Splendor in the Grass

Another fantastically colorful album!
Is the fourth album considered the "senior" album like the second is its "sophomore"? Either way, I love this album. It feels different from the other three, but stays true to Pink Martini's mission of bringing delightful music, either created or dug up from the past by Thomas Lauderdale and China Forbes. The title track, when cranked on some good speakers can take you to another place, imbuing one with sheer happiness where a smile is impossible to avoid.

CD Splendor in the Grass
This Pink Martini CD, Splendor in the Grass, was shipped expeditiously and the whole operation was very convenient.

It cracks me up! - from an all-time Pink Martini fan
I always get Pink Martini's CDs rather than buying the individual MP3s because they rarely have any song that I don't like and I enjoy reading their side-by-side foreign/English lyrics. Overall, I feel that this album takes the creative path of "Hey! Eugene" further and there are a few refreshing stories in it. Here is how I would rate some of the songs that made a stronger impression on me: 5 Stars: - Ninna Nanna (poetic rhythm) - And Then You're Gone (creative writing) - But Now I'm Back (creative writing) - Bitty Boppy Betty (creative writing) "Gone", "Back", and "Betty" are such lighthearted and humorous story-telling songs that you can literally see the story/characters popping in front of your eyes while listening to them. I first played the CD in my car and they cracked me up in the middle of driving. 2 Stars: - Piensa en mi(Beautiful music, but not a song I'd like to listen to over and over again given the vocal) - New Amsterdam (non-fluent, dull lyrics) Mixed Feelings: - I'm a little disappointed by Splendor in the Grass itself because usually the song that made it onto the album title really stands out (e.g. Hey! Eugene, Hang on little tomato, Sympathique). "Splendor" has relatively weaker or flatter lyrics and rhythm compared to its predecessors. However, the use of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto #1 is quite interesting. When I first listened to the song and main theme of Piano Concerto #1 came out, it sounded so "pre-destined" as if I knew it was going to be there. - I have mixed feelings about Carpenter's Sing. Honestly I do not like China Forbes's voice in this song at all. Don't take me wrong - I love her voice in general - it's sweet, clear, and charming. However, in this song she simply cannot fill the volume and energy defined by Karen Carpenter's deep magnetic voice. That being said, the Spanish version following it eased my disappointment. It offers a completely different interpretation of the music and I really like it. The rest of the songs are all high quality Pink Martini works that are simply enjoyable even though I didn't write about them specifically. I gave the album a 4-star only because this was the first PM album that had a couple songs I didn't like.

Great CD
Fabulous Washington/Oregon Group. Great arrangements beautiful renditions of standards and original music. Great trumpet playing. She has a voice as clear and as musical as the late Ella Fitzgerald. Needs to come East More Often

Solid, but not their best
I have all of Pink Martini's dics. They are great in concert, especially when it's just them. The orchestra gigs they do tend to drown them out. As far as musicianship go they are in a league of their own. Here's how I rank their efforts: 1. Hey Eugene! 2. Hang On Little Tomato 3T. Sympathique and Spelndor in the Grass The slide back after Hey Eugene! is expected. They really were hitting on all cylinders there, and on the whole Splendor in the Grass has some holes like Sympathique did. Some tracks like Que Sera, and New Amsterdam that just get skipped. This disc is still worth having and better than the best efforts put out by most others. Pink Martini just sets a rather high bar for themselves by their own past efforts.