Gig review: The Easy Orchestra

Published on Monday 13 July 2009 19:03

THE EASY ORCHESTRA ** BLACKFRIARS, GLASGOW

THE three members of The Easy Orchestra met while studying music at the University of Strathclyde. United by a shared love of Burt Bacharach, they hit upon the idea of covering contemporary pop songs in classic crooner style.

Some years on and the trio's formula has earned them a regular spot on Fred MacAulay's Radio Scotland show and a healthy stream of bookings around Scotland and beyond.

As a business model, it's perfect; creatively, it's little more than a short-lived novelty.

For those who have ever wondered how Andy Williams might have interpreted a Sex Pistols number, the Easy Orchestra's opening cover of Pretty Vacant would serve as a caution to check your wandering mind.

The trio's identikit backing of congas and acoustic guitar, plus ever-present cabaret-style piano, makes it difficult to distinguish the Beach Boys from Estelle, or The Smiths from Madness.

A harmless bit of fun it may seem, until you witness yet another favourite song being steamrollered by "the Easy treatment".

The two sets were punctuated by a few unlikely successes – a cod doo-wop version of Britney Spears's Womanizer and a latino take on Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit that was almost worthy of Ricky Martin. On the whole, however, the complacency with which the cravat-wearing charmers charged through their catalogue of classics did little to flatter any of the parties involved.

Like many a quirky scheme dreamt up in the student union, the Easy Orchestra's appeal seems limited to the world of ad breaks and chat shows.