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Bill
Withers - Just As I Am
Sussex Records/Speakers Corner Reviewed by JK
Most of us have at least heard Bill Withers Greatest Hits; it contains
more rhythm and blues masterpieces than any single artist has a right
to have produced. 1971’s Just As I Am was his debut album and a
hard earned one at that. Withers was in the army and worked installing
toilet seats on jet planes before he finally got his break with a small
record label named after an English county.
This doesn’t sound like a debut because it is backed up by years
of song writing and a mature, soulful voice that is honest and warm. This
is a superb album for the quality of songs, singing and a backing band
that contained Stephen Stills (guitar), Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn
(bass) and Jim Keltner (drums) among others.
The only greatest hit on here is ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’
which is all you need really but there isn’t a weak track in the
ten on offer. These include Fred Neill’s ‘Everybody’s
Talking’ (made famous by Harry Nilsson in Midnight Cowboy) and Lennon/
McCartney’s ‘Let It Be’. Gil Scott Heron’s was
the first interpretation of ‘Grandma’s Hands’ that I
heard, but it’s a Withers number and has even more soul in his hands.
This is a beautiful sounding LP and Speakers Corner has done a superb
job as ever.
Bill’s Greatest Hits sounds pale by comparison.
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Verdi:
La Traviata
Moffo, Tucker, Merrill, Previtali / Rome Opera Orchestra & Chorus
RCA Living Stereo 82876 82623 2 Reviewed by RP
La Traviata and the role of the courtesan, Violetta, is a testing
one for any soprano demanding differing degrees of vocal style and dexterity
required in each of its three Acts. A dramatic soprano is needed for the
closing rites in the deathbed melodrama; a lyrical one is heard during
the second stanza machinations and a contemplative approach in the singing
of the opening love scene at Violetta’s house is simply a given.
Here, Anna Moffo gives us a secure and sweetly delivered performance.
The intensity however is generated more by Fernando Previtali’s
baton which crisply and energetically drives the Rome Opera House musicians
onwards, rather than through the temperament of the female lead. Tenor
Richard Tucker as the lover, Alfredo, gives us one of his finest performances
and the ever-reliable baritone Robert Merrill is wonderfully consistent
as Alfredo’s father. Overall, this is not an earth shattering or
life changing production, but it can easily be recommended despite the
quality of the competition, not least because the Spanish Interlude, which
is sometimes cut, has been included here. The recording (another virtue)
is detailed and articulate, with the vocal parts enjoying great clarity
and a fine sense of Hall ambience.
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Joan
Baez - Joan Baez
Vanguard Stereolab / PurePleasure Reviewed by JK
For many in the UK, Joan Baez was until recently just a name from the
sixties, her voice rarely heard, but the interest in and documentaries
of Bob Dylan’s folk period have raised her profile. This debut from
1960 was quite a revelation on its release as Baez at nineteen was by
far the youngest female voice on the new folk scene. Her voice is still
startling in its purity and sincerity today. There is an ernestness and
honesty which is rarely heard, one is tempted to call it naiveté,
but the fact that the songs, which are largely covers, tell of terrible
trials and tribulations, and the fact that Baez was to become a stalwart
of the protest movement should contradict such a notion. Tracks include
an uncannily pure voiced ‘House of the Rising Sun’ with simple
acoustic guitar accompaniment.
Another fresh interpretation, to these ears at least, is ‘East Virginia’,
a song that the Grateful Dead had a go at some ten or so years later.
There are some spectacular tracks on this excellent pressing, ‘All
My Trials’ being perhaps the most revealing of her vocal talent.
The sound is impressive given the vintage but it is not actually stereo.
It turns out that PP got the sleeves printed before discovering that the
stereo tape was in a bad way. Fortunately the mono print survives, but
Stereolab is something of a misnomer.
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Sibelius:
The Seven Symphonies Violin Concerto
Kennedy (vln), CBSO, Rattle Reviewed by JMH
Sibelius:
Fifth Symphony, Night Ride And Sunrise
Philharmonia, Rattle
EMI 5 00753-2 Reviewed by JMH
This boxed set brings together all the Sibelius recordings made by Simon
Rattle during the early 1980s. It includes the Seven Symphonies with the
CBSO, plus the earlier (1981) recording of the fifth symphony (and Night
Ride and Sunrise) with the Philharmonia. I bought the individual CDs when
they were first released (Rattle’s was one of the first Sibelius
cycles on CD), but at the time harboured reservations about the tonal
thinness/brightness of the early digital recordings – in particular,
Symphonies 1 and 2. The set has not been re-mastered, and comparing these
new transfers of the CBSO recordings to the originals there’s not
much difference - a slight increase in cleanliness, and marginally greater
instrumental richness and tonal warmth. There’s more improvement
with the Philharmonia recordings – the new transfers producing a
bigger weightier sound than my original German Polygram CD. Incidentally,
I still prefer the broader more expansively played Philharmonia 5th to
the leaner, faster CBSO version. Certainly, these recordings now sound
much better today than they did 20 or so years ago, and at times the sound
is impressively brilliant and detailed. Rattle’s accounts are quite
fiery, with keen orchestral playing and plenty of ardour. I still find
the conclusion to the First Symphony’s Scherzo hasty and rushed,
but this is an isolated misdemeanour.
Not having heard it for many years, I was thrilled to reencounter Nigel
Kennedy’s searing performance of this most difficult of Violin Concertos
once again. He plays it with real passion, and is equal to all its many
and varied technical demands. It serves as a perhaps timely reminder of
a genuine talent that seems in danger of submerging beneath the image
and hype that surround it. The boy could certainly play.
Another highlight is the taut yet atmospherically playing that characterises
the Philharmonia’s account of Night Ride and Sunrise – surely
one of Sibelius’ most original orchestral pieces. At its special
price (you can expect to pay well under £20 when discounted) this
set is a real bargain and not to be missed, if more for the performances
than the sound quality per se.
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Rossini:
La Cenerentola
Bartoli, Dara, Matteuzi, Corbelli, Pertusi – Chailly / Teatro Comunale
Bologna
Decca 436 902-2 Reviewed by DS
If you are interested in Rossini’s operatic work, this is the opera
to start with. If you are interested in enjoying the most complete recording
of this opera, this is the release to have. As simple as that. Back in
June 1992, Riccardo Chailly, arguably the most incurable perfectionist
among modern conductors, assembled a stellar cast for this production,
using the often underrated, but nevertheless excellent orchestra and chorus
from the Teatro Comunale in Bologna. Cecilia Bartoli is by far the best
Angelina (Cenerentola) of modern times, while Enzo Dara (Don Magnifico)
is sublime and inspired, William Mateuzzi (Don Ramiro) a pure virtuoso,
joined by the equally brilliant Alessandro Corbelli (Dandini) and Michele
Pertusi (Alidoro).
What, however, makes this recording so special goes well beyond the individual
abilities of each soloist. It is the unique and unsurpassed emotional
and vocal cohesion as well as the musical joy radiating from every single
aria throughout both acts! Christopher Raeburn, Bartoli’s loyal
Decca producer brought us an extremely realistic, three-dimensional and
perfectly balanced recording which will, while putting audio systems to
the test (a test they may well fail) only make you listen to this La Cenerentola
again and again.
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