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SITE RATING:  5/10 SITE REVIEW:  The Mormon Tabernacle Choir's second stab at Messiah was under the baton of their own conductor, the eminent Richard P. Condie in 1973.  Unlike their first recording, with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra (which was a heavily pared-down "complete" version), this album consists entirely of Messiah choruses, and even then, is not a complete collection, but a selection.  The album has the benefit of brighter tempos than Ormandy used, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir are well-balanced, but to my ears, the choir still sounds very heavy and amateurish, despite their evident enthusiasm (for comparison's sake listen to this album, and then listen to any of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's recent albums on their own label - their sound is markedly more refined than here.)  Another problem on this album is the recorded sound - I'm assuming this was recorded in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, which is essentially a huge echo chamber, and everything here rather melts together in a buttery slush that defies clarity and separation, but even so, individual voices pop out all over the place - overenthusiastic tenors and sopranos apparently trying to one-up each other in their evangelical devotion.  That said, I defy anyone to hear a more gloriously performed version of the "Hallelujah" chorus than here - it truly rings with an extra measure of spirit that is lacking on too many other Messiahs.

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