Customer Reviews

Jo Anne Castle - 22 Greatest Ragtime Hits

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A great collection. Skater's boogie was my favorite. JoAnn tickles the Ivories like no other. The whole album is upbeat and fun!

Jo Ann Castle has to be the best ragtime piano player to come along since Big Tiny, and she plays with her normal gusto! I know some think "rag" should be played a certain way, but I'm thankful New Orleans never listened to them. If you remember ragtime piano from the Welk show and liked it, you'll love this CD. You may even want to get Vol. 2. You can't sit and listen to this and not start moving hands and feet to the music.

Jo Ann is a really good rag time player, but I agree with the other reviewer that she plays the tunes too fast, especailly Maple Leaf Rag. Alas, that is her style. She ain't going to change it just because we are critical of it. Despite that criticism I still like this record.

I grew up with this music. This music will never die. Have not seen talent like this since the Welk Show....

I have loved JoAnn Castle for a lot of years. I used to watch her on Lawrence Welk. I am glad to have her music so I can listen any time.n Song choices are great.

The music and songs are excellent, anytime, not just at ragtime. Jo Anne is one of the best, if not THE BEST!

I am a great fan of Joann Castle ever since she was on the Lawrence Welk Show. This is the first time that I have ever seen Joann's CD's for sale. This album is really great nnd we
need more albusm like this on the market.. Dean Belknap

Jo Anne is head & shoulders above the competition as a ragtime artist. She has an amazing ability to sound like she has 30 or 40 fingers. One downside - other instruments are thrown in from time to time which are completely unnecessary - she can carry the whole show all by herself. Listen to the samples for an idea of her appeal.

Scott Joplin himself defined ragtime as mid-tempo, not to be played too fast. Jo Ann Castle absolutely rips through Maple Leaf Rag and the others, and ruins them by doing so. Great technical feat, lousy artistic interpretation. Rags are not meant to be played as fast as possible.

Also, introducing other instruments into the mix destroys the simple beauty of a single piano, which is all ragtime really needs. The other instruments are also too far in front of the mix, and end up being annoying, because all one is really interested in hearing is Jo Ann's piano.

This is pleasant, but the purist in me says that these aren't the best interpretations of ragtime classics that you can buy. Joplin probably would have been yelling "Slow down!"

Jo Anne is the best when is comes to ragtime. She really knows her piano and ragtime.