Customer Reviews

At Home With Friends

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After listening to At Home With Friends by Joshua Bell, I found myself envious of Bell for having such great friends. The album features renowned violinist Bell performing duets with various musical friends of his: Josh Groban, Marvin Hamlisch, even Sting. There is a great variety of musical styles presented, but the overall feel of the album is relaxing.

My favorite is probably "My Funny Valentine" with Kristin Chenoweth. "Left Hand Song" with Regina Spektor struck me as very odd/"out there" the first few times, but it's growing on me the more I listen. It's a neat side of Sting to hear him perform the classical "Come Again."

All in all, quite a musical treat!

I grew up listening to my Dad playing the violin and my Mom playing the piano. I loved their duets. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for violins since then.
This album does not disappoint. I love the soulful tunes of Joshua Bell and his many talented friends. Two songs played with the bandoneon, Oblivion and Il Postino, really have captured my heart. I have never been to Paris or Italy, but I imagine this is the music of those beautiful places.
Kristin Chenoweth teams up with Joshua singing My Funny Valentine, one of my all time favorite songs. And Josh Groban singing Cinema Paradiso just takes my breath away.
My favorite piece though is Eleanor Rigby with Frankie Moreno. I had never heard of Frankie Moreno before this, but this fantastic arrangement of piano, vocals and violin had me as soon as it started.

This album is a great mix of classical, modern and international. You will not be disappointed in this album at all. I love it so much that I am going to buy a copy of it for my Dad for Christmas, and I am also going to buy more of Joshua Bell's work. Fantastic.

Bell is a a near genius when playing his violin and has enough power with the recording companies to make any project he wants. On this CD he tries to show the breadth of his musical interests from classical to jazz (smooth and mainstream); pop standards (Gershwin) and movie scores to world music. It may show off his talents but for most listeners it may be too broad a spectrum. While the tracks with Josh Grobman, Marvin Hamlisch and Kristin Chenoweth make nice background music, the NINE-minute duet with sitar player Anoushka Shankar, goes on way too long. (And this is the ABRIDGED version of the piece.).

While many of the artists who accompany Bell on the selections just might be his friends, Sergei Rachmaninoff obviously could not be one of them. Bell plays along with a re-performance of the legendary composer and pianist from a 1928 recording using the fascinating new Zenph computer system which transfers the performer's recording to a real piano. (Sony/BMG has two other CDs utilizing this process.). It works well here too.

This is obviously a "crossover" album similar to Yo-Yo Ma's CD of last year (which I found superior and play often. But if, by using these better known "friends" - like Sting and Grobman- Bell gets more folks interested in classical music, this certainly isn't a bad thing.

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"

Wow!I was not familiar with Joshua Bell.Only heard the name.I was so curious to get is and listen.Wow!I listened the CD probably 30th times!What a talent!What a musician!I love also the other artist on this CD-Sting, Josh Groban and Regina Spektor.In particular Josh Groban is an excellent companion for this instrument and of course Tiempo Libre who bring such verve to this albumn with unexpected Latin flare."Come Again" with Sting seems to have a Celtic feel . The misic is so soothing and relaxing and help ease the stresses of day-to-day life.When I am leastening the misic I feel At home with the friends ".This cd felt to me like Joshua Bell and friends were inviting us just to take a seat,relax and enjoy the beauty of the misic.I was very lucky to received this album as a promotion from the One2One Network. I highly recommend Joshua Bell: At Home with Friends. Album Tracklisting (Originally performed by):
I Loves You Porgy featuring Chris Botti, trumpet
Come Again featuring Sting, vocals
Oblivion featuring Carel Kraayenhof, bandoneon
Cinema Paradiso featuring Josh Groban, vocals
Para Tí featuring Tiempo Libre, various
My Funny Valentine featuring Kristin Chenoweth, vocals
Maybe So featuring Edgar Meyer Sam Bush and Mike Marshall, strings
Grieg: Sonata No. 3 featuring Sergei Rachmaninoff (Zenph re-performance)
Eleanor Rigby featuring Frankie Moreno, piano & vocals
O, Cease Thy Maiden Fair featuring Nathan Gunn, baritone
Il Postino featuring Carel Kraayenhof, bandoneon
Left Hand Song featuring Regina Spektor, piano & vocals
Chovendo Na Roseira featuring Dave Grusin, piano
Look Away featuring Edgar Meyer, bass and Chris Thile, mandolin
Variant Moods: Duet for Sitar & Violin featuring Anoushka Shankar, sitar
I'll Take Manhattan featuring Marvin Hamlisch, piano
Left Hand featuring Regina Spektor, vocals

Lots of variation in the guests--everything but a musical saw. Two things hold this evening together. First, a similar mood of quiet intensity in a small, simple setting pervades everything. Some quiet is wistful, dreamy, and reflective. Some feels like it is about to explode, unable to contain the passions within. Second, Bell's fluid, high Romantic style seems simply to flow from him into every setting, no matter how much he and his guests differ. He seems to have an inner energy that must reach out and touch all the variation around him.

Track detail (S = stand out):

1. I loves you Porgy (Gershwin). With Chris Botti (trumpet) and chamber ensemble. Mellow, musing, effective evening music. Quietly content, happy, dreamily carefree.

2. Come again (John Dowland). With Sting and chamber ensemble. Sting fairly convincingly croons a Baroque song that could easily be from Handel. Quietly spritely in a very well-behaved way.

3. Oblivion (Piazzollo) (S). With Carel Kraayenhof (bandeneon) and a group in standard tango configuration. Slow, deliberate, but wistful tango. Bell swoons in his full, high Romantic style.

4. Cinema paradise (Ennio Morricone/Josh Groban) (S). With J. Groban, who sings in Italian with complete command. Bell supports Groban from behind. Quiet, heartfelt, Groban and Bell swoon grandly along different lines within a confined space; they suit each other well.

5. Para tí (Jorge Gómez). With Tiempo Libre. Hot, jazzy salsa in a quick step. Bell breaks in to slow things down. TL tempers its pace, but steadily works back to their high-stepping, swinging salsa. All come together, Bell swaying in slow motion, TL locomoting to brazen rhythms behind. Bell breaks in with them for a final race to the end.

6. My funny valentine (Rodgers/Hart). With Kristen Chenoweth (vocal). Spare presentation closely highlights them and a piano in counterpoint. Lovely Broadway in a restrained chamber setting. Romantic, dreamy, wistful.

7. Maybe so (Meyer/Bush/Marshall). With Edgar Meyer (bass), Sam Bush (mandolin), and Mike Marshall (guitar). Quietly chugging progressive bluegrass. Bell slides languorously in long lines over the top, then slips into the band itself, sawing as the band choogles--very impressive. The band backs away into its own quiet, but insistent solos. Bell returns in long languorous lines again. The band now seems to approach him. Still, it remains scrappy under his sonically subtle long lines. Interesting contrast.

8. Violin sonata #3, Movement II (Grieg). With Sergei Rachmaninoff (Vorsetzen Klavier, 1928). Rachmaninoff has an unexpectedly light, open touch on the piano. Bell swooshes through and over it.

9. Eleanor Rigby (Lennon/McCartney) (S). With Frankie Moreno (piano, vocals). A quiet, wistful, intimate duo that somehow contains raging passions. The music storms and crashes in an intensely close, small space. They are tightly within each other's lines, Moreno a night-club singer, Bell weaving arabesques through the smoky haze around Moreno.

10. O cease thy singing, maiden fair, Op. 4/4 (Rachmaninoff). With Nathan Gunn (baritone) and piano. Intense feelings, closely held. Spare, clean, simple setting.

11. Il postino (Luis Bacalov). With C. Kraayenhof (bandoneon). Quietly sunny little tune, wistfully content, slowly swells into bigger, broader movements, then returns to its exquisite, quiet roots.

12. Left hand song (Regina Spektor). With R. Spektor (piano, vocals). Duo in which her clean, fine piano playing couldn't contrast more with her pop-punk girlish indie vocal--seemingly deliberately baroque (think Kate Bush or Björk). Bell finds a suitably icy edge to his playing that places him in the same space.

13. Chovendo na rosiera (Jobim). With Dave Grusin (piano) and a small group. Slight, pleasant song in spritely ¾-time offers a suitable setting for some low-key interplay. Almost a back-porch throw-away.

14. Look away (Meyer/Thile). With E. Meyer (bass), Chris Thile (mandolin). Quietly nimble string band music seemingly spun from some thin space between them in the moment. Bell's long lines find affinity with the percussive mandolin and a bass that seemingly falls between. Slight.

15. Variant moods: Duet for sitar and violin (abridged; Ravi Shankar). With Anoushka Shankar (sitar) and percussion. Quiet, dreamy. Violin and sitar slide in and out in tightly choreographed sequences along long, common lines, as though they finish one another's sentences and perhaps grow out of one another. The line that carries this forward feels like it could go on forever.

16. I'll take Manhattan (Rodgers). With Marvin Hamlisch (piano). Basic supper club piano gets kicked up a notch with Bell's swooning curlicues. Feels a bit too cute for comfort, especially as the closer.

At Home with Friends is a great CD. I really liked this CD because I like the light music sounds from Bell. I enjoy it while working from home and caring for a newborn. His talent is Superb, the classical sweetness of his songs carries through my home and relaxes me. I am glad I got this CD and I plan on listening to it on an upcoming road trip. Nothing like Joshua Bell to keep you calm while driving! If you enjoy peaceful sophisticated musicians, Joshua Bell is for you!

Each track is unique and beautiful and I really enjoyed this album. It's quite beautiful and relaxing. I highly recommend it.

I was really impressed by the wide range of musical talent on this album. It was a refreshing mix, although I did find it a bit hard to stay in one mood with the album. The variety was spectacular but it didn't lend to staying in one groove.

At Home with Joshua Bell CD is a great exhibit of his talent with the violin. He celebrates great friendships and talents in his Manhattan Home.There is a big variance in musical styles, his music it's nothing like you ever heard before. Great for entertainment in home and for the holidays too.

This is the first time I have owned a Joshua Bell cd and I truly love its soothing qualities. What a talented man! I love the personalized story inside and can almost imagine sitting among his friends during one of his gatherings. How lucky his friends are!

With 5 children between the ages of 3 and 10, my husband & I can use all the calm we can get! Great after a long day to help unwind. Highly recommend.