After a long, rather chequered and often controversial international run of the musical Chess, this CD was recorded during a live performance of the show at the Royal Albert Hall last year and yet again the reviews were mixed.

The praise was for the music, the lifted eyebrows was, again, for the plot and story itself.

For although the show has variously flopped and folded, and the rather intricate, at times thin and complex, plot of a two-act World Chess Championship left many underwhelmed, the musical score is not to be faulted.

In fact, two singles from the show, as well as the album itself, became substantial hits in their own right.

Like all musicals one really has to review Chess against the two criteria - music and acting.

I have not seen any live Chess concerts, but the music certainly is of high quality. The trouble is one has to visualise the drama and intricacies of the unfolding events and drama with the accompanying musical score to fully appreciate the final product and also perhaps better understand why some directors just could not quite blend the two together plausibly enough for success.

Recorded and produced originally way back in 1984 the show migrated to London's West End two years later where it ran for about three years, never quite reaching the popularity and financial greatness the music promised.

Celebrated musical genius Tim Rice had for many years dreamt of rejuvenating Chess and blowing new life into it. And this is precisely what he has succeeded in doing with this recording.

To help him he pulled in big names such as director Hugh Wooldridge, arranger Anders Eljas, conductor and musical supervisor David Firman and singing stars such as Josh Groban and Idina Menzel.

Apparently Groban delivered a superb performance, in spite of his lack of acting skill, with his voice drawing wide and vociferous praise.

Certainly his album version of 'Anthem' is warm, deep and moving and undoubtedly one of the highlights of the recording.

Other good numbers include Kelly Ellis' 'Someone Else's Story' and the upbeat dance hit, 'One Night in Bangkok' sung by Adam Pascal.

The music, by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus of Abba, is intriguing and pleasant enough and one can feel the wit and lightness that Rice has brought to the proceedings as the drama of the championships unfolds.

I still believe the plot is too thin and disjointed and sadly, although the songs are well presented, the one without the other somehow just doesn’t quite gel.

To really appreciate and do full justice to this album one really should have seen the actual concert, either live or on DVD. For although the music is no doubt superior, the songs on their own, with one or two exceptions, are not quite entertaining enough to stand.

In short, it's not the sort of album you would sit and listen to for just pure musical entertainment once you’ve heard it once or twice.