ASO Plays Pink Floyd
Festival Theatre
Fri 30 June

Following on from the success of last year's 'Zeppelin Flies Again' collaboration between the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and the Zep Boys, this latest orchestral approach to rock promised as much but delivered far less effectively. For whilst classically trained musicians must prove to be equally adept at Bach, Wagner and Stravinsky, in rock it is the different personalities and approaches to their instruments which differentiates Led Zeppelin from Pink Floyd and the Beatles from the 'Stones. So it ensues that musicians at home in the music of Plant and Page may have difficulties with that of Waters and Gilmour.

While guitarist Rob Pippan had the style of Jimmy Page down pat in last year's concerts, David Gilmour's more fluid and expansive style created problems for him. Strings were often not bent far enough to attain spot-on pitch at the end of a phrase and his slide playing was often muddy with the obtrusive click of frets all too apparent.

Similarly the precision of John Zak's snare work, while entirely appropriate for Led Zeppelin and the ensuing heavy metal school of drumming was simply too tight for the Floyd's often expansive rhythms. (Think of the swing approach necessary for the loping Money in 13/8 time and Shine On You Crazy Diamond.) It was a good idea to have two singers cover this material and the idea of having three singers tackle Helen Terry's virtuosic vocal on Great Gig In The Sky follows the later approach taken on 'Pulse'.

Miking problems with the orchestra became more apparent in this material, which generally favoured the band to the expense of the considerable orchestral forces, brought to bear in the arrangements by Jamie Messenger and Bruce Stewart. It was nice to have Messenger on keyboards but these often doubled that which was given to the orchestra. It's a pity that lines written for brass and concert master Terrence Tam weren't more to the fore.

The choice of material covered in this concert generally demanded applause covering as it did a suite of sorts from the magnificent 'Dark Side Of The Moon' and 'Wish You Were Here'. And Floyd completists were treated to sympathetic arrangements of the earlier Syd Barrett dominated 'Piper At The Gates Of Dawn' suite and the later David Gilmour dominated Signs Of Life and Learning To Fly. An effective encore lay in the anthem-like approach to Another Brick In The Wall. However the inclusion of the Australian Youth Choir here was perhaps more suggestive of the Rock 'n' Roll Eisteddfod.

This was a nice try but much more could have been achieved with rock musicians who were more au fait with Pink Floyd's style. One is left to wonder - where to from here? Perhaps Queen, the Doors or even Deep Purple. But musicians should be chosen much more appropriately - according to their talents. For just as Keith Richards would be out of place in the Beatles, similarly Jimmy Page, as great a guitarist as he is - could never be interchanged with David Gilmour.

Brett Allen-Bayes