CD-Charts Position 1
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Jonathan Dove: Flight

Search: Trouble Me
from: Chandos

Release Date May 25, 2004
I was introduced to Jonathan Dove's music when I saw this opera a few years ago, and while I have not heard this particular recording aside from the cuts available on amazon's site, I whole heartedly recommend it.

There are many modern operas that do not lend themselves to the theatre. The composers have little knowledge about what makes good theatre. Jonathan Dove is the antithesis to all these composers. He knows how to tell a story and make us care about what is going on. "Flight" is an incredibly magical opera--so rare nowadays--because is really works in the theatre. There have been many comparisons made about Dove's music. One can definitely hear his influences--Adams, Bernstein, Sondheim--but he is certainly a man with ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
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Incomparable Alfredo Kraus

Search: Trouble Me
from: Polygram Records

Release Date June 13, 1995
Our group had just finished a concert in which I had sung a solo. A fellow tenor, somewhat younger than I, said to me, "I hope I can still reach those high notes when I am as old as you are." I was 45 at the time. And, WOW, here is Alfredo Kraus at 67, popping off the high C's from La fille du regiment, as if they were no more than F sharps!
"A Customer" called Kraus "the BEST tenor in last 50 years," which may well be somewhat an overstatement. The last half of the twentieth century saw a number of great tenors--Bjoerling, Tucker, Peerce, Carreras, Pavarotti, Domingo. And Alfredo Kraus can stand with any of them. He is definitely ONE of the greatest!
This recording exemplifies why he fits in the great category. Standouts are ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
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Nat King Cole

Search: Trouble Me
by: Nat King Cole

Release Date January 27, 1998
Our group had just finished a concert in which I had sung a solo. A fellow tenor, somewhat younger than I, said to me, "I hope I can still reach those high notes when I am as old as you are." I was 45 at the time. And, WOW, here is Alfredo Kraus at 67, popping off the high C's from La fille du regiment, as if they were no more than F sharps!
"A Customer" called Kraus "the BEST tenor in last 50 years," which may well be somewhat an overstatement. The last half of the twentieth century saw a number of great tenors--Bjoerling, Tucker, Peerce, Carreras, Pavarotti, Domingo. And Alfredo Kraus can stand with any of them. He is definitely ONE of the greatest!
This recording exemplifies why he fits in the great category. Standouts are ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

Makin' Whopee

Search: Trouble Me
by: Nat King Cole

Release Date
Our group had just finished a concert in which I had sung a solo. A fellow tenor, somewhat younger than I, said to me, "I hope I can still reach those high notes when I am as old as you are." I was 45 at the time. And, WOW, here is Alfredo Kraus at 67, popping off the high C's from La fille du regiment, as if they were no more than F sharps!
"A Customer" called Kraus "the BEST tenor in last 50 years," which may well be somewhat an overstatement. The last half of the twentieth century saw a number of great tenors--Bjoerling, Tucker, Peerce, Carreras, Pavarotti, Domingo. And Alfredo Kraus can stand with any of them. He is definitely ONE of the greatest!
This recording exemplifies why he fits in the great category. Standouts are ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

Mona Lisa

Search: Trouble Me
by: Nat King Cole

Release Date November 07, 2005
Our group had just finished a concert in which I had sung a solo. A fellow tenor, somewhat younger than I, said to me, "I hope I can still reach those high notes when I am as old as you are." I was 45 at the time. And, WOW, here is Alfredo Kraus at 67, popping off the high C's from La fille du regiment, as if they were no more than F sharps!
"A Customer" called Kraus "the BEST tenor in last 50 years," which may well be somewhat an overstatement. The last half of the twentieth century saw a number of great tenors--Bjoerling, Tucker, Peerce, Carreras, Pavarotti, Domingo. And Alfredo Kraus can stand with any of them. He is definitely ONE of the greatest!
This recording exemplifies why he fits in the great category. Standouts are ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Unforgettable

Search: Trouble Me
by: Nat King Cole

Release Date August 07, 2006
Our group had just finished a concert in which I had sung a solo. A fellow tenor, somewhat younger than I, said to me, "I hope I can still reach those high notes when I am as old as you are." I was 45 at the time. And, WOW, here is Alfredo Kraus at 67, popping off the high C's from La fille du regiment, as if they were no more than F sharps!
"A Customer" called Kraus "the BEST tenor in last 50 years," which may well be somewhat an overstatement. The last half of the twentieth century saw a number of great tenors--Bjoerling, Tucker, Peerce, Carreras, Pavarotti, Domingo. And Alfredo Kraus can stand with any of them. He is definitely ONE of the greatest!
This recording exemplifies why he fits in the great category. Standouts are ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

Cool Cole

Search: Trouble Me
by: Nat King Cole

Release Date September 19, 2005
For the money, this is as good of a box set as you are going to find. All of the trio's hits are here - - more to the point, the collection is a document of Cole at the height of his powers. It's stylish, urbane and superbly performed.

This is an import for Amazon, and it appears from the Penguin Jazz Record Guide that it is going out of print. So if you are thinking about buying it, I'd buy it as soon as possible. You won't regret it.

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

King Bee

Search: Trouble Me
by: Muddy Waters

Release Date February 01, 2008
The last of Muddy Waters' four Blue Sky albums is often considered the least as well, but you wouldn't know it listening to this superbly remastered and expanded reissue.

Originally issued in 1981, "King Bee" was recorded at a time when Muddy Waters, then 65, was slowing down because of health problems, and his band was losing money because they were gigging less, finally causing them to quit en masse.
Guitarist Bob Margolin's candid liner notes are much more brief and a lot less jolly than the warm and often humorous mini-essays he wrote for the reissues of "Hard Again" and "I'm Ready", and while his fondness for Muddy Waters is very obvious, it is equally obvious that he did not have a good time recording this album, Muddy Waters' ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

Collection: Hard Again / I'm Ready / King Bee

Search: Trouble Me
by: Muddy Waters

Release Date April 05, 2005
Back in the late 70's Johnnie Winters pulled Muddy Waters out of semi-retirement to record three great CD's on the Blue Sky label. When back in the studio Muddy noted that it made him feel so good that it made him 'Hard Again', hence the title for the first and best CD of the series. All are recordings using a live to tape method, which suites the blues and in particular Muddy extremely well. The backing band is excellent, sound quality is outstanding and Muddy is top of form. Each CD has a slightly different feel and each in the set gets a little weaker then the previous. This is relatively speaking given that Hard Again is easily one Muddy's best albums and one of the top ten blues CD's ever made - seriously good stuff. If you can only afford one, buy ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

The Collection: Hard Again/I'm Ready/King Bee

Search: Trouble Me
by: Muddy Waters

Release Date November 15, 2005
Back in the late 70's Johnnie Winters pulled Muddy Waters out of semi-retirement to record three great CD's on the Blue Sky label. When back in the studio Muddy noted that it made him feel so good that it made him 'Hard Again', hence the title for the first and best CD of the series. All are recordings using a live to tape method, which suites the blues and in particular Muddy extremely well. The backing band is excellent, sound quality is outstanding and Muddy is top of form. Each CD has a slightly different feel and each in the set gets a little weaker then the previous. This is relatively speaking given that Hard Again is easily one Muddy's best albums and one of the top ten blues CD's ever made - seriously good stuff. If you can only afford one, buy ... Read More: