Boston Concert Reviews Listens to Exactly Like This
Nelson Brill of Boston Concert Reviews isn’t just listening to Doug MacLeod‘s Exactly Like This, he’s listening for what’s coming next: “The blues are storytelling personified and there is no one as agile and wily in telling the blues as Doug MacLeod, 2014 winner of the Blues Music Awards for Acoustic Artist of the Year and perennial favorite here at bostonconcertreviews. Macleod has just released his latest recording on Reference Recordings, entitled Exactly Like This.…
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Bman’s Blues Reports Exactly Like This is “Quite Good”
The Bman’s Blues Report has a break down of the Doug MacLeod Exactly Like This recording: “I just received the newest release (March 10, 2015), Exactly Like This, from Doug MacLeod and it’s quite good. … [Rock It Til The Cows Come Home] has an acoustic basis but it really does rock. With a solid piano groove and acoustic guitar instrumentation MacLeod’s vocals push the track. … The spirit of John Lee lingers in [Vanetta]…
Bruckner an All Music Editor’s Choice
Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Bruckner recording is a March All Music Editor’s Choice! “Honeck gives this live performance a rather expansive interpretation, emphasizing the long sweep of melody and using a fair amount of rubato in his tempos to add dramatic shading, particularly by drawing out cadences for their full emotional effect. The orchestra is prepared for all of Honeck’s gradations and nuances, and it is remarkably fluid in shifting from one mood…
Classical CD Choice Reviews Bruckner
Classical CD Choice‘s Barry Forshaw sees Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony’s rise in stardom in the new Bruckner recording: “The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and their Music Director Manfred Honeck have – in a very short space of time – become one of the most exciting teams in the modern classical world, with recordings that combine superlative musicianship with unparalleled recording quality.… we are offered a striking new interpretation of this imperishable masterpiece…” —Barry Forshaw,…
MusicWeb International Praises Woman At the New Piano
Brian Reinhart of MusicWeb International takes a listen through the new Nadia Shpachenko Woman at the New Piano recording and finds a real downside: “If there’s a downside to this release, it’s that we might start expecting a new one every year. Nadia Shpachenko has done heroic work here, and the composers provide stimulating listening. I will be returning with special interest to the works by Matheson and Schoenberg. Adam Schoenberg has an orchestral recording…
Save 20% on Anton Schwartz Releases at HDTracks!
Anton performs with the Boston Pops and guest conductor Alan Gilbert of the NY Philharmonic. Boston Symphony Hall. March 31, 2014. Photo by Zolt Arany. Now through March 31, 2015 save 20% off Anton Schwartz releases on HDtracks.com with coupon code “AntonRefHD20” RR released jazz saxophonist Anton Schwartz’s Flash Mob recording last January to much acclaim. Not only was Flash Mob named a Downbeat Magazine Best of 2014, it was also a top-25 CD in…
Exactly Like This Gets Four Stars From Audiophile Audition
Audiophile Audition‘s Robbie Gerson gives Doug MacLeod’s new Exactly Like This release four (out of five) stars in this latest review: “The material on ‘Exactly Like This‘ is very good. The recording environment by Reference Recordings is superlative. The live studio intimacy is enhanced significantly by the full sound of the 24-bit HDCD. The guitar resonates with natural vibration and echo. McLeod’s baritone reverberates with subtle prominence. Engineer Keith O. “Prof” Johnson” captures the essence…
New Classic LA Features Nadia Shpachenko Woman At The New Piano
New Classic LA‘s Paul Muller has a new feature for Nadia Shpachenko’s Woman At The New Piano: “Airdancing is an appealing combination of the traditional piano sounds and electronic percussion. The lightness in the rhythms and timbre of the electronics are nicely contrasted with the lower, more ominous sections in an interesting mix. … Part Suite-a for Solo Piano is a technically challenging piece that is precisely realized here. … Finger Songs for Solo Piano…
The Arts Desk Says Honeck is “At It Again”
The Arts Desk‘s Graham Rickson named the Pittsburgh Symphony’s Dvořák/Janáček recording a “Best of 2014”, so how does the new Bruckner SACD stack up? “Manfred Honeck’s at it again. Changing dynamics, tampering with tempo markings, adjusting balances. But when the results feel so idiomatically right, only a chump would object. … Start noting down the high spots and you’ll need several sheets of paper. … This is a great performance, exactly the sort of disc…
Our Musical Journey Reviews Exactly Like This
Exactly Like This gets a rave review and Doug MacLeod adds a new fan in the Our Musical Journey blog: “I need to get my balance, so that I can tip my hat to both Doug MacLeod and Reference Recordings, and kick myself for not finding both sooner. Doug plays all originals and has written somewhere around 300 songs and recorded 17 studio albums. I am truly impressed with Doug’s lyricism and his playing which…
Bruckner a MusicWeb Recording of the Month!
Critic Michael Cookson names the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck Bruckner album a MusicWeb International Recording of the Month! “Having reviewed the mightily impressive first two releases in the ‘Pittsburgh Live!’ series I wondered how this third and latest disc would measure up. Enjoying every second of this captivating performance I can report that the series continues to provide an elevated standard of performance and sound. … In the opening movement the sheer force of the…
New Release — Doug MacLeod: Exactly Like This
Exactly Like This Doug MacLeod Doug MacLeod is a unique, powerful guitarist with a rich and soulful voice, singing original songs based on his own life and experiences Buy Now! Doug MacLeod’s new album EXACTLY LIKE THIS is his third release with Reference Recordings. This is ‘Genuine Original Acoustic Music’ at its very best, in a richly detailed recording by Grammy-winning engineer Keith Johnson, made at Skywalker Sound in Marin County, CA. In live performance,…
Blues In The Northwest Reviews Exactly Like This
Lionel Ross of Blues In The Northwest recommends Doug MacLeod’s latest recording, Exactly Like This: “…‘Serious Doin’ Woman’ describes the temptations that can confront a musician on the road and is embellished by some lovely guitar work while the instrumental, ‘Ridge Runner’ races along, brilliantly driven by the excellent rhythm section. ‘New Morning Road’ is a down home blues, which showcases MacLeod’s wonderfully rich vocal quality at its impressive best in advance of the superb,…
SA-CD Net Gives Bruckner 5 Stars
SA-CD.net’s Graham Williams gives five stars for both performance and sonics to the new Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck Bruckner recording: “Manfred Honeck has shown himself to be a searching interpreter of everything he conducts, in addition to being an outstandingly cultured musician and fine orchestral trainer. … Honeck convincingly relates the musical ideas to the literary ones outlined in the composer’s programme – something that in some respects moves the symphony closer to becoming…