Orchestrated Rock...Uriah Heep and others


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zau-okpFssg

Released in 1971 Salisbury by Uriah Heep was always one of my favorite Prog Rock albums and groups.

I recently re-listened to the re-mastered title track on my high end system for the first time. Kind of blew my mind. 16 minutes long.

I concluded that I’ve always enjoyed orchestrated rock, which probalby started with Neal Young’s Harvest.

Any suggestions of other classic rock groups that used orchestration would be appreciated.

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Tommy Shaw does fooling yourself with an orchestra of high school kids, I think they're kids? Either way It's pretty amazing. 

I’ll post more that might be of interest.

Anekdoten - Until All the Ghosts Are Gone (2015) / Swedish band that stated off sounding a bit in the King Crimson vein, then got a bit more ambient in their middle releases, but their latest is pure symphonic prog. Mellotron and cello add to the symphonic feel.

Renaissance - Turn of the Card, Ashes Burning, Novella, Scheherazade and Other Stories, and Live at Carnegie Hall (with the NY Phil) / Beautiful symphonic prog, with great bass and keys, and the incomparable Annie Haslam on vocals. She has a 5 octave voice, with near perfect intonation, and loads of emotion. She really is a wonder!

Wobbler - From Silence to Somewhere (2017) / From Norway. All their recordings are great, this is probably their best. Melodic, complex, with loads of contrasts between quiet introspective passages, and intense passages. Besides symphonic sounding keys, there is also quite a bit of flute and other woodwinds to add to the symphonic feel.

All Traps on Earth - Drop of Light (2018) / To bad this band seems to be a "one and done" band, because this was probably the best prog release of 2018. Loads of Mellotron, concert percussion, flutes, recorders give it a very symphonic sound. This recording is like an expert class in Mellotron playing.

Opeth - Pale Communion (2014) / From Sweden. Made their reputation playing progressive black-metal, but they always had a symphonic prog streak, Then, they they dropped the black-metal with their 10th release, Heritage, and dropped the growls. But even Blackwater Park, and Ghost Reveries from the black-metal period are pretty great albums, with plenty of symphonic feel. Growling vocals, so YMMV.

 

I think Disturbed’s “Sound of Silence” is a nice juxtaposition of genres with orchestral accompaniment…

https://youtu.be/u9Dg-g7t2l4?si=C2GoWtQ62a7ORO4h