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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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83
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83capbst.2
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1990-10-09
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January 2, 1984
THE BEST OF 1983
Classical
Bach: Brandenburg Concertos (Archive). Trevor Pinnock leads his crack
English Concert in crisp, exuberant performances.
Bartok: The Miraculous Mandarin: Two Portraits (Deutsche Grammophon).
Bartok's bloodcurdling ballet gets an elemental reading from Claudio
Abbado and the London Symphony.
Elliott Carter: Night Fantasies; Piano Sonata (Nonesuch). One of the
landmarks of 20th century keyboard music, the Sonata (1945-46) is
definitively interpreted by the late Paul Jacobs.
Copland: Short Symphony; Ives: Symphony No. 3 (Pro Arte).
Quintessential slices of orchestral Americana, lovingly realized by
Dennis Russell Davies and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.
Charles Tomlinson Griffes: Piano Music (Nonesuch). Griffes' unique
brand of American romantic impressionism gets a persuasive
reassessment from Noel Lee.
Philip Glass: Koyaanisqatsi (Antilles). The minimalist sound track
from the movie stands on its own as a symphonic suite of rare power
and passion.
Janacek: Jenufa (London). The greatest of Leos Janacek's nine operas
gets a recording worthy of its stature from Sir Charles Mackerras and
Soprano Elizabeth Soderstrom.
Puccini: La Rondine (CBS Masterworks). Kiri Te Kanawa, Placido
Domingo and Conductor Lorin Maazel star in Puccini's unaccountably
neglected confectioner's delight.
Verdi: Falstaff (Deutsche Grammophon). Renato Bruson is an autumnal
Sir John in Carlo Maria Guilini's bittersweet live recording.
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (Philips). Soprano Hildegard Behrens is a
stellar Wagnerian in Leonard Bernstein's incandescent performance of
the most erotic of operas.
Rock and Jazz
David Bowie: Let's Dance (EMI America). Smooth and elegant, like the
edge of a new knife, this sharp, soulful album marked Bowie's return
to top form.
Culture Club: Colour by Numbers (Virgin). Lead Singer Boy George may
look like Peter Pan at a transvestite Mardi Gras, but this band
purveys a straight and joyous brand of pop.
Wynton Marsalis: Think of One (Columbia). Mathematical arabesques on
the trumpet by a 22-year old who is fast turning from a prodigy into a
world-class pro.
Malcolm McLarent: Duck Rock (Island). The year's funniest and most
slaphappy dance record mixes Zulu chants, New York City Jump-rope
songs and hip-hop street culture into an anthropological jamboree.
Randy Newman: Trouble in Paradise (Warner Bros.). Part stand-up
comedy, part The Day of the Locust: Newman's best since 1972's Sail
Away.
Linda Ronstadt and the Nelson Riddle Orchestra: What's New (Asylum).
Nine standards, done straight, by a pop queen collaborating with an
old orchestra master. It must have seemed crazy, but it's a hit and
seemingly effortless tour de force.
Paul Simon: Hearts and Bones (Warner Bros.). The finest album yet
by one of the best songwriters in anybody's neighborhood.
Talking Heads: Speaking in Tongues (Sire). SoHo soul and uptown
rhythm: nobody mixes it up better.
U2: War (Island). Righteous rock with social savvy, fierce as a
street fight.
X: More Fun in the New World (Elektra). The New Wave rolls on: if
William S. Burroughs fronted a garage band, it would sound like this.