Old School, the new album from New York City's East Village Opera Company is an album 300 years in the making. Using a few centuries worth of opera's greatest hits as their launching point, the album took 12 months and 14 ... more »engineers to record and involved 65 involved musicians in 10 different studios around the world. EVOC has once again taken a selection of opera arias and re-imagined them as popular songs, using full symphony orchestra, R&B horns, and choir alongside the group's guitars, drums, keyboards, string quartet, and singers. Arias by Verdi, Puccini, Bach, Mozart, and Wagner collide with Rock and Roll, R&B, 60's and 70's Pop, Surf, and Soul in an explosive mosaic of sound that is deliciously eclectic and singularly cohesive at the same time. As filtered through the group's irreverent sensibility, a seemingly bad idea (rock meets opera) comes off as a triumphant celebration of all music in a musical highwire act that deftly balances tradition and renewal.« less
Old School, the new album from New York City's East Village Opera Company is an album 300 years in the making. Using a few centuries worth of opera's greatest hits as their launching point, the album took 12 months and 14 engineers to record and involved 65 involved musicians in 10 different studios around the world. EVOC has once again taken a selection of opera arias and re-imagined them as popular songs, using full symphony orchestra, R&B horns, and choir alongside the group's guitars, drums, keyboards, string quartet, and singers. Arias by Verdi, Puccini, Bach, Mozart, and Wagner collide with Rock and Roll, R&B, 60's and 70's Pop, Surf, and Soul in an explosive mosaic of sound that is deliciously eclectic and singularly cohesive at the same time. As filtered through the group's irreverent sensibility, a seemingly bad idea (rock meets opera) comes off as a triumphant celebration of all music in a musical highwire act that deftly balances tradition and renewal.
"Words fail, so this won't be long. I've heard modern takes on classical music before and was severely underwhelmed. After hearing this music on a NPR program, I could tell someone finally got it right. The musicianship and arranging are near perfect and the variety of styles (influenced by Led Zeppelin, The Who, Queen, and many others) kept me interested from start to finish. I couldn't be happier to stumble on this gem."
YIKES!!!!!!!!!
Michael J. Klementovich | Bethlehem PA | 12/06/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!
I have to catch my breath........I have heard this group twice in concert and they are breathtaking to listen to and watch perform...BUT ....this CD is as close as your ever going to get to LIVE!!!!!!
BUY IT BUY IT BUY IT"
Anything BUT...Olde School
C. A. Surovi | Hellertown, PA United States | 01/14/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Having heard EVOC live, and listening to their first 2 releases repeatedly, I was looking forward to hearing what they would do next. This disc does not disappoint!!! Very talented vocals and instumentals transform opera classics into modern masterpieces. This is how Wagner, Mozart, and Verdi would do opera if they were alive today. They bring passion, and beauty to these updated versions without losing the essence of the music. REALLY..you must hear it to believe it."
I absolutely love this album
E. Halliday | New York | 07/17/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I first saw this company in a staged performance along with the Parsons Dance Company and the Joyce Theatre in New York. The show was interesting, and I knew the music deserved a second listen. Now I cannot stop. It's like the Red Shoes. It is on continuous play, and I sing and feel the music all day long. Rock and Rollers will like it because the quality of the music is superb, and Opera purists will (or at least Could) like it because it gives new life to timeless melodies. A must-have."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1
