Beethoven’s Wig — Product Review

Have I ever mentioned how amazing the Beethoven’s Wig series by Richard Permlutter are?  Because they truly are amazing.  I just wanted to make sure I had told my friends about them.  The whole series is based on the idea of adding lyrics to the most famous classical works.  The lyrics are witty — hysterical really and always work in a way for you to learn at least the composer of the piece and often the title as well.  After the choir sings along with each piece, all of the pieces are repeated in their original form without the choir.  Once you’ve listened to the recording two or three times, you can start singing along on the second half — the lyrics are that good.  We have encountered several of the pieces outside of the context of Beethoven’s Wig and my children have been quick to tell me “Hey, Mom — That’s “Spring” by Vivaldi.” or whatever.  Usually they start singing the lyrics loudly and embarrassing me in public.

This is music appreciation at it’s very best.  In fact, I wish I had thought of this technic in college when I had to take “drop the needle” tests in music history class at Cedarville College (University).  I spent hours listening to that music and still never got higher then a C on those listening exams.  Yuck.

I think my absolute favorite is “Sing Verdi Very Loud” which is an aria from Rigoletto.  Probably because I studied opera in college and love opera and this one is a spoof on opera.  Very funny stuff.  Of course, I also really love the signature “Beethoven’s Wig” set to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, and “You Left the Water Drip, Drip, Dripping Sylvia” by Sylvia always has me rolling in the driver’s seat.  Safely of course.  Actually, they are all my favorites but I had to pick just a few.

You should check the compact discs (there are four) out from the library or buy them on amazon or Itunes.

One final note, if you are a conservative parent you will probably want to skip number five on the first cd (there are three) because number five is the CanCan dance number that includes phrases like “shake, shake, shake your derriere,” “be risque” and other such nonsense not appropriate for our world view.  And there you go, that’s my only beef with the whole series!  Totally worth the time to skip that one song.

{{I have not been compensated in any way for this post — I just wanted to share.  But if you are the author/composer or publisher of this series and want to send me Beethoven’s Wig #3 or #4, I would happily write a review in exchange for a free copy. 🙂 }}