Artist: Enya

From the first blanket of choral voices awash in reverb, Amarantine is instantly recognizable as a product of Enya, the Irish chanteuse who has created a genre unto herself. The triumvirate of Enya, lyricist Roma Ryan and producer Nicky Ryan work the formula they perfected on Watermark, layering her voice in lush choirs pushed along by pizzicato synth strings, swooning orchestral pads, and harpsichord arpeggios. On tracks like "Less Than a Pearl" and "Drifting," Enya flirts with a timeless sound born in gothic chants and hymns. The former is one of three songs that she sings in Roma Ryan's fictitious language of Loxian. It seems to free her, especially on "The River Sings," a veritable rave-up where she gets the tribal choir going in the style of Scottish mouth music. But to get there you have to slog through slo-mo ballads that manage to be dirge-like and singsong at the same time, like the Carpenters on Quaaludes. The relatively restrained arrangement of "It's in the Rain" almost attains a folk-like simplicity that Enya hasn't experienced since she sang with her siblings in Clannad a quarter-century ago. Amarantine sounds like it was born in cloistered solitude, sel...
BEST ENYA ALBUM TO DATE!, 2009-03-07
I love Enya but this album beats all of them! Thoroughly recommend it, especially Disc 1.

Artist: Various Artists

If you love Christmas then you'll love this CD., 2010-01-08
An amazing and must-have selection of Christmas songs. I have had a copy of this double CD pack for years and I need another one because it gets worn out or lost because of over use and being moved around and lost. If you like Christmas and love to have Christmas music mumbling along in the background wherever you are over the holiday period then get this CD set. All of the ones you can remember are on it and a few surprises rarely heard on the radio.

Artist: Andrea Bocelli

Delux Delicious, 2010-01-30
I adore Andrea Bocelli. I have a few of his cd's all great. The duets with Natalie Cole, The Tabernacle Choir, Mary J Blige, Courtney Blooding and, not to forget the hilarious Muppets add an exciting edition. Produced and,arranged by no other than the Composer and, record Producer: David Foster, the husband of Linda Thompson, one time girlfriend of Elvis Presely. Linda Thompson married David Foster on June 22nd 1991. There is also the addition of a DVD specially recorded at The Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles with 7 performances. Along with a book of credits and, pictures of Andrea, this is a Delux Delicious buy for your collection.

Artist: Original Soundtrack

Excellent, 2009-02-05
Brilliant product. In this busy pressured world we live in, I'm all for children having a bit of 'cosy/relaxation' time.

Artist: Christina Aguilera

Like Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera never met a melismatic phrase (that gospel-like elongation of syllables) that she couldn't love. And she deploys more than her share throughout this 11-song holiday disc. Her excessive style is best suited to "Merry Christmas, Baby"--complete with a surprise cameo by Dr. John. When she isn't blowing out her chords with embarrassing emoting, at times, Aguilera sounds like she's shouting. Still, you know that if you don't get this for your teenaged fan, it's you who will get that lump of coal in your stocking. --Martin Keller
My favorite xmas album ever!, 2007-12-16
I love this, its my favorite holiday album. This album is modern yet you still feel there are traditional elements in this album. I bought this album a year ago and i'm glad i did because it still sounds just as fresh.

Artist: Various Artists

Excellent Christmas Compilation..., 2009-10-21
This most welcome release covers a large time span from 1941 to 1958 and includes plenty of new additions thanks to the current public domain law. Of course many of the all time favourites are here "The Christmas Song"; "Have Yourself a Merry Christmas"; "White Christmas" and a healthy selection of carols too. The younger set include Connie Francis with "Winter Wonderland" 1958; Johnny Mathis with "I'll be Home for Christmas" & "What Child is This?" 1958; Harry Belafonte "Christmas is Coming" & "Mary, Mary" 1958; The Seeger Sisters "Joseph & Mary" & "Bright Morning Stars are Rising" 1958; The Harry Simeone Corale" "The Little Drummer Boy"1958.

Overall the sound quality is very good and I listened to this one through headphones and only picked up on the slight difference in recording styles and levels. Running times CD1 approx 71 mins and CD2 approx 69 mins. I'd have to say this is one of the most pleasant Christmas selections I have heard in a long time.

Artist: Mediaeval Baebes

Following on from the success of Salva Nos, the Baebes. return with their second opus. Even more teasingly packaged than. previously (the artwork features the Baebes glowering enticingly through. swathes of pre-Raphaelite drapery), Worldes Blysse contains the. same mix of settings of mediaeval lyrics and literature in the reconstructed style of the fifteenth century as before, plus a couple of rediscovered originals. As with Salva Nos, the Baebes are (not yet) a band of Emma Kirkbys, nor are they the suggestive, siren-esque travelling players their image might suggest. Again, almost overly perfect performance and recording, somewhat irrationally detract from. any (unprovable) notions of authenticity, although thankfully Salva. Nos's over-bearing reverberating acoustic (an electronic addition, one suspects) is largely absent. Indeed, Worldes Blysse is a much more relaxed, fun and natural sounding collection, none more so in the two standout tracks: "Passing Thus Alone"--an elegantly simple unadorned. solo beautifully sung by Karen Lupton--and the sprightly yet stately courtly instrumental of "La Volta". --Robert Heller
Classical Snobs Need Not Apply - But Everyone Else Will Think It's Magical, 2007-12-13
A lot of people dislike the Medieval Baebes for being supposedly pretentious and beloved by pseudo-romantic Goth types - but that's basically just musical snobbery. I mean, come on - with a name like 'The Medieval Baebes', who's stupid enough to actually think they're aiming to appeal to lifelong Medieval Music scholars?

Really, you get far more out of them if you stop thinking of them in relation to other classical music and just love them for what they are - which is accessible, charming and unpretentious Medieval-esque choral loveliness.

The middle-english (or occasionally Latin) lyrics will probably not make sense to your average listener - (best to look at the sleeve notes before you attempt a sing-along!), but if you're familiar with the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, John Gowere, William Dunbar etc, you'll start to spot the patterns in the language. You certainly don't need to know any middle-english to appreciate this, though - just listening to the overall, faery-like, dreamy effect is more than enough.

The tone and pace of the music is quite varied - some tracks are fast, slightly folky (anyone who likes traditional Scottish/Irish Ceilidh music might spot the odd link here) and with an almost dance-able beat, others are ethereal, slow, lamentation-type songs ('Swete Sonne' for one). I've heard other Baebes cds work in a bit more of an electronic, synthesiser feel to the music, but this seems to be made with almost exclusively traditional folky instruments and straightforward singing.

Virtually all of it has a basically religious Christian theme, but that's just symptomatic of the thought of the Medieval age. If you're narrow-minded or easily-offended by that kind of thing, this isn't the CD for you - personally, I'm a pagan and I don't find the Christian themes at all preachy or even noticeable, I'm too busy listening being absorbed by the overall magical feel of it. 'Kinderley' is probably the best track here - a charming little ditty about how life's painful and we're all going to die. :) I love it because it reminds me to make the most of the day and use my precious time wisely - it's ultimately a very positive, upbeat message. The music tends to just make you thoughtful and calm, rather than saddening you or actively cheering you up (although it's not bland enough to quite be chillout music, it's pretty laid-back overall - DON'T try and get a party started with this CD, it really won't work)

As for their singing talent...it's not incredible (none of the Baebes are exactly going to be singing operatic solos anytime soon), but beleive me, I attended an all-girls school with it's own chamber-music choir, and I KNOW what a horrible, untalented voice sounds like, and the Baebes really aren't that bad! All of their voices suit the music perfectly, and bar one or two rather odd voices (the narrator on 'So Spricht Das Leben' is an acquired taste), the singing has a lovely, peculiarly straightforward sweetness to it. Their voices actually have CHARACTER, which is unusual in this age where reality tv popstars get picked for their ability to whack out notes in identical mock-american accents. They may not have an incredible vocal range, but their voices are pure, wholesome, beautifully dreamy and sound like they're absolutely captivated by what they're singing. I think that's very commendable.

Basically, the Medieval Baebes are perfect if you're usually into pop, rock or goth and want something totally out-of-the-ordinary. It's almost certainly not going to sound like anything already in your CD collection!

Artist: Kiri Te Kanawa

A Wonderful Introduction to the Art of Kiri Te Kanawa, 2010-03-05
This is a terrific collection of arias and songs by a singer with one of the most beautiful voices of our time. There are Italian, French and German arias and I really must single out the aria by Korngold which is simply wonderful - I could not stop playing it.

The songs cover a very wide range, from Gershwin, Kern and Berlin to English, Scottish and Irish folk songs, and Maori songs from Kiri's native New Zealand. 150 minutes of some of the best singing you'll hear and all in first class sound quality. Very highly recommended.

Artist: Pet Shop Boys

Love it !, 2010-02-14
It is Xmas time and PSB is fun. It's wonderful that this pop duo is producing such wonderful songs after so many many years. Just enjoy this trip. Every song is a jewel and IT DOESN'T OFTEN SNOW AT CHRISTMAS is the best Xmas song ever. Thank you boys!

Artist: St. Philip's Boys Choir

Wonderful music for the spirit, 2010-07-03
I was listened this CD, from Libera. Is the magic music, to relax and keep is alpha state. I would like other records and video record about the first time of this group. A recopilation of videos from you tube, with quality. Congratulations for Libera and his director Robert Prizemann. Fernando.