Kanye West wouldn't be Kanye West if he didn't turn his first live DVD into something special. Late Orchestration is the recording of a performance West gave at the world famous Abbey Road studios. Only three hundred spectators were able to witness this concert, but luckily there is now the DVD. Kanye performed with a DJ - not uncommon at a hip hop concert - and an all-female seventeen-piece string
… orchestra - very unusual at a hip hop concert. On Live 8, West has appeared with a similar group before, and in Abbey Road he has perfected it. The string arrangements definitely add value, while the beats and samples operated by DJ A-Trak still make the songs from both The College Dropout and Late Registration pop. Kanye West does it without backup mc, and that is a relief after all the screaming rappers who hang around the stages so often. Only occasionally do guests join in with a song, such as Lupe Fiasco and John Legend. Late Orchestration is worth seeing. (IV)more
