The Piano Guys releases their 4th album, Wonders

I've always regretted quitting piano lessons when I was younger, but at the time, I was fed up. I hated practicing because I wasn't inspired to play any of the pieces I was learning. I never heard any of the songs I loved played on the piano, or on any classical instrument, for that matter.

That's why I'm so grateful to The Piano Guys for inspiring my sons and helping them love music.  3Po discovered them a couple of years ago on YouTube, and their covers of popular songs made him want to play the cello.  He and Jammy were taking piano lessons at the time, and the Piano Guys' rendition of Vince Guaraldi's Linus and Lucy inspired them to learn the piece on their own!

The Piano Guys are a group of four musical artists -- a pianist, a cellist, a songwriter, and a video producer -- that have taken YouTube by storm with their creative videos and their classical arrangements of pop music. Their videos are amazing.  My boys love watching the Cello Wars (Star Wars Parody) video, where Steven Sharp Nelson wields a cello bow like a lightsaber.  My favorite video is Kung Fu Panda, where Jon Schmidt actually plays a grand piano on the Great Wall of China!  The scenery in all their videos are beautiful, but I love watching Jon and Steve's faces as they play.  Their love of music shines so clearly.  They sound even better than they look.  I could listen to their arrangements of Without  You, Titanium, Let It Go, The Cello Song, and Home, again and again. I adore the sound of the cello and piano together.  Their music lifts my soul.

I was over the moon when I was invited to review their latest CD, Wonders.  I've already bought a few of the songs on the album, but it was great to be able to listen to all of it! 3Po has been playing the cell

Here's the Wonders track list.  My favorites are Don't You Worry Child, Home, Kung Fu Piano, and Let It Go, but every song is great. I can't wait for the day when 3Po (on cello) and Jammy (on piano) can play these pieces for me!

1. Ants Marching / Ode to Joy
2. Batman Evolution
3. Because of You
4. Don't You Worry Child (feat. Shweta Subram)
5. Fathers' Eyes
6. Home
7. Kung Fu Piano: Cello Ascends
8. Let It Go
9. The Mission / How Great Thou Art
10. Pictures at an Exhibition
11. Story of My Life
12. Summer Jam



About Wonders
New York, NY – What began as an experiment and then exploded into an Internet phenomenon has now evolved into an incredible success story. The Piano Guys, four talented dads from Utah, have climbed the Great Wall of China for their craft, landed atop Billboard charts, sold out tour dates around the world, accrued a massive social media following and scored YouTube viewership at 500 million views. Now on October 7, The Piano Guys will release their fourth studio album entitled Wonders (Portrait/Sony Music Masterworks).

Wonders, a nod to the “Wonders of the World,” at which they intend to film music videos, features successful single/video releases from the past year such as, “Let It Go,” “Kung Fu Piano: Cello Ascends,” “Don’t You Worry Child,” and “Story of my Life.” It also includes new songs with strong familiarity – “Batman Evolution” (The Piano Guys’ take on various Batman themes over the years), a mash-up that incorporates melodies from Dave Matthews Band’s huge hit “Ants Marching / Beethoven Ode to Joy,” and Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” – as well as some original compositions by The Piano Guys. Their previous albums – The Piano Guys and The Piano Guys 2 – continue to claim the top positions on Billboard’s Classical and New Age album charts since their release.



Disclosure: I received a sample CD to review. Album info (in italics) was provided by Sony Music.  The views and opinions expressed here are my own.
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