[.ca] V1 22 Of The Greatest Ragtime

kodiakix@yahoo.com:
A great collection. Skater's boogie was my favorite. JoAnn tickles the Ivories like no other. The whole album is upbeat and fun!

Oh, yeah!:
Jo Anne is head & shoulders above the competition as a ragtime artist. She has an amazing ability to sound like she has 30 or 40 fingers. One downside - other instruments are thrown in from time to time which are completely unnecessary - she can carry the whole show all by herself. Listen to the samples for an idea of her appeal.

I like Jo Ann, always have and I like rag time:
Jo Ann is a really good rag time player, but I agree with the other reviewer that she plays the tunes too fast, especailly Maple Leaf Rag. Alas, that is her style. She ain't going to change it just because we are critical of it. Despite that criticism I still like this record.

Great toe tapping music!:
Jo Ann Castle has to be the best ragtime piano player to come along since Big Tiny, and she plays with her normal gusto! I know some think "rag" should be played a certain way, but I'm thankful New Orleans never listened to them. If you remember ragtime piano from the Welk show and liked it, you'll love this CD. You may even want to get Vol. 2. You can't sit and listen to this and not start moving hands and feet to the music.

Great ability, but plays too fast:
Scott Joplin himself defined ragtime as mid-tempo, not to be played too fast. Jo Ann Castle absolutely rips through Maple Leaf Rag and the others, and ruins them by doing so. Great technical feat, lousy artistic interpretation. Rags are not meant to be played as fast as possible. Also, introducing other instruments into the mix destroys the simple beauty of a single piano, which is all ragtime really needs. The other instruments are also too far in front of the mix, and end up being annoying, because all one is really interested in hearing is Jo Ann's piano. This is pleasant, but the purist in me says that these aren't the best interpretations of ragtime classics that you can buy. Joplin probably would have been yelling "Slow down!"

• Down Yonder
• I'm Looking over a Four Leaf Clover
• Alabamy Bound
• Bill Bailey
• Frankie and Johnny
• Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight
• Maple Leaf Rag
• Wang Wang Blues
• Pagan Love Song
• Spaghetti Rag
• Baby Face
• Black and White Rag
• Down Home Rag
• Sweet Georgia Brown
• Dill Pickles Rag
• When You and I Were Young, Maggie
• In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town
• Sheik of Araby
• Tickle the Ivories Rag
• Skater's Boogie
• Down Among the Sheltering Palms
• Days of Old Vaudeville