- Main performer:
Louis Clark - Booklet languages: English
- Time: 47:55
Review
This is a reissue of the original Hooked on Classics album released in 1981, during what have been called the last days of disco. True to its name, the album was addictive indeed; it spawned a host of successors and imitators, and arguably it brought the "hooked on" phrase into the lexicon of marketing. The original album has itself been reissued several times. It consists of medleys of famous classical tunes underlaid with disco beats. On this album there are medleys of two types. Tracks 1 and 3, titled "Hooked on Classics (Parts 1 & 2)" and "Hooked on Classics (Part 3)" respectively (there doesn't seem to be any previous original in which parts 1 and 2 were separate), are rapid-fire sequences of melodies by various composers. The rest of the tracks are devoted to music of a single composer or type of music; the concluding "Hooked on a Can Can," track 8, begins and ends with Jacques Offenbach's famous Can-Can and throws in marches, polkas, and other upbeat dances by Johann Strauss II and other composers for a grand finale.Certainly the unvarying percussion beats irritate some listeners, but Hooked on Classics had quite a few fans from the classical sphere -- probably even a good number who wouldn't admit to it. The fact is that the medleys, by former Electric Light Orchestra arranger Louis Clark, are artfully done -- more so than they initially needed to be, which has accounted for the longevity of the series. The opening track wedges 18 different selections into about five minutes of music, with the final 1812 Overture taking up most of the last minute. The fun is in the clever ways the tunes are joined together and made to fit a disco beat. Try not to smile at the beginning of "Hooked on Classics (Part 3)" when, after the Mendelssohn Wedding March is used as a short introduction, the Radetzky March, Op. 228, of Johann Strauss I comes in with the electronic beats. The success of the whole concept is tied in some way to its use of music that was originally connected with dance crazes that were disco's distant ancestors. But Clark (who also conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in his arrangements, and seems to have inspired them to have some fun) has a few nice orchestrational strokes of his own. "Hooked on Mozart," track 7, breaks up a few Mozart compositions into little pieces and then rearranges them, assigning the second theme of the easy Piano Sonata in C major, K. 545, unexpectedly to a trumpet. Certainly there are valid critiques of this project, and they begin with the 1981-car-stereo-ready sound, every defect of which has been picked up and amplified in this reissue. But if you don't have this item in your collection for parties and the like, pick it up and give it a try on the exercise machine or the road home from work. ~ James Manheim, All Music Guide
Performances
| Composer | Title | Time |
| Hooked on Classics (Parts 1 & 2) | 5:06 | |
| Hooked On Romance | 6:41 | |
| Hooked on Classics (Part 3) | 6:01 | |
| Hooked on Bach | 5:59 | |
| Hooked on Tchaikovsky | 5:28 | |
| Hooked on a Song | 5:11 | |
| Hooked on Mozart | 4:08 | |
| Hooked on Mendelssohn | 4:24 | |
| Hooked on a Can Can | 4:57 |
