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London Symphony Orchestra
Classic Rock
(K-Tel, 1977)
As if in retaliation for the greats of the classical canon being contemporaneously manhandled by Tomita, ELP and their ilk, the LSO showed that two could play at that game, taking rock anthems and showering them in orchestral goop until they blubbered for mercy. Bohemian Rhapsody, Whole Lotta Love, Without You and I’m Not In Love were just a few of the exceptionally predictable subjects. Worse, this became one of the most mercilessly TV-advertised records of an age just getting used to such. Several of My Mates’ Dads owned this (thankfully, my own father was more beguiled by X-Ray Spex) or one of its army of sequels, unaccountably marketed by this red-eyed, sub-Tolkien warrior-nurk. For years, the LSO were the most pop-smart orchestra in the world; it’s them camping it up on John Williams’ Star Wars scores and it’s them on Sgt. Pepper, too. Does that make up for the endless horror of the Classic Rock albums? I think we know the answer to that. DE
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