Though Andre Previn's still-unsurpassed LSO version of the Walton First Symphony is available from RCA at mid-price, and Sir Charles Mackerras's Eminence issue is a formidable rival at similar price, ideally coupled with the Symphony No. 2, there is room for this super-budget version on the Quicksilva label as well. It goes without saying that Vernon Handley is a most persuasive Waltonian, and his shaping both of the overall structure and of individual melody is consistently persuasive. Sadly there are far too many signs that on this occasion the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic was either well below form, or had far too little rehearsal time. With its jagged offbeat rhythms and complex textures this is always a tricky work for any orchestra, and ensemble is generally too ragged here to give the work the full bite it needs. Even so, Handley's expressive treatment of the slow movement is most winning, with some excellent woodwind solos, while in the finale ensemble tends to become crisper, as though rehearsal time was concentrated on it. The 1978 analogue recording is warm and full, but the 1987 digital sound for Steuart Bedford and the ECO in the Spitfire Prelude and Fugue is notably brighter and more immediate, with the playing rather showing up that in the symphony. Whatever the shortcomings, this disc could be a useful introduction at super-budget price for anyone wanting to get to know one of the key works of the 1930s, well-coupled with a stirring example of Walton's film music.'