CD-Charts Position 101
Average Rating:

When Love Speaks

CD-Charts > Music > Poetry- Spoken Word and Interviews
by: Various Artists

Release Date April 23, 2002
This cd has made my drive to work so pleasant! Though there are admittedly, a few songs I usually skip, I feel nearly religious about how wonderful the readings on this cd are, and find myself bringing up out of thin air during random conversations.

For me, the stand out pieces are "Shall I compare thee..." which is sung so beautifully, "Sweet love doth now invite..." (which, I saw that Sting has now recorded on his new album but it is a little dry), Juliette Stevenson's wonderful playfulness with her sonnet, Fiona Shaw's reading, and Ralph Fiennes' piece where his voice is full of sharp intensity.

My seven year old has that one memorized. It is something to hear.

I've also recommended this cd to people ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 102
Average Rating:

Cosmix

CD-Charts > Music > Poetry- Spoken Word and Interviews
by: Ram Dass & Kriece

Release Date August 12, 2008
I was so happy to hear of a new project from Ram Dass, so I ordered an early copy. So glad I did...I love listening to it while doing yoga, or just hanging out and dancing around with my little son.

Hearing the wisdom of Ram Dass' spoken words reminds me of his simple teachings, without feeling like I'm listening to a self help book on tape! I'm intrigued enough to want to learn more about his teachings, and have been checking it out at ramdass.org

On some tracks, the music is funky enough to energize a little bit, while others have a lite trippy, spacey feeling. I like Mantra, Stuck and Breath Inside the Breath the most; there are 10 tracks in all, PLUS it is enhanced with a 10-minute video of Ram Dass & Timothy ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 103
Average Rating:

The Grand Prix of Gibraltar

CD-Charts > Music > Poetry- Spoken Word and Interviews
by: Peter Ustinov

Release Date August 19, 2003
Just for a second imagine there is a race around the rock of Gibraltar... and that we're back in the 50s when racing cars still looked like cars. Well, sort of.
That was Peter Ustinov's fabulous idea as he went into a Manhattan studio to record this gem. He finished it in one day, without script.

All the sounds, from the farting Alfa Romeos and the other sputtering engines over the reporters (UK and US), drivers, engineers, klaxons, bands playing, all of that is Peter Ustinov: INCREDIBLE!!! (with just one or two exceptions like a hammer knocking on a metal plate)

Mr. Ustinov obviously was a fan of racing. You don't need to be one to love this: with his humor he turns the event into a treat for us all.
The accents ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 104
Average Rating:

James Earl Jones Reads the Bible, Deluxe Edition, KJV

CD-Charts > Music > Poetry- Spoken Word and Interviews
by: James Earl Jones

Release Date March 01, 2006
I have to be honest - James Earl Jones has read more Bible to me than I ever read on my own. And you can listen to the Bible while you're multi-tasking. James Earl Jones has a fantastic voice and there are no extraneous choirs or music in the background. The only negative I can add has already been pointed out by other reviewers. This collection covers the New Testament only. I was kind of hoping to get the Old Testament too but, based on what's out there now, I can wait until James Earls Jones reads the Old Testament

CD-Charts Position 105
Average Rating:

Paradise Lost

CD-Charts > Music > Poetry- Spoken Word and Interviews
from: Naxos Audiobooks

Release Date March 21, 1995
Unbelievably inspiring. I challenge you to compare his reading with any one else's or your own in your head. He makes it alive. Not perfect, mind you. You'll find yourself suggesting to him in certain spots that he missed the meaning by putting some emphasis or other on the wrong words. Nevertheless, you know you couldn't do better overall. A real treasure.

CD-Charts Position 106
Average Rating:

A World Without Gravity : The Best Of The Jim Carroll Band

CD-Charts > Music > Poetry- Spoken Word and Interviews
by: Jim Carroll

Release Date August 17, 1993
I have been a huge fan of Jim Carroll since I was 15. Every song on the CD rocks. A truly gifted songwriter and poet.

CD-Charts Position 107
Average Rating:

Howl and Other Poems

CD-Charts > Music > Poetry- Spoken Word and Interviews
by: Allen Ginsberg

Release Date March 25, 1998
Don't get me wrong. I attended 3 readings by Allen Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky at Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusettes in the late 1970's and even recorded "Contest of the Bards" and handed him a copy of it at his request,... I 'absolutely' consider his oratory style of delivery and poetic verse and style amazing and brilliant and so very very entertaining and inspiring.. but the 'greatest' epic poem or poet of his century I just can't agree with. Gary Snyder made such an impact with introducing the marriage of Zen and the Orient into modern poetry style of his day (as Vincent vanGogh and Gauguin did in painting in the Expressionest era in painting/art), and Gary's poems of the passing of a day's events are so brilliant and open and revealing, and Jack ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 108
Average Rating:

Mark Twain Tonight (Original Cast)

CD-Charts > Music > Poetry- Spoken Word and Interviews
by: Hal Holbrook, Hal Holbrook

Release Date January 08, 2002
I saw "Mark Twain Tonight!" with the "original cast," as Hal Holbrook is still doing his quintessential one-man show. That would be well over 2,000 times since he first essayed the role of Mark Twain in 1959. That was also the year that the first of three record albums capturing his performance was released. Now, what you have to understand is that Holbrook has sixty-six separate selections that he can work into a given performance. When you see him perform, you can expect a third of them to show up. If you had all three records then you would have the equivalent of a full performance of "Mark Twain Tonight!" but that would still not be even half of what is out there.

In case you were wondering, here is what was on those original albums. "Hal ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 109
Average Rating:

Meditations for Weight Loss

CD-Charts > Music > Poetry- Spoken Word and Interviews
by: Allen Holmquist

Release Date August 05, 1997
I have not tried meditation for weight loss before, so this is my first attempt using meditation with a guided CD. I find the CD to be very helpful. I get anxious when i'm confronted with food, which often sabotages me more than anything else. This CD helps me relax, by listening to it before i'm confronted with a lot of food. The one line sayings in each meditation stick in my brain, and I definitely find that I am more mindful of what I eat. It helps me feel more in control. Meditations are easy to listen to, and most are relatively short for someone who is busy. Even the 6 minute meditation is very helpful, and even the busiest of people should be able to fit it in. It was very relaxing and I come out of it feeling refreshed.

CD-Charts Position 110
Average Rating:

Very Best of Goons

CD-Charts > Music > Poetry- Spoken Word and Interviews
by: Goons, Spike Milligan

Release Date April 13, 2005
I am an old English geezer who listened to the Goon Show on Auntie Beeb when it was first airing. It corrupted a whole generation of children, mostly boys though, I think.

The disappointment with this album is that only two of the three CDs contain actual shows -- the third is a collection of songs and other idiocy by Spike Milligan. Not that I'm against idiocy, in fact I'm all for it, but I wanted the shows.

I'd say that at least two of the show episodes on this set are top notch, and the others average in quality.

Dick Jackson