In late 1997 (released in 1998) a thing of beauty was recorded between opera singers and rock guitarists called “Angelica.” This is a CD that is hard to credit in the who's who department, as there are so many involved, and on different levels as well, contributing to the engineering and other factors. It's almost too much to absorb without spending hours on end trying to piece it all together, and that might have been its fate, but these things can happen when such a project is embarked on by so many people. Either way the end result is a massively enjoyable effort. Never before had I heard a project quite like this one, nor since. In fact I was surprisingly turned onto this by my wife whose musical taste leans more toward rock than opera but she has a great singing voice herself so she was enticed by the combination. This is no longer in print in the US but can be found on import and in used auctions at outlets such as Amazon.com, and it's worth seeking out just for the chance to hear such a meeting of art forms. This doesn't work in every single aspect of the project, but where it doesn't, one would be hard pressed to really point out. It's the overall performance that makes it what it is. Opera has never been considered prog as far as I know, but here it crosses over with ease because of the guitars.

In order to distinguish who contributes to what tracks on guitar here without reading the very hard to read liner notes that are printed in red on black, one must really know one virtuoso guitarist from the next and that just isn't easy. This CD features many musicians, including guitarists: Steve Vai, Dweezil Zappa, Eric Johnson and Steve Stevens. It also features opera singers: Sewell Griffith, Anita DeSimone, Rebecca Semirau and Julia Bonilla. This is a must have for both opera and instrumental guitar enthusiasts, and for that I recommend this extremely experimental CD.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2011  Volume 3 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Starting off a bit slow and mellow, this turns into a guitar extravaganza in parts but finds its way back to its classical feel by the time it's over. The vocals are stunning, as are the guitars.