First of all let me make two things clear. 1) I am a massive PSB fan and have almost everything they released. 2) I went to see the show a couple of months ago as a treat for myself and my wife. We went to the final night with the best seats and saw Neil and stood next to David Walliams having a drink at the interval. We loved the show, the venue (Sadler's Wells), the music and the whole visual experience.
As a show and a modern combination of Art, Film, Dance/Ballet and music it was perfect, and thats my slight problem with the CD. The music is great but it was never designed to work alone. Their previous soundrack album Battleship Potemkin was for a silent film so had to portray a lot more of the story and as an album works fairly well on its own without the film. Much of this latest cd however is lost without the visuals and story telling that went on onstage. There are some very nice moments musically such as the upbeat Ten Commandments and The one moment you hear Neil sing in a pastiche pop song of the show which was really fun too see. There are great Eastern Blok influences in the music and some nice quiet moments too. Some of the music reminded me of Stravinsky in its complex rhythmical, almost atonal and never quite resolving nature. The music is great and up to its usual original and unique standard but is missing the rest of the experience. I would suggest waiting until it becomes availble on DVD, however as the show was so successful it is to be re-run next year, you may have to wait a while yet for it to be available. The music and orchestration are fantastic. Go see the show!
I want to give this album more but it is rather lost without the live experience, I give it 6/10 as a cd.
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