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Conversations
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill, Johnny Heller, Derek Perkins, James Lurie, Jason Culp, Joel Froomkin, Cindy Kay, Billie Fulford-Brown, Natasha Soudek
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
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Conversations
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Publisher's summary
A surprising, enlightening series of conversations that shed new light on the music and career of “our greatest living composer” (New York Times)
Steve Reich is a living legend in the world of contemporary classical music. As a leader of the minimalist movement in the 1960s, his works have become central to the musical landscape worldwide, influencing generations of younger musicians, choreographers and visual artists. He has explored non-Western music and American vernacular music from jazz to rock, as well as groundbreaking music and video pieces. He toured the world with his own ensemble and his compositions are performed internationally by major orchestras and ensembles.
Now Reich sits down with past collaborators, fellow composers and musicians as well as visual artists influenced by his work to reflect on his prolific career as a composer as well as the music that inspired him and that has been inspired by him, including:
David Lang
Brian Eno
Richard Serra
Michael Gordon
Michael Tilson Thomas
Russell Hartenberger
Robert Hurwitz
Stephen Sondheim
Jonny Greenwood
David Harrington
Elizabeth Lim-Dutton
David Robertson
Micaela Haslam
Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker
Julia Wolfe
Nico Muhly
Beryl Korot
Colin Currie
Brad Lubman
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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Naked at the Albert Hall
- The Inside Story of Singing
- By: Tracey Thorn
- Narrated by: Tracey Thorn
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 21
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 19
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 19
In her bestselling autobiography, Bedsit Disco Queen, Tracey Thorn recalled the highs and lows of a 30-year career in pop music. But with the touring, recording and extraordinary anecdotes, there wasn't time for an in-depth look at what she actually did for all those years: sing. She sang with warmth and emotional honesty, sometimes while battling acute stage fright.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating
- By Jane Sheedy on 01-11-17
By: Tracey Thorn
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The Never-Ending Present
- The Story of Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip
- By: Michael Barclay
- Narrated by: George Stroumboulopoulos
- Length: 17 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 51
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 42
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Story5 out of 5 stars 41
From our talent-rich neighbor to the north comes this biography of one of the most successful Canadian rock bands, The Tragically Hip, which announced a year-long tour after sharing the news of lead singer Gord Downie’s inoperable cancer. Now available to US listeners, The Never-Ending Present details what led up to the memorable night when music fans all over the world watched Downie’s heroic final performance.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Hometown Heroes
- By Tommy Garou on 12-13-18
By: Michael Barclay
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Al Schmitt on the Record
- The Magic Behind the Music
- By: Al Schmitt, Maureen Droney
- Narrated by: B.J. Harrison
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 52
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 41
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Story5 out of 5 stars 41
Ever wonder what goes into the creation of some of the best music ever recorded? Ever wonder how someone becomes an iconic professional who is universally admired and respected? Al Schmitt on the Record: The Magic Behind the Music reveals answers to those questions and more. In this memoir of one of the most respected engineers of all time, you'll see how a very young boy - mentored by his uncle Harry in New York - progressed through the recording world in its infancy, under the mentorship of Tom Dowd, in its heyday, becoming one of the all-time great recording engineers.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The best ever story about Recording Engineering
- By John Sands on 02-19-20
By: Al Schmitt, and others
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How Music Works
- The Science and Psychology of Beautiful Sounds, from Beethoven to the Beatles and Beyond
- By: John Powell
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 499
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 415
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Story4 out of 5 stars 407
Have you ever wondered how off-key you are while singing in the shower? Or if your Bob Dylan albums really sound better on vinyl? Or why certain songs make you cry? Now, scientist and musician John Powell invites you on an entertaining journey through the world of music. Discover what distinguishes music from plain old noise, how scales help you memorize songs, what the humble recorder teaches you about timbre (assuming your suffering listeners don’t break it first), and more.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Nearly everyone will get something out of this!
- By Tim on 02-18-11
By: John Powell
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I Am Brian Wilson
- By: Brian Wilson, Ben Greenman - contributor
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 602
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 542
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 535
As a cofounding member of the Beach Boys in the 1960s, Wilson created some of the most groundbreaking and timeless popular music ever recorded. With intricate harmonies, symphonic structures, and wide-eyed lyrics that explored life's most transcendent joys and deepest sorrows, songs like "In My Room", "God Only Knows", and "Good Vibrations" forever expanded the possibilities of pop songwriting.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Surviving the Minor Keys in Life - Love Overcomes
- By Russell on 12-01-16
By: Brian Wilson, and others
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Let’s Go Crazy
- Prince and the Making of Purple Rain
- By: Alan Light
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 520
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 464
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 460
Purple Rain is a song, an album, and a film - each one a commercial success and cultural milestone. How did this semiautobiographical musical masterpiece that blurred R&B, pop, dance, and rock sounds come to alter the recording landscape and become an enduring touchstone for successive generations of fans?
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4 out of 5 stars
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A Must-Read For Any PRINCE Fan
- By Bryan K. Chavez on 05-06-16
By: Alan Light
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You Say Potato: A Book About Accents
- By: Ben Crystal, David Crystal
- Narrated by: David Crystal, Ben Crystal, Jane Savage, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 74
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 70
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
Some people say 'sconn' while others say 'schown'. He says 'bath' while she says 'bahth'. You say 'potayto'. I say 'potahto'. And - wait a second, no one says 'potahto'. No one's ever said 'potahto'. Have they? From reconstructing Shakespeare's accent to the rise and fall of received pronunciation, actor Ben Crystal and his linguist father, David, travel the world in search of the stories of spoken English.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Wish there were more native recordings.
- By Matt Dobler on 07-01-16
By: Ben Crystal, and others
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Write Songs Right Now
- By: Alex Forbes
- Narrated by: Alex Forbes
- Length: 4 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 127
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 103
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 102
Write Songs Right Now is a hands-on, step-by-step guide to creating original pop songs - an approach that been road-tested by thousands of Alex's students and coaching clients in New York City, some of whom have gone on to achieve great success. With insight, enthusiasm, and humor, Alex guides listeners through the process of brainstorming for ideas, crafting effective lyrics, and putting those lyrics to music.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Kind of old wine in new skins, still good for that
- By Marc on 01-12-14
By: Alex Forbes
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The Secret Life of the American Musical
- How Broadway Shows Are Built
- By: Jack Viertel
- Narrated by: David Pittu
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 246
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 221
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 221
For almost a century, Americans have been losing their hearts and losing their minds in an insatiable love affair with the American musical. It often begins in actors and reaches its passionate zenith when it comes time for love, marriage, and children, who will start the cycle all over again. Americans love musicals. Americans invented musicals. Americans perfected musicals. But what, exactly, is a musical?
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great review lacked music
- By joseph f mcgovern on 10-14-18
By: Jack Viertel
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One Way Out
- The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band
- By: Alan Paul
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 299
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 268
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 268
One Way Out is the powerful biography of the Allman Brothers Band, an oral history written with the band's participation and filled with original, never-before-published interviews as well as personal letters and correspondence. This is the most in-depth look at a legendary American rock band that has meant so much to so many for so long. For 25 years, Alan Paul has covered the Allman Brothers Band, conducting hundreds of interviews, riding the buses with them, attending rehearsals and countless shows.
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4 out of 5 stars
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From a non-fan
- By DK on 09-06-14
By: Alan Paul
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Torment Saint
- The Life of Elliott Smith
- By: William Todd Schultz
- Narrated by: Travis Young
- Length: 13 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 57
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 52
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 52
Elliott Smith was one of the most gifted songwriters of the 90s, adored by fans for his subtly melancholic words and melodies. The sadness had its sources in life. There was trauma from an early age, years of drug abuse, and a chronic sense of disconnection that sometimes seemed self-engineered. Smith died violently in LA in 2003, under what some believe to be questionable circumstances, of stab wounds to the chest. By this time fame had found him, and record-buyers who shared the listening experience felt he spoke directly to them from beyond: astute, damaged, lovelorn, fighting, until he could fight no more.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Almost interesting, often overwrought, poorly read
- By PerpetualGeorge on 01-27-14
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Dig If You Will the Picture
- Funk, Sex, God and Genius in the Music of Prince
- By: Ben Greenman
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 32
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 29
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 30
Ben Greenman, New York Times best-selling author, contributing writer to The New Yorker, and owner of thousands of recordings of Prince and Prince-related songs, knows intimately that there has never been a rock star as vibrant, mercurial, willfully contrary, experimental, or prolific as Prince. Uniting a diverse audience while remaining singularly himself, Prince was a tireless artist, a musical virtuoso and chameleon, and a pop-culture prophet.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Reads like a indepth career review & analysis
- By herb on 05-18-17
By: Ben Greenman
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The Wrecking Crew
- The Inside Story of Rock and Roll's Best-Kept Secret
- By: Kent Hartman
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 882
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 805
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 807
If you were a fan of popular music in the 1960s and early '70s, you were a fan of the Wrecking Crew - whether you knew it or not. On hit record after hit record by everyone from the Byrds, the Beach Boys, and the Monkees to the Grass Roots, the 5th Dimension, Sonny & Cher, and Simon & Garfunkel, this collection of West Coast studio musicians from diverse backgrounds established themselves as the driving sound of pop music - sometimes over the objection of actual band members....
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3 out of 5 stars
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Left Guessing
- By Patrick King on 04-29-14
By: Kent Hartman
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Chairman at the Board
- Recording the Soundtrack of a Generation
- By: Bill Schnee
- Narrated by: Bill Schnee
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 40
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 33
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Story5 out of 5 stars 32
With over 125 gold and platinum records, and two Grammys for Steely Dan's Aja and Gaucho, Schnee has been called a living legend - recognized and respected in the industry as the consummate music man with an incomparable career that he lovingly shares with listeners in humorous detail.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Worst narration ever!
- By Anonymous User on 01-26-23
By: Bill Schnee
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My Life with Earth, Wind & Fire
- By: Maurice White, Herb Powell
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 526
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 466
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Story5 out of 5 stars 460
The late Grammy-winning founder of the legendary pop/R&B/soul/funk/disco group tells his story and charts the rise of his legendary band in this sincere memoir that captures the heart and soul of an artist whose groundbreaking sound continues to influence music today. With a foreword by David Foster.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Maurice--Earth, Wind and Fire
- By Linda Ealey on 02-28-17
By: Maurice White, and others
What listeners say about Conversations
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bob Crowder
- 09-12-23
A thrilling account of the life of composer Steve Reich!
In Conversations, Steve Reich thoroughly describes his calculated and incremental development from novice music composer into what New York Times Music Critic Richard Taruskin wrote: “a potent, and…very serious force for change…among the great composers of the century.”
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