Hearing these bloodless performances is like listening to someone who has learned a foreign language purely by rote, without bothering to learn what the words mean. Levi and the Atlantans play each note precisely, but without any comprehension or feeling. This is hardly the sensuous, heroic story-teller that Horst Stein and the Suisse Romande Orchestra find in their sparkling collection (with Night Ride and Sunrise substituted for Karelia) - all at a rock-bottom price that completely blows away the current competition.
Copyright © 1996, Tom Godell