THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 8, 1995 TAG: 9506080042
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By MARK MOBLEY, MUSIC CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
SUNDAY'S CONCERT at the Virginia Beach Pavilion begs the question: What kind of groupies go for a bassoonist?
In its latest venture across the rock/Bach border, the Virginia Symphony is tackling the music of Led Zeppelin. The orchestra's Boardwalk '95 program consists entirely of the excessive English band's grandiloquent tunes, from ``Whole Lotta Love'' to ``Black Dog'' to the Pachelbel Canon of classic rock, ``Stairway to Heaven.''
Audience response has been phenomenal. The concert is sold out, just as previous ventures with the Moody Blues and Bruce Hornsby were. Unlike those collaborations with national acts, this project is home-grown.
At the behest of the orchestra
and concert promoters Cellar Door, Virginia Beach film composer Brent Havens wrote and will conduct 11 arrangements with the orchestra and a rock band fronted by singer Tony Elliott.
``Actually, I'm a little surprised,'' Havens said last week. ``I guess I wasn't aware there were that many Ledheads. I thought the people would say, `It's just the Symphony doing the music of Led Zeppelin. How corny.' We're getting as close to the actual sound of Led Zeppelin as we can get, down to the fact that the guitar solos are even replicated.''
Havens has written commercial jingles, TV and film scores and produced CDs by area acts The Mann Sisters and Tammy Gardner Beiderman. He has also reached audiences with two orchestral creations - a scaled-down version of Tchaikovsky's ``Nutcracker'' and ``Fanfare for a Generation,'' the original work that opened the Virginia Symphony's 75th season.
Havens was a teenager in Zeppelin's '70s heyday. He knew the group's big tunes but not its albums, as he was busy listening to horn bands like Blood, Sweat and Tears. When he drew the assignment for this concert, he was given the 4-CD Zeppelin box set to select any songs he wanted. He also logged onto the Internet, where he found Zeppelin information, including setlists for shows by former band members Jimmy Page and Robert Plant.
Some songs were obvious candidates for symphonic treatment. The strings in ``Kashmir'' make it one of the most successful examples of rock orchestration. Havens also gravitated to such lesser-known songs as ``Friends,'' ``Gallows Pole'' and ``I'm Gonna Crawl.''
He listened to but rejected the recent Plant/Page remakes of ``Kashmir'' and ``Gallows Pole.'' ``I felt I should stick to the original stuff if we're going to do a tribute,'' he said, explaining that he knows how it feels to be a devoted fan expecting things to be a certain way.
``Blood, Sweat and Tears - I was into that sound. I knew how every tune sounded. I knew every guitar lick. When I heard them live, I was almost disappointed.''
Zeppelin sounded like no other band, thanks in large part to the guitar virtuosity of Page and bombastic drumming of John Bonham. Sunday's band includes guitarist Tom Jones, drummer Mike Trimble and bassist Dan Clemons.
The most demanding sound-alike duties fall to singer Tony Elliott, who is charged with reproducing Plant's wail, the falsetto cry that lured countless women and spawned a thousand bad heavy-metal acts.
``His voice is incredible. He's got one of the highest rock voices in the business,'' said Elliott, who performs as a solo act and with Sick Dogs. ``I'm a good emulator. I grew up listening to the stuff.''
Not only is Elliott singing some of the best-known songs ever written, he is also appearing with an orchestra for the first time. ``It's a great feeling. As a singer, you want to hear as much music as you can to go along with your vocals. The orchestra is just taking everything to another level. Brent's charts are excellent and then some.''
Though the audience will decide for itself when hearing ``Stairway to Heaven,'' Elliott said not to worry. ``I just identify with hearing it over and over. I can just close my eyes and visualize it. The orchestra brings it to life. It sounds just like the record - with extra. It turns into something spectacular.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Martin Smith-Rodden
Brent Havens is arranging Zeppelin tunes for the Virginia Symphony
by CNB