Berlioz: Requiem
Mahler: Symphony No.1
Charles Bressler, tenor; Utah Symphony Orchestra and Choir; Maurice Abravanel, conductor.
Vanguard ATM CD 1506
Format: Hybrid Multichannel SACD

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Leonard Bernstein’s Columbia Masterworks recording of Hector Berlioz’s Requiem was originally recorded in quad, and EMI had two quad recordings in its vinyl catalog. A new multichannel version by Robert Spano and his Atlanta forces is on its way from Telarc, but for the moment, the present recording fills the bill quite nicely. Berlioz seems to have written the Requiem with quadraphonic sound in mind. At climactic points he scores the work for four brass choirs, each placed in a different quadrant of the hall. Those sections are thrilling here, yet seem completely natural. Abravanel’s overall reading is only a smidgen short of those by Bernstein, Charles Munch, and Robert Shaw, and the multichannel sound wins the day, although the overall sound is slightly marred by the Mormon Tabernacle’s air-conditioning system. The midpriced set is filled out with a brisk, bracing reading of Mahler’s Symphony No.1, also recorded in the Tabernacle….Rad Bennett

Gary Allan: See If I Care
MCA B0002361-36
Format: Hybrid Multichannel SACD

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Gary Allan is a strong honky-tonk singer who owes a great allegiance to classic country, yet is not afraid to take excursions into a Bakersfield rock sound. He opens this set with the hard-driving "Drinkin’ Dark Whiskey," and follows that with a diffident barb to an ex-lover, "Can’t Do It Today." The song, by Rodney Clawson, Vicky McGehee, and John D. Rich, cleverly turns the meaning of a phrase with just the change of one word: "There’s a part of me that wishes I could just forget / but I haven’t found the mercy yet." These raucous opening songs are followed by two of the best tender ballads in country today, "Tough Little Boys" and the title song. The disc never gets back up to the wonder of those first four cuts, but it’s solid and competent throughout, and closes with an ode to the road, "A Showman’s Life," which Allan sings in duet with Willie Nelson. The high-resolution sound greatly benefits the nuances in Allan’s delivery as well as the rock-solid, singularly well-focused bass. The multichannel mix wraps completely around the listener with comfort, not distraction.…Rad Bennett

ZZ Top: Greatest Hits: The Video Collection
Warner Bros. R2 970320
Format: DVD-Video

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This 1992 collection was a hit on laserdisc, displaying some of the best video one could see at that time. The videos themselves are imaginative, immaculately produced and directed, and well suited to ZZ Top’s hard-driving style. Chopped cars, luscious babes, and justice for the underdog are the order of the day. The DVD release upgrades the video considerably. Except for the opening Eliminator trilogy, the grainy look that pervaded the laserdisc is gone. "Burger Man," shot in black and white alternating with sepia and white, is sharp as a tack. But the showpiece is, as it was in 1992, "Viva Las Vegas" -- the bright colors fairly leap off the screen without ever bleeding or breaking up. The sound throughout is big and bold, with lots of well-focused bass. Because these tracks are compressed (the 2.0 tracks are Dolby Digital, not PCM), the high end is a bit mushy and congested. That’s a shame, but it shouldn’t stop you from enjoying this high-spirited blast from the near past….Rad Bennett

Mel Tormé: Standing Room Only
Image 2300
Format: DVD-Video

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Overall Enjoyment

Mel Tormé had been a singing star since he was a teenager, and was on his way to a mainstream career like Frank Sinatra’s or Tony Bennett’s. But by his late 20s he’d fallen under the spell of jazz, specifically the Ella Fitzgerald School of Scat, and turned his back on pop music. Standing Room Only gives us a concert from 1989, when Tormé was 62 years old and a master of his art. At an age where most singers have lost their voices, Tormé could still float a note with the best of them -- as he does here at the end of "The Christmas Song" (which he wrote when he was 21) with a 17-second-long rising arpeggio that resolves to a high C. Just thinking about that would scare most other male singers. The concert was originally recorded on videotape, so the DVD picture is serviceable but not the sharpest. The sound is abysmal -- Tormé is so far out front in the mix that you can barely hear the orchestra. Still, for fans of late-era Tormé, this is the only DVD available. I vastly prefer (and highly recommend) Jazz Casual (Rhino Home Video), a compilation of live performances from Ralph J. Gleason’s early-1960s PBS series….Wes Marshall

Barbra Streisand: The Concert
Columbia 56989
Format: DVD-Video

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Overall Enjoyment

This disc was compiled from the much-publicized concerts at the MGM Grand on December 31, 1993 and January 1, 1994 -- two performances only. Streisand had not been onstage in a long time, but she put on one heck of a show. Single-performer acts get no better than this. Her voice is in tip-top shape, and she is flawless for the entire two hours of this generous package. Streisand was 51 at the time, an age at which most singers can only remind you of the past. On those two nights she reveled in the present, as she does today. Marvin Hammlisch’s arrangements are as astute as is his conducting of them. The sound is robust, with plenty of focused bass and mellow highs, Streisand and orchestra in perfect balance. There are two bonus videos from earlier television specials: "When the Sun Comes Out," from My Name Is Barbra, and "It Had to be You," from Color Me Barbra. Instead of being packaged in the expected DVD keepcase, The Concert is humbly housed in a CD jewel box.…Rad Bennett