by Peter Cates Farther Down the Road, Volume 2 CBS Special Products, cassette, recorded 1972-1985. The above was one of a cassette/CD series under the same title of more than 60 volumes, sponsored by Rotella, a line of lubricating products for the heavy duty engines inside extremely large trucks. As with the entire series, this […]
by Peter Cates Bach selections from The Joy of Great Music, Album 15, FW-515, LP, 1980 series of records usually peddled in supermarket chains. The above album contains the following examples of Johann Sebastian Bach, 1685-1750: Side 1, Saint Matthew Passion excerpts. Soprano Laurence Dutoit, alto Maria Nussbaumer, bass Otto Weiner, with Ferdinand Grossmann conducting […]
by Peter Cates The Odd Couple starring Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau etc. Released 1968, transferred to DVD. I have known about The Odd Couple since its release 50 years ago; that it’s very funny because Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau were exceptionally gifted actors in comedy roles, two personal favorites being Lemmon’s Good Neighbor Sam […]
by Peter Cates The Joy of Christmas Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic and Mormon Tabernacle; Columbia MS 6499, stereo LP, recorded 1963. A Golden Treasury of Christmas Music Sir Alexander Gibson, chorus and orchestra; Columbia Record Club P2S 5170, two LPs, recorded 1967. This week’s Xmas LPs, both released in the 1960s, are very good […]
by Peter Cates Berlioz: L’Enfance du Christ Andre Cluytens conducts Paris Conservatory Orchestra with chorus and soloists. EMI, Recorded 1964, 2 CDs. Composer Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) left a Christmas oratorio, the above-listed Birth of Christ and quite exceptional in its own sublime beauty. The work focuses on three episodes of the Christmas story- Herod’s dream […]
by Peter Cates Christmas at the Brooklyn Tabernacle The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir and Singers, with the London Studio Orchestra; Warner Alliance 9460042, CD, recorded 1995. Brooklyn, New York’s Tabernacle church has this very good choir as part of its weekly services and worldwide ministry. This cd is one that should please those who enjoy the […]
by Peter Cates Christmas Eve with Burl Ives Decca, DL 8391, mono LP, released 1957. One very endearing album of the many Burl Ives (1909-1995) left in his discography was this astutely balanced program of 11 Xmas titles, familiar and not so familiar. The six familiars – Silent Night, There Were Three Ships, Oh Little […]
by Peter Cates Tchaikovsky 5th Symphony Anton Nanut conducting the Ljublana Symphony Orchestra- Point Classics, 265023, CD, released 1994. The catalog of recordings of this Symphony is teeming with very fine ones. This entry can be added to the honor roll. I have written previously in this column and elsewhere about the merits of Anton […]
by Peter Cates Jim Thompson Pop. 1280, 1964 crime novel, roughly 217 pages. Vastly underrated during his lifetime, Jim Thompson (1906-1977) wrote over 30 novels mainly set in the “golden triangle” of Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma during the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s. Most of his characters were clueless misfits, self-serving blowhards and nihilistic villains. Pop. […]
by Peter Cates Louis Armstrong Early Satch Philips 429739BE, 45 ep, extended play, Holland release. Originally 78s from 1927-1928. Four sides from the group known as the Louis Armstrong Hot Five are contained in this mid-’50s Dutch Philips reissue. All were recorded in Chicago; two done in May,1927 with the others in December, 1928. Several […]