CYPRESS HILL

The punchline to a joke told on an episode of "The Simpsons" 30 years ago, CYPRESS HILL's collaboration with THE LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA was one of the most joyous moments of 2024: a coming together of hip-hop group and full orchestra, within the luxurious walls of London's Royal Albert Hall. The original joke — that the LA legends had accidentally ordered an orchestra while high as fuck — was effective enough that CYPRESS HILL have been asked repeatedly about it over the years, but as they stepped out onto the stage at this prestigious venue, even these intrinsically cool individuals looked quietly stunned. What followed was a sublime eruption of inspiration.

On a night that no amount of bong hits will let them forget, CYPRESS HILL were revisiting their most successful album, 1994's "Black Sunday", in its infectious entirety, with music arranged by conductor Troy Miller and performed by some of the best musicians in the world. Alongside MCs B-Real and Sen Dog stood percussionist Eric Bobo, upright bassist Christian Olde Wolbers and turntable maestro DJ Lord; all looking resplendent in expensive looking evening wear. As fans will discover if they go for the Blu-Ray, CYPRESS HILL have never looked cooler. But the most pleasing thing about the whole event was how great the music was. Everybody can cite collaborations between bands and orchestras that missed the mark, but from the opening strains of "I Wanna Get High", "Black Sunday Live At The Royal Albert Hall" is nothing short of revelatory.

There are times when Troy Miller conjures precise clones of the original tracks, with all the samples and quirks reproduced by various parts of the orchestra. At others, he completely reinvents the songs, completely changing the mood and adding dazzling new colors to CYPRESS HILL's smoky, monochrome blueprints. "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That" is transformed, with a lush, cinematic intro and outro, and ingenious flurries of Hitchcock-ian brass; "Insane in the Brain" is a funked-up, psychedelic Bond theme, with raucous crowd response expected and delivered; "Cock the Hammer" is a turbulent, hip-hop noir, underpinned by Olde Wolbers's pinpoint, treacly bass; and "Hits From the Bong" expands the Dusty Springfield-sampling original into a dreamy soul symphony.

"Black Sunday" dispatched, CYPRESS HILL treated a near-hysterical crowd to a generous selection of orchestrally augmented "extra shit". Again, Troy Miller's ingenuity is on full display. "Dr. Greenthumb" is an exotic, shuffling mantra, with muted trumpets and billowing kettle drums; the TikTok-approved "Illusions" is a wild, Isaac Hayes fever dream; and "How I Could Just Kill a Man" is both as funky as it ever was and more grimly threatening than ever. Even a riotous, closing "(Rock) Superstar" brims with smart ideas, not least strings that stab like the "Psycho" shower scene. Every last bit of it is deliriously entertaining, and CYPRESS HILL haven't lost a single step over the decades. It ends, they are cheered to the rafters, and the power of "The Simpsons" is, once again, undeniable. It may have resulted from a joke, but no one's laughing now. "Black Sunday Live At The Royal Albert Hall" is a gift from the stoner gods.