A Splash of Pops

1	The Star Spangled Banner / Tanglewood Festival Chorus 2:06
2	Liberty Fanfare 4:19
3	Doodletown Fifers 4:42
4	Overture To State Fair 6:32
5	America 3:17
6	Lift Every Voice and Sing / Tanglewood Festival Chorus 4:50
7	With Voices Raised World Premiere Recording 9:48
8	National Emblem March 2:52
9	Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy 2:39
10	America the Beautiful 3:34
11	1812 Overture 15:37
12	The Stars and Stripes Forever 3:35

Barnes & Noble

This savvy concert of patriotic favorites was recorded live at an outdoor concert on Boston's Esplanade, a summertime ritual for the Boston Pops. Conducted by the handsome young pops-meister Keith Lockhart, the program begins with the "Star-Spangled Banner" -- a version that starts out with surprising tenderness and winds up with Elgarian pomp and circumstance. John Williams's Copland-esque "Liberty Fanfare" provides a dose of adrenaline. The Bostonians aim to please, so while Paul Simon's "America" adds a dash of '60s idealism, the African-American hymn "With Voices Raised" (sung by a group that includes members of the Boston Gay Men's Chorus) underlines diversity. Mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves gives a thrillingly resonant and moving rendition of "America the Beautiful." The concert ends in traditional Esplanade style, with a fleet version of Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" and a snazzily joyful "Stars and Stripes Forever." Maestro Lockhart's youthful energy and enthusiasm has paid off; the Boston Pops hasn't sounded this good since Arthur Fiedler's heyday. Benjamin Ivry

All Music Guide

Designed as an aural souvenir of the Boston Pops' annual Fourth of July concert, A Splash of the Pops is another celebration of America and Americana. Although it contains a handful of new orchestral pieces, such as "With Voices Raised," it is primarily a celebration of classic American music, both classical pieces and pop songs alike. Of course, there's not a whole lot of pop songs -- the "Overture to State Fair," "Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy," and Paul Simon's "America" are chief among them -- but they fit in well with "The Star-Spangled Banner," "Stars and Stripes Forever," "1812 Overture," "America the Beautiful," and "Lift Every Voice and Sing" because Keith Lockhart's arrangements and conducting give it all a uniform style that is distinctly, undeniably the Pops. It's to Lockhart's credit that he keeps the tradition of the Pops alive while subtly developing his own style; this is certainly a Pops record, but he's infusing the group with his own taste, such as Paul Simon. And that's what makes A Splash of the Pops so entertaining -- not only does it capture the feeling of a Pops Fourth of July concert, it sounds contemporary, as well. Stephen Thomas Erlewine