Customer Reviews

Overnight Mail

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

 

 

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)

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.

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!

I bought this CD and listened to it probably twenty times, trying to figure out whether the music is intentionally emotionally superficial or not. I still listen to it occasionally and still haven't come to a conclusion. I'm not certain that I would buy any more music by this composer, because I'm not quite certain who this composer IS....

"Overnight Mail" is an accessible and well-crafted work. While it is simple enough to be enjoyed on first listening, its form and development are complex enough to stand up to repeated listenings. The unique ensemble of Orkest de Volharding provides the perfect sound for this piece. While I do find some of Torke's music to be rather bland, "Overnight Mail" is a piece I can reccommend without hesitation.

"Telephone Book", "July", and "Flint" are also interesting in their own right, but "Overnight Mail" is the real star of this collection.

"Change of Address" is the only thing that prevents me from giving this CD a 5-star rating. Unlike the other works on this CD, it is generally lackluster and uninteresting.

...utterly boring -- why is this fellow such a success as a composer? this is music for morons. how long can torke keep his career going writing the same old sludge he's been churning out for more than a decade?