I haven't really talked about the relationship between Rock/Metal and orchestral music on this blog in detail before, which I guess is understandable. Sometimes it works incredibly well and you get a score so epic that even your goosebumps get goosebumps when listening to it and sometimes, to paraphrase Slayer's Kerry King, it's just masturbation on the band's part. However, for the most part, I'm in favour of not only mixing orchestrated music with Rock but also full-on orchestrated covers of Rock music, hence this blog post.
If you dedicate a little bit of time to searching for the right albums on Spotify, you can find many Rock-based orchestra cover albums (not the Vitamin String Quartet, I mean full orchestra although they're great as well) that are worth a listen. Most of them are compilations and contain a variety of different iconic Rock tracks but this post was written to recommend one in particular.
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Plays The Music Of Rush.
This album contains nine of Rush's biggest hits between their 1974 debut and 1982 album Signals translated into a grand orchestral score. Even if you're not a huge fan of the original Rush songs, the covers are perfectly arranged as if they were written specifically for a feature film and do each track perfect justice. There's also good use of vocals in a few tracks, whether it's the single line tail ending "2112 Overture" or the choir used throughout the chorus of "Subdivisions", giving the tracks a little more of a live feel to them.
As the cover art would suggest, there's an air of mysticism about the covers as well and the choice of instruments reflects this. Not only that but as the album progresses, the tracks become more whimsical and fantastical too. The choice of tracklist order means that you'll probably get the most out of this collection by listening to the whole thing from start to finish rather than just picking out your favourite Rush tunes first and giving the others a listen afterwards, although there's easily repeat value to be had in revisiting your preferred covers afterwards.
Whilst there are dozens of bands that deserve the honour of having their music covered by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, there's something about Rush's music that seems to fit the bill more than, say, Metallica or R.E.M. If you could argue that Rush's original music could accompany travelling through space, these dynamic covers would easily accompany travelling into the unknown anywhere in (or outside) the universe due to the mix of traditional orchestra instruments and contemporary Rock-based ones. After all, you can't have a Rock/Orchestra album without some guitars and kit percussion!
One of the best tracks that showcases the blend of these styles is probably "Red Barchetta", breaking into a back-and-forth between acoustic strings and electric riffing shortly before an extended solo that I would rate higher than Alex Lifeson's on the actual record. If I had to find a fault in this collection, I'd have to say that it could've done with a couple of extra tracks, as this album follows the tradition of Rush compilations by choosing a significant portion of songs from Moving Pictures. This wouldn't be a problem if there were more than nine songs, as it would've been good to hear "Time Stand Still" or a faster track like "Bastille Day" too.
Overall though, this is a fantastic collection of orchestrated Rock. A must-listen for fans of both genres and hopefully there'll be a Royal Philharmonix Orchestra Plays The Music Of Rush, Part 2 out in the future, even if all their best known tunes are on this album. That being said, they could always cover the rest of "2112" or more modern tracks like "Headlong Flight", maybe even "YYZ" (I know it's from Moving Pictures but that doesn't mean it can't be split onto a second covers album)?
1. 2112 Overture
2. The Spirit Of Radio
3. Tom Sawyer
4. Subdivisions
5. Closer To The Heart
6. Red Barchetta
7. Limelight
8. Working Man
9. Fly By Night
ALBUM RATING - 9/10
What Rush songs would you like covered by a full orchestra? In fact, which Rock/Metal songs by any band would you love to hear given the same treatment? Let me know on Twitter or the comment section and feel free to request any blog posts you'd like me to write or think about writing too.
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