Helmut
Lotti
"Pop Classics in Symphony" CD
Atlantis
/ Piet Roelen
Genres: pop classical
Dec 13 - 19 2004 |
Ever wanted to hear pop classics like "Bohemian Rhapsody,"
"The House of the Rising Sun," and "When a Man Loves a
Woman" re-made into symphonic easy listening tunes? Me
neither! But that's what Helmut Lotti has done on Pop
Classics in Symphony, and that's what I have the pleasure of
reviewing right now. Firstly - let's get this out of the way - this isn't a bad
release. It is impeccably produced, and there is undoubtedly a
large audience for this type of thing. Lotti is a good
singer, and his arrangements are tight and quite faithful to the
originals. However, Pop Classics' problem stems from its
musical value - none of these songs do anything particularly creative
with their source material (with the exception of "Whiter Shade
of Pale," which is strange and not entirely successful).
These songs are symphonic renditions, but many of them still have
electric guitar in them - doesn't this sort of undermine the novelty
value of an orchestral rendition? And if the novelty value is
negated, what other value does this CD have?
As far as entertainment goes, I figure this will appeal to the
adult generation that grew up listening to these tunes. If you
dig those Lawrence Welk concerts that always get televised on
PBS, this will probably suit you. Otherwise, I'd assume Pop
Classics in Symphony will be limited to elevators and novelty
album collections.
73%
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
14 tracks, distributed by the
artist, released 2004] |