|
|
|
|
Ever since Rhapsody released their epic masterpiece "Symphony Of Enchanted Lands" back in 1998 I have been a huge fan of them. Not because of the cheesy tales of dragons, knights and the honor of fighting all evil in a world of dreams but because of the unique song writing of Luca Turilli and the passionate vocals of Fabio Lione. This mini album is however a very special release from the band as it features a duet between Lione and veteran actor Christopher Lee, a man whose once so promising acting career had long since faded when he was struck by luck in the early 2000s, appearing in both The Lord Of The Rings (as Saruman the White) and Star Wars (as Count Dooku). In the late 50s he was however successful starring in Hammer Film Productions movies such as "Dracula" and "The Mummy". At the age of 83, Mr. Lee is most likely one of the oldest people who have ever performed together with a metal band.
There are several reasons why Christopher Lee's presence on a Rhapsody album is not entirely out of place. First of all he is a classically trained singer and his deep baritone voice does fit in very well together with Fabio's more tender and warmer vocals. Christopher does also hold connections to Italy as he is actually of royal Italian ancestry on his mother's side. As if this wasn't enough his musical heritage can be further traced back to his great-grandparents who founded the first Australian opera company. Believe it or not, Rhapsody is also one of the actor's favorite bands, which should have made it so much easier persuading him to lend them his talents as a singer.
This extended single contains no less than three versions of the title track - the original album version from "Symphony Of Enchanted Lands Part 2 - The Dark Secret", another English version of the song and one version entirely in Italian. Mr. Lee certainly has no problem with the pronounciation as he speaks Italian fluently as well as French, Spanish and German and he is also known to "get along" in Swedish, Russian and Greek. A true linguist in other words. Even though I am also a big fan of Rhapsody as a whole I must honestly say that there are more or less only two reasons why anyone would want this single: 1) you are a collector of every Rhapsody release or 2) it features Christopher Lee.
"The Magic Of The Wizard's Dream" is actually a quite nice ballad but ballads have hardly ever been Rhapsody's strength and it is actually Lee who holds this one up, mostly on his own but still with some assistance from Fabio Lione. "Lo Specchio D'Argento" is a previously unreleased song and a calm and gentle folksy piece. "The Last Angels' Call" is another track off their latest album and the only metal song featured here. It sounds unmistakingly like Rhapsody but it is a rather poor impression of their innovative past. There are two main forces driving the band forth; Luca Turilli - the music - and Fabio Lione - the voice. This single is all about singing and even though Fabio and Christopher are performing without major flaws it fails to live up to the usual high standards of the band.
One more thing, why wasn't the Italian version of the song place on the album instead? It is clearly the best one.
| Tracklist |
| 1. The Magic Of The Wizard's Dream [English Version] |
| 2. The Magic Of The Wizard's Dream [Italian Version] |
| 3. The Magic Of The Wizard's Dream [Album Version] |
| 4. Lo Specchio D'Argento |
| 5. The Last Angels' Call |
: 20.43
| Buy other Rhapsody albums |
