I bought this on the off chance that it might not be naff - and was more than pleasantly surprised to find it is a brilliant stab at an incredibly difficult piece to pull off authentically. OK the openning and closing spoken pieces are in Portuguese (still, better than Brian Blessed!) but otherwise top marks to these folks for capturing not only the spirit of 'Arthur' but the style, down to the distinctive seventies sounding keyboards. Only in one place I would say, at the end of Merlin, does the orchestra slightly bottle out and let the synth take over, where it was all galloping flutes etc on the matchless original. Hearing this makes one realise that this rock symphony is so darn good in its own right - without the presence composer / keyboardist Rick Wakeman - that it really might blow people away at, say, the Proms of 2128 or something. Bravo Banda Sinfonica, you pulled it off. In fact you could say theirs has a couple of plusses over the original; it is a live performance so has that certain frisson that only an audience can bring out, and is recorded crisply on more up to date equipment. If you can't get enough Arthur, try this.Read full review
I bought this on a whim, and I'm EXTREMELY HAPPY...! However, just for information, Rick Wakeman isn't actually playing on this CD. The recording is of the Young Symphonic Band of the State of Sao Paulo (Brazil) and the Choir of the Free University of Music, RE-INTERPRETING Rick Wakeman's original recording. And, I suspect, with Rick Wakeman's blessing...! It really is THAT GOOD...! Some adverts for this CD imply that Rick Wakeman is actually playing on it. No - he isn't. And someone might get upset if they buy this, only to find that he isn't actually performing on the CD. Just a "heads-up"... However - a wonderful musical discovery. And you can quote me on that.
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