 101 Strings 101 Strings has given us some of the most memorable and wonderful music of the last twenty-five years. While never as acclaimed as, say, the Hollyridge Strings (whose Beatles Song Book set the industry standard for syrupy pop cover albums) nor as daring as Enoch Light & the Light Brigade (who deserve a record guide unto themselves), 101 Strings has nonetheless delivered album after album of solid, dependably "safe" music aimed at those of us for whom the rock music gets a bit much. Which makes this album all the more disappointing. Perhaps it is the thickly-laden chorus of voices that sing each song in its entirety … in unison. Perhaps it is the stilted phrasing that illuminates Bernie Taupin's weaker lyrical moments (many of which I'd previously found to be quite poetic—but not here!). Perhaps it is just that I'm getting on in years and can't relate to the new sounds of modern youth. Whatever the reason, this album didn't do a thing for me. The inclusion of "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" as well as two originals ("Elton's Journey" and "John Strings," which was, coincidentally, the name of my 6th grade phys. ed. teacher) only served to baffle me more. Not even Elton John diehards will love this album, although his mother might. No, not even.
Review by Sarah Manhood |