Kashmir: Symphonic Led Zeppelin

Album Review

Since Us and Them — Symphonic Pink Floyd was such an unexpected success, a sequel was in order, so conductor Peter Scholes, Killing Joke's Youth and Jaz Coleman, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra decided to set their sights on another classic rock titan: Led Zeppelin. Although Zeppelin was known as the king of heavy metal, their music was actually subtle and textured, which makes it perfect for these lush, grandiose orchestral arrangements. Weirdly enough, these symphonic arrangements emphasize the compositional skills of Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Robert Plant, and John Bonham, since these replicate the dense arrangements of Zep records, only with symphonic instruments. Certainly hard-line rock and classical fans will object to the very idea behind Kashmir: Symphonic Led Zeppelin, but it's a surprising, even rousing, success with very little camp value at all.