Description
Beautiful… or What?! is a studio album by the British singer, songwriter, and keyboardist Adrian Snell with Phil Thomson, released on Myrrh Records in 1993, a division of Word. The album was recorded by Neil Costello at The Music Shed in Derbyshire, England.
Commissioned by A Cause for Concern, this unique album was written with poet Phil Thomson. Beautiful or What?! explores the world of a girl with a learning disability, and her most important friendship – with her rag doll! He knows her frustrations, her disappointments and shattered dreams; he also sees her hopes, her joys, and her unique potential.
Anyone scanning the last issue of Cross Rhythms will have picked up the theme behind this album – a thematic pop/rock opera which uses the allegorical tale of a girl and her rag doll to bring a profound message about handicapped children and our attitude towards them. All this can sound a pretty heavy load for any CD to carry. In fact ‘Beautiful…Or What?!’ is Adrian’s most immediate and accessible album for years and contains within it several gems and, in the opinion of CR’s editor at least, one song – a duet between ‘the girl’ Caroline Bonnett and ‘the rag doll’ Adrian Snell – with the potential to become a hit single. Whether that song, the quite lovely ballad «Beautiful» ever emerges into the mainstream as a single is another matter of course, but I too can vouch for its excellence. From the first delicate chord on the keyboards to the brilliant Raul D’Oliveira trumpet solo, this is a superlative performance with Phil Thomson’s poignant lyrics surely amongst the finest he has ever penned. There are other tracks here which deserve every, music buff’s attention. The Caroline Bonnett solo «Watch This Space In The Human Race» is a deliciously catchy piece of synth-pop, the ultimate show stopping tongue twister «Homocystinuria Aria» has the Bath Abbey Boys’ Choir going into overdrive while Adrian’s instrumental pieces are all exceptionally lovely. The trained operatic tones of Jonathan Veira are certainly not to my taste and the theatric bonhomie engendered by «The Toast» or «We’re Normal» or the argument on «Handicap» are effective as pieces of theatre but don’t make for an easy musical experience. Also the climactic build of the work means that some of the most effective works have to be teased out deep into the 70 odd minutes of music CD. But finding them is well worth the effort. [Tony Cummings, Cross Rhythms, June 1993]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/beautiful-or-what/1484421566)
CD tracklist:
01. One Of The Stars – 2:09
02. The Toast – 2:22
03. The Viewing Of The Gifts – 3:21
04. Touch Eternity – 6:06
05. You Never Seem To Learn – 3:18
06. Handicap – 4:05
07. Homocistynuria Aria – 4:01
08. Kiss The Child Goodbye – 3:13
09. Always The Best Of Friends – 2:54
10. Birthday – 5:03
11. One Of The Stars (Reprise) – 3:21
12. You Must Never – 4:24
13. Normal (In The Photograph) – 3:58
14. One Of The Stars (Piano Solo) – 2:03
15. Beautiful – 6:17
16. With The Sun On Her Wings (Prelude) – 2:59
17. Watch This Space In The Human Race – 4:32
18. Silence – 6:20
19. With The Sun On Her Wings – 4:02
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by Myrrh Records.
CREDITS. Recorded at The Music Shed, Derbyshire, England. Edited at The Digital Audio Co, Yorkshire, England. Engineered by Neil Costello. Songs composed by Adrian Snell with lyrics by Phil Thomson. Cover Illustration by Jon Birch. Executive Producer: Dave Bruce.
Musicians: Adrian Snell (Vocals, Grand Piano, Keyboards), Chris Redgate (Oboe), Raul D’Oliveira (Trumpet, Flugelhorn), Dave Clifton (Acoustic Guitar), Neil Costello (Electric Guitar), Tim Harries (Bass), Henk Pool (Keyboards, Drum Programming), Terl Bryant (Percussion, Additional Drums). Vocals: Annie McCaig, Belinda Moon, Caroline Bonnett, Jonathan Veira, Julie Costello, Mal Pope, Mark Roques, Rachael Chilcott, Jon Birch.
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