ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER Variations LP 1978 UK. with Colosseum II. Gary Moore, Don Airey, Rod Argent etc. Check audio and video

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ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER with Julien Lloyd Webber, Don Airey, Rod Argent, Jon Hiseman, John Mole, Gary Moore and Barbara Thomson.

STEREO VINYL LP 1978
MCA RECORDS MCF 2824

The sleeve is in excellent condition with no edgewear, marks or creases.

The original inner sleeve with pictures and credits is in excellent condition.

The vinyl is excellent condition with a no marks and a nice shine. It plays really well.

For Fans Of: Gary Moore, Emersion Lake & Palmer

Now we’re getting into the weeds! Albums that promise to fuse rock and classical are ordinarily the last things I would reach for. Perhaps it was the anarchic humour of the sunglasses, headphones and stonking sound system overlaid over a painting of a classical string quartet on the sleeve that made me take a (cheap) chance on this album, but I’m certainly glad I did. Variations is a classical and rock fusion album, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and performed by his younger brother, the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber. Story has it that it was not until Julian beat his brother in a bet on a Leyton Orient football match that Andrew was forced to write his accomplished brother a cello work. As his subject, Andrew chose the theme of Paganini’s24th caprice’, added 23 variations for cello and rock band and premiered the work at the 1977 Sydmonton Festival.

On the recorded version, Julian is accompanied by session legends Don Airey, Gary Moore, John Mole, Jon Hiseman Rod Argent and Barbara Thompson. It’s this distinguished powderkeg of rock virtuosity that really makes this baby ignite.

While most listeners will recognise the thrilling classical and rock mash-up opener as the theme from The South Bank Show, once the band gets halfway through Side 1, the wigs and ruffles come off. By the time we hit Moore-showcase ‘Variation 7‘, classical pretensions are gone and the band erupt into an odd time-signature prog rock freak out that would make Rush sit up and take notes. More likely than not sitting in a bargain bin near you for less than the price of a Grab Bag of Walkers Crisps, Variations is well worth a spin.

It’s beautifully recorded and performed, the tune and its variations are endlessly hummable, and it has stood the test of time while so many other records attempting to fuse classical, rock and jazz have thankfully disappeared into the Great Remainder Bin in the Sky” – Tracking Angle

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SAMPLES:  www.allmusic.com/album/andrew-lloyd-weber-variations-mw0000314358

Variations is a Classical/Rock fusion album by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber and younger brother Julian Lloyd Webber were always very close, but their two different careers (a rock musical composer and a classical cellist) meant that a collaboration seemed unlikely. It wasn’t until Julian beat his brother in a bet on a Leyton Orient football match that Andrew was forced to write his cello work.
As his subject, Andrew chose the theme of Paganinis 24th caprice and added 23 variations for cello and rock band. The work premiered at the 1977 Sydmonton Festival with rock band Colosseum II, featuring Gary Moore, Jon Hiseman and Don Airey being joined by Barbara Thompson (Sax, Flute), Rod Argent, (Piano, Synthesizer, Keyboards) and Julian Lloyd Webber (Cello). It was subsequently rearranged and recorded in 1978. It reached number 2 in the album charts.
The cover is based on the painting Frederick, Prince of Wales, and his sisters by Philip Mercier.

The work was used in Song and Dance and David Cullen made an arrangement of the work for cello and orchestra. The opening and closing variations have been rewritten for cello and piano, the latter of which Julian often uses as an encore, due to its amusing glissando down to Bottom A (forcing a mid piece retune) to conclude.
The opening theme is used as the theme to The South Bank Show and Variation 5 became Unexpected Song with lyrics by Don Black. Variation 18 is an instrumental version of the title song from the first Rice/Webber musical The Likes of Us.
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Andrew Lloyd Webber – Variations
Label: MCA Records   MCF 2824, MCA Records  OC 062-60 397
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: UK
Released: 1978
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Modern Classical, Symphonic Rock
Tracklist:
A1 Introduction
A2 Theme (Paganini Caprice In A Minor No. 24) And Variations 1-4
A3 Variations 5 And 6
A4 Variation 7
A5 Variation 8
A6 Variation 9
A7 Variation 10
A8 Variations 11-15 (Including The Tributes)

B1 Variation 16
B2 Variations 13-14 Varied
B3 Variation 17
B4 Variation 18
B5 Variations 19, 20 And 5 Varied
B6 Variations 21 And 22
B7 Variation 23

Phonographic Copyright (p) MCA Records, Inc.
Distributed By CBS Records

Bass John Mole
Cello Julian Lloyd Webber
Composed By, Producer Andrew Lloyd Webber
Drums, Percussion Jon Hiseman
Guitar Gary Moore
Keyboards Don Airey, Rod Argent
Wind [Wind Instruments] Barbara Thompson
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Matrix / Runout (Stamped, Side A): MCF 2824 A-1U
Matrix / Runout (Etched, Side A): A PORKY PRIME CUT
Matrix / Runout (Stamped, Side B): MCF 2824 B-2U

This is a genuine oddity in the career output of Andrew Lloyd Webber, growing out of a personal/familial vignette. The piece, a set of variations on Niccolo Paganini‘s “Caprice No. 24” (which had previously inspired adaptations by Franz LisztJohannes BrahmsSergei Rachmaninov, and Boris Blacher, among others), came about because Andrew Lloyd Webber lost a bet with his cellist brother Julian Lloyd Webber, and was obliged to compose a work for cello and rock band for him, which was premiered in August of 1977 at a music festival, and subsequently recorded and released on an LP (later transferred to CD) by MCA. At the time, progressive rock was still hanging on to some semblance of commercial viability, and in fairness, MCA had made a fortune off of Lloyd Webber‘s work on Jesus Christ Superstar, etc. The work was later incorporated into Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s Song and Dance, and mid-’80s theater work, and later appeared in a recording on Philips, featuring a new orchestration and the participation of Julian Lloyd Webber with the London Philharmonic under Lorin Maazel. This recording, featuring what amounts to virtually an all-star contingent of players — including Rod ArgentHerbie Flowers (whose playing is outstanding throughout), Jon Hiseman, and Gary Moore — is reminiscent of other rock-classical hybrids of the period, a slightly awkward fit highlighted by charming and delightful moments, along with some bracing moments for the band. As the scoring is rather lean (cello by the Lloyd Webber sibling and a band, complete with synthesizer and other electronic keyboards), it’s a bit less bombastic than most prog rock of the period and there’s also more of a sense of humor in evidence, especially in the quotations hidden within the scoring. The rock players get their moments, especially on “Variation 7” (which is Moore‘s great showcase), and while it’s a little more involved than the typical Yes or Emerson, Lake & Palmer recording of the era, there was something there for the high school or college kid just looking for music to get stoned to. Ultimately, as music, it’s a minor part of the Andrew Lloyd Webber catalogue (though it did, as pointed out, work its way into more substantial pieces and settings), but it’s a lot of fun and charmingly unpretentious.

Additional information

Weight 0.25 kg

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