I don't mean just great ones, I mean magnificent ones.

For me, I'd have to say it is Eva Cassidy's rendition of Over The Rainbow. I swear, that is one helluva gift she left humankind. It gives me chillbumps every single time. First time I played the CD, I had to pull over, I had tears in my eyes and it still does that to me. It is truly stunning. The arrangement is incredible, her voice is that of an angel and it is a magnificent song. She has many incredible recordings. Wow, music is so powerful. May she rest in peace.

Etta Jones(NOT James)- "Don't Misunderstand"
There's a sax solo that makes my speakers sweat.......... smnooth organ and vibes acompany a sultry, jazzy voice through tortured, lamenting lyrics ....... AWESOME!

All my latest recordings....

Funny you should mention the late Eva Cassidy. Seeing your question and without having read your answer my mind turned to her as well. "fields of gold" and "songbird" by this wonderfully gifted artist give me gooseberry flesh as well, absolute magic......AND without the use of one keyboard may I add !!!

Dire straits in "your latest trick" (or something like that), live recording in their last cd.
Wondefull sax and celesta (I think)

Beautifull in what way?

Wow, kind of a toss-up for me.

1). Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade.

2). Handel's Messiah: Hallelujah

3). Princess Leia's Theme on the first Star Wars album done by the London Symphony.


-mike

Too many to mention......

Gary

My selection changes day by day according my state of mind
Today is :
1-Once I Loved - Jobim's theme
2-Looking up - Michel Petrucciani theme

Chico
3000 lover...

Laurie Anderson's concert film "Home of The Brave" (the video is out of print, but the soundtrack is still available on CD). It changed my life. I saw her perform this show live in Atlanta in the mid-80's and I was so stunned that I have no memory of leaving the Fox Theatre - the show ended and there was a plate of food set in front of me at a restaraunt that I must have walked to... everything else is blank. No performer has ever changed my view so much about what was possible with music with impossible time signatures, keyboards and multimedia. Even today, nothing compares. I will go into a trance if I hear "Gravity's Angel".

First time I played the CD, I had to pull over, I had tears in my eyes and it still does that to me. It is truly stunning.

That way.

For me its got to be Karen Carpenter singing "Merry Christmas Darling" or "Rainy Days and Mondays". I melt when I hear her singing those songs.

Tom

[This message has been edited by Tom Cavanaugh (edited 10-06-2004).]

"This Is The Moment"

Original Broadway SoundTrack version from
"Jeckyl & Hyde"

Melba Moore: Lean On Me. (Not the rendition you're probably thinking of) but an entirely different piece.

------------------
...L

So many,but one for me is "Unforgettable"
by the great Nat King Cole. Timeless.

Cheers,
Doug

Like others...this kind of thing changes frequently...

The song that I currently rate as highest on my goose-bump scale is Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" that was used in the television series ER a while ago.

To me...in an age where technology, effects, etc. are being used and overused, a performance like this has a grounding effect.

Maybe not everyone's cup of tea...but this one really touches me...

Bill in Dayton

"one" of the most beautiful songs I have heard was one which I heard at quite a young age and then heard often through the years.
It has always brought a feeling of nostalgia with it and takes me to a much simpler time.
"When you wish upon a star"

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The old Newb

Anything by Ella (except A-tisket A-tasket).

By Design..Diane Shure and Jose Feliciano


Russ

OldNewb,
There's a great rendition of When You Wish Upon A Star by Linda Ronstadt on one of her albums with Nelson Riddle. She has a great voice for this song and also the range. Beautiful.

Some of these titles are completely new to me. Would any of you want to share an mp3 or a link with us?

If I had to pick one, it'd be the 1961 RCA recording of La Bohème, performed by the Rome Opera House with Richard Tucker, Anna Moffo, Mary Costa, and Robert Merrill.

But if you want to SEE a stage presentation of this opera, then go for the 1982 NY Met Zefferelli version, easily available on either DVD or VHS, featuring the great Teresa Stratas.

Also on that CD is "For Sentimetntal Reasons" ..a most beautiful recording.

Larry Hawk

"I Can't Get Started", played and sung by my trumpet idol, Bunny Berigan and his orchestra.

Recorded in 1938, I believe. It is included in the top ten of all recorded songs. I don't remember who did the top ten list, but, I believe it.

Side 2 of Pauper in Paradise by Gino Vanelli.

Taken from the website http://www.ginov.com
{Gino's fifth album, A Pauper In Paradise, demonstrates the beauty of mixing classical and pop together. Gino's musical vision has taken him to London to perform his work with the help of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Not only does this album hold a symphony, the track "Black And Blue" demonstrates Gino's wide vocal range along with the pop theme of "Mardi Gras". In the meantime, Gino's following grows larger and larger and his longtime fans are as steadfast as ever. He does his "Song and Dance" in more venues and gains even more exposure.}

Ahhh just about anything from Tomita, but the entire record "snowflakes are dancing" for sure.

Tangerine Dream..ricochet.

lots of music/songs from the silent hill series.

Drakengard intro theme.

Panzer Dragoon/Otogi soundtracks.

NineInchNails.

Hank Williams.

Random tons of other stuff...

Woah! Didn't expect to see THAT entry in this list!

IM sure Bowie and Cash wouldn't have a problem with nineinchnails and beautiful recording "

Just there shouldn't be much of a surprise with NIN on the list...great song writer, great composer, respectable musician, and one of the better recording engineers walking around today ( or just about any day for that matter ).

You would be hard pressed to be in any working studio environment and get slander directed Trents way. I only say this as ive been shocked quiet a few times by people I least suspected that held far greater respect for Trents work then I thought.

Now if people only heard a few of Trents more abrasive songs...and wrote him off before they got a better picture of what he is doing ( or acknowledged the structure that at first feels abrasive )...then its their complete loss...and a near offense of engineering ethics "

"I Remember You" by Brian McKnight (written and recorded in the early days before he became a media heart-throb and began writing more "approachable" material)).

Brian McKnight is highly underrated IMO. He grew up idolizing Stevie Wonder and, in much the same fashion as his idol, he sings, writes, produces and plays every instrument on his songs (or at least he did back when this album was recorded).

So many good tunes out there and based on the mood at any one given time, could be swapped into the #1 spot for me.

John Barry's orchestration of All Time High, the theme song from one of the James Bond movies is a tune that mellows me out, no matter what I'm doing. I think it was his rendition of Midnight Cowboy theme that works on me the same way. But All Time High has the edge.

Oh Oh! I feel a mood change already.

Henry Mancini's Charade. His singers have me floating on air right now

Does it have to be a "famous" person?

If not, I have to say a recording of my Mother and me before she passed away on 9-11. No she was not in the Towers or anything, just turned out to be the same day.....