Tarja Turunen & Mike Terrana - Beauty & The Beat

Published June 03 2014

*=Staff's pick

CD 1:
J.S. Bach - Concert For Violin & Oboe
J.S. Bach - Blute Nur
R. Strauss - Zueignung - Op. 10, No 1
G. Rossini - Barber Of Seville
A. Dvorák - New World Symphony
A. Dvorák - Song To The Moon
F. Lehár - Vilja Lied
Puccini - O Mio Babbino Caro
J. Offenbach - Cancan
Bernstein - I Feel Pretty
G. Rossini - William Tell Overture
Strauss - Mein Herr Marquis
W. Mozart - Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

CD 2:
F. Mercury - You Take My Breath Away
T. Turunen - The Reign
T. Turunen - Witch Hunt
Led Zeppelin Medley
T. Holopainen - Swanheart
F. Sinatra - Fly Me To The Moon
Tarja - Into The Sun
Tarja - I Walk Alone

Genre	Classic/Opera	Tarja Turunen	Vocals
Tracks	21	-	Guitar
Running time	98 Min.	-	Guitar
Label	Ear Music	-	Bass
Release	30 May 2014	Mike Terrana	Drums
Country	Finland/USA	-	Keyboard
Producer	---
Similar artists	---

I would consider this a warning instead of an actual review of an album. I can safely say that most people reading this shit feels comfortable with some kind of metal and this effort from Finnish vocalist Tarja Turunen and American drummer Mike Terrana holds almost nothing of that type of music. I certainly know that this is gigantic tunnelvision, with miles of depth, but I can't figure out to whom this album will reach out to.

To listen to Tarja singing her opera/soprano to famous classical music, performed by a string orchestra, is to me not very far from unbearable. Mike's input to his songs aren't as exciting as one would have looked forward to. It feels pretty lame, and he's unable to adapt to what's there to back him up. I definitely don't doubt this duo's skills and abilities, but this effort seems to mainly function as major ego boosts. On the second disc, the songs have left the classic field and have made room for interpretations of a couple of well known songs and also of Tarja's own material. Still I can't find any attraction whatsoever and this effort seems very tedious to me.

I succeeded on the matter of going through this 2 CD set from start to finish, although I can't understand why I did put any effort into something I dislike this much. Here's an advice: This is something you should get your hands on if: 1. You're a diehard fan of Tarja's work and you can't stand knowing that she has released something which is not going to end up in your rack. 2. Your retailer has a giveaway.

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
8	9	7	8	8

Summary
2 chalices of 10 - Tobbe