Marco Cazzola-Gonsenheim on 15th September 2002 [Other reviews]

Little Gems...Mostly a collection of piano driven works. Of particular note is the Swiss Suite which makes this entire album a must have...classical in its approach deeply emotional, yet restrained.

Christian Loebenstein on 24th May 2002 [Other reviews]

“Sophie for Joy”, a wonderful 11 minute improvised Piano piece opens Almost Classical. The demo for “Merlin” dates back almost 30 years and is of stunning sound quality! What I love about the Swiss Suite, is that listening to it, I can well imagine leaning back on a clear summer day, watching the mountains around the lake where I usually spend the summer. This brings back a lot of memories from my childhood. Being half-Swiss myself, it’s about time I get back there this summer, “The Swiss Suite” in my MD-Player! “The Barber of Wigan” is very special. Rick surprises Ramon Remedios with an operetta written especially for him (while Ramon actually thought he should do the Barber of Seville). While the conversation before the actual piece is already funny (and you can hear the audience reaction there), the operetta itself is pure fun, including a lot of Monty Pythonesque non-sense and hilarious rhymes. You can even hear Ramon Remedios laugh. Before switching to Volume 5, I have to check my water supply and, of course, the shampoo bottle... Music: A++ Sound Quality: A+