Four CDs, 48 songs in all for merely $19.95. That’s the steal of the week with The Live Anthology by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. I’ve seen this box set priced at $16.99 in some New York City newspapers. “The collection brings together material from 1978-2007 culled from hundreds of hours of live concert recordings covering every era of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ tours and represents the best tracks as chosen by producers Tom Petty, Mike Campbell and Ryan Ulyate.
The producers made no fixes or overdubs, letting the newly mixed original recordings showcase the invention, spontaneity, craft, and the musicianship that has made Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers among the most celebrated live performers of their time. Along with powerful interpretations of their own classic hits and originals, The Live Anthology features the band tackling some of their best-loved cover material, from classics to obscure beauties to unexpected adaptations. The theme from Goldfinger, the Zombies’ ‘I Want You Back Again,’ the Grateful Dead’s ‘Friend of the Devil,’ early Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Oh Well,’ Booker T. and the MGs’ ‘Green Onions,’ James Brown’s ‘Good, Good Lovin’ and many more.” You’re getting a lot for your money with this package. Just in time for holiday giving, too! GRADE: A

I’ve always liked Robert Altman’s movies so this oral biography was a must-read. Zuckoff’s approach is to let the people who worked with Altman tell their stories. Lauren Bacall, Warren Beatty, Kenneth Branagh, James Caan, Neve Campbell, Keith Caradine, Cher, Leonard Cohen, Robert Duvall, Henry Gibson, Jeff Goldblum, Elliot Gould, Buck Henry, Lauren Hutton, Sally Kellerman, Kevin Kline, Malcolm McDowell, Paul Newman, Tim Robbins, George Segal, Sissy Spacek, Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, and dozens more celebrate one of the great film makers. The minute I finished this book, I wanted to watch Altman’s movies all over again! GRADE: A

The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra rolled into Buffalo for a tune-up before their big Carnegie Hall concert. They played Mozart’s “Ballet Music from Idomeneo” which was a lively piece. Then came the surprise of the evening. Oboist Albrecht Mayer strolled onto the stage and transported the audience to Nirvana with Strauss’ “Oboe Concerto.” He followed that up with an encore from Bach’s “Cantata #156.” Plenty of standing ovations followed that performance! I bolted from my seat at intermission and ran to the lobby to buy Albrecht Mayer CDs and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra CDs. But they weren’t selling any CDs! Don’t these musicians know how to market themselves? Plenty of other audience members were ready to buy, too. What a missed opportunity! The second half of the concert started with Stravinsky’s “Eight Instrumental Miniatures.” It sounded okay, but it was a filler piece. Then the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra finished the concert with a spirited rendition of Mozart’s “Symphony No. 36 in C Major, K. 425 (“Linz”).” This is the program the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra will be playing tonight at Carnegie Hall. Very entertaining!

Those of you of a certain age will remember The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh series on Walt Disney’s Wide World of Color in 1964. Patrick McGoohan played both the meek pastor, Dr. Syn, and by night, The Scarecrow, a smuggler with Robin Hood tendencies who donated all his smuggling profits to the poor people of his community. Disney based their series on Russell Thorndike’s adventure novels. I’ve read them all and enjoyed them all. The books have been reprinted many times and should be relatively easy to come by. If you enjoy classic adventure fiction, the Dr. Syn series delivers.

Doctor Syn: A Tale of the Romney Marsh (1915)
Doctor Syn on the High Seas (1935)
Doctor Syn Returns (1936)
Further Adventures of Doctor Syn (1936)
Courageous Exploits of Doctor Syn (1938)
Amazing Quest of Doctor Syn (1939)
Shadow of Doctor Syn (1944)
An expanded version of Doctor Syn Returns titled The Scarecrow Rides was published by The Dial Press in 1935.

I’ve been a fan of Loreena McKennitt’s brand of World music for decades so factor that into this review. This new 2-CD collection features one disk of “retrospective” music from McKennitt’s previous CDs, The Mask and the Mirror, An Ancient Muse, The Book of Secrets, and The Visit. Consider it a Greatest Hits of Loreena McKennitt collection. The second CD is a series of live performances that sound fabulous. Loreena McKennitt’s clear, lilting voice never fails to delight me. If you haven’t listened to Loreena McKennitt, this is the perfect place to start. GRADE: A
Disc: 1
1. Mystic Dream
2. Tango to Evora
3. Gates of Istanbul
4. Penelope’s Song
5. Marco Polo
6. Marrakesh Night Market
7. Santiago
8. Caravanserai
9. Dark Night of the Soul
10. Sacred Shabbat
11. Mummer’s Dance [Single Version]
Disc: 2
1. Gates of Istanbul
2. Dark Night of the Soul
3. Marco Polo
4. Penelope’s Song
5. Sacred Shabbat
6. Caravanserai
7. Santiago
8. Beneath a Phyrgian Sky
9. Tango to Evora
10. Full Circle

We’re down to the Final Four in Top Chef: Jen, Kevin, Michael, and Bryan. I consider Jen as the weakest chef, but funny things happen on Top Chef. I’m guessing Jen finds a way to make it into next week’s Finale. Kevin is the best chef. He’s been strong since Episode One. He’ll make the Finale. So now it’s down to the Voltaggio brothers: Michael and Bryan. One of them will be sent home tonight. My guess is that it will be Michael, the younger brother. Michael can be snarky. He said, “I cook like Kevin on my day off.” Not nice. I’m predicting that Padma will say, “Michael, please pack your knives and go.”

Blu-ray movies, in the high-definition DVD format, currently cost around $25 when regular DVDs cost half of that. All that is about to change. The recession has hurt DVD sales, but it hurt the premium Blu-ray sales most. Tons of movies and TV shows on Blu-ray disks are languishing in warehouses. The Powers That Be have decided that after Christmas, the prices of many Blu-Ray disks will be lowered to $10! If you’ve seen Blu-ray movies, you know that the high-def detail is amazing. The factors that held me back from buying a Blu-ray player were the outrageous prices for Blu-ray DVDs and the high prices of the players. Now that the pricing will be affordable and the player prices have come down (Wal-Mart is selling a Blu-ray player for $79), I’ll be buying a Blu-ray player soon. I have an LG Blu-ray player pictured above, but I’m not recommending any particular brand right now. I’ll do more research and check some Blu-ray players out before I buy. But, I’ll let you know which brand I’ll be buying during the after Christmas sales as soon as I make a decision. You should think about buying a Blu-ray player, too!

I own all of Enya’s CDs so you would think I wouldn’t be in the market for this new collection. But you would be wrong. I can’t think of a better stocking stuffer than an Enya CD. Her ethereal music and distinctive voice are magical. Most people I know don’t have all of Enya’s CDs (but probably wish they had) so this new VERY BEST OF ENYA makes holiday giving easy. I’ll probably buy a dozen copies to gift to friends and relatives.
Track Listings:
1. Orinoco Flow
2. Aniron
3. Storms in Africa
4. Caribbean Blue
5. Book of Days
6. The Celts
7. Only Time
8. Wild Child
9. Water Shows The Hidden Heart
10. Anywhere Is
11. Cursum Perficio
12. Amarantine
13. Aldebaran
14. Trains and Winter Rains
15. Watermark
16. Boadicea
17. A Day Without Rain
18. May It Be
19. Oiche Chiun

Concluding the Jimmy Paz trilogy is Night of the Jaguar. A shaman from South America makes the journey to Miami to stop a company who plans to destroy his forest habitat. By chance, the shaman links up with an environmentalist group. Suddenly, the executives in charge of the company that plans the deforestation start dying. Their corpses look like a 400 lb. jaguar had ripped them apart. Once again Jimmy Paz investigates an other-worldly series of crimes. Michael Gruber’s trilogy revels in originality and kooky plotting. If you’re looking for novels that are unique and unusual, try reading Tropic of Night, Valley of Bones, and Night of the Jaguar. This is the most memorable trilogy I’ve read in recent years. GRADE: B+

Michael Gruber’s second book in his Jimmy Paz trilogy contains one of the most harrowing journals I’ve ever read. A woman named Emmylou Dideroff is accused of murder, but Detective Jimmy Paz thinks something is wrong with her story. Emmylou asks to write her confession and she fills three notebooks with her incredible story of sexual abuse, survivalist plots, and African politics. The novel ends with an explosive ending that left me drained. Valley of Bones reminds me of a roller-coaster ride with its change of pace from slow to fast, from up to down. GRADE: A-