Latest releases reviewed

KEANE  Strangers Universal/Island ***

It's strange to think now, but Keane started off as a four-piece guitar band. Becoming guitar-less certainly didn't hinder their progress, as the multi-platinum sales of debut Hope and Fears demonstrate. What's interesting here is the amount of archive footage (we see the band rehearsing for and performing at their first ever gig) at the famed Hope and Anchor venue, alongside other early curios. The one-hour behind-the-scenes film of the band on tour has some surprisingly good moments - the sheer scale of their sudden success is well played out and the band do seem genuinely surprised. Along the way, there are some insightful interviews that add to the overall picture. A particularly full DVD also includes 16 different live performances (including the Coachella Festival), six promo videos and two "making of" videos.

Brian Boyd

WAGNER: DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NURNBERG Soloists: James Morris, Karita Mattila, Ben Heppner, Thomas Allen. Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Conductor: James Levine. Deutsche Grammophon *****

This lavish production from New York has an outstanding cast of notable singers. Sometimes these stellar castings do not work well as a cohesive whole, but in this case the result is a triumph and a worthy salute to Wagner's most genial and loveable creation. Karita Mattila (as Eva) sings wonderfully with power and lyricism, and, while Ben Heppner is very large and bulky as the poetic Walther, he sings the music in an utterly convincing manner. The production by Otto Schenk is classic, sumptuous New York Met, while conductor James Levine gets a rich warm reading of the score from the orchestra. The smaller parts are well taken, and overall this reading does justice to the score. www.deutschegrammophon.com

Colman Morrissey