Late Orchestration: a Live Masterpiece

Perhaps the best kept secret(or most unappreciated live performance of all time) is Kanye West's Late Orchestration, a special 13 song live album performance of his 2005 album, Late Registration, along with some of his hits from The College Dropout sprinkled throughout. Kanye recorded the live album in Abbey Road Studios in London, England in the presence of around 300 personally invited guests and fans.

I discovered Late Orchestration by delving into some music videos in the summer of 2017. I found videos of a few performances such as "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" and "Heard 'Em Say" among others.

What makes Late Orchestration so great is Kanye's orchestral collaborators, composer Rosie Danvers and the WIRED STRINGS. The orchestra provides a dramatically intense backdrop that is not emulated in the original Late Registration album. The WIRED STRINGS did such an amazing job with Kanye at Abbey Road that Jay-Z followed suit and tapped Rosie Danvers's orchestra for his live Reasonable Doubt show at Radio City Hall in New York.

Late Orchestration is a fresh piece of art to listen to as it is uniquely decorated with crowd noises and cheers. There is no shortage of "whoas!" and you're bound to hear a fan yell "I love you Kanye!" a few times throughout if you listen closely which adds a feeling of authenticity to each set.

Besides the WIRED STRINGS, Kanye tapped world-class DJ and long time collaborator A-Trak, to jockey and produce the live performance. A-Trak's mixes layered with Kanye's soulful lyrical prose fused with the WIRED STRINGS' waves of irreplicable vibrations make for one hell of a listening experience.

Late Orchestration also features artists featured on the album such as Lupe Fiasco, Consequence, and GLC. John Legend also played the piano and featured on "Heard 'Em Say" which Kanye mentions, during Legend's piano solo, was a surprise for his neighbor, Tracy Ellis-Ross.