It isn’t every day I run into a blog or site that contains more than one comprehensive and knowledgeable review of John’s recordings, but this morning I found a treasure trove over at David’s Classical CDs. David Rowe, a retired banker and musician, lives up in the tranquil Rockies with his life partner, 10,000 CDs, and a state-of-the-art sound system. Is that paradise or what?

David Rowe is proud of his sound system and I’ve learned a few new technological terms from him to help me sound intelligent when I talk about John’s recordings myself (for example SACD, I never knew what that meant and didn’t care…I still kind of don’t). But being a retired musician, he also listens to John’s recordings with a discriminating ear and lets you know when he thinks John’s at his best or just phoning it in. (We’re pretty much in accord here. I love John—I’m crazy IN love with him—but dammit, he can be hit-or-miss.)

(But oh! When he does hit!)

Rowe also has nice things to say about John’s Symphony in F by Erich Korngold; his Cloud Slant by Kenneth Fuchs; his Symphony No.3 by Adam Pounds. He calls Hollywood Soundstage “sensational”, and it is. Here are my favorite cuts from this album that make me dream luscious dreams of my sweet Geordie lad from Low Fell:

FULL DRESS // A gifted mesmerist—a sinister composer—a naive young conductor from the north…inspired by an episode from the life of Rachmaninoff // DOWNLOAD FREE BOOK POSTER

the lighter side of cantara on x

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