An Orchestrated Songbook

by Paul Weller, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Steve Cradock, Jules Buckley

Overview

For somebody with a restless creative spirit, Paul Weller has no quarrel with taking frequent strolls through his back pages. An Orchestrated Songbook finds the singer/songwriter plucking a number of softer tunes from throughout his career, then turning them over to Jules Buckley to arrange for the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Weller held the concert on May 15, 2021, releasing it as An Orchestrated Songbook later in the year, and as something of a companion piece to Other Aspects: Live at Royal Festival Hall, the orchestrated live album he released just two years prior. Where Other Aspects was designed to showcase 2018's True Meanings, An Orchestrated Songbook gives away its game with its title. It's neither an unveiling of new material nor a bunch of greatest hits but rather a cohesive collection of ballads and introspective numbers punctuated by an occasional bit of pop. Most orchestral rearrangements of pop/rock material veer toward the grandiose, so it's noteworthy that An Orchestrated Songbook feels intimate, the symphony acting as empathetic support to Weller's guitar and voice. Buckley's arrangements of Weller's canny self-curation help give An Orchestrated Songbook a subtle but palpable emotional resonance that separates it from other orchestral pop reworkings, not to mention the heavy number of Weller live albums. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	12/17/2021
Label:	Polydor
UPC:	0602438459421

Album Credits

Performance Credits

BBC Symphony Orchestra   Primary Artist,Orchestra,Featured Artist
Jules Buckley   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Paul Weller   Primary Artist
James Morrison   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Boy George   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Celeste   Primary Artist,Featured Artist,Vocals
Steve Cradock   Primary Artist
Ladonna Young   Vocals (Background)
Paddy Linton   Vocals (Background)
Vula Malinga   Vocals (Background)
Stephen Bryant   Orchestra Leader
Steve Craddock   Guitar

Technical Credits

Erland Cooper   Composer
Robert Winter   Editing,Mixing Engineer,Editing Engineer
Tommy Laurence   Arranger,Recording Arranger
Chris Rouse   Assistant Engineer
Callum Au   Arranger,Recording Arranger
Drew Cooper   Composer
Damiano Pascarelli   Arranger,Recording Arranger
Sandra Vijandi   Cover Photo
Jochen Neuffer   Arranger,Recording Arranger
Tom Earle   Assistant Engineer
Paul Weller   Composer
Kevan Long   Assistant Engineer
Simon Hale   Arranger,Recording Arranger
Phil Wright   Assistant Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Steve Cradock   Composer
Simon Dine   Composer
Anth Brown   Composer
Tom Doyle   Composer
Jules Buckley   Arranger,Recording Arranger
Mark Allan   Photography
Tim Davies   Arranger,Recording Arranger,Recording Arranger
Andy Crofts   Arranger,Recording Arranger
Tom Trapp   Arranger,Recording Arranger
Anthony Brown   Composer
Stephen Bryant   Leader
Matt Colton   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Alex Hutchinson   Artwork
Ann McKay   Editing,Recording Producer,Engineer,Producer,Sound Editing