Richard NG's Music Review Blog

Tina Arena Live In Concert in Melbourne, Australia ( 2007 ).

noreply@blogger.com (Richard NG) — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 04:00:00 +0000

Tina Arena Live In Concert in Melbourne, Australia ( 2007 ).

Hamer Hall, The Arts Centre, Melbourne - Saturday 29th December, 2007.

[ Following on from my previous article about Tina Arena's new studio album released just recently earlier in month of December " Songs of Love and Loss " ] Tina Arena embarks on her ' Songs of Love and Loss ' Australian Tour of Summer 2007, having already played Live at Melbourne's Hamer Hall ( The Arts Centre, Melbourne ) on both the evenings of Friday 28th December [ to a Sold Out crowd ! ], and Saturday 29th December. As I have already mentioned earlier, I was unable to attend the Friday night show due to work commitments, but was lucky enough to have been able to attend the second show on Saturday night. I can't comment on the Friday night show as I wasn't there, but I gather that both shows would not have been all that different.

So, at the Saturday night show, I arrived in good time prior to the commencement of the show, having almost 30 minutes to spare before Tina officially makes it onto the stage. Upon arrival at Melbourne's Arts Centre, I bought myself the concert program ( AUD $ 20.00 ), and a black T-Shirt sized 'small' ( AUD $ 40.00 ), featured on the front is the same image that's on the front of the inlay booklet of the ' Songs of Love and Loss ' Album. I was a little surprised though that the tour details were NOT printed on the back of the T-Shirt, like you'd find with many other touring artists.; Other products being sold at the merchandise stand included a cream-coloured T-Shirt, a black 'Songs of Love and Loss' mug, and the ' Songs of Love and Loss ' CD Album ( which I already have, of course ! ).

As the auditorium doors open to allow people in, a vocal dialogue announcement informs that there will be no support act at this show.;
Making my way into the auditorium to locate my seat, couldn't help but immediately notice the orchestral equipment and setup of all the things on the stage ! It caught my eye nice and early, the seats and equipment of Tina's orchestra and band were beautifully set-up on the stage, with small glowing blue lights underneath the orchestra seats making the whole stage-set glitter with a blue/white lighting effect, makes it look great !; When I was eventually shown to my seat, located 'technically' third row from the front of the stage ( Row BB ), which is quite the understatement actually. Where I was 'actually' sitting was in fact closer to the stage then the technical statement makes it sound. I'd say I was located a little to the left of center of stage, and approximately 75 - 80 cm from the very front of the stage ( at times it's like being right underneath Tina's nose if I could so boldly put it... ) If you were there, and you sat somewhere in the first front four rows ( Rows AA to DD ), then you know what I'm talking about ! Anyone sitting in that section had the best seats in the house !; From where I was sitting, I could see almost everything, bar the few orchestra-players and sound equipment located behind the black piano that was located just on my left, which obscured only a tiny percentage of my view, but hey, I'm not complaining ! As for Tina, I was close enough to have an almost-accurate view of even the jewellery that she was wearing, including the tiny silver glitter on her bracelets and ear-rings. Speaking of Tina, I have to add how absolutely Glamorous and Beautiful she looked on stage, along with the fantastic and beautiful out-fits she was wearing.

The primary drum kit located on the far right hand side forward section of the stage is noticeably partitioned-off by a large transparent glass-frame - Tina calls it ' The Cage '. If I understand it correctly, the Cage would have to be specially designed, with a particular kind of glass able to withstand high-levels of decibels and sound, in order for it not to smash under extreme audio conditions, and its purpose being to shield off the sound of the drums, and to ensure that the ' sound-waves ' generated by the drums don't interfere with the delicate sound of the rest of the orchestra. The sound of the drums is carried to the speakers via a dedicated microphone positioned above the drums.

Let me just say that this show was absolutely Jaw-dropping, and a Not-to-be-Missed one-in-a-million Experience ! It's worth more than every penny that went into the ticket that gets us into the auditorium. The atmosphere was high and ecstatic, and would have you coming back for more. If you've heard her music only on radio or on CD, then you ain't seen nothing ! Tina Arena Live on Stage is an absolute Spectacular, something you have to be there and experience for yourself first-hand ! Gee, and I thought she was good on record - she IS good on record, but Tina Live on Stage - that's something of an amazingly indescribable experience ! The energetic and brilliant voice that she sings with on stage is just phenomenal ! Her Live singing voice is more pure and spotless than I had initially imagined it to be. Just beautiful ! Tina has really matured as a person and also in her style of show-presentation, bringing with it a quite professional and very elegant 'look' of it all, all-the-while maintaining the utmost quality in her music, what she does best.; OK, On with the show...

With the official commencement of the show eminent ( and on-time as scheduled ), the members of the orchestra walk briskly out on stage and quietly take thier place in their designated orchestra seats. Momentarily accompanied by the guy I'd believe to be the lead string-player on violin who co-ordinates with the other string players to ensure the entire string section is in tune. ( yeah, i know it sounds technically processive, I've been through it myself quite a number of times, having been a violin-player myself in the school orchestra where I went to school in my younger years.; In fact, I've actually played ON the Hamer Hall stage itself during the final speech-night of my year-12 graduation year, all the way back in late 1992. );
Just moments before Tina's grand entrance onto the stage, an anticipative instrumental sequence is played through the on-stage speakers, shortly after which, all the lights go down, and the auditorium is almost pitch black and momentarily dead quiet. Yes, it's the moment that signals the lead artist to finally light up the stage in full, and everything on stage is brought to life. Tina walks out onto the stage in her beautiful silver dress outfit. She kicks off the show with a track from the Songs of Love and Loss album called " The Look Of Love ".; At times during the course of the show, Tina's band adds a bit of slight Jazz-feel to a few of the songs.;
Ok, I'd like to take a moment to list the songs Tina performed during the concert - The songs she performed are listed in the Concert Program, but they're not listed in the same order as she had performed them Live, and I don't remember the 'exact' order in which the songs were performed, but I'll try to list them as my memory might serve ( in no particular order ) :

Songs of Love and Loss - The Concert : The Songs :

[ First Half : ]
Instrumental Prelude.
The Look Of Love
I Just Don't Know What To Do With MySelf
Sorrento Moon
I Only Want To Be With You
Do You Know ( Theme from ' Mahoganny ' )
Windmills of Your Mind
The Man With The Child In His Eyes
Chains

[ Half-Way Intermission : 10 - 15 minutes ]
( During this time, Tina changes her Dress/Outfit for the second half of the show )

[ Second Half : ]
Wasn't It Good
Burn
Les Trois Cloches
Woman
So Far Away
To Sir With Love
Now I Can Dance
Everybody Hurts

( Somewhere at this point in time, Tina thanks the prouction crew and other important personnel involved for making the Live show possible and successful. )

[ Encore : ]
Maybe This Time ( From ' Cabaret ' )
( Tina Introduces the Band, other Stage-Personnel, and the orchestra )
Symphony Of Life

From the new album Songs of Love and Loss, only two tracks ' Love Hangover ', and ' Until ' were omitted from the Live show performance.

The sound is really great at this show. The sound, the music, and the atmosphere really draws you in and makes you feel like you're completely immersed in it all, and fully embraced by it. As a whole, it really feels like a " complete " experience, fully mesmurizing your senses of audio-visual and music. It's almost 'electric'.; There's insufficient words in the English language to accurately describe the true experience of this concert - you'd have to have been there in person and experienced it for yourself to know what it was really llke !

At the conclusion of the show, Tina and her main stage-personnel line-up at the front of the stage and take the traditional bow to the audience, and the audience responds with a loud clapping standing ovation, as Tina and company wave goodbye and make thier way off the stage. Then, the orchestral musicians start making thier way off the stage in an orderly manner.; The auditorium lights come back on, and everyone starts making thier way out of the auditorium and out onto the street.

While the Friday night show was sold out, the Saturday night show, however, was not. Turning around and looking back ( and up ) from where I was sitting, it looked like the auditorium was approximately 80% occupied - about half the seats ( the back half ) in the outer-dress-circle were not filled.

I had recently been reading a thread on the Official Tina Arena Forum regarding the suggestive possibility of a DVD Recording of one of the current Live shows here in Australia. Apparently, there were No filming cameras at either of the Melbourne shows, and from my perspective, I concur - I didn't notice any filming cameras at the show I was at. It seems the Australian fans are hoping that one of the current Sydney shows will be filmed and published on DVD. It also seems ( from fan comments on the Official Tina Arena Forum ) that we all agree that it would be a mistake Not to have one of the current Australian shows recorded and published to DVD. I for one, would love to see a DVD recording of one of the current live shows Tina is performing here in Australia, and I would definitely buy it if it eventually came to fruition.

Final Verdict : This is one of the Best concerts I've been to in the last 6 or 7 months.; Overall, I would give this Concert virtually a Perfect Score ! My Rating : 10 out of 10.

Tina is still scheduled to play the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, New South Wales, in early January, 2008 :

Sydney ( New South Wales ) ( 3 Nights ) :

* Wednesday 2nd January, 2008, 8:00 PM : Sydney Opera House.
* Thursday 3rd January, 2008, 8:00 PM : Sydney Opera House.
* Saturday 5th January, 2008, 8:00 PM : Sydney Opera House.

Related Articles :
* Tina Arena - ' Songs Of Love and Loss ' - New Album and Tour !.

Related Links :

* Tina Arena Live in Concert in Melbourne, 2007 Discussion Thread
_.( at the Official Tina Arena Forum ).

* ' Songs Of Love and Loss ' Album Track-Listing
__Track-By-Track Description ( On Tina Arena's Official Web Site ).

* Listen to Sample Audio Clips On Tina Arena's Official Web Site.

* Tina Arena's Official Web Site.

[ Please Note : I may be making further editing and/or additions to this article at a later date if any new information comes to memory... ]

Tina Arena - ' Songs Of Love and Loss ' - New Album and Tour !

noreply@blogger.com (Richard NG) — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 04:45:00 +0000

Australian Pop Diva Tina Arena is Back in the Summer of 2007 with a brand new album - " Songs Of Love and Loss " and a brand new Australian Tour ! The new album - " Songs Of Love and Loss ", Tina briefly describes as a ' Covers ' album. Tina Arena's Official Web Site slates the following description of the new album " Tina’s new album ' Songs of Love and Loss ' is a select album of handpicked covers, all of which centre on the fragile human emotions of love and heartache ". The album was officially released a couple of days ago on 1st December. The album is available for purchase now at all good music / CD stores around Australia. I bought the album from my local JB Hi-Fi store on the first day of its release.

Although I'm not focusing too much on mainstream pop these days, Tina Arena is one of my old-time Australian favourites. I have been following Tina Arena's music since my days of youth, I can even remember the days when Tina Arena started out on that classic Australian weekly TV entertainment program ' Young Talent Time ' headed by old Johnny Young himself. I've got and followed most of Tina's albums since the early days of her Solo career. I may not have listened to Tina too often recently, but she's always had a place in the memories of my youth, and I've never forgotten her. I've seen her perform Live in Melbourne once too ! Today, It's really nice to see she's recorded a refreshing new album, and at the same time, retaining the unique essence of her voice that IS ' Tina Arena ' - the Tina we've all come to know and love over the years.; Her voice is sounding as good as ever !

Here is the Track-Listing for the new album ' Songs Of Love and Loss ' :

.1. I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself
.2. The Look Of Love
.3. So Far Away
.4. I Only Want To Be With You
.5. To Sir, With Love
.6. Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)
.7. Love Hangover
.8. The Windmills Of Your Mind
.9. The Man With The Child In His Eyes
10. Everybody Hurts
11. Until
12. Woman

No Singles from the album have been released as yet. I don't as yet have any information on whether Tina will release a song from the album as a single, though I presume there's a possibility it's likely to happen sometime in the near future. Though it's not really the singles title tracks I'm interested in, it's more whether she'll include any un-released non-LP bonus tracks on the singles that I'm interested in. I wait patiently, and in anticipation.

Having recently noticed that there are interested readers from locations outside of Australia, international fans outside of 'Australia' will have to wait until just after Christmas Day ( December 26th ) before the Album is available for purchase, at which time the album will be available for order/purchase on Amazon.com. International fans can pre-order the album from Amazon.com Click Here.

Ok, Now about the new Australian Tour :
According to Ticketmaster Australia, Tina is scheduled to Tour Melbourne in late December 2007, and Sydney in January 2008.

Scheduled Tour Details are as follows ( so far ) :

Tina Arena - The ' Songs of Love and Loss ' Australian Tour 2007 / 2008 :

Melbourne ( Victoria ) ( 2 Nights ) :

* Friday 28th December, 2007, 8:00 PM : Hamer Hall, The Arts Centre, Melbourne.; and
* Saturday 29th December, 2007, 8:00 PM : Hamer Hall, The Arts Centre, Melbourne.

Sydney ( New South Wales ) ( 3 Nights ) :

* Wednesday 2nd January, 2008, 8:00 PM : Sydney Opera House.
* Thursday 3rd January, 2008, 8:00 PM : Sydney Opera House.
* Saturday 5th January, 2008, 8:00 PM : Sydney Opera House.

Initially, there was only one night scheduled for Melbourne, the Friday night. If the second show ( Saturday night ) had not become available, I would not be able to go, as I am working on Friday night, as I usually do. The second Melbourne show ( Saturday night ) only became available sometime just earlier Today. Lucky I've been keeping track, waiting and checking to see if another show would become available. ( Usually, the first show must be really close to sell-out, or even totally sold-out, before a decision is made to make the second show available. ) Anyway, I booked myself in and bought myself a ticket from Ticketmaster-Australia just earlier this afternoon, to the second show scheduled for the Saturday night, 29th December. I was allocated a seat 3rd row from the front of the actual Stage ! 3rd Row !!!!!! How good is that ??! My ticket cost me AUD $ 120.00 plus approximately AUD $ 7.00 handling/delivery Fee for Ticketmaster-Australia to send my ticket out to me in the mail ( Totalling approximately AUD $ 127.00 ). Ticketmaster claims it will take approximately one week to deliver the ticket in the mail.; I was REALLY hoping that second show would be made public, and now that it is, I think I'm happy now. LOL :)

Related Articles :
* Tina Arena Live In Concert in Melbourne, Australia ( 2007 ). ( Concert Review )

Related Links :
* ' Songs Of Love and Loss ' Album Track-Listing
__Track-By-Track Description ( On Tina Arena's Official Web Site ).

* Listen to Sample Audio Clips On Tina Arena's Official Web Site.

* Purchase Concert Tickets at Ticketmaster Australia.

* Tina Arena's Official Web Site.

Connie Talbot ' Over The Rainbow ' ( Her Very First Album ! )

noreply@blogger.com (Richard NG) — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 03:30:00 +0000

Earlier in the year, I wrote an article about little 6-year old finalist of UK-iTV1's " Britain's Got Talent " - Connie Talbot, whose heartly-captivating performances at the ' Britain's Got Talent ' show won the hearts of not only millions of consumer viewers across the UK, but also of the judges on the judging-panel of the show, even the usually-hard-to-please Simon Cowell. I also wrote that so impressed with Connie Talbot's performance was Simon Cowell, that Simon signed her up with his record label Sony BMG, and took her into the Sony BMG Recording Studio to start recording her very first ' recording ' ( though at the time, I didn't know whether that would have been in the format of a single, EP, or full album... ).

Yesterday afternoon, after some browsing on the internet for Music of Connie Talbot, I found out that it is all indeed True ! Connie Talbot has recorded her very first debut album, called " Over The Rainbow " ( pictured ), supposedly named after the title-track of her heart-winning performance that got her this far in the first place - " Somewhere Over The Rainbow " - the song that got her to the final of UK-iTV1's " Britain's Got Talent " show. The New Debut album " Over The Rainbow " is scheduled to be released on sale on 26/27th November, 2007, making it available in good time for Christmas 2007.

Amendment - Saturday 10th November, 2007 : 1:45 PM : I just found out this afternoon through on-line sources that Simon Cowell had recently decided to 'drop' Connie from his initial Sony BMG Recording deal, apparently because of her age ! However, Connie has very quickly been picked up by the Rainbow Recording Company, through whom her new debut album was successfully produced, if not for which, Connie's debut album might not have been produced at all, let alone in time for Christmas. But luckily for Connie, the Rainbow Recording Company speedily signed her up and got under way with her album.

Several of the songs from the new debut album are featured on Connie's MySpace Music Page, including the title-track " Somewhere Over The Rainbow ". She also does a cover version of Whitney Houston's ' I Will Always Love You ', which she does really beautifully, and draws out a soft-spot in your heart, and sounds so sweet and beautiful, it could almost bring a tear to your eye. Technically though, amazingly, it sounds alot like the Whitney Houston version, and she sings it nearly note-for-note ( accurately, I might add... ) on contrast to the Whitney Houston version. I'd say if you ask Whitney Houston, I'd think Whitney would be proud ! ; I'd just like to add that as much as so beautifully sung does Connie on this song ( and I DO think she sings it spotlessly and extraordinarily beautifully... ), I think she's way too young to properly understand the adult-contemporary notions in the lyrics of the original Whitney Houston version. Nevertheless, well-done Connie ! ; The other songs featured on Connie's MySpace Music Page are ' I Have A Dream ' and ' Ben '.

I'd also mentioned earlier that relevant organisations had elected to compare Connie Talbot to Charlotte Church ( who is techically a Soprano ), though I think Connie is currently too young yet to be relevantly compared to any contemporary artists. I think at such a young age, Connie has many options and many avenues open to her, and the direction she evetually takes will depend on how she develops her voice in the years to come. If she's at all likely to become a Soprano, like they say she might, I think she's going to have to 'round' her voice a little more.; Although at the moment, at best, she reminds me of ( and sounds a little bit like ) Nikki Webster, the young Australian starlette who sang ' Under Southern Skies ' at the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony and ' We'll Be One ' at the Closing Ceremony of the same event.

Just for the record, From a conceptual and generic point of view, I Don't usually believe-in nor like artificially-manufactured artists, but on this ' rare ' and particular occassion, after hearing Connie sing, I'd be willing to overlook it - just this one time ! I think Connie is exceptionally extraordinary, and she does have ' real ' natural talent. I'd want to say that some-day she'll stand on her own two feet, but the fact is, she already IS ! - Hearing her natural beautiful voice is a testament to that ! In fact, I reckon Connie is so good that she clearly out-classes, and is so-much more deserving than most of the commercial mainstream artists by a lo-ng mile - even at her young age !

Anyway, Here's the Track-Listing for Connie Talbot's New Debut Album " Over The Rainbow " :

.1. Somewhere over the rainbow
.2. I believe
.3. White Christmas
.4. Smile
.5. Imagine
.6. Walking in the air
.7. Favourite things
.8. Wonderful world
.9. Ben
10. I will always love you
11. Silent night
12. I have a dream

The Album is out November 26th, 2007.

" Over The Rainbow " has not yet been scheduled for release here in Australia, but however, I will keep an eye out for it, and if and/or when it gets released here in Australia, I shall post a notification here.; " Over The Rainbow " is available for pre-order on-line via Amazon US or Amazon UK.; I will be purchasing it on-line via Amazon UK.

Last, but definitely not least, I'd like to express my warm Congratulations to Connie on her outstanding achievements so far. I'm really looking forward to the new debut album soon, and all the Best Wishes to Connie for all her successes in the future years to come.

Update : Thursday 6th December, 2007 : 10:35 PM :

My " Over The Rainbow " CD Order arrived in the mail a few days ago. The actual album is presented in a soft-cover sleeve encasing the plastic CD case in which the CD is held. The image depicted on this page is the image on the front of the soft-cover sleeve, not the image on the front of the the inlay-booklet.; I've already had a chance to listen to the album in its entirety. If you've followed Connie's progress with interest thus far, then believe me when I say the ' Over The Rainbow ' album is one of 'the' most beautiful things you have ever heard ! Connie sings with such beauty, grace, and a warm sense of feeling that really touches your heart. Connie does a tremendously terrific job of each and every track on the album. For every track that is a ' cover ', I'm sure even the original artist for whom the song is usually known for would be very proud of Connie's beautiful renditions of the songs. This album is nothing short of ' Absolutely Brilliant ' ! If you haven't heard it yet, then you really have no idea what you're missing out on ! This album is worth every penny. I'm really looking forward to more new songs from Connie. Sometimes I wonder why there aren't more so-gifted people in the world like her.

NOTE : I have amended the purchase link below from Amazon-US to Amazon-UK as Amazon-UK is retailing the same item at a cheaper price than the US.; In accordance, I have changed my mind and pre-ordered my item from Amazon-'UK' now, instead of Amazon-US.

Connie Talbot : " Over The Rainbow " ( 2007 ).

.Buy This Album On-Line at Amazon (UK)

A Fan of Hayley Westenra or Andrea Ross ? Meet Kelly Sweet.

noreply@blogger.com (Richard NG) — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Where Do I Start ? Here's somethng relatively new for the fans of the Cross-Over music genre. If you already have this album in your collection, then for you I guess she needs no introduction. You will have already experienced for yourself first hand what she's like, and will have already formulated your own impressions of her as an artist, before I've even begun here. If you're already a fan of Hayley Westenra or Andrea Ross, then you're in for a great treat.
She's one of the latest new music artists to join the Cross-Over music genre. She's only 18 years old, and she's from Montclair, New Jersey, USA. Her debut album is called " We Are One " ( pictured above Left ), loosely described as semi-Pop and semi-Cross-Over, influenced by the styles of Jazz, Classical, and Cross-over. Her name, is " Kelly Sweet ". Her music is so much more than can be described in words.

My pathway to initially discovering Kelly Sweet was primarily through participating in forum disccussions on Andrea Ross's Official Forum, where one of the forum participants mentioned having CD titles from Hayley Westenra, Andrea Ross, and Kelly Sweet in his/her favourite CD collection. Of the three, Kelly Sweet was the only artist un-familiar to me at the time.; I've already been a big fan of Hayley Westenra for some time now, and I discovered Andrea Ross sometime earlier in the year, and have a been a fan of ever since. That leaves Kelly Sweet, who at the time, I had never heard of, until I saw her name mentioned on a discussion thread on Andrea Ross's Official Forum. At the time, I was thinking if this person also liked Hayley Westenra and Andrea Ross like I do ( and he/she did convey in communication to the effect that Kelly Sweet is somewhat similar to the other two... ), I thought it would be worthwhile and maybe even interesting, to follow it up and check out who Kelly Sweet is and what she's like. If he/she likes Hayley Westenra and Andrea Ross, and would put Kelly Sweet in the same boat, then I gather Kelly must bear some merit. And this is what initially convinced me to investigate the subject further. First instincts are of course to find out whether she ( Kelly ) has an official web site where I could find out who she is, what she's like, and whether there are sample music audio clips to listen to.; Yeah, I checked out Kelly Sweet's official web site, and her MySpace music page. I also scoured a number of music web sites on the internet looking for Kelly Sweet sample music audio clips to listen to, and after some familiarising myself on Kelly Sweet, I eventually made the decision to purchase her debut album " We Are One " online via Amazon UK. I've had the album in my possession now for a not-so-long period of time that can only be counted in weeks, a small number that you can count on the fingers of only one hand !; Already in this short time, I will tell you with confidence, that Kelly is good ( really good ) ( and she really can sing ) ! and I too would definitely rank her along side the likes of Hayley Westenra and Andrea Ross, who of late, has made this Cross-Over journey somewhat of a unique collaborative adventure.

Kelly Sweet ( in the same-ness of both Hayley and Andrea ), is as Genuine an artist as it gets. As Kelly's official web site quotes, that Kelly is " No pre-fab pop confection or eager-to-please talent-show contest winner ". The team at Yahoo-Music says that " Not every young singer is following a By-the-Numbers career path, when it comes to making new music... ". At an interview with the people at Yahoo-Music, Kelly says that she has been approached by people who wanted her to do either straight Pop or straight Jazz, but Kelly in her honest heart didn't want to do either ! She wanted to sing ( in her words ) ' the music that she heard '. Kelly also said that people close to her advised her to do what she wanted to do, and not what other producers expected her to do. So, she waited until she could find the right producer and the right people to work with, who would produce her unique sound. On her debut album " We Are One ", Kelly sings in four different languages, including English, Italian, French, and Sanskrit.;

Here is the track-listing for Kelly Sweet's debut album " We Are One " :

.1. We Are One
.2. Raincoat
.3. Dream On
.4. Caresse Sur l'Ocean
.5. Crush
.6. Ready for Love
.7. Giorno Dopo Giorno
.8. I Will Be Waiting
.9. Now We Are Free
10. How 'Bout You
11. Love Song
12. Je T'Aime

On Kelly's MySpace Music Page, you will find the bonus MP3 Christmas track " White Christmas ". Two other MP3 Christmas tracks " Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas " and " Silent Night " ( performed by Kelly ) are also available on various other music web sites that feature music by Kelly Sweet.

She's not Hayley ! She's not Andrea ! But her debut album " We Are One " certainly exhibits the sounds and essence that puts her in the one-in-the-same 'spirit' of the genre of which both Hayley and Andrea are now big contenders !

I believe that if you like Hayley Westenra and/or Andrea Ross, you will like Kelly Sweet ( I do already..., and I like all three ! ). Kelly's music is comfortable, and relatively soft - you don't need to have the volume up high to appreciate it.

She's Fresh, She's New, She's Talented, and she's Unique ! She's .... Kelly Sweet....
And her new debut album is " We Are One ", the new sound of Cross-Over.

Video Clip : Introducing Kelly Sweet : Watch a video clip of the Yahoo-Music exclusive Interview with Kelly Sweet.

Audio : The Kelly Sweet ' We Are One ' Music Sampler : Listen to Sample Audio clips from Kelly Sweet's debut album ' We Are One ' on the Amazon.com Music Sampler. Click the Link Below.

If you're a fan of the Cross-Over/Classical Cross-Over genre, and you already have a decent collection of Hayley Westenra CDs, and maybe even the " Moon River " CD by recent new-comer Andrea Ross, then Kelly Sweet's " We Are One " CD is a Must-Have addition to any great Cross-Over/Classical Cross-Over collection.

Here is a montage image of the three Cross-Over artists mentioned on this article - Hayley Westenra, Andrea Ross, and Kelly Sweet :

Buy Kelly Sweet's ' We Are One ' - the debut Album Now, at Amazon UK, or at Amazon.com US. ( Please See Below. )

Kelly Sweet - We Are One ( Import Edition ) ( 2007 ).

.Buy This Album On-Line at Amazon (UK)

.Buy This Album On-Line at Amazon US

* Kelly Sweet's Official Web Site | Kelly Sweet's MySpace Music Page.

See Also :

* Andrea Ross and ' Moon River ' - A Review.

Delta Goodrem - New Album ' DELTA ' ( 2007 ).

noreply@blogger.com (Richard NG) — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 04:04:00 +0000

It's the perfect opportunity to make mention of home-grown Australian music for once, and I thought I'd throw in the good old traditional Aussie Flag for good measure on this particular occassion. Following up on her previous album ' Mistaken Identity ', Australia's Beauty Pop-Princess Delta Goodrem is back in 2007 with her third studio album, titled just simply ' DELTA ', featuring the new single ' In This Life '.; The brand new album ' DELTA ' comes in two distinct editions : the regular Standard Edition, and the special ' Limited Edition ' [ quoted from Australia's Sanity on-line ] : The Limited Edition version features an 8 Panel wallet - 2 pockets for CD and 20pp booklet( 12pp + 8pp centre gatefold). Printed on silver reflecta Kote board and includes pop up poster + 2 picture cards ! { End quote }. I bought the special Limited Edition this afternoon at the JB-Hi-Fi store at Southland Shopping Centre, Cheltenham. [ I am listening to the album as I am typing this up... ]. At JB-Hi-Fi, the regular Standard Edition costs approximately AUD $ 19.00, and the special Limited Edition costs approximately AUD $ 21.00. The special Limited Edition comes in a thinner packaging than the regular Standard Edition, however track-listings on Both editions are identical.

' DELTA ' Album Track-Listing is as follows :

.1. Believe Again.
.2. In This Life.
.3. Possessionless.
.4. God Laughs.
.5. You Will Only Break My Heart.
.6. The Guardian.
.7. Bare Hands.
.8. Woman.
.9. I Can't Break It To My Heart.
10. Brave Face.
11. One Day.
12. Angels In The Room.

The first single ' In This Life ' is also released in two editions : Release #1 features a bonus B-Side track called " Take Me Home ", and comes with a Bonus Sticker. Release #2 features the Acoustic version of In This Life as its B-Side track, and comes with a bonus fold-out mini-poster. I've got both editions of this single release.

I think avid Delta fans are going to want to add ' DELTA ' to thier Delta collection.

The new album ' DELTA ' has been officially released, and is availabe for purchase Now at all good CD Retail Outlets/shops around Australia.

You can Preview-Listen to All the tracks from the new album ' DELTA ' on Delta Goodrem's Official Web Site Here.

* Visit Delta Goodrem's Official Web Site.

Hayley Westenra : ' Prayer ' Album - The Exclusive Japanese Import Edition ( 2007 ).

noreply@blogger.com (Richard NG) — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 02:00:00 +0000

Hayley Westenra : ' Prayer ' Album - The Exclusive Japanese Import Edition ( 2007 ).

By now, she needs no introduction. Hayley Westenra's ' Prayer ' album technically 'isn't' a new album. The ' Prayer ' album is primarily a Japanese release, and is depicted as a collection of tracks previously un-released in Japan, a bit like an album of un-released B-Side tracks. This particular release would be a significant addition to any good Hayley Westenra CD collection.; I've managed to source the album's track-listing from an Australian on-line music-retail site called 'Chaos.com'.

Hayley Westenra : ' Prayer ' - The Exclusive Japanese Import Edition ( 2007 ) Track-Listing :

.1. Prayer
.2. The Last Rose Of Summer (Previously Unreleased)
.3. Listen To The Wind (James Horner) (Previously Unreleased)
.4. May It Be (From Lord Of The Rings)
.5. Mozart's Lullaby (From Loreley)
.6. Jekyll (Previously Unreleased)
.7. Here Beside Me (From Moulin Rouge 2) (Previously Unreleased)
.8. Bridal Ballad (From The Merchant Of Venice)
.9. Flood (Debbie Wiseman) (Previously Unreleased)
10. Jekyll (Previously Unreleased)
11. Tonight (From West Side Story)
12. There's A Sparkle In Your Eyes (Previously Unreleased)
13. You Are Water (Previously Unreleased)
14. The White Rose Song (Composed By Ryoichi Hattori)
15. Summer Rain

Regular Hayley Fans will most certainly recognise some of the track-names. And Yeah, the track ' Jekyll ' IS listed twice in the track-listing, exactly as sourced by Chaos.com, though I'm not sure whether it's a typo-error on Chaos.com's own behalf, or it could either be a slightly different version ( un-credited ), or it could be a re-prise track.; I'll have to wait until I've recieved the item before I'll know. But the fact that it's a Japanese Import begs the question as to whether the track-listing on the back of the actual CD will be in Japanese or English ? ( I have not been able to find the track-listing anywhere else to compare to, at least, not in English ! )

Update : Sunday 9th December, 2007 : 3:32 PM :

I was browsing the ' Hayley Westenra International ' Fan web-site earlier today, looking for a comprehensive Hayley Westenra Discography content and they happen to have the ' Prayer ' album listed. However, thier track-listing for the album is slightly different to the album track-listing I have quoted here earlier. The ' Prayer ' album track-listing on the ' Hayley Westenra International ' Fan web-site differs in that a) the track ' Jekyll ' is not listed twice, instead ' I'm Kissing You ' is denoted as Track 10, and b) Track 14 that I have listed here earlier - ' The White Rose Song ( Composed By Ryoichi Hattori ) ' is entirely omitted on the ' Hayley Westenra International ' Fan web-site's track-listing. Instead, thier track 14 is ' Summer Rain ' ( track 15 as listed here earlier ), and there is No track 15, due to the omission of the track ' The White Rose Song '.;

The Track-Listing for the ' Prayer ' album as on the ' Hayley Westenra International ' Fan web-site is as follows :

.1. Prayer
.2. The Last Rose Of Summer (Previously Unreleased)
.3. Listen To The Wind (James Horner) (Previously Unreleased)
.4. May It Be (From Lord Of The Rings)
.5. Wiegenlied
.6. Jekyll (Previously Unreleased)
.7. Here Beside Me (From Moulin Rouge 2) (Previously Unreleased)
.8. Bridal Ballad (From The Merchant Of Venice)
.9. Flood (Debbie Wiseman) (Previously Unreleased)
10. I'm Kissing You
11. Tonight (From West Side Story)
12. There's A Sparkle In Your Eyes (Previously Unreleased)
13. You Are Water (Previously Unreleased)
14. Summer Rain

Which one is correct ? And, Is either one correct ? What's the ' actual ' correct track-listing ? Well, I'll have to wait until I recieve the order in the mail before I can find out the answers to those questions. I wait in patient anticipation.

Between the three sites I've looked at - Amazon.com US, Amazon UK, and Chaos.com Australia, the prices seem fairly similar, though Amazon.com US and Chaos.com Australia both have extensive delays in dispatch-out time of over a month, and Amazon UK claims to be able to dispatch-out in within a week, so I've placed my order with Amazon UK.; If you are within similar geographical regions as me and you'd also like to purchase this item, then I would recommend you do the same as me and purchase it through Amazon-UK.

* Due to the closeness to Christmas, I have been advised by Amazon UK that my order will arrive a few days AFTER Christmas, rather than the delivery date specified earlier ( on my order confirmation email ).

Hayley Westenra : ' Prayer ' - The Exclusive Japanese Import Edition ( 2007 ).

.Buy This Album On-Line at Amazon (UK)

* Hayley Westenra's Official Web Site.

Hayley Westenra Featured on Soundtrack of New British Movie " FLOOD ".

noreply@blogger.com (Richard NG) — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 04:31:00 +0000

The Beautiful voice of New Zealand Soprano, Hayley Westenra, is featured on the soundtrack recording for a new British movie called " FLOOD ".

About the movie " FLOOD " ( Quoted from Hayley Westenra's Official Forum ) : 'FLOOD' is a British film that sees the city of London overwhelmed by an immense tidal surge following a raging storm. Starring Robert Carlyle, Tom Courtenay and David Suchet, it is a drama of epic proportions with stunning visual effects, and seems to be a home-grown attempt to get on 'The Day After Tomorrow' territory. The film is currently enjoying a limited release in London's West End, hopefully with a wider release thereafter.

The Music of the 'FLOOD' Soundtrack is composed and conducted by British film and television composer Debbie Wiseman, and of course, features the beautiful voice of Hayley Westenra. The 'FLOOD' Soundtrack album ( Quoted from Hayley Westenra's Official Forum ) is released by Silva Screen Records on September 24th, includes album-sleeve interviews with both Debbie Wiseman and Hayley Westenra.

As the Soundtrack album has only 'just' been released and made available for order on-line, I have not as yet had a chance to listen to the album, and therefore cannot say how often Hayley Westenra's voice actually appears on the album, as opposed to the underlying orchestral score, which makes up the underlying 'main body' of the album recording.

The track-listing for the product is as follows :

.1. Flood (3:08)
.2. Granny's Cottage (3:17)
.3. Overwhelming the Barrier (1:58)
.4. Struggle to Survive (2:10)
.5. Destruction at Wick (2:13)
.6. Crisis Control (1:47)
.7. Too Late? (4:17)
.8. Evacuation (6:01)
.9. Trapped (1:42)
10. The Raging Storm (2:39)
11. Personal Differences (3:32)
12. The Capital at a Standstill (3:14)
13. Devastation (2:36)
14. Heroes or Victims (6:21)
15. Race Against Time (2:22)
16. Difficult Decisions (4:42)
17. No Way Out (4:11)
18. High-Risk Plan (8:36)

Currently, There are no details as to which track(s) do or don't feature Hayley's voice.

Listen to a short snippet audio sample of 'FLOOD' On-Line : 'Flood' Audio Sample.
( Audio Clip should begin auto-playing immediately, otherwise Select 'Flood' from the Titles selection Menu. )

You can order/purchase the Soundtrack album on-line via Amazon.co.uk ( Please see bottom of this post ).

I placed an order for this item on-line Today, via Amazon.co.uk, and has been charged at 13.78 UK Pounds, or almost AUD $ 33.00. My order is estimated to be dispatched sometime early to mid-November, and is expected to arrive in my mail sometime near the end of November, a couple of months away.

Update : Sunday 30th September, 2007 : 5:45 PM :

For residents of Local Metropolitan Melbourne, Australia, Just in case you're remotely interested in the movie - ' FLOOD ' the Motion Picture Film will be screened on Television on Melbourne's Channel 7, on the evening of Friday 5th October, 2007 ( that's This coming Friday... ), commencing at 8:30 PM and concluding at approximately 11:45 PM.; I myself might give it a bit of viewing to see what it's like.

Update : Saturday 6th October, 2007 : 12:25 AM :

This info 'just for the Record' : My Order with Amazon.co.uk has been brought forward about a month from the most recent dispatch/delivery estimate, and has now been prepped for dispatch, and should arrive in delivery near the end of month of October.

There are more detailed descriptions of the film 'Flood' and it's accompanying Soundtrack recording on Hayley Westenra's Official Forum at this thread : Here.

" FLOOD " Motion Picture Soundtrack ( 2007 ).

.Buy This Album On-Line at Amazon (UK)

* Hayley Westenra's Official Web Site.

Hayley Westenra in the 50th Anniversary Audio Recording of " West Side Story ".

noreply@blogger.com (Richard NG) — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:04:00 +0000

It's the 50th anniversary year of the ever-popular musical " West Side Story ", originally conducted by Leonard Bernstein. On this 50th anniversary, with the authorisation of the Bernstein foundation in New York, UCJ has assembled some of the biggest classical crossover stars, including the Soprano voice of New Zealand, Hayley Westenra, to record a brand new glitzy version of the musical. In this special edition, Hayley Westenra stars as the character of Maria, pairing up with Italian tenor, Vittorio Grigolo, who plays the character of Tony. Quoting from Hayley Westenra's Official Web Site : " Other stars include Connie Fisher [ who just recently featured at The Concert for Diana, singing 'Memory' from 'Cats', accompanied by Andrea Ross ] and Melanie Marshall ( currently playing the lead in Porgy and Bess ). With a bright young cast (the singers' ages on this new UCJ recording also more closely resemble the youth of both Romeo and Juliet and Maria and Tony) and timeless tunes, this is set to become the recording of choice for the 21st Century West Side Story lover. "

Cast and Album Recording Information from Hayley Westenra's Official Web Site :

Cast :

* Tony – Vittorio Grigolo
* Maria – Hayley Westenra
* Riff – Will Martin
* Anita – Melanie Marshall
* A girl – Connie Fisher
* The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Nick Ingman

Album Tracklist :

.1. Prologue
.2. Jet Song – Riff and the Jets
.3. Something's Coming – Tony
.4. The Dance at The Gym (Blues, Promenade, Mambo, Cha Cha Cha,
_._Jump) – Jets and Sharks
.5. Maria – Tony and Maria
.6. Tonight (balcony) – Tony and Maria
.7. America – Anita, Rosalia and girls
.8. Cool – Riff and Jets
.9. One Hand, One Heart – Tony and Maria
10. Tonight (ensemble) – Tony and Maria and cast
11. I Feel Pretty – Maria and girls
12. Somewhere – A Girl
13. Gee Officer Krupke – Jets
14. A Boy Like That – Anita and Maria
15. I Have A Love – Maria and Anita
16. Finale – Tony and Maria

This album is scheduled to be released on Monday 30th July, 2007. It is available for pre-order @ 9.98 UK Pounds ( approximately just under AUD $ 24.00 ) at Amazon.co.uk. ( Price does not include Package, Handling, and Shipping costs, which vary depending on the geographic location of your home town. )
I've already placed my pre-order at Amazon.co.uk, and the estimated delivery date for my order is sometime between 8th August and 13th August, 2007.
Although not strictly a pure Hayley Westenra record, nonetheless, I believe it'd be a great addition to any good Hayley Westenra collection.

Again, I have 'Not' yet discovered any evidence of this product's availability for local purchase in Australia. It seems this is yet another product that can only be acquired by importing it from the UK via online import-purchase. One source is Amazon.co.uk. I'll probably check the local availability again closer to the product's actual release date. For now, if you want to pre-order it, you'll have to get it from Amazon.co.uk.

Update : Thursday 16th August, 2007 : 9:50 AM :

I have recently recieved a message from Amazon UK regarding a delay in the release of this product. The estimated delivery date of my order has now been pushed back til the end of August, though the order has apparently been dispatched as at time of this update. I should be expecting delivery arrival at the end of August.

You can find more information about this product on Hayley Westenra's Official Web Site.

Preview Video Clip : Watch a preview video clip of Hayley Westenra and Vittorio Grigolo singing a brief from the new West Side Story Recording. The short clip is of Hayley Westenra and Vittorio Grigolo singing a short sample from the track " Tonight " - the Balcony Scene.

West Side Story ( 2007 ) -
50th Anniversary Recording -
The UK Import Edition ( 2007 ).

.Buy This Album On-Line at Amazon (UK)

* Hayley Westenra's Official Web Site.

Credits/Reference : Hayley Westenra's Official Web Site.

Andrea Ross to Make an Appearance at the " Concert for Diana ".

noreply@blogger.com (Richard NG) — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 02:59:00 +0000

This Just In ! I just recieved an Email from the forum administrator of the Andrea Ross Official Forum just shortly ago, announcing that Andrea Ross will be making an appearance at the " Concert for Diana " scheduled to take place at Wembley Stadium, on Sunday, 1st July, 2007.; You'll have to check your own local TV Guide to see when the Concert will be broadcast on television in your home town, wherever you may be.; For Metropolitan Victorians living in Melbourne, Australia, the Concert will be broadcast on Channel Nine, commencing at 8:30 PM, on Monday 2nd July, 2007. The duration of this broadcast will be 3 hours, and concludes at 11:30 PM.; Andrea Ross's producer Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber is also slated to make an appearance at the event.;

The general Synopsis for the event is as follows : " Concert for Diana : Princes William and Harry mark the 10th Anniversary of thier mother's death with a concert to celebrate her life, and raise funds for the various charities that Diana supported, and of which the Princes are patrons.; From Wembley Stadium. " ( Quoted from Australia's ' The Green Guide ' newspaper, a feature pull-out that is included in " The Age " Newspaper every Thursday, Melbourne, Australia. )

Supplementary : Thursday 5th July, 2007 :

The " Concert for Diana " program was broadcast here in Melbourne, Australia, on Monday evening, but the program duration was only 2 and a half hours, not 3 hours. It actually concluded at 11:00 PM, and not 11:30 PM as was earlier stated in the newspaper.; I didn't bother watching the whole program - I was obviously Only interested in the Andrew Lloyd Webber segment featuring that brief appearance by Andrea Ross. There is a video-file of her appearance on a relatively new post on the Andrea Ross Official Forum, from which I found that she did a 'really' brief accompaniment to Connie Fisher singing " Memory " from " Cats ". Andrea Ross's role was 'really' short, like under 30 seconds of the whole piece, but at least she got the chance to make an appearance.; It was only when it was brought to my attention via email that Andrea Ross would be making an appearance at the event that I even bothered to watch any of the program at all, if not for which, I probably would not have bothered to watch any part of the program at all. ( Though, I do have complete respect for both Princess Diana, and the 'spirit' under which the event was held. I just didn't have much interest in the pop components of the show ... ); Good Job Andrea ( as always ) !

* Recent Related Article :

* Andrea Ross and " Moon River " - A Review.

6-Year-Old Connie Talbot Hailed as " the next Charlotte Church ... ".

noreply@blogger.com (Richard NG) — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 06:18:00 +0000

Following on from my earlier article on little 6-year-old Connie Talbot performing at UK-iTV1's " Britain's Got Talent ", while searching on the internet a few days ago for information on Connie ( pictured Left ), I've recently learned that Connie's little wonderful performance wasn't quite as short-lived as I initially thought it was. Despite having lost the winning title to Paul Potts in the competition, not only did Connie captivate the hearts of millions of viewers across the UK, but she also so-highly impressed Judge Simon Cowell, that he's decided to sign her up with his record label Sony BMG for a huge 7-figure deal ! Simon Cowell supposedly took her into the Sony BMG Recording Sudio last week to begin recording on Connie's near-future recording-release. UK's Now-Magazine Online predicts that Connie's first recording-release could possibly make millions. Various news and reviews sources on the internet Hails Connie as " the next Charlotte Church ". So I'm right so far when I used the word ' Soprano ' to describe Connie in my earlier article, and I was relatively close when I said she might follow in the footsteps of Andrea Ross ( and she still might... ), but online sources have elected to compare Connie to Charlotte Church. Close enough.

Watch the Video-Clip of Connie Talbot Singing at UK-iTV1's " Britain's Got Talent " :

* Related Article / Next Article :

* Connie Talbot ' Over The Rainbow ' ( Her Very First Album ! ).

* Recent Related Article :

* 6-Year-Old Connie Talbot Sings at " Britain's Got Talent ".

Primary References :
* UK's Now-Magazine On-Line.
* UK's Daily-Mail On-Line.

6-Year-Old Connie Talbot Sings at " Britain's Got Talent ".

noreply@blogger.com (Richard NG) — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 04:04:00 +0000

OK, Here's something a little different, not quite the usual kind of post I would normally write, but on this particular occassion, I have to make an exception. A few days ago, I accidentally came across a video-clip of this little girl ( 6-year-old Connnie Talbot, pictured Top-Left ) singing Live on a TV Talent show, and I definitely believe it's worth the attention. The video-clip is of a 6-year-old little girl by the name of Connnie Talbot, performing in front of a Live audience on a UK Television Talent show called " Britain's Got Talent ", and Connnie sings ' Somewhere Over the Rainbow ' ( from The Wizard of OZ ) as her act for this session. Believe me, she's 'really' good, otherwise I woudn't be writing about it here.; I came aross this video-clip really quite accidentally - it was while I was flicking through random blogs on Blogger, when one of the random blogs selected by the Blogger randomizer engine picked a Blog called 'The Book -------'. On thier blog, they have this particular video-clip embedded on thier page, and they titled it " An Angel Sings... " and commented it with ' this little girl made me cry... '. This title and description got my attention and I decided to check it out for myself. [ Thank you to the owner(s) of 'The Book -------' Blog, I should credit you here as the first place ( on your Blog ) that I found that video clip...; If it wasn't for, I might never have seen it ! ] ( I better not mention the last word in the Blog's title, for obvious reasons, and fear of negative consequences. ...; Plus, I wouldn't want to offend anyone ! ) I later also managed to track down the video-clip's source page back on the You-Tube main site.; Whereas this particular video-clip is of a session early-on in the competition, after doing some exploring on You-Tube, I eventually found that Connie lasted all the way to the Final, and competed IN the actual Final ( where she sung the Full-Version of ' Somewhere Over the Rainbow ' ... ), but I believe she got the 'runner-up' place, with the Winner's Prize going to a guy called " Paul " ( I don't have all the precise details on the final outcome, so please feel free to correct me if you like, or fill-me-in on all the correct details if you know/have them ).; Anyhow, I loved the video-clip of little Connie singing, and I thought it was really 'moving'. I Love young children, and I think Connie is really Cute and Sweet ! ( And she really can Sing ! ) Whatever the result, I'm confident that Connie ( with her seeming Potential ) will continue to strive, get herself into more similar events or competitions, win some of them, and one day become a full-fledged recording singing artist. Might she be another child-prodigy in the making ? Look at Andrea Ross, consider where Andrea is now, with her claim to fame. ( I've written a full article on Andrea Ross in an earlier post. ) Might Connie Talbot follow in these footsteps, and be the next to achieve what Andrea Ross has already ? Connie Talbot is really Amazing, even Judge Simon Cowell says " she's pitch perfect... ".; I reckon she's a brilliant little 6-year-old Soprano !

Update : After recently looking up details on the ' Britain's Got Talent ' website, I have now learned that in the Grand Final event, Connie Talbot was one of 6 Acts competing for first place, and that the final Winner's Prize was awarded to 36-year-old Welsh male singer ' Paul Potts '.; As the other 5 acts lost to Paul's triumph, I guess there was no runner-up place at all.

Watch the Video-Clip of Connie Talbot Singing !
The Video-Clip : Not all Blog-Viewers like to see you-tube videos embedded directly on the Blog page, so I have opted not to directly embed the video-clip here, but instead, provide a hyperlink to the video-clip in a pop-up window :

* Related Article / Next Article :

* 6-Year-Old Connie Talbot Hailed as " the next Charlotte Church ... ".

As an expression of my courtesy, here is a Link-Back to the original Blog where I initially discovered the video-clip :
Click Here to View that Blog.

Andrea Corr's Brand New Solo Album " Ten Feet High ", Out Today !

noreply@blogger.com (Richard NG) — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 14:08:00 +0000

.Andrea Corr's Brand New
.Solo Album " Ten Feet High
.", On Sale from Today !
.[ Australia ]

.[ Release Delayed : 21st
.JULY, 2007 ]

Update : 3:50 PM :

I went shopping at Westfield Southland Shopping Centre ( Cheltenham ) today, was hoping to purchase Andrea Corr's new album today, was 'supposed-to-be' out on sale today, but unfortunetaly, I wasn't able to find it. It looks like the stores' stock delivery hasn't arrived yet. When I cam home, I checked on the internet on Sanity.com to make sure I had the right release date; Well, Sanity.com's scheduled release date field for this product has been cleared and there is no date next to the 'Released' field, so I assume, theoretically ( and technically ), It's released ! When I last checked the web site some time ago, the product was initially priced at AUD $ 26.99, but now, it's been bumped up to AUD $ 32.99 on Sanity.com, that's $6.00 higher. JB Hi-Fi online, however, has priced theirs at AUD $ 19.99, an on-line-Only price ! And that's no reflection of what the actual price maybe on the shelf in-stores ! JB Hi-Fi's product-listing is on-line pre-order only, and has no reflection on actual in-store availabiity. I guess we'll have to wait another few days and see how things go. I will purchase it eventually.; More News Later....

Update : 8:20 PM :

I've just been doing some searching on the internet for some information on the release of the 'Ten Feet High' album; On JB-Hi-Fi On-Line, and though it's an online resource only detail, says that the album is scheduled for online-release and dispatch on June 15th, 2007. In-store release date may vary a little. No new information from Sanity.com online. That's all I have at the moment. I'll keep my eyes and ears open and alert until I get my hands on it.

Update : Friday 15th June, 2007 : 11:23 AM :

I did some checking on the internet this morning for revised information on release dates for Andrea Corr's 'Ten Feet High' album. I checked both Sanity On-Line Australia and JB-Hi-Fi On-Line Australia. Sanity On-Line Australia has slated a revised release date of Saturday, 21st JULY [ NOT June ! ], 2007, and JB-Hi-Fi On-Line Australia has slated thier revised release date one day earlier, of Friday 20th JULY, 2007.; Looks like it's at least another month away.

Update : Sunday 22nd July, 2007 : 7:36 PM :

Andrea Corr's 'Ten Feet High' album really is out now ! I assume the album was released on schedule ( i.e. yesterday !... ). I purchased it Today, at the local JB Hi-Fi Shop at Chadstone Shopping Centre, just earlier this afternoon. I have not got around to listening to it yet though. When I do get around to listening to it, I'll most likely post my comments about it here after I have listened to it already. Stay tuned....

.* Andrea Corr's Bebo Music Page.

Andrea Ross and ' Moon River ' - A Review.

noreply@blogger.com (Richard NG) — Wed, 30 May 2007 02:00:00 +0000

It happens in the movies, it happens in dreams, but it never happens in real life. Teenage girls simply don't sing a couple of songs over a tinny karaoke tape, get plucked from the slush pile and get signed up by the most successful composer of musicals alive. ... Unless, you're Andrea Ross ...

" A Star Is Born ! " - The Daily Express.

Pictured above is the CD cover image of Andrea Ross's new debut album " Moon River " ( UK Import Edition, 2007 ).

The Track-Listing for the album is as follows :

.1. Moon River.
.2. No Matter What.
.3. Songbird.
.4. White Horses.
.5. Heart Like A Wheel.
.6. The Prayer.
.7. All The Love I Have.
.8. What The World Needs Now.
.9. You Raise Me Up.
10. Popular.
11. Learn To Be Lonely.
12. Start Of Something New.
13. Whistle Down The Wind.
14. One World.

Andrea Ross ( Not to be confused with with the also so-beautiful Andrea Corr from Ireland ); Andrea Ross is a new, pretty, young American singer/actress from Boston, Massachusetts, USA. She was originally discovered ( at the young age of 13 ) by the famous and successful English composer of musical theatre, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, who, after hearing her voice in singing, decided to champion her career, launch her as his protegee, signed her up, and produced her very first debut album of 2007 called " Moon River ". Andrea is now 15.;

Andrea Ross's debut album " Moon River " was recorded in London and produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber during 2006, and was released for sale to the general public by the company 'Universal Classics and Jazz' on March 5th, 2007.

I 'accidentally' discovered Andrea while one day I was browsing the internet for a place to purchase Hayley Westenra's new album " Treasure " - the UK Import Edition ( 2007 ). Andrea Ross's debut album " Moon River " was listed as a recommendation at the tail end of the product-description/listing for Hayley Westenra's " Treasure ". Like I mentioned in an earlier post, it was the album-cover image of Andrea Ross's debut album " Moon River " that caught my attention initially. It was just enough to have me curious enough to look up information on Andrea Ross's " Moon River " and go in search of streamable audio samples of her music to listen to and see what she's like. Soon enough, I came across Andrea's Official Web site and her music page at Bebo, where she has some short audio sample clips of the tracks from her debut album. I listened to them and sure enough, she has a very pretty and nice-sounding voice.; After some tossing and turning, and juggling of decision, I was eventually convinced to purchase the album.; Today, I'd have to say that I'm glad I did, and that I haven't looked back since.

While Andrea is currently only at the early beginnings of her career, is already interesting-sounding and shows much promise and potential to becoming something much greater in the years to come.

Andrea Ross has been participating in stage plays and stage-musicals since she was 8 years old. She has the voice for it. You'd hear it in her voice if you were to listen to her sing. No wonder she got the attention of Andrew Lloyd Webber, the maestro of broadway and stage musicals and plays. Whilst she's great as a traditional vocal musician in her own right, her pretty singing voice is quite reminiscent of Disney feature female cartoon characters like 'Princess Jasmine' from 'Aladdin', and 'Belle' from 'Beauty and the Beast'. In fact, on her debut album " Moon River ", there's a song called " Popular " in which she sounds very-much like those two animated characters.; Andrew Lloyd Webber once commented that even at a relatively young age, Andrea has the kind of maturity in the sound of her voice to sing love songs, but she is probably a bit young to be singing love songs at this point in time.

" Moon River " is really good for a debut album. It shows Andrea expressing her voice and testing the waters in various ways as a vocal artist. This album is really easy to listen to, and is definitely 'music to the ears' in a very comfortable kind of way. It could almost double as an easy-listening product, but the melodies are a bit dynamic for it to be as such. It's relatively soft, and very comfortable to the ears. Her style is quite unique. A UK BBC reviewer describes Andrea as having a beautiful voice and that the collection of songs on 'Moon River' are relaxing, calm and cosy.; The album 'Moon River' is quite the musical journey, with a hint of classical-ness, and almost fairy-tale like. It comprises a range from soft ballads, to easy melodies, and a few almost pop-like covers including tracks like " No Matter What " ( previously sung by Boyzone ), " The Prayer " ( recently covered by Australian Idol Anthony Callea ), and " You Raise Me Up " ( recently covered by Westlife ). In any case, Andrea performs her versions beautifully and splendidly. Some of her songs are accompanied by a harmonious support choir in the background which fits in with Andrea's vocals in a very appropriate and unobstrusive way.
There are a couple of relatively uplifting tracks on this album - " You Raise Me Up " and " One World ". ' One World ' is the last track on the album, and the sound of the song fits quite appropriately as the closing track of the album, as it does sound a little bit like a ceremonial closing track, a great way to 'wrap-up' the album.

Quotes from other external sources :

" Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, the creator of epoch defining musicals like Evita and Phantom of the Opera certainly knows how to pick great female singers from nowhere but Andrea may eclipse them all. She's a superb natural actress with a commanding, vivid, stage presence and a pure, powerful soprano voice. When she sings she inhabits the soul of the song, articulating emotions she has no right to understand and throughout it all she smiles. Her debut album ' Moon River ' features Eva Cassidy's Songbird, a delightful modern take on Moon River, stunning versions of Popular, Heart Like A Wheel and The Prayer as well as some lesser known gems from the Lloyd Webber catalogue. " - Amazon.co.uk

" She's still only 15 and it is going to be great to see her develop, she has enormous potential to become a very big artist. " - Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber.

" As well as being the creator of epoch-defining musicals like Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Starlight Express and The Woman in White, Lloyd Webber certainly knows how to pick great female singers from nowhere. Think of Elaine Paige, Sarah Brightman, Julie Covington and the delightful Connie Fisher who is currently starring as Maria in The Sound of Music. Andrea Ross may eclipse them all. She has the necessary gifts in abundance. she's a superb natural actress with a commanding, vivid stage presence and a pure, powerful soprano voice. But she's also got that spine-tingling something, call it the 'X-factor' if you must, that lifts the 'special' out from the merely excellent. Watch her sing and she inhabits the soul of the song, articulating emotions she has no right to understand, and throughout it all, she smiles. She's happy to sing, and the rest of us are happy to listen. " - BroadwayWorld.com

ALL the songs on this album are great ! There just simply isn't anything or any bit of this album that deserves to be skipped or overlooked. This album is so good you just simply put the CD in your CD-Player, Press Play, and appreciate everything you hear from the very beginning to the very end, and without any interruption.

* This album is not available locally anywhere in Australia ( at least not by my current knowledge... ) and can only be obtained via overseas import.

Verdict : It's not every day you discover such a unique and wonderful artist like Andrea. As many who have noticed her will say, she has a beautiful voice. She's only at the beginning of a journey, and she has a long way to go, and a positive one at that. Even at such an early stage, shes' already showing much promise and potential to becoming something much greater in the years to come. There's certainly not many in the world like Andrea, who has this gift that very few are born with. ' Moon River ' is an easy, beautiful musical journey that grows on you with every listen. This album is an appetizer, a small taste of the wonderful things to come. Andrea will be doing great things in future years to come. I Love this album ! ' Moon River ' is an album definitely worth getting. If you haven't heard it yet, then you don't know what you're missing out on. Once you've heard everything on this album, you won't look back.
' Moon River ' is currently one of my favourite albums. And I think I will be watching Andrea's career with quite some interest.

Andrea Ross / Moon River are just simply Extraordinary ! I can't wait for her next studio record !

Best New Artist of the year ( 2007 ) !

I've been listening to the album while I was writing this review.
My Score : 9 out of 10.
( Score Revised Sat. 14/07/2007; Up by 0.5 from 8.5 to 9.0 )

* My Ratings :

Andrea Ross : Moon River ( UK Import Edition )

Since the day I had this album in my possession, I've had all the songs from the album on my video iPod.; I've recently found a short video clip on Amazon.co.uk introducing the ' Moon River ' album, which I downloaded onto my computer, converted it into ipod-video format and transferred the converted file onto my ipod. The video clip itself is pretty cool, and features both Andrea singing and Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber introducing her. Andrea makes a brief announcement about her meeting with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and her debut album ' Moon River '.

Andrea Ross on ' Over the Rainbow '.
[ This Sub-Topic Added : Saturday 9th June, 2007. ]

Andrea Ross recently participated in a UK Charity program, from which a CD Album Recording was made, called " Over the Rainbow " ( pictured Left ). ' Over the Rainbow ' was recorded in conjunction with a UK television show called " Challenge Anneka ", and was put together by Welsh television presenter ' Anneka Rice '. ' Over the Rainbow ' is a charity album produced to raise money for Childrens Hospices around the UK. The album was released on 4th June, 2007, and the television program was broadcast on 6th June, 2007, 9:00 PM, on UK television station 'ITV1'.

Quoting from Andrea Ross's ' Over the Rainbow ' News Article :

{ " Anneka and her team were given the task of producing and recording an album of songs from musicals by a host of different artists.
In addition to recording, Anneka also had to throw a Gala concert attended by the great and the good, in order to launch the album. Other artists appearing on the record are stars such as Duncan James, Cerys Matthews, Lesley Garrett, Curtis Stigers, Jermaine Jackson and Bonnie Tyler.
The proceeds from this event will go to children's hospices across the country ( the UK ). Children's hospices are unsung heroes who provide vital care for terminally ill children and the families and siblings who care for them. " }

Andrea's song on this album is ' No Matter What ', which is also on her debut album ' Moon River '.; I have listened to a digital audio sample of it on Amazon.co.uk, and though it sounds just about the same, I am not 100% certain whether it is 'exactly' the same version as the one on Moon River. The ' Over the Rainbow ' album is available for purchase on Amazon.co.uk.; No, I haven't bought it yet, and I haven't as yet made a decision as to whether I will or not, though I Don't think I will, as the song 'isn't' one that's not already on her own album.

Watch the Andrea Ross Moon River Trailer Video :

I have recently joined the Andrea Ross Official Forum. | View my First Post.

Check out some of Andrea's sample audio clips. Click on Andrea Ross's Bebo Page Link below, and on her page, scroll down to the ' Songs ' section. There you will find a list of short sample audio clips from her debut album that you can select to play and listen to.

* Andrea Ross's Official Web Site | * Andrea Ross's Bebo Page.

* Some Background Information on Andrea Ross & ' Moon River '.

* The Andrea Ross Page at BroadwayWorld.com.

Andrea Ross : " Moon River " -
The New Debut Album ( 2007 ).

.Buy This Product On-Line at DVD.co.uk

* Next Related Article :

* Andrea Ross to Make an Appearance at the " Concert for Diana ".

Hayley Westenra : 'Treasure' and 'Celtic Treasure' Album Review.

noreply@blogger.com (Richard NG) — Tue, 29 May 2007 03:04:00 +0000

* This Post Re-Written on : Saturday 9th June, 2007, and Re-Posted on : Sunday 10th June, 2007.

Following on from her two earlier studio albums ' Pure ' and ' Odyssey ', Beautiful New Zealand Soprano Hayley Westenra ( pictured Left ) is back in 2007 with a third studio production titled " Treasure " in the UK, and " Celtic Treasure " Internationally.

" Treasure / Celtic Treasure " was recorded in Dublin, Ireland. It's a very personal collection of Classical Arias, along with some Irish and New Zealand Traditional Maori Folk Songs representing treasured people and places in Hayley's remarkable musical journey. For the first time, the album also includes several original tracks written by Hayley herself. UK Edition " Treasure " was released on sale to the public on February 26th, 2007, while US and International Edition " Celtic Treasure " was was released on sale to the public on 13th March, 2007 ( US ) / 17th March, 2007 ( Australia / International ).

The final album covers and track-listings for both editions as at time of album-release :

Treasure ( The UK Import Edition )

_1. Let Me Lie
_2. Le Notte Del Silenzio
_3. Santa Lucia
_4. Shenandoah
_5. Whispering Hope
_6. Summer Rain
_7. Danny Boy
_8. One Fine Day
_9. The Heart Worships
10. E Pari Ra
11. Sonny
12. Summer Fly
13. Melancholy Interlude
14. Bist Du Bei Mir
15. Abide With Me

As at time of writing this, I still have Not seen the UK edition available anywhere locally in Australia, hence I still believe it's still pretty much an import product.

Celtic Treasure ( US / Australia / International Edition )

_1. Let Me Lie
_2. Scarborough Fair
_3. Shenandoah
_4. Summer Fly
_5. Whispering Hope
_6. Danny Boy
_7. Summer Rain
_8. The Last Rose Of Summer
_9. One Fine Day
10. Sonny
11. The Water Is Wide
12. Melancholy Interlude
13. Abide With Me

" Treasure / Celtic Treasure " is a Tribute to Hayley's Celtic ancestry, a collection of songs whose " theme " is laced with the eerie sounds of traditional Irish Folk music.; Amazon.com : " Treasure / Celtic Treasure is a celebration of Hayley's family roots, and her grandparent's journey across the World on the first boat that left Ireland for New Zealand in the 1880s - taking with them a rich musical heritage. ".;
If you haven't yet heard anything off either editions of Treasure / Celtic Treasure, then be prepared to experience something a little different. If you're used to all the songs from Pure and Odyssey, then for the new 'Treasure' and 'Celtic Treasure', you might find they take some getting-use-to. The sounds of traditional Irish heritage may make it sound a little not-so-simple as you may intially expect.; The UK Edition 'Treasure' contains 5 extra tracks which aren't on the US edition ( Track #s 2,3,9,10, and 14 ), and the US edition has 2 tracks which are already on the UK edition of 'Odyssey' ( Track # 2 : Scarborough Fair, and Track # 11 : The Water Is Wide ), and 1 unique track not on UK's 'Treasure' ( Track # 8 : The Last Rose Of Summer ). Personally, I believe that both 'Scarborough Fair' and 'The Water Is Wide' could have been completely omitted from the US edition altogether, and replaced with a couple of newer songs, preferably something from the UK edition 'Treasure'. 'The Last Rose Of Summer' on the other hand, whilst being the only unique track on Celtic Treasure, it's a song worth-the-while to have been ( and should-have-been ) included on the UK edition Treasure.; The Clarity and Precision of Hayley's singing voice remains as Beautiful and Clear as ever ! Again, Hayley's beautiful voice is harmoniously supported by a full backing orchestra. Amazon.com : " The orchestrations are lush, with sighing phalanxes of strings and woodwinds. But in keeping with the avowed theme, there are also soft touches of soulful, wavering tin whistles and vaguely fiddle-like violin vamps. The program is more varied than the album's title might lead one to expect. There are even a couple of more pop-oriented songs penned by Hayley herself. "; As on her earlier two albums ' Pure ' and ' Odyssey ', I have since taken a liking to her Maori Folk songs, tracks sung in New Zealand's traditional Mauri. They sound so beautiful ! And they sound a bit more classical, and a bit more traditional than the songs sung in English. So on ' Treasure / Celtic Treasure ', I take some particular interest in the Maori folk songs on this album, my favourite of which would have to be track # 10 on the UK edition " E Pari Ra " - also my favourite song on the album.; The quality of audio reproduction on this album is brilliant, shows no sign of any distortion whatsoever at ordinary volume levels, and the backing orchestra on this recording sounds naturallly encompassing on any good sound system.; This album is generally thematic, centered around Hayley's family and Celtic ancestry, carefully blended with her New Zealand Maori / Folk culture.; Hayley's songs really have to be heard to be truly appreciated, and words are really not enough to adequately describe the unprecendented beauty and clarity of Hayley's wonderful and captivating music.;

This album may seem like a bit to take in the first time around, if you haven't heard it yet, but play it in its entirety, several times over, let it grow on you, and you will soon get use to it.; If you like music with traditional Irish/Celtic sounds, then you will like this album.;

Verdict : 'Treasure / Celtic Treasure' may take a little bit of getting-use-to, but once you have gotten use to it, I think you'll agree with me that this particular album is probably the Best Hayley studio album of the three most recent studio album productions. The UK edition I believe is slightly better than the US edition by a small margin, but having BOTH editions is really the way to go.
I'd just like to state for the record that ALL the songs on Both editions are really good.
Both Editions are a 'MUST-Have' for any and all dedicated Hayley Fans ! If you don't already have them, then Go and Buy them, and add them to your Hayley music collection.
My Scores :
Treasure ( UK ) : 9 out of 10.
Celtic Treasure ( US ) : 8 out of 10.

If you have a state-of-the-art audio sound system with full surround-sound, really good base and all, then set your sound system to optimum clarity and quality, put this CD in the CD Player, Press Play, Sit back, relax, and just appreciate the amazing beauty of Treasure/Celtic Treasure.

Another fan once described Hayley as a " Pinnacle of a Generation... ", and I totally agree with that. I have never heard anything [ i.e. Hayley's Music ] so Beautiful in my life.

Even though we're only just about half-way through the year, I already get the feeling that Treasure / Celtic Treasure is going to be my pick for 'Album-of-the-year ( 2007 )'. At the moment, There's a significant probability that it will be, and I think most-likely, it's going to be !

* My Ratings :

Treasure ( UK Import Edition ) :

Celtic Treasure ( US / Australia / International Edition ) :

Treasure Trailer Video Clip : Watch a preview video clip of Hayley Westenra introducing the new 'Treasure' album. This video clip also shows brief excerpts of Hayley singing some of the songs from 'Treasure', and also correctly exhibits the album cover image from the UK Import edition of 'Treasure'.

* After I wrote my Andrea Ross Moon River Album Review Article, and compared it to the original version of this post, I made the decision to re write this post, with the structure and content a little more similar to the layout I used for the Andrea Ross Article.; Having already found it difficult to provide adequate and meaningful descriptions for each track, I decided to remove the track by-track descriptions, and provide a more generalised description of the album as a whole, rather than each track individually.

Hayley Westenra : " Treasure " -
The UK Import Edition.

.Buy This Product On-Line at DVD.co.uk

Hayley Westenra : " Celtic Treasure " -
The US / AU / International Edition.
* This Product easily availabe in-store locally everywhere around Australia.

.Buy This Product On-Line at Sanity (AU)

* Hayley Westenra's Official Web Site.

Michael Buble : Call Me Irresponsible ( 2007 ) - A Brief.

noreply@blogger.com (Richard NG) — Mon, 07 May 2007 02:00:00 +0000

Traditional Jazz Vocalist Michael Buble is back in 2007 with a brand new album titled " Call Me Irresponsible ", Released May 5th, 2007 ( Australia ).; I already have 5 earlier Michael Buble albums, so Call Me Irresponsible is my 6th Michael Buble album.;

Call Me Irresponsible ( Special Edition ) Track-Listing :

.1. The Best Is Yet To Come
.2. It Had Better Be Tonight ( Meglio Stasera )
.3. Me And Mrs. Jones
.4. I'm Your Man
.5. Comin' Home Baby ( Duet with Boyz II Men )
.6. Lost
.7. Call Me Irresponsible
.8. Wonderful Tonight ( Duet with Ivan Lins )
.9. Everything
10. I've Got The World On A String
11. Always On My Mind
12. That's Life
13. Dream
14. LOVE ( Bonus Track )

There's nothing unusual or out-of-the-ordinary about this latest release, it's Michael Buble doing what he does, and what he's always been doing. If you haven't heard this new album, but you've heard all of his previous albums, then you'll know what to expect from this new album. I'm not going to go into too much detail about it. Like all the earlier Buble albums before this one, Call Me Irresponsible comprises the usual variety of Big-Band/Jazz-Dance style tracks, several of the more mellow, slow, ballad style tracks, as well as those tracks that are sort-of half jazz half-pop style stuff. If you're romantic and/or you like to dance to Big-Band Jazz type stuff, then this album is perfect for you. As usual, for the real Jazzy tracks, Buble's vocals are accompanied by the Buble Orchestra / Big-Band, which gives that vital environmental element in a good Buble recording. The vibrant sound of the accompanying Orchestra and Big-Band is one of the elements that I like about an album/recording like this one.; Once again, the quality of audio reproduction of this album is top-notch, especially for a Jazz-style Recording. If you have a really good audio sound system with full surround sound that can digitally re-produce/simulate the acoustics and dynamics of a Jazz-Hall, insert this CD into your Hi-Fi's CD player, set your music style to 'Jazz', and select 'Jazz-Hall' ( or equivalent ) setting on your Environmental Selector, turn up the volume, Press Play, and listen as this album's ability to sound like a real Jazz-Hall environment comes to life and transforms your very own living room into a virtually-live Jazz-Hall.; On the album, Buble sings a duet with 'Boyz II Men' titled ' Comin' Home Baby ', apparently slated as a sequel track to Buble's earlier song ' Home ', and he also does a slower rendition of ' Always On My Mind ' ( previously covered by UB40 ).; The Special Edition contains a bonus track titled ' LOVE ' and comes bundled with a bonus 24-page booklet.; Although all the Michael Buble albums style-wise are very similar in comparison, personally, I thought the previous album ' It's Time ' is slightly better than Call Me Irresponsible.

Call Me Irresponsible would be a great addition to your Buble or Jazz collection if you're a Buble fan, or if you're just an all-rounder-Jazz fan. Great if you call yourself a romantic person.; Alternatively, it serves as a really good audio-testing and/or exhibition piece for any Hi-Fi/Audio/Sound-System nerds, or if you just want to show-off the greatness of your really cool sound system.

My Score : 7 out of 10.

* My Rating :

Michael Buble : Call Me Irresponsible ( Special Edition ) :

* Michael Buble's Official Web Site.

From Hayley Westenra to Andrea Ross.

noreply@blogger.com (Richard NG) — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 02:23:00 +0000

A slight deviation from the most recent focus on Hayley Westenra. It just so happens that it was as I was researching on-line for an appropriate and suitably economic on-line web-store to purchase Hayley Westenra's new album " Treasure " the UK Import Edition that I incidentally discovered " Andrea Ross ", a relatively new artist who has just released her new debut album called " Moon River ". Andrea Ross's ' Moon River ' is a new item listed as a recommendation for people purchasing Hayley Westenra's ' Treasure ' or ' Celtic Treasure '. Recommendations listed by the retailer are usually items similar ( or at least somewhat similar ) to the item being purchased. On that note, I decided to look into the recommended item and see what it's like. I must admit it was the 'visual' element that initially got my attention - They displayed the CD Cover image of the album being recommended ( Andrea Ross's face is on the cover... ), and she admittedly does look quite pretty. I figured she must have her own official web site somewhere, so I just went by initial intuition and typed in www.andreaross.com. Sure enough, it's her official web site. She has a bit of preview audio on her homepage that plays automatically as soon as you load up the page ( at least then you know what her voice sounds like ). She does have a very nice singing voice. She also has an alternative web-page at the Bebo Network site where she has sample audio clips of tracks from her debut album. There is a link to that page on the top-right-hand-corner of her official web site. I've already listened to the sample audio clips on her Bebo page and the songs are really good. She may not necessarily be quite as brilliant as Hayley Westenra, but if you like Hayley Westenra, there's a good chance you'll also like Andrea Ross. I agree with retailer recommendations and I'd recommend Andrea Ross to fans of Hayley Westenra.; Andrea Ross's new debut album " Moon River " was released on sale to the public on March 5th, 2007.

For the past week or two, I've been tossing-up whether or not I should buy the ' Moon River ' CD. This morning, I made the decision to go-ahead with the purchase. ( It'd be nice to have some new music to add to my collection. ) I purchased the ' Moon River ' CD through the same retailer where I purchased Hayley Westenra's new album " Treasure " the UK Import Edition, DVD.co.uk on-line. They charged me approximately 12.00 UK Pounds for the CD and 1.00 UK Pound Shipping and Delivery Fee, totalling approximately 13.00 UK Pounds, which equates to approximately AUD $ 31.00, which is fair, considering that would be the approximate local cost if it 'were-to-be' purchased in-store locally here in Australia. And while we're on the subject, I will say that I purchased the ' Moon River ' CD on-line internationally because it's not yet available for local in-store purchase in Australia yet. ( I have already investigated it, and had it been available for purchase in-store locally, I probably would have purchased it earlier, before today. ) Not only are DVD.co.uk on-line pretty fair with thier prices, they're also fairly punctual with thier estimated delivery times. When I bought Hayley Westenra's ' Treasure ' through them, I recieved the item well within thier estimated delivery time, trampling through public holiday days and weekends as if they were ordinary week days ! My order for Andrea Ross's ' Moon River ' CD has not yet shipped, but from the moment the order status shows ' Shipped ', given thier estimated delivery time, it should take no longer than approximately a week for the delivery to arrive on my front door-step. I have recieved an email notification from DVD.co.uk confirming placement of my on-line order for Andrea Ross's ' Moon River ' CD, and that the order and payment has been processed, as the item availability on thier stock-inventory is easily 'in-stock', and will be shipping soon. I have balanced my accounts accordingly.

Andrea Ross is at least a little bit like Hayley Westenra, if not alot. Andrea Ross's debut album is music worthy of attention, and shows alot of promise. If she sticks strong to this path, then she has a great future ahead of her. I'll certainly be watching her musical career with some interest. Like Hayley, she's different, not like all that shallow mediocre stuff you hear on the radio all the time. Andrea Ross's music actually sounds interesting and is also unique. That's what I like about it. People like Hayley and Andrea have a unique and natural talent, music with a hearty, captivating spirit - attributes you cannot buy or manufacture. Hayley, Andrea, and others in the same boat deserve so much more. Nowadays, these are the qualities that attract me to a musician. In light of her new debut album ' Moon River ', Andrea Ross has great potential. It would be good to see her grow and develop on her current apparent foundation, even if it's just her debut album.

Update : 7:54 PM :

I have just recieved an email notification from DVD.co.uk that my on-line order for Andrea Ross's ' Moon River ' CD has ' Shipped ', and has been dispatched out to me. Since it is now in transit, it should arrive in the mail in approximately 1 week's time.

Update : Friday 20th April, 2007 : 11:58 PM :

When I intially placed my on-line order for Andrea Ross's ' Moon River ' CD, the order was 'Shipped' in only a matter of hours ( on the same day ) after I placed the order, so, techically, today IS Day 7, i.e. 1 week since the order 'shipped' ( DVD.co.uk's estimated delivery time is approximately 5 - 7 days ). However, I have 'Not' seen any sign of arrival of the order as yet. I thought it would arrive today, but not, as it turns out...; It might arrive tomorrow, but Australia-Post doesn't usually work on weekends. If that is true, then on a note of techicality, I'd have to include last weekend in the re-calculation, which would re-approximate delivery time to next Wednesday, 25th April. My previous order was delivered quite punctually, I wonder what makes this particular case different ( even when it shipped out earlier than the previous one ) ?

Update : Tuesday 24th April, 2007 : 3:50 PM :

No Delivery yesterday, nor today. Being ANZAC Day tomorrow, there'd be unlikely any mail or delivery tomorrow. Looks like I'll have to wait until Thursday....

Update : Saturday 28th April, 2007 : 1:15 PM :

Just for the record : No sign of the delivery over the past few days, and still no sign of it yet today. It's exactly two weeks today since I placed the order. I fear the order has been somehow lost in transit. The DVD.co.uk company states on thier web site that not recieving an order AFTER 14 days of ordering, the respective order can be declared 'Lost', at which time DVD.co.uk will either replace the order, or refund the money for the order. I will wait until late Monday afternoon, after which, if I still haven't recieved the order, I will contact DVD.co.uk by email regarding the No-delivery of my order, and find out what DVD.co.uk can do to help with the situation. Maybe they will offer to re-issue my order at no extra cost. So much for punctuality...;

Update : Monday 30th April, 2007 : 4:11 PM :

Still No Sign of the Delivery Today. It's Definitely been Over 14 days now since I originally placed the order, and thus can now be Officially Declared " LOST " ! I have Emailed to the dvd.co.uk company and declared Never having recieved the order. I have requested them to re-send the order at no extra cost if possible. At the moment, I am still waiting for an email reply from them.

Update : 8:40 PM :

Just for the record : The dvd.co.uk company has emailed me thier reply just earlier tonight, and states that a re-issue of my order cannot be executed until six full weeks has elapsed since I originally placed the order ( and the order has not been recieved in that time... ). For now, I'll just have to sit tight and wait and see if and when it might arrive. I'll be sure to check my mailbox every day to see if my order arrives.

Update : Friday 4th May, 2007 : 2:54 PM :

It's Finally Arrived ! I now finally have Andrea Ross's new debut album " Moon River " in my possession ! It sure took long enough to get here ! ( Just under 3 weeks ). Don't have much time to get into much detail right now... I'm going to start listening to it right now. More later...

Just a quick note on Hayley Westenra's " Treasure " - the UK Import Edition - Just for the record : I have finally got around to listening to it, in fact, I've listened to it in it's entirety about 4 or 5 times already. More about it later....

Andrea Ross : " Moon River " -
The New Debut Album ( 2007 ).

.Buy This Product On-Line at DVD.co.uk

* Hayley Westenra's Official Web Site.

Hayley Westenra : The New Album " TREASURE " - The UK Import Edition ( 2007 ) : It's Finally Arrived !

noreply@blogger.com (Richard NG) — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 12:58:00 +0000

Continuing On from the previous post ....

Hayley Westenra's New Album " TREASURE " - The UK Import Edition ( 2007 ) has finally arrived, and finally in my possession ! It arrived on the front door-step of my home early this afternoon ( Originally ordered via the DVD.co.uk on-line store website ). I have not had the time to listen to it yet, and I'm a bit busy over the next day or so. So, I'll probably get around to listening to it in detail maybe sometime later on in the week.

I now have Both editions " Treasure " ( UK ) and " Celtic Treasure " ( US ).; If you read my earlier entries, you will realize the effort I have gone through to get this far.

For fellow Australians, I Must Stress yet again, as I have done earlier, that " Treasure " - The UK Import Edition is Definitely 'NOT' readily available for purchase anywhere locally in Australia, and can ONLY be acquired ( at least at the moment... ) by purchasing it on an over-seas on-line web-store and importing it in.
" Celtic Treasure " ( the US / Australasian / International edition ) however, is widely and easily available for in-store purchase at all good/popular music stores around Australia.

Also mentioned earlier, the coverage of songs for this new album 'IS' spread out across Both editions of its incarnation, so if you want All the songs, you will have to purchase 'Both' editions of the album.

I'd like to just briefly quote 'myself' from an earlier entry :

" The UK Import Edition is supposedly the better edition of the two, as it is apparently the more ' Traditional ' Hayley, the more ' Classical ' Hayley, the way she had originally envisioned it to be heard. I believe this. [ I have decided to wait until I recieve the UK Import Edition before I listen to either of them, as I'd rather not spoil the pleasure of listening to the UK edition in the spirit in which it is originally meant to be heard ! .... ] " { End Quote. }

Coming Soon : Final Release actual Track-Listings for Both editions of the new album.

Album-Cover Images for both editions of the album has been added to my Image Gallery on the side-bar on this page. Click on the respective thumbnail image on the right-hand side side-bar of this page, and a larger-size image will appear in a pop-up window. [ You Must have the pop-up window mode option enabled on your browser. ]

Hayley Westenra : " Treasure " -
The UK Import Edition.

.Buy This Product On-Line at DVD.co.uk

Hayley Westenra : " Celtic Treasure " -
The US / AU / International Edition.
* This Product easily availabe in-store locally everywhere around Australia.

.Buy This Product On-Line at Sanity (AU)

* Hayley Westenra's Official Web Site.

Hayley Westenra : The New Album " Celtic Treasure " - US Edition ( 2007 ) : I Have the Album !

noreply@blogger.com (Richard NG) — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 05:35:00 +0000

4:35 PM : Following On from the previous post ....

Celtic Treasure ( US Edition ) - Acquired !

Hayley Westenra's New Album " Celtic Treasure " ( US Edition ) has officially been released, and is easily available for purchase now at all popular music stores around Australia. I bought it today, at my local Sanity Music store at Southland Shopping Centre. I'm a little busy today, so I doubt I'll get the chance to listen to it today, however, I intend to listen to it sometime in the next couple of days, after which I shall endeavour to post a review of it right here.

Quest for the Elusive ' Treasure ' UK Import Edition

The UK Edition, - well, just as I thought, it's really hard to come by, and unfortunately, I was Not able to get my hands on it today. I tried looking everywhere for it today, scouring All music outlets at both Southland and Chadstone shopping centres, but found nothing of it. I'm going to do some more research on the internet soon, and see If I can find anything relevant.

Back real soon ! ....

Update : 6:39 PM :

Searching on the internet for acceptable alternative sources and options for the UK edition has not been very fruitful. I have decided to put in a pre-order for it through JB-Hi-Fi Online, as it seems they can order for it via thier supplier. If I were to have ordered it through Amazon.com, it would have cost me twice as much, and I would have to wait another three weeks for the delivery. The local JB-Hi-Fi Online is charging only the Australian standard price, and delivery time is estimated somewhere between a week to two weeks - at least, that's the details going by the pre-order summary documentation. There's no order cancellation option on JB-Hi-Fi Online, and they have already charged me, so I'll just have to wait now, cross my fingers, see what hand is dealt to me by 'actual reality', and hope that it 'is' what I have hoped for, and what I believe I have paid for.

The UK Import Edition is supposedly the better edition of the two, as it is apparently the more ' Traditional ' Hayley, the more ' Classical ' Hayley, the way she had originally envisioned it to be heard. I believe this. Thus, I am eagerly looking forward to recieving this item that I have already pre-ordered. [ I am thinking about whether I should wait until I recieve the UK Import Edition before I listen to either of them, as I'd rather not spoil the pleasure of listening to the UK edition in the spirit in which it is originally meant to be heard ! .... ]

Update : Thursday 29th March, 2007 :

This Update not too important. Just for the record. No, I haven't listened to the US edition yet, and No, I haven't receieved my UK edition order yet either. I 'have' decided that I 'will' wait until I recieve the UK edition before I listen to either of them. I have been tracking the status of my order every day since the day I placed it. Anyway, it's nearly two weeks now since I placed my UK-edition pre-order with JB-Hi-Fi online. When I initially made the order, JB-Hi-Fi online clearly stated in thier Terms and Conditions that they don't charge a customer until the ordered item is ready for despatch ( from JB... ), but somehow they charged me immediately, as soon as I had placed the order, and the item had not even been available from thier supplier at the time...; A few days later, the web-status of the item changed from " Currently NOT Available " to " Special Order ", and JB refunded me the amount they had originally charged me earlier. According to JB, " Special Order " means the respective item is 'available for pre-order' from JB, however, JB is UN-able to provide an estimate on when the item might arrive at JB for despatch, meaning theoretically, there could virtually be an 'indefinite' wait on the respective order. Well, Today, that status changed back from " Special Order " to " Currently NOT Available " ( Not held in stock, but can still be ordered from the supplier... ). Since my order has been 'in-progress' for the past couple of weeks, I'm assuming it's now back on track, and should arrive at JB for despatch within the next week or so. By this time next week, I guess I should expect some progress... JB has not re-charged me yet.

To the best of my knowledge thus far, JB-Hi-Fi Online is still the only Australian resource where the UK Import edition of 'Treasure' is available for order or purchase. I have not seen it available ( locally ) anywhere else.

Update : Monday 2nd April, 2007 :

A Few days ago, My on-line-order at JB-Hi-Fi-On-Line for the UK Import Edition of 'Treasure' recessed into supplier-Back-Order mode, as apparently even the supplier was ill-stocked on the item. Behold !, This afternoon, that status-quo was elevated all-the-way to " Item-Dispatched " mode, which means it's now officially on its way to my door-step. JB-Hi-Fi-On-Line has re-charged me, and this time, at the right time. Delivery should take no longer than 1 to 2 days at most. JB-Hi-Fi-On-Line Emailed me a ' Dispatch Confirmation ' Message this afternoon, notifying me that my order has been dispatched from the JB Warehouse, and that I should be recieving my order shortly. Yay ! It's about time ! ( I Pray it does not get lost in mid-transit ! ); Oh Yeah, JB-Hi-Fi-On-Line charged me approximately AUD $ 24.00 for the item, and just shy of AUD $ 3.00 Delivery Fee, totalling just shy of AUD $ 27.00 all up. That's pretty good, considering what it 'would' have cost had it been imported via an international company ( virtually double ! ).

Update : Tuesday 3rd April, 2007 :

Time : Approximately 2:30 PM :

The JB-Hi-Fi Order Arrived Today, but, unfortunately for me, they messed up ! :( They sent me the wrong item ! They sent me ' Celtic Treasure ' ( which I already have... ), instead of ' Treasure '. ( I thought there was a possibility that something like this might happen... ) I opened the invoice/receipt, got the enqury-line phone number off the document, and called JB-Hi-Fi directly to immediately inform them of what has transpired. I told the representative on the phone that I wasn't impressed with what had happened, that I had gone through alot of effort to acquire what I 'believed' they were delivering me, and certainly what they had advertised on thier web-site. The information, details, and artwork they had advertised on thier web-site matched the item I was looking for, originally. But, it wasn't what they sent me ! I queried it could be possible they had on-line item-descriptions erroneously mixed-up. Maybe they were confused over the issue of there being two distinctly different editions of the album being available. The representative on the phone said he'd send me item-return details via email to inform me how to return the item to JB-Hi-Fi, and that he would speak to his people and his supppliers, and investigate what might have gone wrong, and whether they can still acquire the item I originally ordered. I was told it would not cost me anything to return the item to JB.

Time : Approximately 3:00 PM :

Update : The email with item-return instructions has come through. The representative has informed that unfortunately, they are NOT able to get the UK edition at all, and that I will be refunded full credit after I have returned the item. Looks like I shall indeed have to resort to ordering and importing it in via an international market. Though, I can only hope that they do the right thing, and send me the correct item, otherwise I shall have go through this all over again.
I have sent an email to JB-Hi-Fi online confirming that I will indeed be returning the item back to them. Well, I've set myself back a few steps.... Bummer !....
[ It's going to take me at least another week now... ] The Quest Continues.... More news later....

Earlier today ( BEFORE all this disappointing drama... ), believing that what I had originally ordered was about to turn up on my front door-step, there was something else I had been meaning to do for sometime now - there is an Australian edition of one of Hayley's earlier albums, one of her Self-titled albums " Hayley Westenra ", which I bought today at a shop. This album has the same Cover Images, booklet and Inlay as the UK Import edition of ' Odyssey '. However, this CD comprises tracks from both ' Pure ' and ' Odyssey ', but what really got my attention is the presence of a previously-Un-released track called " Bridal Ballad ", which does 'not' appear on any Australasian editions of any of her earlier releases. This is the first time this particular track has appeared on an Australasian edition of her CDs, nevertheless, a Vital addition to a Good " Hayley Westenra " Collection.

Update : 3:50 PM :

OK, After doing some very quick searching on the internet, I have just placed a New Online/Web Order for the SAME originally-intended item with an English Distributor called 'DVD.co.UK', who have charged me 8.95 UK-Pounds for the item, and 1.00 UK-Pounds International Delivery Fee, Totalling 9.95 UK-Pounds, which equates to approximately AUD $ 24.50. That's still pretty good, standing at a couple of AUD dollars less than what JB-Hi-Fi Online originally charged me. However, on top of the AUD $ 24.50 Order cost, my bank has to charge me a tiny International Currency Fee, which shouldn't be anymore than a dollar or two, still remaining within the margin of JB-Hi-Fi Online's original cost. Well, that sounds good. I would estimate the Timeline now to be set back approximately 3 weeks. I have checked DVD.co.UK's online Inventory List for All Titles matching " Hayley Westenra ", and they Don't 'have' ' Celtic Treasure ' and they're not using Celtic Treasure's Front Cover for any of thier Hayley Westenra items. Plus, " Treasure " seems to be the 'Only' edition of this particular item available in thier Hayley Westenra Inventory. So, I think I can be pretty confident this time, that I will ( or should, ) recieve the item that I had originally ordered. I have checked, and double-checked this order. ( Even the track-listing appears OK and is as expected... ) Fingers Crossed ! Hope for success this time around.

Update : 11:14 PM :

My new order at DVD.co.uk has been escalated to ' In Dispatch ' mode ( being prepared for ship-out, but not yet shipped ), and I have now been charged for the item accordingly, and I have balanced my account. I have not yet recieved a refund from JB-Hi-Fi online.

At this point in time, I'd like to amend ( and according to my most current knwowledge ) that not only is ' Treasure ' the UK edition extremely difficult to find and acquire, but dare I say that it's altogether Not-Available for acquisition anywhere in Australia at all, and that the Only way to get hold of it over here in Australia is to literally Import it in from an overseas market via online/internet shopping sites.

Update : Wednesday 4th April, 2007 :

Time : Approximately 10:30 AM :

Minor update. JB-Hi-Fi Online sent me an email this morning, requesting confirmation on my request for Full Refund to my account for yesterday's drama. ( Wait ! Didn't I already do this yesterday afternoon ?? Hmmm... ) I sent a quick reply confirming a quick 'YES' on full refund to my account. Last night, after doing some reading on Hayley's Forum, I found that I was not the only customer to have experienced this problem with JB-Hi-Fi. So, along with my reply email this morning, I also informed them that I was not the only customer to have experienced this error in delivery, and that they should correct thier online item-descriptions accordingly, i.e. Remove this item from thier online database.; Shortly, JB-Hi-Fi Online sent me a brief reply email, confirming action on refund to my account, but has yet to be credited.; My new order with DVD.co.uk still has not yet been shipped. Status has not changed since last night.

Update : 3:21 PM :

I have prepped the Return Package to send back to JB-Hi-Fi ( as per the Return Instructions ), and will most likely put it in the mail a little later in the afternoon today. [ No status change on either new-order-dispatch or refund credit. ]

Update : 11:02 PM :

My new order on DVD.co.uk has finally shipped. I expect Delivery time to be at least somewhere between two to three weeks, could be a little more.; DVD.co.uk has emailed me an Order Dispatch Confirmation message to confirm that my order has shipped. The Easter Holiday could possibly factor into a slight delay in the usual Delivery Timeframe.; [ Estimated Delivery Date : 17th or 18th April, Easter Delay Included. ] I have not got around to mailing the Return Package back to JB-Hi-Fi yet. I hope to mail it out some time tomorrow morning. Now I wait to see how everything goes. Fingers Crossed, Better Luck this time around, I Hope and Pray.

Update : Thursday 5th April, 2007 :

Time : Approximately 10:35 PM :

I put JB's Return Package in the Mail earlier today, and sent it back to JB-Hi-Fi OnLine. I followed up by Emailing JB-Hi-Fi OnLine a Confirmation message to confirm mailing out the return package. No sign of the refund credit yet though.

Update : Friday 6th April, 2007 :

Time : Approximately 11:05 AM :

Happy Easter and Happy Good Friday ! Hope you're having a good Easter. My JB-Hi-Fi On-Line Refund Credit was credited back to my account this morning.

Update : Tuesday 10th April, 2007 :

Time : Approximately 10:30 PM :

Early this morning, I received an email from JB-Hi-Fi-OnLine simply acknowledging that they recieved the last email I sent to them late last week. This should almost be the last dealing I have with JB-Hi-Fi-OnLine regarding the most recent matter. All that's left now is for them to confirm recieving the Return Package I mailed back to them last week.; Now for the interesting part, Guess What ?! It's Arrived ! It's Finally Here ! And this time, it's been correctly packed and correctly delivered ! ( Albeit a tad earlier than I originally expected ! ) Yes, It's that all-elusive UK Import Edition " Treasure ", now satisfactorily in my possession. I have not had the time to listen to it yet, and I'm a bit busy over the next day or so. So, I'll probably get around to listening to it in detail maybe later on in the week.

Something else I'd like to add : while I was looking around on the internet for an international on-line web-shop through which to order and acquire the UK Import edition of ' Treasure ', I thought I'd check out some New Zeland on-line resources to see if maybe I could acquire it via New Zealand. In the process of doing so, I found that in New Zealand ( well, on-line NZ at least... ), Thier " Treasure " is titled exactly " Treasure ", has the UK version's photo-artwork CD-Cover image on the front, but low and behold, it has the US Version's Track-Listing, and presumably the US Version's songs ! Technically, this 'is' the US version product, and would be more correctly titled " Celtic Treasure " like the way it is everywhere else. Very mis-leading if you ask me. The dumbly un-educated could be mis-leadingly fooled into thinking they were actually buying " Treasure " the UK edition ! How Silly is that ?
( Now, that would 'really' confuse JB-Hi-Fi on-line ! They were confused and got it wrong even when the photo-artwork CD-Cover image and track-listings were the 'right-way' round ! Now, that's really dumb ! ) I can't speak for New Zealand's actual in-store stock, but I'm just assuming, from the information I've found on-line. So, from this stand-point, technically, " Treasure " the 'Proper' UK version, seems Isn't available anywhere in New Zealand either !

I will now Close this particular entry here, Start a New Entry/Post, and pick up the story right where I left off - from right here. [ See Next Entry/Post for Continuation... ]

* Hayley Westenra's Official Web Site.

Coming Soon ! : Hayley Westenra : The New Album - " Treasure " ( 2007 ).

noreply@blogger.com (Richard NG) — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 06:24:00 +0000

Following up on her earlier album " Odyssey ", Hayley Westenra is back in 2007, with a new not-yet-released forthcoming album, called " Treasure ". Two editions of this album are scheduled to be released : The UK edition " Treasure ", release date February 26th, 2007, and the US Edition " Celtic Treasure ", release date 13th March, 2007. There is no news as yet, as to which edition(s) will eventually be released in Australia, nor 'when' it will be released here in Australia. There is currently No track-listing for either edition of the album for comparison, so as yet, it is not known whether the track-listing will be identical, or if they will be different. We'll just have to wait until more information becomes available. There is currently No pre-release/pre-order listing for this album in Australia, however, Amazon.com has both editions listed, and pre-orders for both editions can be made via Amazon.com.
I have recently briefly browsed some forums about Hayley Westenra's new album, and I'm rather relieved, and somewhat surprised, to disccover that I'm not the only person considering purchasing BOTH editions ( should the two editions differ or vary in thier track-listings...; which usually is the case when Hayley releases alternate versions of her albums... ).
I can't wait ! I'm 'really' looking forward to it !

Hayley Westenra's Official web site is currently being updated and revised. However, the front homepage on her site currently comprises a short text message from Hayley herself ( about the new forthcoming album ), and a short accompanying video clip, in which she talks about her music, her New Zealand Culture and Heritage, and a little about the new forthcoming album. This video clip also contains a bit of short audio samples of some of the tracks from the new album " Treasure ". From watching the video clip, it sounds really interesting already. Doing what she does best, the new album " Treasure " will, as usual, comprise several tracks sung in New Zealand's native traditional 'Maori' - something Hayley really enjoys doing, and is a standard practice when producing a truly traditional Hayley Westenra album. This album is certainly something really exciting to look forward to. " A MUST Collector's Item " for any real Hayley Westenra Fan !

There's No-one with a musically vocal voice quite as wonderfully beautiful and pristinely-of-clarity as Hayley Westenra !

Here are the preview images for the album covers of the new album " Treasure ", respectively a) " Treasure " ( UK Edition ), and b) " Celtic Treasure " ( US Edition ).

Update : Saturday 17th February, 2007 :

I've been keeping a keen eye on Hayley's web site lately, and her new site is now up and running ! The Full Track-Listing for her new album " Treasure / Celtic Treasure " is now available on her site; And here too ! :

Treasure ( UK and International Editions )

_1. Let Me Lie
_2. Le Note Del Silenzio
_3. Shenandoah
_4. Whispering Hope
_5. Summer Rain
_6. Danny Boy
_7. One Fine Day
_8. Santa Lucia
_9. The Heart Worships
10. E Pari Ra
11. Sonny
12. Summer Fly
13. Melancholy Interlude
14. Bist Du Bei Mir
15. Abide With Me

Celtic Treasure ( US / NZ / Australia Editions )

_1. Let Me Lie
_2. Scarborough Fair
_3. Shenandoah
_4. Summer Fly
_5. Whispering Hope
_6. Danny Boy
_7. Summer Rain
_8. The Last Rose Of Summer
_9. One Fine Day
10. Sonny
11. The Water Is Wide
12. Melancholy Interlude
13. Abide With Me

Just as Expected, notice the slight variations in the track-listing content; As usual, there are a few songs that are on one version and not on the other, and true vice versa.; If you want 'All' the songs, you have to get 'both' editions.
Please Note that on Celtic Treasure ( US ), the songs " Scarborough Fair " and " The Water is Wide " - those two songs are already/also on the special UK edition of the earlier album ' Odyssey '.
For the first time in her career, this new album " Treasure " contains some songs that are either partly or entirely written by Hayley herself.

Still No Album Release Date(s) for Australia yet !; Though it has definitely been confirmed that the album 'will be' released in Australia, though most likely will be sometime 'after' the releases in the UK and US regions. I'm thinking about purchasing ( both of ) them through Amazon.com.

[ A Little Later ... ] : OK, my temptation got the better of me ! I've placed an order for both editions of Hayley's new album via Amazon.com. The estimated delivery date is sometime between 26th March and 3rd April, 2007.
Wow ! I can't wait, and I'm ' reeeeeally ' looking forward to it.

I've had a brief browse through Hayley's new web site, and there are short digital samples of the tracks from her new album that you can listen to on-line on her web site, using Hayley's Media Player, under the ' Audio ' Selection.
I've listened to the short digital samples already, and the new album's already beginning to sound very interesting. Very enticing...; Anticipation !

Update : Sunday 3rd March, 2007 :

The first early clues of an Australian release of " Treasure " has come about. I have found some relevant information on the JB-Hi-Fi web site. Contrary to the edition release information provided on Hayley's official web site, it seems now that it is to be the UK Import Edition that it is to be released here in Australia. There also seems to be a slight track-order amendment for the album ( ALL the earlier listed songs are exactly the same and are still on the album, except they appear in a slightly different order ). I've checked the album track-listings on both the local JB-Hi-Fi web site and on Amazon.com, and they both correlate accordingly, so I assume it is correct. That amended track-listing shortly, but first, a brief note on a possible release date for the album. The local JB-Hi-Fi web site is now taking pre-orders for the album and there is an ' on-line-order-Only ' release date of March 16th, 2007, which means that if you place an order for the album on-line, JB-Hi-Fi will ship-out this item on March 16th. JB-Hi-Fi on-line states that there is currently No in-store release date as yet, though it should follow sometime not too long after the on-line pre-order stock. Don't take it to heart yet, it's still early days.; Whether the ' other ' edition will become available for purchase in-store in Australia is currently unknown, and uncertain. At least it is obtainable via Amazon.com; Now for that revised album track-listing for " Treasure " UK Import Edition :

_1. Let Me Lie
_2. Le Note Del Silenzio
_3. Santa Lucia
_4. Shenandoah
_5. Whispering Hope
_6. Summer Rain
_7. Danny Boy
_8. One Fine Day
_9. Heart Worship
10. E Pari Ra
11. Sonny
12. Summer Fly
13. Melancholy Interlude
14. Bist Du Bei Mir
15. Abide With Me

Amazon.com has recently notified that they are currently un-able to get thier local stock of " Treasure " UK Edition, and are required to Import it in direct from the UK should any customers place an order for this item, and therefore have to increase the price of the item to include import costs. The price of this item on Amazon.com has virtually doubled since the import requirement. And seeing as the UK edition will be the one revisionally slated for release in Australia, I have ( for the time being ) cancelled my Amazon order for this edition only, and am thinking I may as well just purchase it here when it eventually becomes availabe in-stores ( JB-Hi-Fi has it listed for approximately AUD $ 24.00 ; I am hoping they will have it available in-store soon enough... ). I am still getting the US edition through Amazon though.

Update : Wednesday 7th March, 2007 :

Hayley's Official Web Site has issued an Australian release date for " Treasure ", suposedly on March 17th. This release date has not yet been solidly confirmed by any Australian sources. In Australia, JB-Hi-Fi On-line has suggestively informed that they maybe getting the US edition " Celtic Treasure ", but at a high import cost of approximately AUD $ 54.00; However, the title " Celtic Treasure " has just appeared on Sanity's Pre-Order list, with a slated release date of March 17th, as per scheduled, but at the lower, regular cost of approximately AUD $ 27.00; Could this " Celtic Treasure " be the original scheduled US edition, as per on Hayley's official web site ? or Could Sanity have mis-printed the title or incorrectly slated the alternative edition ? ( They haven't yet provided the track-listing, so it's a bit difficult to tell which edition is actually intended for release. ) As far as forseeable at this point in time, it seems JB Hi-Fi will be releasing the UK Edition, and Sanity ( and other sub-sidiary stores ) will be releasing the US Edition. Don't take this to heart just yet, I'm going to keep checking it out, and see whether this really is the case. I will post a confirmation as soon as I have found out where it's all at. Since my Amazon order has not been shipped out yet, I have completely Cancelled my Amazon order for now. If Sanity really is releasing the US Edition, then I'll purchase the US Edition from Sanity, and the UK Edition from JB-Hi-Fi.

Update : Saturday 10th March, 2007 :

Latest Information at Sanity-online ( Australia ) seemingly has slated US Edition " Celtic Treasure " as the edition they will release in-stores on March 17th ( one week from today ! ). Sanity-online Track-listing for this release is now on thier product description for this item. The price however, has been amended from AUD $ 27.00 to now only approximately AUD $ 23.00. There are no anomalies in the slated Track-listing, and so far reflects the original track-listing for this edition.
JB Hi-Fi online has not yet provided any extra details since the previous update. Though I should point out that JB Hi-Fi has NOT yet provided an official in-store release date for thier item, though I do believe it shouldn't be too far behind Sanity.

It appears we'll have easy local access to Both editions of the album, and both at our local 'Standard' price ( even at the very minor expense of it being different shops ! ). Good thing we don't have to fork out any import fees !! :)
More information as it comes....

Update : Friday 16th March, 2007 :

1 Day to Go ! and Currently, everything appears to be proceeding as scheduled. At Sanity Australia, the US Edition seems to be going forward as planned. At JB-Hi-Fi Online Australia, there is a minor hiccup. The current online-status of the UK Edition is " Currently NOT in Stock ", though online orders will still be taken at this stage. Thier online item description still states that online stock status apparently does not reflect the in-store stock status. Let's keep our fingers crossed that that is true. I guess we'll find out tomorrow. Tomorrow, I'll purchase whichever of the edition(s) that I can get hold of. If the UK edition becomes too difficult to find, I may have to consider re-instating my order through Amazon.com for it, though I hope I will not have to. I hope I will be lucky enough to find it locally in-store here. Again, we'll have to wait 'til tomorrow to know.

With each passing day, we draw nearer to the official release of this new album. Oh, it's so exciting ! I can't wait !!

Update : Saturday 17th March, 2007 :

Today is the Day ! " Celtic Treasure " ( US Edition ) Out Now ! UK Edition - Currently Not Found. Full Article Coming Next Post.

Check out Hayley's Introductory Video on her official web site.

* Hayley Westenra's Official Web Site.

Norah Jones - " Not Too Late " ( 2007 ).

noreply@blogger.com (Richard NG) — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 08:47:00 +0000

Shown Above, is an image of Norah Jones' Newest CD Album " Not Too Late ", Released Just Yesterday ( Saturday 27th January ). If you are familiar with Norah Jones' Music ( And You should be... ! ), then Norah Jones needs no introduction - you know who she is, and what her music is like.
I purchased my copy yesterday ( The Deluxe Edition with Bonus DVD ), on it's very first day of release, from the JB-Hi-Fi shop at Westfield Southland Shopping Centre, Cheltenham. The cost was only AUD $ 26.99 ( Estimated Regular Retail Price was AUD $ 38.99 ) At JB's, I saved almost AUD $ 12.00 off the Regular Retail Price !
I've already had a chance to listen to the whole album once through since purchase. The New Album " Not Too Late " is 'Norah Jones' as you would expect. The 'eseence' and the style is the same as the eseence and style used in her previous albums, and therefore the music itself is nothing out of the ordinary. The quality of the album is really good and contains some great tracks. ALL the tracks on this album are at least somewhat reminiscent of songs from her earlier work; So there's not much need to describe each track individually.
I like this album, it's really good. As I would usually say - If you really want to know what this album is really like, go and purchase it, and listen to it for yourself !

" Not Too Late " Album Track Listing :

1. Wish I Could. ( 4:18 )
2. Sinkin' Soon. ( 4:38 )
3. The Sun Doesn't Like You. ( 2:59 )
4. Until The End. ( 3:56 )
5. Not My Friend. ( 2:54 )
6. Thinking About You. ( 3:17 )
7. Broken. ( 3:19 )
8. My Dear Country. ( 3:25 )
9. Wake Me Up. ( 2:46 )
10. Be My Somebody. ( 3:36 )
11. Little Room. ( 2:43 )
12. Rosie's Lullaby. ( 3:56 )
13. Not Too Late. ( 3:30 )

" Thinking About You " is 'supposedly' slated as the first single from the album, though there isn't as yet any information or any evidence that 'that' single is 'actually' on release ( yet ! ). I guess we'll have to wait and see. If it 'is' scheduled to be the first single to be released, it should be released sooner or later... You can listen to the streaming audio of this track on Norah Jones' Official Web Site.

Now for the Bonus DVD that comes with the Deluxe Edition :

The Bonus DVD contains a) the Music Videos for the songs " Thinking About You ", " Until The End ", and " Sinkin' Soon ". b) Making of/Behind the Scenes Clips for the music videos " Thinking About You " and " Sinkin' Soon ". c) An Interview with Norah, and d) Two Live Bonus Tracks [ " Until The End ", and " Sinkin' Soon " ] from 'rehearsals.com' Filmed in Burbank, CA, in November 2006.

That Visual Interview with Norah, is really something to note. As Norah is speaking, the clip shows short segments of live performance of some of the tracks from the " Not Too Late " Album ( And there is an audience too ! ). It gives the impression that not only was the performance recorded in front of a live audience, but it also gives the impression that the 'whole' performance was recorded, and that the whole event may possibly be stored/back-logged on a video-reel somewhere in the recording studio. Could it be that at some time in the near future, that this preliminarily recorded event could be restored, re-mastered, and converted to DVD, and shipped out for sale, so that we, the little people can eventually see the 'whole' show on DVD ? And why was it not included on this first release ( maybe on a 'Special' Deluxe Collector's Edition, which includes the entire Live performance on DVD ) ?
Even Norah Jones' Official Web Site does not yet say anything about any forthcoming or future DVDs.
I am definitely hoping that some time in the near future, that this item will come to fruition, as a Music/DVD Item. Maybe it could be called " Norah Jones - Not Too Late - Live, 2007 ".

If you liked Norah Jones' earlier albums " Come Away With Me " and " Feels Like Home ", You'll like her new album " Not Too Late ".

" Not Too Late " is availabe for Purchase Now, in All Good Music/CD Stores. This item is available in a Standard Edition [ Single CD ], and a Deluxe Edition [ CD and Bonus DVD Combo Pack ].

" Not Too Late " Album Image Gallery .
Click on a Thumbnail Image below to View the 'Larger' Version of that Image.

* Norah Jones Official Web Site.

A Brief Introduction, From Me.

noreply@blogger.com (Richard NG) — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 06:38:00 +0000

This Post Currently Pending Revision....

Welcome To Richard NG's Music Review Blog, 2007.

noreply@blogger.com (Richard NG) — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 06:37:00 +0000

Welcome To Richard NG's Music Review Blog, 2007. On This Blog is where I will Post Personal Articles and Reviews of New Music CDs that I Purchase and/or my Current Favourite Music CDs.

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Update : Monday 12th February, 2007 :

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