contrasting
characters. Debussy could be likened to
an alchemist who opens his laboratory to
inspection even when sometimes failing to
produce pure gold. Ravel was a kind of
diamond merchant who presented only those
gems he had cut to perfection. Debussy
blurs the lines between music, literature
and the visual arts. Ravel, on the other
hand, admired Mozart, and he shared his
opinion that 'there is nothing that music
cannot undertake, or dare, or portray,
provided it always remains music.' La
valse is one such piece cut to pure
perfection. The work owes its origin to
Diaghilev's idea for a ballet based on
the theme of Vienna. The plan was not
realised because of the outbreak of the
First World War, and when Ravel ended up
completing the work in 1919, it hardly
reflected the city in its present state.
A homage seemed unfitting, and the French
saw La valse as a caricature of old
Vienna. Diaghilev ultimately rejected the
work as unsuitable for a ballet, but a
hint of the scenario can still be found
in the score: 'Through whirling clouds,
waltzing couples may be faintly
distinguished. The clouds gradually
scatter; one sees an immense hall filled
with a swirling throng.... An imperial
court, about 1855.' Premiered under the
title Poeme choregraphique pour orchestre
in Vienna in 1920, La valse has remained
a major showpiece in the orchestral
repertoire ever since. Mark van Dongen
Mariss Jansons Mariss Jansons was
appointed as the Royal Concertgebouw
Orchestra's sixth chief conductor in
September 2004. From 1988, he had
appeared on many occasions as a guest
conductor in Amsterdam. Latvian by birth
and a resident of St Petersburg, Jansons
won great international acclaim for his
exceptional achievements as music
director of the Oslo Philharmonic
Orchestra from 1979 to 2000. He then went
on to become music director of the
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, which also
gained widespread recognition during his
tenure. Born in Riga, Jansons moved to
Leningrad at the age of thirteen,
studying violin, piano and orchestral
conducting at the conservatory there. He
went on to study with Hans Swarowsky in
Vienna and Herbert von Karajan in
Salzburg in 1969, winning the
International von Karajan Foundation
Competition in Berlin two years later. In
1973, Jansons was appointed Mravinsky's
assistant with the St Petersburg
orchestra, which Jansons's father Arvid
had also conducted. Jansons was appointed
music director of the Bavarian Radio
Symphony Orchestra in Munich in September
2003, a post he combines with his work
with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Jansons has received various national
distinctions for his achievements,
including the Star of the Royal Norwegian
Order of Merit, conferred on him by His
Majesty King Harald V of Norway. He is
also an honorary member of the Royal
Academy of Music in London and the
Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna.
In May 2006, the President of Latvia
conferred on him the country's highest
honour, the Three-Star Order. Dmitry
Sitkovetsky Dmitry Sitkovetsky was born
in Azerbaijan, trained in Moscow and
continued his studies at the Juilliard
School of Music in New York. Sitkovetsky
has performed with leading orchestras
throughout the world, collaborating with
such conductors as Claudio Abbado,
Herbert Blomstedt, Charles Dutoit, Mariss
Jansons and Wolfgang Sawallisch. He makes
regular guest appearances at major
festivals and has headed festivals
himself in Finland, Sweden, Azerbaijan,
Seattle and Tuscany. Sitkovetsky founded
the New European Strings Chamber
Orchestra and has won acclaim for his
arrangements of various well-known
compositions for string orchestra. He
performs and conducts contemporary music
on a regular basis, having premiered
violin concertos written for him by
Shchedrin, Casken, Meyer and Corigliano.
In addition, Sitkovetsky has been active
as a conductor since 1990. He was
appointed principal conductor of the
Greensboro Symphony Orchestra in the
2003-4 season after having served as
principal conductor of the Ulster
Orchestra, among others. Translation:
Josh Dillon The Royal Concertgebouw
Orchestra The Royal Concertgebouw
Orchestra was founded in 1888 and grew
into a world renowned ensemble under the
leadership of conductor Willem
Mengelberg. Links were also forged at the
beginning of the 20th century with
composers such as Mahler, Richard
Strauss, Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky,
Schonberg and Hindemith, several of these
conducting their own compositions with
the Concertgebouw Orchestra. Eduard van
Beinum took over the leadership of the
orchestra from Mengelberg in 1945 and
introduced the orchestra to his passion
for Bruckner and the French repertoire.
Bernard Haitink first shared the
leadership of the Concertgebouw Orchestra
with Eugen Jochum for several years and
then took sole control in 1963. Haitink
was named conductor laureate in 1999; he
had continued the orchestra's musical
traditions and had set his own mark on
the orchestra with his highly-praised
performances of Mahler, Bruckner, Richard
Strauss, Debussy, Ravel and Brahms.
Haitink also brought about an enormous
increase in the number of gramophone
recordings made and foreign tours
undertaken by the orchestra. Riccardo
Chailly succeeded Haitink in 1988; under
his leadership the Royal Concertgebouw
Orchestra confirmed its primary position
in the music world and continued to
develop, gaining under him international
fame for its performances of 20th century
music as well as giving memorable
performances of Italian operas. Under
Chailly the orchestra made many extremely
successful appearances at the most
important European festivals such as the
Internationale Festwochen Luzern, the
Salzburger Festspiele and the London
Proms, as well as performing in the
United States, Japan and China. Riccardo
Chailly was succeeded by Mariss Jansons
in September 2004. The orchestra was
named the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
by Her Majesty Queen Beatrix on the
occasion of the orchestra's hundredth
anniversary on 3 November 1988.