It's doubtful that anyone born after the '60s remembers Connie Francis well, despite the fact that she was a mega pop star during the late '50s and throughout the '60s. Albums like Sings Italian Favorites and More Italian Favorites sold faster than hotcakes at the local fire department fundraiser, making Concetta Rosemarie Franconero the forerunner to female performers like Madonna (though Francis' wardrobes tended to be more conservative). The 2004 release of these two albums will most strongly appeal to those who remember Francis from her heyday, and have been waiting for her many, many albums to be reissued. The songs, sung in English and Italian, and backed by a full orchestra, don't hold up in the way an Ella Fitzgerald recording does, but Francis is a good singer with a soft, romantic lilt to her voice. And while one wouldn't call the production masterful, the MGM crew keeps a fairly even hand on things for Sings Italian Favorites. The second album, More Italian Favorites, is a bit more bombastic, and more echo -- which isn't needed -- is added to Francis' voice. For old fans, or anyone curious about the types of songs that made mom and dad fall in love, Sings Italian Favorites/More Italian Favorites will be a blast from pop history's past. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.

Released in 1975, the original LP divided the two long tracks into separate "movements," as such: 1. Heaven and Hell, Part One a. Bacchanale b. Symphony to the Powers B (Movements 1 and 2) c. Movement 3 (from "Symphony to the Powers B") d. So Long Ago, So Clear 2. Heaven and Hell, Part Two a. Intestinal Bat b. Needles and Bones c. 12 O'Clock d. Aries e. A Way

UK greatest hits compilation features 20 tracks including 'Guitar Tango', 'Apache', 'Stingray', 'Geronimo', 'A Place In The Sun' and much more. EMI. 2001.

Track Listings
1 : Chromo I
2 : Chromo II
3 : Airtight
4 : The Instrument
5 : The Improvisation 001
6 : Television
7 : Some Day Later
8 : Darkened Corners
9 : Honfleur Remembered
10 : Beam/s
11 : To Offer, to Erase
12 : The Room
13 : By Its Light
14 : Transmission
15 : Drawn and Defined
16 : Stones

The Orielles have created their first genuinely contemporary record – an experimental double album self-produced in collaboration with producer Joel Anthony Patchett (King Krule, Tim Burgess). In doing so, the Orielles have utilised holistic jazz practices, oblique 21st century electronica, experimental 1960s tape loop methods, otherworldly AutoTuned vocal sounds, the downer dub of Burial, Sonic Youth’s focus on improvisation and feedback, and Brian Eno’s legendary Oblique Strategy cards.