The band recorded two shows with the orchestra on May 12 and May 13, 1995, at the Orpheum Theatre.[2] 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.
The shows were also taped for broadcast on the Canadian arts channel Bravo!.
"Let the Ass Bray" was reportedly written after Mann and Kelly attended a Radiohead concert at which Thom Yorke angrily refused an audience member's request to play "Creep" even though it was Radiohead's only notable hit single at the time.
Cover art
The photo used on the album cover was taken in the "Confederation Lounge" at the Hotel Macdonald in Edmonton, Alberta. The large painting hanging above the band members' heads is a reproduction by Frederick Challener of the famous "Fathers of Confederation" portrait originally painted by Robert Harris. As the original Harris painting was lost in the Parliamentfire of 1916, this reproduction is one of only two versions depicting an historic event in Canadian history.[3]
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.
