Largo

Largo | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 28, 1998)
• Original Release Date: April 28, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Polygram Records
• ASIN: B00000612C
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #47,471 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

1. Chieftains Largo, 2. Freedom Ride, 3. Cyrus in the Moonlight, 4. Gimme a Stone, 5. Hand in Mine, 6. Vishnu Largo, 7. Disorient Express, 8. White Man's Melody, 9. Needed Time, 10. Banjoman, 11. Largo's Dream, 12. Garth Largo, 13. Medallion, 14. An Uncommon Love, 15. Chieftains Largo (reprise), 16. Before the Mountains

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Piece of Americana, December 30, 2002

By 

Larry White (AdultPop.com) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Largo (Audio CD)

The feeling we got upon hearing this unheralded CD when it was first released a couple of years ago, was similar to the one we got when we first came across "Music From the Big Pink" many years before. It felt as if we had stumbled upon a genuine artifact of Americana. Like "Big Pink", the sound of Largo is fresh, exhilarating, and moving, while, at the same time, hauntingly familiar. It resonates deep within the bones and brings to mind the music of a previous era. The artists involved in the making of this piece (which uses as its touchstone Dvorak's classical piece of the same name), are, similarly, a familiar lot. Members of the underrated Hooters are largely responsible for the musical concept and content. The instruments they use are fun just to say not to mention hear. Mandolin, Nyckelharp, Bowed Dulcimer, Uillean Pipes, Hurdy-Gurdy, Jew's Harp, Cordovox, Udu, and Peckhorn, to name a few. And Taj Mahal with his exuberant singing and barking, Levon Helm with his soulful twang, Cyndi Lauper with her intense yodelling, David Forman (and his alter ego Little Isidor sans Inquisitors), Joan Osborne, Carole King, and the Chieftans contribute in making this a very satisfying
musical experience.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Yikes, CDs don't stay in print very long!, December 24, 2001

By 

Gregor von Kallahann - See all my reviews

This review is from: Largo (Audio CD)

I found out last summer that this recording, one that I had always meant to pick up on, was out of print and unavailable. I had just gone to see a staged version of this song-cycle at Vassar College, which featured Cyndi Lauper, Garth Hudson and local legend ("local" being NY's Mid-Hudson Valley, for me) David Forman. Martha Wainwright of the celebrated, musical Wainwright/McGarrigle clan was also in the production, which was little more than a staged reading, actually, but when the music played, it soared. It was only afterwards that I found out that this '98 release is already out of print.

I had been so impressed by the production that I was eager to get a hold of the CD. Finally I managed to. I will say that the live version sort of strained to come up with a unified concept. The album has no such problem. Ever since "Sgt. Pepper," concept albums have been loose-knit affairs--thematically or musically held together by a few common but loose strands. There's a lot of talk about America on the recording, and the name "Ramona" crops up in a few songs, but the music itself--rootsy, often haunting Americana--that gives the album its overarching sense of unity.

Lauper and Forman are joined on the recorded version by a number of other remarkable vocal talents. Taj Mahal, Willie Nile, Carole King and Joan Osborne are all here, and they all shine. Lauper and Osborne had worked with producer Rick Chertoff and ex-Hooters Rob Hyman and Eric Bazilian, who composed much of this song cycle, on their own hit releases. They return the favor on "Largo," and enhance their reputations as serious (as opposed to Top-40) musicians in the process.

I hope that someone sees fit to get this fine album back into print. In the meantime, snap up those "limitedly available" copies from Amazon--or wherever else you can score one--ASAP!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heady, May 18, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Largo (Audio CD)

The most imaginative album I have ever heard. Like an anthropolgical text with far too many tangents, Largo gathers the best and brightest musicians and singers for an exploration in stories of the musical themes of Dvorak's New World Symphony, written in 1892. This means that the songs are as diverse and strange as the immigrant points-of-view they represent. Standouts include Cyndi Lauper's sultry turn on "White Man's Melody," singing about a European girl inspired by the singers The Great Caruso and Liberace. Also, "Before the Mountains," co-written by Rob Hyman of The Hooters which contains a re-sing from the Isley Brothers' tune, "Shout." Other artists shining on this collection include Joan Osbourne, Carol King, Taj Mahal, Eric Bazillian, Leon Helm, and The Chieftans! Beautiful!