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Voice Power - Volume 1 - Performance Tools for Singers, Public Speakers & Communicators	This CD has 3 parts - 1) an overview of Structural Breathing (13 min); 2) relaxation and affirmations (35 min), and 3) guided visualization (25 min). Structural breathing is based on "apoggio" - breath control technique, used by Caruso and described in the book "Caruso and Tetrazzini on the art of singing" by Enrico Caruso and Luisa Tetrazzini edited by Dover Publications. I have found that the CD "Voice Lessons to Go", vol. 1, for example, contains breathing and vocalization exercises that make it easier to comprehend and practice this kind of breathing, even in the book "The 3 dimensional voice" has lovely graphic descriptions and numerous practical exercises for ehnacing the richness of the voice. In this first part of the CD, there are few suggestions I have found inappropriate "Breathing through your nose weakens you", "Abdominal breathing weakens you", "Placing your tongue on the roof of your mouth weakens you" (the last may be meaningful to those who are practicing energy circulation). The author says that placing the tongue on the roof of the mouth "shuts off the switch" related the circulation of the energy. Nothing could be further from the truth - placing the tongue on the roof of the mouth connects two main meridians in the body and anyone who is actually actively engaged in working with energy circulation, through practices such as microcosmic orbit can attest to that from personal experience (the experience is very tangible, noticeable and empowering). As jeannie Deva, the author of the "Contemporary Vocalist" improvement course mentioned - over the years of working and talking with many vocal teachers about the proper methods of breathing and singing and finding numerous discrepancies, she finally decided to pick up books on anatomy and find out for herself. I suggest you too do some more research and experimenting before taking for granted the information presented on this CD. Just keep on repeating such suggestions for a while and notice what happens and since the author mentions kinesiology, you may as well repeat these kinds of suggestions and then do kinesiology when you are breathing through your nose (which I suppose most people do throughout the day) and notice what kind of suggestions are you impressing upon your subconscious mind. The second part of this CD contains about 5 minutes of relaxation and 30 minutes of affirmations - mostly forgiveness affirmations that cover all possibilities - here are few examples: I release and forgive myself for being good at singing. I release and forgive myself for not being good at singing. I release and forgive myself for liking the sound of my voice. I release and forgive myself for not liking the sound of my voice. I forgive myself for being nervous when I use my voice. I forgive myself for not being nervous when I use my voice. I release and forgive myself for being good at communication. I release and forgive myself for not being good at communication. I release and forgive myself for enjoying my voice. I release and forgive myself for not enjoying my voice. The third part is guided visualization (20 min) set to a music of Tranquil Harp designed to help you alter perception, set boundaries, enhance creativity, flexibility, and your ability to visualize. This CD does not contain any voice training techniques - for that you should get either voice teacher or voice training CDs (or both). The main focus of this CD seems to be on helping you to summon the courage to express yourself.	Usually ships in 3 to 5 weeks
Wicked	This album truly is wicked! This remains one of Scooter's earlier and better albums, and is a good one because the tracks have quite a lot of variety and spice the album up a bit. Their previous album, "Our Happy Hardcore", was good too but I noticed some of the songs employed the same rhythms and choice of sounds on the keyboard. Of those two albums released in 1996, I have to say I like "Wicked!" better. 1.WICKED INTRODUCTION: This was Scooter's first album to start off with a short, non-techno but electronic introduction that has been used in every album since. It is a preview of the next track sampling from "Scotland the Brave", an old Scottish folk song. 2.I'M RAVING: This song was a big risk for Scooter to take as it was their first song to use a noticeably slower beat. However, it soon caught on, and remains one of their best singles ever. The melody is taken from Marc Cohn's "Walking in Memphis" with Scooter's own lyrics (i.e. "put on my blue suede shoes" now becomes "put on my raving shoes"). The secondary melody is "Scotland the Brave" again, except a little bit faster. 3.WE TAKE YOU HIGHER: This track is hardcore! Frontman H.P. Baxxter spins out some of his better lyrics in this song, while a fat melody plays in the background. It's very groovy, and just makes you want to jump up and down. I really like the syncopation used by the percussion and vocals in this song. I can picture people from the `90's Clubbing to this in some Euro discotheque. 4.AWAKENING: "Awakening" is probably the most boring track on this album. It just isn't that exciting and has very little creativity. But hey, it's Scooter, so who cares? 5.WHEN I WAS A YOUNG BOY: This song starts with one of the best percussion solos ever by Scooter, and then breaks out in a mellow piano solo with H.P. Baxxter singing (not shouting) some random lyrics that make no sense at all. But it's a great number, and I love it for its melancholy feel. Halfway through the piece, the DJ's play some awesome licks and riffs before returning to the main part. It concludes with H.P. yelling his signature laugh. It made me laugh when I first heard it. 6.COLDWATER CANYON: "Coldwater Canyon" is in my top three trance songs by Scooter. It starts off with string-synth and breaks out into a fast-paced beat with undoubtedly the best piano solo ever by Scooter. The piece slows down for a bit, returning to the intro but with more sounds and still retaining the original theme. This is definitely a Scooter trance classic. 7.SCOOTER DEL MAR: An odd piece, "Scooter Del Mar" is like a very slow techno song. It almost sounds like something you might hear on a smooth jazz radio station. This is the only song in which H.P. whispers his lyrics instead of yelling them like he usually does. It has a nice piano solo with synthesizers in the background that add a nice accompaniment. 8.ZEBRAS CROSSING THE STREET: This is an interesting track. The name of the song suggests the absurdity of the lyrics, which are done by an electronic voice (it might be H.P. singing through a weird vocoder). The piano/synths aren't all that fantastic but it is fast-paced and energetic. 9.DON'T LET IT BE ME: I have a feeling Scooter ripped this song off someone else, because the lyrics actually make sense. Anyway, H.P. Baxxter does a nice job singing this song, and he can actually sing in tune. For a German his English accent is excellent. The style of this piece has more traditional Scooter elements, but is nevertheless fun to listen to. 10.THE FIRST TIME: The first time, what? Well, this another sort of strange track, but it is Scooter and I like the variety. A woman repeats these words: "The first time I've ever seen this place, the first time I ever saw your face". It's a bit of a spooky track, and could have been a little shorter to avoid repetition. 11.BREAK IT UP: This was the first-ever ballad done by Scooter, and they add a nice touch. Sung wonderfully by H.P. Baxxter himself, "Break It Up" features an acoustic guitar with some additional electronic sounds in the interludes. This song represents the imaginative side of Scooter, showing that they are capable of more than just dance music. I'm sure that this song inspired "Leave in Silence", "Eyes without a Face", and "Stripped", the other Scooter ballads. I guess those are the songs that you would do a slow dance to in a club. Although I really wouldn't know since I'm only 16 and I live in America. Anyway, this number adds to the creativity of the album. As stated above, what I love about this album is its intense variety and uniqueness in each song. "Wicked!" clearly is a turn in a different direction for Scooter, and it goes well because they still retain their traditional elements from song to song. As for whether you, the online shopper, should buy this album or not (depending on the outrageous price of Amazon - I downloaded this album for free), I would recommend it - not strongly, because I think Scooter has even better albums, but I would get it if I were a hardcore, diehard, ultimate Scooter fan (or groupie).	Usually ships in 4 to 6 weeks
A Toolbox Christmas	This album was givien to us as a gag gift, because my husband is in construction, but I knew how talented Gourd musicians were! We are continually AMAZED at the wonderful quality and sheer talent of your musicians to produce such a terrific album using only tools BRAVO!	Usually ships in 24 hours
Only Tools and Corpses	For all exhumed fans and lovers out there? Look no further then gorerotted's "only tools and corpses" truly an amazing work and pure evil and brutal as well. Highly recommended	Usually ships in 24 hours
Tools in the Dryer: A Rarities Compilation	An odds and sods compilation from everyone's favorite umpteen-piece Nashville collective, this disc includes recordings that span thirteen years (1987-2000) and incorporate everything from squeakily harmonized recorders taped on a bedroom four-track to lush strings and disco beats. This is obviously a treasure trove for fans, but non-fans, too, will find much to enjoy, once they have checked out some of the group's more cohesive releases, such as last year's sublime "Nixon" (Merge, 2000). There's the requisite handful of gorgeous down-beat country ballads (especially "Whitey" and a cover of Vic Chestnutt's "Miss Prissy"). There's an invigorating remix of "Up With People," from "Nixon," which massages that song's gospel-choir hook into a heavenly delirium. There's the bopping "Nine," the band's first single for Merge, with a great "deet-deet-deet" chorus. And there's the awesome "Style Monkeys," a bedroom recording from 1987, which contains the fiercest drum machine I've heard in a while. There aren't many bands out there who could do all of this under the auspices of being a country group, and the fact that Lambchop could relegate all of this musical invention to a loose-ends comp with a mediocre title and cover art is a testament to their talent and relevance.	Usually ships in 4 to 9 days
Tools of Destruction	Thunderstone not only has a fantastic name but also a very solid stand on the Heavy Metal genre. Their sophomore release of "Tools Of Destruction" on Nuclear Blast Records really has some key moments to it. Hailing from Finland a Country that seems to be responsible for most of the worlds Power Metal these days; the group takes a slightly different direction with their music. They did not follow the gruff vocals and intensity of Children Of Bodom or the Operatic Adventures of Nightwish and instead deliver a "Traditionally" styled opus that is full of clean vocals on top of truly solid guitars and drums. There is a fair amount of technical precision displayed in such tunes as "The Last Song" which has a nice keyboard riffs over an impressive double-bass drum run and it just draws you into it. When the song "Without Wings" plays you almost feel like you are listening to Sonata Arctica since it could pass for one of this bands tracks. I felt this record was almost like a safe introduction to the world of Power Metal music and I mean this in the most positive way because this was very user Friendly stuff. Great hooks with a nice vocal mix and easy to remember tunes overall. I think this must have been hard on the band to decide which avenue to follow because their fellow Countrymen have achieved amazing success by testing the limits of the Metal genre and instead Thunderstone decide to stick with a more conventional delivery. The lineup is Pasi Rantanen - vocals, Nino Laurenne - guitars & backing vocals, Kari Tornack - keyboards, Titus Hjelm - bass & backing vocals, Mirka Rantanen - drums. Each member really seems to show their level of talent on the CD and while I don't have their first release "The Burning" (also on Nuclear Blast Records) it is most probably a lot more of this type of stuff. Either way I shall be looking into it. There are some other tracks that stood out for me, and "Liquid Of The Kings" is one as well as the slow and trudging "Welcome To The Real". I found that the more I listened to this CD the more that I felt that Century Media's Nocturnal Rites are a perfect companion band to this one. Fans of Whitesnake and Dio and even Deep Purple will appreciate this release. It's a high recommendation for those seeking a familiar style brought to you by a new face. Check it out.	Usually ships in 24 hours
Power Tools		Usually ships in 24 hours
Herman Dreyer - Email: dreyer_herman@yahoo.com