VA - 80s Symphonic (2018) [Hi-Res]

LOS ANGELES - 80s SYMPHONIC combines the original classic tracks of 15 iconic 80s tracks from David Bowie, a-ha, Foreigner, Simple Minds, Simply Red, Tina Turner, Pretenders, Ultravox and more with brand new symphonic and string arrangements performed by the 50-piece London Studio Orchestra creating brand unique versions of these timeless tracks like you've never heard before.

The songs on 80s Symphonic have collectively sold over 20 million copies and have been number one hits in over 20 countries. The brand-new orchestrations for the album are the work of producer and arranger Andy Wright, who has worked with Simple Minds, Eurythmics, Simply Red, Jeff Beck, Massive Attack to name a few.

Andy Wright says, "Opening up the tape boxes of the biggest Warner's hits from the 80's was like all my Christmases rolled into one. Having then the opportunity of augmenting the original performances with a 50-piece Symphonic Orchestra has been a dream job. My first call was to my long-time collaborator Sam Swallow, Sam and I have tried to respectfully represent the musicality of the instrumental members of these great bands with Sam judiciously adding additional touches. It could be argued that these records cannot be improved, but...!"

Taking the original elements of the multi-tracks and, on 14 of the tracks, the original vocals the songs were arranged by Sam Swallow for a 48-piece orchestra and recorded over three days by the London Studio Orchestra in the legendary 'Beatles Studio' Studio 2 at the world famous Abbey Road Studios. The new version of David Bowie's 1983 classic "Let's Dance" was orchestrated and arranged for strings by the track's original producer Nile Rodgers at Abbey Road Studio 1 where he is the Chief Creative Advisor.

Nile Rodgers, who arranged and produced David Bowie's "Let's Dance" also notes "My work with David Bowie and specifically 'Let's Dance' is sacrosanct to me so when I was asked by David's family and Warner's to add orchestration to the original recording I approached it with extreme trepidation. In fact my only concern was to protect David's artistic vision and integrity. In the end I'm very grateful that we did this, as I believe anyone who loves the original will be excited by it. I'm certain David would approve from above."

The first single to be taken from 80s Symphonic is one of the most iconic hits of the Eighties "Take On Me" by a-ha. First released in 1984, the song was a worldwide smash in 1985 reaching #1 in over a dozen countries and as of 2017 has sold 7 million copies worldwide. On hearing the new version a-ha's Magne Furuholmen commented, "After the stripped down version of MTV unplugged, comes the full throttle orchestra-version...buckle up!"