CD (Electronic)
Chris Powell and Brett Wales - Welcome
December 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
Chris Powell and Brett Wales have produced nearly fifty CDs and DVDs between them over the years, but this is the first time they have joined forces to produce a duet CD. They first collaborated publicly two years ago when they formed their company 'Key Breaks Music' to promotes musical Weekends (www.keybreaks.org if you want to know more about those). READ THE FULL REVIEW...
Phil Brown - A Morning in Cornwall (and On Days Like These)
December 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
This one is a bit of a 'blast from the past' as we used to stock a couple Phil Brown's CDs back in the days when he was a Grosvenor Recordings artiste. The last one of those was back in 2000 (I could nearly have said the last Millennium), although he did tell me he has released eight CDs since then (most of which are now deleted). READ THE FULL REVIEW...
Ryan Edwards - Better Late Than Never
December 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
If you are one of those people who only buy CDs from organists every ten years, then I have a second treat for you! The last recording by Ryan Edwards was back in 2001 and, unlike Phil Brown, he hasn't released any others which we've missed in the meantime, hence the rather tongue-in-cheek title of his latest offering, "Better Late Than Never". READ THE FULL REVIEW...
Chiho Sunamoto and Jon Smith - What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life?
November 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
This is the second release featuring the combined talents of Chiho Sunamoto and Jon Smith, their last (and first) release being "And I Love Her", back in 2007. As far as I know, Jon's only previous CD release was "Some Enchanted Evening" back in 2004, but Chiho (as you well know) has released many CDs in the past, although her last solo release was also back in 2004. READ THE FULL REVIEW...
David Last - Wired For Sound
November 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
I am not sure how many CDs David Last has released. We started selling organ CDs fifteen years ago and this is the 42nd we've stocked, so I would guess around the fifty mark.
David has changed keyboard since his "On The Road Again" CD earlier in the year. He was playing the Yamaha Tyros 4 and Ketron Audya that time, but now it's the turn of the Yamaha Stagea organ. That makes this recording a bit of a rarity as I only know of Penny Weedon who has used it on a recording before (her "Rustle of Spring" CD in case you didn't know). READ THE FULL REVIEW...
David has changed keyboard since his "On The Road Again" CD earlier in the year. He was playing the Yamaha Tyros 4 and Ketron Audya that time, but now it's the turn of the Yamaha Stagea organ. That makes this recording a bit of a rarity as I only know of Penny Weedon who has used it on a recording before (her "Rustle of Spring" CD in case you didn't know). READ THE FULL REVIEW...
Larry Green - Jump, Shout, Boogie
November 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
I know what you're thinking… "Jump, Shout, Boogie" sounds like a new CD featuring a selection of tracks that make you want to do just that, however it isn't and features a collection of tunes which will more likely make you "Sit Down, Shut Up and Maybe Tap Your Foot a Little Bit" (OK, not such a catchy title). I couldn't notice any more of an up-tempo feel to this CD than any of Mr. Green's previous, which isn't a complaint. READ THE FULL REVIEW...
Philip Randles - That's Livin' Alright
October 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
This is the first Philip Randles release since his "On The Crest Of A Wave" CD in 2008. Again, it's a strict-tempo Maestro release with Philip playing the Orla KX1000pro keyboard which he's used on his previous two outings. READ THE FULL REVIEW...
Andrew Nix - Decade of Favourites
October 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
The new release from Andrew Nix, as it's title would suggest, is a compilation of his best recordings from the past decade, or 2001-2009 to be more precise. READ THE FULL REVIEW...
The Tony Gilbert Sound - Those Fabulous Forties
October 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
This is Tony Gilbert's third CD, with his previous two; "We Need A Little Christmas" and "Those Fabulous Fifties" both being released in 2009 (another one who took a gap year). The keyboards played aren't mentioned, which is a shame, but they do sound pretty current. READ THE FULL REVIEW...
Andrew Varley - The Mood I'm In
October 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
So far, we have had seventeen CDs pass through our ‘shop' by Andrew Varley, all of which have been released since 2000 (although there was nothing in 2009... he must have had a gap year!). READ THE FULL REVIEW...
Ronnie Ross - I Just Wanna Dance With You
September 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
This is Ronnie Ross's first CD since "An Evening With…" last year and only his second CD for Maestro Records. If you don't know anything about Ronnie (and I didn't), then it's well worth visiting his website as the opening page shows him in a very smart blue Tartan outfit with the header - "Ronnie Ross, Scottish Entertainer". It goes on to say that he recorded three LPs with his father Stuart in "The Stewart Ross Dance Band" in the late sixties and early seventies, so he's been in the music business for over forty years. He's also a black belt in Karate and the chief instructor of the Highland Karate Association, holding the rank of 6th Dan. Well, THAT'S not on the CD inlay. READ THE FULL REVIEW...
Ian Griffin and His World of Dreams
September 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
This new CD is from one of the favourites on the keyboard circuit and one-half of keyboard duo "KeyKlix", namely Ian Griffin. It's his first release since "Up On The Roof" in 2007 and, as with that release, he is playing the Ketron keyboards and Roland pedal-board setup that he uses on his concerts. The inlay states the CD contains a "selection of music made famous by many stars in show business" (although isn't that what all keyboard CDs are?). Having said that, there is a good selection of tunes with most you will know (although there are a couple that are new to me). READ THE FULL REVIEW...
Klaus Wunderlich - Sound Explosion! (Double CD)
August 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
June 18th 2011 would have been Klaus Wunderlich's 80th birthday and to mark this special event Werner Kohlhammer and Bell Musik have produced this double CD set (their twenty-fourth Klaus release so far). This is another two-disc set and contains material from four LPs that were never intended for sale in High Street shops, only from Wersi dealerships & outlets, so they are in effect 'demonstration' recordings for the Wersi W248S & Helios W2S organs. The LPs which have been used are: "Wersitime vol.1", "Sound Explosion" & "Fascination vol.1 & 2". Because of the rarity of this material I think it will be new to many people, even Klaus' fans may not have all of these LPs in their collection. READ THE FULL REVIEW...
Carol Bradbury - Around the World with Carol Bradbury
July 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
This is the first CD from Carol since 'Unforgettable Feelings' in 2007 and since then she has changed keyboards, from a Yamaha PSR8000 to a PSR-S910. You will notice by the track list that all the tunes have a "Worldy" theme and move from Scotland and Hawaii to London and New York. This makes for an interesting theme and gives the CD more variety. READ THE FULL REVIEW...
Thomas Trotter - Grand Organ Prom: The Royal Albert Hall Organ
July 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
We don't usually stock classical organ recordings, but every once in a while one catches our eye and the new Thomas Trotter CD is such a case. READ THE FULL REVIEW...
Larry Green - The Organ Lounge - Volume 2
July 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
Having mentioned that Richard Keeling has just released his sixteenth CD, to be fair, I should point out that this is Larry Green's NINETEENTH (although he's taken another five years to get there, so I don't know who wins the 'Mr. Prolific' prize). READ THE FULL REVIEW...
Richard Keeling - Band of Brothers
July 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
The latest CD release from Richard Keeling is his SIXTEENTH in less than seven years, which takes some doing. While the title hints at a CD of wartime songs, it's not and contains his usual mix of popular favourites. READ THE FULL REVIEW...
John Kyffin - A French Connection
July 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
The new release from John Kyffin is a European affair with the title "A French Connection". The CD is recorded on the Yamaha Tyros (his previous releases have been on Wersi organs) and this is the first with a set theme as it contains a beautiful selection of French tunes. If you don't recognise many of the titles, you will probably know more once you start listening. READ THE FULL REVIEW...
Brett Wales - Some Of The Best Rock 'n' Roll
June 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
Here is the new release from Brett Wales and it's another in his "Some Of The Best…" series ("Love Songs", "Country 'n' Western" and "Classical Music" being the others). He has added some new 'kit' with this release, most notably he as gained a manual by upgrading his Wersi Scala to the Louvre. He has also added a Nord C1 organ to his setup (the Korg Pa2X Pro and Yamaha Tyros 2 stay from the 'old days'). READ THE FULL REVIEW...
Claudia Hirschfeld - Colours
June 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
The new CD from top German organist Claudia Hirschfeld is a break with tradition as it's her first venture away from Wersi and features her playing the Roland Atelier, the AT-900c model to be exact. Her last seven or so CDs have been on the Louvre with the ones before that on the Scala and Spectra models, with a few tracks on the Hammond B3 Ultimo on her last DVD. READ THE FULL REVIEW...
DirkJan Ranzijn - Dance Of The Northern Lights
May 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
'Dance Of The Northern Lights' is the latest release from top Dutch organist DirkJan Ranzijn. Dirk seems to be releasing a CD every year at the moment, with the odd DVD thrown in for good measure every once in a while. As with his last few releases, he is playing the Böhm Excellence 300 Maxima organ. READ THE FULL REVIEW...
David Last - On The Road Again
April 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
The latest release from David Last is his first on Yamaha's new flagship Tyros 4 keyboard, in fact it's the first CD we've seen recorded on one. However, it's difficult to tell what's played on the Tyros 4 as it's used in conjunction with the Ketron Audya which has been used on his last few sequence releases (together with a Tyros 3 and a 9000pro). It looks as if these two keyboards will now be David's featured instruments, for the next few releases anyway. READ THE FULL REVIEW...
Tony Whittaker - Medley Magic
April 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
This new release contains music from the 'Golden Era' of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, with Tony playing Kurzweil piano and Hammond organ. According to the booklet, Tony started to study the piano at the age of six and graduated to the organ in his early teens and has been a band leader and professional musician for thirty years. The CD contains 41 tunes recorded as two or three track medleys. All the pieces have been adapted from Harold Rich's original music scores for two pianos and rhythm group. These were regularly featured on BBC Radio 2, with the Norrie Paramor Orchestra and the Charlie Chester Show (or so the inlay says… before my time you understand). READ THE FULL REVIEW...
Franz Lambert - Wunschmelodien... vol.2
April 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
According to Google the new Franz Lambert CD translates as "Request Tunes, You Never Forget", which (with grammatical corrections) is more likely "Requested Tunes, You'll Never Forget". This is a follow-up to Volume 1 which was released in 2005. Again, the organ used is the Wersi Louvre, although this one also credits an Orla Grande Theatre, although I find it hard to work out what bits are Orla as it all seems Wersi-like to me. READ THE FULL REVIEW...
Nicholas Martin - One Moment In Time
February 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
The latest CD from Nicholas Martin features another eclectic mix of tunes, from ballads and hymns to ragtime and Blackpool medleys. This is his first electronic release since 2009’s “Marching & Waltzing” and offers another generous running time of one hour fifteen minutes. Again, the CD is recorded on his ‘touring organ’, the Technics G-100, as well as his FA-1 (basically the same, apart from 61 note keyboards and a 25 note pedalboard). READ THE FULL REVIEW...
Hector Olivera - The Artistry of the Pipe Organ
February 2011 Review (Available from ORGANS.co.uk)
The latest CD from Hector Olivera is a classical affair recorded on the Ruffatti Organ of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.A. The CD features eleven tracks from some of the less-recorded classical composers including William Ralph Driffill, John Stanley, Alexandre Guilmant and Mario Enrico Bossi. There are a couple of tracks from more well known names of J.S. Bach and César Franck. READ THE FULL REVIEW...
