This is quite the odd collection: it takes in older popular singers (Martin, Anka); newer albums by "traditional" singers (Anka again, Streisand); two Christmas albums, one "novelty" (Philbin); one "crossover" and one "classical crossover" (by the Greek tenor Mario Frangoulis); one country-Western classic (Cash); collections taking in country and blues, pop based on Irish folksong, a late-1960s film soundtrack -- and some honest-to-G*d rock and roll! (This listing has been revised as of 1 September 2014.)

The carrying case is the standard-issue item, a brand new one in heavy-gauge black canvas with a green panel, and a sturdy zipper. But I suspect it's the music that'll be the real "draw." Details follow:

===

American Pride. Sony Collectables COL-CD-2010. All profits from this disc were originally devoted to the post-9/11 Red Cross relief effort. Track and performer listing:

1. In America - Charlie Daniels (3.17)
2. Living in the Promiseland - Willie Nelson (3.20)
3. Eagle, The - Waylon Jennings (2.51)
4. Rugged Old Flag - Johnny Cash (3.06)
5. America, The Beautiful - Charlie Rich (2.26)
6. All American Dream, The - Moe Bandy (2.10)
7. Amber Waves of Grain - Merle Haggard (3.16)
8. All American Man - Johnny Paycheck (2.50)
9. America Is - B.J. Thomas (3.07)
10. Song of the Patriot - Johnny Cash/Marty Robbins (3.25)

===

Barbra Streisand: Higher Ground. Columbia CK 66181. A wonderfully diverse program of religious and inspirational music. Track listing:

1. I Believe / You'll Never Walk Alone
2. Higher Ground
3. At the Same Time
4. Tell Him
5. On Holy Ground
6. If I Could
7. Circle
8. The Water Is Wide / Deep River
9. Leading With Your Heart
10. Lessons to Be Learned
11. Everything Must Change
12. Avinu Malkeinu - (Hebrew)

This album opens with quiet sincerity in Barbra Streisand's restrained take on Rodgers and Hammerstein's "You'll Never Walk Alone," paired with an equally non-traditional version of the Frankie Laine hit, "I Believe," both of which set the tone for the remainder of HIGHER GROUND. Offerings range from show tunes and popular songs to traditional pieces like "The Water is Wide" and "Avinu Malkeinu," which is traditionally sung during Rosh Hashanah, and whose lyrics translate as "Cause all hate and oppression to vanish from the earth/Inscribe us for blessing in the Book of Life." HIGHER GROUND carries this sense of spirituality to a variety of levels, resulting in a very accessible and timeless collection of songs sung by one of the world's most popular divas, who is at her most powerful and passionate, her rich and expressive voice backed by a lush 70-piece orchestra.

===

Barbra Streisand: A Love Like Ours. Columbia CK 69601.  Track listing:

1. I've Dreamed of You
2. Isn't It a Pity?
3. Island, The
4. Love Like Ours
5. If You Ever Leave Me
6. We Must Be Loving Right
7. If I Never Met You
8. It Must Be You
9. Just One Lifetime
10. If I Didn't Love You
11. Wait
12. The Music That Makes Me Dance

Barbra Streisand's marriage to actor James Brolin inspired her to record an album of uplifting love songs that is her best work since THE BROADWAY ALBUM. "I've Dreamed of You" is a touching ballad inspired by a Norwegian instrumental, and is the first song Babs sang at her wedding. "Isn't it a Pity?" is the song the couple danced to first, and is a fabulous reworking of the George and Ira Gershwin tune. "The Island," originally done by Patti Austin in 1981, is a Caribbean-flavored number featuring Kenny G on tenor saxophone. "If You Ever Leave Me," a duet with Vince Gill, is a made-for-radio smash written by Richard Marx. "Just One Lifetime" is another song Barbra sang to James at their wedding, and contains a semi-classical arrangement by Marvin Hamlisch. "The Music That Makes Me Dance" originally appeared in 1963 on the FUNNY GIRL original Broadway cast recording.
Barbra Streisand's youthful enthusiasm and unmistakable voice make clear that we have yet to see the apex of her career.

"The glorious voice is still without parallel in contemporary pop....Her bravura remake of 'Music That Makes Me Dance'...and two newer works 'Just One Lifetime' and 'We Must Be Loving Right'" -- Entertainment Weekly, 10/99

===

Dean Martin: All-Time Greatest Hits. Curb D2-77383. Track listing:

  1. That's Amore
  2. Sway
  3. You Belong to Me
  4. Memories Are Made of This
  5. Return to Me
  6. Volare (Nel blu dipinto di blu)
  7. Standing on the Corner
  8. Innamorata
  9. On an Evening in Roma
  10. You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You
  11. Non Dimenticar
  12. Come Back to Sorrento

===

God Bless America. Columbia CK 86300. Proceeds originally benefited the Twin Towers Fund. Track listing:


1. God Bless America - Celine Dion
2. Land of Hope and Dreams - Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
3. Hero - Mariah Carey
4. Amazing Grace - Tramaine Hawkins
5. Blowin' in the Wind - Bob Dylan
6. Bridge over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel
7. Peaceful World - John Mellencamp (previously unreleased, acoustic version)
8. There's a Hero - Billy Gilman
9. America the Beautiful - Frank Sinatra
10. God Bless the U.S.A. - Lee Greenwood
11. This Land Is Your Land - Pete Seeger
12. Coming Out of the Dark - Gloria Estefan
13. We Shall Overcome - Mahalia Jackson
14. Star Spangled Banner, The - Mormon Tabernacle Choir
15. Lean on Me - Bill Withers

In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, a number of patriotic-themed compilation albums were released to help provide emotional solace to a traumatized America. While some featured orchestral versions of old standbys such as the "Star Spangled Banner," this collection centers around songs by some of the biggest pop artists. There are a couple of chestnuts hauled out here (Canadian siren Celine Dion takes on the titular anthem), most of the selections are original compositions by the artists, songs with a special place in the American pantheon. Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" is no chest-thumping, jingoistic anthem, but rather a poignant look at human feelings in the midst of war. Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge over Troubled Water" speaks to anyone seeking spiritual comfort in times of strife. Touching the worlds of pop, folk, rock, gospel, country, and more, GOD BLESS AMERICA was designed with the feelings of troubled Americans in mind.

===

Great Blues Performers. Excelsior EXL 10132. Track and artist listing:

Albert Collins: Deep Freeze
Buddy Guy: You Sure Can't Do
Johnny "Guitar" Watson: One-Room Country Club
Earl Hooker: The Foxtrot
Byther Smith: I Don't Like to Travel
Roy Gaines and the Crusaders: Hell of a Night
Paul DeLay Band: Harpoon Man
Billie Boy Arnold with Tony McPhee: Catfish
Peter Lamb and the Blues Burglars: Spaced Out
Greg "Fingers" Taylor with Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets: Dixie Diner
The Chicago Blues Summit

===

Johnny Cash: Super Hits. Columbia CK 66773. Track listing:

1. Ring of Fire
2. Sunday Morning Coming Down
3. I Walk the Line
4. Folsom Prison Blues
5. Understand Your Man
6. Big River
7. I Still Miss Someone
8. Jackson
9. A - (live) Boy Named Sue
10. One Piece at a Time
===

Mario Frangoulis: Sometimes I Dream. Odyssey OK 89805. Greek tenor Mario Frangoulis's program of Italian, Spanish, and Greek love songs.

Track listing:

  1. Vincero, perdero
  2. Buongiorno, principessa (from the film Life Is Beautiful)
  3. Sometimes I Dream
  4. Luna rossa
  5. Naturaleza muerta
  6. Nights in White Satin (Notte di luce) (performed with Justin Heyward of the Moody Blues)
  7. Ton eafto tu paidi
  8. Non sara
  9. Hijo de la luna
  10. Night Wants to Forget
  11. Canzone arrabbiata
  12. A la luna de Valencia

===

On Her Majesty's Secret Service: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.  EMI Manhattan CDP 7 90618 2. (NOTE: In some databases, this order number brings up a double-length program with ten added bonus tracks. This original CD reissue offers just the same eleven tracks as on the original EMI LP.)

Music composed and conducted by John Barry. Lyrics by Hal David. Includes "We have all the time in the world" sung by Louis Armstrong; "Do you know how Christmas trees are green?" sung by Nina.

===

Oro. Na Casaidigh. RTE CD 205. The songs on this album are some of the most popular in Irish, presented in the style of today: songs of love, of the sea, of occupation, even of the rake and the ne'er-do-well. Add a dash of drums, a splash of pipes, a pinch of lead and bass, stir it well with accordion and fiddle -- and rock through the ages. Produced by Seathrun O Casaide, Odhran O Casaide, Steve Cooney.

Track listing:

  1. Beidh Aonach Amarach
  2. Oro Se Do Bheatha 'bhaile
  3. Bheir Mi O
  4. Oro Bog Liom i
  5. Do Bhios-sa La i bPort Lairge
  6. An bhfaca tu mo Sheamuisin?
  7. Cill Chais
  8. Trasna na dTonnta
  9. Tiocfaidh An Samhradh
  10. Baidin Fheilimi
  11. Oro Mo Bhaidin
  12. Cad E Sin Don Te Sin
  13. Oilean I
  14. Fainne Geal An Lae

===

Our Favorite Things: Christmas in Vienna. Sony SK 89468. Featuring the Vienna Symphony conducted by Steven Mercurio. Track listing:

  1. Tony Bennett: The Christmas Song
  2. Placido Domingo-Charlotte Church: O Holy Night
  3. Vanessa Williams: Do You Hear What I Hear
  4. Domingo: Jesus de Nazareth
  5. Bennett-Williams: Winter Wonderland
  6. Church: Silent Night
  7. Williams-Bennett-Domingo: My Favorite Things
  8. Bennett-Williams: White Christmas
  9. Domingo: Hacia Belen Va un Burro
  10. Williams: Through the Eyes of a Child
  11. Bennett-Domingo: The First Noel
  12. Gumpoldskirchner Spatzen: Somewhere in My Memory
  13. Domingo-Williams: I Saw Three Ships
  14. Bennett: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
  15. Domingo: Hijo de Dios
  16. Bennett-Domingo: I'll Be Home for Christmas
  17. Domingo-Williams: Joy to the World
  18. Bennett-Williams-Domingo: Angels We Have Heard on High
  19. Williams-Domingo-Church-Bennett: Silent Night
  20. Domingo-Williams: One More Year

===

Paul Anka: Classic Hits. Curb D2-77566. Track listing:

  1. You're Having My Baby
  2. One Man Woman/One Woman Man
  3. Times of Your Life
  4. I Don't Like to Sleep Alone
  5. There's Nothing Stronger Than Our Love
  6. Anytime
  7. My Best Friend's Wife
  8. My Way (new recording)
  9. A Steel Guitar and a Glass of Wine (new recording)
  10. Let Me Try Again (new recording)

===

Paul Anka: Live 2000. (www.paulanka.com) Track listing:

   1. Show Intro (0.22)
   2. For Once in My Life (2.19)
   3. Diana (2.40)
   4. Adam and Eve (2.50)
   5. Autumn Leaves (3.39)
   6. Times of Your Life (3.02)
   7. Saints (3.33)
   8. House Is Rockin' (3.02)
   9. New York, New York (3.00)
  10. Put Your Head on My Shoulder (2.34)
  11. Puppy Love (1.39)
  12. Lonely Boy (1.55)
  13. She's a Lady (1.19)
  14. Ogni Volta (5.32)
  15. The Longest Day (2.39)
  16. I'm Not Anyone (5.39)
  17. Jubilation (4.52)
  18. My Way (5.51)
  19. Proud Mary (3.23)
  20. Johnny B. Goode (2.07)
  21. Bitch (2.37)
  22. You Are My Destiny (2.41)
  23. Diana Bows (4.18)

Band credits: Jon Crosse, music director/alto sax/clarinet/flute; Darius Babazadeh, tenor sax/clarinet/flute; Greg Gisbert, trumpet/flugelhorn; Joe Giorgianni, trumpet/flugelhorn; Bobby Shew, trumpet (appears courtesy of MAMA Records); Dante Luciani, trombone; Tad Weed, piano; Todd Carlon, synthesizers; Hiroshi Upshur, synthesizers; Michael Labrador, guitars; Enrique Toussaint, bass guitar; Graham Lear, drums; Kurt Rasmussen, percussion.

===

The Regis Philbin Christmas Album. Hollywood 2061-62549-2. Track listing:


1. Where Do We Go for Christmas?
2. White Christmas
3. Marshmallow World
4. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
5. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
6. Baby It's Cold Outside
7. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
8. I'll Be Home for Christmas
9. Winter Wonderland
10. Silver Bells
11. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
12. Christmas Song, The


Contributing artists: Donald Trump, Steve Tyrell
Producer: Bob Mann, Steve Tyrell

===

The Very Best of Connie Francis, volume 2. Polydor/Universal.

Track Listing
1. When the Boy in Your Arms (Is the Boy in Your Heart)
2. Mama
3. Blue Winter
4. Together
5. God Bless America
6. Be Anything (But Be Mine)
7. For Mama (La Mamma)
8. Al-Di-La
9. Malagueña
10. I Was Such a Fool (To Fall in Love With You)
11. Jealous of You (Tango Della Gelosia)
12. Time Alone Will Tell (Non Pensare a Me)

Personnel include: Connie Francis (vocals); Don Costa, Tony Osbourne, Alan Lorber, Ray Ellis, Stan Applebaum (arranger, conductor).Compilation producers: Connie Francis, Pat Niglio.Recorded between 1959 & 1967. Includes liner notes by Patrick Niglio.

==

I will include complete booklets and endpapers for all the albums.

Shipping within the U.S. will be via USPS Media Mail with Delivery Confirmation. Outside the U.S., contact me for rates to your particular country. (And yes, of course I will combine and discount shipping on multiple items!)

For payment, eBay requires me to take PayPal (from which, of course, they make money, since they own it!). But don't forget the advantages of CDs over digital files:

 

Capacious dynamic range

High-definition bass focus

Extensive repertoire

Convenient transport and filing

Key performers

Superior engineering

 

Contact me for details.