Way, Darryl: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons In Rock

With his recent Underworld rock opera leaving me hugely underwhelmed, hearing that ex-Curved Air violinist Darryl Way was heading back into a more familiar arena was news I received gladly. Long known for creating the band’s anthem “Vivaldi�, which you won’t be too surprised to hear was a rocked up reinterpretation of some of the composer’s finest moments, here Way goes the whole hog and rearranges the entire Four Seasons into a rock setting.

The violinist has, however, stated himself that “You cannot improve upon perfection, which the Four Seasons undoubtedly is...� and if anything that’s the issue; Way deciding that much of the music here is too sacrosanct to consider meddling with. Hence, for long sections of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons In Rock, what you actually get is a few synth textures, a bass line, a strum of guitars and some drum beats added to what, in essence, is the hugely familiar Four Seasons that many will already know and love. In all honesty you’re kind of left wondering what the point really was, because as Way has already suggested himself, he can’t improve on one of the most iconic pieces of music ever and in the end this is just unneeded augmentation.

Instead of feeling like an innovation, or clever reimagining, what are huge, moving pieces become twee and safe. In fact so safe are the ‘rock’ elements that they are barely rock at all and I’d venture that the drama the original piece possesses is swiftly removed in this guise. If you heard this music in a supermarket as you pushed your trolley around looking for the latest deals on detergent or fruit juice, you’d happily tap and hum along, but is that enough to make you pull a CD from the shelves and slide it into the player?

Way performs everything you hear on this album, from the strings to the percussion and for that you have to admit to being impressed. However, in the end, there needs to be more motivation to make someone part with money for an album and then to listen to it on a regular basis. Don’t get me wrong, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons In Rock is expertly performed and lovingly created, yet if I wanted to hear Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, I’d listen to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and not a watered down version that is neither one thing or another.

Track Listing
1. SPRING ALLEGRO
2. SPRING LARGO E PIANISSIMO SEMPRE
3. SPRING ALLEGRO PASTORALE
4. SUMMER ALLEGRO NON MOLTO
5. SUMMER ADAGIO E PIANO ��" PRESTO E FORTE
6. SUMMER PRESTO
7. AUTUMN ALLEGRO
8. AUTUMN ADAGIO
9. AUTUMN ALLEGRO (LAST MOVEMENT)
10.WINTER ALLEGRO NON MOLTO
11.WINTER LARGO
12.WINTER ALLEGRO

Added: September 13th 2018
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Four Seasons In Rock @ Cherry Red
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Language: english

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