The flaming lips soft bulletin live red rocks
THE FLAMING LIPS SOFT BULLETIN LIVE RED ROCKS FULL
The task of creating the orchestra arrangements and charts to add full orchestration to the Lips’ music that had previously been forced to rely on synths and various keyboards fell to Denver musician, Tom Hagerman, whose band DeVotchKa had recorded a live album with the Colorado Symphony back in 2012. The result was a more accessible, and thus successful sound, with the album making many “best of” the year lists, and was eventually judged by Pitchfork to be #3 in their list of the top hundred albums of the decade. On The Soft Bulletin, producer Dave Fridman assisted singer Wayne Coyne, and multi-instrumentalists Steven Drozd and Michael Ivins create a more symphonic sound with synthesizers and studio techniques, in a way that emphasized the songs’ melodies, and more subtle artistic nuances. The band’s one “alternative” radio hit was the funny “She Don’t Use Jelly,” for 1993’s Transmissions from the Satellite Heart, which opened doors for an opening slot on the summer tour opening for Stone Temple Pilots and The Butthole Surfers, and then headlining the side-stage for Lollapalooza’s tour the following summer. Prior to the release of The Soft Bulletin, The Flaming Lips were viewed as primarily a guitar driven punk band, albeit with quirky lyrics, and the band’s previous album, Zaireeka, was an experimental effort on four discs intended to be played simultaneously on four different stereos. While the Lips’ have released several live concert DVDs (my favorite being 2007’s U.F.O.S at the Zoo because it captures the same show that I got to take my 9-old-son to where we wore Santa suits and danced and jumped around on stage beside the band, and had a laser flashlight battle with the alien vixens from space on the other side of the band at a key moment in the show), and have full concerts available to view on youtube, until now they’ve never released a live concert audio album. “Not just the best album of 1999, The Soft Bulletin might be the best record of the entire decade.Fire Note Says: The Flaming Lips join together with the Colorado Symphony to recreate their 1999 masterpiece “The Soft Bulletin” at the landmark Red Rocks Amphitheatre.Īlbum Review: Back in 2016, somebody had the smarts to imagine a 20th anniversary celebration of Oklahoma City’s Flaming Lips’ breakout 1999 release, The Soft Bulletin, complete with a live album recorded at the picturesque Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado, with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and Chorus filling in for the synthesizer generated orchestrations on the original recording. “The Soft Bulletin echoes the oft-mimicked Smiley Smile by The Beach Boys, with its psychedelic wobbliness, songs-within-songs and airy temperament.” Q Magazine Densely textured but melodic… No one else has posited a parallel universe in which the Sixties and the Nineties exist simultaneously.” Rolling Stone “The eccentric Oklahoma outfit The Flaming Lips serenely release another winning neo-psychedelic recording. “A joyous, celestial celebration of sound.” NME “This is one of those albums people are going to obsess over for many years to come.” Pitchfork
Response from the media for The Soft Bulletin was overwhelming in its praise: The album was the band’s breakthrough moment and featured the hit singles “Race for the Prize” and “Waitin’ for a Superman.” Now, the resulting live recording is being released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Soft Bulletin.
The performance was conducted by the internationally celebrated conductor Andre De Ridder. The Flaming Lips performed the 12-track album in its original sequence with new arrangements accompanied by a 69-piece orchestra and 56-strong chorus.
For the Lips and their fans, perhaps the apex of a magnificent interpretation that will remain as rewarding and emotionally-charged as it was that night in 2016. This particular event has been regarded by those in attendance as one of the most awe-inspiring, moving and magical moments of a lifetime. On 26th May 2016, The Flaming Lips performed their universally acclaimed 1999 album The Soft Bulletin in its entirety with the Colorado Symphony at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado.