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gridloreI'm a big fan of rock acts teaming up with symphonies in an effort to expand the scope of their music. This started for me with Aerosmith's amazing rendition of Dream On with the Boston Pops on MTV's 10th Anniversary show. The highpoint of the genre, in my humble opinion, was of course Metallica's shows with the San Francisco Symphony, chronicled on the outstanding S&M CD.
Last night, as we channel surfed, we caught pieces of an Elton John show; one with a full symphony and choir backing him up. Somehow, they managed to suck all the life out of these great songs. First of all, there was a barrier between Elton's band and the classical musicians. It looked like the walls at a hockey rink. That visual spoiled things right from the start. One of the great things about the S&M shows was that Metallica was right there in with everyone else.. band members walked around, jammed with violin players.. became part of the orchestra! In the show last night, there was almost a feeling of quarantine. No interaction. Rockers down here, classical up here, and never the twain shall meet!
Then there was the music. Elton John has produced some of my favorite songs of all time, but last night they were listless and dull. Rather than adding to the music, the symphony felt like it was tacked on with no thought. Again, listen to S&M. The late Michael Kamen sat down and actually wrote symphonic parts for the Metallica songs they were going to do. Rather than just backing Metallica, the symphony became part of the band. The result was far more than the sum of the parts.
This has been a pointless rant because I hate to see a good musical opportunity squandered like that.
And I need to get the Bruce Hornsby cover of "Madman Across the Water" into my MP3 collection.
Last night, as we channel surfed, we caught pieces of an Elton John show; one with a full symphony and choir backing him up. Somehow, they managed to suck all the life out of these great songs. First of all, there was a barrier between Elton's band and the classical musicians. It looked like the walls at a hockey rink. That visual spoiled things right from the start. One of the great things about the S&M shows was that Metallica was right there in with everyone else.. band members walked around, jammed with violin players.. became part of the orchestra! In the show last night, there was almost a feeling of quarantine. No interaction. Rockers down here, classical up here, and never the twain shall meet!
Then there was the music. Elton John has produced some of my favorite songs of all time, but last night they were listless and dull. Rather than adding to the music, the symphony felt like it was tacked on with no thought. Again, listen to S&M. The late Michael Kamen sat down and actually wrote symphonic parts for the Metallica songs they were going to do. Rather than just backing Metallica, the symphony became part of the band. The result was far more than the sum of the parts.
This has been a pointless rant because I hate to see a good musical opportunity squandered like that.
And I need to get the Bruce Hornsby cover of "Madman Across the Water" into my MP3 collection.
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Date: 18 Mar 2005 19:54 (UTC)no subject
Date: 19 Mar 2005 01:24 (UTC)no subject
Date: 19 Mar 2005 06:02 (UTC)the local rock station here plays mandantory metallica for half an hour at 2100, and the bethanoodle just found out about it. she excused herself this evening at the appropriate time to lay in her bed and listen to metallica.
i don't know whether to be proud, or afraid.