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Dec 14, 2023 · Any list of symphonic rock bands has to include the names Pink Floyd, the Moody Blues, Yes, Genesis, Electric Light Orchestra and Jethro Tull. These groups are some of the best symphonic rock bands of all time and have played countless sold out concerts worldwide.
- The Beatles: ‘A Day in The Life
- Buffalo Springfield: ‘Expecting to Fly’
- The Moody Blues: ‘Nights in White Satin’.
- Procul Harum: ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’
- Led Zeppelin: ‘Kashmir’
- Grand Funk Railroad: ‘(Closer to Home) I’m Your Captain’
- Mercury Rev: ‘The Dark Is Rising’
- Yes:‘No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience needed’
- Metallica: ‘Master of Puppets’
We often think of symphony orchestras as being somehow associated with Prog Rock, that very British of musical styles, with its intricate flourishes and grandiose concepts, and yet there are many examples of American artists embracing the style. In the same year as The Beatles were at Abbey Road, producer and arranger Jack Nitzsche, who had earlier...
Around the same time, in Britain, during October 1967 The Moody Blues were putting the finishing touches to their album that featured Peter Knight conducting The London Festival Orchestra; at the heart of Days Of Future Passedis the beautiful, ‘Nights in White Satin’. It’s an album that perhaps does not always get the credit that it deserves for be...
Another band that is right at the forefront, thanks in no small part to the brilliance of Jon Lord, are Deep Purple, whose Concerto For Orchestrais another defining moment in collaborations between groups and orchestras. The same, in a different way, could be said of Procul Harum, whose ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ was influenced by the classics, but d...
Others that followed in the Moodies’ orchestral steps are Barclay James Harvest and the monumental, ‘Mockingbird’, Gentle Giant, and Caravan – all quintessentially British in their sound and their use of orchestras. The same could be said of Pink Floyd’s Atom Heart Mother from 1970; it’s one of those albums that changed the way many people listened...
Also in 1970, as Floyd were exploring a very different musical direction, across the Atlantic, stadium-filling rockers, Grand Funk Railroadembraced their inner orchestra on ‘(Closer To Home) I’m Your Captain’ – if you’ve not heard it you’ll probably be surprised.
We’ve included some lesser known gems among our list of 25. There’s the beautiful closing sequence from King Crimson alumni, MacDonald & Giles’s ‘Birman Suite’. There’s Ambrosia exploring their inner Aaron Copland (or is it Ferde Grofé) on ‘Cowboy Star’ and fellow Americans, Mercury Rev and ‘The Dark Is Rising’. It may be new to you, but it is a su...
Another Prog-practioner that have used an orchestra to great effect are Yes, on their Richie Haven’s cover of ‘No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed’ that quotes the theme to the film, The Big Country written by Jerome Moross. Later Yes didn’t need an orchestra as Rick Wakeman joined and with a battery of keyboards he did the same job. How...
In a similar vein are Renaissance whose, Song of Scherazade is a much underrated masterpiece. Not at all underrated are ELP whose Pictures at an Exhibition, a reworking of Russian composer Mussorgsky’s composition, is pure orchestral bombast’ we’ve picked a live version recorded in 1977 at Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Canada. And let’s not forget the...
Radiohead are the logical progression from 70s art rock and their work with an orchestra on Kid Aalbum from 2000 is proof. Two solo singers that have used orchestras to very differing effect are Elton Johnand Dan Fogelberg. The former’s, ‘Burn Down The Mission is one of the singer’s finest moments, as is Fogelberg’s ‘Nether Lands’. And finally amon...
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The Best Of Symphonic Rock. Roxanne (feat. Robert Cohen) A new music service with official albums, singles, videos, remixes, live performances and more for Android, iOS and desktop. It's all...
- ‘Concerto for Group and Orchestra’ Deep Purple (1969) Jon Lord of Deep Purple was inspired to write Concerto for Group and Orchestra in 1969 after hearing the Dave Brubeck Quartet perform with the New York Philharmonic.
- ‘Emerson Lake and Palmer in Concert’ Emerson Lake and Palmer (1977) Keith Emerson, Greg Lake and Carl Palmer included classical passages in their work, mixing jazz, rock and acoustic sounds.
- 'Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra' Elton John (1986) In his last performance before undergoing throat surgery in January 1987, Elton John was accompanied by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for a concert that featured old favorites and less familiar tunes.
- 'The Wall: Live in Berlin' Roger Waters (1990) When the Berlin Wall was toppled in November 1989, Roger Waters was asked to come to Berlin and perform The Wall in a concert for charity.
Symphonic rock top classics of all times. Mark Dekeyser. Listen here to the best of music ever composed on symphonic rock ballads and symphonies. Play all.
![Symphonic Rock - Disc A :: The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra [ROYALPHO_SRA]](https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=Symphonic+rock+music&ei=UTF-8&xargs=0&_tsrc=apple&age=1d&th=119.3&tw=119.3&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cs.ubc.ca%2F%7Edavet%2Fmusic%2Fcovers%2FROYALPHO_SRA.jpg&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cs.ubc.ca%2F%7Edavet%2Fmusic%2Fdisc%2FROYALPHO_SRA.html&size=91KB&name=Symphonic+Rock+-+Disc+A+%3A%3A+The+Royal+Philharmonic+Orchestra+%5BROYALPHO_SRA%5D&oid=3&h=500&w=500&turl=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.rhHHw6yhD8UJjWjM_ilWewHaHa%26pid%3DApi%26rs%3D1%26c%3D1%26qlt%3D95%26w%3D119%26h%3D119&tt=Symphonic+Rock+-+Disc+A+%3A%3A+The+Royal+Philharmonic+Orchestra+%5BROYALPHO_SRA%5D&sigr=2bjfSPQyL1QM&sigit=yeFFsUkvrfLU&sigi=VT_Kq8MpMaW6&sign=gXpefuvb2c6I&sigt=gXpefuvb2c6I "Symphonic Rock - Disc A :: The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra [ROYALPHO_SRA]")
