CD REVIEW
– ANDRÉ
RIEU AND HIS JOHANN STRAUSS
ORCHESTRA
AMORE
Decca 5790054
 '
The charismatic
Dutchman and his beloved
orchestra founded 30 years ago
are nowadays the nearest we get
to new recordings of "our
kind of music", and this
album comes on the back of
incredible sales for their last
year's offering of 'Falling In
Love' (Decca 5708288,
reviewed here this January).
Although his music
may be thought by some to sound a
bit "samey" there are
some interesting instrumentalists
featured and the track selection
has plenty of variety. Among the
18 on the CD we have well-loved
hits of the past: Louis
Armstrong's What A Wonderful
World (50 years since it was
in the charts), Nana Mouskouri's Only
Love, Richard Clayderman's Ballad
For Adeline, and Presley's Love
Me Tender; film themes: Jerusalem
of Gold ('Schindler’s
List') and My Own Home
('Jungle Book'); show tunes: The
Impossible Dream ('Man Of La
Mancha') and Think Of Me
('Phantom Of The Opera');
Strauss's Music Of The
Spheres and Tales From
The Vienna Woods; golden
oldies like The Last Rose
and Speak To Me Of Love;
and, as a finale, a cracking live
version of Highland Cathedral
– composed by German
musicians Ulrich Roever and
Michael Korb in 1982 for a
Highland Games held in Germany
– replete with bagpipes.
But that's not
all: for our money (£7-£9)
there is also a two-hour DVD
'Live In Sydney' featuring a
further 30 tracks beginning with Seventy-Six
Trombones and ending with Advance
Australia Fair. Be warned:
five of them involve Dame Edna
Everage.
Over the years
André et al have been awarded a
record-breaking 500 Platinum
Awards. I see no reason why this
album, with its accent on
heart-warming melodies, should
not become a worthy addition to
that list.
© 2017
Peter Burt.
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