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The Muppet Show: Music, Mayhem and More - 25th Anniversary

Those who spent (or are spending) their formative years watching Kermit and Miss Piggy dance their special interspecies dance will revel in this spectacular, positively historic new Muppets CD, released just in time for the 25th anniversary of Jim Henson's The Muppet Show. A 20-page insert booklet, complete with color photos, details the fascinating history of Muppet music. Remember when Sesame Street's rendition of Jeff Moss's "Rubber Duckie" hit the kiddie pop charts? This 27-song CD harvests favorite and lesser-known recordings from feature films and from the original The Muppet Show, stringing songs ranging from Piero Umiliani's "Mahna Mahna" to Tony Burrello's "There's a New Sound" (the sound that's made by worms) together with skits and grand pronouncements and goofy sound effects like an old-time vaudeville show. A stunning variety of musical styles are showcased in this witty, wonderful collection that reminds us that a world without Fozzie Bear and Gonzo and Kermit and Miss Piggy would be less fuzzy indeed. --Karin Snelson

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Customer Review:

could do without it

It was great to see this release, however, less than half of the songs are worth while. The dialog bits throughout the CD are more annoying than entertaining. This is more worthwhile to just download and pay for the individual songs you like rather than paying for the whole CD.

This is what we call the Muppet Show!

And it's awesome! Like so many, I am part of the Sesame Street/Muppet Show generation. So, of course, I wouldn't want my own kids to miss out. It became such a hit with my (now) six year old that I have to buy the CD because my tape wore out!

Good for me, Kid couldn't care less.

I bought this thinking it would make my car rides better with my 17 month old. Truth be known, its made them better for me, but she still is a pain.
I loved almost every track and the lyrics to most all of them came right back to me when the songs started. Its too bad that she won't enjoy them for a few more years.

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Keywords: Childrens; Pop; Soundtrack;

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The Cosmic Game

There's always been a psychedelic edge to Rob Garza and Eric Hilton's Thievery Corporation project. 2000's Mirror Conspiracy is a downtempo classic precisely because of its druggy expansiveness; sober listeners and saucer-eyed trippers alike could find common ground. Similarly esoteric and nocturnal, The Cosmic Game floats around the room on a wave of mystic beats and guest vocals from Perry Farrell, The Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne, and David Byrne. Garza and Hilton are less devoted to non-electronic sources here than they were on The Richest Man in Babylon or The Outernational Sound, though their fascination with dub rhythms and world music remains intact. A fair amount of armchair travel is involved as you go from the late, late-night, beach-club-in-Jamaica sound of "Amerimacka," to the Brazilian percussion of "Ambicion Eterna" and "Pela Janela." But more than anything, the record feels like a return to the duo's own ethereal sonic roots. It's a nice blend of their music over the last half-decade for longtime fans, and a hazy glide down the rabbit hole for newcomers. --Matthew Cooke

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Customer Review:

Great music

This CD is one of the best I have purchased in a while.

The dullest record in Babylon

I really wonder what most of the reviewers listen to actually.
This is a really dull album without any of the creativity and appeal of "The mirror conspiracy". The following "The richest man in Babylon" was a step back with the same use of chords and beats but this is too much! Reggaeish stuff mostly. Except the track with David Byrne that sounds fresh despite being very typical (Once in a liftime style) the rest is absolutely dull and good only for joint smokers. Which probably is what most of the enthusiastic reviewers are...LOL
Anyway still respect to the two guys for their past but next time please try something new

Phatty tunes

Phatty tunes... all with a new blend and mix of reggae, samba, symphony/electro, and euro taste.

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Keywords: Acid Jazz; Dance Music; Downbeat; Pop; Trip Hop; Trip-Hop; United States of America;

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Island Life

It seems almost criminal to say anything less than stellar about Island Life, the sophomore album from producer Andre Levin's latin-fusion collective Yerba Buena. And indeed, there's a sufficent amount of energy and plenty of good-time party vibes on the disc, which infuses the Afro-Cuban framwork with cumbia, salsa, merengue and flamenco rhythms. The thing is, we've heard much of this hybrid before, done in more substantial ways. Yerba Buena wants to be all things to all people, and its music is jam-packed with splashy collaborators. The cutesy "Sugar Daddy" is a prime example, featuring something for traditionalists (Celia Cruz), urban hipsters (Les Nubians), and even movie buffs (John Leguizamo)--all in one song. There are also appearances from the critically acclaimed rap group Orishas (standout "La Candela"), Grammy favorite Diego "El Cigala" ("Corazon Bandolero) and Pedro Almodovar muse Rossy De Palma. It makes for an interesting A-list of world music VIPs and oddities, but Island Life ultimately doesn't gel into something outstanding. It's merely OK. --Joey Guerra

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Customer Review:

Island Life Will Take You To Paradise

I'm not sure what the Amazon reviewer is talking about. Maybe he doesn't like Islands. This record is so good I don't know where to begin.

I have been playing this at every backyard cookout and once it's on, people don't want to hear anything else. The crazy thing is that everyone likes the whole record but they all have different favorites.

The special guests are great but anyone who has seen this band live knows that the core band is what makes this thing tick.

Buy this album and get your summer party started!!!!!!!!!!

Fantastic Reviews

- "the ultimate urban tropical party"- VIBE
-"Yerba Buena's New York is a cosmopolitan hub where anyone can meet and everyone is ready to dance. The songs make more connections than the city's subway system... For Yerba Buena, Latin American identity is an exhilarating work in progress: proud of its roots, fast on its feet, laughing off obstacles... every idiom Yerba Buena touches on gets hybridized, and that's the point." - NY Times
- "a Truly Stellar Sophomore Album" - NY Post
-"Island Life is a sizzling jam session." - Wall Street Journal
-"Yerba Buena is uniting the polyglot of New York City into a joyful, partying, sexy and smart voice. What could be more American" - AP
- "cutting-edge music for urban sophisticates who have tropical fever rushing through their bodies"-Newsday
-"(4 Stars) Yerba Buena's sophomore effort is even funkier, funnier, hipper and more exhilarating than its debut.. something so new all you can do is smile and ride the beats. It's a global party, papí" - Miami Herald
-"When you're talking multi-culti, you're talking Yerba Buena. masterful... terrific... the summer's most fun disc." - Providence Phoenix
- "If a secret fountain of fun exists, producer Andres Levin has found it and is hoarding it for himself and his band Yerba Buena. . Every song enters your veins, raises your heart rate, and spurs your feet to movement " - Miami New Times
- "shows how deep the Latin roots of the Big Apple really are. Yerba Buena's latest endeavor is perfect summertime listening"- BBC "The World"
- "What Yerba Buena has achieved over the span of three years is nothing short of breathtaking... , Island Life boasts a dizzying array of dance rhythms like cumbia, funk and salsa, but it's how they're brought together under one roof that is so impressive,,a freewheeling, boisterous record" -Eye Weekly (Toronto)
- "thick with a funk that never lets up...The concept that runs through the record: maintain one's dignity within the urban jungle while still remaining relevant and sexy as hell".- NY Press

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Keywords: Club/Dance; Int'l & World Music; Latin Pop; Pop; Reggae; Salsa;

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The Phantom of the Opera (Original 1986 London Cast)

What's left to be said about Andrew Lloyd Webber's adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera a decade after its premiere? That it's maddeningly ubiquitous? A stitch-up of various themes shoplifted from the Italian operatic repertoire? A critic-proof crowd pleaser that's probably being staged somewhere in the world as you read this? A megahit that will likely outlive Titanic in the pop-culture pantheon, Phantom has largely redefined--for better or worse--the manner in which modern musicals are conceived, staged, and marketed. Its influence has reached far beyond the traditional confines of London and Broadway. A favorite example: an abridged version that was the centerpiece of Los Angeles's longest-running transvestite revue, replete with 14-inch chandeliers and a man-playing-a-woman-playing-a-man in the title role. --Jerry McCulley

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Futures

Cast Recording;

Original recording remastered;

Box set;

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Customer Review:

the best

This is the best cd I have ever heard. I love the music it is great.

Mess up the Phantom ---> Awful recording

I love POTO in all its interpretations. I love the ALW musical. But the OLC cast does nothing for me. Every time I hear Crawford's nasal, whiny voice I want to bang my head against the wall. Brightman's "acting" is non-existant and the passion was left out completely. Buy the Canadian CD with Colm Wilkinson, the original Swedish recording or the movie-soundtrack. But skip this sterile "performance"....

An overblown mess ~ and insipid fans

When I read the review below mine I was close to lose my faith is people who can put their dislike for something in polite words. I've never seen such shallow and insipid bashing of a movie that is just as...good...as this mess. I like Leroux's story but Webber failed to capture its essence and most of its fans or "phans" fail to understand it too. The cast, except for Steve Barton, is below mediocre (Crawford should stick to comedy, Brightman needs lessons before she ever opens her mouth to sing again...) and the music is nothing but 2-3 themes which are repeated until even a ditz can hum along. Skip this awful mess and listen to the beautiful interpretation of Yeston and Kopit, or, even better, read the book. This recording is not a keeper and I could care less if the "phans" vote my review down. (Biased as they are)

One word on the movie: At least it's what it is, entertainment. And it doesn't take itself so seriously, plus I prefer it to be a rock-opera with edge instead of "Opera Lite" for those who fail to appreciate the real thing.

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Keywords: Cast Recordings; Music Theater; Musical Theater; Musicals; Pop; Show Tunes; Showtunes / B'way;

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