Customer Reviews

The Collection

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have a CD's worth of Paul Hardcastle / Jazzmasters tracks on my iPod that I listen to while taking my daily exercise walk. In addition to tracks from "The Collection," the sources also include Jazzmasters 1, Hardcastle 3, Hardcastle 4, Jazzmasters 3, Hardcastle 5, Jazzmasters 5, and Jazzmasters: Greatest Hits.

Here's the list, in order:

01). The Circle
02). Northern Lights
03). Slomotion
04). Acoustic Dreams
05). Rainforest
06). Golden Gate
07). Desire
08). Serene
09). Moments In Time
10). Lucky Star
11). Return Of The Rainman
12). Starchild
13). New Dawn
14). Chime
15). Shine
16). London Chimes
17). Peace On Earth

Hardcastle has many different styles...this set list represents the instrumental, slow-to-mid tempo, somewhat moody and melancholy side of the artist, which is what first attracted me to his music. I don't consider him to be "smooth jazz" because he has so much more substance and versatility than the average "smooth jazz" artist...even though the word "smooth" pops up all over the place in his own descriptions of his music.

The difference between Hardcastle's situations and the average "smooth jazz" track is that he actually takes you on a journey, from "Point A" to "Point Z," with some pleasant twists and turns in the road along the way. Example: "Peace On Earth," which begins as a very nice slow keyboard piece with drums and a nicely thumping (but not overpowering) bass line. You're three minutes into this song, thinking "how nice," and it is, then...out of nowhere...you hear a sigh and this sweet David Gilmour-ish melodic and distorted guitar solo snakes in, and it all fits together perfectly. "Smooth Jazz" tends to be either too bland and vanilla or too bombastic and abrupt (how many times have you had a perfectly good song ruined by a screeching, honking sax solo?)...Harcastle expertly avoids either of these extremes. This is intelligent music, carefully planned and passionately performed.

So the playlist I have above represents only one side of Hardcastle's music. He also does more upbeat Euro Disco-style "dance" type numbers and a lot of vocal tracks as well. You may like it all, you like one or more of the styles, but I am confident that if you are even casually drawn to this kind of music, there are good times waiting for you on the road ahead.

I really love this album very smooth and easy to Listen To Good Travel music.

I have all of his Albums. This collection is probably the best hits from each of them. A couple of new ones are included.

The cds that I purchased were wonderful. I finally got the relaxing jazz music I've been looking. Paul Hardcastle and the JazzMasters are amazing. I can't wait to order some other cds.

I purchased this CD along with six others to
play for an evening event that I hosted at my
home. I used a multiple CD player to mix the
music. The guests loved the music selection.

This is one of my favorite CDs to unwind with.

I am a die hard Paul Hardcastle fan and love this CD, I recommend it to anyone who likes this kind of music

excellent music, very talented musicians on this cd. soothing sounds, should be at the oscars for sound, and ambience.

i like that i can come here and find almost anything i am looking for

paul hardcastle has been an innovator for a while in the "smooth jazz" catagory - his sound is distinct ( after a few notes , you know who it is ). The Collection touches on some of his past work - if your a smooth jazz fan or a Hardcastle fan, I would recommened it.

I friend turned me on to Paul Hardcastle. I had heard of him but never really searched out his music until now. He never disappoints me.