Customer Reviews

Moonlighting: Live At The Ash Grove

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

 

 

This is one beautiful album. Ain't nothing synthetic here... just brilliantly crafted and executed music, played by real people on real instruments. Van Dyke is an American Treasure, and should be celebrated as such. Buying and reveling in this album is a good way to start.

fantastic orchestration, shimmering sound quality, and songs that have peculiar but most graceful melodies. Van Dyke Parks has been a behind the scenes guy adding so much to bands as varied as The Beach Boys to U2; but his gift of translating others' songs as well as writing gorgous melodies is distinctly original.
Moonlighting, works as a sort of best-of, covering most of his solo career. Along with great performances, he also spins some history of each song telling a bit of where the inspiration came from, all adding to his unique southern charm. If you enjoy tin pan alley music this is a great album to add to your collection.

With five albums that have very little in common, it would have been almost impossible to find a proper introduction to the music of Van Dyke Parks - until now. More than any of his previous releases, this disc explains why Parks's fans are so loyal. Almost tearfully melodic, these compositions --- both his and the obscure ones settled in the public domain --- bring you back, dreamike, to another era. The rearranged Orange Crate Art and Sailin' Shoes are highlights. If you care at all, you'll never be able to remove this from the CD player.

I've been a fan of Van Dyke Parks since "Song Cycle." It's hard to get people to like his music, though, because his voice is considered irritating by most people. About the first 20 times I heard it, I hated it too. But I had a friend who was really into it, and he kept playing the damned thing. Finally, I started to get it, with "Donovan's Colours." I then gradually came to like the other songs, and now it's one of my all-time favorite albums.

"Moonlighting" is a concert -- man would I like to go to a Van Dyke Parks conert!! -- his voice sounds much, much better in concert than it does in studio recordings. This is a very playful, pretty performance.

I guess VDP is known for his lush, complicated arrangements -- he loves his violins, and many of his orchestrations feature a harp (kind of a neglected instrument). Of course the other thing he's known for is his collaboration with Brian Wilson, which resulted in an album, and ultimately came to a bad end before "Smile" could be produced. He wrote the words to "Heroes and Villains" -- those lyrics are characteristic of his style of writing words, I think.

If you want to try out Van Dyke Parks, I don't think there's a better way to do it than "Moonlighting." This is a very entertaining collection of songs, beautifully orchestrated, and sung really quite pleasantly by the man himself.

Yes I know, I know, Parks is a musical genius...Warner Bros have played fairy Godfather to him for eternity, and he appears veerywhere on the discs of all the luminaries of any longevity. But, though I've owned most of the discs up to and including Orange Crate...I don't have a settled spot for a single one of them. And yet, and yet, everyone of them has its satisfactions sufficient to not disregard. Still, this is one exception to that opinion. What a night, tight and not pandering to snobbery or self-indulgence(charges often laid at Parks). The selection is perfect, revamping his originals and proudly rejigging some of his favourites...Lowell George's, Sailing Shoes receives handsome treatment. Highly recommended to both the devotee and the bod. tempted to enter the Van Dyke Park's frame of mind.

Van Dyke Parks is becoming one of my favorite artists. 'Moonlighting' sums up Park's greatest musical triumphs into one fantastic album. I am still in awe that this is a live album - it sounds just like a studio album...in fact, the only times you notice it is a live album is when the audience claps between songs or when Parks is interacting with the crowd.

On to the album:

'Jump!' is a fantastic interwoven symphony that sums up Park's brilliant ability in instrumental arrangements. I had never heard 'Jump!' before and was surprised at how intricate it is. Next on the track list is 'Orange Crate Art' - It is a somewhat different version than the studio album - the ending of this version is fantastic. 'Wings of a Dove' and 'Sailing Away' are great - Park's voice is just perfect for these songs....not overpowering but very subtle and charming. 'Night In The Tropics' is a classic instrumental that will take you to a warm moonlit beach - this album is a trip: you go from the warm/sunny (and sometimes rainy) southern California to a night-time in the tropics of Trinidad.

After 'Night in the Tropics' comes 'FDR in Trinidad' - not my favorite from the album, but it adds to the exotic feel of the album. 'Danza' is another instrumental that, just like 'Jump!', truly shows us what a gift Van Dyke Parks has. 'Cowboy' and 'Delta Queen Waltz' continue to show us Park's great lyrical and instrumental genius. 'Delta Queen Waltz' is a lovely ballad...one of my favorites from the album. 'Chicken' is, well, just FUN! For 'The All Golden' Parks goes solo with the piano and for a minute and a half it is just Parks and his lyrical genius. 'Hominy Grove' is from Park's 'Jump!' album and really fits this in with this collection. 'Sailin Shoes' closes out the album.

This is a great introductory album for anyone interested in Park's work. It is also a fantastic add to anyone's collection. Parks is truly gifted and I hope to hear a lot more from him in the future.

just one of those cds I rarely play. I need to listen to more of his stuff. He is talented.