Cinerama
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Va Va Voom, 5/10
This Is Cinerama , 5/10
Disco Volante , 4/10
Torino , 4/10
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(Clicka qua per la versione Italiana)

Former Wedding Present David Gedge formed Cinerama with Sally Morrell to play orchestral pop, but Va Va Voom (Cooking Vinyl, 1998) betrays mainly a passion for the early 1960s, the Byrds (the mellow harmonizing and jingle-jangling guitar in Maniac), Donovan (the tender and melancholy Hate), the American teen idols. His whispered vocals suit him well when he sticks to this fare. Gedge's misguided program is instead tragically illustrated by the lush arrangements of Kerry Kerry (strings as in Burt Bacharach's worst nightmare and a melody that was meant for Petula Clark) and the emphatic delivery of Hard Fast And Beautiful (cascading strings, operatic refrain and even a late-night Billy Joel piano figure). His paranoia culminates in the orchestral paroxysm of Dance Girl Dance. As the elegant (and humbler) Barefoot In The Park proves, Gedge is a master of the melodic hook, but the orchestra detracts instead of enhancing, and, ultimately, it is the guitar that steals the show.

Following singles include: Pacific (Elefant, 1999), Manhattan (Scopitones, 2000), Wow (Scopitones, 2000) and will be collected on This Is Cinerama (Spinart, 2000).

Disco Volante (Manifesto, 2000) contains more of this third-rate pop tunes that are both derivative and uninspired (146 Degrees, Heels).

Health and Efficiency is the stand-out (i.e., catchiest) number on Torino (Manifesto, 2002), which also include stale repetitions of Gedge's abused pop format such as And When She Was Bad and Two Girls.

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