Kashmir: Symphonic Led Zeppelin

London Philharmonic Orchestra (Artist), Scholes (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 21, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Philips
• ASIN: B0000040V8
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #45,073 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Stirring and Epic, April 3, 2000

By 

Aranion (Dayton, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kashmir: Symphonic Led Zeppelin (Audio CD)

Ethereal.

Epic.

Moving.

I am a long-time Zep fan and a huge fan of crashing movie scores. If there was one group's songs ripe for ripping symphonic interpretations, Led Zeppelin was it.

Tracks 2,3 and 5 make the CD worth the purchase. The LSO brings out even more grandeur than the original pieces, if possible. "Kashmir" probably resembles the original version the most, but is still different (in a good way). "Battle of Evermore" is less intricate than the Zep version, but also more gloriously sweeping and crashing. And "When the Levee Breaks" becomes a joyful, symphonic exclamation, with the orchestral riffs growing more and more contagiously groovy--I defy you to not dance or frolick to this piece.

However, the other tracks leave a _lot_ to be desired. 10 minutes for "Going to California"? They should have picked "Achilles' Last Stand," "In the Light," or other more epic pieces for interpretation.

And I am disappointed that the LSO used up precious disk space for TWO "ambient" tracks that really have nothing to do with Zep.

Bottom line: lovers of Zep and epic movie scores will find the CD worth purchasing for nearly 30 minutes of grand symphonic music. Nitpickers and purists will not enjoy it.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Superior orchestral treatment of classic rock, February 13, 2005

By 

Danno (NY, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Kashmir: Symphonic Led Zeppelin (Audio CD)

With "Kashmir," Jaz Coleman accomplishes the impossible - he creates orchestral treatments of classic Led Zeppelin songs without resorting to camp or cliches. I'd previously suffered through many attempts to reinterpret classic rock through the medium of classical musicianship - and I have been disappointed by CDs based on the music of Queen, the Stones, Pink Floyd, etc. This CD triumphs where similar CDs have failed, carefully avoiding the pseudo-Muzak pitfalls others have fallen into.

Part of the success is earned by Coleman's gorgeous re-arranging of Zeppelin's material; Coleman is unafraid to add Middle Eastern textures to the arrangements, resulting in a very epic, almost Cecil B. DeMille quality. An equal part of the success goes to both Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones - their innovative arrangements on the original Zep albums undoubtably made Coleman's task much easier. It's amazing how grand and larger-than-life this music is once divorced of Robert Plant's lyrics and Bonzo's thundering groove. Once again, I'm struck by how close to film music this CD is. It would be perfect music for an old Hollywood Biblical-era widescreen film!

The CD's one flaw is an over-reliance on material from Led Zeppelin IV. One can only imagine how "Dazed and Confused" or "The Rover" would have sounded in Coleman's hands! It's especially disappointing since two tracks on the CD are Coleman originals which, while suitably Eastern-sounding, could have been replaced by actual Zep compositions like "In the Light" or "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp." It's too bad Coleman never tried for a sequel.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kashmir is cool, April 30, 2006

By 

D. Flores (Parkville, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kashmir: Symphonic Led Zeppelin (Audio CD)

I've listened to many, many Symphonic re-interpretations of rock songs, and they are almost universally embarrassing. They strike me, basically, as a quick way for a symphony or string quartet to make a buck. And as others have noted, they essentially come off sounding like Musaak.

One of the few exceptions to this rule is the interpretation of "Kashmir" on this album. I doubt it will become a part of the standard classical repertoire even to the extent that a popular piece such as John Williams' "Imperial March" from Star Wars appears to have (that would be my metric for true success). But it succeeds far better than just about any pseudo-classical pop re-interpretation I'm aware of.

The ingenious move that rescues this piece is probably the arrangement of Robert Plant's vocal melody for a violin that is imbued with a heavy dose of Middle-eastern flair. In that context, Symphonic "Kashmir" is perhaps one of the best testaments there is to Plant's compositional abilities, since, when the melody is sung there is a temptation to focus on the words to the exclusion of the melody itself. It doesn't sink in quite as much just how well written and interesting the vocal melody line really is. Yet in this other context, when it's carried only by a violin, and wholly non-verbal, its intricacies truly come to the fore.

As I said before: I really do doubt this particular piece will become a part of the classical repertoire, but... you know... maybe it should.