Every time I go to Amoeba to look for CDs, thrown in with whatever band I’m looking for, there’s usually a “String Quartet Tribute To” the band. Aerosmith, No Doubt, Evanescence, and a whole host of others. Anyone ever sprung for any of these albums?
I always like to hear new takes on songs I already like, especially orchestral ones. But I’m skeptical because of the sheer amount of bands and styles they’ve covered. Seems like they’d be spread too thin. Is it even a single band? There doesn’t seem to be any consistent characteristics on the various albums.
What say you, Dopers; are they worth twelve bucks? I’d be especially interested in the three bands mentioned above.
I bought the String Tribute to: Tool album a couple years ago and gave it a listen or three before I lost it under mysterious circumstances and I liked it… it was pretty good, especially considering that Tool’s music doesn’t lend itself to orchestral interpretation very easily.
Since you’re as into Aerosmith, No Doubt, and Evanescence as I am into Tool (and APC), I’d suggest getting them. Or otherwise obtaining some tracks through other means if you’re still curious.
If you ever get as far down as Sunnyvale there is a good second hand music store that allows you to listen to anything before you buy. Not anything as big as Amoeba (obviously) but a much better place to try things out.
The group behind these is the Section Quartet, as far as I can tell, although they aren’t credited as such on them. I have their “no electricity required” CD, and I just love it. It covers a bunch of different groups (Radiohead, Tool, The Darkness) and even the ones I’ve never heard the originals of are still interesting pieces.
I’ve heard actual string musicians say the playing isn’t that great, but I certainly can’t tell.
I remember The Onion the other year referring to these things as “least essential recordings”. I’ve assumed that these records began as an inspiration by the Balanescu Quartet who released an album in 1992 called “Possessed” which has 5 covers of Kraftwerk songs and one David Byrne cover. That album I can vouch for as being novel and listenable.
I’ve never understood why people would want second-rate orchestral recordings of great rock songs. They might be interesting if a) the players were more expressive and competent and b) if the arrangement brought something new to the table. I mean, it can be fun, I suppose, but every collection I’ve ever heard (including the much heralded covers by Apocolyptica) have been boring nonsense. Straight readings of the music, no interpretation, no soul. I mean, seriously, they drive me up a friggin wall. The string versions of Radiohead? Ugh. Pass the bucket.
If there were an orchestral analogy to, say, The Bad Plus’s jazzy take on modern rock or The Moog Cookbook’s delightfully zany and intricate synthesized readings of the same, I’d be interested in hearing it. I normally hate instrumental covers, but these two bands in particular create something new of musical interest while maintaining the heart and soul of the original.
But your typical string-quartet-plays-the-hits-of-the-90s disc? Absolutely wretched stuff.
We’re really being deluged with tribute albums lately. Similar to the string quartets, pianist Christopher O’Reilly has made a name for himself with solo piano versions of Radiohead songs. I’ve seen him in concert, and I may have his album too. Some of the songs are just okay to listen to if you want to listen to Radiohead without going to the trouble of hearing words, but a few really do something cool with the material.
Well, I’ve got the Tribute to Black Sabbath, as well as Apocalyptica’s Inquisition Symphony off of iTunes, and I like 'em. I’m not going to try and say they’re the best thing thats ever happened in music or anything—and I’ll have to say that Apocalyptica’s album is better than the Black Sabbath Tribute—but they’re fun, and I enjoy listening to them. I guess it all comes down to individual tastes.
I remember Apocalyptica. Meh. I also just listened to a few of the Amazon previews for that Zep collection, and frankly, the whole thing sounded like a huge mess. No real rhythmic sensibility, no “driving” feeling at all. Way too many things happening. As Chris Goss (the genius behind Masters of Reality - not a Sabbath tribute band, in case you wondered) once insightfully said, the genius of Led Zep lies in how they were able to take simple blues arrangements and riffs and make them sound, well, mythical. Huge. Primordial. As if gods and giants battled upon mountain crags while pitiful humans cowered in fear.
Perhaps if they’d approached the songs with a pronounced monolithic, Wagnerian feel, it would have played out better (IMO,) but from what I’ve just heard, meh.
All that said, I know musical tastes differ. No need to lambaste me. Really.
I also realize I just listened to a few seconds of a few tracks on low audio resolution, so take my opinion with a big ol’ cow-sized salt lick.