Search - Various Artists :: Piano Strings Tribute to Phantom of Opera/O.S.T.

Phantastic in Every Sense of the Word!

11/21/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Piano Strings Tribute to the Phantom is easily the best, most beautiful version of Phantom karaoke out there. Played masterfully and powerfully by Tom Bartsch, this CD includes nine of the most popular and important themes from the musical, and translates them into a stirring, astounding piano melody, with lush strings in the background. Finally, a poignant, emotional CD that brings the Phantom home is available; no words are spoken in the whole CD. Here is my rating for each:

Think of Me: This is one of the best tracks. It has some of the best piano performance in the CD.

Angel of Music: This track also includes the music for the "Mirror" sequence. The Angel of Music part is nice, but the music for the Mirror just does not convey the menace of power that the title needs. This isn't one of my favorite tracks, though is still very enjoyable.

The Phantom of the Opera: This is possibly THE best performance of the piano on the CD, those keys just come alive with the excitement of the piece. My only quibble is the Phantom's famous 5 note theme just isn't the same on a piano - the organ for this theme is untouchable.

The Music of the Night: The most emotional and powerful of the songs on the CD, this one of my personal favorites. The strings and the piano really hit home with this song, more so than any other of the songs on here.

Prima Donna: Good performance here, but not one of my favorite songs. A little too repetitive for me. But for those who like Prima Donna, you'll LOVE this.

All I Ask of You: Fantastic! This song is a soaring, uplifting proclomation of love... the strings here are really great. Probably their best performance in the album, besides Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again.

Masquerade: Great! The piano is really stunning here, but the strings are less prominent. However, the impact of the song lies with the massive amount of people performing it normally on stage, so, in that regard, the piano doesn't really have the BANG the actual performance of the song has on the soundtrack for the musical.

Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again: This is one of my favorite tracks; the melody is just so heartbraking and beautiful, it is one of those themes that can be appreciated no matter who you are. The strings and piano here are just magnificent.

The Point of No Return: This song is wonderfully performed, with an electric performance by the piano. The strings too, are great. But this is a song where its power is heard in the vocals and power of the singers, so the passion and emotion of the song is somewhat dimmed. But don't get me wrong; this is still one of the best translations from musical to piano on the album.

Best Piano Performance: The Music of the Night

Best String Performance: Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again of All I Ask of You.

Best Overall: It would be a tie between Music of the Night, Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again, or The Phantom of the Opera.



This CD is well worth multiple listens to fully appreciate all of the fantastic effort that has been put into it. This CD is well worth your time and money. A definite 5 stars from me."

Love the keys and strings

Phantomfreak07 | The loft apartment, Avenue B, NYC | 12/31/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The piano/strings tribute to PotO is a wonderful CD. I bought it off iTunes as soon as I sampled it. The piano sets the notes, and the strings carry and hold them out. My faves were Music of the Night and Masquerade. I've always imagined Music of the Night with just piano and strings, and now I can hear it whenever I need it!



In short: Brilliant."

Magnificant

ESP | CO, USA | 06/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am a singer and have been looking for a Phantom of the Opera cd without the singers, but keraoke is so synthetic that it just didn't quite do it for me! When I ran across this copy online I listened and double-checked to make sure they were in the original keys and it was! This is an absolutely fantastic CD and I can't wait to get my copy!"