CDs/DVDs
Comedy DVDs Round-UpSaturday, 11 December 2010
Comedy is a funny old thing: what makes one person helpless with laughter can leave another resolutely unmoved, which generally has less to do with the quality of the material, and more to do with the individual’s sense of humour. But among the... Read more... |
New Music CDs Round-Up 15Saturday, 27 November 2010
This month theartsdesk attempts to answer burning questions like - how much of an egomaniac is Kanye West? Are Take That any good? (Yes, actually - surprisingly for some). Can you tell the difference between Rumer and Duffy? What kind of pencil does... Read more... |
Classical CDs Round-Up 14Saturday, 20 November 2010
This month’s selection includes two seasonal releases – one a selection of Tudor choral music and the other a popular Christmas ballet. There’s yet more ballet in a new disc from Russian forces, and late-Romantic orchestral music is represented by... Read more... |
New Music CDs Round-Up 14Saturday, 30 October 2010
This month's epic collection has a somewhat retro feel, with CDs by Ray Davies, Neil Young, Elvis Costello and Bob Dylan. The CD of the Month is all-conquering Tennessee rock band Kings of Leon. The Box Set of the Month comes from the vaults of... Read more... |
Classical CDs Round-Up 13Saturday, 23 October 2010
This month’s releases include two contrasted crossover discs, one in tribute to Armenian Orthodox church music, the other by, er, Phil Collins-era Genesis. There’s an Elgar oratorio, and a disc of choral music inspired by the untimely death of a... Read more... |
DVD Release: Ladies & Gentlemen, The Rolling StonesTuesday, 12 October 2010
This is the antidote to Martin Scorsese’s 2008 documentary Shine a Light, which, for all its technical excellence, depicted the increasingly senior rock band sounding pretty crap. Ladies & Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones was shot at four concerts... Read more... |
New Music CDs Round-Up 13Saturday, 02 October 2010
This month's extraordinary, rich and strange releases are led by Ninja Tune's 20th-anniversary album of new tunes and remixes ("hard to know when to stop throwing the compliments"), Robert Plant's new band ("puts most vintage rockers to shame") and... Read more... |
Classical Music CDs Round-Up 12Saturday, 25 September 2010
This month’s selection includes a rare recording of a Danish masterpiece and a glorious late-Romantic Austrian symphony. There’s a thrilling set of Bartók piano concertos and music composed by Dvořák’s son-in-law. Going back further in time, we’... Read more... |
New Music CDs Round-Up 12Sunday, 29 August 2010
This month's top releases are headed up by a brilliant covers album by Brazilian singer Seu Jorge, and the Manic Street Preachers and Richard Thompson on peak form. Elsewhere there is South African pianist Kyle Shepherd, Argentinian "eccentric... Read more... |
Classical CDs Round-Up 11Saturday, 21 August 2010
This month’s new releases include a skilled orchestral re-imagining of Debussy piano music, some unfairly neglected late romanticism and a box of late Haydn symphonies. There’s a sublime Brahms chamber work, and three contrasting interpretations of... Read more... |
New Music CDs Round-Up 11Saturday, 31 July 2010
CD of the MonthTom Jones, Praise & Blame (Universal/Island) by Adam Sweeting Reinvention is all very well, and indeed indispensable for any career that aims to last longer than a series of X Factor, but you can have enough of seeing Tom... Read more... |
DVD Release: Black NarcissusSaturday, 31 July 2010
Violet may be the most violent colour in the spectrum, but its emotional equivalent in the cinema of Michael Powell is red, which frequently symbolises overwhelming sexual and artistic desire. Powell fetishised redness - and redheads like Deborah... Read more... |
