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If you have enjoyed the first two volumes of this series why not go for this third effort, especially since it contains more top Beatles songs (and a few of the group's stranger creations) expertly arranged for a sort-of Baroque-style period-instrument ensemble that really knows how to "make it work".
Of course, if you missed the earlier discs, the same comments that applied to Volume 1 are relevant here: There is nothing "baroque" about the music, the arrangements, or the performances; rather, what we get are mostly straightforward renditions of 18 songs that faithfully maintain many of the sounds and features of the originals, with the parts (including vocal ones) assigned to various instruments such as recorders, gambas, violin, viola, cello, harpsichord, guitars, organ, and bass. A cornetto even makes a particularly affecting stand-in for Paul McCartney's voice on "The Long and Winding Road", and a recorder is similarly right-on in negotiating the delicate turns of the melody in "All You Need is Love". Eric Milnes' arrangements are almost uniformly excellent, sometimes ingenious and brilliant, especially in such arrangement-resistant songs as "Why Don't We Do It in the Road", "Happiness is a Warm Gun", and (most impressive of all) the extended "I Want You (She's so heavy)" from Abbey Road.
There are a couple of perhaps questionable decisions--the sudden spoken passage in "Happiness is a Warm Gun" and the inclusion of Lennon's rather boring "Mother" on the program--and not every arrangement is a complete success, but overall this recording does what it's supposed to: delight, entertain, and remind us once again of just how good these songs are. No, it's not a reimagining or reworking or re-styling of Beatle music à la Joshua Rifkin in his 1960s masterpiece Baroque Beatles Book (which finally is available on CD!), and it's certainly not a replacement for the originals; but if you love these tunes, this presentation will satisfy, if only to hear how clever the arrangements and how suitable these instrumental timbres are--and don't even think of comparing Milnes' work to those easy-listening, elevator-music travesties you too often hear.
David Vernier (Published by ClassicsToday)
Rating:  [4 of 5 Stars!] |
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