| | Beirut Gulag Orkestar CD Beirut Discography of CDs
 (1 Customer Review)
The debut of singer/multi-instrumentalist Zach Condon (aka Beirut), 2006's GULAG ORKESTAR marks the arrival of a precocious talent. It's a lushly arranged album that reveals Condon's unabashed adoration of Eastern European folk music, gilded with swaying accordion lines, rapturous string passages, and jangling percussion that seem wholly rooted in traditional Slavic music (see the waltz-like "Prenzlauerberg")--making its creation by a young Europhile from New Mexico that much more impressive.
While there's little in the way of pop/rock influence in Beirut's instrumental approach, Condon sings in a low warble that recalls the Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt, showcasing his unrestrained flair for drama on tracks such as the tense "Brandenburg" and the swooning "Scenic World." Effectively displaying Condon's considerable abilities, GULAG ORKESTAR is a fully formed first outing that is sure to appeal to many fans of ornate and adventurous indie-pop.
Audio Mixer: Josh Clark .
Recording information: Albuquerque, NM (2005); Seaside Lounge, Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY (2005).
Beirut: Zach Condon.
Personnel: Zach Condon (vocals, mandolin, ukulele, accordion, trumpet, piano, organ, percussion); Heather Trost (violin); Perrin Cloutier (cello).
Additional personnel: Jeremy Barnes, Heather Trost.
Rolling Stone (p.90) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Chock-full of accordion, brass noise and Condon's sinewy murmur, the album has got melancholic Easter Euro charm from here to Kiev."
Q (p.141) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] astonishingly moving distillation of Eastern European melancholia with elegant histrionics."
Magnet (p.103) - "[W]hen 19-year-old New Mexico native Zach Condon (a.k.a. Beirut) takes accordion-led waltzes and gypsy stomps for a spin on this debut, they sound exciting rather than exhumed." Gulag Orkestar Music | List Price | $14.98 (You save $4.19) | | Category | Rock/Pop Albums, Folk CDs, Gypsy, Rock | | Label | A-Zap | | Orig Year | 2006 | | All Time Sales Rank |  6937  | | CD Universe Part number | 7065302 | | Catalog number | 48 | | Discs | 1 | | Release Date | May 09, 2006 | | Studio/Live | Studio | | Mono/Stereo | Stereo | | Engineer | Zach Condon; Josh Clark | | Personnel | Zach Condon - vocals, mandolin, ukulele, accordion, trumpet, piano, organ, percussion
Perrin Cloutier - cello
Also: Jeremy Barnes, Heather Trost |
Beirut Gulag Orkestar Songs Gulag Orkestar Music Review Purchase Gulag Orkestar CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | Arcade Fire Funeral CD (2004)
Gulag Orkestar album
 $11.89    
This Montreal ensemble's fiery debut is marked by surging guitars, soulful strings, driving drums, brilliant bass lines, and the quavering vocals of married couple Win Butler and Regine Chassagne. The group's song structures careen through a vast territory of musical and personal history, with lyrics warm with memories of childhood neighborhoods and deceased loved ones, resulting in an alternating current of joy and sadness.
Favorably compared to the Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, and Broken Social Scene, the Arcade Fire's sound seems to come from a lifetime of listening to the Cure, Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, and many others--even a dose of soul gets worked into these grand anthems. Chassagne delivers some spellbinding ...
| | Sufjan Stevens Illinoise CD (2005)
Gulag Orkestar CD music
$12.09 
The second entry from sui generis singer/songwriter Sufjan Stevens in his absurdly ambitious project to make a record for every state in America outdistances even 2003's superb GREETINGS FROM MICHIGAN in scope and beauty. A sweeping paean to the Lincoln state, ILLINOIS weaves together history, personal confession, and detail-filled scenarios with chamber folk, expansive orchestral pop, and back-porch pastoral settings for a stunningly progressive indie gem that sound like Brian Wilson, Stereolab, and Neil Young holding hands in heaven.
Remarkably, in its intricate, gorgeously crafted surfaces, ILLINOIS lives up to its aims. In addition to its symphonic grandeur, the album also showcases Stevens's heartland folk, and some of the album's most shimmering moments are its most spare. "John Wayne Gacy, Jr.," for instance, is ...
| | Joanna Newsom Ys CD (2006)
Gulag Orkestar music CDs
$12.69 
It shouldn't be a surprise that an artist as stridently unconventional as Joanna Newsom would make a second album that overturns all the expectations established by her first. While Newsom's harp, highly poetic lyrics, and distinctive, child-like voice will be familiar to fans of THE MILK-EYED MENDER, YS takes Newsom's art in a new, startling directions.
The quaint, self-contained folk portraits of the debut are obliterated here in favor of sprawling epics that recall sea shanties, Homeric myths, and progressive rock. Newsom's words are still highly literate and ...
| | Beirut Lon Gisland CD (2007) Extended Play
Gulag Orkestar songs
$7.89
| | Arcade Fire Neon Bible CD (2007) Deluxe Edition (With Book)
Gulag Orkestar album
$15.95
Almost three years after the Arcade Fire's 2004 full-length debut, FUNERAL, stunned indie-rock fans with its majestic scope and romantic ferocity, the Montreal-based ensemble returned with NEON BIBLE. Although the album lacks the from-out-of-nowhere punch of the former record, it serves as a fitting successor, with the group's sweeping sound enhanced by even more prominent layers of piano, organ, strings, and percussion.
As on FUNERAL, married multi-instrumentalists Win Butler and Regine Chassagne share vocal duties, and their distinctive singing adds to the emotional weight of each song, from the urgent, bass-heavy "Keep the Car Running" to the brooding, cinematic "Black Waves/Bad Vibrations." And while the Arcade Fire's post-punk influences are still on display, they are more fully integrated into the band's ambitious aesthetic, as best evidenced on the lush, nearly operatic update of "No Cars Go," which originally appeared on its '03 EP. With its cathedral-like grandeur kept in check by ...
| | Beirut Flying Club Cup CD (2007)
Gulag Orkestar CD music
$13.89
Despite these and other comparisons (Calexico, Magnetic Fields, etc.), however, Condon manages to make CUP's swooning Francophilia both unique and timeless, burying his New Mexico roots so deep it would seem that he has to be from somewhere in the Old World. Although the record generally lacks snappy singles, the exception being the dynamic "Nantes," it works remarkably well as a whole, resulting in an engaging and enveloping listening experience that giddily soars over a mythical Europa.
On ...
| | Aerosmith Pandora's Box CDs (1991) 3 CD'S In Double Jewel Case
Gulag Orkestar music CDs
$28.55
PANDORA'S BOX is a comprehensive 3 CD/cassette set documenting Aerosmith's years with Columbia (1972-1982). Among the 52 digitally remastered songs are 20 previously-unreleased recordings, alternate versions, unreleased live performances, rehearsal tapes and pre-Aerosmith recordings from Steven Tyler's band Chain Reaction. Also included is a 64-page booklet complete with previously-unpublished photos from the band's private collection, song-by-song commentary, and an essay by Rolling Stone's David Wild.
Released at a time when Aerosmith was in the midst of a major comeback while recording for Geffen Records, this 1991 three-CD box set was put out by the band's original label and is a treasure trove of material from the band's golden age of 1973-1982. Also included are previously unreleased Aerosmith demos, rarities, and live tracks along with solo material by Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, and Stephen Tyler's pre-Aerosmith band, Chain Reaction.
Unfairly labeled as America's answer to the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith was more of a musical motorcycle gang armed with a sassy attitude, riff-heavy guitars, and a ripe appreciation for a well-placed double entendre. Hits like "Sweet Emotion," "Walk This Way," and "Dream On" are all certifiable classics, but it's the lesser-known material like "Seasons of Wither," "Mama Kin," and "Major Barbra" that ...
| | Destination Lounge: Bali CDs (2005) Bonus DVD
Gulag Orkestar songs
$19.15
| | So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute To Luther Vandross CD (2005)
Gulag Orkestar album
$23.49
| | Mr South Hatadote CD (2003)
Gulag Orkestar CD music
$11.39
| | Ennio Morricone Giu La Testa CDs (2007) (Import) Import
Gulag Orkestar music CDs
$30.19
|
|
|
buttons below to play song samples
Adobe Flash
Email a Friend
