Peter and The Wolf (1975) - A Rock Version
The original, classical version of Peter And The Wolf was composed by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev in 1936, and premiered on the 2nd May of that year. The original idea behind this creation was to combine the folk tale of Peter And The Wolf with a series of classical instruments, each interpreting a particular character in the tale. The tale is told through the eyes of a narrator who explains the story which is then interpreted by the various cast of musical instruments.
In 1975, a rock version of Peter And The Wolf was released with the majority of arrangements done by Jack Lancaster and Robin Lumley. The whole album was built around the original classical compositions by Prokofiev, though rock instruments represented the characters this time round. What one gets is actually a who's who of the jazz rock scene participating on this album which is actually more fascinating by the various combos that play on various tracks rather than the whole album itself. The album has been unavailable in recent years on CD, and only lately has it become available once again via Jack Lancaster's own Verdant Records label. The track list given above is from the original vinyl version, which differs slightly from that which is given on the CD version.
Line-up/Musicians
The Cast:
- Narrator / Vivian Stnshall
- Peter / Manfred Mann
- Bird / Gary Brooker
- Duck / Chris Spedding
- Duck / Gary Moore
- Cat / Stephane Grappelli
- Wolf / Brian Eno
- Pond / Keith Tippett
- Grandfather / Jack Lancaster
- Hunters / Jon Hiseman, Bill Bruford, Cozy Powell, Phil Collins
Additional Musicians:
- John Goodsall, Pete Haywood, Alvin Lee / guitars
- Percy Jones, Andy Pyle, Dave Marquee / bass
- Robin Lumley / keyboards
- Cozy Powell & Phil Collins / drums
- Bernie Frost, Julie Tippetts, The English Chorale / vocals
