LISZTOMANIA (OST)

This is just the kind of an LP that you see in Red Cross circulation centre costing 1 euro and immediately decide to buy it for curiosity, knowing very well that musically it probably stinks. I did so, but my curiosity was more due to the Ken Russell film than Wakeman. The sleeve is full of wild pictures from the film (starring Roger Daltrey as Franz Liszt, featuring Wakeman as a viking cyborg!). Naturally I read what allmovie.com says about it, and it gives very bad review. It's easy to believe, with or without this soundtrack, that it's one hell of a crazy rubbish adult-fairytale film, extremely visual but nearly brainless. Russell does have more valuable films too, and if THEY are not shown in TV anymore either, there's no slightest reason to wish for seeing this one sometimes.

There's not much to say about the music. Wakey has arranged well-known pieces by Liszt and Richard Wagner into a pretentious pop opera style, with some little pieces of his own Lyrics are mainly by Daltrey (THE WHO), who is the main singer; one track is sung by Linda Lewis and one by Paul Nicholas. Must be some B-class actors... But the music is not so VERY bad (if not very good either), and it does have a certain value of interest. Therefor it just reaches into two stars from me.