Worst looking CD/LP artwork

[Peter Power Pop]

Nice as always to read you - and now, about you, Peter !!

Thanks, André.

When do you start the Schéhérazade bonanza ? 

Schéhérazade? Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!

I tried and tried to do the Schéhérazade thing, but all the versions I listened to were very good. I couldn't pick 'em apart. It was disconcerting – and mighty unhelpful. You really don't want to read one review stating something like "Yep, this is very good," followed by another review that says "Yep, this is very good as well."

If I rashly embarked on another complete CD survey, it would more likely be either The Nutcracker or maybe La Mer – or, if I was feeling especially masochistic, The Rite of Spring.

But I'm pleased to say that I don't need to pester other pieces of music because the Planets thing is still a work in progress. I have about five more Planets CDs sitting at home, waiting for me to listen to them. It's just a matter of getting back in the saddle, putting on the headphones, and listening to the little beasties.

[Ghost of Baron Scarpia]

Schéhérazade? Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!

I tried and tried to do the Schéhérazade thing, but all the versions I listened to were very good. I couldn't pick 'em apart. It was disconcerting – and mighty unhelpful. You really don't want to read one review stating something like "Yep, this is very good," followed by another review that says "Yep, this is very good as well."

If I rashly embarked on another complete CD survey, it would more likely be either The Nutcracker or maybe La Mer – or, if I was feeling especially masochistic, The Rite of Spring.

But I'm pleased to say that I don't need to pester other pieces of music because the Planets thing is still a work in progress. I have about five more Planets CDs sitting at home, waiting for me to listen to them. It's just a matter of getting back in the saddle, putting on the headphones, and listening to the little beasties.

To be honest, I followed the link to your site and after looking at a few reviews, got more annoyed than I have ever gotten while reading a review of classical music. For my own sanity, I had to close it almost immediately.

[Peter Power Pop]

To be honest, I followed the link to your site and after looking at a few reviews, got more annoyed than I have ever gotten while reading a review of classical music. For my own sanity, I had to close it almost immediately.

I don't blame you.

[Ghost of Baron Scarpia]

I don't blame you.

[André]

Schéhérazade? Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!

I tried and tried to do the Schéhérazade thing, but all the versions I listened to were very good. I couldn't pick 'em apart. It was disconcerting – and mighty unhelpful. You really don't want to read one review stating something like "Yep, this is very good," followed by another review that says "Yep, this is very good as well."

If I rashly embarked on another complete CD survey, it would more likely be either The Nutcracker or maybe La Mer – or, if I was feeling especially masochistic, The Rite of Spring.

But I'm pleased to say that I don't need to pester other pieces of music because the Planets thing is still a work in progress. I have about five more Planets CDs sitting at home, waiting for me to listen to them. It's just a matter of getting back in the saddle, putting on the headphones, and listening to the little beasties.

Zarathustra then ? 

I like the idea of La Mer. That will cut your job in half, timewise !

[Peter Power Pop]

Zarathustra then ? 

I like the idea of La Mer. That will cut your job in half, timewise !

Unfortunately, I'm nowhere near enough of a fan of Zarathustra as I want to be. The prospect of spending a few months listening to nothing but that doesn't fill me with joy.

La Mer on the other hand...

Yeah, I could live with that.

[Peter Power Pop]

By the way, a while ago I started a review of the Sir Mark Elder La Mer, but abandoned it.

This is what I wrote:

Sir Mark Elder, Hallé Orchestra, 2007

Wow. In the third movement, from 7:13 onwards, you can hear Sir Mark grunting away, doing some James Brown impersonations. ("Hnnh!")

Far from it being distracting, I thought it was fun. (Or, putting it another way: "Look, Mummy, there's a man up there making noises!")

La Mer, Third Movement

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxA05QoKaKc

Sir Mark Elder's Noise Log:

0:00-7:13 Nothing (i.e., no noises from The Mark)
7:13 Grunt
7:14 Grunt
7:16-7:18 Indistinct instructions to the orchestra
7:19-8:29 Nothing
8:29-8:41 Absolutely nothing – mainly because the music finished at 8:29, and there's complete silence for 12 seconds until the track ends at 8:41. That's a lot of silence.

Apart from the "Hi, I'm Mark Elder, and I'll be grunting a few times" moments in the third movement, making it sound more like a rehearsal than a proper take*, this is a magnificent La Mer. I love it.

(*Why did the producer and engineer leave Marky Mark's extra-curricular noises on the track?)

[Ken B]

By the way, a while ago I started a review of the Sir Mark Elder La Mer, but abandoned it.

This is what I wrote:

Sir Mark Elder, Hallé Orchestra, 2007

Wow. In the third movement, from 7:13 onwards, you can hear Sir Mark grunting away, doing some James Brown impersonations. ("Hnnh!")

Far from it being distracting, I thought it was fun. (Or, putting it another way: "Look, Mummy, there's a man up there making noises!")

La Mer, Third Movement

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxA05QoKaKc

Sir Mark Elder's Noise Log:

0:00-7:13 Nothing (i.e., no noises from The Mark)
7:13 Grunt
7:14 Grunt
7:16-7:18 Indistinct instructions to the orchestra
7:19-8:29 Nothing
8:29-8:41 Absolutely nothing – mainly because the music finished at 8:29, and there's complete silence for 12 seconds until the track ends at 8:41. That's a lot of silence.

Apart from the "Hi, I'm Mark Elder, and I'll be grunting a few times" moments in the third movement, making it sound more like a rehearsal than a proper take*, this is a magnificent La Mer. I love it.

(*Why did the producer and engineer leave Marky Mark's extra-curricular noises on the track?)

You can devocalize yourself, with this http://www.davegrossman.net/gould//

[Peter Power Pop]

You can devocalize yourself, with this http://www.davegrossman.net/gould//

Ha!

[Ghost of Baron Scarpia]

Zarathustra then ? 

I like the idea of La Mer. That will cut your job in half, timewise !

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik?

[Peter Power Pop]

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik?

I hadn't thought of that one. I've always been happy with the version by I Musici, and never felt the need to go further afield.

I'd still prefer to go with something like The Nutcracker – if I went for another work.

[Peter Power Pop]

[snip]

What's this thread about?

Ostensibly, this thread is about ghastly classical music album covers, but once in a while I get asked to consider listening to and comparing a lot of recordings of one piece of music, as I did with my Peter's Planets website.

[Ken B]

If I was musically literate I could probably do a (Ravel) Bolero website.  I have dozens of recordings, from L.P. (and earlier) to CD.  They all sound noticeably different-- at least to me-- and I have definite likes and dislikes.  I doubt many folks would be interested, however. 

What's this thread about?

Make a thread here.
I like Bolero. It is Ravel's best thing. That is an incredibly unpopular opinion on GMG, where Bolero is one of the most reviled pieces.

[Madiel]

Make a thread here.
It is Ravel's best thing. That is an incredibly unpopular opinion on GMG, where Bolero is one of the most reviled pieces.

I find both of those sentences a little surprising, but in different ways.

[Pat B]

I like Bolero. It is Ravel's best thing. That is an incredibly unpopular opinion on GMG, where Bolero is one of the most reviled pieces.

I wouldn't call it Ravel's best thing, but I like it a lot.

[André]

Not his best thing, but certainly unique.

Most people like it a lot, but they remain in the closet. Not me: I ❤️ Boléro !

[Ghost of Baron Scarpia]

My favorite Ravel is mostly solo piano and chamber music (lately the piano trio). I probably listen to the Bolero more often than any other piece of orchestral music by Ravel. It is news to me that the piece is "reviled" at GMG, unless it not being you favorite piece is considered "reviling."

[Peter Power Pop]

My favorite Ravel is mostly solo piano and chamber music (lately the piano trio). I probably listen to the Bolero more often than any other piece of orchestral music by Ravel. It is news to me that the piece is "reviled" at GMG, unless it not being you favorite piece is considered "reviling."

If Boléro is reviled, it's probably only because it's been overplayed, not because of its inherent qualities.

(Today's Incredibly Obvious Statement has been brought to you by Peter The Obvious.)

[Ghost of Baron Scarpia]

I think it is just easy to make fun of, if you are in a mood to be snarky.

[Ghost of Baron Scarpia]

I used to never listen to Bolero, and then I was at a concert with it on the program and I thought I'd be bored.  But to my surprise it was a very enjoyable listening experience.  I can't help but feel that it loses something via a recording that the live experience has.

All music looses in a recording. I agree Bolero benefits from a sense of novelty, which is why I always pick a recording which is new to me, or which I haven't listened to for a long, long time.