Guido Nielsen - Scott Joplin: The Complete Rags, Marches, Waltzes & Songs (1895-1914)

27 Sep, 06:53
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Artist: Guido Nielsen
Title: Scott Joplin: The Complete Rags, Marches, Waltzes & Songs (1895-1914)
Year Of Release: 2004
Label: Basta
Genre: Jazz, Ragtime
Quality: FLAC (tracks+.cue, log, Artwork)
Total Time: 3:42:32
Total Size: 894 MB
WebSite: Album Preview

Tracklist:

CD1:

01. Original Rags (3:46)
02. Great Crush Collision - March (3:47)
03. Harmony Club Waltz (5:56)
04. Combination March (2:43)
05. Maple Leaf Rag (2:48)
06. Swipesy - Cake Walk (3:30)
07. Sunflower Slow Drag (3:59)
08. (The) Augustan Club Waltz (Es.) (4:14)
09. Peacherine Rag (2:57)
10. The Easy Winners - A Ragtime Two-Step (3:22)
11. Cleopha - March and Two-Step (2:45)
12. The Strenuous Life - A Ragtime Two-Step (3:47)
13. A Breeze from Alabama - A Ragtime Two-Step (4:48)
14. Elite Syncopations (3:28)
15. The Entertainer - A Ragtime Two-Step (4:08)
16. March Majestic - March and Two-Step (2:47)
17. Something Doing - Cakewalk March (3:13)
18. Weeping Willow - A Ragtime Two-Step (3:28)

CD2:

01. The Cascades - A Rag (3:11)
02. Palm Leaf Rag - A Slow Drag (3:27)
03. The Favorite - A Ragtime Two Step (3:23)
04. The Sycamore - A Concert Rag (3:19)
05. The Chrysanthemum - An Afro-Intermezzo (4:05)
06. Bethena - A Concert Waltz (5:49)
07. Rose-Bud March (And Two Step) (2:47)
08. Leola - Two Step (3:39)
09. Bink's Waltz (4:18)
10. Eugenia (4:54)
11. Antoinette - March & Two-Step (2:38)
12. The Rag-Time Dance - A Stop-Time Two Step (3:37)
13. Nonpareil (None to Equal) - A Rag & Two Step (3:30)
14. Search-Light Rag (3:44)
15. Gladiolus Rag (3:58)
16. Lily Queen - A Rag Time Two Step (w/ Arthur Marshall) (3:01)
17. Rose Leaf Rag - A Ragtime Two Step (4:29)

CD3:

01. Solace - A Mexican Serenade (5:40)
02. Heliotrope Bouquet - A Slow Drag (w/ Louis Chauvin) (4:23)
03. Sugar Cane - A Ragtime Classic Two-Step (3:01)
04. Fig Leaf Rag (4:19)
05. Pine Apple Rag (3:17)
06. Wall Street Rag (3:57)
07. Country Club - Rag Time Two-Step (3:40)
08. Pleasant Moments - Ragtime Waltz (3:06)
09. Euphonic Sounds - A Syncopated Novelty (3:32)
10. Paragon Rag (3:33)
11. Stoptime Rag (2:53)
12. Felicity Rag (w/ Scott Hayden) (3:17)
13. Scott Joplin's New Rag (3:25)
14. Kismet Rag (w/ Scott Hayden) (3:32)
15. Magnetic Rag (4:16)
16. Silver Swan Rag (3:28)
17. Reflection Rag (4:03)

CD4:

01. Please Say You Will (2:23)
02. A Picture of Her Face (3:22)
03. I Am Thinking of My Pickaninny Days (2:04)
04. The Ragtime Dance (3:57)
05. Little Black Baby (2:44)
06. Maple Leaf Rag (Song) (1:39)
07. Sarah Dear (1:55)
08. Good-Bye Old Gal Good-Bye (2:06)
09. Snoring Sampson (1:53)
10. When Your Hair Is Like the Snow (2:27)
11. Pine Apple Rag (Song) (1:32)
12. Lovin' Babe (3:23)
13. Unknown Song Fragment (0:35)

There have been several packages over the years claiming to include the "complete" Scott Joplin; most of these collections have been compromised in some way in terms of their "completeness." Scott Joplin: The Complete Rags, Marches, Waltzes and Songs on Basta featuring pianist Guido Nielsen is as close to the ideal as anyone has come. Likewise, all of Joplin's songs are included, though without a singer -- they are played as piano solos with the melodic line clearly spelled out. It is hard to blame Basta for taking such an approach, as the lyrics to many of Joplin's songs are so politically incorrect by current-day standards that they might well overshadow the fine musical qualities of these works. Also included is 35-second fragment of music found in a photograph made of Joplin's piano around 1940.

"Completeness" aside, the four-disc package wouldn't be of any value if the performances were less than top-drawer, and in this respect Scott Joplin: The Complete Rags, Marches, Waltzes and Songs really delivers. These are absolutely splendid readings, with sane choices of tempo, not too much rubato, and a nice compromise struck between the popular idiom of ragtime and a more "classical" feel, which Joplin did intend for certain rags. In particular, the late rags on the third disc have never sounded as well as Guido Nielsen plays them here. The set comes with two generous, well-illustrated booklets that contain up-to-date notes by Ed Berlin and Galen Wilkes. Scott Joplin: The Complete Rags, Marches, Waltzes and Songs easily exceeds anything else in its class and will be universally embraced by anyone who is already inclined toward the music of Scott Joplin.

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