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What Are You Listening To Right Now?


Guest Black Lotus

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Original Sin by the band, Pandora's Box. It's a concept album mostly written by Jim Steinman, and performed by a group including Steinman and Ellen Foley (who sang frequently with Meat Loaf). Considered a failure, a bunch of the songs were later reworked for other artists and projects, including Celine Dion's rendition of "It's All Coming Back to Me Now", and Taylor Dayne's version of "Original Sin" for "The Shadow" soundtrack. Meat Loaf has also covered these songs (and a few others from the album) on various projects of his. It's one of the few music purchases that I've made recently that I've played multiple times in its entirety after receiving it.

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Gustav Mahler has grown on me. Those who know about classical music know him mainly from his symphonies, which are frequently viewed as massive, difficult-to-put-on affairs.And no Mahler work is more massive than his Eighth Symphony. Even the composer referred to it as "The Symphony of a Thousand". To put it on as intended requires two full orchestras, three choirs (including a boys' choir) and eight solo vocalists.

 

Yet Mahler is full of surprises, and the greatest is how intimate the Eighth Symphony is.

 

Yes, intimate. For much of the work the orchestra barely plays at all. This allows the soloists rein to spin exquisite, complicated and subtle harmonies. And Mahler, who was also a popular and successful conductor, understood the orchestra. He knew that piling on string players would not impact the sound as much as layering the additional woodwinds and brass gives the composer additional options to create new harmonies. And when the full force does come into play (especially the resounding basses) it's very effective.

 

Which brings me to the other intimate thing about Mahler -- he was much more interested in ordinary life and little joys and sorrows than many of his contemporaries.

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