Swap a CD: 15 Recently Posted CDs

Bette of Roses - Bette Midler

Bette Midler — 2009-11-22T08:05:11-05:00

After a streaming flow of records for two decades, Bette Midler took a five-year hiatus. "Studio recording vacation" would make a better term, because the energetic entertainer never stays too still. She performed as Gypsy Rose Lee for a Gypsy television musical and performed the bulk of the soundtrack For the Boys, for which she also won a best actress Academy Award nod. If it seemed like Midler was straying in vast directions, she brought a very focused album together in 1995 with Bette of Roses. Said to have personally chosen the track listing from hundreds and hundreds of songs, Midler brings a very poignant and inspiring set this time round; with less emphasis on laughs, it almost works as an extension of 1990's Some People's Lives. It appears Midler is an admirer of singer/songwriter Maria McKee, who provides the demanding and grasping "To Deserve You" which spawned a club version hit remix, as well as "The Last Time" with charming vocal lifts which are as elastic as Midler herself. Andy Hill, who gave Celine Dion the spiritual gospel ballad "Call the Man," works a similar stylish ballad called "As Dreams Go By," which ranks among Midler's greatest. Bette Midler is the kind of woman who has the voice and charisma to carry herself through any song; so as long as her material is worth its weight, the album will succeed. There is a certain degree of sentimentality on Bette of Roses, but it never turns drippy. One of the best examples is "I Know This Town," which takes on a subject as heartaching as a childhood town (and especially the childhood memories) destroyed because of urban civilization. Playing mid-tempo, it works because of its core truth and doesn't manipulate with teary additions. Bette of Roses, like so many of the Divine Miss M's offerings, is cause for celebration. ~ Peter Fawthrop, All Music Guide

She - Harry Connick, Jr.

Harry Connick, Jr. — 2009-11-22T07:08:16-05:00

Making Whoopee The Love Songs of Rosemary Clooney - Rosemary Clooney

Rosemary Clooney — 2009-11-22T02:41:02-05:00

Heaven and Earth - Al Jarreau

Al Jarreau — 2009-11-22T01:57:56-05:00

In yet another attempt to crack the R&B market in search of a hit, Jarreau turned to producer Narada Michael Walden, who, in tune with the times, tunes a few of the rhythm tracks to a truckin' hip-hop pace, mixes in some ballads, stirs, and hopes for the best. Little of this mixture catches fire...you guessed it, the material often lets the hardworking Al and his cast down. Parts of "Blue Angel" kick butt in an acid-jazzy way, and the lonely muted trumpet wafting through "Superfine Love" is very effective, but we can do without things like the bathetic title track and the streetcorner soap opera of "Whenever I Hear Your Name." But then suddenly, the CD throws out the R&B and concludes with an imaginative vocal treatment of Miles Davis/Bill Evans' "Blue In Green (Tapestry)" -- at first leisurely and lush and then Latinized. Finally, we hear something utilizing Jarreau's multifaceted expressive capabilities, but not for long enough to justify the price of the CD alone.Yet it's good to know that this is here. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide

Tchaikovsky Romeo Juliet Nutcracker Swan Lake - Eugene Ormandy

Eugene Ormandy — 2009-11-22T01:50:36-05:00

Loftys Roach Souffle - Harry Connick, Jr.

Harry Connick, Jr. — 2009-11-22T01:15:06-05:00

At virtually the same time in 1990, Harry Connick, Jr. released two CDs: one a vocal date and the other an instrumental album with his trio. Lofty's Roach Souffle is the latter, an outing with bassist Ben Wolfe and drummer Shannon Powell. Connick performs 11 of his originals on this set and, although he shows some growth from his earlier days as a sort-of Thelonious Monk imitator, he did not yet have a piano style of his own and none of his compositions are all that memorable. However Connick's timing had improved (helped a lot by the presence of a steady drummer) and the program finds him playing about as advanced as he ever has. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

Christmas Through the Years - Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra — 2009-11-22T00:48:26-05:00

The Christmas Album EMI - Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra — 2009-11-22T00:45:28-05:00

That Christmas Feeling Unison - Bing Crosby

Bing Crosby — 2009-11-22T00:41:17-05:00

Christmas With - Rosemary Clooney

Rosemary Clooney — 2009-11-22T00:15:34-05:00

Christmas with Carreras - Jose Carreras

Jose Carreras — 2009-11-22T00:14:29-05:00

Verve Jazz Masters 12 Billie Holiday - Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday — 2009-11-21T22:56:20-05:00

Part of the label's top-notch series of roundup discs, Verve Jazz Masters 12: Billie Holiday cherry-picks the best of Holiday's '50s stretch under Norman Granz's watch. At her autumnal best, Holiday particularly shines on "Good Morning Heartache," "Yesterdays," and "Speak Low." The disc also spotlights the stellar playing of Harry "Sweets" Edison, Tony Scott, Ben Webster, Jimmy Rowles, and Barney Kessel. For fans already familiar with Holiday's earlier and more popular Columbia sides, this generous and commendable collection makes for the perfect introduction to her more pathos-rich later work. ~ Stephen Cook, All Music Guide

The Collection 1998 - Paolo Conte

Paolo Conte — 2009-11-21T21:52:09-05:00

Twentysomething - Jamie Cullum

Jamie Cullum — 2009-11-21T21:40:46-05:00

Already a sensation in his native England, 22-year-old piano man Jamie Cullum comes off like a hip amalgamation of Harry Connick, Jr. and Randy Newman on his sophomore effort, Twentysomething. As with Blue Note's crossover wunderkind Norah Jones, Cullum works best when he's not trying too hard to please hardcore jazz aficionados, but it's not too difficult to imagine his bonus-track version of Pharrell Williams' "Frontin'" turning some jazz fans onto the Neptunes. Showcasing Cullum's sardonic wit and lounge-savvy attitude, the album deftly flows from singer/songwriter love songs to jazzy barroom romps and reappropriated modern rock tunes. Cullum has a warm voice with a slight rasp that retains a bit of his Brit accent even though his influences -- Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Tom Waits -- are resolutely American. Truthfully, Cullum isn't the most accomplished vocalist and his piano chops are pleasant at best -- Oscar Peterson he ain't. That said, he's still a kick. What he lacks in technique he makes up for in swagger and smarts as many of his original compositions reveal. On the swinging and wickedly humorous title track -- a take on postgraduate slackerdom -- Cullum sardonically laments, "After years of expensive education, a car full of books and anticipation, I'm an expert on Shakespeare and that's a hell of a lot but the world don't need scholars as much as I thought." It's a timely statement in our overeducated, underemployed "dot-bomb" economy and deftly posits Cullum as a jazz singer as much of as for his generation. Also compelling are his choices of cover tunes, as he is able to imprint his own persona on the songs while magnifying what made them brilliant to begin with. To these ends, Jeff Buckley's "Lover, You Should've Come Over" gets a gut-wrenchingly minimalist treatment and Radiohead's "High and Dry" comes off as the best Bruce Hornsby song you've never heard. Conversely, Cullum treats jazz standards as modern pop tunes, reworking them into contemporary styles that are neither cynical nor awkward. In fact, his atmospheric, '70s am pop take on "Singin' in the Rain," replete with string backgrounds and Cullum's percolating Rhodes keyboard, is one of the most appealing cuts on the album, lending the Great American Songbook warhorse an air of virginity. ~ Matt Collar, All Music Guide

Greatest Hits The Early Years - Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra — 2009-11-21T21:19:10-05:00

This Harmony Records reissue, dating from around 1970, is not to be confused with the differently (and slightly more generously) programmed LP of the same name (or its volume two companion) issued by Columbia in 1966. These are, of course, tracks from Sinatra's Columbia library, the most woefully under-exposed and under-utilized part of his output at that time (and for two decades after). The point of interest for fanatics, completists, and collectors, apart from the music -- which speaks (or sings) for itself -- is the presence of three alternate takes among the ten tracks here. And the notes by Morgan Ames are surprisingly full and informative, in what is a very well-written essay. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide