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Words & Music: John Mellencamp's Greatest Hits

Compare this to John Mellencamp's previous hits set, The Best That I Could Do 1978-1988, and it quickly becomes apparent how much the artist formerly known as John Cougar has grown in the second phase of his career. Following a 1994 heart attack, the songwriter transformed from cocky jukebox hero to compassionate everyman, trading in big pop riffs for sublime, politically charged songs that echo the outspoken work of Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young. Spanning 25 years, this 35-track set incorporates most of the last collection along with more recent hits over two discs in nonchronological order. --Aidin Vaziri

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Futures

Limited Edition;

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Customer Review:

Words & Music: John Mellencamp's Greatest Hits

This is the best greatest hits CD ever. If you like John Mellencamp at all you will love this CD.

Fantastic CDs, DVD a waste

Great songs! But who came up with this clunky tri-fold cardboard case on the US edition?? Maybe they wanted a way to tuck the "bonus" DVD inside, but that I could have done without as it contained mostly the MTV videos, not concert footage. Worse, the booklet contained everything you could want to know about each song, EXCEPT the lyrics.

THE John Mellencamp Collection to own!

For the discerning record collector, deciding which albums of their favorite artists to own is usually a tough choice. For John Mellencamp fans, however, "Words and Music: John Mellencamp's Greatest Hits", makes that choice quite simple. This is the Mellencamp collection to buy.

For a career that has spanned over twenty-five years, John Mellencamp, like most accomplished artists who can last that long, has had an onslaught of hit songs. To make matters better, they're all here - almost like hearing your own private Mellencamp concert in your living room : "Pink Houses", "Rain on the Scarecrow", "Paper in Fire", "Human Wheels", "Authority Song", "Small Town", "R.O.C.K. in the USA", "What If I Came Knocking", "Cherry Bomb", "I Need a Lover", "Hurts So Good", "Jack and Diane", "Peaceful World... every piece of classic heartland rock he ever wrote, all in one place.

Go ahead and do your research. No other Mellencamp collection offers as many strong songs in one place. For all the hits in one place (and for a reasonable price), Words and Music is the one to buy. Note: Also contains bonus DVD with video footage of "Check it Out", "Rain on the Scarecrow", and "R.O.C.K. in the USA".

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Keywords: Album Rock; Bar Band; Hard Rock; Heartland Rock; Pop; Pop/Rock; Rock; Rock/Pop; Roots Rock; United States of America;

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Island Life

It seems almost criminal to say anything less than stellar about Island Life, the sophomore album from producer Andre Levin's latin-fusion collective Yerba Buena. And indeed, there's a sufficent amount of energy and plenty of good-time party vibes on the disc, which infuses the Afro-Cuban framwork with cumbia, salsa, merengue and flamenco rhythms. The thing is, we've heard much of this hybrid before, done in more substantial ways. Yerba Buena wants to be all things to all people, and its music is jam-packed with splashy collaborators. The cutesy "Sugar Daddy" is a prime example, featuring something for traditionalists (Celia Cruz), urban hipsters (Les Nubians), and even movie buffs (John Leguizamo)--all in one song. There are also appearances from the critically acclaimed rap group Orishas (standout "La Candela"), Grammy favorite Diego "El Cigala" ("Corazon Bandolero) and Pedro Almodovar muse Rossy De Palma. It makes for an interesting A-list of world music VIPs and oddities, but Island Life ultimately doesn't gel into something outstanding. It's merely OK. --Joey Guerra

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Customer Review:

Island Life Will Take You To Paradise

I'm not sure what the Amazon reviewer is talking about. Maybe he doesn't like Islands. This record is so good I don't know where to begin.

I have been playing this at every backyard cookout and once it's on, people don't want to hear anything else. The crazy thing is that everyone likes the whole record but they all have different favorites.

The special guests are great but anyone who has seen this band live knows that the core band is what makes this thing tick.

Buy this album and get your summer party started!!!!!!!!!!

Fantastic Reviews

- "the ultimate urban tropical party"- VIBE
-"Yerba Buena's New York is a cosmopolitan hub where anyone can meet and everyone is ready to dance. The songs make more connections than the city's subway system... For Yerba Buena, Latin American identity is an exhilarating work in progress: proud of its roots, fast on its feet, laughing off obstacles... every idiom Yerba Buena touches on gets hybridized, and that's the point." - NY Times
- "a Truly Stellar Sophomore Album" - NY Post
-"Island Life is a sizzling jam session." - Wall Street Journal
-"Yerba Buena is uniting the polyglot of New York City into a joyful, partying, sexy and smart voice. What could be more American" - AP
- "cutting-edge music for urban sophisticates who have tropical fever rushing through their bodies"-Newsday
-"(4 Stars) Yerba Buena's sophomore effort is even funkier, funnier, hipper and more exhilarating than its debut.. something so new all you can do is smile and ride the beats. It's a global party, papí" - Miami Herald
-"When you're talking multi-culti, you're talking Yerba Buena. masterful... terrific... the summer's most fun disc." - Providence Phoenix
- "If a secret fountain of fun exists, producer Andres Levin has found it and is hoarding it for himself and his band Yerba Buena. . Every song enters your veins, raises your heart rate, and spurs your feet to movement " - Miami New Times
- "shows how deep the Latin roots of the Big Apple really are. Yerba Buena's latest endeavor is perfect summertime listening"- BBC "The World"
- "What Yerba Buena has achieved over the span of three years is nothing short of breathtaking... , Island Life boasts a dizzying array of dance rhythms like cumbia, funk and salsa, but it's how they're brought together under one roof that is so impressive,,a freewheeling, boisterous record" -Eye Weekly (Toronto)
- "thick with a funk that never lets up...The concept that runs through the record: maintain one's dignity within the urban jungle while still remaining relevant and sexy as hell".- NY Press

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Keywords: Club/Dance; Int'l & World Music; Latin Pop; Pop; Reggae; Salsa;

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Woman In White (2004 London Cast)

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Futures

Cast Recording;

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Customer Review:

4.5 Stars for Andrew Lloyd Webber's latest attempt

ALW, one of mine and many other's favorite musical composer, has written a new, but not completely original, mega-musical. First of, if you did not like the Phantom of the Opera, JC Superstar, Evita, and/or Aspects of Love, this is not for you.

Many of his songs here are derivative of his other musicals, most notably from Aspects of Love. "I Believe my Heart, "for instance, though beautiful, is reminiscent of Aspects of Love's "Seeing is Believing," but the score is nonetheless quite good (especially if you don't think about his previous works as you listen). Many parts (as the Prologue) are dark and mysterious, which add to the drama, as does POTO's "I Remember There Was Myst..." It is almost entirely sung, as is POTO, which draws the question whether ALW is too shy to compose operas, for many of his works can easily transfer to the lyric opera genre. That, however, is beside the point, but is part of another relevant inquiry.

The character development in this musical is considerably better than in other ALW works. We really learn the motivations of Marian, Laura, Fosco and Walter. The music conveys each character, and there are leitmotifs (sort of) for certain characters and themes; therefore, in the sense of putting the right music to the right context, ALW does a superb job.

The singing could almost not be better, considering this is still technically of the "musical theatre" genre. The strongest singing comes from Jill Paice's Laura. Maria Friedman's Marian and Martin Crewes's Walter are not far. Oliver Darley as Glyde has a beautiful tenor voice but a small role in comparison with Michael Crawford's Fosco. We remember Michael Crawford, with his nasal and technique-lacking singing, as the first Phantom. Here he is better vocally (but not close to the others) and very good dramatically (or comically), as always.

My only real complaint is the choice of instruments for this recording. The electric keyboard dominates many parts of the score, with "I Believe My Heart" first coming to mind. It makes those parts sound popish, dull, childish, and just weird. Otherwise, however, this particular recording of this musical (currently the only one) has interesting and catchy music, a very good plot, and very good singing and acting. I give it a 4.5 due to its derivative composition of Webber's earlier works (at least they are HIS own works he is copying!!!). If you are Webber fan, you won't be disapointed but rather pleased with this new soon-to-be mega-musical.

Perfect!!!!!

The Woman in White is fantasic! The music is similar to that of the musical The Secret Garden. Angela Christian(AnneCatherick)'s voice is similar to that of Ruthie Henshall(Fantine-Les Mis The Dream Cast in Concert). The performance given by the actors and actresses is phenomenal!The Woman in White will keep you on the edge of your seat and having eager to solve the mystery along with Walter Hartright and Marian Halcombe. If you love gothic musicals and musicals based on classic literature you'll LOVE The Woman in White!!!!!!

Boring! Boring! Boring!

What is going on on this CD? It almost seems there's no key change on the score, it constantly plays in B-oring! And to think that at this point Amazon offers it together with Light in the Piazza, which IS musical theatre!

The one star I gave was only given, because I had to rate this crap!

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Keywords: Cast Recordings; Music Theater; Musical Theater; Pop; Showtunes / B'way; Soundtracks;

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Classic Disney: 60 Years of Musical Magic

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Futures

Box set;

Import;

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Customer Review:

Disney Magic

I love this box set that I purchased. I received it within the time period that I was told I would. I took it into work and my co-workers loved it. We all sang along to the songs (weird I know) Thank you so much for you service!

C'est un bon choix à un bon prix

Comme tout produit Disney, la qualité est bonne. Il y a parfois des variations du niveau d'enregistrement entre différentes pièces mais hormis ce détail, c'est un bel ensemble. Il y a parfois certaines longueurs car certaines pièces contiennent une partie du dialogue du film ou une trop longue introduction musicale, mais cela n'enlève rien à la qualité et à la diversité de cet ensemble. Vous pouvez acheter chacun des 5 CD individuellement mais si vous aimez cette musique, je vous conseille d'acheter l'ensemble qui revient réellement moins cher. Personnellement, je préfère les CD #1 et #2 mais d'autres personnes pourraient préférer le #3, le #4 ou le #5. Comme toutes les pièces sont identifiées, achetez celui qui vous convient.

Excellent quality; all original performers

If you're looking for some Disney to bring back some great memories, don't look any further than this boxed set. All original performers - even Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke! These songs are taken right out of the movies so if you're expecting to hear for example, Phil Collins singing "Circle of Life" this isn't it!

I'm thirtysomething and love all the "oldies". I bought this so my 6 month old daughter can grow up listening to the real thing! I coldn't be happier with these cds.

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Keywords: Adult Contemporary; Box Sets (Audio Only); Children's; Childrens; Film Music; Musicals; Original Score; Pop; Pop/Rock; Show Tunes; Soundtrack; Soundtracks; Traditional Pop; Vocal Pop;

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