Sarah McLachlan - Surfacing

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic transcriptions of McLachlan's "Surfacing" shine...
Review: I own both of Sarah McLachlan's piano songbooks ("Sarah McLachlan Collection" and "Surfacing") and this is my favourite of the two. I've been playing piano for fourteen years and I've been a fan of Sarah for just as long. "Surfacing" features piano transcriptions that sound almost exactly like the CD. "Building a Mystery" captures the shimmering guitar intro and saucy feel, "I Love You" is a haunting piano solo that trails off into silence, "Sweet Surrender" was my least favourite....that haunting guitar intro just didn't cross over to piano as well. "Adia" sounds just like the recording, as does "Angel," and "Last Dance" performs beautifully (a musical saw played the melody on "Surfacing"). "Full of Grace" was featured on the "Moll Flanders" soundtrack a number of years back and is very delicate; "Witness" becomes a powerful song on piano with its striking, rhythmic bass chords that underscore the melody. "Black and White" was another song that I routinely skip over--somehow the piano just doesn't do it justice. This is the best transcription of popular music that I've ever had the pleasure to play--it is at times haunting, assertive, lovesick and playful. If you are a Sarah McLachlan fan you'll also want to check out the "Sarah McLachlan Songbook" that features songs from "Touch" and "Solace" along with "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy."

Rating:
Summary: This is a great guitar book. Not a piano book!!
Review: I own both of Sarah McLachlan's piano songbooks ("Sarah McLachlan Collection" and "Surfacing") and this is my favourite of the two. I've been playing piano for fourteen years and I've been a fan of Sarah for just as long. "Surfacing" features piano transcriptions that sound almost exactly like the CD. "Building a Mystery" captures the shimmering guitar intro and saucy feel, "I Love You" is a haunting piano solo that trails off into silence, "Sweet Surrender" was my least favourite....that haunting guitar intro just didn't cross over to piano as well. "Adia" sounds just like the recording, as does "Angel," and "Last Dance" performs beautifully (a musical saw played the melody on "Surfacing"). "Full of Grace" was featured on the "Moll Flanders" soundtrack a number of years back and is very delicate; "Witness" becomes a powerful song on piano with its striking, rhythmic bass chords that underscore the melody. "Black and White" was another song that I routinely skip over--somehow the piano just doesn't do it justice. This is the best transcription of popular music that I've ever had the pleasure to play--it is at times haunting, assertive, lovesick and playful. If you are a Sarah McLachlan fan you'll also want to check out the "Sarah McLachlan Songbook" that features songs from "Touch" and "Solace" along with "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy."

Rating:
Summary: Surfacing
Review: Includes: Building A Mystery*I Love You*Sweet Surrender*Adia*Do What You Have To Do*Witness*Angel*Black and White*Full of Grace*Last Dance

It's always great to be able to sit down and play these beautiful songs; this is a great transcription of Surfacing. My only complaint is that Angel was taken down a half-step from the original D flat major-of course, that is me being lazy. I can always take it back up.

All in all, though, this deserves a resounding five stars. The arrangements are just gorgeous, and it's always a rush to be sitting there playing a Sarah song. You can't help looking around to see who is watching. If there's someone nearby when I'm playing, I usually end up scaring them away by stopping every few seconds and saying "Isn't this awesome?"