That's my problem with The Bostonians' Quarter Past Nine . I mean, geez, give me 22 singers, and if I can't hold your attention with covers ranging from Irene Cara to Ace of Base to Toad the Wet Sprocket, then take me to the a cappella river and drop me in the water. Normally, that would be enough to keep their disc in my CD changer for a while. But it keeps coming back to 22. That's not an a cappella group, that's a football game.
Truth is, the fact that they sound as good as they do is to their tremendous credit.
Singing a cappella arrangements with that many people often leads to a preponderance of sloppy timing, misplaced articulation, and scattered intonation. Well, contrary to popular belief, size does matter, and there is such a thing as too big. I know this point is more philosophical than musical, but much of the brilliance of the best, professional a cappella groups lies in their ability to do more with less, not more with more. With 22 people at their disposal, I couldn't help thinking that The Bostonians felt less like an a cappella group and more like a really hip, funky, co-ed Glee Club that decided to sing Save Ferris instead of Shenandoah . If you think I'm full of crap, you'll absolutely go bonkers for this album.