Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
From the moment Arthur Fiedler lifted his baton in 1964 to lead the Boston Pops in a wild, surprisingly effective arrangement of "I Want to Hold Your Hand," symphony orchestras have tried to include Beatles music in their "pops" song bags. The trouble is, the Beatles' brilliant original recordings are so indelibly embedded in the collective mental consciousness that they are a tough act to follow -- despite the high quality of the songs on their own merits, despite the good intentions of those who pay them homage. So it is with Erich Kunzel & the Cincinnati Pops and the British early music/classical/pop vocal sextet the King's Singers -- an undoubtedly sincere labor that gets it all wrong. From this album, a visitor from Saturn would get the idea that the Beatles' music was all about pretty tunes and satin-smooth harmonies. Well, they are, but. The orchestral arrangements -- some of which are actually credited to Beatles producer and catalyst George Martin, others to in-house arranger Steven Reineke, Paul Hart and Andrew Pryce Jackman -- may inflate the sound, yet they reduce the colossal impact and free-thinking guiding spirit of these songs to hum-along background music. The King's Singers' approach is, unfortunately, too prissy, too deliberately cute, too sentimental, or too impeccably smooth to do justice to any of them. There are two takes of "Eleanor Rigby" that sum things up -- an overweight one for orchestra that opens the album, the other an a cappella treatment by the King's Singers -- both of which miss the terse, emotional fervor of Martin's string octet backing on the original Beatles record. Not even the sumptuous, deep, DSD-derived sound can save it.
© Richard S. Ginell /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From £10.83/month
Erich Kunzel, Conductor, MainArtist - Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Orchestra, MainArtist - John Lennon, Composer - Paul Mccartney, Composer - Andrew Mendelson, Editor, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Michael Bishop, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steven Reineke, Arranger, Work Arranger - John Morris Russell, Producer, Assistant Producer - Robert Woods, Producer, Recording Producer - Robert Friedrich, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James Yates, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Elaine Martone, Recording Supervisor, StudioPersonnel - Thomas C. Moore, Editor, StudioPersonnel - David Ripp, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1997 Telarc International Corp.
Erich Kunzel, Conductor, MainArtist - Gabriel Crouch, Baritone, AssociatedPerformer - David Hurley, Counter-Tenor, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Phoenix, Tenor, AssociatedPerformer - Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Orchestra, MainArtist - John Lennon, Composer - Paul Mccartney, Composer - George Martin, Arranger, Work Arranger - Andrew Mendelson, Editor, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Nigel Short, Counter-Tenor, AssociatedPerformer - Philip Lawson, Baritone, AssociatedPerformer - Stephen Connolly, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Michael Bishop, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - The King's Singers, Ensemble, MainArtist - John Morris Russell, Producer, Assistant Producer - Robert Woods, Producer, Recording Producer - Robert Friedrich, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James Yates, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Elaine Martone, Recording Supervisor, StudioPersonnel - Thomas C. Moore, Editor, StudioPersonnel - David Ripp, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1997 Telarc International Corp.
Gabriel Crouch, Baritone, AssociatedPerformer - David Hurley, Counter-Tenor, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Phoenix, Tenor, AssociatedPerformer - John Lennon, Composer - Paul Mccartney, Composer - Andrew Mendelson, Editor, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Hart, Arranger, Work Arranger - Nigel Short, Counter-Tenor, AssociatedPerformer - Philip Lawson, Baritone, AssociatedPerformer - Stephen Connolly, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Michael Bishop, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - The King's Singers, Ensemble, MainArtist - John Morris Russell, Producer, Assistant Producer - Robert Woods, Producer, Recording Producer - Robert Friedrich, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James Yates, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Elaine Martone, Recording Supervisor, StudioPersonnel - Thomas C. Moore, Editor, StudioPersonnel - David Ripp, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1997 Telarc International Corp.
Erich Kunzel, Conductor, MainArtist - Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Orchestra, MainArtist - John Lennon, Composer - Paul Mccartney, Composer - Andrew Mendelson, Editor, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jack Frost, Accordion, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Michael Bishop, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steven Reineke, Arranger, Work Arranger - John Morris Russell, Producer, Assistant Producer - Robert Woods, Producer, Recording Producer - Robert Friedrich, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James Yates, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Elaine Martone, Recording Supervisor, StudioPersonnel - Thomas C. Moore, Editor, StudioPersonnel - David Ripp, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1997 Telarc International Corp.
Gabriel Crouch, Baritone, AssociatedPerformer - David Hurley, Counter-Tenor, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Phoenix, Tenor, AssociatedPerformer - Andrew Mendelson, Editor, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Hart, Arranger, Work Arranger - Ringo Starr, Composer - Nigel Short, Counter-Tenor, AssociatedPerformer - Philip Lawson, Baritone, AssociatedPerformer - Stephen Connolly, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Michael Bishop, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - The King's Singers, Ensemble, MainArtist - John Morris Russell, Producer, Assistant Producer - Robert Woods, Producer, Recording Producer - Robert Friedrich, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James Yates, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Elaine Martone, Recording Supervisor, StudioPersonnel - Thomas C. Moore, Editor, StudioPersonnel - David Ripp, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1997 Telarc International Corp.
Erich Kunzel, Conductor, MainArtist - Gabriel Crouch, Baritone, AssociatedPerformer - David Hurley, Counter-Tenor, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Phoenix, Tenor, AssociatedPerformer - Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Orchestra, MainArtist - John Lennon, Composer - Paul Mccartney, Composer - George Martin, Arranger, Work Arranger - Andrew Mendelson, Editor, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Nigel Short, Counter-Tenor, AssociatedPerformer - Philip Lawson, Baritone, AssociatedPerformer - Stephen Connolly, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Michael Bishop, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - The King's Singers, Ensemble, MainArtist - John Morris Russell, Producer, Assistant Producer - Robert Woods, Producer, Recording Producer - Robert Friedrich, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James Yates, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Elaine Martone, Recording Supervisor, StudioPersonnel - Thomas C. Moore, Editor, StudioPersonnel - David Ripp, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1997 Telarc International Corp.
Erich Kunzel, Conductor, MainArtist - Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Orchestra, MainArtist - John Lennon, Composer - Paul Mccartney, Composer - Andrew Mendelson, Editor, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Michael Bishop, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steven Reineke, Arranger, Work Arranger - John Morris Russell, Producer, Assistant Producer - Robert Woods, Producer, Recording Producer - Robert Friedrich, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James Yates, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Elaine Martone, Recording Supervisor, StudioPersonnel - Thomas C. Moore, Editor, StudioPersonnel - David Ripp, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1997 Telarc International Corp.
Erich Kunzel, Conductor, MainArtist - Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Orchestra, MainArtist - John Lennon, Composer - Paul Mccartney, Composer - Andrew Mendelson, Editor, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Michael Bishop, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steven Reineke, Arranger, Work Arranger - John Morris Russell, Producer, Assistant Producer - Philip Collins, Trumpet, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Woods, Producer, Recording Producer - Robert Friedrich, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James Yates, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Chandler Webber, Soprano Saxophone, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Elaine Martone, Recording Supervisor, StudioPersonnel - Thomas C. Moore, Editor, StudioPersonnel - David Ripp, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1997 Telarc International Corp.
Erich Kunzel, Conductor, MainArtist - Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Orchestra, MainArtist - John Lennon, Composer - Paul Mccartney, Composer - Andrew Mendelson, Editor, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Michael Bishop, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steven Reineke, Arranger, Work Arranger - John Morris Russell, Producer, Assistant Producer - Robert Woods, Producer, Recording Producer - Robert Friedrich, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James Yates, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Elaine Martone, Recording Supervisor, StudioPersonnel - Thomas C. Moore, Editor, StudioPersonnel - David Ripp, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1997 Telarc International Corp.
Gabriel Crouch, Baritone, AssociatedPerformer - David Hurley, Counter-Tenor, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Phoenix, Tenor, AssociatedPerformer - John Lennon, Composer - Paul Mccartney, Composer - Andrew Mendelson, Editor, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Paul Hart, Arranger, Work Arranger - Nigel Short, Counter-Tenor, AssociatedPerformer - Philip Lawson, Baritone, AssociatedPerformer - Stephen Connolly, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Michael Bishop, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - The King's Singers, Ensemble, MainArtist - John Morris Russell, Producer, Assistant Producer - Robert Woods, Producer, Recording Producer - Robert Friedrich, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James Yates, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Elaine Martone, Recording Supervisor, StudioPersonnel - Thomas C. Moore, Editor, StudioPersonnel - David Ripp, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1997 Telarc International Corp.
Erich Kunzel, Conductor, MainArtist - Gabriel Crouch, Baritone, AssociatedPerformer - David Hurley, Counter-Tenor, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Phoenix, Tenor, AssociatedPerformer - Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Orchestra, MainArtist - John Lennon, Composer - Paul Mccartney, Composer - George Martin, Arranger, Work Arranger - Andrew Mendelson, Editor, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Nigel Short, Counter-Tenor, AssociatedPerformer - Philip Lawson, Baritone, AssociatedPerformer - Stephen Connolly, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Michael Bishop, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - The King's Singers, Ensemble, MainArtist - John Morris Russell, Producer, Assistant Producer - Robert Woods, Producer, Recording Producer - Robert Friedrich, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James Yates, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Elaine Martone, Recording Supervisor, StudioPersonnel - Thomas C. Moore, Editor, StudioPersonnel - David Ripp, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1997 Telarc International Corp.
Erich Kunzel, Conductor, MainArtist - Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Orchestra, MainArtist - John Lennon, Composer - Paul Mccartney, Composer - Andrew Mendelson, Editor, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Michael Bishop, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steven Reineke, Arranger, Work Arranger - John Morris Russell, Producer, Assistant Producer - Robert Woods, Producer, Recording Producer - Robert Friedrich, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James Yates, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Chandler Webber, Soprano Saxophone, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Elaine Martone, Recording Supervisor, StudioPersonnel - Thomas C. Moore, Editor, StudioPersonnel - David Ripp, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1997 Telarc International Corp.
Gabriel Crouch, Baritone, AssociatedPerformer - David Hurley, Counter-Tenor, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Phoenix, Tenor, AssociatedPerformer - John Lennon, Composer - Paul Mccartney, Composer - Andrew Mendelson, Editor, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Nigel Short, Counter-Tenor, AssociatedPerformer - Philip Lawson, Baritone, AssociatedPerformer - Stephen Connolly, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Michael Bishop, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - The King's Singers, Ensemble, MainArtist - Steven Reineke, Arranger, Work Arranger - John Morris Russell, Producer, Assistant Producer - Robert Woods, Producer, Recording Producer - Robert Friedrich, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James Yates, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Elaine Martone, Recording Supervisor, StudioPersonnel - Thomas C. Moore, Editor, StudioPersonnel - David Ripp, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1997 Telarc International Corp.
Erich Kunzel, Conductor, MainArtist - Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Orchestra, MainArtist - John Lennon, Composer - Paul Mccartney, Composer - Andrew Mendelson, Editor, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Michael Bishop, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steven Reineke, Arranger, Work Arranger - John Morris Russell, Producer, Assistant Producer - Robert Woods, Producer, Recording Producer - Robert Friedrich, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James Yates, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Chandler Webber, Alto Saxophone, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Elaine Martone, Recording Supervisor, StudioPersonnel - Thomas C. Moore, Editor, StudioPersonnel - David Ripp, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1997 Telarc International Corp.
Erich Kunzel, Conductor, MainArtist - Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Orchestra, MainArtist - Andrew Pryce Jackman, Arranger, Work Arranger - John Lennon, Composer - Paul Mccartney, Composer - Andrew Mendelson, Editor, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Michael Bishop, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - The King's Singers, Ensemble, MainArtist - John Morris Russell, Producer, Assistant Producer - Robert Woods, Producer, Recording Producer - Robert Friedrich, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James Yates, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Elaine Martone, Recording Supervisor, StudioPersonnel - Thomas C. Moore, Editor, StudioPersonnel - David Ripp, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1997 Telarc International Corp.
Erich Kunzel, Conductor, MainArtist - Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Orchestra, MainArtist - Andrew Pryce Jackman, Arranger, Work Arranger - John Lennon, Composer - Paul Mccartney, Composer - Andrew Mendelson, Editor, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Michael Bishop, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - The King's Singers, Ensemble, MainArtist - John Morris Russell, Producer, Assistant Producer - Robert Woods, Producer, Recording Producer - Robert Friedrich, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James Yates, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Elaine Martone, Recording Supervisor, StudioPersonnel - Thomas C. Moore, Editor, StudioPersonnel - David Ripp, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1997 Telarc International Corp.
Album review
From the moment Arthur Fiedler lifted his baton in 1964 to lead the Boston Pops in a wild, surprisingly effective arrangement of "I Want to Hold Your Hand," symphony orchestras have tried to include Beatles music in their "pops" song bags. The trouble is, the Beatles' brilliant original recordings are so indelibly embedded in the collective mental consciousness that they are a tough act to follow -- despite the high quality of the songs on their own merits, despite the good intentions of those who pay them homage. So it is with Erich Kunzel & the Cincinnati Pops and the British early music/classical/pop vocal sextet the King's Singers -- an undoubtedly sincere labor that gets it all wrong. From this album, a visitor from Saturn would get the idea that the Beatles' music was all about pretty tunes and satin-smooth harmonies. Well, they are, but. The orchestral arrangements -- some of which are actually credited to Beatles producer and catalyst George Martin, others to in-house arranger Steven Reineke, Paul Hart and Andrew Pryce Jackman -- may inflate the sound, yet they reduce the colossal impact and free-thinking guiding spirit of these songs to hum-along background music. The King's Singers' approach is, unfortunately, too prissy, too deliberately cute, too sentimental, or too impeccably smooth to do justice to any of them. There are two takes of "Eleanor Rigby" that sum things up -- an overweight one for orchestra that opens the album, the other an a cappella treatment by the King's Singers -- both of which miss the terse, emotional fervor of Martin's string octet backing on the original Beatles record. Not even the sumptuous, deep, DSD-derived sound can save it.
© Richard S. Ginell /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 16 track(s)
- Total length: 00:55:12
- Main artists: Erich Kunzel Cincinnati Pops Orchestra The King's Singers
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Telarc
- Genre: Classical
© 1997 Telarc International Corp. ℗ 1997 Telarc International Corp.
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.