Customer Reviews

Butterfly Ball

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If there is one word to describe this album, it is MAGICAL! The music and lyrics are woven together to create a musical journey into a magical fairytale land. The listener drifts away to another time and place, a place on animals and insects in the forests and meadows all preparing for the grand ball. Conceived, written, and directed by Roger Glover of Deep Purple fame, this is brilliant stuff. There are 20 short songs which flow together perfectly to tell the hopes, dreams, desires, and feelings of the various characters as they approach the grand event. One might think that on such a massive project with so many artists involved, that too many cooks might spoil the soup. This is definitely NOT the case. For example, each vocalist is perfectly suited to the type of song he/she is singing and to the character he/she represents. And althiugh numerous various instruments are employed, they are never employed so indulgently that they get in the way of each other or clutter up the total sound. The production quality is very good and for the most part the mix of instruments is just about right. This is a far cry from the hard rock of Deep Purple, but it is a refreshing change and definite "classic" that should find a comfortable home in anyone's CD collection, whether you are a fan of Barry Manilow or Led Zeppelin. (Do yourself a favor and shell get this enhanced version with the cartoon video you can view right through your computer - the artwork has an Alice-in-Wonderland quality and helps the listener visualize the images being portrayed by the music. The few extra bucks are well worth it!)

I got the some 25 years ago as an LP, and I have enjoyed listing to this ever since. This takes your through a very special day in the life of the woodland creatures, as indicated by the title of the songs. I am a bass singer and I especially enjoy singing along with the track "Old Blind Mole". I also enjoy the mental picture that is created when listing to the track "Homeward": it is about a couple of drunk salamanders. The songs were originally written to go along with a cartoon version of the book that the BBC put together. This is one of my top 10 albums; I could listen to the everyday and not tire of it.

I don't have the video version, but these songs are great. I put this in my car CD changer 8 months ago and it's still there. I admit, I'm a Glover fan-- always liked "Mask" and his contributions to Purple and Rainbow. This collection is varied, from ballads like "Sitting on a Dream" (you won't recognize Dio on this one!) to the hard rock "Watch Out for the Bat." It's fun listening to the various vocalists, and Glover's lyrics are always a blast.

After being fired from Deep Purple (and hired as A&R man for the band's Purple Records), Roger Glover was commissioned to produce a companion album for a children's book. To accomplish this he entered the studio with a varied collection of singers and musicians, including Glenn Hughes, his replacement in Deep Purple, Ronnie James Dio and Mickey Lee Soule from the band Elf, whose album he was also producing. The result is a splendid if largely unknown album.

Dio sings both the album's high point, the Beatles-inspired "Love is All", and "Sitting in a Dream", a soft, deeply moving ballad. Eddie Hardin (Steve Winwood's replacement in the Spencer Davis Group) does a great job both on vocals and organ on the rocking "Sir Maximus Mouse". While the music has something of a derivative quality, this is not a weakness as Glover's choice of musical styles range from pop to English music hall (and an instrumental "Dreams of"Sir Bedivere" which I find somewhat reminiscent of Frank Zappa).

Of course the lyrics all tie-in with the book, so you have songs about spiders, mice, and other critters waiting to attend the ball. This adds a Lewis Carroll-like charm to the piece.

This album may come as a surprise to those who only know Glover as Deep Purple's bassist. He is a fine songwriter and producer in his own right--and Butterfly Ball is a great debut for him in that capacity.

I first got the book nearly 30 years ago. I have the LP and wanted a CD. I love to listen to this and imagine the Ball and all its participants going to and coming from a ball celebrating such a event. Simply a great CD. A must for all of us that think back on things that we imagined when we were young and innocent

As has been mentioned, Ronnie James Dio shines on his three performances here, but all the male vocalists featured really outdid themselves. RJD displays a range on this material that he never really showed us in his metal incarnation. He was indeed a vocal marvel. Love Is All was a hit in Europe and is considered the album's centerpiece, and while its the most recognized song due to the animated short that accompanied it, there are other gems here. Dio lends a surprisingly soft, understated perfomance on his other two songs, Sitting In A Dream and Homeward. Waitng (Jimmy Helms) and Little Chalk Blue (John Lawton) are steller songs and deserve to be heard as much as Love Is All. The rest of the album is no slouch either and makes for a great listen. The best part about all of these vocal performances is that they are way out of the relm of hard rock or the burgeoning metal scene for which these singers represented, yet they handle their songs with a sincere and deft touch, suggesting they shoulda strayed from their comfort zones more often. Musically, this album isn't that far removed from what Queen was doing then. It is indeed a children's album, but if you like this style of Beatle-esque rock, don't deny yourself as this is no guilty pleasure.

Kenny Everett was the first person to put this on his radio station. Great stuff. Unfortunately was never really recognised as much as it should have been.

Sorry where do they get the nerve to sell this for $64???!!

If there is one word to describe this album, it is MAGICAL! The music and lyrics are woven together to create a musical journey into a magical fairytale land. The listener drifts away to another time and place, a place of animals and insects in the forests and meadows all preparing for the grand ball. Conceived, written, and directed by Roger Glover of Deep Purple fame, this is brilliant stuff. There are 20 short songs which flow together perfectly to tell the hopes, dreams, desires, and feelings of the various characters as they approach the grand event. One might think that on such a massive project with so many artists involved, that too many cooks might spoil the soup. This is definitely NOT the case. For example, each vocalist is perfectly suited to the type of song he/she is singing and to the character he/she represents. And althiugh numerous various instruments are employed, they are never employed so indulgently that they get in the way of each other or clutter up the total sound. The production quality is very good and for the most part the mix of instruments is just about right. This is a far cry from the hard rock of Deep Purple, but it is a refreshing change and definite "classic" that should find a comfortable home in anyone's CD collection, whether you are a fan of Barry Manilow or Led Zeppelin. (Do yourself a favor and shell get this enhanced version with the cartoon video you can view right through your computer - the artwork has an Alice-in-Wonderland quality and helps the listener visualize the images being portrayed by the music. The few extra bucks are well worth it!)

Several years ago I'd heard an absolutely wonderful LP with this title, and this wasn't it. What a disappointment! It was like finding out there were two versions of Sergeant Pepper--one by the Beatles and one by Lothar and the Hand People or something--and finding I hadn't ordered the one by the Beatles. WHO KNEW??

The one I was looking for was Butterfly Ball & the Grasshopper's Feast by Rod Edwards and Roger Hand with narration by Judi Dench and Michael Hordern. Thankfully I realized the error and now have the correct version, which is taken almost verbatim from the book. This version is pure magic, and I'm overjoyed to see it back in circulation after more than 20 years.

And get the book! The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast Alan Aldridge's illustrations are gorgeous, and browsing through the book as you listen to the CD is a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon teatime.