Original Rags

Scott Joplin | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Number of Discs: 1
• ASIN: B00004URAA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your money!, November 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Original Rags (Audio CD)

This cd is terrible. It is a poor recording to the point where it sounds like a home taping job of someone playing an out-of-tune piano. It is certainly not what I'd expect from any quality cd and poor old Scott Joplin would be embarrassed to hear it!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for teaching "Rag" to Kids!!!, March 19, 2001

By 

K. Helder (Fremont, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Original Rags (Audio CD)

I teach over 700 elementary students about the elements of art and music once a month. I look for original recordings from the artists so that the children can hear the actual artists perform and get a sense of the quality of the technology during the times. When explaining "Rag", the children are told about the history of the music and about the felt worn off the keys or even removed from the keys. They get that sense from this recording... I wouldn't want a highly digitized, quality production that distorts the reality of the music...

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great choice!, March 31, 2005

By 

Damon (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Original Rags (Audio CD)

Let me start by saying that I give this four stars instead of five because there is no additional information about the recordings - Who performed them? When were they recorded? Annoying!

Otherwise, this is a wonderful set of Scott Joplin Rags. I specifically chose this CD because it is an older recording. The modern recordings did not have the same appeal for me. They were too polished - some being played on very good pianos which sounds weird. I like the gritty feel of the piano on some of the tracks and occasional crackling of the recording as if I am listening to a slice of history.

The compositions seem to be played more as Joplin had intended. For example, The Maple Leaf Rag is typically played at a very fast pace. However, I have read that this was not Joplin's intention and this CD has a restrained pace on that track. The choice of pieces for the compilation is pretty good. There are a few other rags I wish were on here, but this was the best combination of rags and sound feel I could find.

The tracks that may be familiar are: The Entertainer, Original Rags, Maple Leaf Rag, Peachering Rag, and The Easy Winners.