2. music
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Big orchestral sound in pop, rock etc.

Most of the times pop, rock, soul etc. music is done by the same basic band (guitar/bass/drums) and one or more singers. Now I´m looking for albums that go bigger, where the band uses more musicians to produce a bigger sound. I´ve always been a fan of Elvis´ early 70s live albums and recently came across a few more live albums that may not share the same musical sensibilities, but which have a big orchestral sound: More people playing instruments, more background singers, full stage, full sound. I like that. Maybe you know a few more examples of musicians and bands that dared to go big. I don´t neccessarily mean the “XY plays his old hits with an orchestra“-thing even though that can result in great recordings too. Here are some big sounding albums I like:

Joe Cocker – Mad Dogs and Englishmen
Procol Harum – Live in Concert With The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra
Elvis – All the big Vegas shows from the early 70s
Sufjan Stevens – Illinois
Chicago – First few albums (still working my way through them)

chmaiwald

Showing 3 responses by bdp24

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bdp24
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@chmaiwald: I got the Joanna Newsom album because of the involvement of Van Dyke Parks, and even after multiple listens haven’t been able to get into it. I’ll try again!

Speaking of Van Dyke Parks, his debut album Song Cycle is another heavily orchestrated album, and a stunner. Also an audiophile quality recording.

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bdp24
9,465 posts
 

If you want to get very ambitious and adventurous, look for a copy of St. Giles Cripplegate, a 1972 album of modern Classical music written by Jack Nitzsche and performed by The London Symphony Orchestra conducted by David Measham (Reprise Records MS2092).

Nitzsche was Phil Spector’s arranger and orchestrator (including the incredible "River Deep, Mountain High"), and did the same for a number of Rock bands, including Buffalo Springfield (on Neil Young’s "Expecting To Fly") and The Stones. He and Ry Cooder produced Neil Young’s debut album, and Jack later played piano on a number of Neil Young records, including Harvest. He’s all over the debut album of Crazy Horse, a fantastic album. He also did a number of soundtracks, such as Performance, The Exorcist, and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. A very talented guy.

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bdp24
9,465 posts
 

 

- Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys.

- Randy Newman's debut album is heavily orchestrated, but he is far from a Rock band.

- Phil Spector's 1960's productions feature a large ensemble (often three bassists, two pianists, up to four guitarists, numerous string and brass players).

- On their Rock Of Ages live album The Band augmented their 5-piece line-up with a great horn section, the charts written by Alan Toussaint.

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