Various Artists - Rock & Roll Symphony 1 / Var (CD)

So what is a ROCK & ROLL SYMPHONY anyway? Well, as David L. Miller, '50s pop orchestral producer-extraordinaire wrote, it's 'Rock & Roll in the Sound of Magnificence!' This is the majesty of the symphony - but with a solid beat and in spectacular concert-hall stereo to demonstrate your high-end system with real speakers (remember those?). When rock and roll came along in the 1950s, the older generation panicked. What was this crazy new music that teenagers were listening to, they wondered, with it's pounding beat and wild vocalists? Where was the melody? And where was the appreciation for the classics and pop standards? a handful of bandleaders decided to take matters into their own hands. Instead of sitting idly by and watching their album sales dwindle while unschooled and unruly musicians scored on the hit parade with 'awful' rock and roll records, these bandleaders set out to make better rock and roll. Rock and roll with real melodies! ROCK & ROLL SYMPHONY NO. 1 (A 1959 Stereo Concert) chronicles their orchestral effort to save rock and roll from itself. These 28 thoughtfully selected and carefully mastered recordings, some classical, some familiar standards ('Blueberry Hill', 'My Prayer', 'Cry') combine gorgeous lush orchestral pop arrangements with a real old-school rock & roll back beat, all in audiophile fidelity and the kind of 'wide' stereo you remember from the early days.

Track List:

Disc: 1

1. Back Beat Symphony (From Tchaikovsky: Symphony #5) - 101 Strings
2. Swingin' at Igors (From Borodin: Prince Igor Theme) - 101 Strings
3. Romeo and Juliet (From Tchaikovsky: Romeo ; Juliet Overture) - 101 Strings
4. Sherabop (From Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade, 3rd MVT.) - 101 Strings
5. Twangy Serenade (From Schubert: Serenade)- 101 Strings
6. Rigoletto Rock (From Verdi: Rigoletto) - 101 Strings
7. Swingin' Little Martha (From Von Flatow: Aria in Martha) - 101 Strings
8. Choppin' Chopin (From Chopin: Fantasie Impromptu) - 101 Strings
9. New World Rock (From Dvorak: Largo, New World Symphony) - 101 Strings
10. Strings at the Hop (From Tchaikovsky: Symphony #6) - 101 Strings
11. Blueberry Hill - Enoch Light
12. With My Eyes Wide Open I'm Dreaming - Enoch Light
13. Only You - Franck Pourcel
14. My Prayer - Knightsbridge Strings
15. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes - Enoch Light
16. Deep Purple - Enoch Light
17. Harbor Lights - Enoch Light
18. I'll Never Smile Again - Enoch Light
19. You Made Me Love You - Knightsbridge Strings
20. Cry - Knightsbridge Strings
21. The Little White Cloud That Cried - Knightsbridge Strings
22. I Cried for You - Enoch Light
23. All My Love - Enoch Light
24. I Still Get a Thrill - Enoch Light
25. Here in My Heart - Knightsbridge Strings
26. Wheel of Fortune - Knightsbridge Strings
27. The Theme from "A Summer Place" - Percy Faith
28. Soul Coaxing (Ame Caline) - Raymond Lefevre