Surfaces and Depth
sapienAustralis | New Zealand | 01/19/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"If you were just to judge Red Priest by their covers, their reviews, or even their You Tube clips, you might think that here is a group of musicians making fun of, taking the mickey out of, or playing with, music from the era of Vivaldi etc. And yes, at one level, this is true.
But just as importantly, and I think this can be overlooked in some cases, Red Priest are extraordinary musicians, with a deep appreciation of the music. So for all the fun of hearing the familiar re-invented, there is also pieces on this album that are meditative, gentle, and downright beautiful.
Both fun and the fervour, the meditation and the madness, spring from the same underlying appreciation of the music and its possibilities. If you like your classical music, with all the formality, familiarity and fustiness "Classical" entails, this album isn't for you. But if you like music, and want to explore its possibilities, this and other Red Priest albums might well be a worthwhile investment.
As well as being enormous fun."