Swap a CD: 15 Recently Posted CDs in Broadway & Vocalists

Elkie Brooks - The Last Teardrop

Elkie Brooks — 2013-05-24T19:01:10-05:00

Track listing 1. The last teardrop 2. Don't go changing your mind 3. We are all your children 4. One of a kind 5. Tell her 6. You and I (are you lonely) 7. Free to love 8. Suits my style 9. Got to get better 10. From the heart

Andrew Lloyd Webber Ludwig van Beethoven Joseph Marie Canteloube Francesco Sartori Paul Bateman - Sarah Brightman Classics

2013-05-24T17:40:00-05:00

Sarah Brightman Photos More from Sarah Brightman Time to Say Goodbye Diva: The Singles Collection Eden Diva: The Video Collection Live from Las Vegas La Luna (Live in Concert)

Nina Simone - Verve Jazz Masters 58: Nina Simone Sings Nina

Nina Simone — 2013-05-24T15:12:51-05:00

Die Prinzen - Das Leben Ist Grausam: a Capella Album

Die Prinzen — 2013-05-24T14:43:58-05:00

Roger Waters - Wall: Live in Berlin 1990

Roger Waters — 2013-05-24T13:59:21-05:00

Roger Waters staged this all-star revival of his Pink Floyd grand opus 11 years after the Floyd original and 7 years after The Final Cut, his last work with the band. It's a curious artifact of its time, as evidenced by the presence of the Hooters. Enlisting a mish-mashed cast of turn-of-the-decade stars, ranging from the Scorpions to Bryan Adams to Joni Mitchell, Waters attempts to give his production a new relevance. And, of course, where timeliness is concerned, there was some other business involving a wall going on in Berlin 'round about then. But aside from scattered highlights from the likes of Van Morrison (whose commanding "Comfortably Numb" makes one long to hear more from the Van the Man in a rock setting) and Sinead O'Connor ("Mother" is yet another example of her estimable interpretive powers), this Wall isn't so imposing as its studio predecessor. --Steven Stolder

Andrew Lloyd Webber Tim Rice Patti LuPone Mandy Patinkin - Evita (1978 Original Broadway Cast)

Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice, Patti LuPone, Mandy Patinkin — 2013-05-24T13:28:48-05:00

Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita, which began as a concept album in 1976 and had its first stage incarnation in London in 1978, finally came to the U.S. in 1979 with a production that opened in Los Angeles and moved to San Francisco for multi-week engagements before landing on Broadway on September 25 to begin a Tony-winning, 1,568-performance run. The London production had been represented by a one-disc highlights album, but this one became the second full-length treatment, running, like the concept album, 100 minutes. As such, the revisions made for the stage were more apparent, especially because there were more of them than there had been in London, sometimes to Americanize the language. ("The back of beyond" in "Eva and Magaldi" became "the sticks," while "Get stuffed!" in "Goodnight and Thank You" was now "Up yours!") "The Lady's Got Potential" had been deleted, and there was a new song, "The Art of the Possible," which, with its musical-chairs staging, was more effective in the theater than on record. And "Dangerous Jade" had been revised to become "Peron's Latest Flame." Many of the changes built up the role of Evita's critic, Che. As played by Mandy Patinkin, who achieved Broadway stardom in the role, Che now rivaled Evita as a musical presence, the actor's elastic tenor and bravura manner drawing more attention to him. But Patti Lu Pone also became a star here, fearlessly bringing out Evita's strident self-interest without attempting to gain the audience's sympathy. (You couldn't say that about London's Elaine Paige.) Lu Pone was at her best when Evita was at her worst, such as in the songs "A New Argentina" and "Rainbow High." The rest of the cast was unexceptional, though Bob Gunton's Juan Peron inspired curiosity as the only actor to use a Spanish accent. ~ William Ruhlmann Music and words written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice 2 CD Set. Broadway Cast Original cast includes: Patti LuPone, Bob Gunton, Mandy Patinkin.

Billy Vaughn - The Best of Billy Vaughn: Melody Of Love

Billy Vaughn — 2013-05-24T12:59:24-05:00

Raquel Bitton - Sings Edith Piaf

Raquel Bitton — 2013-05-24T10:10:56-05:00

It is, of course, a ridiculous notion: breathing life into a long-gone musical legend in performances and, seemingly even more outrÉ, in the recording studio. And the subject of the tributes is not Elvis but Edith Piaf, the improbable French pop legend whose incredible life reads like seedy, over-the-top pages discarded from a Jackie Collins novel. But ludicrous or not, Raquel Bitton has tackled the task with a verve and courage worthy of the street-corner nightingale herself. And while the voice may not always be the virtually operatic vessel that Piaf possessed, Bitton's is a good deal more than "close enough for jazz," as the saying goes. More importantly, the chanteuse captures Piaf's intense emotionality and grand theatrical essence, the very elements that turn mere pop songs into hymns, confessionals and, at their best, self-contained, three-minute operettas. Bitton cannily delivers the goods in bilingual fashion, making Piaf's challenging body of work all the more inviting to unfamiliar listeners. Bob Holloway's effectively spare arrangements capture the vintage air of the originals, making the album's gimmicky scratchy phonograph record opening a bit superfluous. A sonically transparent way to (re)discover the legend that is Piaf. --Jerry McCulley

Johny Mathis - Love Songs

Johny Mathis — 2013-05-24T08:17:37-05:00

Frank Sinatra - Love Songs

Frank Sinatra — 2013-05-24T08:16:45-05:00

It's hard to imagine now, but Frank Sinatra was one of pop's original teen heartthrobs (not that the "talents" in the Backstreet Boys or 'N Sync should hold their breath!), a slender young crooner with a sweet delivery and a demeanor that hadn't yet been toughened by hard knocks, a broken heart, and helping close a few too many saloons. This album not only collects 15 of the romantic ballads that helped build Frankie's legend, it's a virtual valentine card to both Sinatra novices and collectors alike. Cut between 1943 and 1952, these songs reveal a singer whose pure, warm tones may surprise those who only know him from his swingin', gin-slingin' Rat Pack persona. There are indeed musical precursors to that era (Gershwin's "Embraceable You" and the future Dino theme "Everybody Loves Somebody"), but they're performed with a gentle sincerity more akin to Bing Crosby. Seasoned Sinatraphiles should also be pleased; nearly half the cuts here are previously unreleased alternate takes that give further insight into the roots and evolution of his remarkable gift for phrasing. --Jerry McCulley

Various Artists - American Mall

Various Artists — 2013-05-24T01:45:40-05:00

Soundtrack for a movie from the Executive Producers of High School Musical. A musical romantic comedy set at a mall and focused on the relationship between two young musicians and their respective personal and professional struggles. The American Mall is the story of Ally, a hardworking young woman whose mother owns a music shop that is the soul of the mall. Ally's singer/songwriter ambitions seem to come closer to fruition when she meets Joey, a musician who's moonlighting as a janitor in order to support his own rock star dreams. While Joey understands her songs (and heart) like no one else, Ally's happiness and the fate of the store are threatened when the mall owner's spoiled daughter Madison - who will stop at nothing to get what she wants - gets involved.

Connie Francis - Sings Jewish Favorites

Connie Francis — 2013-05-23T09:20:02-05:00

Tom Jones - Complete Tom Jones

Tom Jones — 2013-05-23T01:58:51-05:00

Justin Bieber - My Worlds Acoustic

Justin Bieber — 2013-05-23T00:08:21-05:00

2011 release from the teen sensation with the windswept hair and millions of fans all over the globe. My Worlds Acoustic is Justin's gift back to his fans for all their support and features nine acoustic versions of songs from My World and My World 2.0 plus the brand new song "Pray". 10 tracks total.

Harry Nilsson - Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night

Harry Nilsson — 2013-05-22T21:58:46-05:00

Harry Nilsson wrote hits for other people (including the Monkees, Three Dog Night, and the Modern Folk Quartet) yet had his biggest hits with covers of other folks' material (Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'," Badfinger's "Without You"). So it makes a perverse kind of sense that his most enduringly popular album is a collection of pre-World War II standards. With Sinatra arranger Gordon Jenkins on hand for traffic control, Nilsson wraps his lungs around such time-honored classics as "Makin' Whoopee!," "It Had to be You," and "As Time Goes By." Although Aerial Ballet and Nilsson Schmilsson are his finest outings, this album is extremely enjoyable on its own terms. --Dan Epstein