Band Of The Grenadier Guards - By Request (CD 1998)

Surely this record must contain something for all tastes: extended selections of tunes from Irving Berlin, Glenn Miller and the Beatles ensure this. However, for me the real highlights, musically, are the welcome appearance of Sir Arthur Bliss's Welcome the Queen, written to commemorate the return of HM from a Commonwealth tour in the '50s, along with Percy Grainger's intricate arrangement of Over the Hills and Far Away. The irregular time signatures of Bourgeois's Serenade add to its charm. The final offering is a transcription by Rodney Bashford, a most illustrious previous director of the band, of Prokofiev's march, Spartakiade. This is guaranteed to keep the toes tapping.