I’m currently enjoying the 2014 release of A Psychedelic Symphony by Australian band The Church wherein the Paisley scamps revisit their back catalogue at The Sydney Opera House in the company of an orchestra. Some of the songs have pretty much just replaced the synthesisers on the original with the equivalent strings, and on a couple (The Unguarded Moment being one) they’ve really gone to town on the arrangement.
A couple of other records I’ve really enjoyed have been Spirit of the West’s Open Heart Symphony for which they composed an entire new set/suite of songs, and the Enzso project’s reworking of the music of Split Enz with which they dispensed with the original band altogether.
I wonder if any of our other readers have favourite pet projects involving classically-trained lady cellists slumming it with rock musicians with pretensions and a suitable budget?
“If you like it then you should have stuck some strings on it…”
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Does “Eddi Reader sings the songs of Robert Burns with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra” count? That’s a favourite of mine.
But for every pearl, there’s a K-Tel “LSO plays the Fabs” or that recent Elvis/RPO swine.
A question I am mulling in real time, having been listening to the Dave Gahan/Soulsavers latest, initially less strong than the last 2 Soulsavers projects, the original Dave Gahan one and the 2nd largely Mark Lanegan one, but a grower. As they become less electronica and more conventional modern guitar gospel, so a real orchestra appear on a few tracks, notably this one, My Sun
I keep on hearing Night in White Satin, 3.11 onward, wishing I could banish the thought
By the same token, the ABC gig of a few weeks back, better with Fairlight on reflection.
I’m rather fond of Everything But The Girl’s Baby The Stars Shine Bright which went for the full orchestration bit.
To illustrate the point, here is album opener Come On Home. I’d never seen this video before. I wanted to see if there was anything on YouTube that might confirm my choice and this does it perfectly.
I saw Mono play with an orchestra in London a couple of years ago, and it was suitably epic. I’m sure I’ve posted this here before, or at the old place, or the older place…