INSTRUMENTALISTS WHO MADE THEIR MARK

Instrumentalists are a dime a dozen in the music world but there are a few selected ones who managed to make their mark through the years.

THE VERY BEST OF HERB ALPERT : Herb Albert rose to fame in the mid sixties as the king of South of the Border MOR, or as it was called :Ameriachi" He has since became a music industry force both as a performer and as co founder and vice chairman of A & M Records. He was the guy who gave 'The Carpenters' their break when other record companies wouldn't. He scored with 'The Lonely Bull'. 'A Taste Of Honey' and 'Tijuana Taxi' all of which are instantly recognizable instrumental pieces. Ironically it was a rare vocal outing ' This Guy's In Love With You' which gave him his second no 1 hit. The first being 'Rise'. This was a discount CD and it does stirred up many hidden memories. DOP : 9th October 1994.



THE BEST OF MECO : Meco is an American record producer and musician as well as a band based around him. Meco was essentially born out of the disco boom and when disco oozed out so did he. His specialty was producing disco version of movie soundtracks notably the Star Wars trilogy. This CD contains 'Star Wars Theme / Cantina Band; 'Empire Strikes Back Medley', 'Star trek's Theme', 'Topsy' and other soundtracks. I like his 'Theme From Close Encounters'. Incredibly I bought this at a unbelievable price of RM 5.00 and at that price I guess this is reasonably enough.. DOP : 21st September 2011.

THE BEST OF MIKE OLDFIELD : ELEMENTS : Mike Oldfield started his career with a bang with the successful 'Tubular Bells' whose music was later used in the horror movie "The Exorcist". The album won the 1974 Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition. His follow up releases were less successful although he have several more UK hit singles. My all time favorite thought was obviously 'Moonlight Shadow' with vocal by a Maggie Reilly. The lyric was rumored to be about the murder of  John Lennon despite the facts that the events in the song do not correspond with the event of John's murder. The other one that I like is 'In Dulci Jubilo'. This was an edited version of the original 4 CD Deluxe release. I'm glad I got this and not the deluxe version though for I don't find this as entertaining as anticipated. DOP : 24th February 1994.

KENNY GREATEST HITS : Of all the instrumentalists, I like Kenny G best. His music is soothing to  the ear that reaches right to your heart and soul. If you are with your loved one and intents to stay single for a while longer, steer clear of 'Forever In Love' for it may just make you do the thing you shouldn't. Likewise with 'Songbird', Silhouette'. His numbers with guest vocalists 'Every time I Close My Eyes' ( Babyface ), 'How Could An Angel Break My Heart' ( Toni Braxton) could really get you all misty eyes. This CD comes with an additional CD with three tracks which made me wondered 'What's the point ?. I got this CD just before he recorded 'My Heart Will Go On'. I absolutely love his takes on two Chinese numbers 'The Moon Represents My Heart' and 'Jasmine Flowers' which regretfully are not here. I will probably get his Christmas CD in the near future. I can't have just one Kenny G CD in my collection, can I.  I need at least two. DOP : 19th November 1997.