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The UFO Has Landed: the Ry Cooder Anthology

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Composers
by: Ry Cooder

November 03, 2008
Ry Cooder is one of the most wonderful guitarists on the planet.Anyone looking to play guitar should listen to him,because when it comes to tone,to texture and beautiful playing he's among the very best there is.The rave over Stevie Ray's,Hendrix,et all as great as they are no question of that RC is a master of his art.This anthology has a wonderful range of varying styles from a whole range of his albums right upto his 2008 release I Flathead,and it's all fabulous stuff,no fillers here at all.listen to the texture in his film scores like Paris Texas,or his take on Johnny Cash's Get Rhythm to the wonderful unreleased track Let's Get Together.You get 34 tracks for your money,all put together by his son Joachim,plus notes by the man himself.This ... Read More:

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Buena Vista Social Club

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Composers
by: Buena Vista Social Club, Ry Cooder

June 09, 1997
When the lights came up in the cinema where we saw Wim Wenders' movie of the same name, we saw grown adults weeping. This is more than a band, it is a musical phenomenon. Such a synergy is rare in this day and age, and the vibe on this album is just fantastic.

Buy it and weep, because you have missed your chance to ever see or hear Ruben Gonzales, Compay Segundo or Ibrahim Ferrer playing live with the band again, but the remaining members still tour and the band is organic, progressing through the years with younger, equally talented musicians, so if you see a gig advertised and can get to it, don't miss it! This album has changed many lives...

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Gladiator: Special Anniversary Edition

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Composers
by: Hans Zimmer

September 05, 2005
Despite the plagiarism of Wagner (Siegfried's Funeral March) and Holst (Mars) this is an astonishing soundtrack.

Dr BeeClarke.

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Hannibal

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Composers
from: Universal Classics

March 11, 2002
There are few occasions these days where music will take your emotions to the depths of despair and up to the highest cloud and back before the album is finished. Mostly this happens in film soundtracks and Hannibal is easily one of the finest. There is humour, sadness, heart-pounding atmosphere and some pieces that will make your heart sing and sent your soul alight as the finest music does, and should.
The highlight of the album is Vide cor Meum by Patrick Cassidy - the album is worth buying for this alone. When I first watched the film I became determined to discover which great opera that piece was from, not realising that it was written specially for the film. Rarely will you find a piece of music that makes you want to simply sit back, ... Read More:

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Band of Brothers (Kamen)

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Composers
by: Michael Kamen

October 08, 2001
If you liked the series you will love the sound track. You will end up in a world of your own plus it's so relaxing just make sure you don't leave the kettle on!

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Vaughan Williams: Fantasia On Christmas Carols, Hodie

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Composers
from: British Composers

October 02, 2000
I bought this a couple of years ago and return to it regularly - a sure sign of a good recording. I like the music of Vaughan Williams and this is a good example of his music. The Fantasia was a big surprise - its a lovely setting of some well known carols. John Barrow has a superb baritone voice. The Hodie takes a little more getting into but it is worth the effort. Both choirs and orchestra have good sounds. At this price you can't go wrong!

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Top Gun

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Composers
by: Original Soundtrack

April 02, 2001
Classic soundtrack. This album has everything. Kenny Loggins establishes himself as the master of powerful, catchy 80s cheese with the immense Danger Zone and fun-as-you-like Playing With The Boys. Berlin's Take My Breath Away is possibly THE greatest ballad of all time. Harold Faltermeyer's Top Gun Anthem is about as moving a piece of music can be. A must have.

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Book of Longing

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Composers
by: Philip Glass, Leonard Cohen

November 26, 2007
I wholeheartedly disagree with some of the reviewers who claim that Glass has provided the perfect setting for Cohen's later poetry. For one, Cohen on paper is not as great a poet as he is in song. In fact, his later poetry harks back a good deal to the poetry of the beats (Kerouac, Ginsberg, Ferlinghetti, etc) and is comparable to a great degree to the late, great Charles Bukowski, but not as good, in my opinion. The difference being that Bukowski had no choice but to immerse himself in a squalid existence, and write, as it were, inside the belly of the whale. Cohen, on the other hand, has always exuded real class, and he has a much higher-minded side to his character, so that i.e. in 'The Energy Of Slaves' when he writes of Valentina, that "I loved to creep ... Read More:

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I, Flathead

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Composers
by: Ry Cooder

June 23, 2008
If you like the recent crop of character fuelled narrative records from Ry, then this is for you.

Paints wonderful images with his lyrics and often profound emotions with his music. A true new world genius.

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The Dark Knight (Hans Zimmer/James Newton Howard)

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Composers
by: Hans Zimmer James Howard Newton

July 14, 2008
I bought this on a whim, just out of interest really, and didn't expect that I'd go back for repeated listens. On the one hand the score is quite predictably "Hollywood blockbuster"-ish with lots of big drums, urgent marcato strings and dark industrial synth sounds. But you get past that, and the vision of the score becomes clearer over repeated listens, and I began to find it a very satisfying piece of work, and as an album, feel that the narrative and coherence works really well: the album flows seamlessly. Recommended for children of darkness everywhere.

On a different note, some reviewers commented that the album leaves off some of the score - but the CD comes in at 73 minutes, so you can't really complain that you don't get your money's worth. Possibly a ... Read More: