Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
so good, its scary..., March 5, 2005
A Kid's Review
As a 18 year old male pianist, I can certainly say that I've had my fair share of GOD-AWFUL tribute albums. But, don't get me wrong... This is probably one of the better ones I've heard this year! By the way, I am a DIE-HARD fan of Evanescence, so this CD was a true gem. Now, lets get back on track here... Ark Sano (the pianist) does a wonderful job remaking the Evanescence songs (which coincidently are in the same order as Evanescence's album FALLEN), and this CD even outdoes the STRING QUARTET TRIBUTE TO EVANESCENCE, which was also an incredible remake of the evanescence songs. Although I would have to say that the CD has one obvious flaw. SPEED! Most of the songs are pretty slow - slower then the original versions, might I add - but this just adds on to the beauty of the music. In fact, when I die, I want this WHOLE CD to be played at my funeral. And obviously "pace" isnt enough to take down the rating a whole star. Also, volume is good, because you actually notice when the volume gets louder/softer. I can just see myself now... Relaxing in a hot tub, dim candle-light, and the sweet sounds of this CD playing by my head... So, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go do that right now! Hope this review helped!
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Great Idea, Mediocre Result, May 25, 2006
When first I saw this album, I just had to buy it. I love piano music, I love rock music, and it probably goes without saying that I'm a huge Evanescence Fan. So when I saw a solo piano tribute to Evanescence, I bought it without even hearing a sample, assuming that it must be great.
The songs are arranged and performed by Ark Sano, and the album is released on the Vitamin label who are known for these kind of tribute albums. "Eclipse" is basically a tribute to the "Fallen" CD, and includes all 11 tracks in the same order as the original. This seems to suggest an intention to stay true to the original album, but musically, it does not.
The entire album lacks the energy of the original songs, and even the performances "My Immortal", and "Hello" (which are slow piano based songs to begin with) feel empty and hollow, and way too slow. It can't be easy to express the essence of a great rock band using only a piano, and it's pretty bold and risky thing to attempt! Ark Sano is clearly a very talented pianist and arranger, but it seems he is straying outside his area of expertise in doing this album, and I'm left wondering if he is even a fan of Evanescence' music, or if he was just a "hired gun" to do this recording. Most of the arrangements sound disjointed, and it's hard to follow the songs because the pianist frequently strays from the original melodies and inserts long pauses. He also has slowed the tempo way down on most of the tracks, which only severs to drain the energy from the songs, and fails to create the moodiness you might expect. Maybe he's trying to inject his own artistic interpretation, but in this case, it has a negative effect on the music. The best tracks on the album are "My Last Breath" and "Taking Over Me", as they stay pretty true to the original melody. But even these would sound better if played just a little faster.
I really wanted to like this album, but after listening to it repeatedly hoping it would grow on me, I realize it's a mediocre CD at best. Check out "Rockfluence" by Scott D. Davis, or "Night Divides the Day" by George Winston to hear how great a solo piano rock tribute can actually be. I wish Vitamin Records would have hired one of these guys to do this album.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not what I was hoping for.., August 2, 2006
As a huge Evanescence fan and as a huge fan of instumental music my thoughts on buying this album were this "what could be better than one of my favorite albums of all time being done with only the piano?" Well let's just say that this album is NOT the answer to that question. What Mr. Sano has done here is turned an incredible, amazing, energetic, moody, collection of songs into something tired, depressing, and very much lackluster. I do appreciate the fact that SOMEONE decided it was a good idea to perform Evanescence's music with only the piano because it really was a good idea. I only wish they had gotten someone else to perform the music.
From the very beginning of the album starting with Going Under which is my favorite song by Evanescence one can already tell the album is already in trouble. The original is so full of energy and emotion and this version has none of that. The melody is extremely slow and disjointed. Not to mention the fact that I think that when Ark Sano arranged this piece he might have tried to make it more intricate but is unable to play those intricate parts in his own arrangement. At times it seems almost like he's stumbling over the notes where as at other times there are these long pauses leaving the listener wondering where the music went.
I wish I could say that the album gets better after the first song but it doesn't. There is no life bringing to Bring Me To Life which is, like the original album, the song that follows Going Under. If anything life has been taking away from what Evanescence had created with Fallen. When listening to the album you have to wonder if the pianist could possibly be familiar with the group he's performing a tribute for because if he was there is no way he would have changed the tempo to the music the way it was changed. It's just so slow it completely throws off the music. Now I understand that when doing a tribute album the goal is to make their music your own so as not to merely be copying the original artist and I'm sure that there is a way to do that but unfortunately this wasn't the way to go.
Now I'm sure many will read this review and think that I'm being extremely harsh but you have look what I am comparing this album to. I am comparing this album to Fallen and Fallen is absolutely brilliant. This is absolutely not. I'm not saying that Mr. Sano is not a very talented pianist I just feel that this project may have been too much. It was gutsy that he would attempt it in the first place seeing as how big this album was for Evanescence and how people are used to hearing it a certain way. It took guts to try and change it up and make it your own. Unfortunately for him it just didn't work out. As for those who buy this album looking for something different from but still just as wonderful as the original, don't. You will be very disappointed.
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by Ark Sano 
