Sky • Sky 2
Ariola Records AD SKY 2
Two 33-RPM LPs
Sky were a British instrumental group, formed in the late 1970s. Band members included classical guitarist, John Williams, bassist Herbie Flowers, Tristan Fry on drums and percussion, and Francis Monkman on keyboards. This double album from 1980 first caught my attention at around that time due to the single, Toccata, Sky’s rendition of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (if you think classical music is boring, you need to listen to this track!). The single was backed with Vivaldi, another great piece of classically inspired rock.
The album’s sound quality is pretty good, although the treble can be a little splashy at times. Stereo separation is good, as is the imaging: on a well set up system, you can hear the position of the different tom-toms Fry plays towards the end of the drum solo in Toccata.
A long-time favourite of mine, Sky 2 merits a strong recommendation. The sleeve notes for one of the tracks on this record exhort the listener to “Turn this one up loud”. I couldn’t agree more!