Fantasy

Brighouse and Rastrick
Conductor: David Hirst
Obrasso Recordings: CD907
Total Playing Time: 66.37

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A first glance at the content of this new Brighouse disc on the Swiss Obrasso label immediately brought to mind a comparison with another disc released a few months ago on Egon; namely Grimethorpe in Concert Volume II. Other than providing an entertaining and up to the minute insight into the playing of the two Yorkshire rivals (the recordings were made only three months apart) both discs draw their material from music that has figured in recent concert programmes and, in the case of Grimethorpe, a good deal of music used in their winning performances at the Brass in Concert Championships. Both discs also strongly feature arrangements by Sandy Smith with three of these (‘Valero', ‘If I Were A Rich Man' and ‘I've Got You Under My Skin') being duplicated and giving further opportunity for cross comparison.

Perhaps one of the notable differences in repertoire is that Brighouse's Obrasso disc is very much a vehicle for music published by the Swiss firm themselves; indeed every item is available from and published by Obrasso. Nothing wrong with that, it is an Obrasso produced disc after all. On the plus side this means that there are several original items on the Brighouse disc, something sadly lacking from Grimethorpe's recording which features only one original in Philip Sparke's ‘Pantomime'. On the negative side it seems to throw up a far greater mix of quality in terms of the music itself with a number of items of frankly dubious credentials languishing alongside several excellent pieces and arrangements by Alan Fernie in particular.

It's Fernie that kicks things off with his ‘Prelude to Freedom', a kind of Scotch homage to John Williams and very much in the style of his ‘Olympic Fanfare', intentionally derivative maybe but well written and an effective concert opener. Grimethorpe open their disc with Sandy Smith's excellent arrangement of James Swearingen's upbeat Latin number ‘Valero', a different style of opener maybe but equally effective and which Brighouse choose to place third in their programme. This is perhaps the first hint of the final analysis between the two discs in that whilst Brighouse play with verve Grimethorpe are positively on fire. Of the other two duplications the pattern is similar. Brighouse's bass trombonist John Ingman gives a competent account of Sandy Smith's witty arrangement of ‘If I Were A Rich Man' although the artistry of Mark Frost for Grimethorpe is utterly outstanding, even extraordinary at times. ‘I've Got You Under My Skin' is a closer affair although ultimately it's the stylistic ease with which Grimey's get under the skin (excuse the pun) of the music and the sheer panache of the playing that wins through.

Of Brighouse's soloists it is the inimitable Alan Morrison that stands out. Goff Richards's arrangement of ‘El Cumbanchero' could hardly be more up Alan Morrison's street and to continue the Latin theme Morrison also figures in duet with John Lewis in ‘Spanish Trumpets', a slower paced number skilfully arranged by Alan Fernie. A Fernie original, ‘Rocking Trombones', may sound corny by title but proves an effective Dixie style number, the trombone section making a fine collective sound whilst section principal James Stockdale takes the solo stage in Goff Richards arrangement of the touching ‘Pokarekare Ana'. ‘Rainy Days and Mondays' fares less successfully, the solo horn sounding somewhat tentative with the odd spot of wavering intonation not helping matters. Steve Miles' solo euphonium contribution in Darrol Barry's ‘Libra Fantasy' is one of the more substantial pieces on the disc. In true Barry fashion it's a melodically appealing number that is undemanding on the ear if a little more demanding on the soloist. 

Of the other originals it is Alan Fernie's suite ‘Airs and Dances' that particularly caught our attention. A brilliant bit of Malcolm Arnold pastiche to open (Fernie actually marks it Arnoldesque), great fun and very much in the mould of Arnold's ‘Scottish Dances'. The ‘Air' and riotous ‘Sensato' that follow are no less appealing with the band here clearly enjoying themselves. The two Goff Richards originals, ‘Celtic Knots' and ‘Rock Ovation', show Richards at both his best and worst. ‘Celtic Knots' welds a variety of rhythmically lively melodies together in a Danny Elfman meets Riverdance kind of way. It's scored with Richards' customary skill and is a concert item that would figure well in the programmes of bands not necessarily of Brighouse's standard. ‘Rock Ovation' on the other hand, whilst again effectively scored, is melodically unmemorable and embarrassingly clichéd in its hand clapping and "1812" style ending. Put another way, it comes across as the brass band equivalent of a third rate entry for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Flying back to the arrangements and Derek Broadbent's transcription of ‘Can't Buy Me Love' suffers somewhat the same fate. A bit of a flashback to Floral Dance days for the band is this but the attempt to give Lennon and McCartney's classic a boogie woogie bass line falls woodenly flat despite the best efforts of the band to do something entertaining with it. Best left to the plethora of Beatles tribute bands around in our opinion! Sandy Smith's arrangement of ‘Stingray' is an altogether better affair albeit a slightly odd choice to close the disc. It would be much better utilised as an upbeat opener.             

Obrasso's recording, made on home territory for the band in the Central Methodist Hall, Brighouse, is well produced and comes over well. It is a shame that there are no notes whatsoever on the music however. It is always useful to know a little background to the original items in particular.

If you are in the market for a disc of top concert repertoire then both Brighouse and Grimethorpe have something to offer. Ultimately however, if you don't fancy shelling out for two discs Grimethorpe win the day for consistency, style and sheer entertainment.

Chris Thomas 

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