I’ve been thinking about this post for a while.
A couple of months ago there was one of those anniversaries that come around these days, I think it was maybe Bobbie Gentry’s birthday. Anyway “Ode To Billie Joe” popped up and I listened to it again and was struck by the arrangement – just Bobbie and guitar and the strings. Here’s a brilliant revealing piece about Jimmie Haskell’s arrangement and how he approached it. And does the name Jimmie Haskell ring a bell? It did for me, as one of those inveterate readers of album cover credits. You can start with the “By The Time I Get To Phoenix”
Is there are song you love where the string arrangement absolutely makes it?
I can think of several more…
http://jazzbackstory.blogspot.com/2014/06/an-ode-to-billie-joes-arranger.html
Glen Campbell “By The Time I Get To Phoenix” – strings arranged by Jimmie Haskell
Even better I would venture. Wires = strings. Arrangement by Al De Lory
Al De Lory – also responsible for this “youth club” northern soul gem – plenty of sawing strings.
And talking of Wichita Lineman – here’s a 42 minute instrumental version…sadly no string arrangement but plenty of dreamy guitar noodling
Cheers Morrison – just chilled nicely to that one. Nice thread Mousey.
Got to mention Robert Kirby’s arrangements for Nick Drake.
Actually, River Man is the one string arrangement on “Five Leaves Left” that wasn’t by Robert Kirby. It was done by Harry Robinson.
Fruit Tree is my favourite Kirby-arranged track on that album.
In November I shall be seeing John Wood sound engineer talking about the recording of Five Leaves Left.
Should be an interesting night.
There’s a lovely compilation of Kirby’s stuff on Ace
Yes. I was looking at that with greedy eyes while researching him yesterday.
Where’s John Wood appearing Hubert? I would very much like to meet the great man.
The wild world of Pontefract at the Cat Club if that’s any help @Artery
Thanks @hubert-rawlinson We’re keen to go – never been to the licorice fields of Pontefract. However the Cat Club website says tickets are “out of stock”. Hmm. I’ll give them a ring tomorrow. Assuming they are still available can you recommend a decent small hotel somewhere nearby?
Any luck @Artery?
@hubert-rawlinson No luck. Sold out I’m afraid. Assuming there are questions from the audience I wonder if you could ask a question on my behalf? I have always wondered about the mastering to vinyl of the records. John Wood used to do the lacquers for Decca classical in the mid sixties and no details of mastering for Sound Techniques recordings have ever been published to my knowledge. I would like to ask if the studio had its own cutting lathe and if John did the mastering personally, or if not, who did, and where? Thanks in anticipation.
@Artery will do. Sorry you couldn’t get tickets only a small venue alas.
@Artery sorry for the delay in answering . Sound Techniques did not have their own lathe and mastering was sent out. John said some mastering was done at Apple I’m afraid I can’t remember any others mentioned. Sorry.
I did find out that Harry Robinson was Lord Rockingham (Hoots Mon)
Thanks @Hubert_Rawlinson So the great Island records were sometimes mastered at Abbey Road I presume. Now that is news. Thanks so much for asking!
Well well. Every day’s a schoolday.
Paul Buckmaster’s strings on the Stones “Moonlight Mile” are worthy of praise.
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He did a few pretty good ones on Elton John’s stuff too.
�Misty Roses� to Denny Laine�s �Say You Don�t Mind� depend almost exclusively on string quartet arrangements by Chris Gunning.
�Misty Roses� to Denny Laine�s �Say You Don�t Mind� depend almost exclusively on string quartet arrangements by Chris Gunning.
The late, great, and much-missed Kevin McCrae did the arrangments on Eddi Reader sings the songs of Robert Burns. The Royal National Scottish Orchestra play and whole album is just sumptuous.
This is the one non-Trad./Burns songs on the album, Wild Mountainside, written by hubby John Douglas of the Trashcan Sinatras to encourage Eddi to move out of London and back to Scotland. I think I have something in my eye.
That was fascinating, Mousey – listening to the song after reading that was a revelation.
Good blog too.
Harry Nilsson’s fabulous cover of “Everybody’s Talkin’”.
String arrangements by George Tipton.
https://youtu.be/2AzEY6ZqkuE
R.E.M.’s Nightswimming. Strings arranged by John Paul Jones out of Led Zeppelin. They come in at about 1:10. Nice.
Wally Stott’s work with Scott Walker is glorious
There’s a poignant moment in the 30th Century Man documentary where Stott is hearing this for the first time in many years, probably since the 1960s. He/she seems genuinely surprised
How on earth didn’t Wally Stott’s arrangements come to mind first ……. Only excuse…. getting really old !
Anne Dudley has provided string arrangements for a wide variety of people. She’s also the sister of fiddle player for hire, Bobby Valentino. She worked on what I always think of as a great student album, Lloyd Cole and the Commotions’ Rattlesnakes.
Just out of interest, why do you think of Rattlesnakes as a ‘student album’?
Certainly in my first year at Uni it was a staple of the student bedroom, along with Eden by EBTG and the first Orange Juice album.
Yes, I can see the appeal. Perhaps when I first heard and loved it at 24 I was just trying to be down with ver kids!
I didn’t go to uni but as Mr Moles says, it was ubiquitous among a certain demographic. I still quite like it.
Fiachra Tench (Pogues, Sinead etc) and Dickson Hinchcliffe (Tindersticks) are two of my favourites .
Very understated until the last minute, then just lifts the track to a whole other level. Arrangement by Deodato, he of Also Sprach.. fame
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnZzE89Qn7w
I also thought of Bjork and Deodato but this one. I can never play it just the once:
Yes, I agree. The Icelandic String Quartet are superb too.
An arrangement so prominent it’s virtually eclipsed the song – it’s by John Metcalfe (a bit of googling tells me) who has written a handy guide in Q including this song, on how to arrange a pop song:
https://www.qthemusic.com/articles/column/guest-column-strings-attached-john-metcalfe-on-how-to-arrange-pop
Great thread idea BTW @mousey
Final one – string sextet, arranger Dave Lawson, who also played on The Dreaming and on the Man Who Fell To Earth Soundtrack and OF COURSE played with Stackridge
George Martin was never less than excellent. I actually think his best work was with George’s songs. The string interaction with the Indian musicians on Within, Without You is breathtaking and his arrangement for While My Guitar Gently Weeps on Love brings a tear to my eye. This month, my favourite is for the upcoming Something. No wonder he was a bit miffed over She’s Leaving Home, which actually suits the schlock it’s subjected to.
Agreed. Generally lush strings make me feel queasy but George Martin’s arrangements, e.g. the octet on “Eleanor Right” are superb. Contrast with the syrupy glop ladled all over “The long and winding road” which is everything I dislike about strings.
Eleanor Right? Is this some unheard alternate take? 😉
Might as well give George Martin a mention. Beatles arrangements aplenty, of course, but this one for Jeff Beck’s version of Bernie Holland’s “Diamond Dust” is a pearl.
I was going to say Paul Buckmaster on Moonlight Mike, but it’s already been mentioned above. Probably my favourite string arrangement evaah.
But three more spring to mind. Forgive me for the lazy post but I’m on bus wi fi and my ability to google and paste YouTube links is somewhat curtailed:
– The strings at the end of U2’s All I Want Is You. Their finest moment?! Not sure who the arranger is.
– The coda on Primal Scream’s Carry Me Home. Eerie. Don’t know the arranger.
– The end of The Divine Comedy’s The Certainty of Chance. Now this I DO know. It’s Joby Talbot, who also did the music for League of Gentlemen. In fact, he did a lot of stuff for Divine Comedy and it’s all brilliant.
@Arthur – don’t know who sorted out the Primal Scream arrangement but I seem to recall Van Dyke Parks covered the strings for U2.
Tony Visconti – string arrangements, orchestration, and all round top notch production.
Marc Bolan and David Bowie being 2 notable beneficiaries
and now I’ve thought about, here is fine example
T.Rex Cosmic Dancer
Speaking of The Dame, a very honourable mention for Mick Ronson who, at his first attempt, scored/arranged the strings for possibly Bowie’s best and best-loved song.
I read that someone working with Mick Ronson in his later years told him they’d heard “Walk on the Wild Side” on the radio that morning. “Another fifty quid for you!” Ronno sighed and said “I wish”
Ronno did these too – Perfect!
Tony Visconti was busy adding strings to the Young Americans in London while Bowie met Lennon in New York. Only two of the tracks retained his efforts. At least it included this one.
Can You Hear Me?
If we’re looking beyond ‘rock’, I have to mention the great Gordon Jenkins, whose string arrangements imbued some of Frank Sinatra’s most exquisite ballads with an incredible depth of melancholy.
Yerrbut. Nelson Riddle.
Yes, of course Nelson, but I see him as more a full-orchestra maestro, with the brass section integral to the sound. I see Jenkins as more exclusively and strikingly string-centric.
Ok then.
David Palmer, future keyboard man with Jethro Tull, did a stunning job of wistful baroquery on Bert Jansch’s 1967 album ‘Nicola’.
Here’s a few:
Torrie Zito – perhaps best known for the strings on Lennon’s “Imagine” and apparently Sinead O’Connor but his best work for me was with Morgana King on her classic “It’s a quiet thing” – shimmering weightless arrangements for Mama Corleone’s unique vocal stylings. Later in life married jazz singer Helen Merrill and also worked with Sinatra, Tony Bennett and the like.
Claus Ogerman – for the Sinatra/Jobim album but also Bill Evans, a couple of effortless Diana Krall sets and the classic “Amoroso” by Joao Gilberto. More recently, there’s a great album with pianist Danielo Perez:
Also a big fan of Vince Mendoza – “Epiphany” is a stunner – and really like his orchestral work with Joni Mitchell. And as recommended above – Robert Kirby – nobody does English bucolic better and the Ace compilation is fantastic.
Then there’s any number of arrangers of classic soul records – Paul Riser at Motown, Gamble and Huff at Philly International alongside Thom Bell who was behind all those great Atlantic records of the mid-70s – not forgetting Gene Page who provided sumptuous string arrangements for countless artists from the mid-60s onwards and all those ridiculously over the top Barry White hits.
Not forgetting Patrick Moten who died very young yet managed to create sophisticated string settings for the likes of Bobby Womack and Johnnie Taylor amongst others in the 80s/90s.
Gene Page arranged the strings on this. Listen to how he brilliant works around the vocal
Dead right, the exception to my strings dislike is the whole area if soul music which seems to get it right where the rock n pop world just doesn’t.
Going back an era, Gordon Jenkins was the strings man for Sinatra and Nat Cole. It seems that Frank’s player pals though Gordo was very straight So be it, this is in my all time top ten.
GJ mentioned upthread 😉
I see it now. The video still stands!
What a brilliant thread, if I say so myself. It’s interesting that most of these arrangers I have never heard of. But I reckon I would recognise songwriters’ names more (if they weren’t the artist). My recording engineer mates would know the studio and/or engineers
And bringing us right bang up to date – in Afterword geological terms at least – Nellee Hooper has some good ones, which always sound slightly woozy to my ears (in a good way), not least with Massive Attack. The strings get a showpiece 20-second coda all to themselves on this one:
Is this not Craig Armstrong? He met Nellee before Protection and brought his orchestration skills to the table. He also wrote the lovely piano medley on Weather Storm, too.
Protection was released in 1994, 25 years ago! Two of my adult children weren’t yet born.
This I think is better even that that as a string arrangement. Having Liz Fraser on board doesn’t hurt either.
Thought it was Hooper – and the first link I got to said so. Soz. Substitute ‘Play Dead’ by Bjork then, that’s probably him.
No. That’s David Arnold. Hooper had nothing to do with Play Dead.
It was added to Debut in 1993, after it was a hit single. Apparently, a hundred people phoned the record company and complained their copy, bought earlier, didn’t include the track, demanding a replacement. Daft sods. Play Dead doesn’t belong on Debut. It spoils the vibe. It’s a great stand alone single or part of a soundtrack but leave it off Debut.
OK he probably did Groove Armada’s early stuff then. I’ll get one mof my researchers to look into it.
Over there! A Squirrel!
I think you’ll find he got someone else in to arrange the strings.
Here’s a Wil Malone arrangement that is otherworldly.
Great thread – heres 3
Vince Mendoza (already mentioned) did some beautiful stuff with Joni in her later years, notably on Case of You which makes me weep.
Martyn Ford worked with Caravan and Barclay James Harvest amongst other and really did manage to integrate orchestral music into prog rock and make it work.
David Bedford , who was a respected avantgarde composer, brought real adventure to artists like Kevin Ayers as in this track (similar to Ron Geesin’s ‘out there’ arrangements for Floyd on AHM)
John Cameron did some lovely stuff for Donovan
This song has been in plenty of other Afterword lists, but also deserves a place in this one, thanks to the work of William S Fischer, credited on Roberta Flack’s First Take LP for string and horn arrangements. The string parts on this song are reminiscent of those in Ode To Billy Joe, in that their sparseness really work in the song’s favour (I’m such an expert in these matters).
Jean-Claude Vannier – did the arranging and strings for Serge Gainsbourg as well as his own stuff. There’s a feature on him in the most recent Mojo and also on the Quietus.
https://youtu.be/DRieCNVKEyI
Jocelyn Pook made up part of Orchestra Bam for the 3 Mustaphas 3. String arranger and a great name.
John Paul Jones got rightly mentioned ↑ but deserves another shout for his Eastern-tinged orchestration in Kashmir.
Throwing in Tony Visconti for the strings on the re-released Conversation Piece by Bowie.
Though I love the clarinet on the original recording. For some reason, I though the arranger was Mike Batt, but it was probably Visconti again.
Another example of John Paul Jones’s orchestration skills, my favourite Rolling Stones song, She’s A Rainbow.
What did you think of World of Twist’s version?
Crap, I thought. Good band though but.
Hmm. Not much.
Cracking thread, Mousey! So many gems.
I really enjoyed that Bobby Gentry clip. Amazing strings and her mascara is in a league of its own