Versus X

Georges Delerue's score to the cult favorite Joe Versus the Volcano beautifully captures the film's complicated mélange of romance, comedy, and suspense. His melodies are light but dramatic, bursting with spontaneity and invention. The "Love Theme" that weaves its way in and out of the onscreen narrative ranks among Delerue's most passionate and memorable pieces, its epic sweep articulated by outsized orchestration. Even more impressive is the climactic "The Storm and the Rescue," a glorious eruption of trombone, strings, and timpani.

This Naxos disc by the five-member Versus Ensemble contains a potpourri of seven different works by Argentinean composer Astor Piazzolla. It includes many of his best known major works – the Milonga del ángel, Verano Porteño, Libertango, and Oblivion – plus five excerpts from his least known major work: his operetta Maria de Buenos Aires. Of the 11 tracks here, four feature either vocalist Enrique Moratalla or soprano María Rey-Joly, one features reciter Horacio Ferrer, and six are instrumentals.

Apogee shows the solo works of Arne Schäfer, the talented leader and singer of German band Versus X. Apart from this collective experience, he's also written numerous tracks, a selection of which is included on "The Border Of Awareness" (1995). He shows there his obvious talents as multi-instrumentalist and as exceptional guitarist. Created by a brilliant composer, this CD reveals an incredible musical culture, that also includes German folk, jazz, Progressive rock, contemporary music and hard-rock. The five long tracks included on "Sisyphos" (1998) show a complex, sophisticated, contrasted and sometimes tortured art with expressive vocal lines, in a spirit close to Peter Hammill's…