Customer Reviews

Liverpool

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

 

 

"Liverpool: Reimagining the Beatles" is a collection of David Lanz's arrangements of Lennon/McCartney songs plus one Lanz original, performed by Lanz on piano and keyboards, Gary Stroutsos on flute, Larry Knechtel on Hammond organ, and several other musicians on cello, upright bass, drums and percussion. Four of the tracks are medleys, giving you more tunes for your entertainment dollar! Lanz purposely stayed away from The Beatles' biggest hits, but most of these songs are familiar - especially if you grew up in the 60's. (Lanz jokes that if you remember that era, you weren't really there!) I was a little surprised by the serious tone of most of the album, the use of sound effects on several tracks, and that only one track is solo piano, but none of these points are negatives - just surprises. Quite a bit of the music feels improvised, giving it a free, jazzy style rather than a rock flavor. None of it really rocks - nor was it supposed to - so fans of Lanz's soothing, relaxing piano music won't be disappointed with this release. Some of Lanz's familiar touches are readily apparent although he gives the other musicians (especially frequent collaborator Gary Stroutsos) plenty of room to share the spotlight.

"Liverpool" opens with the title track, Lanz's original composition. It begins with the sound of a ferry boat, and the music includes snippets of phrases from various Beatles songs as well as Lanz's music. Mostly a duet for piano and cello with a little percussion and keyboard, it's a beauty! "Things We Said Today" is a haunting ballad that Lanz gives an interesting rhythm and freely flowing tempo. The medley of "Rain" and "Eight Days a Week" is slow and somber yet very smooth and relaxing. It features Larry Knechtel on organ and Stroutsos on flute as well as Lanz on piano. The most upbeat song on the album is "Lovely Rita," the only piano solo and one of my favorites. The medley of "Because" and "I'm Only Sleeping" is a 9 1/2 minute piece that seems to become more improvised as it develops - a fascinating collaboration that includes a variety of artists and instruments. "Norwegian Wood" is possibly the best-known piece on the album, but this arrangement is much more jazz-influenced than the original: smooth, mellow, and soulful! Stroutsos' flute really soars on this one! The last track is "London Skies: A John Lennon Suite" that includes "Tomorrow Never Knows," "Across the Universe," and "Give Peace a Chance." At just over eleven minutes, the piece has plenty of time to evolve organically and leisurely. Mostly a piano/cello/ and flute trio, Walter Gray's cello is gorgeous and Stroutsos' flute casts a spell. Lanz concludes the Suite with a very simple but haunting version of "Give Peace a Chance" on piano with atmospheric sounds, bells, and a slow fade-out.

"Liverpool" is a winner and should bring a new audience to David Lanz's music. Check it out!

David Lanz is a Grammy Nominated New Age pianist getting more recognition with a little help from his friends on a new release with an almost certain destiny to become a chart topping release in 2010. David Lanz has reunited with longtime friend and flutist Gary Stroutsos and cellist Walter Gray to form The Liverpool Trio, in a special tribute release of the greatest iconic band of all time.

Liverpool: Re-Imagining The Beatles by David Lanz & The Liverpool Trio is the release many are talking and writing about at present including yours truly. This release is more than just a name tribute to the fabulous four Beatles and is quite special by the respected musicians comprising this instrumental album with Lanz delivering his admired by many piano presentations.

David Lanz is easily remembered for his 1988 album Cristofori's Dream release which remained at the top number 1 position on Billboard's Adult Alternative / New Age chart for 27 consecutive weeks and went platinum, establishing his position as a top New Age Solo Pianist. In addition to several decades in recording work, Grammy Nominated Lanz is also a concert pianist with appearances scheduled at many venues around the country.

While The Liverpool Trio is comprised of David Lanz, Gary Stroutsos, and Walter Gray, brother Gary Lanz co-produced this release featuring Keith Lowe on bass, Eric Eagle drums, David Revelli percussion, Larry Knechtel Hammond, Alonzo Davideo guitar, James Reynolds synthesizer and Richard Olivier on vocals.

Liverpool: Re-Imagining The Beatles is based on the original song compositions of John Lennon & Paul McCartney and a new release that takes you back to the memorable Liverpool England of yesterday where John, Paul, George and Ringo were born. While most are lesser known songs by design, songs like Norwegian Wood & Yes It Is are included in this fantastic release that becomes your ticket to ride during your modern times musical tour of The Beatles.

Summary: David Lanz needs no introduction to any but the newest of new Age / New Acoustic music fans. As one of the most recognized names on the Narada Label from the early 1980's, Lanz is, perhaps, more often thought of as a solo Instrumentalist based more on his early Narada albums "Heartsongs" and "Nightfall" and later "Return To the Heart." But, at roughly the same period (1985-1986), Lanz also collaborated on two albums with electric guitarist Paul Speer, "Nightfall" and "Deseert Vision." which were considerably more aggressive and, well, electric! That is not any indication as to where "Liverpool, Re-imagining The Beatles" is going, but just adds a little background as to the more varied interests and performances from David Lanz over the years beyond the solo instrumentalist work he is most known for.

"Liverpool, Re-imagining The Beatles" does not invoke any electric guitars or shades of rock and roll, but rather are done in David's more traditional style of piano with orchestration. Perhaps for some (myself included, as I still have the vinyl copies of...), these are a contemporary re-visitation of George Martin's Orchestrated albums of Beatle's songs from back in the 60's. Each track is built around David's piano stylings as well as Gary Stroutsos' flute and Walter Gray's Cello. All are pleasant and engaging, well crafted and arranged, and expertly played. You will need to pay attention, if you just relax and drift off with the music, you may even lose track of the underlying melody as the arrangements are not (nor meant to be) bluntly obvious (e.g.: Rain * Eight Days A Week) but often more subtly crafted around the theme.

Someone not familiar with Lanz's musical style and just looking for instrumental versions of the listed songs might be lost on some of these tracks, but fans of David Lanz will be as pleased with "Liverpool" as with any of his prior efforts. "Things We Said Today" takes off on a pleasant New Age Jazz style, and "Lovely Rita" is the only solo track by Lanz. My personal favorite from the album is "Norwegian Wood" as it seems like the perfect style of song suited for this effort and is beautifully interpreted by a perfectly harmonious Lanz piano and Stroutsos flute atop Eric Eagle & Keith Lowe's percussion and bass foundation, and the following track "Yes It Is * PS, I Love You" is equally inspired between Lanz and Gray on Cello, as well as Stroutsos on flute. The final track, "London Skies A John Lennon Suite," takes several turns, but features a particularly moving interpretation of "Tomorrow Never Knows" by Stroutsos.

Overall, the album is a pleasant listen completely through with many other highlights, and is highly recommended!