The London Punkharmonic Orchestra

Take a batch of Punk Rock classics from the late 1970s and early '80s, have a classical orchestra make new arrangements for the songs and what do you get? Actually, a concept that works marvelously, as the London Philharmonic negotiates their way through the angst and comes up with a batch of unlikely tunes holding a whole lot more melody and music in them than one would originally believe. Takes on  Buzzcocks' "Ever Fallen in Love," Sex Pistols' "Pretty Vacant," Ramones' "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker," The Clash's "White Riot" and The Jam's "Down in the Tube Station at Midnight" bristle with a depth one wouldn't think possible, making for a classical approach that's visceral as well. A quirky idea for an album to be sure, but again, one that works on every level, a sort of gabba-gabba-hey with strings and oboes.

Symphony Of Destruction (Classical Punk!) (1998)

01  - No More Heroes (The Stranglers)

02 - Babylon's Burning (The Ruts)

03 - Sheena Is A Punk Rocker (The Ramones)

04 - Down In The Tube Station At Midnight (The Jam)

05 - Holiday In Cambodia (Dead Kennedys)

06 - White Riot (The Clash)

07 - Gary Gilmore's Eyes (The Adverts)

08 - Ever Fallen In Love? (With Someone You Shouldn't've) (Buzzcocks)

09 - Love Song (The Damned)

10 - Another Girl, Another Planet (The Only Ones)

11 - Where's Captain Kirk? (Spizzenergi)

12 - Alternative Ulster (Stiff Little Fingers)

13 - Germ Free Adolescents (X-Ray Spex)

14 - Teenage Kicks (The Undertones)

15 - Stranglehold (U.K. Subs)

16 - Hersham Boys (Sham 69)

17 - Sound Of The Suburbs (The Members)

18 - Pretty Vacant (The Sex Pistols)

pass: freepunk77