Customer Reviews

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Plays the Hits of Pink Floyd

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

When I considered the idea of symphonic Pink Floyd, I expected the awesome power of the orchestra to be unleashed in a kind of breathtaking glory that cannot be achieved with mere electric guitars and synthesizers -- the original tools of Pink Floyd. Instead, what I got in this CD is a pathetic attempt to make the orchestra sound like a four-man band. Adding insult to injury, they chose to include vocals and chorals to stupidly intone snippets of the original Pink Floyd lyrics in between the inane orchestral passages -- the effect is of someone humming a tune without quite recalling all the words. Extraordinarily mediocre.

This CD suffers from the number one ailment of most symphonic tribute albums; it is only symphonic in the loosest, most liberal sense of the definition. I think a lot of listeners would agree that symphonic tribute albums should not be performed by "orchestras" which include electric guitars, bass guitars, synthesizers, or drum kits. Listening to a symphony's re-creation of a rock song should enhance the experience and expand the breadth of its reaches, not merely change some of the instruments.

The record begins with what looks like a very promising rendering of "Shine on..." until the vocals enter in the sixth minute, making you scramble for the "off" button - not to let your neigbours know you're listening to this unbelievably corny crap. And this is only the beginning.

"Money", "Time" and especially "In the Flesh" are pathetic, "Us and them" and "WYWH" sound like an interminable folk music evening on German TV, and "Another Brick..." is just plain bad.

On the other hand, "Hey you" would have been quite good minus the vocals. As for "The great gig in the sky", it is the only track I would call listenable throughout, the usual horrible vocals being replaced by a woman who can actually sing.

The problem with this album is not the inevitable alteration of the spirit of Pink floyd, but the absolutely APPALLING vocal performance and some painfully kitchy instrumentation at times. Well, most of the time, actually.

If you're a diehard PF fan - like myself - and think you can take anything with its name on it, well, think again. If you don't even like Pink floyd, you'll never be able to listen to this.

Like their earlier 1989 Pink Floyd recording, this recording of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra playing Pink Floyd could have been so much better than it was. Essentially, it is a recording of a Pink Floyd tribute band backed by an orchestra. The use of electric guitar, electric bass, full trap set, vocalists and synthesizers detracts from the performance and leaves the listener longing for an actual symphonic version of these works. It would have been entirely different if it had been members of Pink Floyd contributing, however it was not. Therefore, it left something to be desired.

For a fully symphonic Pink Floyd experience, try "Us and Them" by the London Philharmonic.

blows away the london philharmonic version. there is singing and drums...more spicy, great melodies!!! highly recommend.

a 30 year floyd fan.

Take no notice of what the other reviewers say. I've been a fan of Pink Floyd since they started out, and this is a wonderful homage to them by some truly excellent musicians. The arrangements are brilliant, the sound quality is superb, and the lead guitarist (Professor Peter Weihe) is fantastic! Believe me, I know what I'm talking about. I have a first edition of Nick Mason's excellent book 'Inside Out' signed by Nick himself with the words 'To Paul, our greatest fan'. Beat that! :)

Peter Weihe, by the way, is a guitarist, producer and professor involved with Pop Music Courses at Hamburg University of Music and Theater in Germany and is also Professor in Producing/Recording at the University of Music, Drama and Media in Hanover. He has already received the German Guitarist of the Year Award 8 times and can be heard on more than 200 million cds (or was involved in their production).

This album takes the beauty out of classical music and covers it with cheese. This represents what Kenny G did to jazz.

I'll keep the criticism brief as many before me have expanded upon it. However I will highly recommend the 1995 London Philharmonic effort. It's a beautiful CD.

I don't know. It is such a promising idea and such a mediocre delivery.

Consider the texture and space in the intro of Time from the original Dark Side of the Moon.
The power of the simple but mind-blowing arrangement of "In the Flesh" from the Wall.

They have managed to make it all sound like a MIDI arrangement.

It isn't even close to being impressive.

Maybe... Maybe, had George Martin arranged and Alan Parsons engineered, this could have been something.

Pink Floyd's music can never ever be equaled, let me just get that out of the way.

They took sound and lyrics into the stratosphere, and "Shine On..." is one of those moments in rock history when you just sit back and just mutter under your breath "Wow..." as the guitars drift in and out of your head, and the whole album itself becomes a dreamlike state and an experience.

It's fitting that The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, a world-renowned classical group in their own right, would try and attempt to capture this same kind of lightning in a bottle, but this time using violins, tubas and a brass section.

I found it all at once both interesting and distracting.

I was used to the floating, almost unsteerable nature of The Floyd, and I wanted to relax and stretch out as I listened - here's my gut feelings, track by track:

1. Shine on You Crazy Diamond - This was one of the better tracks, it floated a bit, gave me a bit of a rush, and then it became a bit flat for me. Why is it so suddenly so blah for me? I wasn't expecting a note for note interpretation, but honestly...

2. Money - Using the original sound effects audio of money only makes me wonder if they truly had permission of The Floyd to do this - this was loud, and bombastic, and tried to be fun, but it really wasn't.

3. Us and Them - This made me think I was not stuck in a nether region between consciousness and subconsciousness, but made me feel like I was stuck in an elevator between floors and forced to listen to it's middle-of-the-road noise - can I say it sounded like some kind of Paul McCartney's abortive recent attempts at relevant "now" music as well? I DID NOT LIKE THIS.

4. Hey You - Once again, that ugly "Paul McCartney it's 1985 I can make classical music out of my past hits, but not really" vibe hit me, and I was totally let down at this point. I wanted to enjoy this, but was only getting worse for me. I am getting really disappointed here... I plod on, but it hurts me to believe someone put this together on purpose, not as a joke.

5. Another Brick in the Wall - Now this should have been a cakewalk for the Orchestra - it should have been bombastic, and hard, and cautiously scary on some level, but it was almost kinda muted in it's play, and when the xylophones kicked in... well, I simply lost any kind of anger I expected from this track. A total breakdown and failure in communication here. I was as if Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk" and "The Theme From Shaft" had a illegitimate baby here, and then dropped it off the table. Totally lacking in feeling or fire.

6. Wish You Were Here - This is probably the closest I'm going to come to a compliment for this entire review - this track was kinda okay, and it actually kinda worked out for me - it was a real example of what the rest of the album should have been - light, airy, and floated around the room a little bit.

7. Time - Once again, the original sound effects of alarms going off, then fading into a syrupy, sugary version of one of the more twisted songs by The Floyd about a literal mental breakdown - this song was nowhere near the mark.

8. The Great Gig in the Sky - Even though the sound was crisp and clear throughout, and the classical beat actually worked here a bit, this once again went into very bland middle-of-the-road territory again. This is the continuation of a mental breakdown, but it was just too organized in it's approach!

9. In the Flesh - This went into horrible horribleness of epic proportions - I was all at once offended and let down for the millions and millions of Pink Floyd fans who (luckily) will never hear this track and think "this might have been allowed to be created by David Gilmour himself!" I WANTED - I mean I REALLY wanted - to try and like this track, but the sheer audacity of it's lite rock approach, to totally castrate the track's original message, to dissect and cut out the anger and angst and replace it with slice after slice of bland White bread until the end result is a mind-numbing cacophony of horns, guitars and screaming going nowhere...

Well, in the end, I took the CD out of my player and shattered it into a million pieces.

I am humiliated to have ever purchased this.

I am disappointed that anyone on the side of The Floyd allowed this to be made.

The only people who will "appreciate" this kind of "music" are those kinds of people who drive a Mercedes Benz, Lexus, or some other foreign-made vehicle and have this CD wedged in properly next to their other symphonic disasters and probably have no real taste in music.

I feel bad for you, the listener, if you decide to purchase this. I know The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra have done good works is the past, but this? This is a speed bump for them, a hindrance, a monster step backwards.

Yes, they have performed other versions of other artists, from U2 to Madonna, but I think they should stick to what they do best - perform the music of Chopin, Wagner and Beethoven.

DO NOT BUY THIS MUSIC if you are a Pink Floyd fan - it will only make you angry, and upset, and wonder how this was ever made, and why it still exists, even now.

If I'm wrong, or if you agree with me, please let me know in the comments section!

Enjoy, and check out my other reviews online here.

Ok fine, you are a true fan, you have all PF CD's, all PF DVD's, you have even the Dark Side of OZ VHS or *.avi...and you might even have all DG, RW and RickW's albums, but you still want more...

This CD is a non-conventional orchestration, but, but, but!...has so much more to offer...It's easy to listen to, has some of the most wonderful pieces of PF's albums, mostly from WYWH, DSOTM and TW but nevertheless, a nice and gratifying listening experience.

You will enjoy it from start to bottom, it's not a very popular CD but you will go back to the album and say, well, it's not just another CD, it's a different aproach to the same music that I still love...