John Keats

Thinking of the poems of Keats one imagines Mediterranean lushness, sensuous music without rival. At first hearing, therefore, Frederick Davidson's voice--austere, clipped, world-weary--seems inappropriate, that is, until one hears how he carves the verse with his voice. Instead of producing the anticipated melodies, he delivers sound in slabs with ironic angles. Davidson's renderings are marvelous and unexpected. The recording doesn't list its contents. Besides making it difficult for a listener to locate favorite poems, this oversight conceals the absence of significant poems. J.F.P. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine