Deliver Me: Opera mixes with modern music: U2, Pavarotti, Sarah Brightman, Elton John, Martina McBride, Jim Brickman

"DELIVER ME"     SARAH BRIGHTMAN

One of the most accomplished and powerful voices in music history, Sarah Brightman can hit THREE octaves and has recorded in almost a dozen different languages.   She's the voice of "Phantom Of The Opera", "Evita", "Cats", and is the go-to soprano for many of Andrew Lloyd Webber's epic productions.    I'm not a big fan of classical music or Broadway but I caught a duet of Sarah with of all people, KISS' Paul Stanley, and wanted to learn more.    I was reminded of her breathtaking earthquake charity single, Deliver Me, complete with a angelic choir and backing by Enya.    

"MISS SARAJAVO"     U2 with PAVAROTTI

When people tell me they hate country music or they hate rap,......I often tell them, it may not be your favorite genre but I take as a challenge to find some crossover song that they'd love.  For me, operatic music can be painful to my ears.   My iPod of 20,000 songs has about 15 opera type songs on it, but there is something so magical about the collaboration with Bono and Pavarotti on "Miss Sarajavo".    A song about the war-torn starving people who struggled to survive while the Serbian/Bosnian political conflict raged on for years.   During a Miss Bosnia beauty pageant, one contestant held up a sign saying "Don't Let Them Kill Us".     The imagery is striking and captured in this video.

   
"VALENTINE"    JIM BRICKMAN Ft. MARTINA McBRIDE

Flipping channels on your TV, you might have stumbled across the PBS Telethons to raise money to keep their network on the air.   Jim Brickman was featured on a PBS special, Jim is a subtle master at the piano and has created some of most beautiful romantic love songs of all-time.    He's collaborated with artists as diverse as Olivia Newton John, Christian artist Michael W. Smith, Lady Antebellum, even Wayne Brady had a big hit with Brickman.   His music has been described as "new age", greeting card music, but there is no denying the power of his first and biggest hit with Martina McBride.

"YOUR SONG"  (Charity Single)   ELTON JOHN with ALESSANDRO SAFINA

In case you missed my very first blog, here's Elton John singing one of my all-time favorite songs, remixed with a children's choir and opera superstar, Alessandro Safina.  Click the above link to see an incredible piece of music history.

Raw Kurt Cobain: U2, Bruce Springsteen, Nirvana

"SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY"                     U2

U2, Live At Red Rocks, one of the greatest concerts captured on film.   U2 wasn't the Mega Arena band at this point in 1983, they were 4 lads from Ireland singing songs about Faith, Liberation, Change, and this classic about one historic day in Irish history.   Sunday Bloody Sunday features a militaristic drumbeat, a classic Edge guitar riff, and Bono's melodic chants of "No More" punctuating a reminder of the day British troops killed North Ireland protesters and bystanders.  

"SOMETHING IN THE WAY"               NIRVANA

What a tragic loss.    This version of the song from the BBC Radio One Network captures Kurt's haunting vocals mixed with a totally raw guitar solo punctuated by Dave Grohl's punishing drum beats.   "Something In The Way" was the last song on Nevermind.   Rolling Stone magazine said of Nevermind, "No album in recent history had such an overpowering impact on a generation—a nation of teens suddenly turned punk."

"SHERRY DARLING"                   BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

The question, name 5 CD's you take with you if you were stranded on a desert island?    Bruce Springsteen's 1980 release, "The River" would be on my list.    A double LP that never gets boring as each song tackles a new genre.   There are rockers like "Cadillac Ranch" and "Hungry Heart" (originally written for The Ramones) to introspective songs like the title track and "Stolen Car".   Along the way, "The River" adds some classic New Jersey fun, "Sherry Darling" is the best of those!