Staff Picks: Music Collection (April 2007)

Aaron:

Here are my top 5 in no particular order.

• Bernard Herrmann: The Day the Earth Stood Still (CD 15779)


• Franz Waxman: Bride of Frankenstein (CD 16619)

The Day the Earth Stood Still and Bride of Frankenstein are two film scores that still inspire me to this day.


• Brain in a Box (CD 11661): Brain In A Box is a fantastic collection of sci-fi/horror movie and television themes packaged with horror and sci-fi themed rock/pop music and lounge music. It contains so many classics that I love from the golden age of horror.


• Surfin’ Hits (CD 10953): Surfin’ Hits is yet another compilation of some of the most favored acts in classic surf music. It is great music from an era when cars looked like rocket ships and horror movies were at some of their best!


• Björk: Vespertine (CD 15094): Björk’s album Vespertine is a great mix of her more accessible music paired with her more experimental leanings.

All five albums are very different, but all are fantastic music that has a spirit all their own.


Cheryl:

• Les Misérables (CD 5807, can be paired with Ed Res VHS 2657 [the 1935 film adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel]): made a wondrous impact on modern culture with beautiful heart wrenching ballads. My favorite is "On My Own."


• HITCHCOCK Master of Mayhem, conducted by Lalo Schifrin (CD 7218): wide variety of musical styles, uses music to influence the atmosphere and storylines in his amazing films! [More Hitchcock soundtracks]


• Ray Original Motion Picture Score (CD 16391, can be paired with the movie, Ed Res DVD 1391): beautifully arranged and composed by Craig Armstrong. Each intense recording illustrates a picture of what it was like to live in Ray Charles’ shoes, I feel as though I am right there as I listen.


• Dan Fogelberg: Greatest Hits (CD 7741): A soulful blend of 70's and early 80's heartfelt vocal harmonies, my favorite is "Same Old Lang Syne."


• A Perfect Circle: Mer de Noms (CD 12815): My alternative rock selection, great to listen to in your car on the way to work or when you are just chillin' at home!


• The Breakfast Club Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (CD 10843, can be paired with the movie, Ed Res DVD 1305): This brings me back to good ole 1985!! It’s a must have!


• Michael Bublé (CD 16088): Very much like a young Sinatra, Bublé is an unbelievable big band/jazz singer, It's Time features covers of the Beatles and Ray Charles songs. The song "Home" leaves me smiling; his voice is soothing and warm. Perfect for all ages!!!


• Walk The Line Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (CD 16090, can be paired with the movie, Ed Res DVD 2182): The story of the musical legend Johnny Cash, enough said!


• A Charlie Brown Christmas (CD 15397, can be paired with the TV special, Ed Res VHS 11129): Christmas in the Spring! This soundtrack recording of the CBS television special brings everyone's inner child to life!

Jason:

Some of the box sets would be good to recommend. Most of the ones with interesting boxes or extended guides are popular music but there are a few classical ones. Here are some examples:

• Eternal Chant (CD 9624)


• The Velvet Underground: Peel Slowly and See (CD 12302)


• Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the 80's Underground (CD 15484)


• Ken Burns Jazz (CD 16746)


• Johnny Cash: The Legend (CD 16419)


• Talking Heads: Once in a Lifetime (CD 16017)

These are all from different genres but the artwork and information in the box add a bit of history and interest to the CDs


Keith:

• Brahms: The Four Symphonies, Tragic Overture, Variations on a theme by Haydn. Performed by Kurt Sanderling and the Dresden Staatskapelle (CD 10720): Of the many recordings of these pieces, these are my favorites. Sanderling manages to combine attention to detail (many inner parts that are buried on other recordings are audible here) with a strong sense of line and steady forward motion. When these recordings were made in 1972, the Dresden Staatskapelle still had the sound typical of German orchestras earlier in the century. Now that orchestras all over the world sound increasingly alike, it's good to hear again the distinctive sound of this ensemble.


• Wagner: Die Meistersinger (CD 13638): Recorded commercially for Deutsche Grammophon in 1967, this recording was not released until the early 1990s. Whatever the reasons for the long delay, this is the most strongly cast recording of this opera: Thomas Stewart, Sandor Konya, Gundula Janowitz, Rafael Kubelik/Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.


• Dawn Upshaw sings Vernon Duke (CD 6482 or 8502): One of the forgotten composers of the American musical, Vernon Duke never had a long-running, hit show during his career, but many of his individual songs retain their appeal, as this collection demonstrates.


• Django Reinhardt: The Classic Early Recordings in Chronological Order (CD 11228): This 5 CD set documents the rise in the 1930s of Reinhardt, a great jazz guitarist, and his group, the Quintette du Hot Club de France, one of the first important jazz ensembles to develop outside the U.S. The group featured an unusual combination of violin, three guitars, and double bass.


• Dave Brubeck: Time Signatures, a Career Retrospective (CD 12929): This 4 CD set is a comprehensive overview of Brubeck's career from the 1940s to the early 1990s.