Allmusic.com:

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For nearly 20 years, critics have been praising Mel Tormé's recordings for Concord, the label he spent the last 13 years of his career recording for, in a variety of settings. Fans of his '50s and '60s heyday, however, have often had difficulty approaching the work of Tormé's last 13 years. The Best of the Concord Years presents two hours of his best on the label, including a mix of live and studio sessions recorded with groups both small and large, originally issued on solo albums as well as his excellent collaborations with George Shearing, Rob McConnell, Marty Paich, and the Frank Wess/Harry Edison Orchestra.(contd)

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Allmusic.com:

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Singer Mel Tormé and pianist George Shearing make a perfect team, bringing out the best in each other. With the assistance of bassist John Leitham and drummer Donny Osborne, the swinging, witty duo performs a variety of standards, including Noël Coward's "Someday I'll Find You," "The Way You Look Tonight," and "Anyone Can Whistle," and a couple of medleys highlighted by a humorous six-song "New York, New York Medley." All of the Tormé/Shearing collaborations are quite enjoyable and highly recommended as some of their best work of the 1980s.

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Amazon.com:

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Long out of print, this jaunt through the wonderful world of Latin music with the immortal Mel Torme and arranger/conductor extraordinaire Billy May will be a very welcome addition to your collection. This Verve gem has been in the vaults far too long, and one would have thought with the Latin craze in music sparked a few years ago, it would have been re-released at that time. Happily, here it is, and in special LP style packaging from Verve. While it borders on commercial, one need only recall that it IS Mel Torme singing and swinging here, abetted 'en largo' by Billy May. May was one of the greatest bandleaders of all time and worked with the best of 'em from Sinatra to Cole and everywhere in between.

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Allmusic.com:

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Smooth as Velvet captures two sessions Mel Tormé cut during the early stages of his career. The first was with a small group headed by Dave Barbour during 1946 and 1947, and the second took place in 1957 with the Marty Paich Dekette (plus strings) for the Tops label. Each session is very good Tormé, and each has its special listening delight. When he hooked up with Dave Barbour (who appears on five of these cuts), Tormé had been recording for four years, and he demonstrates his sympathy for and control over the ballad form. Barbour's understated, calm guitar sets off Tormé's voice to perfection, creating a cozy, intimate setting for such classic tunes as "A Cottage for Sale," "Don't Take Your Love from Me" and "Gone with the Wind." (contd.)

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Allmusic.com:

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Though it's sometimes relegated to second or third place among Tormé's best albums of the '50s (behind Mel Tormé and the Marty Paich Dek-Tette and It's a Blue World), it's difficult to hear how Mel Tormé Sings Fred Astaire can't be the best album of his entire career. Featuring an artist at the peak of his ability and talent, a collection of top-drawer songs from the best pop composers ever, and a swinging ten-piece that forms the perfect accompaniment, Sings Fred Astaire is one of the best up-tempo vocal albums ever recorded.

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Amazon reviewer:

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Even though I'm a big Torme fan, I resisted buying this cd for a while, because I assumed his Atlantic recordings weren't as superb as the earlier stuff on Bethlehem and Verve, and because the concept of "songs of New York" didn't grab me. But this is an exceptional album, one of Torme's best. Though there are several arrangers, the songs flow together nicely, and every chart is bright and sharp. Torme is in great voice, improvising effortlessly without drowning the lyric; listen to how he subtly alters the refrain of the phrase "autumn in New York" or works in a very exciting scat before the instrumental break of "Let Me off Uptown." Get the Bethlehem cd of "Mel Torme and the Marty Paich Dek-Tette," and you can compare his earlier version of "Lullaby of Birdland" to the one here; both are unique and terrific. Even if you wouldn't live in New York for a million dollars, this is an indispensable cd from one of the immortal singers.

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Amazon:

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In the 1990s, Nicki French became one of Britain's top female singing exports with more than five million sold of her 1995 smash hit dance version of the Bonnie Tyler classic "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" which reached #5 on the UK Singles Chart and an amazing #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also reached #1 in Canada, Australia, Hong Kong and was a massive success throughout Europe. Nicki's new release with Diva DJ's – "Total Eclipse Of The Heart 2006" takes this all-time dance classic to new heights with six brand new remixes by Saint, Shanghai Surprize, Starlet DJ's, Tropicana and Spit & Polish, plus an enhanced video. Diva DJ's vs. Nicki French's "Total Eclipse Of The Heart 2006" is a must-have for any true fan of dance music!

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Midnight Caller starred Gary Cole as Jack Killian, a former San Francisco police detective who had quit the force after accidentally shooting his partner to death in a confrontation with armed criminals. After lapsing into alcoholism, Killian receives an offer from Devon King (Wendy Kilbourne), the beautiful and wealthy owner-operator of KJCM-FM, to become "The Nighthawk", host of an overnight talk show, taking calls from listeners and acting as a detective solving their problems during the day. From Wikipedia

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This popular viral was originaly produced for LEGO/SONY/Marvel to promote the theatrical release of Spider-Man 2, but has since developed a life of its own, spreading web-wide and making any number of global broadcast appearances. A version with an alternate ending can be seen at www.spiteyourface.com.

Amazon reviewer:

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This is a long-awaited re-release: One of the Rascals' best, released toward the end of their career, finds them reaching out to soul, extended jazz jams, and Sly Stone-like funk workouts. The mood is joyful, the musicianship high (with assists from some top-notch jazz artists sitting in), and the entire atmoshphere entirely enjoyable. Standout tracks include the title track 'Peaceful World," the cosmic "Sky Trane" and the chart hit "Love Me."

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Amazon reviewer:

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Can a wild horse with a bad attitude and a not-quite-wild but pretty darn sullen teenage girl with a bad attitude be the best things that ever happened to each other? Though we guess the answer pretty early on in Flicka, it doesn't diminish the feel-good family film one bit. The film is a remake of the 1947 My Friend Flicka itself based on the bestselling (and still riveting) novel by Mary O'Hara, and starring a young Roddy McDowall as the aimless teen hero. This 2006 update changes the hero to a heroine, Katy (Alison Lohman), though the dynamic is similar, and in some ways makes the appeal of the film broader. After all, young girls love their horses, and Katy's moxie and determination, as she opens her heart to the wild filly, a touchingly and humanly conveyed. As Katy struggles with her relationship with her gruff dad (given an excellent performance by country star Tim McGraw), she finds she can gain confidence and be the person her father wants her to be--solely by being herself as she connects with Flicka the horse. The cinematography is stunning, and showcases a part of America that once was seen and celebrated often in films, and lately so rare as to be precious. --A.T. Hurley

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Stars Alison Lohman, Tim McGraw, Maria Bello.

Amazon reviewer:

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This is one of those rare cd's you come across that you love from start to finish on the first listen. I own Body and Soul and Beat Street also, and I do not disagree at all with the great reviews of those efforts. However, Intimate Secrets, to me, is Rick Braun's best. Unlike Body and Soul, Intimate Secrets is not "too" pretty ala Kenny G. and such. Therefore this disc is much more listenable to at any time. The combination of Rick's classy, lonesome muted horn and Jeff Golub's Spanish guitar (which flavors the feeling throughout this cd) are a perfect match. If you are a music fan period, not just a smooth jazz fan, treat yourself to this cd, you will love it.

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From IMDB: “Glynnis O'Connor gives a very fine performance as a small town young woman involved in a mercurial romance with an erratic young man; tragedy ensues. The screenplay was based on the evocative 1967 song by Bobbie Gentry, and for the first hour anyway it has some appeal. Director Max Baer tries for a "Splendor in the Grass" look and narrative, but the story takes some uncomfortable turns that, viewed today, are laughably clichéd (if not downright offensive). O'Connor re-teams with her 1973 "Jeremy" co-star Robby Benson, and they match up well on-screen together.”

Never released on DVD or Laserdisc, I recently acquired a fairly decent VHS copy of this movie.

Amazon reviewer: Based on Christopher Buckley's eponymous novel, Thank You for Smoking cynically and gleefully sends up the more PC aspects of our times. The first nine tracks are all golden oldies culled from a time--mostly the 1940s and 1950s--when smoke getting in your eyes was considered romantic, not second-hand poisoning, such as the Platters' version of Jerome Kern's "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"). Those familiar with kd lang's version of "Smoke Rings" will love the Mills Brothers' earlier version from 1932. The track is actual typical of the album, which not only offers those-were-the-days takes on smoking, but almost as many lessons on vocal styling. Group harmonies by the aforementioned Mills Brothers and the Swingle Singers' take on Bach's "Little Organ Fugue," for instance, are dazzling, while Patsy Cline ("Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray") and Otis Redding ("Cigarettes and Coffee") shine solo. In a completely different register, Jerry Reed's 1972 ode to addiction, "Another Puff," is punctuated by unappetizing coughs; Reed rasping lines "Give it to me! Give it to me! I love it! I love it! I love it!" and "You quit smoking, that'll leave more for me!" are followed by a maniacal laugh. The last four instrumental tracks consist of Rolfe Kent's original score; they maintain an appropriate lounge-lizardy mood but pale in comparison to the nuggets that precede them.