Overnight Mail

Michael Torke (Composer, Performer), Jurjen Hempel (Conductor), Orkest de Volharding (Orchestra), Anton Lukoszevieze (Performer), Mark Thistlewood (Performer), Apollo Quartet (Performer), Michael Torke Band (Performer), Present Music Ensemble (Performer), Phillip Bush (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Michael Torke, Anton Lukoszevieze, Mark Thistlewood, Apollo Quartet, Michael Torke Band, et al.
• Orchestra: Orkest de Volharding
• Conductor: Jurjen Hempel
• Composer: Michael Torke
• Audio CD (January 13, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Polygram Records
• ASIN: B000004CWO
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #536,653 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Overnight Mail: Priority

2. Overnight Mail: Standard

3. Overnight Mail: Saturday Delivery

4. Telephone Book: The Yellow Pages

5. Telephone Book: The Blue Pages

6. Telephone Book: The White Pages

7. July

8. Flint

9. Change Of Address: East 33rd Street

10. Change Of Address: Riverside Drive

11. Change Of Address: Bank Street

12. Change of Address: West 102nd Street

13. Change Of Address: West 4th Street

14. Change Of Address: West Houston Street

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable disc!, January 1, 2004

By 

meteordude (Boulder, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Overnight Mail (Audio CD)

I am a big fan of Michael Torke. His music tends to be upbeat and his compositions put a smile on my face. For those who enjoy so-called 'minimalism', there is a decent chance that you will really enjoy Torke's music, and find his unique orchestrations and compositional techniques to be invigorating and original. Now, there are certainly many people who would not enjoy this music at all... I hope my brief words here can help you to figure that out for yourself (if you are new to his music, of course) That being said,

The fist piece 'Overnight Mail' is awesome, I love the instrumentation here (lots of smooth brass and sultry saxes) and the music is catchy and fun. One of his best pieces in my opinion, it is wrought with the rhythmic dynamicism and melodic ingenuity that I have grown to love, and has a sort of 'late-night out in the city' feel. (I was living in San Francisco when I bought this disc, hehe)

The rest of the disc is good and, at times, great. The last piece, change of address, has not grown on me all that much, though I find it to be novel at least. 'The Yellow Pages', the part of 'Telephone Book' that existed on its own originally, is probably one of Torke's most well known chamber works and it is very charming.

Another reviewer commented on the (perceived) superficiality of emotion in this music... It is true that Michael's music tends toward the blatantly positive/cheery side of things emotionally - I believe, however, that the emotions conveyed are genuine. Perhaps some of us are more able than others to embrace this kind of transparent, high-frequency positive energy. (Understandably so). I admit that there have been a few times when i popped a Torke CD in and found it to be completely obnoxious... (but I attribute those instances to temporary losses of sanity)

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Torke's best works on one CD!, March 8, 2000

By 

"jaysee102" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Overnight Mail (Audio CD)

This compilation really shows what Torke is capable of. His chamber music is generally excellent, and "Telephone Book" is intelligent, well-crafted, and well performed on the CD.

In my opinion, "Overnight Mail", with its jazz roots, really plays a supporting role to "Telephone Book". It makes for easier listening, especially in this performance.

The other works on the CD, while not in the same class as the title work and "Telephone Book", are by no means unbearable. All round, this CD is a gem, containing Torke's best chamber music, with great performances.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you like Torke..., April 27, 2001

By 

M. Carter (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Overnight Mail (Audio CD)

You'll love this CD.

On the other hand, if you don't like Torke (after all, with him it's mostly a love-hate thing) you won't like this CD. It's as simple as that.

It seems that people who slam this CD aren't really slamming the performance, they are slamming the composer.

If you don't like Minimalism (aka "broken record music), you won't like Torke, and therefore you won't like this CD.

But if you have an open mind about the music, and judge it for what it is, you'll find that this is a very accessible performance, and one worthy of immortalizing on compact disc.

And as a classical saxophone player, I found the recording of "July" a special treat... it's tough to find decent quartet recordings in mainstream stores!