Search - John Bayless :: Bach on Abbey Road

Bach & Beatles - A Sensuous Pair

John Peter Strybos | Stamford, CT United States | 01/16/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"John Bayless improvises favorite melodies of The Beatles in the style of J. S. Bach in a sensuous manner. The playing is musical, the improvisations are excellent, and the instrument is superior. Mr. Bayless captures the innate musicianship of the Beatles compositions while bringing them to life in a Baroque treatment."

Utterly intriguing and wonderful in its own Baylessian right

Catherine S. Vodrey | East Liverpool, Ohio United States | 05/21/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Pianist John Bayless works miracles here in the spirits of John and Johann--Lennon and Bach, that is--not to mention Paul, George and Ringo. "Bach on Abbey Road" is subtitled "Beatle Melodies Improvised in the Style of J. S. Bach" and while Bayless gets the style of J. S. Bach exactly right, the Beatles tunes are sometimes so deeply buried or subverted under the Baroque musicality of it all that you feel you're listening to something entirely new--gorgeous even, but not necessarily Beatlesesque.Take "Here Comes the Sun," for instance. I have listened to this more than half a dozen times and I can scarcely recognize this as a Beatles tune. Yet what I do recognize is Bayless' endlessly inventive musical sensibilities, his appreciation for the catchiness of Beatles tunes, and his frolicsome application of Bach-like twists and turns to these modern songs. "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" begins sounding something like a little tune from Bach's "Well-Tempered Clavier" and blossoms rosily into something well-rounded and lush. "If I Fell," that jaunty Beatles meditation on the possibilities inherent in the beginning of love, becomes in Bayless' hands a nearly sorrowful, solemn expression that, without lyrics, seems to examine more of the frightening "fell" than the more hopeful "if I." "Lady Madonna" is sprightly and impeccable--it has the sound of a fugue without actually being one. And "A Day in the Life" opens with troubled, dark piano work that conjures up more Beethoven than Bach, but it is as compelling as the rest of the songs on this very fine, very intriguing work. John Bayless deserves every accolade he gets for this absolutely wonderful CD."