 Hot
on the heals of the reggae version of Pink Floyd's classic album, Dub
Side Of The Moon, comes a fresh take, undertaken by a string quartet
who have already put their efforts into orchestral versions of classic
works by the likes of Radiohead, REM, Led Zeppelin and U2, amongst
others.
Of course, orchestral versions of
the Floyd's songs is an exercise that has been undertaken before, with
mixed success. Some tracks naturally lend themselves to such a
treatment; the question is how would an album, rich in lyrical
concepts, as opposed to musical soundscapes, fare? Surprisingly well,
actually. The quartet, calling themselves The Section, are made up of
Eric Gorfain (on violin 1), Daphne Chen (on violin 2), Leah Katz
(viola), and Richard Dodd (cello), and have been together for some time
now. The foursome gel together well, and this adds depths to their
playing on the album.
A sound of strings warming up,
before the familiar heartbeat kicks in heralding the start of Speak To
Me and Breathe. This has a mournful air to it, and sets the mood for
the rest of the album.
On The Run is a difficult track
to render using instruments other than keyboards, and strings are no
exception. The VCS3 part is performed by a violin, with cello used as
the main counterpoint instrument. There's plenty going on in the
background, with little twiddly bits on violin very much akin to the
sort of things heard on Piper At The Gates Of Dawn.
A startling (or is that
"alarming"? Sorry!) beginning to Time attempts to emulate the clocks,
before a simple violin figure starts the ticking. Once the first verse
kicks in, the tone of the song is pretty jaunty. A great rendition of
the track, and an interesting example of how Floyd songs can be
successfully tackled in different ways.
Great Gig In The Sky belies its
original meaning with a mournful rendition, with regret implied with
the yearning of the strings. A lovely version, if rather sad. One of
the standout tracks on the album.
Next, a pretty straight run
through of Money, complete with Gilmour's guitar solo rendered
successfully by the violinists. Not the best of the versions here, but
then Money is a hard song to show much flair or variety with... Things
improve with Us And Them, which follows. It is a song that lends itself
well to this sort of reading, and The Section don't disappoint. A
beautiful version, full of emotion.
Any Colour You Like is a very
credible, accurate cover - like On The Run, it is not an easy song to
perform with strings. It works well here though.
A subdued opening to Brain Damage
follows. This subdue runs until the uplifting chorus is reached - a
really nice reading of the song, and ranks along with GGITS and Time as
a standout performance on the album. Some sections of the song lend
themselves supremely to a string rendition. Eclipse brings things to a
close, ending on a note which reminded me of Day In The Life by the
Beatles, for some reason! It rounds out the album on a suitably
anthemic note.
Attempting such a classic using
just strings was always going to be a brave move - everyone is familiar
with the lyrics, which provide the main thrust of the emotional
narrative of the album (Money being a good example of this: take away
the words, and you notice the difference!). The Section's take on the
album is pretty successful, and certainly very enjoyable. It is nice to
hear a departure from the norm, and one can think of a number of other
tracks which would benefit from their attentions. How about it chaps?
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