Released: 1998
Tracks: Allegro Con Brio, Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven); Arroyo; Pathways; Leap (Funicelli); Adagio Opus 11 (Barber); Great Divide; Scramble; Classical Gas (Williams); Kaleidoscope; Ananda; Adagio Sostenuto, Moonlight Sonata (Beethoven); Presto Agitato, Moonlight Sonata (Beethoven); Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring (Bach); Misirlou
Best track: Scramble
Track to skip: none really
I’ve had this for a long time & there’s always been something a little bit weird about it. Something always feels uneasy about it. It’s like the album has a bit of a darker quality to it, where you never really feel comfortable. For one thing, the amount of levity on here is the least of the three albums. Truthfully, the only ‘light’ spots are Classical Gas & Misirlou. I really like all of the originals on this album (Arroyo, Pathways, Great Divide, Scramble, Kaleidoscope & Ananda) and although these all contribute to this ‘darkness’, I think they’re great compositions and some of the best the band has yet done. As I was going through this and trying to figure out which was the best original, each track was ‘the best’ until the next one came along. For the most part, the originals are the best thing about this album, with Scramble being the best of the bunch (I also have to point out Trey Gunn’s excellent part on Pathways…it goes straight up my spine). I am a bit miffed that only 6 of the 14 songs are originals. Of course I expect a lot of the CGT albums will be covers, but 6/14 isn’t enough in my opinion. I do hope that one day they’ll release an album of all original material. The covers on this disc are pretty good, esp. Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, CGT arranger Stan Funicelli’s Leap (man, talk about making you feel uneasy!), an excellent version of Classical Gas, Bach’s Jesu and surf guitar favorite Misirlou. Truthfully, I do enjoy all of the compositions on here, but there’s just something about this album that makes it seem weird. I can’t really put my finger on it. This is one of those albums, years later, that I’m still trying to figure out. This is definitely the most mature of the CGT albums so far and somehow I feel like a lot of it might be going over my head. Well, whatever; I do think the originals are great and overall I like it. I’m sure I’ll completely get it one day.
Rating: 90
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