CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Cats (1981 Original London Cast)

by: T. S. Eliot, Trevor Nunn, Richard Stilgoe

Release Date October 12, 1998
A good musical, yet not the greatest by Lloyd Webber. Actually, the song "Memory" is the only one in our memories. The rest seems to me quite average. We should have in mind that a few years later Webber wrote wonderful songs for each one of his musicals: PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, SUNSET BOULEVARD and the unfortunate WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND, besides his previous masterpiece, JESUSCHRIST SUPERSTAR, with almost an entire collection of classical and marvelous songs. I saw CATS in Broadway back in 1992 and I saw it again last year here in Chile: I guess some cats were left on the plane on their way down here because the southamerican tour production looked quite poor compared to the Broadway version. It was shown in a huge arena and in a frontal stage, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

Violin, Sing the Blues for Me: African-American Fiddlers 1926-1949

by: Lonnie Johnson, Howard Armstrong, Mississippi Sheiks, Memphis Jug Band, Will Batts, Andrew Baxter, Jim Baxter, Tommie Bradley, James Cole, Louie Bluie, Whistler's Jug Band

Release Date August 24, 1999
Inspired by my recent review of Sam Ku West's cd of Hawaiian steel guitar from 1927 and '28, and his version of Memphis Blues contained therein, I decided I need to review this disc which contains a killer Memphis Blues by the Mobile Strugglers.

What you get here is a very fine collection of mostly pre-war fiddle musics, covering a wide range of styles and abilities. From the abysmal toned, a-rhythmic atrocity of Alma Waltz (the very rare bad track) by the Mississippi Mudsteppers at the low end of the spectrum, to the bluesy drawl of Broonzy's fiddle, all the way up to the utter brilliance of the great Lonnie Johnson.

Still, the lesser-knowns are what this is about. Sure the titles of this and the "Folks, He..." disc put the emphasis ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

Folks, He Sure Do Pull Some Bow! Vintage Fiddle Music 1927-1935: Blues, Jazz, Stomps, Shuffles & Rags

by: Big Bill Broonzy, Charlie Pierce, Andrew Baxter, Clifford Hayes, Bubbling-Over Five, Memphis Jug Band, Mississippi Sheiks, Peg Leg Howell, Frank Stokes, Big Joe Williams, Agusto Abreu

Release Date March 27, 2001
Like Old Hat's other compilations, this one is superb. The remastering is sufficiently clear and the liner notes are a joy to read. Know though that it highlights the use of the fiddle in African American music in the 1920's and 1930's. As the album cover states, the songs span the range from blues to jazz to jug band to even old time string band. Overall, it is a fascinating history lesson.

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

Cats: Original Cast Recording (1981 Original London Cast)

from: Decca Broadway

Release Date November 14, 2005
A good musical, yet not the greatest by Lloyd Webber. Actually, the song "Memory" is the only one in our memories. The rest seems to me quite average. We should have in mind that a few years later Webber wrote wonderful songs for each one of his musicals: PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, SUNSET BOULEVARD and the unfortunate WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND, besides his previous masterpiece, JESUSCHRIST SUPERSTAR, with almost an entire collection of classical and marvelous songs. I saw CATS in Broadway back in 1992 and I saw it again last year here in Chile: I guess some cats were left on the plane on their way down here because the southamerican tour production looked quite poor compared to the Broadway version. It was shown in a huge arena and in a frontal stage, quite different to the half-circled ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

She's Lookin' Good

by: Mitch Palmer, Hash Brown, Terry Montgomery, Bobby Baranowski

Release Date 1997
A good musical, yet not the greatest by Lloyd Webber. Actually, the song "Memory" is the only one in our memories. The rest seems to me quite average. We should have in mind that a few years later Webber wrote wonderful songs for each one of his musicals: PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, SUNSET BOULEVARD and the unfortunate WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND, besides his previous masterpiece, JESUSCHRIST SUPERSTAR, with almost an entire collection of classical and marvelous songs. I saw CATS in Broadway back in 1992 and I saw it again last year here in Chile: I guess some cats were left on the plane on their way down here because the southamerican tour production looked quite poor compared to the Broadway version. It was shown in a huge arena and in a frontal stage, quite different to the half-circled ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Julius Baker, Limited Edition, Vol. 2

from: Titanic

Release Date June 28, 2005
A good musical, yet not the greatest by Lloyd Webber. Actually, the song "Memory" is the only one in our memories. The rest seems to me quite average. We should have in mind that a few years later Webber wrote wonderful songs for each one of his musicals: PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, SUNSET BOULEVARD and the unfortunate WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND, besides his previous masterpiece, JESUSCHRIST SUPERSTAR, with almost an entire collection of classical and marvelous songs. I saw CATS in Broadway back in 1992 and I saw it again last year here in Chile: I guess some cats were left on the plane on their way down here because the southamerican tour production looked quite poor compared to the Broadway version. It was shown in a huge arena and in a frontal stage, quite different to the half-circled ... Read More: