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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I had been acquainted with John Adams' wonderful instrumental music before, but never heard any of his famous operas like Nixon in China or The Death of Klinghoffer.
Attracted by the plot as described in a Wikipedia entry about Adams, I was looking ahead to receive this disc.
While being part of a Naxos series in "American Opera Classics", this is far from being actually an opera, as the sleeve notes also point out.
And I agree with them in defining it as a pop album,depicting in a series of sharp songs and duets the different characters, all young persons living in Los Angeles problematic melting pot, that combine the story, if there ever is one. Sustaining this pop album, though, is the supreme ability of Adams in a wide array of musical languages, and in the longest piece, N°19 " Duet in the middle of terrible duress" his mastership of serious "high " music is at last patent.
You'll find soul, rock, jazz,gospel and much more, all presented by a nice group of mainly german singers and players ( no real orchestra here, but a small band without any strings).
Above all , is that great american attitude which embraces "high" and pop music with the same pragmatic look, something that was started by Leonard Bernstein ( see his video on american music from the vintage tv series of Young People's Concerts with the NY Phil).
Attracted by the plot as described in a Wikipedia entry about Adams, I was looking ahead to receive this disc.
While being part of a Naxos series in "American Opera Classics", this is far from being actually an opera, as the sleeve notes also point out.
And I agree with them in defining it as a pop album,depicting in a series of sharp songs and duets the different characters, all young persons living in Los Angeles problematic melting pot, that combine the story, if there ever is one. Sustaining this pop album, though, is the supreme ability of Adams in a wide array of musical languages, and in the longest piece, N°19 " Duet in the middle of terrible duress" his mastership of serious "high " music is at last patent.
You'll find soul, rock, jazz,gospel and much more, all presented by a nice group of mainly german singers and players ( no real orchestra here, but a small band without any strings).
Above all , is that great american attitude which embraces "high" and pop music with the same pragmatic look, something that was started by Leonard Bernstein ( see his video on american music from the vintage tv series of Young People's Concerts with the NY Phil).
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I found this oddball opera or whatever it is so awful I can't bear to even give it a second chance. No, sorry, it's going straight to the charity shop. Otherwise I'm a bit of a John Adams nut and have so far purchased Harmonielehre, Hoodoo Zephyr, Naive and Sentimental Music, Gnarly Buttons, Harmonium, Shaker Loops, Century Rolls, Road Movies. The man writes the most wonderful, the most exuberant, uplifting music. So vibrant, so full of New World optimism.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
I was Looking at the Ceiling - Comment
26 Jun 2007
Format:Audio CD
Adams shows great versitility in this piece. There are entertaining references to American musicals. The music is, simply, fun to listen too. The voices are excellent, the production is well executed. It has an interesting plot, attractive characters, tunes you can whistle (almost) - what more can you want?
6 of 11 people found the following review helpful
This is Not Classical Music; It's Also Not Very Good Pop Music
10 Nov 2005
Format:Audio CD
I admire John Adams immeasurably -- I think his 'Harmonielehre,' for instance, is truly a masterpiece -- although I've had some questions about some of his compositions. Many people think his cantata 'El Niño' is terrific. I think it's claptrap. And this one, I'm sorry to say, is much worse. It is lousy pop music, quasi Broadway, and although it shows that Adams can compose music in several pop styles -- gospel, soul, r&b, blues rock, et al. -- none of it sounds very good. The combo that accompanies the singers sounds like someone's garage band. The pop singers in this recording are primarily European and their accents -- although some are fairly good -- are often jarringly European in what is quintessentially American music.
I freely admit that as an old geezer, I'm not particularly fond of the past twenty-five years of American pop music, and you must take that into account when considering my opinion here. But for those of you who are expecting something along the lines of Adams's better-known works, including his operas, this one is a real shocker. Be warned.
Scott Morrison
I freely admit that as an old geezer, I'm not particularly fond of the past twenty-five years of American pop music, and you must take that into account when considering my opinion here. But for those of you who are expecting something along the lines of Adams's better-known works, including his operas, this one is a real shocker. Be warned.
Scott Morrison
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