CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

.

Songs from the Labyrinth

Search: The Letters
by: Sting, Edin Karamazov

Release Date October 10, 2006
From the outset let me say that I have always been a huge fan of Sting, and of John Dowland. But I was unsure that the two could possibly go together. Having listened to the CD several times now, I am still unsure but the idea is growing on me.

Let's face it, Sting is not the world's best vocalist, his breathy nasal voice being well-suited to ska and light jazz, but ultimately tending to be tiresome. The problem is not just his voice, but perhaps more his odd vowel sounds which have always been a little unnatural and that is very obvious here with his voice rather forward in the mix.

So my first thought was that there are many very beautiful renderings of this material by specialists like Ian Partridge and Sting's offering ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

.

Songs from the Labyrinth [VINYL]

Search: The Letters
by: Sting, Edin Karamazov

Release Date September 26, 2006
From the outset let me say that I have always been a huge fan of Sting, and of John Dowland. But I was unsure that the two could possibly go together. Having listened to the CD several times now, I am still unsure but the idea is growing on me.

Let's face it, Sting is not the world's best vocalist, his breathy nasal voice being well-suited to ska and light jazz, but ultimately tending to be tiresome. The problem is not just his voice, but perhaps more his odd vowel sounds which have always been a little unnatural and that is very obvious here with his voice rather forward in the mix.

So my first thought was that there are many very beautiful renderings of this material by specialists like Ian Partridge and Sting's offering seemed ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

.

Songs from the Labyrinth

Search: The Letters
by: Sting

Release Date November 10, 2008
From the outset let me say that I have always been a huge fan of Sting, and of John Dowland. But I was unsure that the two could possibly go together. Having listened to the CD several times now, I am still unsure but the idea is growing on me.

Let's face it, Sting is not the world's best vocalist, his breathy nasal voice being well-suited to ska and light jazz, but ultimately tending to be tiresome. The problem is not just his voice, but perhaps more his odd vowel sounds which have always been a little unnatural and that is very obvious here with his voice rather forward in the mix.

So my first thought was that there are many very beautiful renderings of this material by specialists like Ian Partridge and Sting's offering seemed ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

.

Songs From The Labyrinth

Search: The Letters
by: Sting

Release Date October 09, 2006
This 're-imagining' of some of the best works of one of England's most important composers is a woeful failure. The most prominent failing of this album, is that Sting simply does not have a strong enough voice to carry off such songs. His voice lacks the range and subtlety needed to effectively communicate the melancholic poetry of Dowland's lyrics. Sting's attempt is rather like sculpting a reproduction of Michelangelo's David with a sledgehammer!

Despite, the limitations of Sting's vocal skills, which were in fairness largely to be expected(it would come as quite a shock if he had managed to match Alfred Deller!), the project could have been saved by an interesting 're-imagining' of the songs. I am afraid to say that it isn't! Sting's interpretation ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

.

Great Arias and Ensembles from Your Favourite Operas, Volume 2

Search: The Letters
by: Various Composers

Release Date September 10, 2001
This 're-imagining' of some of the best works of one of England's most important composers is a woeful failure. The most prominent failing of this album, is that Sting simply does not have a strong enough voice to carry off such songs. His voice lacks the range and subtlety needed to effectively communicate the melancholic poetry of Dowland's lyrics. Sting's attempt is rather like sculpting a reproduction of Michelangelo's David with a sledgehammer!

Despite, the limitations of Sting's vocal skills, which were in fairness largely to be expected(it would come as quite a shock if he had managed to match Alfred Deller!), the project could have been saved by an interesting 're-imagining' of the songs. I am afraid to say that it isn't! Sting's interpretation ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

.

The Fugitive (Jason)

Search: The Letters
by: Marcel Proust

Release Date December 05, 2000
This 're-imagining' of some of the best works of one of England's most important composers is a woeful failure. The most prominent failing of this album, is that Sting simply does not have a strong enough voice to carry off such songs. His voice lacks the range and subtlety needed to effectively communicate the melancholic poetry of Dowland's lyrics. Sting's attempt is rather like sculpting a reproduction of Michelangelo's David with a sledgehammer!

Despite, the limitations of Sting's vocal skills, which were in fairness largely to be expected(it would come as quite a shock if he had managed to match Alfred Deller!), the project could have been saved by an interesting 're-imagining' of the songs. I am afraid to say that it isn't! Sting's interpretation ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

.

Lilli Lehmann (1848-1929)

Search: The Letters
from: Pearl

Release Date October 01, 1999
This 're-imagining' of some of the best works of one of England's most important composers is a woeful failure. The most prominent failing of this album, is that Sting simply does not have a strong enough voice to carry off such songs. His voice lacks the range and subtlety needed to effectively communicate the melancholic poetry of Dowland's lyrics. Sting's attempt is rather like sculpting a reproduction of Michelangelo's David with a sledgehammer!

Despite, the limitations of Sting's vocal skills, which were in fairness largely to be expected(it would come as quite a shock if he had managed to match Alfred Deller!), the project could have been saved by an interesting 're-imagining' of the songs. I am afraid to say that it isn't! Sting's interpretation ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

.

Camouflage & Lace: My Journey With a Windbender

Search: The Letters
by: Diane Ford Wood

Release Date
This 're-imagining' of some of the best works of one of England's most important composers is a woeful failure. The most prominent failing of this album, is that Sting simply does not have a strong enough voice to carry off such songs. His voice lacks the range and subtlety needed to effectively communicate the melancholic poetry of Dowland's lyrics. Sting's attempt is rather like sculpting a reproduction of Michelangelo's David with a sledgehammer!

Despite, the limitations of Sting's vocal skills, which were in fairness largely to be expected(it would come as quite a shock if he had managed to match Alfred Deller!), the project could have been saved by an interesting 're-imagining' of the songs. I am afraid to say that it isn't! Sting's interpretation ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

.

The Conet Project: Recordings of Shortwave Numbers Stations

Search: The Letters
by: Conet Project

Release Date May 01, 2001
I must say that I am quiet amazed and inspired
by the efforts of Iridial. Visually, what a fantastic package as a boxed set, The Conet Project is.

First listening to the discs covered both my wife and myself with a very unsettling calmness,
( isn't that like jumbo shrimp ?), I suppose due to the intonations and the subject matter that The Conet Project contains.

Second, there is this Cage-like quality to all of the discs, as if Cage is still organizing performances,but on a global scale and you have the opportunity to find not so silent voices in the the silence that surrounds all of us. With this in mind, many of the people that I have turned on to The Conet Project, listened to the discs for the first time and
thought about The Conet ... Read More: