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. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine