VICTOR

This is a most unusual recording. It seems to be a collaboration between a rock musician and a orchestral composer. Originally a 2-LP set of four side long tracks telling the story of Victor, and his relationship with his father as he grows up in a low-rent traveling circus. He yearns to leave the circus and live his own life, which he eventually does.

The lyrics are surprisingly intelligent and well-composed, particularly the time in the circus. (The latter end of the story becomes rather unfocused and rambling. I'm not sure what is going on in Victor's life. Is he traveling with Indians or hallucinating?)

The music, on the other hand, is an entirely different story.

The closest I can come to describing it is a poorly executed "Days of Future Passed".

It alternates between orchestral passages and rock songs. Unlike "Days of Future Passed", one seems to have no relationship to the other. Worse still, there are no memorable melodies or "hooks" that a listener can latch onto. It almost seems like the composers went their separate ways, then patched together their compositions at the end. The orchestral sections are executed quite well, although they could easily be spliced into the background soundtrack of a TV show. Very banal. The rock music is even worse. In the attempt to match the excellent lyrics, the composer has forgotten to include melody.

This could have been a superb recording. The lyrics are excellent, and the idea even better. But they should have borrowed more from "Days of Future Passed". Create a few nice melodic songs around the lyrics, and then have the orchestral parts echo and build upon the melody.

Disappointing x2, which is how many stars I will give this recording.