This one is sort of an extra-credit number in my preschool-level knowledge of classical music. The bulk of the album is Sheherazade, followed by the tame In the Steppes of Central Asia, then the lively Islamey. This isn't a great album for driving because the road noise consumes much of the more subtle moments, especially in the second piece. I'm giving it another go in the office, just to be fair.
I think one of the key early steps to appreciating these works in the modern era is to recognize where they may have appeared in other contexts. Sure enough in 1968, Deep Purple put Sheherazade to good use, oddly enough leading into their own take on the Cream version of Elmore James' "I'm So Glad". Now who is the world would ever have thought of putting those two together?
Jon Lord would do it again in the next album, using Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 as a dramatic lead-in to the Beatles' "We Can Work It Out". Who says those rock musicians have no musical chops?
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