A Fifth of Beethoven is Walter Murphy's debut album and is a grand showing, which is a surprise given how unknown this album is. Seriously, I couldn't find the lyrics anywhere save for one song on Genius and all the tracks have pretty low play counts on Spotify. Chances are that you might have heard the title track in Saturday Night Fever but not much beyond that, which is a real shame considering how good this album is. It's no wonder why I like this so much; the gimmick is that it takes orchestral elements and themes and mixes them with 70's rock and disco flair (ringing any bells?) and I think that it's done masterfully. The tracks that utilize the classical theming use the familiar motifs in a way that gives them a breath of new life through a disco-ified medium. The quality is reflected in the songs that don't go for the classical music angle and instead focus on being purely disco, with a touch of jazz and funk to give it some real depth, and it all just sounds great. It has a great feel and a lot of funk and groove and flow and whatever; it really had me moving the entire time. I'd really recommend this album for it's groovy-ness and pure 70's disco quality, and also just for it to get more recognition in modern era.
Highlights: Flight 76, California Strut, A Fifth of Beethoven, Russian Dressing, Midnight Express, Just a Love Song.
Rating: 5/6
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