Blog Tour, Review & Giveaway: Classic: The Rock Album by Jenny Oaks Baker

Hosted by Shadow Mountain Publishing/Deseret Book

Classic: The Rock Album

Jenny Oaks Baker

Classical Music Album

April 7th, 2014 by Shadow Mountain Records

Summary

Grammy-nominated #1 Billboard Violinist Jenny Oaks Baker takes her style to an all-new level with her new release, Classic: The Rock Album. Featuring classic rock favorites like Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin), Sweet Child of Mine (Guns and Roses), and Yesterday (The Beatles), you won't believe your ears as one of the country's most accomplished and acclaimed violinists combines her insane talent with the heart-pumping tunes that have defined a genre for generations.

  

My Review

I really love the album cover. I think it fits and I love the colors and how the red stands out. I just have to say that this album seriously rocks (no pun intended). No, honestly it was amazing! Every time I hear one of Jenny Oaks Baker's songs she just amazes me! Her skill on the violin is so precise and beautiful. Do you know how you can tell if someone is really good on the violin or an instrument? It's because they can make it sing. She definitely makes her violin sing! These songs also felt so inspiring!

Here is a list of the songs that she covers on this album:

1. Liverpool Suite
2. Everybody Hurts (REM)
3. Kashmir/Four Seasons (Led Zepplin/Vivaldi)
4. You Are So Beautiful (Joe Cocker)
5. Scarborough Fair (Simon & Garfunkel)
6. Stairway to Heaven (Led Zepplin)
7. Fields of Gold (Sting)
8. Pinball Wizard (The Who)
9. Sweet Child O' Mine (Guns and Roses)
10. Yesterday (The Beatles)

I was trying to think what my favorite song was from this album. Again, the way she makes her violin sing...I just love it! Her phrasing is perfect. I really loved Liverpool Suite. Her finger-work and bow-work (if that's what they're called) are just amazing. So smooth and just beautiful! There's this part during Everybody Hurts where the song builds into a crescendo and then there's a beat of silence before the song goes soft again and it was so beautiful. That song is kind of sad and depressing in its original presentation, but in her version it was so touching and much more uplifting. In Kashmir/Four Seasons we hear more drums and electric guitar. Her runs are really fabulous. You Are So Beautiful is just pretty, with perfect phrasing. Whoever plays the guitar in Scarborough Fair is obviously very talented too. That's another thing about this album, is she has a really great group of musicians who made the album with her. The quality of talent is amazing! I felt her emotion as she played Fields of Gold. It is a beautiful rendition. Pinball Wizard was just really well done. Again, in Sweet Child O' Mine, her phrasing, runs, how smooth she is, the tone, is all just really fabulous. I felt like Yesterday was a great end to the album.

So, did you get tired of me using the words: beautiful, amazing, perfect, fabulous? This album is all of those things. I would recommend this album to those who like classical music or enjoy listening to the violin, or I might even venture to say those who like the songs on this album and would be open to classical renditions of them.

You can listen to snippets of the songs at Deseret Book's site here under the "Downloads" tab under the album cover. If you like what you hear, you will love this album!

Source: From the publisher, which did not affect my review in any way.

About the Musician

Grammy Nominated Artist Jenny Oaks Baker is one of America’s most accomplished violinists. She received her Master of Music degree from the renowned Juilliard School in New York City and her bachelor’s degree in violin performance from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

She has released eleven albums since 1998. They consistently chart on Billboard, including the #1 spot on the Top Classical Albums chart. Her album Wish Upon a Star earned a nomination for the 54thGRAMMY Awards for Best Pop Instrumental Album.

Jenny Oaks Baker has performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and with the Jerusalem Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Utah Symphony, and the internationally acclaimed Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Jenny performed as a first violinist with the National Symphony Orchestra for seven years before resigning to devote more time to her young family. Jenny and her husband Matthew have four children.

Giveaway

Shadow Mountain Records is being extremely generous and giving away one copy of this album to one lucky winner. It is US ONLY due to shipping costs.
Ends April 11th.

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