The Symphony Sessions

Infobox Album
Name = The Symphony Sessions
Type = Live album
Artist = Tom Cochrane and Red Rider


Released = 1989
Recorded = March 17-18, 1989 Edmonton, Alberta
Genre = Rock
Length = 70:33
Label = Capitol
Producer = Tom Cochrane & Ken Greer
Reviews =
Last album = "Victory Day"
(1988)
This album = "The Symphony Sessions"
(1989)
Next album = "Ashes to Diamonds"
(boxset) (1993)

"The Symphony Sessions" was a live album released in 1989 by Tom Cochrane and Red Rider. It was the band's seventh and final album.

The album was recorded with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton, Alberta.

Following this album, Tom Cochrane pursued a solo career, releasing "Mad Mad World" in 1991.

Background and writing

The album was recorded by Biff Dawes and the Westwood One mobile unit over two days and featured on one of the "Westwood One live" concert series shows. Two tracks recorded during these sessions were featured on the Westwood One concert but did not make the final album cut: "Ocean Blues (Emotion Blue)" and "The Untouchable One". Both songs are from the 1986 self-titled "Tom Cochrane & Red Rider" album.

Tom Cochrane explained the idea behind the album: "When we put our songs together... Kenny (Greer) has sort of a classical background, as I do... we never had the budget or the means to do it with these kind of players, plus you want to keep it intact as a band, so we've always done it with synthesizers and whatever we had at hand, so it's nice to go in with a real complement of players and have them contribute like they did. In our music, "Lunatic Fringe," for example, there are parts implied that we thought should be transposed from keyboard to orchestral instruments, and then in other areas we gave George (Blondheim) carte blanche and said, 'Do what you want, add some creative input'. "

The concerts were recorded live with a 56-piece orchestra and then mixed down at the Metalworks Studios in Toronto.

Track listing

All songs written by Tom Cochrane except as noted:

# "Light in the Tunnel" (instrumental) - 2:28
# "Human Race" - 3:48
# "Can't Turn Back" - 10:22
# "Napoleon Sheds His Skin" - 6:19
# "White Hot" (T. Cochrane, K. Greer) - 6:18
# "Big League" - 5:37 +
# "Calling America" - 4:53 +
# "Avenue 'A' " - 3:57
# "Bird on a Wire" (Leonard Cohen) - 3:21
# "Boy Inside the Man" - 9:49
# "Lunatic Fringe" - 5:01
# "Good Times" - 4:53 +
# "The Next Life" - 3:41 *

* The last song "The Next Life" is a new studio song, not a live track from the concert.
* Songs with a '+' next to them were only available on the CD and Cassette versions, and were not on LP.

Album credits

Personnel

* Tom Cochrane - vocals, guitars
* Ken Greer - guitars
* John Webster - keyboards
* Ken "Spider" Sinnaeve - bass
* Randall Coryell - drums
* Peter Mueller - guitars
* Edmonton Symphony Orchestra - orchestral performances

Production

* George Blondheim - arrangement, conductor
* Bill Dawes - engineer
* Steve Rinkoff - producer on "The Next Life", mixing
* Hugh Cooper - additional engineering

References

* Liner notes from the album, including excerpts from Tom Cochrane's interview with Andy Frost from Westwood One.