Features and Reviews
CD Review: That's Ragtime, By George!!
By George McClellan, that is!
By Bill Mitchell
A Real High Class Rag; Excitation; Exhilaration; Exhaustion; TGIF; Khartoum Rag; Innominate Rag; Fifi; Crazylegs; Cleopatra Asp;Ol' Bighand's Rag; Ragtime Ricksha; Tin Lizzy; Willow Tree Rag; White Pass; Creek Street; Somnambulation Rag
George McClellan, a regular at the Rose Leaf Club meetings, not only plays fine piano, but also composes ragtime, stride, and novelty pieces on the computer. His stuff is catchy and fun to play, but not always easy. However, computers are functionally superhuman, and can negotiate the trickiest of fingering with digits of another order. They are able to come across as convincing player pianos and perform their programmed notes quite flawlessly. Recently George crafted a CD of some of his compositions in limited edition, and it can be purchased directly from him.
George has written the accompanying program notes, with explanations of the titles and/or comments on the music itself. His sense of humor asserts itself throughout his words and music. For example, "Khartoum Rag" and "Cleopatra's Asp" have a playful Egyptian flavor, and "Ragtime Ricksha" offers some Oriental hokum. "Excitation," "Exhilaration," and "Exhaustion" he cleverly calls "The Ex Files Trilogy." "Innominate Rag" is fast and busy. In fact I would nominate it as "The Ragtime Busybody," or maybe "Quidnunc Rag" (Curious? See your dictionary.)
This CD offers a variety of moods and tempos and your editor recommends it to Something Doing subscribers. To order,
Try http://home.earthlink.net/~oldgeorge1/
