Toast to Irish pop

Marc Shulgold, Rocky Mountain News

Published March 16, 2007 at midnight

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No, Sinead won't be there. Nor will Bono or the Edge. And Sir Paul is unavailable. But Peter Brennan is promising the next best thing.

The Canadian-based guitarist will bring his rock group and a handful of singers to Boettcher Hall on Saturday to re-create songs by the above-named hit-makers and many others. And he'll have help from a huge backup band - the Colorado Symphony.

But Brennan says all those musicians will be taking a back seat to something more important: "When each of our singers performs, they're saying in essence, 'It's about the song. It's not about me. It's not about us.' These are not clone acts," he said.

The business of symphonic pops is big these days, and Brennan has come up with no less than 44 themed programs of cover hits with orchestral arrangements. He calls them "Jeans 'n' Classics."

Saturday's St. Patrick's Day program is an evening-length tribute to the variety of Irish pop music.

Brennan understands the risk of watering down the songs of that country's rock icons by introducing the classical sound of the symphony. "It is a fine line," he said. "We're taking these songs and moving them into a different sphere. But we don't want to emasculate them. There is some material we won't go near."

By example, he points to U2's Pride (In the Name of Love). "It's such an awesome song," the guitarist said. "I really wanted to arrange it, but I didn't want to mess with that amazing delayed electric guitar sound. I knew I'd have a tough time integrating it with an orchestra."

Brennan insists that the songs scheduled for Saturday can succeed with a symphony.

He's done the same thing with classic material by Led Zeppelin, Queen and other rockers. "I've been doing this for 13 years, and I've found that it comes down to getting a sense of what will work and what won't."

These shows are not crafted as greatest-hits packages. "Sure, with a hit, often it's that song doing the work for you," Brennan said. "And I realize that, with one that's a tad obscure, you'll get less applause.

"But look at the Gary Moore tune we're doing (Over the Hills and Far Away). You may not know him, but you'll love the song. I try to strike a good balance between the hits and the unknowns, between the ballads and the rockers. I want to give each of my singers a nice profile."

And let's not forget the giant backup band. "I want to make this fun for the orchestra, too. In the old days, when symphony musicians were older, this sort of crossover might not have worked. But musicians are getting younger these days. This is their music, too."

Going green

Some of the songs scheduled for the Jeans 'n' Classics program:

• Angel of Harlem (U2)

• So Young Now, Toss the Feathers (The Corrs)

• Running Up That Hill, Cloudbusting (Kate Bush)

• I Don't Like Mondays (Boomtown Rats)

• Only Time (Enya)

• Crazy Love, Have I Told You Lately (Van Morrison)

• Over the Hills and Far Away (Gary Moore)

• The Boys are Back in Town (Thin Lizzy)

• Linger (Cranberries)

• Nothing Compares to You (Sinead O'Connor)