scapp70's Full Review: Bach on Abbey Road (& Other Beatles Classics) by J...
This CD is one of the oldest ones I have. It was given to me in 1990 by my best friend, not as a present or anything, but just because he would refuse to listen to something like this. Not that he's a pure Beatles freak, but probably because at that time he was totally the opposite.
When I received it, I put it aside myself for a couple of months. I finally listened to it on my old Kenwood stereo system, and I had it on repeat. I was doing something else, so it must have repeated five or six times before I realized that it was in fact something to listen to.
I liked the fact that it was a solo piano for the whole CD. So no overdubs, or complex melodies. It was just pure acoustic, raw Beatles/Bach music.
The first track is A Hard Day's Night - Sinfonia 3:12. Sinfonia is a Latin word that means orchestral introduction. I guess it means sort of the same thing as Overture, although this song does not serve in the same way as an Overture would. It incorporates the short snippet of a melody from the Beatles tune that you would hear the lyrics
It's been a hard day's night
and I've been working like a dog
It's been a hard day's night
and I've been sleeping like a log
You know I work all day to get you money
To buy you things
And it's worth it just to hear you say
You're gonna give me everything.
The rest is (as it is with all of the songs) a lot of improvisation and I would guess some snippets of movements by Johann Sebastian Bach. I am guessing about music included from Bach because I am not familiar with the work of Bach at any length. Unless it is just in the musical style of Bach since no titles include movements by Bach.
Here Come The Sun - Allegro 4:04 and Good Day Sunshine - Allegro 3:29 are the next two songs. Two upbeat and fast paced performances. Here Comes The Sun - Allegro includes the quick Beatle melody from the first line of the chorus sporadically throughout. Good Day Sunshine - Allegro seems to include a Bachinized version of the guitar riff from Day Tripper, which is part of this song as well entitled Day Tripper - Fugue. It really makes me a believer that Bach would interpret these songs the way that John Bayless portrays on this CD.
John Bayless: A Quick Bio
John Bayless is a trained classical pianist and composer. He attended and graduated from Juiliard and made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1980.
He has also played with the New York Philharmonic and The London Symphony Orchestra including a performance for the Queen. He has a prior release Bach Meets The Beatles. This one was released in 1987.
The rest of the songs included:
Maxwell's Silver Hammer - Variation 1
-------------------[Index 2] -Variation 2
With A Little Help from My Friends - Prelude
If I Fell - Fugue
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds - Allermande
She Love You/Help - Allegro
I Want To Hold Your Hand - Arioso
Can't By Me Love - Capriccio
I Will - Aria
Lady Madonna - Gigue
Strawberry Fields Forever - Recitative & ariso
Eleanor Rigby - Toccata
In My Life - Aria
Goodnight - Aria
A Day In The Life - Choral Prelude
All of the songs have pretty much would have the same description and idea, so instead of giving a brief feel for each song, which like I said would be pretty much the same here, I'll just try and give an overall feel for the CD.
For me, this CD just feels like a whole concert in one, with just movement after another interflowing throughout each other. It briefly tips a hat to a Beatles melody, and as the CD liner describes a lot of improvisation is involved. While it is an emotional, soothing and involved concert of songs, what it basically is, is a showcase for an amazing talent.
All of the songs are very fast classical piano that shows John Bayless' love of Johann Sebastian Bach. It's amazing to me the discipline of his very talented fingers, as his right hand does not stop tickling the ivories, his left is accenting and highlighting independently as if it does not know it is ultimately attached to the same brain.
I prefer this solo piano instead of a whole orchestra on CD. It is a very intimate experience, and because of the improvisation involved you can feel the emotion Bayless expresses.
My son who is two now loves this CD. Well, he loves to fall asleep to it.
The title suggests to me a lot of Beatles material from the Abbey Road album, but there is only two songs from that LP. What the whole CD seems to do is slowly and gently build to the final track A Day In The Life - Choral Prelude which includes the long paino chord from The Beatles A Day In The Life. But anyway, the title is cool and so is the album cover.
Other of John Bayless CDs include Happy Birthday Bach and Bach Meets The Beatles which shows an illustrated Beatles gathered around Bach all in powdered wigs.
Well, I guess I would have never listened to something like this is it were not Beatles related, but since I did give this a chance it has given me an interest in solo classical piano, and I have searched and purchased CDs of the like through the years.
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