Considering the longevity of the King's Singers' career (which began in the 1960s with performances of the Schola Cantorum Pro Musica Profana, or, as they were more casually known, the Cam River Boys), it's only natural that a greatest-hits album would require two discs, each crammed full of arrangements of popular songs and vocal pieces from the Renaissance to the twentieth century. Whether performing infectious versions of songs by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, smooth standards by Cole Porter and Harold Arlen, sublime motets by Adrian Willaert and Orlande de Lassus, or lush fin de siecle classics by Gabriel Faure and Edward Elgar, the King's Singers always deliver entertainment first and foremost, and make their virtuosic repertoire fully accessible to audiences. Of course, their singing varies from classically polished formality to a more relaxed, even humorous glee club delivery. Fans who appreciate their amazing sound and enjoy their lively manner will appreciate this generous retrospective, which brings together recordings made between 1974 and 1990. 48 songs in all. |