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This feed is subject to our terms of use: http://www.epinions.com/help/rss_terms http://www.epinions.com/user-Pantagruel Recent reviews written by member Pantagruel en-us 121 37 http://www.epinions.com/ http://img.epinions.com/images/epi_images/logos/epinions_121.gif http://www.epinions.com/content_489487371908?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Pantagruel - The Greek playwright Sophocles’ masterpiece, Oedipus the King, which debuted around 430 B.C., is arguably one of the greatest plays ever written.  Though the action in Oedipus the King (sometimes titled Oedipus... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~489487371908 Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:45:16 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_489487371908?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_489292533380?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Pantagruel - The third of Frank Sinatra's torch albums he recorded for Capitol, Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely (also known simply as Only the Lonely) is sad bastard music in excelsis.  Almost every song on this 1958 album deals... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~489292533380 Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:34:07 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_489292533380?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_487774523012?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Pantagruel - During his career at Capitol Records in the 1950s, Frank Sinatra alternated between albums full of dour, woe-is-me string-laden ballads and snappy, toe-tapping big band treats.  That was about as extensive as the album themes were until he... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~487774523012 Sat, 10 Oct 2009 01:00:34 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_487774523012?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_486521605764?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Pantagruel - A Swingin' Affair! continued Frank Sinatra's effective collaboration with arranger Nelson Riddle on a set of 16 well known songs.  Like the studio album that proceeded it, Songs... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~486521605764 Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:58:59 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_486521605764?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_485873258116?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Pantagruel - Frank Sinatra's Songs for Swingin' Lovers! is the blueprint of cool.  Nelson Riddle provides snazzy big-band arrangements throughout this upbeat album but it is Sinatra's debonair vocal style that makes this a classic.  He sings of... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~485873258116 Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:39:00 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_485873258116?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_484129214084?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Pantagruel - Sure, Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker is a perennial Yuletide favourite, beloved by children and adults alike.  But I thought I'd see if this Christmastime ballet held as much appeal during the rest of the year as it does over the holidays... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~484129214084 Mon, 7 Sep 2009 20:13:18 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_484129214084?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_482546716292?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author Pantagruel - Although Betty Carter is not among my favorite jazz vocalists, I do find her originality refreshing.  She usually takes a song, gives it a few twists and turns with her breathy voice, and releases it as a new entity.  An example is the... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~482546716292 Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:55:15 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_482546716292?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_481982582404?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author Pantagruel - Recording a jazz vocal album seems like a straight-forward task.  Prominently feature the vocalist along with some strong musical accompaniment and a good selection of songs to perform.  On 1982's Crazy and Mixed Up it sounds as... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~481982582404 Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:29:35 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_481982582404?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_481254084228?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author Pantagruel - It's funny how your memory sometimes plays tricks on you. Two for the Road,a 1980 duet featuring George Shearing on piano and Carmen McRae on vocals, was, I believe, the first album I owned that featured a female jazz singer.  I picked it up... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~481254084228 Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:26:25 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_481254084228?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_480773770884?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Pantagruel - Many Billie Holiday fans are divided over her last official studio album, Lady in Satin.  Her voice, already shot from years of hard living, combined with Ray Ellis' mushy string arrangements, make this a love-it-or-hate-it affair... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~480773770884 Mon, 10 Aug 2009 23:55:27 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_480773770884?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_480419679876?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Pantagruel - She may not have been the first female blues singer, but Bessie Smith is one of the most legendary.  Blessed with a powerful set of pipes, which came in handy in the early, rudimentary days of recording when only one microphone was used for singer... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~480419679876 Fri, 7 Aug 2009 21:21:31 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_480419679876?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_479489461892?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author Pantagruel - On an early morning in late May 2001, an American missionary couple were kidnapped from a Philippine resort where they were celebrating their wedding anniversary.  Their captors were the Abu Sayyaf, a pro-militant group that kidnaps... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~479489461892 Sat, 1 Aug 2009 20:18:25 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_479489461892?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_478640311940?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Pantagruel - Chalk me up as another one who never thought I'd buy an "as seen on TV" product, only to purchase not one but two of these planters and be pleasantly surprised with the results.  My wife and I gave each other knowing smirks and a roll of the... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~478640311940 Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:26:34 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_478640311940?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_478487940740?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author Pantagruel - When I was living in Kenya in the early 1990s, I would sometimes travel on holiday with John, a fellow American volunteer.  Usually we would take long bus or train rides to get to wherever we were going, and, to pass the time by, the conversation... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~478487940740 Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:57:30 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_478487940740?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_476798488196?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Pantagruel - I  remember the anticipation surrounding Bruce Springsteen's proper follow up to his mammoth Born in the U.S.A. album.  The 5 LP Live 1975-1985 was a satisfying stop gap... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~476798488196 Thu, 9 Jul 2009 06:42:39 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_476798488196?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_476164427396?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author Pantagruel - Since the magazine's inception in 1990, I have been an on-again, off-again (but mostly off-) subscriber to Entertainment Weekly (EW), which is published by Time, Inc.  The magazine purports to cover, or at least gloss over, the most... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~476164427396 Sun, 5 Jul 2009 18:55:44 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_476164427396?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_475423542916?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Pantagruel - "We got one more chance to make it real...and I'm pulling out of here to win!" --"Thunder Road" Although it may be hard to believe nowadays, but back in 1975 Bruce Springsteen's record company, Columbia, had just about given up on him... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~475423542916 Sat, 27 Jun 2009 14:02:16 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_475423542916?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_474970623620?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Pantagruel - A street boy spends Christmas with his family and hopes they can stay together.  A brother and sister prepare for a life of childhood slavery.  Two young girls, one Christian and one Muslim, are forced to abandon their... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~474970623620 Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:03:11 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_474970623620?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_459781082756?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Pantagruel - A couple of years ago, my girlfriend (now my wife) convinced me that my old T-Fal non-stick cookware was in serious need of replacement.  Shopping at Macy's during one of their perennial (or so it seems) sales weekends, we came across the... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~459781082756 Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:39:49 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_459781082756?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_459292380804?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Pantagruel - I don't know if it is because Bruce will be playing at halftime of this year's Super Bowl or because I have become nostalgic for my high school senior year, but for some reason I have been playing this album a lot lately and, since this year marks its... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~459292380804 Wed, 28 Jan 2009 21:44:12 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_459292380804?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_456941670020?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author Pantagruel - Director John Schlesinger’s Midnight Cowboy, an Oscar winner for best picture, is one of my all-time favourite movies, and this year marks its 40th anniversary.  The 1969 flick stars Jon Voight as Joe Buck, a country bumpkin... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~456941670020 Tue, 6 Jan 2009 21:12:25 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_456941670020?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_455662407300?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Pantagruel - One of the darkest albums he's created, Freedom marks a return to form for Neil Young after spending much of the 1980s sludging through one bad musical experiment after another (unintelligible computerized rock, halfhearted country, and... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~455662407300 Tue, 23 Dec 2008 22:00:52 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_455662407300?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_454927617668?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author Pantagruel - It is probably unfair to compare Tracy Chapman’s 1989 sophomore effort, Crossroads, with her debut simply because her first album contained such a strong set of songs.  Unfair,... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~454927617668 Mon, 15 Dec 2008 21:35:29 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_454927617668?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_454740381316?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Pantagruel - Twenty years after the release of her debut album, it is pretty obvious that this is where Tracy Chapman reached her creative peak.  Oh, there are probably a handful of songs she has recorded in the years since then that can be considered among her... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~454740381316 Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:51:07 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_454740381316?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_443836173956?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Pantagruel - One of the darkest rock and soul albums ever released, Tonight’s the Night is arguably Neil Young’s finest hour. Motivated by the overdose deaths of close associates Danny Whitten of Crazy Horse, his backing band, and roadie Bruce... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~443836173956 Sat, 6 Sep 2008 02:39:56 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_443836173956?linkin_id=8003929