Fans of either Richard Strauss's songs or Renée Fleming should jump for joy. The wonderful American soprano's voice and particular gifts are tailor-made for Strauss's long, flowing, arching melodies.

Richard Strauss (1864-1949) Vier Letzte Lieder: Songs for Soprano and Orchestra
For those who love Strauss and/or the Four Last Songs, I have created a compilation of eight different live performances of the work beginning with the World Premiere Performance with Kirsten Flagstad and Wilhelm Furtwangler.

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Haunting, evocative instrumental music inspired by Lewis Grassic Gibbon's classic Scottish trilogy A Scots Quair. MacLean deftly underscores the trilogy's melancholy, lyricism, joy and foreboding, taking the listener on a journey not soon forgotten. ~ The Washington Post

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While "Singing Land" will never be my favorite Dougie MacLean album, I am still very glad to have it. Unlike his latest album "Who Am I" (yet to be released in America), every song on "Singing Land" is not a masterpiece. Yet they are all solid at the very least--with a few great ones thrown in for good measure. "Singing Land" is the work of a post-Craigie Dhu Dougie. He still sounds comparatively young, while showing evidence of growth as a musician. All but two of the works here are his own compositions. The other two are his arrangements of traditional songs.

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The music of The Lord of the Rings film series was composed, orchestrated, conducted and produced by Howard Shore. Shore wrote many hours of music for The Lord of the Rings, 10 hours of which have been released in the Complete Recordings CD/DVD boxed sets. Additional music, including alternate and unused compositions, was released with the book The Music of the Lord of the Rings. Shore composed the music in an emotional, operatic way, threading through the scores over 90 identified leitmotifs, which are categorized by the Middle-earth cultures to which they relate. The scores for The Fellowship of the Ring and The Return of the King won Academy Awards in 2002 and 2004. The latter film also won an Oscar statuette for Best Song, as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score and Best Original Song.

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The pervading mood on Inside the Thunder, Dougie MacLean's first album in several years, is sadness. The title comes from "Song for Johnny," a tribute to the late Johnny Cunningham, who was once replaced by MacLean in the band Silly Wizard. "It seems we never learned to play it slow," MacLean sings, "We just danced inside the thunder." But on the album, he seems to have learned finally to play it slow. These are deliberately paced songs with attractive folk-rock arrangements, many of the instruments played by MacLean's son Jamie MacLean, who also produced, engineered, mixed, and even mastered the record. MacLean sings them wistfully and with occasional touches of anger...

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Essentially a greatest hits record, With Strings shows some of MacLean's sweetest songs in a new and different light. Fleshed out with the richness that only an orchestral ensemble can provide, songs like Caledonia and Broken Wings take on a new spiritual life. All tracks are MacLean originals and are performed with The Perthshire Ensemble. It's a pleasant collection of songs which while not much different from their original counterparts, it is another opportunity for music fans to find these songs which remain gems...

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The final film in The Lord Of The Rings blockbuster trilogy features the climax of the epic journey that brought Tolkien’s world before our very eyes. The Complete Recordings series featuring the soundtrack albums have been hits and award winners. Now with The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King featuring "Into The West" by Annie Lennox, this album from the series’ composer Howard Shore is sure to score with movie fans. For fans of The Lord Of The Rings films, and those who purchased last year’s The Fellowship Of The Ring—The Complete Recordings and The Two Towers—The Complete Recordings, this incredible package completes a now classic set of soundtracks.

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For quite a few years Dougie MacLean has wanted to re-record (or record for the first time) some of his very early songs. This album is like a collection of old photos... old songs that are deeply felt and simply recorded... spanning the time from Dougie's first songwriting to the establishing of his own label, Dunkeld Records.

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