After Hours - George Duke

Advantages: The final flourish from Britain's best loved Classical duo.
Disadvantages: Patchy musically with some pleasant "highs"; rather weak and ponderous libretto.

...(Composer). Coming from the twilight years of the partnership "The Grand Duke" was their final work. After its initial run in London in 1896 it was confined to the archives. Indeed the sleeve notes to this CD album confirm that there had been no further professional performances of this opera until 1975 when the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company revived it for their Centenary Season at the Savoy Theatre. I came to this review with even more trepidation than my last one - "Utopia Limited". I knew nothing of the plot save some descriptions of its immense complexity. I had never heard anything from the operetta and there is no video performance. The CD recording excludes the spoken dialogue. So, I have had to piece it together for myself, stopping the CD at the end of each song and reading the plot from my copy of the libretto. THE PLOT The venue... Read review

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Advantages: Mind blowing musical masterpiece of one man's struggle to find himself
Disadvantages: weak 2nd disc

...Title: All Things Must Pass Producer: Phil Spector Release date: 27th November 1970 INTRODUCTION: I hope this review, whilst containing both fact and opinions on and about the album 'All Things Must pass' by George Harrison, will help you, dear reader, to understand what a great collection of songs this album truly is. While informing you on George Harrison's background etc I can inform you of the origins of this album and help you to understand it's inspiration. Enjoy. INSPIRATIONAL ROOTS Goodbye Beatles! After the miserable 'Get Back' recording sessions (later the album was renamed as 'Let It Be') in 1969, and the final Beatle's album to be made 'Abbey Road' ('Let It Be' was recorded previous to 'Abbey Road' but released after it), the Beatles were well and truly over. The band, as a whole had outgrown each other... Read review

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Advantages: Duchess is one of the best Genesis tracks.
Disadvantages: Some nasty synth-pop and bland tracks

...The three remaining members of Genesis hit the 1980s by starting to write synth-pop songs. Their prog-rock roots hadn't entirely disappeared though. leaving some of the material on this album neither pop nor prog and suffering as a result. Initially they created a suite of songs about "Duke", and then split up the suite and added other tracks, keeping the title for the entire album. Opening with a joyful fanfare, "Behind The Lines" sounds like it is going to be another good Genesis instrumental, however after a couple of minutes it decends into a rather mundane song with only an occasional glimpse of how it started. Luckily the Genesis magic hasn't completely gone just yet as "Duchess" is a glorious track. I love those drum machine sounds and swirling synths. The whole track has a raising-hairs-on-the-back-of-the-neck energy... Read review

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