Classified

Bond (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 15, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B0001ZDKAQ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (99 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,388 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Bond is a string quartet made up of four good-looking women, two from Australia, two from Great Britain. Their training is in purely classical music, which this CD certainly is not. Their previous CD was banned from the UK classical charts, presumably because of the overly insistent use of beats and other intrusions, and this CD too contains African, electro, Latin and hip-hop beats. Bond will be the first to acknowledge that they're heavily influenced by the club scene and pop culture from London to Bangkok. Here they are joined by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the sound is enormous: there's level upon level of overdubbing. Some of the tracks have, as their basis, classical works: Pachelbel's Canon, snippets of Swan Lake, the Nutcracker, Carmen's Habanera, Brahms' Hungarian Dance no. 5, Barber's Adagio for Stings. But the sound we get is lush, beat-heavy, club-ish, full of excitement and basic rhythms, and the "classical" connection--aside from the melodies from the above-mentioned pieces--must be taken on faith. The women's solo playing, if there is any, is not audible. The over-riding feel is disco; this is for dancing and for creating a mood of excitement. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More of the same, with some serious crediting issues, July 8, 2004

By	Daniel J. Hamlow (Narita, Japan) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

What I am about to part is Classified information, info on Bond's third studio album that is. The foursome have not departed from their tried and true formula of strings and pop syrup of oontsa-oontsa techno beats and drum machines. Granted, there are some triple digit BPM numbers, but when it comes down it, this has been ground already covered in full on Born and Shine, their first two albums, and much better.

The allegro, rhythmic and symphonic cadence of the action movie-theme of "Explosive" opens the album, showing a strong opening track that later closes the album.

However, the upbeat and Latin-flavoured "Samba," replete with whistles and vocals from the ladies, a first for them, veers more to conventional pop-techno, the strings being more or less classical window-dressing. They also cover the Silver Convention's classic disco standard "Fly Robin Fly," and violinist Eos Chater and cellist Gay-Yee Westerhoff do some singing there, but why bother doing a retread scarcely distinguishable from the original?

If the slow, dreamy rhythm of "Midnight Garden" is familiar, it's because Bond is using the melody from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, the Danse de Cygnes segment. However, in looking at the writing credits, I see to my horror that Piotr Ilyich is NOT credited whatsoever, which is also the case for his "Waltz Of The Flowers" from the Nutcracker in "Dream Star." Oh, but there's more. Their upbeat and skirt-swishingly danceable "Hungarian" is taken from Johannes Brahms' gypsy-like Hungarian Dance No. 5 given the drum machine backbeat, and "Senorita," which incorporates the slow, measured ballet-like "Habanera" melody from Bizet's Carmen. A selection from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite serves as the inspiring melody for "Dream Star." And the dreamy and pleasant "Lullaby" is a reworking of Pachelbel's Canon in D, uncredited again! Now that rap artists are required to give credit to music and lyric samples, one would think Bond would know better, given that classical crossover acts such as Sarah Brightman, Charlotte Church, Hayley Westenra, and Myleene Klass have done so. And Bond did too on their first two albums. What happened here?

Their foray into Middle Eastern sounds first explored in Shine continues in "Scorchio" which has some vivacious symphonic strings of a Liszt or Brahms sound, and the soaring "I'll Fly Away" written by cellist Westerhoff.

At least they gave credit where credit was required in "Adagio For Strings," which sprinkles random techno noises on Samuel Barber's funereal piece that in its pure form might lead one to start turning on the gas oven if one isn't of hale heart and mind. "Highly Strung" incorporates Aram Khachaturian's "Saber Dance," itself a dizzying whirling dervish of adrenaline, with some Duane Eddy-sounding surf guitar.

I don't mind the reworking of classical tunes with techno and electronic drum fills. My main issues with this involves proper credit, which if not given, becomes plagiarism-simply signifying "Copyright Control" in the credits, just does not do-and a sound, which is vivacious, soaring, and infectious, that nevertheless doesn't show much evolution from their first two albums. The only thing that shows evolution is their transition to FHM or Maxim models with a sickly magazine gloss on the album cover and inner sleeve, as if someone sprayed something on the ladies, which sadly detracts from the fact that they are talented string players. Summer dresses and bikinis, fair enough, but lose that model gloss! Something more innovative next album, okay?

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Very Disappointing!, July 30, 2004

By	Camera Collector (St Paul, MN USA) - See all my reviews

As other reviewers have noted, Bond's latest, "Classified" is disappointing in many ways. To me, it is an unfortunate continuation of the decline that started with the James Bond Theme cut on "Shine", and gathered speed on the "Remixed" album. While I have found that I disliked a cut or two an various albums I've purchased, and made a selected edit CD containing only the tracks I enjoyed, when I listened through "Classified", I found only two tracks that I'd care to listen to on a regular basis - "Scorchio" and the second mix of "Explosive"... not enough to make a listenable CD! As others have noted, the tracks on this CD are severely over-produced - there are some tracks where it is hard to discern when Bond is actually contributing! If you want to hear modern interpretations of music by a fantastic rock string quartet, this CD is a waste of your time and money. Loose the drum machine, the vocal "noise", the non-melodic looping, the pounding guitar, and bring Bond to the forefront, and maybe the next album will be worth buying. Check out the producers and mixers on the tracks versus the early Bond...

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars All glitz and sparkle, but where's the real Bond?, May 26, 2006

By	Linda Schwebke "Inner Peace" (Denver , CO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When Bond first appeared with their album 'Born', they represented a new wave of classical artists who were trying to make classical contemporary. 'Victory' was not only a song that became popularised through the soundtrack of 'Gladiator'; it also represented the kind of lush orchestral vibrancy that made Bond unique. All in all, Bond was a group of four extremely talented young women who openly flaunted their musical pedigrees and who were out to make classical music exciting once more.
Since then Bond seem to have lost their way. Their third album 'Classified' follows in the direction of second album 'Shine', with its techno inspired beats and the girls' revamped image. This makes for a very catchy pop album with the usual visual selling points, but its a mainstream avenue that seems miles away from Bond's credible beginnings.
Maybe they're having the last laugh with the stuffy elites of the classical world, but by following the crowd in sound and presentation, Bond aren't only gambling their identity, they're also letting their musical talent be glossed over. 'Classified' is certainly impressive as a pop album, and tracks such as 'Explosive', 'Senorita' and 'Hungarian' are catchy and vibrant. There's also a dominant Latin feel to the album that gives the music great dimension. It's also a treat to hear four tracks composed by each of the Bond girls, and one can only wish that there were more, especially as the album is a disappointing 45 minutes long. There are also some very familiar sounds: 'Lullaby', 'Samba', and the much-covered 'Adagio for Strings' are all reworked, but not enough to evince any sense of an inimitable Bond style.
If you're expecting a return to Bond's early work, then you're going to feel a bit cheated. However, if you can look through the commercial veneer of the album, some of that captivating musical talent still shines through.

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