Cantus, the esteemed male Twin Cities a cappella classical group, dares to be different with this year's annual pop program at the Cowles Center in Minneapolis.
"Covers: A Pop Concert" involves, for the first time, the performance of an entire pop album.
The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" is not only considered one of the greatest rock albums of all time and the first so-called concept album, but this is its 50th anniversary.
Interpreting this landmark recording makes sense for Cantus because the Beach Boys were about vocal harmonies, and "Pet Sounds" was also about musical ambition.
Mixing the Beach Boys' least sunny sounds with pop material associated with Pentatonix and Paul Simon makes for a very good, non-a cappella program, but it could have been great with a little more creativity.
Cantus' harmonies get a good workout on "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and "God Only Knows." The interpretations are faithful to the Beach Boys' originals, though obviously the close harmonies are different with the nine voices of Cantus.
Backed by a three-man band augmented by bass singer Chris Foss on guitar, Cantus takes chances on "Pet Sounds," reimagining "I'm Waiting for the Day" as a countryish bluegrass number, and "Sloop John B" as a blues battle between Kansas City and Chicago styles. The bluegrass treatment is a pleasant clap-along, but the blues sendup seems misguided, eschewing an opportunity to showcase Cantus' cascading harmonies.
Cantus curtails to a quartet for "Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)," creating a lovely Four-Freshmen-as-church-choir sound. And there's only one word to describe the wall of choral sound that Cantus brings to "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" — gorgeous. The weird clarinet line at the end of the song (rendered by multi-instrumentalist Lee Blaske) is the perfect kind of quirky touch that Beach Boys guiding light Brian Wilson would admire.
