Andrew Lloyd Webber - Variations (1978) [Reissue 1998]
EAC Rip | FLAC (tracks+.cue+log) - 222 MB | MP3 CBR 320 kbps (LAME 3.93) - 88 MB | Covers - 67 MB
Genre: Progressive Rock, Classical | RAR 3% Rec. | Label: MCA Records/Universal (MCLD 19396)
EAC Rip | FLAC (tracks+.cue+log) - 222 MB | MP3 CBR 320 kbps (LAME 3.93) - 88 MB | Covers - 67 MB
Genre: Progressive Rock, Classical | RAR 3% Rec. | Label: MCA Records/Universal (MCLD 19396)
This recording, featuring what amounts to virtually an all-star contingent of players - including Rod Argent, Herbie Flowers (whose playing is outstanding throughout), Jon Hiseman, and Gary Moore - is reminiscent of other rock-classical hybrids of the period, a slightly awkward fit highlighted by charming and delightful moments, along with some bracing moments for the band.
This is a genuine oddity in the career output of Andrew Lloyd Webber, growing out of a personal/familial vignette. The piece, a set of variations on Niccolo Paganini's "Caprice No. 24" (which had previously inspired adaptations by Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms, Sergei Rachmaninov, and Boris Blacher, among others), came about because Andrew Lloyd Webber lost a bet with his cellist brother Julian Lloyd Webber…