Desiderata [Import]

Les Crane | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 28, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Wea International
• ASIN: B00000DB2L
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #382,207 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #6 in Music > Imports > Miscellaneous

Track Listings

1. Prologue

2. Desiderata

3. Vision

4. Friends

5. Beauty (Shining from the Inside Out)

6. Happiness (I Got No Cares)

7. Esperanza (Hopme)

8. Nature (Wilderness)

9. Courage (Eyes That See)

10. Independence (A Different Drummer)

11. Love (Children Learn What They Live)

12. Epilogue

Editorial Reviews

Unavailable on CD in the U.S., this is a reissue of Crane's Grammy-winning 1971 album. Similar to & thanks to the popularity of Baz Luhrman's 'Everybody's Free', the spoken word recording is based on a 1927 poem by Max Ehrmann that hippies clung to in the '60s. The rest of the tracks on the long player continue along the same touchy-feely self-help theme, with musical accompaniments varying from Native American vibes to gospel to rock to opera. 12 tracks (though only 10 are actually printed on the CD).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This Is Not the Recitation of Desiderata That Inspired Me, October 5, 2002

By 

Michael W. Sumner (Santa Rosa, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Desiderata (Audio CD)

Les Crane's performance of Desiderata, with high-pitched female gospel-like backup and 70's quality electronic music is not the recording that inspired me during my teenage years. (That was a few decades ago.) Two tracks on the Les Crane CD are okay, "Nature-Wilderness" and "Love-Children Learn What They Live". The other tracks are overdone.


Updated on 2010-09-25

It took years of searching, but I finally found it. The recording I would heard late at night when the radio station was signing off the air is by Dave Allen, an Irish comedian. The recording is on a 45 RPM. The title is "A Way of Life". The other side, which I'd forgotten about, is titled "The Good Earth". Both are inspirational.

[...]

Updated on 2010-10-26

And, for those who care about who was first, Mr. Allen's 45 RPM was released in 1969 according the YouTube post.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Desiderata by Les Crane is my most remembered song., June 4, 1999

By 

[e-mail] - See all my reviews

This review is from: Desiderata (Audio CD)

In 1966 I entered the Army and between 1966 and 1969 I was in Vietnam two years and when I returned home it was a nightmare, the people was divided, America was in turmoil and the returning Vietnam Veterans was called everything from baby killers to animals. In november of 1971 Desiderata came out and made it to the number 7 position on the R&B Charts. The song was a breath of fresh air for me and it was a release of pressure in the years after I came home from Vietnam. I have been hunting for the song for around 25 years, I have contacted every body but no one even know the song but finially I got on the internet and foung it in Amazon.com. Anyone who hears the song will have their life changed.

Be gentle with yourself, let life surround you and enjoy life because it can be gone in a wink of an eye.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Original Recording, October 1, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Desiderata (Audio CD)

Contrary to what some have posted, this is the original recording of Desiderata by the original artist, Les Crane. If you'll do a little digging on the web, you'll find that Les won a grammy for this song in 1971 for Best Spoken Word Recording. Excellent rendition. Worth every penny.