'2 ½ hours of classic themes and music made popular by TV ads'
£15.99 this cost me. It is such a naff concept, and I want to say I hate it, but let me play it and see what happens.
I put it on random play, and the first track to come on is Nessun Dorma sung by Luciano Pavarotti. Okay, this will, probably get me expelled from the Three Tenors Yahoo Group, but I really really don't like Pav's voice. Oh sure, he used to hit a few High Cs, but that isn't a sine qua non for me anyway. Sometimes when I hear him sing, I think, "Oh that's technically very good," but I don't want to think that when I hear a singer - I want an emotional reaction, I want a quasi-sexual reaction. You would think that Nessun Dorma is the only thing he's ever sung. Unfortunately not.
Lascia Ch'io Pianga by Handel, sung by Lesley Garratt is nearly beautiful, but Angela Gheorghiu and even Cecilia Bartoli sing it so much better in my Collection.
This sort of Collection comes into its own for introducing me to the wonders of Adiemus/Cantilena (Cheltenham & Gloucester ad), who we've now seen live, and Jimmy absolutely adored. And I would suggest it was worth buying for Vangelis's 1492: Conquest of Paradise (Smirnoff), and, another glorious discovery, the Kyrie from Ariel Ramirez's Misa Criolla, sung gorgeously by José Carreras. I do so love Josep's voice pre late 80s. I know it's a terrible thing to say, but he was never the same after the leukemia.
It also has the Pie Jesu from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem, on which the singing of Barbara Bonney is an infinite improvement on the Sarah Brightman version we all love puke over. I thought I had a tape somewhere of ALW'S Requiem, but I can't find it. Maybe it was chewed up by a cassette player made ill by the odious Sarah BrightmanLloydWebber. I suppose I had a reason for buying it but buggered if I can remember what the reason was.
Most of the other tracks are okay, good or even very good pieces found better elsewhere in my collection, often in their proper context. But then, to really piss me off, they add in tracks such as Phat Planet by Leftfield, Open Heart Zoo, by Martin Grech whoever in ghastliness he might be (Lexus), the deeply irritating Slip Into Somthing More Comfortable - Kinobe (Magnum/Kronenbourg 1664), and the Renault Clio music by Robert Palmer, not exactly his masterwork. If I had wanted these in my collection, surely I would have bought 'Now That's What I Call Dull Repetitive Uninspiring Crap'
And Bond. They need shooting. The less said about this travesty the better....
And then, the amazing thing about this compilation it then plays Summertime sung by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, which is so many degrees of magnitude better than any other version in my collection, it entirely justifies the £15.99. And I don't think I have Ella's Someone to Watch Over Me elsewhere. What a luscious voice...
Well, that was an interesting experiment that turned into a pleasant surprise. It was just starting off with Nessun Fucking Dorma put me in a bad mood! Indeed, with the exception of the Renault Clio, and some Nocturne by Rolf Lavland (Blue Cross) the second disc is perfect for late at night: Britten's Playful Pizzicato; Joan Sutherland singing Casta Diva; Tchaikovsky's gorgeous Waltz of the Flowers; and Sarah Vaughan singing Make Yourself Comfortable...
On what frequency can I find Classic FM?
