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Artist:
Mannheim Steamroller
Prog rock lives! This fusion of rock, jazz, and classical, driven by synthesizers, excess, and dry-ice fog, was once the domain of '70s groups like Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. But Mannheim Steamroller has kept prog rock's intoxicated spirit and bright spectacle alive, mainly through 20 years of Christmas albums and concerts, and Christmas Celebration won't disappoint their many worldwide fans. With its overblown arrangements of standards and readily accessible new pieces, it combines a variety of styles with a heavy mix of instruments and voices. Noteworthy are the choirs and soloists featured on various tracks, including the Cambridge Singers and Johnny Mathis on "O Tannenbaum" as well as lesser-knowns like Germany's Bielefelder Kinderchor and the University of Michigan Glee Club. All told, it's a full, pretty-paper assault, an aural smorgasbord laid out with bold strokes and many a glittering bauble. --Martin Keller
List Price: $17.98 |
Our Price: $8.98 |
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Artist:
Jim Brickman
Relax and soothe your soul with Unspoken, Grammy-nominee Jim Brickman's first all-solo piano CD since he launched his recording career fifteen years ago. This brand new collection of romantic piano favorites exudes deep sophistication and heartfelt sentimentality as only Jim Brickman can!
List Price: $18.98 |
Our Price: $11.98 |
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Artist:
Chris Botti
List Price: $14.98 |
Our Price: $8.87 |
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Artist:
Loreena McKennitt
BONUS DVD (PAL)
List Price: $18.98 |
Our Price: $8.88 |
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Artist:
Enya
As each new Enya release has washed over all who have ears to hear, as each heaven-touched work leaves admirers sitting speechless in slack-jawed wonder, questions eventually come to mind: Might her layered, choral-like approach gradually become predictable or stale? Will she ever exhaust her deep reservoir of soul-stirring ideas? Remarkably, A Day Without Rain, Enya's fourth release since her 1988 breakthrough, Watermark, establishes new artistic heights for the gifted Irish vocalist and keyboardist. The project, polished and refined over a five-year period in the company of longtime collaborators Nicky Ryan (producer) and Roma Ryan (lyricist), may qualify as her best yet--a radiant, beatific collection of works that command attention with their cathedral-like resonance as they soothe your spirit with some of Enya's loveliest, most graceful voicings ever. The disc's opening three tracks (including the spellbinding "Only Time") form a gorgeous trilogy that suggest Enya has deepened her focus on the nexus where sophisticated pop and regal mysticism, the twin rivers of her singular sound, form a seamless intersection. The disc's gentle timbre is disturbed only once, and...
List Price: $18.98 |
Our Price: $7.42 |
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Artist:
Loreena McKennitt
An Ancient Muse is "eclectic celtic" - singer/composer Loreena McKennitt's highly-anticipated first new studio recording in nine years. Taking up where her previous work left off, McKennitt fuses the melodic sensibility of Celtic Balladry with musical traditions from Greece, Turkey, Spain, and beyond. Once heard, never forgotten, Loreena MacKennitt leads the listener on a timeless journey from the Scottish borders to the caravanserais of the Silk Road to the wine-dark seas of Homer's Odyssey. McKennitt's worldwide multi-platinum sales culminated in her most recent album, 1997's The Book of Secrets, which reached #17 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart.
List Price: $18.98 |
Our Price: $9.03 |
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Artist:
Peter Gabriel
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Sinead OConnor
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Karl Wallinger
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Various Artists
Big Blue Ball is the long-awaited, much-anticipated collection of stand-out tracks culled from the all-star, pan-global collaborations that took place over three years of Peter Gabriel s legendary Recording Week gatherings at his state-of-the-art Real World Studios in the English countryside.
Produced by Peter Gabriel, Karl Wallinger (of World Party, Waterboys) and Stephen Hague (Pet Shop Boys, OMD), it s a nonstop stream of poignant, sterling performances by a truly stellar lineup of artists-- including Gabriel, Wallinger, Sinead O Connor, Natacha Atlas, Iarla O Lionaird and James McNally (both of Afro Celt Sound System), Papa Wemba, Joseph Arthur, Tanzania s late music legend Hukwe Zawose, Hungary s Marta Sebestyen, Tim Finn, Cameroonian starFrancis Bebey, Vernon Reid, Justin Adams, Jah Wobble, Billy Cobham, Rupert Hine, gospel group the Holmes Brothers, flamenco guitarist Juan Canizares, Japanese percussionist Joji Hirota, and many more...in all totaling 75 artists from over 20 countries.
It s like a wall of sound coming at you, listening to the planet from outer space, says Karl Wallinger of the final mix. It s a real world-view of music, a snapshot of the music...
List Price: $17.98 |
Our Price: $11.22 |
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Artist:
Mannheim Steamroller
Depending on your point of view, Christmas is either a quaint sonic time capsule extracted from the mid-1980s or a timeless holiday classic. The first in what has become an ongoing series of Mannheim Steamroller Christmas recordings, this CD has sold millions, which seems to indicate that it is everything its advertising claims it to be: "America's favorite Christmas music." The powerfully successful Mannheim Steamroller formula, conceived by group mastermind Chip Davis, involves a blend of Renaissance-flavored moods and instrumentation (strings, harpsichord, flute, French horn) intertwined with polite pop instrumental music. At times, the analog synthesizers used in this 1984 recording sound dated and a little cheesy, particularly on "Deck the Halls" and "Good King Wenceslas." But it is a forgivable offense since live instruments and the earnest but ersatz medieval atmosphere they evoke dominate 8 of the 11 tracks. As pleasant and soothing as a Willard Scott birthday wish, Christmas does offer one selection that truly merits "classic" status: the reverent, prayerful, slow-motion interpretation of "Silent Night" ("Stille Nacht") for piano and strings that closes the a...
List Price: $12.98 |
Our Price: $6.00 |
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Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Emi Music Distribution Release Date: 05/15/2006
List Price: $18.98 |
Our Price: $11.19 |
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Artist:
Enya
Enya's 1988 recording Watermark achieved landmark success with her groundbreaking use of multi-tracking technology to fuse new age and Celtic themes and instrumentation. The meticulous production defines her sound and achieves continuity even while weaving together tender ballads, piano pieces, massively layered vocal harmonies, and symphonic synthesizer movements. Although Enya's pristine voice isn't especially strong, her lead vocals possess a vulnerability that reflects the lyrics' sense of personal searching. From the ubiquitous, frothy single "Orinoco Flow" (which was used to hawk Crystal Light on TV) to the hard, bold edge of "Cursum Perficio," Enya's style remains fresh and engaging today. --Richard Price
List Price: $18.98 |
Our Price: $7.45 |
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