Some months ago we alluded in these pages to Oue's penchant for taking on RCA Living Stereo on their own turf. The musical equivalent of the heavyweight championship being, of course, the "Showpiece" repertoire so indelibly etched in our imaginations in those heady days of Reiner and Munch. Well, Reiner didn't get around to Bolero, or Les Preludes, though Munch actually did two versions of the former for Living Stereo, both with Boston, the first (LSC 1984) one of the RCA greats.

This latest Oue collection has nothing to apologize for, super-sonically. The performances, as always, are efficient, if safe. And, as with previous issues, there are a couple of oddities to tempt the satiated audiophile. In this case the oddest of such is the Klemperer Waltz (sorry, couldn't resist!), which I had not heard before, and if truth be told, would hardly miss if I never heard it again. I cannot apologize for my inability to summon much enthusiasm for the concept of the sonic blockbuster, which, for my taste, makes more monetary than musical sense. But if you must have these pieces, and in the latest la-di-da sound, Oue/Minnesota will more than do.