Friendly Rich — Pictures At An Exhibition

For the latest in a long line of odd-ball releases, Brampton, Ont.'s Friendly Rich And His Lollipop People have hijacked this famous work by Russian Romantic-era pianist Modest Mussorgsky, turning what was a romantic piano suite and program music piece into a full blown indie rock jazz-fusion symphony.

Pictures At An Exhibition is essentially the soundtrack to a multimedia show Rich presented in Toronto back in November and is ambitious to say the least — not to mention just plain weird.

Why the piece needed to be rearranged for what he calls "the modern world" is anybody's guess. But the 25 minutes of calculated insanity here is bound to polarize fans. Then again, those the devoted will no doubt point to a release like this as the very reason they listen to Friendly Rich in the first place.

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