April 7, 2005

Fleet Street Singers

Stanford University's elite 15-man a cappella ensemble brings us "Fleet Street," a manic, dramatic, surprising, very funny collection of 15 originals, written, arranged and performed by the group. "The King of Plumland," "All Original," "Life Sized Barbie" puts the lie to the contention that there's no dating at Stanford; "Everyone Pees in the Shower" shines the harsh light of truth on humanity's dirty little secret; "Love Song" is a tender tale of kisses, double homicide and bodies under the floor; "Lawyer" is a crazed tale of what we all suspect goes on behind the scenes at "Boston Legal," "Olympic Recession," "Losing Laura," "Clear Skies," "Teen Angst" basically beats the concept to death, "Pokey the Penguin" is pure children's book silliness, "Life" describes your life in such a way that suicide is really the only option, "Gift of the Gods/The Dawn of Battle" and the final cut, "The Lords of A Cappella," with the deathless chorus line: "Although we may seem fearsome, we ain't got Salmonella, and we are the Lords of A Cappella!" This is inspired silliness, written especially by Michael Solomon, Michael Bernstein and others. "Fleet Street" is funny stuff that must either be enjoyed in a live performance with a pitcher of beer, or on this CD! All lyrics are featured on the foldout liner notes, which have a full-bleed closeup of a hunk of swiss cheese (don't ask!) 1751 CD 14.98

Posted by acapnews at April 7, 2005 12:28 AM