Liverpool... Re-Imagining the Beatles
I admit that I approach tribute albums with a sense of trepidation, half-expecting something akin to Muzak brand elevator music. As a result, I was blown away by this Beatles re-imagining release from pianist David Lanz (featuring flutist Gary Stroutos and cellist Water Gray, as well as a few other talented accompanists). What Lanz and company have accomplished on Liverpool is a revelation of how to take source material and reinvigorate it with a whole new musical perspective while retaining enough of the "signature" sound so that fans of the original Lennon-McCartney tunes will hear those similarities pop up almost unconsciously at times (as it were). Infusing the music with a liberal amount of jazz flourishes from the '60s and '70s (I hear echoes of artists such as Herbie Mann, Les McCann, and Corea's Return to Forever in their pre-synth days), the assembled musicians, led by Lanz who, frankly, startled me with his jazzy chops and licks throughout, perform true magic throughout the CD's eight tracks (a ninth track is a sparse 14 second long interlude).
Most songs wear their source material on their titular sleeve (“Rain Eight Days A Week,” “Lovely Rita,” and “Yes It Is” and “Norwegian Wood” to name a few) whereas two others are less pointed, such as the opening Liverpool (a Lanz original) or the closing eleven minute London Skies (subtitled "A John Lennon Suite"). I applaud Lanz's and Stroutsos' (who accompanied Lanz to Liverpool to do research on The Beatles) decision to not go solely with the "classics" and instead opt for songs which they felt they could work with and produce something truly memorable, which they have in every instance.
"Liverpool" opens the album, amidst the sounds of seagulls and waves, in a somber and bluesy vein, with Lanz and Gray playing as a duet. Halfway through the song the mood lightens with a dramatic flourish of cello from Gray, becoming wistful and romantic. Things We Said Today begins with Alonzo Davideo's motif guitar before flowing into breezy "60s era jazziness, mostly due to Stroutsos' flute and Lanz's piano. Eric Eagle's drums and David Revelli's percussion also contribute a lot to the jazzy funky atmosphere. Lovely Rita, on which Lanz goes it alone, gets a fairly straightforward interpretation, but the results are nonetheless quite pleasant with Lanz adding a hint of sadness at times. Because I’m Only Sleeping (which also incorporates some environmental sounds, i.e. crickets and a hooting owl) is lent serious gravitas by Gray's cello at the outset but over the track's nine minutes the song transitions through various stages, some quiet and pensive (with Stroutsos's flute adding a nice touch) and others jazzy and uptempo, propelled by Eagle's drums. The closing London Skies may be the one piece here that Lanz's many new age music fans embrace the most, as it is a flowing romantic flute/piano duet (with some cello sprinkled throughout) that winds its way through the song's eleven minutes at a sedate pace with few jazz undertones or influences. At the eight minute mark, the track unexpectedly veers into ambient territory with sparse echoed piano, twinkling bell trees, and textural synthesizers – an unusual conclusion but a fitting one to my ears.
What cannot be overstated is that Liverpool is not a collection of smooth jazz versions of Beatles' songs. There is nary a hint of smooth jazz here. This is JAZZ period, folks, albeit as mentioned earlier, more akin to jazz from the late '60s and early '70s. I suppose some may consider the jazz to be "lite" when compared to the more urban style of the genre from that time period, but I don't think one would be surprised to walk into any one of the many jazz clubs back then and hear music like this late at night amidst the sound of clinking glasses and murmured conversations. My hat is off to David Lanz, Gary Stroutsos and everyone else who contributed to this album which honors one of the most talented songwriting duos in the history of recorded music.
Rating: Very Good
Reviewed by Bill Binkelman on 12/17/2010
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David Lanz – Liverpool: Re-imagining The Beatles (Moon Boy) : Shrewdly eschewing the cloying saccharine sentimentality that mars most Beatle tribute records, pianist Lanz and his band exhibit a thoughtful jazz-tinged sensibility that sees original melodies tastefully blended into lush new realms of atmospheric sound such as “Because I’m Only Sleeping” and “Rain Eight Days A Week.” Add on a couple of sublime Fab-inspired originals and you’ve got an exceptional album the likes of which either Creed Taylor or Manfred Eicher would’ve been proud to have released during their CTI and ECM heydays.
Jeffrey Morgan
JeffreyMorgan.info
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Pianist David Lanz has tackled the Beatles' songbook for his latest release Liverpool: Re-Imagining the Beatles. Not content to provide by-the-book cover versions, Lanz offers drastic reinterpretations of a handful of the band's classic songs. The results are both a testament to strength of the source material as well as Lanz's own musical vision.
David Lanz wasn't always a New Age composer and musician, but that has been his bread and butter for many years now. As such, these are atmospheric mood pieces rather than straightforward pop versions. The results are quite beautiful, with most tracks stretching out far longer than the average Beatles' song. "London Skies - A John Lennon Suite" lasts eleven minutes, joining three songs together in an ethereal, hypnotic soundscape. The centerpiece of this album-closing suite is a reworking of "Tomorrow Never Knows," which digs deep to find the song's subtly rich melodic potential.
I recommend listening to Liverpool without consulting the tracklist. The arrangements are so inventive, the songs aren't immediately recognizable. Sometimes Lanz takes his time introducing the piece before revealing exactly what song he's performing. In several cases, he has ingeniously combined different songs in very unexpected ways. "Rain" combines with "Eight Days A Week," while "Because" melds with "I'm Only Sleeping." In some cases the medleys are not even listed on the tracklisting, which makes the listening experience more delightfully unpredictable.
A Lanz original serves as both the album's opener and title track. "Liverpool" is an effectively Beatlesque way to open the collection, with Lanz deftly weaving in melodic quotations from Beatle songs. Listen closely for riffs lifted from "A Day In the Life," "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Here Comes the Sun," and others. The inventive piece packs a considerable amount of invention into its three minutes. A second (and very brief) original piece, "Teatime For Rita," features a snippet of spoken word from Richard Olivier.
Lanz shares billing with a pair of additional musicians, Gary Stroutsos and Walter Gray, for this collection of instrumental music. Stroutsos figures prominently throughout Liverpool, playing xiao (a Chinese flute) and mark tree (a set of chimes). Gray contributes cello. There are numerous other musicians gracing the album, including Eric Eagle on drums and Keith Lowe on upright bass.
Liverpool: Re-Imagining the Beatles showcases the instrumental talents of some very talented musicians. David Lanz has worked hard to deliver these Beatles classics in new, interesting ways. It may not be everyone's cup of tea. There is a thriving market for Beatles "tribute bands," dedicated to slavishly recreating every arrangement as close to the original as possible. Lanz has taken a far more challenging route, creating an infinitely greater tribute.
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After the fantastic tribute that Lanz paid to his favorite British Invasion bands with 1998’s Songs From An English Garden, the Grammy nominated composer and pianist has released one of the jewels of 2010, Liverpool Re-Imagining the Beatles. Another brilliant tribute to the band that inspired peace and love for this artist’s generation and for generations to come.
One outstanding original Lanz composition, Liverpool, opens the CD followed by elegant arrangements of twelve Lennon/McCartney compositions played singly or within well crafted medleys. For this occasion, David teams up with his long time collaborator, flute-player Gary Stroutsos, his brother and co-producer Gary Lanz, and musicians: Walter Gray (cello), Keith Lowe (bass), Eric Eagle (drums), David Revelli (percussion), Larry Knechtel (Hammond), Alonzo Davideo (motif guitar), James Reynolds (synth guru) and the special voice talent of Richard Olivier.
Liverpool - Re-Imagining the Beatles is one of the best works released this year! Suitable for those wishing to delve into the history of Liverpool's most famous band. The CD contains a great mix of known and lesser-known works of the Beatles with incredibly fascinating arrangements.
This CD that will have a prominent place in the New Age charts and will be among the albums nominated for "Best Album RNA of the Year 2010." Simply incredible, essential and Very Highly Recommended!
Score: 5/5 Stars
Reviewsnewage.com
09/03/10
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A thoroughly inventive instrumental tribute album to the music of John Lennon and the Beatles, Liverpool: Re-Imagining The Beatles is a stunning and haunting work of art from New Age keyboard genius David Lanz.
There is a very heavy air of musical karma brought to light here through the brilliant melodies of John Lennon. Most Beatles fans know that Lennon was the voice and vision behind songs like “Rain”, “Eight Days A Week”, “Because”, “I’m Only Sleeping”, “Yes It Is” and “Norwegian Wood” however Paul McCartney is also represented here with Lanz re-imagining his “Things We Said Today” and “Lovely Rita”.
By deconstructing and re-imagining these indelible melodies of Lennon & McCartney as floating, meditational soundscapes, Lanz has created a thing of sonic beauty. Snippets of melodies appear then reappear amid the sonic seasonings that echo the spirit of the Beatles as re-imagined as Neoclassical flavored instrumental and New Age inspired piano based renditions.
A number of musicians appear including Gary Stroutsos (Xiao flute) and Walter Gray (cello). Several other players add in some intriguing sonic flavors including, co-producer Gary Lanz (autoharp) and the late Larry Knechtel, who adds Hammond organ on an ethereal composite of “Rain/Eight Days A Week”. In fact, upon further inspective, the CD is actually dedicated to Larry Knechtel who passed away in 2009. Ironically this appearance is one of Larry’s last ever, and how fitting that he should be playing on such a heavenly sonata style arrangement of these song classics.
With the inventive work of Lanz and the Satie inspired flute of Stroutsos, ethereal is in fact the key word here. In fact, this music is near weightless and overall, Liverpool is superbly recorded with plenty of atmospheric echo and strategic effects to help it rise above a mere solo piano Beatles tribute.
Fitting in among the Beatles covers, Lanz even adds in a leadoff tribute original called “Liverpool” and a set closing atmospheric tribute to Beatles captain John Lennon called “London Skies.” Clearly one of the best piano based instrumental Beatles tributes ever, Liverpool: Re-Imagining The Beatles is tastefully packaged with pictures of Lanz actually visiting the Beatles’ hometown of Liverpool while the project is put into further perspective by some very reflective liner notes penned by Lanz himself. LiverpoolCD.com and DavidLanz.com
MW3.com
September, 2010 Spotlight
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Liverpool: Re-Imagining the Beatles is a collection of David Lanz’s arrangements of Lennon/McCartney songs plus one
Lanz
original, performed by Lanz on piano and
keyboards, Gary Stroutsos on flute, Larry Knechtel on Hammond organ,
and several
other musicians on cello, upright bass, drums and percussion. Four of the tracks
are medleys, giving you
more tunes for your
entertainment dollar! Lanz purposely stayed away from The Beatles’ biggest hits, but most of these
songs are familiar -
especially if you grew up in the 60’s. (Lanz jokes that if you remember that era, you weren’t really
there!) I was a little surprised
by the serious tone of most of the
album, the use of sound effects on several tracks, and
that only one track is solo piano, but
none of these points are negatives - just surprises. Quite a bit of the
music feels
improvised, giving it a free, jazzy style rather
than a rock flavor. None of it really rocks - nor was it supposed to - so fans
of Lanz’s soothing, relaxing piano
music won’t be
disappointed with this release. Some of Lanz’s familiar touches are
readily apparent although he gives the other musicians
(especially frequent
collaborator Gary Stroutsos) plenty of room
to share the spotlight.
Liverpool opens with the title track, Lanz’s original composition. It begins with the sound of a ferry boat, and the music
includes
snippets of phrases from various
Beatles songs as well as Lanz’s music. Mostly a duet for piano and cello with a
little percussion
and keyboard, it’s a beauty! “Things We Said Today” is a haunting
ballad that Lanz gives an interesting
rhythm and freely flowing tempo. The medley of “Rain” and “Eight Days a Week” is slow and somber yet very smooth and
relaxing.
It features Larry Knechtel
on organ and Stroutsos on flute as well as Lanz on piano. The most upbeat song on the album is “Lovely Rita,” the only piano solo
and
one of my favorites. The medley
of “Because” and “I’m Only
Sleeping” is a 9 1/2 minute piece that seems to become more improvised as it develops - a fascinating
collaboration that includes a variety
of artists and instruments. “Norwegian Wood” is possibly the best-known piece on the album, but this arrangement is much more
jazz-influenced than the original:
smooth, mellow, and soulful! Stroutsos’ flute really soars on this one! The last track is “London Skies: A John Lennon Suite” that
includes “Tomorrow Never Knows,”
“Across the Universe,” and “Give Peace a Chance.” At just over eleven minutes, the piece has plenty of time to evolve organically
and
leisurely. Mostly a piano/cello/
and flute trio, Walter Gray’s cello is gorgeous and Stroutsos’ flute casts a spell. Lanz concludes the Suite with a very simple but haunting
version of “Give Peace a
Chance” on piano with atmospheric sounds, bells, and a slow fade-out.
Liverpool is a winner and should bring a new audience to David Lanz’s music. It is currently available only from www.davidlanz.com. Check it out!
Kathy Parsons
MainlyPiano.com
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Lushly produced, heartfelt, compelling and at times even spiritually transcendent, David Lanz's Liverpool: Re-Imagining The Beatles takes a unique classical/new age
ensemble approach to some of Lennon and McCartney's less frequently covered work. Working brilliantly with an ensemble featuring frequent collaborator Gary
Stroutsos (xiao flute, mark tree) and Larry Knechtel (Hammond B-3 organ on "Rain"), Lanz's labor of true love uncovers a richer grace and emotion behind the
surface catchy melodies. Tapping into the same well as he did on 1998's wonderful Songs From An English Garden, Lanz--who sets the stage with the wistful and
reflective original "Liverpool"--triumphs with unexpectedly charming arrangements of songs too many casual Beatles fans need to reach back to and remember.
Jonathan Widran
Jazziz, All Music Guide
