CD-Charts Position 1
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Puccini: La Bohème

from: Opera Double Decca

Release Date January 18, 1999
Decca have released this classic recording of La Boheme (in my opinion the best recording of the opera) at a bargain price and it's not to be missed. The singers are truly outstanding. Tebaldi was at the height of her powers here, and though some purists would criticise her for not being frail enough, her voice is truly outstanding. Bergonzi matches her and really pulls all the stops out - his 'Che gelida manina' is outstanding. Bastianini is also in his best voice and really uses his distinctive and powerful baritone voice to it's best as Marcello. All three of them have provide singing that is truly breathtaking. Siepi is luxury casting as Colline, but d'Angelo is a little shrill and a bit disappointing as Musetta, but does not spoil the recording. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
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Puccini: Madama Butterfly

from: London

Release Date November 09, 1993
Renata Tebaldi shows us in this recording why her Butterfly was the best sung bar none. Her singing is astoundingly beautiful and secure. She makes full use of her special histrionic abilities. Her humor is shown in the parts of the score that permit it. Sadness is conveyed wonderfully by her touchingly warm voice. "Un bel dì" is marvellous. The high notes at the end are huge. The entire aria is sung with so much warmth and feeling that one can hardly imagine it being sung better by another soprano. However great her singing is on this recording, she has a terrible cast to support her. Guiseppe Campora makes an ardent and believable Pinkerton, but he just does not have the style of Carlo Bergonzi on Tebaldi's second "Butterfly". Giovanni Inghilleri is ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
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Our Town: The Greatest Hits

by: Deacon Blue

Release Date June 25, 2002
What makes this compilation great, is that the songs have strong feelings behind them and this is conveyed superbly by the vocalists. This isn't an entirely up-beat album as a previous review states but certainly pleasure can be derived from listening to them. If you like genuine sentiment in your songs then buy it.

CD-Charts Position 4
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Puccini: The Great Operas

by: Renata Tebaldi Mario Monaco

Release Date January 22, 2008
Although I dearly wanted Tebaldi, Bergonzi & del Monaco in these marvellous operas, I fought shy of buying this set for weeks after reading the previous reviews as I understood that these were all mono recordings although Boheme and Butterfly had been re-recorded in stereo. Eventually I couldn't resist (especially at some of the marketplace prices).
I thought I'd start with the earliest recording - Manon Lescaut from 1954. Imagine my sheer unalloyed joy when glorious Decca ffss twin-channel sound poured out of the speakers. I hastily checked the booklet and the box, but no word of what might be stereo or mono - then I looked at all the individual disks. Each one declares itself to be Stereo. Yeehah! I have hours of Puccini in classic Decca ripe ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
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The Bowler's Holding, the Batsman's Willey: The Greatest Collection of Humorous Sporting Quotations Ever

by: Geoff Tibballs

Release Date June 07, 2007
Although I dearly wanted Tebaldi, Bergonzi & del Monaco in these marvellous operas, I fought shy of buying this set for weeks after reading the previous reviews as I understood that these were all mono recordings although Boheme and Butterfly had been re-recorded in stereo. Eventually I couldn't resist (especially at some of the marketplace prices).
I thought I'd start with the earliest recording - Manon Lescaut from 1954. Imagine my sheer unalloyed joy when glorious Decca ffss twin-channel sound poured out of the speakers. I hastily checked the booklet and the box, but no word of what might be stereo or mono - then I looked at all the individual disks. Each one declares itself to be Stereo. Yeehah! I have hours of Puccini in classic Decca ripe ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
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Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro

from: Classics for Pleasure

Release Date April 22, 1991
I had this recording for years and was quite happy with it. Then I listened more carefully as I was working on the PC and found it a big disappointment.

The singing was accurate but lacked warmth and passion, which is strange because it has some good names on it. A rather wooden performance I felt. I've given it away and invested in a better copy.

CD-Charts Position 7
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The Conquest of Happiness (Routledge Classics)

by: Bertrand Russell

Release Date February 01, 2006
Bertrand Russell, mathematician, philosopher and Nobel prize winner,appears to have lived a full and interesting life for 97 years so his philosophy to achieve happiness should be well worth a look. I like the easy to read format, chapters that may be read at your leisure one at a time or even read the whole book in one sitting.

BR looks at the reasons for unhappiness ie Boredom, envy, being a victim, having a persecution complex etc and gives very good advice, often hilariously funny, to change your way of thinking, if that is your problem. So, if something really upsets you keep thinking about it, force yourself to think about it until it becomes so tiresome and boring that you never want to think about it again, he says. This is of course ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
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Bach: Ascension Cantatas BWV 11, 37, 43 & 128

by: English Baroque Soloists John Eliot Gardiner

Release Date June 19, 2000
Absolutely, stunningly, mind-blowingly brilliant. If you want a great cantata record, this is IT, even more so than the Gardiner pairing of The Big Two BWV140 and 147. Like the 140/147 pairing, these were recorded before the Cantata Pilgrimage of 2000, so are not the live recordings (hopefully soon to appear on Gardiner's SDG label). BWV 11 is especially marvellous, and worth having because it may not appear in the SDG set (some cantata editions omit BWV 11 because they consider it a separate "oratorio", rather than a cantata). However, Gardiner is including BWV 190, also omitted by many cantata editions because the first two movements are reconstructions, so I'm hopeful that BWV 11 will appear in SDG form. If not, this one is great. The other cantatas are also wonderful. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
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Verdi: Rigoletto

from: Callas Edition

Release Date February 07, 1997
It is, perhaps, unworthy of EMI to issue this under the "Callas Edition", as the star of this Opera is clearly the principle baritone, and the baritone here is no less than the great Tito Gobbi. Still, for some perverse reason, it is Callas that sells these days, and EMI seems determined to make the most out of one of their top selling artists. For the Callasites out there, her performance as Gilda should not disappoint. Callas is in much happier voice than can be found elswhere amongst her discography and she does give a thoughtful and attentive reading of the role- though many will feel that a younger sounding and fresher voice is really needed. As the libertine Duke, Guiseppe di Stefano is in his element. There may be more eloquent accounts of the role on record, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
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Shostakovich - Complete Violin,Cello & Piano Concertos / 3CD Set

by: Dmitri Shostakovich

Release Date October 27, 2003
and this box set of Shostakovich concertos deserves them. Not only the music is very accessible, compared to a lot of other 20th Century classical music, the performances are excellent. It's also nice to have all of the concertos in one set. My favourite is the cello concerto No.1 ... Brilliant!