Arranged by Fiona Brice, these 16 orchestra-assisted performances of some of the majestic moments from American singer-songwriter John Grant’s career.
Whether it’s the emphatic swell of ‘GMF’ or the delirious rage of ‘Queen Of Denmark’, these are arrangements that feel more like fresh collaborations. Songs hardly crying out for improvement are delivered in sensational and celebratory form, with Grant in quite phenomenal voice throughout.
The particular delight of hearing part of Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C# Minor open ‘Pale Green Ghosts’, whose own string arrangement is based thereupon, is hard to surpass, although the sombre, emotive take on ‘Drug’, from Grant’s former band The Czars, makes for as beguiling a four minutes as any here.
This is no between-album stopgap. The obsessed and uninitiated will be equally enthralled by this genuinely special performance.
The Fat Angel Sings 