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The Unreleased Recordings

A Truly Wonderful Release!, 2008-10-30
I feel bad giving this box set 5 stars - it honestly deserves more!!

These recordings really are the holy grail for country music fans (though they might be called 'unreleased' but if you know where to look they've been available via the internet for years!). It's hard to fault it (well, I can actually but I'll come to that later) - a marvellous selection of songs, some well known in other versions but the majority not previously available; very nice packaging, far better than the earlier "Complete Hank Williams", with a great booklet; and with a sound quality, on the whole, that is quite astonishing considering these tracks were records in a radio studio over 50 years ago.

If I have one complaint it's the fact that each discs only runs for slightly under an hour - knowing that there is a lot more material from these sessions, it's a shame each disc wasn't filled to bursting! But it's a minor thing - 56 recordings from a time when Hank was at the height of his career is still a real treat!

So it's SEVEN stars for Hank!!

The Priests

FANTASTIC, 2008-11-28
This is truely beautiful music which calms and relaxes removing the stress of everyday life. I love the spanish carol in the middle as it adds an uplift before taking you back to that place of inner calm. I just wish there were more CD's like this one.

Disney's Greatest Hits

All Disney-Lovers: get this cd now!, 2006-07-18
If you like Disney, this is an album to get.
I've got it and I've put all the songs on my iPod and they're cool to listen to everywhere. Some are original songs, others are sung by other people but the same song.
I like it but it doesn't have "When She Loved Me" from Toy Story 2 which is a song I enjoy.

Children's Christmas Carols and Songs [Pop Up Sleeve]

The Albums

ABBA THE ALBUMS, 2008-11-09
So Universal cash in on ABBA by releasing all their eight studio albums + another featuring some rare out takes. Why? Well it's to cash in on the huge success of Mamma Mia The Movie. And before you ask, yes there is more to ABBA than just ABBA Gold! Having been a fan since they won the Eurovision Song Contest back in 74, I used to anxiously await each new release with much excitement and I was never disapointed! These 9 cd's covering the groups entire output, are offered at a bargain price so this is an excellent reason to buy this set.
A real chance to listen to each of their albums in full. ABBA sold huge amounts of albums not just singles, so be prepared to hear some great tracks that were not released as singles and did not appear on ABBA Gold! Arrival is my favourite album of ABBA, hitting the top spot just when ABBA were at the height of their success in Australia and the rest of the world. Hidden Gems are When I Kissed the Teacher and Tiger. A year before, the self titled ABBA had the beautiful I've Been Waiting For You whilst the Waterloo album boasted My Mamma Said and Dance While the Music Still Goes On which should have been a single in the summer of 74. Move ahead to 1977 and The Album has Move On and a real progression for the band in Eagle. Voulez Vous starts with As Goos As New (not a single in the UK) and If It Wasn't for the Nights(origionally planned to be the first single off Voulez Vous). 1980's Super Trouper has the wonderfull Me Myself and I, plus the poignant Andante Andante, The Piper and The Way Old Friends Do ( which was recorded live at Wembley during the groups last UK tour in November 1979).

The Visitors was their last studio album and contains a gem in I Let The Music Speak - musical theatre in one song! Also the simplistic and heavenly Like an Angel Passing Through my Room.

So please take my word for it - there is so much more to ABBA than just Gold and Mamma Mia. So do get this collection especially as it is offered at a bargain price, and listen to each album as you realise there was so much more to ABBA than just the hit singles!

Flight Of The Conchords

You don,t need to see the TV series to appreciate this albums brilliance, 2008-05-31
Confession time. I haven't seen one frame of the TV series this album is lifted from ( I mean to put that erroneous oversight right by the way) Consequently I come at this album from a completely fresh perspective and judge it just on the strength of the songs.
These are parodies done in various styles - rap, R & B , singer songwriter and so on and are not only spot on musically with fulsome melodies and erudite arrangements but brilliant lyrically . You will laugh ...a lot. I was painting the first time I listened to this album and one couplet made me laugh so hard I dripped paint over the carpet , missing the dustsheet I had meticulously laid down. Thanks a lot guys.
It's all quality stuff but the highlights for me include the Pet Shop Boys pastiche "Inner City Pressure " ( "The manager Bevan starts to abuse me , chill out man I just want some muesli ".The bass line , widescreen synths and the use of the line "You just stand there" are uncanny. The rap p**s take "Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenocerous" has priceless lines like "My lines are so potent they end this small segment and made all of the ladies in the area pregnant./Yeah sometimes my lyrics are sexist but all you lovely bitches should know I'm trying to correct this". It's "Motherflippin" ace.
On the earnest R&B overload of "Think About It" kids are killing each other with knifes and forks and getting disease from monkeys. "Ladies Of The World" is a flawless parody of smooth contemporary soul leading into the profane hard edged rap hilarity of "Mutha,uckas" . "The Prince Of Parties" is a wonderfully observed rip off of 60,s psychedelic music . I'm not entirely sure what "Leggy Blond" is pastiching - though over intense singer songwriters would be my guess. "Robot Boom " is a superb and blatant Kraftwerk caricature where it's the year 2000 and there are no more humans-"We used poisonous gases and poisoned their asses" -or elephants and "We no longer say yes we say affirmative/ Yes......I mean affir... affirmative " .
"Boom" rips the p*** out of ragga before the positively identified singer songwriter tones of "A Kiss Is Not A Contract" but it is "very nice". "Business Time" is an approximation of Outkast and 70,s loved up funk. "Bowie" not surprisingly extracts the urine out of the great man right down to the slightly warbly voice. It's actually, for me the funniest thing on here ."This is Bowie to Bowie" he intones " Does the cold of deep space make your nipples all pointy Bowie?" /Do you use your nipples as space antenna to transmit data Bowie?". The "Lets Dance" segue is fantastically done.
Flight Of The Conchords is extremely silly and out of context from the series might not have worked as a stand alone album . But speaking , again, as someone who has only heard this music out of context of the TV series I've got to say it does work , indeed it works superbly . It is meticulously observed and sounds ridiculously easy but probably isn't .These are gifted musicians with a forensic eye for the absurd. The Conchords really hit the heights .Just don,t listen to it while painting .

Wheels on the Bus (Pre School Songs)

Spirit Of The Glen Journey

Another classic collection born from bravery!, 2008-12-02
This is the second disc in the collection by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, and both are as good as each other. Judging by the average 4 stars for the previous disc, you can see why I'm giving this a 5 star! (In addition to this, while the war was not universally popular, these soldiers are only doing their job and I feel by buying this disc you can send them your support!)

Back to the review, this collection is different from any other which I have heard in the past. I can almost feel the emotion of the band during the recording! Very good collection.

And Winter Came

Just beautiful!, 2008-11-26
I bought this as a Christmas present for someone else but I just had to put it on my ipod before I wrapped it up! Silent Night (which I had missed the first time round) is just stunning. Beautiful music - you won't be disappointed

Spirit Of The Glen

Bag Pipes like never before, 2008-05-28
I have purchased Bag pipe cd's before and they didnt quite set the mark. I saw this title advertised on the tv and thought wow that sounds really different to the ones i had heard before. so after a while i came to amazon and delved in and brought it i am truly amazed by the sheer beauty. The bag pipes are truly made by the backing band of trumpets and other brass. let your emotions run free and let the musin fill your heart with love peace and joy by buying this peice of musical art today.