"Stu Who enters the 90s" A new musical set to open off Broadway... way off Broadway...way, way off Broadway. So far off Broadway that it's in Greenland.
For those of us who cannot sanction the buffoonery of that decade's counterculture, Stu's Hollyridge Strings albums made the 1960s palatable.
Interpretations of 1960s counterculture by artists of the previous generation are so much more subversive and satisfying than the real thing. They are the equivalent of leafing through a 1967 issue of Vogue dedicated to hippie fashion: No real hippie would ever look that clean or stylish.
I was lucky to find a Hollyridge Strings rarity: "The Beatles' Songbook Volume 5," in which our hero Stu turns on and tunes in to the sounds of "Sgt. Pepper" and "Magical Mystery Tour. " In pristine condition, with that gorgeous Capitol rainbow label.
Hollyridge's take on "A Day in the Life" strips away the cheeky "humour" of Lennon's satirical lyrics and instead places the emphasis on the pathos of the melody (which is probably why people miss the cheeky humour of Lennon's lyrics when they listen to the original).
Happy birthday to one of the nicest composers out there who is also a painter, raconteur, arranger and all around good friend. He also spent his 80th birthday conducting his own work in one of the more rousing Golden State Pops Concerts they ever gave!
