Late Orchestration

Late Orchestration
Live album by Kanye West
Released	April 24, 2006
Recorded	September 21, 2005
Studio	Abbey Road (London)
Genre	Hip hop big band
Length	47:19
Label	Mercury
Director	Tom Bird
Producer	Kanye West Vicki Betihavas
Kanye West chronology
Late Registration (2005) Late Orchestration (2006) Can't Tell Me Nothing (2007)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Entertainment.ie	[2]
The Independent	Favorable[ citation needed ]

Late Orchestration is a live album by American rapper Kanye West. It was released on April 24, 2006, through Mercury Records in Europe and Asia. ^{[1] [3] [4]} The album features recordings of live renditions of songs derived from his first two studio albums, The College Dropout (2004) and Late Registration (2005). ^{[1] [5]} It was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London, England, before an audience of 300 invited guests on September 21, 2005. ^{[1] [3] [4] [6]}

West was backed by a seventeen-piece all-female string orchestra ^[7] and featured guest appearances by John Legend, Lupe Fiasco, GLC and Consequence. ^[1] The CD release features the full performance (12 tracks) along with an additional bonus track, "Gold Digger" (Live at AOL). The concert was also released on DVD as well as interviews and bonus music videos for the first four singles of Late Registration. ^{[1] [3]}

The cover photograph, taken by photographer Andrew Meredith, ^[8] is a reference to the Beatles' cover of their 1969 album Abbey Road , which features the four band members walking across a crosswalk on the well-known street, close to the studio where the album, and Late Orchestration, were recorded. ^{[9] [10]} Late Orchestration has been cited as the most well-known instance of hip hop and classical music coming together. ^[7]

Background

In an interview from the time, West explained that he chose to record with an orchestra in order to dispel what he saw as a dismissive attitude towards hip hop as an art form. He felt that being able to "spit true, heartfelt rap lyrics in front of an orchestra is juxtaposing what’s thought to be two totally different forms of music... it shows you that it’s all music. We tried to alter people’s perception of the music", adding that he "[loves] pushing the envelope... I love to perform for those people who think they’ve seen everything before. But have you seen this? Can you get with this? That’s the toughest crowd [and] I love the challenge." ^[11]

Track listing

1. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" – 4:08
2. "Touch the Sky" (featuring Lupe Fiasco) – 4:07
3. "Crack Music" – 2:48
4. "Drive Slow" (featuring GLC) – 4:34
5. "Through the Wire" – 3:33
6. "The New Workout Plan" – 2:53
7. "Heard 'Em Say" (featuring John Legend) – 4:10
8. "All Falls Down" – 3:13
9. "Bring Me Down" – 3:21
10. "Gone" (featuring Consequence) – 4:15
11. "Late" – 3:54
12. "Jesus Walks" – 3:14
13. "Gold Digger (AOL Sessions)" (bonus track) – 3:18

Charts

Weekly charts Charts (2005) Peak position Irish Albums (IRMA) [12] 46 UK Albums (OCC) [13] 59

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [14]	Gold	100,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Luecking, Eric. Late Orchestration: Live at Abbey Road Studios at AllMusic. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
2. "Kanye West - Late Orchestration". entertainment.ie. Archived from the original on November 19, 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2009.
3. "For The Record: Quick News On Michael Jackson, Paula Abdul, Kanye West, Bijou Phillips, Jay Dee, Alice In Chains & More". MTV . MTV Networks. April 13, 2006. Archived from the original on August 18, 2007. Retrieved July 28, 2006.
4. "Kanye West prepares live album and DVD". NME. April 12, 2006. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
5. McDermott, Maeve (March 18, 2019). "With his weekly 'Sunday Service,' Kanye West is finally exciting again". USA TODAY. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
6. Walker, Angus (April 11, 2016). "Kanye West's 5 Most Powerful Live Performances". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
7. "5 times hip hop and the classical world collided". BBC. September 6, 2019. Archived from the original on September 10, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
8. "Kanye West album design". maggierogers.co.uk. Archived from the original on September 18, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
9. Strecker, Erin (August 8, 2014). "Here Are 7 of Our Favorite 'Abbey Road' Cover Homages". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
10. Wilkening, Matthew (August 8, 2018). "50 Years of 'Abbey Road' Album Cover Tributes and Parodies". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
11. "15 Years of Kanye West's *Late Orchestration* from Abbey Road Studios". Abbey Road. October 31, 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
12. "Top 75 Artist Album, Week Ending 4 May 2006". GfK Chart-Track. Archived from the original on May 2, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
13. "Kanye West | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
14. "British album certifications – Kanye West – Late Orchestration". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved February 15, 2018.