Open Heart Symphony is a 1996 album by Spirit of the West

Spirit of the West

Spirit of the West are a Canadian folk rock band, who were popular on the Canadian folk music scene in the 1980s before evolving a blend of hard rock, Britpop, and Celtic folk influences which made them one of Canada's most successful alternative rock acts in the 1990s.-Early years:The band began...

, in collaboration with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra performing in Vancouver, British Columbia. Over 240,000 people attend its live performances each year. It was founded in 1930 and plays in 12 venues. Its home is the Orpheum theatre. With an annual operating budget of $9.5 million, it is the...

.

The band recorded two shows with the orchestra on May 12 and May 13, 1995. The shows included several renditions of the band's best known songs, and an entire album's worth of songs written specifically for the symphony shows. The new songs were compiled on the album Open Heart Symphony; several of the hits performed at the shows appear on the band's 1999 compilation Hit Parade

Hit Parade (album)

Hit Parade is a 1999 album by Spirit of the West.The album is a compilation, and marked their final release for Warner Music Canada. Despite the album's title, not all of the songs on the album were released as singles, and some songs which were notable singles are not present...

.

The shows were also taped for broadcast on the Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 arts channel Bravo!.

Song notes

A studio version of "Kiss and Tell" appeared on the 1997 soundtrack album

The Hanging Garden (soundtrack)

The Hanging Garden is a 1997 album, a soundtrack to the Canadian film The Hanging Garden.-Track listing:# Ani DiFranco, "The Million You Never Made"# Ashley MacIsaac, "Ashley's Reels"# Mae Moore, "Deep Water"# Spirit of the West, "Kiss and Tell"...

 to the film The Hanging Garden

The Hanging Garden

The Hanging Garden is a 1997 British/Canadian movie written and directed by Thom Fitzgerald that is about the duality of life and death and the way seemingly very different choices in life can lead to similar outcomes....

. "Let the Ass Bray" was reportedly written after Mann and Kelly attended a Radiohead

Radiohead

Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...

 concert at which Thom Yorke

Thom Yorke

Thomas "Thom" Edward Yorke is an English musician who is the lead vocalist and principal songwriter for Radiohead. He mainly plays guitar and piano, but he has also played drums and bass guitar...

 angrily refused an audience member's request to play "Creep" even though it was Radiohead's only notable hit single at the time.

Reissue

The album was reissued in 2008 on Rhino Records, concurrently with the release of the band's career retrospective Spirituality 1983-2008: The Consummate Compendium

Spirituality 1983-2008: The Consummate Compendium

Spirituality 1983–2008: The Consummate Compendium is a greatest hits album by Spirit of the West, released by Rhino Records on July 15, 2008....

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Track listing

All songs by John Mann

John Mann (musician)

John F. Mann is a Canadian rock musician and actor.-Music:He is the lead vocalist for the folk rock band Spirit of the West...

 and Geoffrey Kelly

Geoffrey Kelly

Geoffrey Kelly is a Canadian rock musician.He plays guitars, flutes and bodhran for the folk rock band Spirit of the West, for whom he is also the lead vocalist on some songs. He and John Mann are the band's primary songwriters.Kelly is also a full time member of The Paperboys, and released a solo...

, except where noted.

1. "Williamson's Garage"
2. "Daisy's Dead"
3. "Frankfurt, I'm Sorry"
4. "Christmas Eve" (traditional)
5. "Resurrection"
6. "The Miller's Daughter" (Kelly)
7. "Bare Branches"
8. "Strange Bedfellows"
9. "Kiss and Tell"
10. "Milk, Tea and Oranges"
11. "Let the Ass Bray"