David Lanz Re-Imagining The Beatles

Liverpool (to be released September 28 on Moon Boy Music) isn't the first time Lanz has approached the repertoire of the Fab Four or their British Invasion kin. On his acclaimed 1998 masterpiece Songs From An English Garden, he presented his versions of such Beatles classics as "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "I'll Follow the Sun," as well as timeless tunes originally recorded by the Rolling Stones, the Moody Blues, the Kinks and other English bands of that golden rock era. And on Cristofori's Dream, the landmark 1988 album that topped Billboard's very first Adult Alternative/New Age chart for an astonishing 27 weeks, Lanz reworked Procol Harum's magisterial "A Whiter Shade Of Pale." A stunning reinvention of the 1967 Summer of Love hit, many consider Lanz's adaptation of the song second only to the original -- no doubt due, in large part, to the participation of original Procol organist Matthew Fisher on the track. (Additionally, Lanz earned a Grammy nomination for his 2000 composition, East Of The Moon).

But, says Lanz, "Liverpool is the first time I've gone in this deep just with Lennon-McCartney, who were my first role models as a songwriter." For the recording, Lanz is joined by flutist Gary Stroutsos, cellist Walter Gray and a number of guest musicians, among them the celebrated session musician Larry Knechtel, who passed away just weeks after contributing a Hammond organ part to "Rain Eight Days a Week," a composite of two familiar Beatles tracks. Produced by David and his brother, Gary Lanz -- who also plays autoharp on the opening track, "Liverpool," David's sole original on the album -- Liverpool finds Lanz taking music that has long been ingrained in popular culture and doing the impossible with it: allowing us to hear it anew.

The album marks the third time that Lanz and Stroutsos have paired up for a project, while Gray, an original member of the renowned Kronos Quartet, has been a member of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra for some 30 years. The mesh of the three individual musical voices is seamless. Bass and drums also add spice as needed.

Liverpool consists of several melodies that will be instantly recognizable to anyone who's delved into the Beatles' catalog beyond the most obvious and popular tracks: "Things We Said Today," "Lovely Rita," "Norwegian Wood," "Yes It Is" and a couple of medleys whose titles should make their content apparent to even casual Beatles fans, "Because I'm Only Sleeping" and the aforementioned "Rain Eight Days a Week." The album begins with the title track -- introduced with the sounds of Liverpool's own Mersey River -- and concludes with "London Skies," a suite built around a handful of John Lennon's most poignant compositions: "Tomorrow Never Knows," "Across the Universe" and, as the album nears its end, "Give Peace a Chance," the song that sums up the Beatles' message so profoundly. In between, preceding "Lovely Rita," sits a brief interlude titled "Teatime for Rita," featuring the voice of Richard Olivier, the son of the brilliant actor Sir Laurence.

The release of Liverpool coincidentally arrives during the year that would have been a special one for Lennon, had he not been taken from us. "Even though John Lennon won't be here with us on October 9th to celebrate his 70th birthday," says Lanz, "the spirit of John and his brilliant music will live in our hearts and minds forever."