Rock with strings

I will go w/ Rock's 1st (3) concepts albums;
Days of future Passed
Pet Sounds
Sgt Pepper

these (3) offerings set the gold standard and will continue to stand the test of time. Brilliant.

Keep me posted & Happy Listening!

Add 3 more:

Pretty things- S.F. Sorrow
Floyd-Piper
Who+Tommy

Some pretty good recommendations here. I had to think about this one a little bit. I suppose you are referring to full orchestras rather than a few strings. "Pirates" from ELP's Works vol. 1 is great and "Gates of Delerium" from Symphonic Yes uses an orchestra well. However, IMO Alejandro Escovedo's "The Boxing Mirror" uses cellos and violins in a really interesting way to rock. Check out "Deer Head on the Wall" from that album. Escovedo uses a string quartet to complement his electric guitar and the results are very exciting live. "Roomful of Songs" is just a string quartet with no electric guitar, but is a beautiful album. As implied in the posts above, you don't want to devolve into musak elevator music. Strings can be inspirational when applied in creative ways.

Max, I agree that Boxing Mirror is a spectacular record - a top ten all-time favorite in my book. However, I don't think that the sawing cello Escovedo uses there is what the OP was referring to. Similarly, the use of a string quartet is a different "different idea". Escovedo has covered an astonishing range of expression over the course of his career and his use of strings is IMO right at the top of the rock n roll heap. However, I think that his use of strings is a very different kettle of fish than The Moody Blues or The Zombies as cited in the OP.

Thanks, just ordered Boxing Mirror.

Great sounding mix of orchestra and rock band is Serge Gainsbourg's Histoire de Melody Nelson. This one always gets a strong reaction from the local audio club!

from Wikipedia:
Histoire de Melody Nelson is a 1971 concept album by French songwriter Serge Gainsbourg. Produced by Jean-Claude Desmarty, the album was released in March 1971 through Philips Records. The Lolita-esque pseudo-autobiographical plot of the album involves the middle-aged Gainsbourg unintentionally colliding his Rolls Royce Silver Ghost into teenage girl Melody Nelson's bicycle, and the subsequent seduction and romance that ensues. Histoire de Melody Nelson is considered by many critics and fans to be Gainsbourg's most influential and accomplished album. It is also regarded one of the greatest albums of all time by a number of prominent music publications, the French edition of Rolling Stone magazine having named this album the 4th greatest French rock album (out of 100).

Cheers,
Spencer