9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Curt Boettcher rivals Phil Spector, May 23, 2001
This review is from: Magic Time: Millennium Ballroom Sessions (Audio CD)
The is the most complete collection of Curt Boettchers' musical vision. Its a 3 disc set which starts with all of the original recordings of Curts first full blown studio project named "The Ballroom." The first song in the set is The Ballrooms only chartting single, "Spinning,Spinning,Spinning." This song sets the stage for all of the rest to come. The second C.D contains Ballroom versions of songs that were later re-recorded by The Millennium and included on their one and only CLASSIC album "BEGIN." The 3rd C.D. is The Millennium,"BEGIN" in mindbending stereo sound, plus plenty of bonus tracks. Kudos to Sundazed for first, releasing all of the recordings, second for doing it with uncompromised quality and sheer class. Look, if you were blown away by the Sagittarius album "Present Tense" (Gary Usher and Curt Boettcher)for the love of all things musically wholly, buy this box set! If you love "Pet Sounds," "Smile," or even "The Yellow Balloon" buy it! you wont regret it. After that check out the C.D. of previously unreleased recorded songs that were supposed to go on The Millenniums' second album "Again" or the Curt Boettcher solo album produced by Gary Usher titled "Misty Mirage." Rock on!!!!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent, but flawed collection..., September 2, 2001
This review is from: Magic Time: Millennium Ballroom Sessions (Audio CD)
...yeah, I'll admit it. This set left me a bit disappointed.
Before I hit what let me down, let me repeat what everyone else has said: Curt Boettcher and his associates were very, very ahead of their time. They made music which, essentially, went wholly unappreciate by anybody around at the time. And finally, they're all getting their due.
Now, my problems with this set (interspersed with some praise...hey, I DID give this four stars, right?). The first disc is quite nice, finally assembly the entire Ballroom album WITH the two missing tracks that were absent on Rev-Ola's previous issue of this material. Filling out the disc are some stereo instrumental outtakes of the backing tracks of the Ballroom songs. Which, of course, raises the immediate question: why not mix the entire Ballroom album in stereo, then? Another problem is made apparent at this stage; while I'm not one to care too much about audiophilic quibbles (I notice, but I don't necessarily care), this odd issue is an exception: on the entire set, the treble is WAY TOO HIGH. It hits hardest on the first disc...you can hear some of the instruments distort on some songs. Why did this happen? Especially with Bob Irwin in charge...
...but I'll let that pass. The second disc is a killer, filled with mostly unreleased material. The pre-Millennium tracks are particularly enticing..it's amazing that mere production turned Karmic Dream Sequence from the rough demo on disc 2 into the buzzing masterpiece on Begin. My problem with this disc? That it conspicuously leaves out Boettcher's piano demo of "It's a Sad World," which means that Rev-Ola's set still (irritatingly) has something that doesn't appear here. Bah.
The third disc is Begin (in what appears to be an almost exact duplicate of the Rev-Ola lineup). My issue here isn't with sound quality...I've always felt that Begin (horror of horrors, sacriledge impending) isn't quite as good as most of the other "related" projects, like Present Tense. Why? Reading between the lines is necessary, but it becomes wholly evident that this was really Boettcher's baby, at the expense of everyone else's input, and while Boettcher was an immensely talented producer, his penchant for sugary excess (overdubbing tons of his own harmony vocals) clouds the record somewhat. This becomes even more apparent if one choses to listen to some of the OTHER Millennium material (Poptones' AGAIN comp, or the two Japanese collections), which reveals a band that was well versed in surprisingly-authentic blues-rock, and could pull off tuneful melodies without sweetness bludgening you to death. Don't get me wrong, I like "Begin," but not quite as much as a lot of the Ballroom and other material. Sadly, from the evidence of the two post-Begin single sides, it seems to be pretty evident that the Millennium was well set on their path to correcting the imbalance of power in their midst for their next album. Too bad it was never to be.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful Collection!!, June 7, 2002
This review is from: Magic Time: Millennium Ballroom Sessions (Audio CD)
I bought this CD because one of the lead singer of The Ballroom, Michelle O'mally passed away last year after a long illness. She was one of my dear friends. I have always heard her private work, but never this collection. I was so amazed!It was incredible! Not just because I love Michelle, but I love the sound! Michelle has a voice like Karen Carpenter. They sound like the Carpenters to me. If you enjoy this type of mellow sound you will love these CDs. They really are fantastic and well worth the money!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
