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gives me more pleasure than the hybrid sounds of
different cultures resonating as one. Asia with all its
diversity is an ideal platform for these new expressions. New
Acquisitions
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| in the wee small hours (CDP 7 96826 2) Frank Sinatra's most critically
acclaimed album. Unfortunately my knowledge of Frank came
from his live appearances on TV than from his recordings.
His death caused me to buy this CD as a tribute to him,
and I regretted not having done so decades earlier.
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Frank Sinatra |
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| Greatest Performances (32 POP
32035) I swear
this double CD is compiled by a fan of Tom Jones. Songs
taken from his television series and featuring a host of
stars such as Donny and Marie Osmond, Gladys Knight,
Dionne Warwick, Tina Turner. Great fun and what a voice!
My only regret was they didn't have Marie singing
"Stronger than Before" from the series.
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Tom Jones |
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| Mulan (Disney 60631-7) At last a Disney movie about my
favourite Chinese Legend. The ancient Oriental Feminist
comes to life with the singing voices of Lea Salonga,
Donny Osmond Stevie Wonder and Christina Aguilera. What
more can one ask for?
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Various
Artists |
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| Cool & Unusual
(RHR CD 110) Found
this CD in Santa Monica. Great traditional American tunes
given a new and refreshing twist by an extremely talented
musician.
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Martin Simpson |
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| A.J. Croce (RUF 5141613472) House of Blues artist has a
great opening track in this self-titled album "He's
Got A Way with Women". Don't know anything about the
artist, but this CD was certainly an exciting find,
although I must say the cover does not reflect the
quality of the music. One of many purchases at Tower
Records at Santa Monica.
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A. J. Croce |
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| Happy Birthday George Gershwin
(Valley Entertainment APS 15019) Great tribute album featuring Maureen
McGovern, Tommy Tune, Jubilant Sykes (what a name!) The
Manhattan Rhythm Kings and Andrew Litton with the Dallas
Symphony Orchestra. Had always been a fan of Maureen
McGovern and George Gershwin, so call me bias. I got this
CD from http://www.cdconnection.com. Who has been my CD supplier
for the past 6 years.
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Various
Artists |
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| The Leif Garret Collection
(72392 75538-2) Spew
all you want, but I believe this CD is worth it if not
just for "I Was Made for Dancin". Remember that
millions danced to this song when it was first released.
Extremely disappointed that they left out "I wanna
share a dream with you", which is still one of my
favourite pop songs. Another Tower Records Santa Monica
purchase.
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Leif Garret |
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| Syukur (WEA 3984-21681-2) An amazing CD by the Malaysian
Religious group with strong vocals and traditional sounds
revisited. Highly recommended for World Music
enthusiasts. So far I've only seen this CD in Malaysia,
but it would be a shame if WEA decided to contain it in
that region.
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Raihan |
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| Raybon Bros (MCAD-70014) Must admit I bought the CD for
their duet with Olivia Newton-John "Falling" -
a preview of ONJ's soon to be released country CD in
1998. Amazingly, I couldn't find this in Hong Kong but
struck gold at the Kuala Lumpur airport in Malaysia.
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Raybon Bros |
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| Jacintha - My Life (SPCD-007) A great "comeback"
album from Singaporean Jacintha who was
overshadowed by her ex-husband Dick Lee. Featuring
revised masterpieces that formed the milestones of her
life, Jacintha breathed new life to such classics as
"Every Breath you Take", "First of
May". Found copies of this CD in Tokyo and
Singapore.
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Jacintha |
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| Kylie Minogue (BMG 74321
517272) Haven't
heard from Kylie for such a long time that it's easy to
forget what a talented artist she really is. This album
clearly shows that Kylie is fully in control with great
new sounds and tremendous musical depth. Kylie the
songwriter is certainly here to stay.
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Kylie Minogue |
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| El Concierto (WEA 0630
11212-2) This is
not a new release, but I just recently discovered the
talents of Luis during a trip to Sevilla, Spain and made
up for it by buying his whole back catalogue of CDs.
Great music and what a voice! "La
incondicional" never sounded so good.
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Luis Miguel |
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| Las Canciones De Almodovar
(Hispa Vox 7243 8 59544 2 9) I found this CD in Sevilla and don't
really know if it is available in wide release. If you
like the Melodramatic Comedies of Almodovar such as
"Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down" or "Law of
Desire", you would love this musical collection.
Styles vary according to the themes of each film, but
thoroughly enjoyable.
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Various
Artistes |
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| Freedom (MVCL-24001) MCA Japan has the good vision
to commission this work for the very talented Sheena
Easton. Although Sheena is now reduced to Las Vegas and
"Adult" categories in the US, this fun CD
contains the infectious track "Love Me With
Freedom" that sinks into the mind immediately.
Sheena deserves a lot better, and the Asia Pacific Region
may just be the right market for her.
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Sheena Easton |
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| Anggun (ESCA 6799) When I was in Switzerland, I
saw a music video which totally fascinated me. The sound
was multicultural, the singer looked really exotic (I
couldn't even place her cultural origin) - her voice was
powerful. The video was for the song "La Rose Des
Vents" by Anggun. Given the limited time in Geneva,
I couldn't find the CD, but kept it at the back of my
mind. Luck has it that Anggun CD stared at me in
Shinjuku, Tokyo when I stepped into a local music shop on
2 Jan 98. What a good way to start the year!
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Anggun |
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