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BRITISH LIGHT MUSIC CLASSICS Volume 4 Marching
Strings (Ray Martin); Jaunting Car (Peter Hope); High Heels (Trevor
Duncan); Dance of an Ostracised Imp (Frederic Curzon); Keltic Lament
(John Foulds); Rhythm on Rails, A Quiet Stroll (Charles Williams);
By the Sleepy Lagoon (Eric Coates); Jamaican Rumba (Arthur Benjamin);
In a Monastery Garden (Albert W. Ketèlbey); Demoiselle Chic
(Percy Fletcher); Cavalcade of Youth (Jack Beaver); Elizabethan
Masque (Frederic Bayco); Shepherd Fennel’s Dance (Henry Balfour
Gardiner); Thrills (Charles Ancliffe); The Doge’s March (Frederick
Rosse); Petite Suite de Concert (Samuel Coleridge-Taylor) The
New London Orchestra conducted by Ronald Corp Hyperion CDA67400,
total timing 77:53 minutes. We are greatly indebted to both Hyperion
and Ronald Corp for the (hopefully) continuing series of British
Light Music Classics, with its targeted emphasis on vintage Light
Music ranging from about the 1890s to the early 1960s – a period
when melody and rhythmic verve was at its most intense and infectious.
Whilst inevitably in such a generous compilation some duplication
with contemporary modern recordings is unavoidable, and pieces such
as By the Sleepy Lagoon and In a Monastery Garden
are doubtless included to make the CD more commercial, there is
plenty of evidence of some imaginative programme planning and an
impressive knowledge of Light Music repertoire. An excellent curtain-raiser
is Ray Martin’s Marching Strings, played with plenty
of verve and panache. Particularly welcome are the two Charles Williams
miniatures, particularly the charmingly joyful and jaunty A Quiet
Stroll. New to this listener was John Foulds’ haunting
beautiful Keltic Lament, and remembered from the distant
days of childhood Charles Ancliffe’s fine waltz Thrills
(staple fare, no doubt, in programmes such as ‘Those Were The
Days’) and the Doges March by Frederick Rosse, of which
my father possessed a 78 record. Jack Beaver’s Cavalcade
of Youth – used as the signature tune of ‘The Barlows
of Beddington’ – also made one wistfully nostalgic. Also
welcome is a complete Petite Suite de Concert in a recording
distinctly superior to the Marco Polo alternative (8.223516) with
the Dublin RTE Concert Orchestra conducted by Adrian Leaper. Technically
the recording (even by Hyperion’s high standards) is quite
superlative with ample range, depth and amplitude, with many inner
details and ‘effects’ being revealed – often hidden
or obscured in earlier historic recordings. One cannot imagine this
disc not being an automatic ‘must have’ amongst light
music enthusiasts and hopefully the better known pieces will attract
a wider currency amongst the general public. Anyway it’s up
to all of us to encourage Hyperion and Ronald Corp to keep up their
good work. As Andrew Lamb says in his informative notes to this
fourth volume dip into the well of British Light Music Classics,
the source is as fresh and sparkling as ever! Roger Hyslop
Unless I’m mistaken, nine of these pieces
appear as first-time modern digital recordings. Anyway, here come
the Marching Strings, fresh as ever (what a good opener they
always make) and Jack Beaver’s uplifting Cavalcade of Youth;
here also is Elizabethan Masque, rather unexpected and all
the more welcome for that. Ketèlbey’s ‘monks’
sound really authentic (period performance!), and though less brisk
than the composer’s version Rhythm on Rails gave me
a pleasingly smooth ride. Many moons ago Charles Ancliffe was constrained
to squeeze as much of Thrills as he could on to a 10"
78 side; complete with introduction, all repeats and coda it now
gets the full treatment. So too does Petite Suite de Concert,
and its third movement Un Sonnet d’Amour is given as
sensitive an account as any that I know. All in all, this is an
excellent release which will hopefully make many more friends for
our wonderful World of Light Music. John E. Govier Hyperion
CDs are available from the RFS Record Service for £12 [US $24] each.
PAUL LEWIS Three Decades of TV Themes The
Prisoner of Zenda, Autumn Love, Brendon Chase, Arthur of the Britons,
The Big Knife, King’s Royal, The Dark Angel, The Benny Hill
Waltz, The Island, Woof!, Wreckers at Deadeye The Royal Ballet
Sinfonia conducted by Paul Lewis Campion CAMEO 2018, 76:13
mins. At long last here is a CD which attempts to do justice to
Paul Lewis’s work for British television. I say ‘attempts’,
because incredibly he has been responsible for over 130 TV scores,
so there is a vast body of his work still waiting to be rediscovered.
But this new CD makes a fine start, and the swashbuckling opening
from the 1984 "Prisoner of Zenda" (BBC TV) is in the finest
Hollywood tradition. Autumn Love was originally in the Chappell
Recorded Music Library, but its tender qualities were noticed in
1973 when it was chosen for the Thames TV series "Spring and
Autumn". Subsequently it was arranged by Ray Martin for commercial
LP release, and the Chappell version also appeared in Grasmere’s
third album of famous themes. Paul knows how to write a catchy theme,
and "Brendon Chase" certainly falls into this category.
An RCA EP of the music sold 5,000 copies back in the 1980s. "Arthur
of the Britons" (HTV 1972) is perhaps the major suite in this
collection, with an impressive opening and plenty of tender (and
exciting!) themes in the rest of the work. "The Big Knife"
(HTV 1989) is sub-titled Romance for Piano and Strings and
one can imagine it filling both sides of a Columbia 78 back in the
late 1940s. "King’s Royal" (BBC 1981-82) has a very
strong theme in the finest tradition of descriptive writing. "The
Dark Angel" (BBC 1990) is another substantial work which the
composer describes as A Gothic Melodrama for Orchestra. In
complete contrast comes The Benny Hill Waltz, which is actually
a movement called Ballroom from Paul’s collection "History
Book of Music"; the change of title reflects the use of this
piece (speeded-up) in many Benny Hill shows. "The Island"
(HTV 1976) features soprano and orchestra; the producer had asked
for a Laura-type piece, but understandably Paul felt some
reluctance to copy that most famous of all film themes. The result
is a melody employing vocalise (wordless) for soprano and orchestra
– the listener can judge whether or not the producer had his
wish granted. "Woof!" has to be Paul’s most famous
TV theme. Although written for an ITV children’s programme,
it achieved audience figures above six million, and has been shown
in over 64 countries. Tommy Reilly originally played harmonica in
the small Carlton TV orchestra (the Paul Lewis Woof Band), to be
followed by James Hughes from series eight. Even if you have never
seen the TV show, you cannot fail to be swept along by the sheer
fun and exuberance of the music. In this Fantasy Paul has
combined several of the themes he used during the series, but over
the nine years he wrote many catchy little interludes for all of
the main characters. Finally this delightful collection comes to
an end with "Wreckers at Deadeye" (Thames 1970) –
to quote the composer’s words "…a rip-roaring yarn
of smugglers and shipwreckers." He has certainly captured it
all in his music. The CD is accompanied by an excellent booklet
(mostly written by Paul), generously filled with photographs. Campion
is to be congratulated for including this highly entertaining CD
in their ‘British Composers series’. This CD should be
in the collection of everyone who enjoys expertly crafted light
orchestral music. It is simply an absolute joy from start to finish.
David Ades Campion CDs are available from the RFS
Record Service for £12 [US $24} each.
BRITISH STRING MINIATURES Volume One Divertimento
(Gareth Walters); Elegy (Edward Elgar); Suite (Michael
Roberts); Two Aquarelles (Frederick Delius); Fiddler’s
Green (Anthony Hedges); Two Pieces from Henry V (William
Walton); Partita (John Addison). Royal Ballet Sinfonia
conducted by Gavin Sutherland. ASV Whiteline WHL 2134, 71:37
mins. If you enjoyed producer Philip Lane’s four English String
Miniatures sequence on Naxos then you will enjoy his new four-part
series on ASV which mixes the familiar with the less well-known,
no bad thing. Gareth Walters is Welsh and his five-part Divertimento
is based on national folk tunes. Michael Roberts came from Blackburn
in Lancashire and worked for the BBC before going freelance, parts
of his excellent five-movement Suite being used as television
theme tunes. Anthony Hedges has long been associated with Hull University
and all four movements of Fiddler’s Green relate to
places of musical jollity which sailors enjoyed while ashore. John
Addison was educated at Wellington College and wrote for both the
concert hall and cinema while Elgar, Walton and Delius need no further
introduction. Edmund Whitehouse
Adventurous music-lovers who relish the bite, darkness,
delicacy, light, sweep, tenderness, etc. etc. of well-made string
compositions are unlikely to complain of this! Neither frivolous
nor brow-furrowing, the seven works all add up to a pleasing, nicely
contrasted programme. A short Elgar work and "tandem"
pieces by Delius/Fenby and Walton balance the others. Gareth Walters
and the late Michael Roberts and John Addison are represented by
five-movement works (the Roberts was assembled from music written
in 1962, ’65 and ’71). The newest work, dating from last
year, is by Anthony Hedges – living up to the promise of its
title. Full-toned playing and recording: try a lowish volume setting
for comfort! It appears that more may be looked forward to. John
E. Govier
MATTHEW CURTIS Fiesta, Amsterdam Suite,
Pas de Deux, Paths to Urbino, Two Pieces for Small Orchestra, Outward
Bound Royal Ballet Sinfonia conducted by Gavin Sutherland
Campion CAMEO 2015, 77:18 mins. I must confess to not having
been aware of the music of Matthew Curtis previously, but how grateful
I am that this gap in my musical knowledge has finally been filled
by this splendid new CD from Campion in their ‘British Composers
Series’. The accompanying booklet informs us that he hails
from Embleton in Cumbria, and that much of his music has been taken
up by non-professional and youth orchestras in Britain and overseas.
He composes in a pleasing style that is instantly accessible, yet
full of delightful orchestral colouring that will provide enhanced
enjoyment with repeated listenings. How good it is that young composers
(Matthew was born in 1959) are still writing what can be described
as ‘traditional’ light music, although he himself seems
to suggest that he regards it more as contemporary classical that
can appeal to performers and audiences alike. Labels can be misleading:
suffice it to say that anyone who enjoys the kind of light music
championed by Eric Coates and Haydn Wood will find much to please
them here. I look forward to hearing more of his music in the future.
David Ades
‘Something Here’ – The Film and
Television Music of DEBBIE WISEMAN Wilde, Hans Christian
Andersen, Before You Go, Tom & Viv, Judge John Deed, Warriors,
My Uncle Silas, Simon – an English Legionnaire, Tom’s
Midnight Garden, Haunted, Othello, The Ugly Duckling Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Debbie Wiseman Silva Screen
SILKD6035, 71:19 mins. As Debbie herself explains in the booklet,
the album’s title "Something here" refers to the
familiar comment from directors showing their film to a composer,
indicating that some music is needed at a particular point. This
collection brings together some of her memorable scores for film
and TV, the earliest being "Tom & Viv" (1994) which
tells of the tumultuous marriage of poet T.S. Eliot to his first
wife, and no less than four from 2002, of which the major work has
to be Debbie’s setting of "The Ugly Duckling", narrated
by Nigel Havers in his usual suave manner. Perhaps parts of this
fairy tale might be a bit frightening to very young children, but
it serves as an extremely useful way to get youngsters interested
in the manner in which orchestral music can tell a story –
especially when the writing is as accomplished as this. Whenever
the name ‘Debbie Wiseman’ appears on the credits for a
film or television production, you know that the music will perfectly
suit the situation on screen. Perhaps she has had rather a lot of
serious subjects to date (and she can certainly tear at your heartstrings!),
but the music for "Hans Christian Andersen" and "My
Uncle Silas" reveal her lighter nature. She is such a petite,
happy and bubbly person in real life that it is difficult to imagine
her writing some of the serious works her directors demand, let
alone control the full forces of a large symphony orchestra. What
a formidable talent she is! One day she will get an Oscar for the
best score for a major Hollywood film; why it hasn’t happened
already, is Hollywood’s loss. Until the film capital of the
world wakes up and finally takes notice, we in Britain can be sure
that our films and television will continue to benefit from her
superlative scores. David Ades
The Film Music of RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Volume
1 Scott of the Antarctic, Coastal Command, The People’s
Land BBC Philharmonic conducted by Rumon Gamba Chandos
CHAN 10007, 78:30 mins. Chandos is gradually building up an impressive
library of film music, and it is good to note that this latest CD
has been labelled ‘Volume 1’, indicating that there are
more treats to follow from this great composer. Because he has been
so lauded for his symphonies, Vaughan Williams’ work for the
British cinema has tended to be somewhat neglected, but on its own
it stands as a fine testimony to his gifts as a descriptive writer.
It is well-known that his score for "Scott of the Antarctic"
provided the basis for his Symphony No. 7 – "Sinfonia
Antartica" – and some critics over the years have suggested
that the symphony was in some ways less satisfying than the film
music. Perhaps this is surprising, because less than half of the
score that VW provided for the film was actually used by the producers,
so this CD, which offers the premiere recording of the full version,
provides the first opportunity for some of it to be heard. "Coastal
Command" was a wartime documentary made by the Crown Film Unit
in 1942, while "The People’s Land" described the
work of the National Trust and was shot in colour in 1943 (surprisingly
in view of the scarcity of film stock at that time). The BBC Philharmonic
and Rumon Gamba are definitely in sympathy with film music, as their
previous CDs have proved, and this latest one is no exception. The
booklet is generously illustrated with film stills (but not from
"The People’s Land"), and anyone interested in British
film music should immediately add this to their collection. David
Ades
NELSON RIDDLE: ‘The Unreleased Nelson
– Part 1’ RADIO TRANSCRIPTIONS Isle of May,
Till the End of Time, Our Love, Moon Love, The Lamp is Low, Full
Moon and Empty Arms, In the Hush of Night, Yours and Mine, Yours
is my Heart Alone (You Are my Heart’s Delight), My Reverie;
HEY DIDDLE RIDDLE The Farmer in the Dell, Row Your Boat, Oh Dear
What Can the Matter Be, The Muffin Man, Little Bo Peep, London Bridge,
Tom Tom the Piper’s Son, Polly Put the Kettle On, Three Blind
Mice, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Hickory Dickory Dock NELSON
RIDDLE APPRECIATION SOCIETY NNCD003. Alan Wright is doing a wonderful
job keeping alive the glorious music of Nelson Riddle. Not only
does he produce the regular newsletter "Nelson’s Notes",
but he has also arranged for members of the NRAS to obtain rare
recordings by Nelson that are unobtainable elsewhere. Alan has kindly
allowed us to give details of his latest release which contains
two batches of traditional tunes, arranged in the unique Riddle
manner, that have not previously been released anywhere. The first
ten tracks (all classical works) are transcriptions recorded late
in 1953 for use by radio stations. "Hey Diddle Riddle"
dates from October to December 1959, and is believed to be for a
projected album that didn’t eventually proceed. Anyone interested
in Riddle’s work will find this CD fascinating, and it is an
essential purchase for those wishing to have a complete Nelson Riddle
collection. Audio restoration was in the hands of Alan Bunting,
so you’ll know that it is of a very high quality. David
Ades
This is available only as a private CD through
a £10 (incl. p & p) donation to the Nelson Riddle Appreciation
Society, 4 Jardine Cottages, Templewood Lane, Stoke Poges, Bucks,
SL2 4BQ, England. Please mention the RFS when ordering; cheques
should be payable to ‘The Nelson Riddle Appreciation Society’.
ABC RADIO THEMES : CLASSIC THEMES FROM POPULAR
ABC RADIO PROGRAMMES – (Australia) ABC CLASSICS 472446-2. The
Australian Broadcasting Corporation has recently released this CD
containing twenty tracks of a variety of radio themes heard over
the years. Many of the themes of current programmes included are
classical pieces from such composers as Respighi, Charpentier, Beethoven
and Mozart. These themes have become much loved over the years.
The older programme themes include 'Pastorale' by Ronald Hanmer,
once used as the theme to the serial 'Blue Hills'; 'Old Mother Hubbard'
by Cecil Fraser from 'The Argonauts'; Clive Richardson's 'Melody
on the Move' from the 'Hospital Half Hour' and the Merrymakers'
Dance by Edward German once used as the theme to the ‘Country
Hour’. There are also two versions of 'Majestic Fanfare' by
Charles Williams. The last nineteen seconds of this has been used
as the ABC Radio News Theme for about fifty years. Also included
is 'Olympia Australia' by the Australian composer Sean O'Boyle.
This stirring and descriptive piece was used as the theme to the
Sydney Olympics and more recently the Manchester Commonwealth Games.
All told a good selection for regular ABC listeners and those who
like theme music. Barry Freeman
FRANK BRIDGE Orchestral Works Vol. 2 Dance
Rhapsody, Five Entr’actes, Dance Poem, Norse Legend, The Sea
Chandos CHAN 10012, 72:37 minutes. When one considers how attractive
this music is, it is surprising that this is the only cycle of Bridge’s
music ever undertaken. The opening work Dance Rhapsody (this
is the premiere recording in this version) is an attractive piece
which Bridge first conducted to considerable critical acclaim in
1908. It enjoyed several more performances until 1918, after which
it lay forgotten until 1938. It disappeared once more, until 1977,
which probably says more about our musical establishment than the
quality of the work itself. I find it enchanting, and I shall listen
to it on many future occasions. The Sea is regarded as Bridge’s
most successful orchestral work and (like a certain Canadian composer
some years later) he chose to get his inspiration from the south
coast of England. Frank Bridge (1879-1941) deserves to have his
work remembered and enjoyed, and this collection could well provide
some very pleasant surprises for music lovers who are currently
unfamiliar with his achievements. David Ades
ELGAR The Wand of Youth Suites 1 &
2, Three Bavarian Dances, Polonia, Triumphal March [Carcatacus],
Meditation [The Light of Life] – LPO, conducted by Sir Adrian
Boult – EMI Classics CDZ 5 75295-2. 74 mins. A warm
welcome back to the catalogue for an old friend, Sir Adrian Boult’s
peerless performances of these wistful suites and enchanting dances.
Here is light music of consummate excellence. It’s difficult
to believe these classic and sensitive performances will ever be
surpassed. I have treasured the original HMV LP [ASD 2356] for many
years and it’s a particular joy to have these recordings, sounding
newly minted and mercifully liberated from the inevitable "snap,
crackle and pop", on CD. The attractions of this issue are
further enhanced by some generous fill-ups: Polonia [a fantasia
on Polish national airs dedicated to Ignaz Paderewski, and with
organ judiciously added to bring the piece to a suitably grandioso
conclusion], the stirring March, and the oratorio Meditation.
With generous playing time, budget price and indisputably three-star
performances this disc is self-recommending. Roger Hyslop
LES PAUL and Mary Ford ‘How High The Moon’
Title track, Just Because, Blue Skies, Dark Eyes, It’s
Been a Long Long Time (with Bing Crosby), Rumours are Flying (with
Andrews Sisters), Lover, Brazil, Nola, Goofus, Little Rock Getaway,
La Rosita, Whispering, The World is Waiting for the Sunrise, etc…
30 tracks ASV Living Era CD AJA 5438, 77:08 mins. There can
be few collectors of popular music around 50 years ago who did not
have at least one Les Paul 78 in their collection. So for many of
us, this new compilation is a welcome reminder of his considerable
talents as a guitar player who, technically, was years ahead of
his time. It is incredible that he achieved such astonishing results
from the primitive recording equipment available in the late 1940s.
I seem to recall reading that his multi-track records were often
made at home in his bathroom, and that he kept the precise way he
did it a closely guarded secret. Eight-track mixers have been mentioned,
presumably linked to early tape recorders (the CD booklet notes
briefly talk about ‘LP overdubbing’ – but surely
this would have resulted in a build-up of unacceptable surface noise).
Les Paul’s wife Mary Ford sings (also multi-tracked) on nine
of the songs, and all of their big hits (up to 1951) seem to be
here. It is great to be able to enjoy these unique recordings again.
David Ades
MUSIC FROM THE MOVIES The Thirties
Music from the Movies; 1936 Medley; Goldwyn Follies selection; Jungle
of the Jungle; Hollywood Hotel selection; The Wizard of Oz selection;
The Eyes of the World Are Upon You; The Great Ziegfeld selection;
Empire Builders; Gold Diggers of 1937 selection; I Haven’t
Time To Be a Millionaire; On the Avenue selection; Everybody Dance;
Babes in Arms selection; There’s That Look In Your Eyes Again;
Music from the Movies 1938 Medley. Louis Levy & his Gaumont
British Symphony. ASV Living Era CD AJA 5445, 76:40 mins. Ever
wondered how David Ades spends his spare time? He never has any
and this impressive selection of 1930s movie music is yet another
product of his fertile imagination and personal record collection.
Louis Levy certainly comes under the guise of dance band leader
but he was much more than that, being the major pre-war musical
voice of the cinema. The luscious sleeve depicts the opening of
the Gaumont State Cinema in Kilburn, North London, and the opening
march Music from the Movies will be instantly recognisable
to all who used to go the flicks when it was not unusual for there
to be 2,000 other people present, more than many of today’s
professional football club crowds! Singers on the disc include Sam
Browne, Gerry Fitzgerald, Janet Lind, Robert Ashley, Hazel Jean,
Edward Molloy and Eve Becke. If you were a moviegoer then you will
know what to expect but if not then sit back and imagine what it
must have been like when the only screen to watch was a big one,
which most families visited at least once a week. Edmund
Whitehouse
I must comment on the superb sound of this CD.
The soaring strings, wandering all over the place, are warmly supported
by the full, rich sound of the brass which often carries the main
melody. And the singers sound so clear. Alan Bunting has done a
wonderful job restoring these ancient 78s. I have other Louis Levy
albums in my collection, but they don’t sound as good as this.
Raymond Wood Editor: I am very pleased that members
have appreciated the efforts made by Alan on this CD. Some of the
tracks I transferred for him were edited from up to three different
78s to get the best results we could, and I have to say (with suitable
modesty) that I think the extra trouble we took was worth it.
‘POPS ROUNDUP’ - BOSTON POPS ORCHESTRA
conducted by ARTHUR FIEDLER. Pops Roundup; Home On the Range
plus 16 other cowboy songs. 61:26. (USA) RCA Victor Living Stereo
09026-61666-2. Howdy, pardners! Time to get out your western gear
and ride out onto the Plains with this time honoured classic. Arrangements
are by Jack Mason and Richard Hayman. To set the tone, there's "Pops
Roundup," a send-up of American TV westerns followed by a gunfight
version of "O Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie." There is a stunningly
beautiful Jack Mason chart for "Home On The Range" which is treated
with graceful dignity. Sons of the Pioneers admirers will find "Wagon
Wheels" and "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" stunningly elegant. Tacked on
at the end of this charming 1962 recording are 6 tracks from the
1967 follow-up album "Pops Goes West." It's hard to beat Richard
Hayman's lush version of "Shenandoah" or his upbeat take of "High
Noon." As with the earlier recording, the remastering is formidably
life like with Richard Hayman playing his harmonica enthusiastically.
A charming album from a great era for the Pops and Arthur Fiedler.
RCA/BMG have a vast catalogue of Fiedler recordings including those
of Chet Atkins and Kate Smith which are in desperate need of being
released. How about it, guys? Richard Jessen
STANLEY BLACK, his Piano and Orchestra –
Big Instrumental Hits Holiday for Strings, Ebb Tide,
Patricia, Canadian Sunset, Delicado, 12th Street Rag,
April in Portugal, Lullaby of Birdland, Harry Lime Theme, Blue Tango,
Melody of Love, Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White Hollywood
Love Themes It’s Magic, Love is a Many-Splendoured
Thing, A Woman in Love, Tammy, Hold my Hand, Be My Love, Three Coins
in the Fountain, True Love, Friendly Persuasion, Secret Love, Around
the World, My Foolish Heart Vocalion CDLK4159, 69:50 mins. Here’s
a real treat for Stanley Black fans, presenting the two familiar
sides of the master pianist. On the first LP he is wearing his Latin-American
sombrero as he treats a dozen instrumental favourites from the 1950s
to a rhythmic treatment, often (but not exclusively) with a rich
Latin touch - his sparkling piano assisted by pulsating percussion
and a small-ish mainly string orchestra. For the full, lush Stanley
Black sound of a concert piano, backed by a large light orchestra
playing gorgeous arrangements, you can do no better than the second
collection, focussed on film themes from the same era. Both albums
were recorded in stereo at a time when the Decca sound engineers
were considered to be the finest around. Michael Dutton has worked
his usual magic on the original tapes, resulting in a superlative
CD that will find its way into many stockings this Christmas. David
Ades
FERDE GROFÉ Death Valley Suite
(Funeral Mountains, 49er Emigrant Train, Desert Water Hole, Sand
Storm), Hollywood Suite (On the Set Sweepers, The Stand-In, Carpenters
and Electricians, Preview, Production Number, Director-Star-Ensemble),
Hudson River Suite (The River, Henry Hudson, Rip Van Winkle, Albany
Night Boat, New York!). Naxos 8.559017. Grofé was much
more than just Paul Whiteman¹s arranger, he was a major composer
in his own right whose works are deservedly now being reheard. This
latest luscious offering is terrific value with never a dull moment
as the busy tunes duck and dive through Hollywood film sets, deserts
and rivers. For those already familiar with his orchestral colouring
then there is no need to elaborate further but for those new to
this genre then wait no longer because you will certainly not be
disappointed. Peter Worsley
SPIKE JONES & HIS CITY SLICKERS Cocktails for Two; McNamara’s
Band; Glow Worm; Leave the Dishes in the Sink; Little Bo Peep Has
Lost Her Jeep; Clink, Clink, Another Drink; You Always Hurt the
One You Love; Sheik of Araby; William Tell; Der Fuehrer’s Face;
Water Lou; Oh By Jingo; Mother Goose; Old McDonald; Hawaiian War
Chant; Dance of the Hours; That Old Black Magic; Rhapsody from Hunger(y);
Man on the Flying Trapeze; All I want for Christmas is My Two Front
Teeth; Jingle Bells. Evergreen Melodies EV83. Spike was a serious
musician but enjoyed mucking about after hours when he added the
sound of cow bells, whistles, saws, breaking glass, pistols and
car horns. He even trained a goat to bleat in the key of C! When
he released Der Fuehrer¹s Face in 1942 it came at just the
right time to set his show business career off, literally with a
bang! This selection of his very best are both memorable and amusing
but equally clever in their musicianship which relied on perfect
timing and brilliantly conceived vocals. After each live performance
Spike would bow and say "Thank you music lovers" in a dead pan expression
which never betrayed his inward feelings. Judge for yourself the
brilliant histrionics of a truly "one off". CD and shorter cassette
version are available only via mail order from Evergreen, PO Box
52, Cheltenham, GL50 1YQ, England – telephone 01242 515156.
Edmund Whitehouse Editor: Spike Jones has been well
served with recent CD releases. This new Evergreen collection joins
around 20 compilations currently available, including a recent one
from ASV - CDAJA5437. Robert Farnon’s eldest brother Brian
worked with Spike Jones for many years.
ELIZABETHAN SERENADE – Classics of British
Light Music Elizabethan Serenade (Ronald Binge); Knightsbridge
March, The Man About Town, London Calling, Dancing Nights (Eric
Coates); Chanson de Matin (Elgar); Lady O’Connell (Fredrick
Ellard); In a Persian Market (Ketèlbey); Colonel Bogey (Kenneth
Alford); Soldiers of the Queen (Leslie Stuart); 633 Squadron, The
Barbican (Ron Goodwin); Warsaw Concerto (Richard Addinsell); Rememberance
(Archibald Joyce); Pastorale (Ronald Hanmer); Music from ‘The
Fool on the Hill’ ballet (Lennon, McCartney) (Australia)
ABC Classics 472 509-2, 76:21 mins. This is a compilation of seventeen
pieces previously released on CDs, or recorded for broadcast over
the last few years. All but one of the tracks is performed by an
Australian symphony orchestra, army band or small orchestra. The
odd man out is Albert Ketèlbey’s In a Persian Market
played by the New Symphony Orchestra. The CD ends with two pieces
from an Australian television ballet The Fool on the Hill
which used music composed by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, arranged
by John Lanchbery. I must admit that I do not think all the tracks
fit into the category of ‘light music’, still it is nice
to know that ABC Classics think so much of that type of music that
they go to the trouble of releasing a CD of it. The CD comes with
an attractive booklet containing an interesting article tracing
the early history of ‘light’ and ‘mood’ music,
and giving details of each piece and its Australian connection.
Barry Freeman
MARLENE VERPLANCK ‘Speaking of Love’
But Not For Me, Blues in my Heart, It Was Written in the
Stars, What Comes After the Rainbow, I Let a Song go out of my Heart,
Listen to the Silence, Jamaica Rumba, Romance Medley, The Moment
of Truth, A Christmas Love Song, What Are You Doing New Year’s
Eve, Little Jazz Bird, Day-Dream, Nearer to your Love, Unless It’s
You, My Love Went to London, Make Some Magic, The Singer, Speaking
of Love, My Bluebird (USA) Audiophile ACD 320. "Listening to
Marlene’s vocal performance on the CD Speaking of Love
is as refreshing as a clear spring day. These are the sounds that
will best serve the future of great popular music, and long may
this mistress of song wait upon our admiration of her remarkable
gifts. What a joy it must be to record with the wonderful lady."
These words are Robert Farnon’s and quoted from the liner notes
in praise of the CD; Johnny Mandel and Benny Carter also contribute
words of praise. I think I read that this is Marlene’s seventeenth
recording, not only is it superb but many regard it as her best
ever. On it she demonstrates yet again what a wonderful lyrical
singer she is and why fans and critics alike regard her as one of
the finest interpreters of the American popular song, in the classic
tradition performing today. Throughout her career she has always
had taste and integrity in choosing which songs to sing, always
paying loving care equally to well-known standards, sadly neglected
ones, and new ones by fine composers. The repertoire on this CD
of 22 songs date from Gershwins’ 1924 song "Little Jazz Bird"
through to 2001, perhaps not too many well known standards, but
a very good mix of excellent songs that many will be delighted to
discover for the first time. Her musical accompaniment is always
of the highest order and for this we have to thank her husband and
musical partner Billy, a veteran of Charlie Spivak, and Tommy Dorsey
bands for his musical direction. Not only was Billy responsible
for all the arrangements on this CD but he contributed two original
songs, and produced and conducted the recording session. For many
years now the VerPlanks have been touring the UK every March and
as a result built up a loyal band of enthusiastic fans. In this
time she has had a long and fruitful association with the Roy Babbington,
and here Roy provides the backing with his swinging trio, Roy on
bass, Mark Fletcher drums and the dynamic and perhaps underrated
pianist Geoff Eales who I was pleased to hear was given plenty of
opportunity to shine. Just one more added bonus. On six of the tracks
the trio is augmented with Big Band which Roy recruited from the
cream of British session musicians. The closing track "My Bluebird"
was written by Tommy Flanagan and here he accompanies Marlene to
lyrics set by Jay Leonhart in what was to be his last recording
before his death. As one critic put it writing of this CD: "Even
by her own high standards this is exceptional - it would be a worthy
winner of any jazz vocal recording award of this year or any other
year ". I have to agree. Malcolm Frazer See also
the advertisement on page 31 of this issue.
‘THE PRISONER’ Music used in the 1960s
TV series Various composers and orchestras Silva Screen
FILMCD 601, 602, 603. In 1989 Silva Screen issued the first CD of
library tracks used in this cult TV series, and others were to follow
in the early 1990s. They have now been repackaged and reissued,
although it is likely that keen fans of the show will already have
them in their collections.
JOLY BRAGA SANTOS Symphonies 1-6 Marco Polo
8.223879, 8.225087, 8.225216, 8.225233 Bournemouth & Portuguese
Symphony Orchestras conducted by Alvaro Cassuto. Classic FM may
be repetitive and at times annoying but it does play a greater variety
of tuneful music than BBC Radio 3. Having gone to bed early a few
months ago (a rare event in itself), I tuned to Classic FM in despair
at the Beeb and immediately propped up my pillow and began to take
notice of a composer quite new to me. In effect Joly Braga Santos
is a Portuguese George Lloyd and his early symphonies are sheer
delight, full of warm, expansive and extrovert colours. Very approachable
and hugely enjoyable music for those not yet attuned. Marco Polo
brands itself as the "label of discovery" and so it is.
Try this composer’s early music and see for yourself. Peter
Worsley
FAIRY TALES & OTHER WORKS Vyacheslav Grokhovsky
Campion CAMEO 2016 Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted
by the composer. Russian Caprice; The Enchanted Wanderer; Hans
Andersen Fairy Tales (The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Thumbelina, The
Emperor’s New Clothes); Gypsy Rhapsody. Can there be anyone
reading this review who has ever heard of this Russian composer
born in 1945? Unlikely because this is the first time his music
has been heard over here and the best description I can think of
is to liken him to a modern Tchaikovsky. Very Russian and expansive
in style and all the better for it. If you like traditional Russian
romantic fare then you will enjoy this. Edmund Whitehouse
BRITISH COMPOSER SERIES Bill Worland
Campion CAMEO 2017 City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra conducted
by Gavin Sutherland. Curtain Up!; Broadstairs Suite (Viking Bay
& Pierremont Park, Snuff & Nonsense, Pavilion Waltz, Serene
Place, Bleak House & Joss Bay); Sandman Serenade; Paths of Peace;
Intermezzo 45 (Michaela, Little Ballet, Balalaikas, Finale); For
Aida; Rhapsodie Tristesse; Amaro Dolce; Honky-Tonk Town; Midnight
in Manhattan. Those already familiar with the composer’s
Marco Polo disc can look forward to more thoroughly enjoyable light
music in the best tradition. The "descriptive" Broadstairs
Suite is excellent, much of it based on Victoriana and Charles
Dickens while Intermezzo 45 was composed as the war drew
to a close. In this first of what promises to be a fine new series
deserving our full support, the other tracks are also good value
especially the foot-tapping Honky-Tonk Town. Edmund
Whitehouse
E. J. MOERAN Symphony in G Minor &
Sinfonietta Naxos 8.555837 Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
conducted by David Lloyd-Jones. Stop! Don’t be put off by the
title because the Symphony is beautiful pastoral music based
on the Norfolk landscape of the 1930s while the Sinfonietta
is a bright and breezy nine-part piece of light music by another
name composed during the last war. There is much tuneful serious
British music to enjoy which is now sadly neglected by the BBC and
Moeran is most definitely part of this wonderful legacy. Highly
recommended for all who simply enjoy good music.
Peter Worsley
JUDY GARLAND: ‘JUDY IN LOVE / ALONE’.
Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart; I Can't Give You Anything
But Love; Day In, Day Out; By Myself; Me And My Shadow plus 19 other
songs. (USA) S&P Records 72435-37-823-2-0. 75:08. Jimmy
McHugh, in his liner notes to "Judy In Love," called Judy Garland
"The Star Studded Cinderella Girl." Both of these albums, marvellously
restored to pristine clarity by Steve Hoffman, live up to McHugh's
opinion. Both Nelson Riddle and Gordon Jenkins (the arrangers on
these albums) had worked with Ms. Garland on tour in the 1950's).
"Judy In Love" starts with a gem of a score for "Zing! Went The
Strings Of My Heart," with a fantastic building of inner tensions
by Garland combined with a combustible score by Riddle. A sensuous
version of "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" is followed by an
endearingly swinging "This Is It." There even some mischievous studio
chatter before a swinging version of "Day In, Day Out." Alone
explores a darker world with a deeply moving version of "Me And
My Shadow," sung with probing sensitivity by Garland. A small jazz
combo within the orchestra is heard to brilliant effect on "By Myself"
and "I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues." "Among My Souvenirs" is a
desolate tone poem for Judy Garland with accompanying chorus. No
other CD can give you the jazzy optimist alongside the sublime ballad
singer that made up the one and only Judy Garland. An essential
recording for admirers of this great artist. Richard Jessen
Here are the tracklistings for some new Vocalion
releases. All are expertly remastered by Mike Dutton from the original
tapes, with attractive and informative booklets … in other
words, the usual high quality product you have come to expect from
Vocalion:
GISELE MACKENZIE and HELEN O’CONNELL Water
Can’t Quench the Fire of Love, A Crazy Waltz, Lipstick Powder
‘n’ Paint, Give Me the Name Age Height and Size, When
the Hands of the Clock Pray at Midnight; Gisele solo
Le Fiacre, Johnny, Adios, Don’t Let the Stars Get in your
Eyes, My Favourite Song, I’d Rather Die Young, Till They’ve
All Gone Home, Seven Lonely Days, Till I Waltz Again With You; Helen
solo Would I Love You, Green Eyes, Anytime, Slowpoke, Come What
May, Be Anything, No Other Love, Night for Love, Rub-a-Dub-Dub.
Vocalion CDLK4138, 59:27 mins.
EDMUNDO ROS and his Orchestra with The Mike
Sammes Singers SING AND SWING: Guantanamera, Come Closer
to Me, Fly Me to the Moon, If I Were a Rich Man, Sweet and Gentle,
I Searched the World, Quiet Nights, Playtime in Brazil, Sway, The
Girl from Ipanema, You too You too, The Fugitive, How Near is Love,
Be Mine Tonight. SING AND DANCE: Amor amor, Perhaps perhaps perhaps,
Granada, Frenesi, Green Eyes, Besame Mucho, Adios, Brazil, Tico-tico,
Always in my Heart, Maria Elena, Perfidia, Magic is the Moonlight,
Baia, You Belong to my Heart, Come to the Mardi Gras. Vocalion
CDLK4140, 73:32 mins.
STANLEY BLACK Piano GERSHWIN GOES LATIN:
S’Wonderful, Love is Here to Stay, Let’s Call the Whole
Thing Off, Nice Work if you Can Get It, Embraceable You, Soon, Bidin’
my Time, A Foggy Day, Love Walked In, Somebody Loves Me, But Not
for Me, Liza. FRIML & ROMBERG in CUBAN MOONLIGHT: Serenade from
‘Student Prince’, Romance, Wanting You, One Kiss, Lover
Come Back to Me, Softly as in a Morning Sunrise, Sympathy, Love
Everlasting, Indian Love Call, Rose Marie, Giannina Mia, Donkey
Serenade. Vocalion CDLK4142, 62:02 mins.
DICKIE VALENTINE WITH VOCAL REFRAIN:
One Two Button Your Shoe, Bidin’ my Time, Sunday, There’ll
Be Some Changes Made, Singin’ the Blues, Mary, Lucky Day, Carolina
in the Morning, If I Knew I’d Find You, Back in your own Backyard,
Everybody Loves my Baby, When it’s Sleepy Time Down South.
OVER MY SHOULDER: Birth of the Blues, East of the Sun, Blue, I Kiss
to Build a Dream On, Beautiful Eyes, Somebody Loves Me, Then I Love
You, Gonna Get a Girl, Why Should I Go Home, Te Amo, When I Was
Young, Day Dreams. Vocalion CDLK4147, 76:44 mins.
FIVE FABULOUS FEMALES Marion Ryan:
Mangos, Sixteen Reasons, A Thousand Blue Bubbles, It’s You
That I Love, I Wish You Love, Somebody, No Love But Your Love, An
Occasional Man. Jean Campbell: Vaya Con Dios, In the Mission
of St. Augustine, Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep, Two Hearts
Two Kisses, The Mama Doll Song. Ruby Murray: Softly Softly,
Heart, From the First Hello, I’ll Remember Today. Joan Regan:
A Love Like Ours, Have You Ever Been Lonely, May You Always, Take
Me in Your Arms. Lita Roza: What Am I Supposed to Do, Where
Do I Go From Here, Stranger Things Have Happened, Keep Watch Over
Him. Vocalion CDLK4148, 62:48 mins.
THE EILEEN FARRELL ALBUM: ‘I GOTTA
RIGHT TO SING THE BLUES’. Blues In The Night; Wrap Your
Troubles In Dreams; On The Sunny Side Of The Street; Taking A Chance
On Love, plus 20 other songs. (USA) Sony Masterworks MDK 47255.75:53.
No other testament to a singer could be made than this startling
collection of songs recorded by the late Eileen Farrell between
1959 and 1961. I say startling because Farrell was customarily thought
of as strictly a classical artist. Beneath this, Farrell was one
of the greatest of classic pop singers, ranking with Frank Sinatra
and company. Evidence of this are her appropriately torchy renditions
of "Blues In The Night" and "I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues.
" There's also the uninhibited swinging hipster in "Somebody
Loves Me" and "Taking A Chance On Love" complete with snapping fingers!
Luther Henderson wrote the very tasty big band charts that provide
strong accompaniments to Farrell's vocals. A magnificent tribute
this underrated and under recorded singer. Richard Jessen
VIKKI CARR: ‘IT MUST BE HIM / FOR
ONCE IN MY LIFE’ plus 2 Bonus Tracks. It Must
Be Him; Can't Take My Eyes Off You plus 9 more songs and the complete
November 1968 Persian Room concert. (USA) Collectables COL-CD-2850.
79:00. Collectables have released on CD two long overdue recordings
from one of America's best artists, Vikki Carr. The first is her
breakthrough album that received international acclaim while the
second is Carr's superb yet long neglected concert album. What makes
this a really attractive CD is that we get to hear studio versions
of "It Must Be Him" and "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" with a chance
at hearing "live" versions of the same songs. Unquestionably, there
is more depth and drama in the live performances although both performances
show the same profound regard for the lyrics. The Persian Room performance
has the drive and intensity one expects from Carr's best performances.
Although these are the original studio mixes, the sound is as flawless
as the performances. Still radiantly beautiful and in great voice,
Vikki Carr remains one of America's finest artists. Richard
Jessen
Some recent releases in Vocalion’s acclaimed
British Dance Band series:
CARROLL GIBBONS Volume 2 Hitting a New High
Wake Up and Live, Swing High Swing Low, Give Me a Heart
to Sing To, The Cat and the Fiddle, What More Can I Ask? etc…
(24 tracks) Vocalion CDEA6073, 71:36 mins.
BILLY MERRIN AND HIS COMMANDERS From the
Banjo to the Baton Everybody Dance, Everything’s
In Rhythm With my Heart, The Londonola, The Little Black Cat, Dance
Your Blues Away, etc… (27 tracks) Vocalion CDEA6074, 75:41
mins.
THE SKYROCKETS with PAUL FENOULHET and WOOLF
PHILLIPS Sentimental Journey Blue Skies, So Would
I, The ‘Ampstead Way, Money is the Root of All Evil, Mary Lou,
One More Tomorrow, Don’t Blame Me, Night Breezes, All By Myself,
The Trees in Grosvenor Square, Bayswater Bustle, etc… (24 tracks)
Vocalion CDEA6075, 73:52 mins.
JACK WHITE AND HIS COLLEGIANS Let the Band
Play Boom, The Badge From Your Coat, Stop You’re
Breaking My Heart, Chatterbox, In My Little Red Book, Let The People
Sing, etc… (25 tracks) Vocalion CDEA6076, 74:11 mins.
MRS JACK HYLTON AND HER BAND She Shall Have
Music In a Gypsy Tea Room, I’ll Never Say "Never
Again" Again, Vladivostock, Ev’ry Day You’re Away,
You Are My Lucky Star, There’s No Day Like Today, etc…
(27 tracks) Vocalion CDEA7077, 77:15 mins.
Like all the previous issues in this series, each
of the above Vocalion CDs is a gem in its own right. As usual, compiler
Bob Francis has been careful to include the well-known works by
the band featured, but he has also included some rare items which
will please collectors who may have previous releases in their collections
already. The big bonus, of course, is the high quality of the remastering
in the expert hands of Mike Dutton. And one must not overlook the
informative CD booklets, attractively produced and written by people
who admire and know the work of the artists concerned. All this,
for around £6 per CD! David Ades
HILDEGARDE Volume 2 Songs From The Shows
Pennies From Heaven, But Where Are You, For Sentimental
Reasons, June Is Bustin’ Out All Over, Careless Rhapsody, The
Saga of Jenny, This is New, My Ship, etc… (24 tracks) Vocalion
CDEA6078, 71:36 mins. Following Volume 1 (CDEA6035) the emphasis
now shifts to Hildegarde’s later career, mainly in the USA,
where she worked with the likes of Guy Lombardo, Harry Sosnik, Bob
Grant, Vernon Duke and Ray Sinatra. There is just one track with
Clive Richardson, reminding us of her fruitful association with
him. Before LPs arrived, albums of 78 rpm records gained popularity
in the USA, often accompanied by sleeve notes. These are reproduced
in the CD booklet, and to say that they are fascinating is a serious
understatement. David Ades
THE BEST OF CILLA BLACK Alfie, Anyone
Who Had a Heart, Step Inside Love, etc… EMI GOLD 541 4442.
We mention this CD because the kind people at EMI sent us details,
and there may be readers who are seeking a Christmas gift for an
elderly uncle. Cilla is the butt of many jokes, but she is certainly
a survivor, and one cannot deny that she was very successful with
her chart hits in the 1960s. The CD booklet is better than usual
from EMI, although it would have been nice if the orchestras had
been credited. David Ades
DIANA DECKER I’m In Favour of Friendship,
Poppa Piccolino, etc… EMI GOLD 541 4912. This release contains
all of Diana Decker’s recordings and (as with CB above) the
booklet is good – except for a lack of details regarding
the orchestras and the other singers she performs with on some of
the tracks. Diana Decker was fairly well-known in the 1950s (she
also made films with the likes of James Mason and Shelley Winters),
but the EMI publicity for this new release describing her as a ‘massive
star’ is somewhat over the top! David Ades
Three great new Production Music CDs from Bruton
CLASSIC FILM & TV Volume 1: Spy &
Sci-Fi Locomotion Groove, Seek It Out, Drugsville, Streets
of New York, Drama in Jazz, The Red Room, Hush Hush, Rumble, The
Escape, City of Evil, Secret Shadow (John Scott); The Scene (Don
Phillips); Mood Moderne, Pseudo-Blue, Dramatic Intent, Weird Bridge
(Roger Roger); Hip to the Beat, Persuasion, Underworld Groove (Johnny
Hawksworth); Murder Most Foul (Anthony Mawer); Premonition of Disaster,
The Get Away, Flight to the Rock Point, Mood for Crime (Arthur Wilkinson);
Unawares (Stuart Crombie); Project X (King Palmer); Phantasm (Leslie
Bridgewater); Radiation Belt, Orchestrated Devices (Raymond Jones);
Space-Time Music (Wilfred Josephs); Blades, Strange Particles (Roberto
Gerhard); Electro Twist (J. Mathews). Bruton BRO18/353.
CLASSIC FILM & TV Volume 2: Matinee Mania
Sport Today (Felton Rapley); Sporting Type, Gymnastics
March (Dennis Berry); Jubilee Sports (Stuart Crombie & Dennis
Berry); Brave Heritage (Raymond Beaver); Banners Victorious, Marble
Arch, Fanfare for the Empire, Goose Step, Hero of the Sky, Murder
in Mind, Wild Eyes, From the Dead (Ronald Hanmer); Texas and Beyond
(Johnny Scott); Lion King, African Adventure (Peter Hope); Covered
Wagon Song, Serene Melody (Nino Nardini); The Soothing Touch, Behold
the Dawn (King Palmer); Synopsis (Frank Harlow); Thoughts of Summer,
High Hazard, Cellar Search (Philippe Pares); Pink Lilac (Conrad
Leonard); Hillside Church, Abject Terror (Paul Lewis); Forgotten
Love (Werner Drexler); Romantic Endeavour (Michael Kraus); Brassy
& Bold (Chris Leonard); Crowned Heads (Sidney John Kay); Land
of the Bard, The Jitters, Someone Coming, Primitive Force (Raymond
Jones); Distress Signal (Patrick Beaver & Anthony King); Drummers
and Fifers (Roger Roger); Achievements in Aviation (Anthony Mawer);
Air Power (Sidney Sager); Nautical Fantasy (William L./ Trytel).
Bruton BRO19/354.
CLASSIC FILM & TV Volume 3: Radio
Times Smile for Me, Social Event, Club Rendezvous, Hard Swing
Out, Move to the Bossa Nova (Johnny Scott);Silver Sparkle (Harry
Rabinowitz); Bright Spark, Boy Scout (Harold Smart); Fast Lane,
Cruising Speed (Gary Hughes); Liven Up (Michael Kraus); Satin Slipper
(Raymond Beaver); Floor Show (Cyril Watters); Racing Page (Fernand
Fontaine); What a Dame, Construction Tower (Bruce Campbell); Bright
Lights, Honey Blonde, Show Opener (Stuart Crombie & Dennis Berry);
Timekeeper (Larry Ashmore); Flitter Flatter, In a Busy Mood, Pull
Up Your Socks (King Palmer); This Year’s Fashions (Vincent
Holland); Pleasant Route (Anthony Mawer); Cinnamon Stick (Frank
Sterling); Jaunty Jane (Malcolm Lockyer); The Merry Go Round (Harold
Smart & Walter Owen); Hollywood Breeze, Mambo Magnifico (Roger
Roger). Bruton BRO20/355.
As far as I can recall, it was around ten years
ago that Zomba acquired the Southern Library of Recorded Music,
but they do not seem to have exploited it to any great extent –
until now. I do not have a complete listing of Southern titles,
but from the limited information available to me it appears that
many (if not all) of the tracks on these three CDs come from that
library. All of the tracks were originally published in the 1960s,
at a time when light orchestral mood music was still being written
in a style that had become popular in the previous two decades.
Of course, things were gradually changing, and more rhythmic sounds
were creeping in (especially on Volume 1!), but these enjoyable
compilations confirm that a lot of tuneful light music was still
around. The details above give the full tracklistings, and even
a casual glance at the composers will confirm the quality of the
writing (and full marks to Zomba/Bruton for giving the first names
of the composers in full – Southern often just provided initials
on the original 78s). I think that one or two titles may have been
altered, and in some cases the real name of the composer is given,
rather than the pseudonym which appeared previously. Volume 1 is
perhaps only for enthusiasts of more funky, way-out, jazzy sounds;
if you have enjoyed the ‘Kitsch’ collections from some
of the other production music companies, you may possibly also want
to add this to your collection. Volumes 2 and 3 are far more melodious,
and have wider appeal. All three CDs contain some real gems, but
if your pocket can only afford one then I recommend Volume 3 for
some very happy bright and light sounds. David Ades Bruton
CDs are only available from the RFS Record Service – price
£9 [US $18] each.
SOHO HIPSTERS Boosey & Hawkes ‘lounge
funk’ 1969-1977 The Trackers, The Rally, The Sandpiper,
Gin and Tonic, Snowmobile, Acapulco Connection, South Bound, Tournament,
The Baltic Caper, Coast Road North, Border Incident, Pardon??, Taco
Brazil, Lady Killers, Soul Type Blues, Motor-Cross, Shanghai Caper,
The Armenian File, Night Driver, Savannah Flyer (Dennis Farnon);
Funkbund (Trevor Duncan); The Big Score (John Cacavas); Two Bars
(Pete Moore); One Way Trip (Sam Fonteyn); Big Fingers (John Scott).
Boosey Media / Cavendish CAV CD 147. This really is Dennis Farnon’s
CD, with a little help from other top writers in the B&H stable
at the time. Relentless, ominous, dramatic, bright funky pop, soul
rock, progressive jazz … all these ‘groovy’ sounds
are here – and much more! Dennis is a master at dramatic, driving
jazzy numbers, and if you admire his work in this style you shouldn’t
hesitate to acquire this collection. David Ades Cavendish
CDs are only available from the RFS Record Service – price
£9 [US $18] each.
LONDON LANDMARKS: London Fields: 1. Springtime
at Kew 2. Hampton Court Maze 3. St. James’ Park 4. Hampstead
Heath (Phyllis Tate); London Landmarks: 1. Nelson’s
Column 2.Tower Hill 3.Horse Guards Whitehall (Haydn Wood); London
Salute (Philip Lane); Metropolis: 1. Boom & Bust 2.Solar
City 3.Street Scene 4.The City Never Sleeps (David Watts); Rotten
Row (Angela Morley); Festival of London March (Paul Lewis);
On Hungerford Bridge - Saxophone Concerto (Christopher Gunning).
Royal Ballet Sinfonia & Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
– conductors Gavin Sutherland, Christopher Gunning and Paul
Lewis ASV CDWHL2138, playing time 77 mins. At last! Forgive
my jubilation but after years of campaigning I have finally acquired
a CD which includes Phyllis Tate’s magnificent London Fields,
a piece which I played many times to children at school who were
all as enthusiastic as I was. Composed for the 1958 BBC Festival
of Light Music it was much admired by people such as Steve Race
but until now has never been commercially recorded. What a pity
that neither Phyllis nor her musician husband Alan Frank lived long
enough to see it. Composer Philip Lane is responsible for this majestic
compilation which, apart from his own London Salute, includes
the first recording of Haydn Wood’s London Landmarks
since the days of Charles Williams’ 78rpms after the war. We
all know Horse Guards Whitehall but here is an opportunity
to complete the truly delightful set! Paul Lewis and David Watts
chip in with splendid miniatures, as does Angela Morley (aka Wally
Stott) with her familiar Rotten Row. The tour de force is
Christopher Gunning’s Saxophone Concerto inspired by
an evening stroll across Hungerford Bridge, the original footbridge
not the wobbly one which came later! It’s a great CD and an
absolute must for all lovers of British Light Music, if not for
London Fields alone which, as a four movement suite, has
rarely if ever been bettered. Edmund Whitehouse
One’s unbridled joy in having a modern recording
of the entire London Landmarks Suite by Haydn Wood is in
the event slightly tempered by some technical considerations. Listening
to this disc on headphones one is struck by disconcerting variations
in recording levels. Thus for Philip Lane’s London Salute
to make its proper impact the volume has to be increased. So, too,
in the Haydn Wood work where particularly in the first movement,
The Horse Guards, Whitehall, one becomes aware that the violins
in particular sound over bright and rather too few in number. As
a recording this does not stand comparison with Ronald Corp’s
version on HYPERION CDA 66968: ‘British Light Music Classics
- 2’, where the sound has a far greater depth and range. Conversely,
the Christopher Gunning Saxophone Concerto, recorded at a
different venue, has ample volume. Unfortunately, in no way should
this really come under the category of Light Music and, at over
19 minutes, is overlong for its somewhat slender material, and many
listeners will become bored with this piece long before the end.
A warm welcome, however, for David Watts’ highly inventive
Metropolis, Angela Morley’s enchanting Rotten Row,
Phyllis Tate’s atmospheric London Fields Suite, and
the Paul Lewis March. This disc, despite the above reservations,
deserves a strong recommendation. One hopes, however, that ASV can
be encouraged to produce new recordings of traditional Light Music
with a decent sized string section - a Charles Williams disc would
be an excellent starting point and is long overdue - and become
a little less preoccupied with producing contemporary material some
of which stretches an acceptable definition of Light Music to almost
breaking point. Roger Hyslop
Available from the RFS Record Service for £10
[US $20].
ALFRED REYNOLDS Festival March; Suite
– Alice Through The Looking Glass; Suite – The Toy Cart;
Overture – The Taming of the Shrew; Suite and Ballet of the
Roses from 1066 And All That; Suite of Five Dances The Duenna (arr.
Sydney Baynes); Overture for a Comedy; The Sirens of Southend; Swiss
Lullaby and Ballet; Suite – Marriage à la Mode; Three
Pieces for Theatre Royal Ballet Sinfonia / Gavin Sutherland
Marco Polo 8225184, 77:26 mins. Alfred Reynolds (1884-1969),
conductor and composer, was a man of the theatre and this CD in
Marco Polo’s admirable British light Music series gives a representation
of his orchestral music for the stage, not in the original versions
for often very small pit orchestras but in (with one exception)
his own transcriptions for full orchestra. He was indeed a superb
orchestrator as these pieces strikingly show. Most of the tracks
are incidental theatre music, from The Toy Cart (1918, with
a melting Romanza) to Alice (1947, for Stratford),
and including much written for the Lyric, Hammersmith between 1923
and 1932 – three brisk overtures in the British comedy overture
tradition and fine examples thereof, and other movements showing
Reynolds’ gift for composing baroque pastiche (The Critic
entr’acte, the Marriage à la Mode music and
the dances from The Duenna, one of many 18th Century
operas given new life by Reynolds). And there are the selection
from 1066, a revue-cum-musical comedy and probably his most
popular piece, and the surpassingly beautiful movements from Swiss
Family Robinson. Lovely music – not quite as individual
as Eric Coates or Robert Farnon, but well worth anyone’s attention
– and the performances and recording are excellent advocacy
for it. Philip L. Scowcroft
Editor: Philip has penned the excellent booklet
notes for this new CD, which is available from the RFS Record Service
for £12 [US$24].
LEROY ANDERSON and his ‘Pops’ Concert
Orchestra Sleigh Ride, The Syncopated Clock, Serenata, A
Tumpeter’s Lullaby, Promenade, Saraband, Jazz Pizzicato –
Jazz Legato, The Waltzing Cat, Plink Plank Plunk, Belle of the Ball,
Blue Tango, Horse and Buggy, The Phantom Regiment, China Doll, The
Penny Whistle Song, Fiddle-Faddle Jasmine JASMCD 2580. In 1992
MCA Records/Good Music in the USA released ‘The Original Hit
Recordings …’ on MSD 35334 (20 tracks), and some collectors
have preferred these to the later stereo re-recordings by the maestro,
which were released on the 2-CD set ‘The Leroy Anderson Collection’
– MCAD2-9815. This recent collection from the British company
Jasmine once again restores the first versions to the catalogue,
so anyone wanting Leroy Anderson’s own original mono performances
now has the opportunity to acquire them. Selected comparisons between
the MCA/Good Music CD from 1992, and the new Jasmine release indicate
that they are virtually identical. Sadly neither CD gives any recording
dates, but at least Jasmine does say a little about Anderson, whereas
the centre pages of the MCA leaflet were literally blank. This is
a welcome reissue; these recordings should always be available,
so if they are missing from your own collection you now have the
remedy in your own hands. David Ades This CD is
available from the RFS Record Service for £8 [US $16].
EXHILARATION: Light Music with a Lilt London
Calling (Coates) London Symphony Orch. / Eric Coates; Cockney
Capers (Crantock- pseudonym for Clive Richardson and Tony Lowry)
Harry Davidson & his Orchestra; Down The Mall (Belton
– pseudonym for Tony Lowry and Douglas Brownsmith) Charles
Shadwell & his Orchestra; Wellington Barracks (Haydn Wood)
Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra/ Sidney Torch; Fireside
Fusiliers (Mayerl) Billy Mayerl & his Forte Fingers;
Pedigree On Pomander Walk (Andre) Billy Mayerl & his Grosvenor
House Band; Popular Song (From "Facade": Walton) London
Philharmonic Orch./ William Walton; Daddy Long Legs (Wright)
The Bohemians; Scrub Brother Scrub (Warner) Albert Sandler
& his Palm Court Orchestra; Fingerbustin’ (Camarata)
Kingsway Symphony Orchestra/ Camarata; Twinkle Toes (Raeburn)
Wynford Reynolds & his Orchestra; Fairies In The Moon
(Ewing) Wynford Reynolds & his Orchestra; The Dancing
Clock Orchestre Raymonde; Montmartre (Haydn Wood) Debroy
Somers Band; Folie Bergere Richard Crean & his Orchestra;
A Cocktail of Happiness Wynford Reynolds & his Orchestra;
Exhilaration (Charles Williams) Charles Williams & his Concert
Orchestra; Comedians Galop (Kabalevsky) Queen’s Hall
Light Orchestra/ Robert Farnon; Snowflakes Piano Duet by
Rawicz & Landauer; Spinning Wheel (Rawicz) Sidney Torch
& his Orchestra; Dance Of the Blue Marionettes (Leslie Clair)
Organ solo by Sidney Torch; Parade of the Tin Soldiers New
Light Symphony Orchestra; The Toy Trumpet Reginald Pursglove
and his Orchestra; Pan-American Panorama (Philip Green)
The Columbia Orchestra; American Hoe-Down (David Rose) David
Rose & his Orchestra; Chicken Reel Boston Promenade Orchestra/
Arthur Fiedler. Memoir CDMOIR 554. Following the success
of ‘Fiddle Faddle’ and ‘Red Sombrero’,
Memoir Records have come up with a third selection of tuneful gems.
I know that many light music enthusiasts are put off purchasing
some albums because of the repetition of recordings already in their
collections. However, they should not hesitate in this instance
as many of the recordings are appearing on CD for the first time
– several being from the Decca ‘Music While You Work’
series. Amongst the contributors are the orchestras of Harry Davidson,
Debroy Somers, Charles Shadwell, Albert Sandler, Charles Williams,
Richard Crean, David Rose, and Reginald Pursglove [who Light Programme
listeners will recall as conductor of the Albany Strings]. We are
also treated to the Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra conducted
by Robert Farnon and Sidney Torch – the latter is also featured
as cinema organist in The Dance of the Blue Marionettes.
Of particular delight to me is the inclusion of the Orchestra of
Wynford Reynolds [no relation] in three delightful numbers, two
of which are from the pen of Reynolds himself; the third is an enchanting
entr’acte entitled Fairies in the Moon – it’s
worth buying the CD for this piece alone! It is one of two compositions
on this album composed by the much neglected Montague Ewing –
an album of his music is long overdue! We are also treated to the
keyboard talents of Billy Mayerl and Rawicz and Landauer. This CD
has been compiled by Jim Palm, who has also written the concise
but informative notes. Ted Kendall who, unless my ears deceive me,
does not appear to have changed the original acoustics by adding
reverberation - a fact that will please the purists - has remastered
the recordings. My only criticism is in the reproduction of the
piano features Fireside Fusiliers and Snowflakes. Both would
benefit from a little more volume and, in the case of the Billy
Mayerl number [a particular favourite of mine], a crisper sound
would have been preferable. Overall, I consider this to be one of
the best light music compilations of recent years. It is bright,
breezy and totally unpretentious – the perfect antidote to
the 21st century!
Brian Reynolds
Available from the RFS Record Service for £10
[US $20].
THE SYMPHONIC ERIC COATES Cinderella,
The Selfish Giant, The Three Bears, Miniature Suite, London Everyday,
Joyous Youth, The Dam Busters BBC Philharmonic Conducted
by Rumon Gamba Chandos CHAN9869, 79:27 mins. It is wonderful
to find that the music of the great Eric Coates is still considered
sufficiently important to warrant expensive new recordings such
as this. However much as we value the composer’s own interpretations
(and thankfully we have been well served with reissues in recent
years), it is always good that such works should continue to be
in the current repertoire of leading orchestras, and attracting
the attention of conductors of the calibre of Rumon Gamba. Readers
will be familiar with most, if not all, of these Coates classics.
Whether or not you decide to add this to your collection may depend
upon the state of your finances, or your wish to preserve the memory
of much loved performances from the last century. Whenever a new
recording is made of any piece of music, somehow something different
emerges. Tempi obviously vary even slightly, and the sound engineer’s
balance of the orchestra may reveal a previously unheard instrument
in a particular passage. Personally I feel that anyone who admires
Coates should want to grab this CD with both hands, if nothing else
to ensure that record companies still feel encouraged to commission
new performances from today’s talented musicians. David
Ades Chandos CDs are available from the RFS Record Service
for £12.50 [US $25] each.
A POPS CONCERT Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra
NAXOS NOSTALGIA 8.120520 My Melancholy Baby; Washboard Blues;
Sweet Sue; Among My Souvenirs; The Man I Love; High Water; La Golondrina;
My Heart Stood Still; Together; Moonlight and Roses; La Paloma;
Song of the Swamp; Southern Medley (My Old Kentucky Home, Carry
Me Back to Old Virginny, Old Folks At Home); Jeannine. These
recordings all date from 1927-29 when Whiteman was arguably in his
heyday and include vocals by Hoagy Carmichael, Bing Crosby, Al Rinker
and Jack Fulton. Originally 12" 78rpm records with a running
time of 4 minutes each, they neatly bridge the gap between classical,
jazz and popular music. For those who enjoy Whiteman’s style
then this budget Naxos release will be most welcome while anyone
who enjoys a jolly good foot-tapping tune will also be pleased to
have it in their collection. Well done Naxos, more please.
Edmund Whitehouse Naxos CDs are available
from the RFS Record Service for £5 [US $10].
THE PERCY FAITH ORCHESTRA conducted by NICK
PERITO Theme from ‘A Summer Place’; Love theme
from ‘Romeo and Juliet’; Lara’s Theme from ‘Dr
Zhivago’; A Man and a Woman; The Sound of Music; Love theme
from ‘The Godfather’; Born Free; Raindrops Keep Falling
on my Head; The Way we Were; Mon Oncle; Elvira Madigan theme; The
song from ‘Moulin Rouge’; Hello Dolly; Moon River; Summer
of ’42; Tara’s theme from ‘Gone With the Wind’;
Never on Sunday; The Windmills of your Mind. Castle Pulse PLSCD
583. Although the CD booklet doesn’t make it clear (there are
no notes), this is a reissue of the 1990s Percy Faith recreations
by Nick Perito. Keen fans will probably already have them, but if
you missed the original releases (which were quite expensive) here’s
your opportunity to acquire 18 tracks at a bargain price. David
Ades Available from the RFS Record Service for £6 [US
$12].
THE RED SHOES – Music from the films of
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger Vaughan Williams –
Prelude and Epilogue from 49th Parallel; Allan Gray –
A Matter of Life and Death, The Life & Death of Colonel Blimp,
A Canterbury Tale; Brian Easdale – Black Narcissus, The Red
Shoes, Gone to Earth, The Small Back Room; Jacques Offenbach –
Tales of Hoffman. Various orchestras, etc. CD41 Publishing,
CD41-002. 74:00 mins. The era 1941-51 is well within the great period
(c. 1935-1960) of British films and film music, so this release,
which draws on film soundtracks (including some wholly or mainly
spoken excerpts) and commercial recordings from the 1940s, is of
particular interest. 49th Parallel was Vaughan
Williams’ first film commission and these expansive extracts
will surely please. Allan Gray, Polish-born, was well respected
for his film music and his work for the recorded music libraries
– his music for these three films (the Prelude to A
Matter of Life and Death is played here by the Queen’s
Hall Light Orchestra under Charles Williams) make pleasing listening.
More distinguished are the Brian Easdale items, especially The
Red Shoes music which, though recorded by Columbia at the time
(and still sounds well here) has surprisingly never quite caught
on. Posterity has largely forgotten Easdale (he died as recently
as 1995), which is a pity. The recordings naturally show their age
but the transfers have been well done and the booklet contains much
fascinating information. Recommended. Philip L. Scowcroft
This CD can be obtained for £10.00 from J. Nice, 1 Spinney
Close, Beetley, Dereham, Norfolk, NR20 4TB, England (telephone/fax
01362 861009. More information from website: www.ltmpub.freeserve.co.uk
The EMI collection of British Film Music of the 1940s and 1950s
was deleted several years ago, but copies are still available from
the RFS Record Service for £12 [US$24].
JELLY ROLL MORTON Piano Rolls Stratford
Hunch, Big Foot Ham, New Orleans Joys, Perfect Rag, Tom Cat Blues,
State and Madison, Kansas City Stomp, etc… 22 tracks. Shellwood
SWCD22, 72:11 minutes. The first 17 tracks are new roll re-creations
from original 78rpm records, cut by Mike Meddings. Shellwood obtained
a 1912 Aeolian 88 note Pianola push-up, which has been restored
to near perfection. After pushing it up to a good grand piano they
found an expert pianolist, Julian Dyer, to play the rolls. They
succeeded in eliminating all extraneous mechanical noise, and two
of the tracks are premiere CD recordings. All in all this is an
enterprising release which should fascinate anyone interested in
this kind of music. David Ades Shellwood CDs are
available from the RFS Record Service for £10 [US $20] each.
BRIGHOUSE AND RASTRICK BAND Popular Classics
Dance of the Tumblers, Elvira Madigan Theme, The Padstow
Lifeboat, Capriccio Espagnol, Pie Jesu, Sutherland’s Law Theme,
Ravel’s Bolero, etc… Grasmere GRCD115. The Brighouse
and Rastrick are one of Britain’s top brass bands, with a reputation
that extends far beyond this island. If I am honest, I have to say
that the light classics chosen for this CD do not particularly appeal
to me, but one has to admire the musicianship of all the players.
I am sure that there are many brass band admirers who will not hesitate
to add this new release to their CD collection. David Ades
GEORGE GERSHWIN Gershwin in Hollywood,
An American in Paris, Cuban Overture, Porgy and Bess New
Zealand Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Judd Naxos 8559107,
65:09 mins. This new CD falls into the category: "if you want
this music, it is probably already in your collection". In
other words, at its budget price it has to be accepted as an introduction
to Gershwin for the uninitiated. The masterpieces are, of course,
An American in Paris and Porgy and Bess. To my mind,
Gershwin’s Cuban Overture only briefly comes alive,
and it is not surprising that it is one of his lesser-known works.
The opening track Gershwin in Hollywood could be so much
better: unfortunately Robert Russell Bennett’s arrangements
are disappointing and only occasionally reveal any imagination or
sparkle. The orchestra sound bored with it all, and I must confess
that I was, too. But, I say again, at a budget price of around £5,
it is a great chance to get acquainted with the orchestral Gershwin.
David Ades
BRITISH SYMPHONIC COLLECTION Vol. 10
Symphony No. 2 by York Bowen (1884-1961); Symphonic Rhapsody
"Spring" by Frederic Austin (1872-1952); Symphonic Movement
"Genesis" by Edgar Bainton (1880-1956). (Denmark) CLASSCD
404. Can you remember when serious music was tuneful and enjoyable
and when the listener did not need a crystal ball or an IQ of 250
to understand what was going on? Well here it is again! The work
by York Bowen is a world premiere recording and all the better for
that, while Austin and Bainton are rarely heard today, thanks to
the self-opinionated gurus who belittle anything which is not discordant.
Well worth a listen if you enjoy serious tuneful music and what’s
more they’re all British! Edmund Whitehouse Classico
CDs are available from the RFS Record Service for £12.00 [US $24]
each.
BRITISH SYMPHONIC COLLECTION Vol. 11
A Celebration of Malcolm Arnold’s 80th Birthday. Rinaldo
& Armida (ballet suite); Little Suite No. 2; Homage to
the Queen (ballet suite); Concerto for Organ & Orchestra.
Royal Academy of Aarhus Symphony Orchestra conducted by Douglas
Bostock(Denmark) CLASSCD 424. This unusual disc comprises
21 miniatures none of which lasts more than five minutes with several
less than two! Apart from the Little Suite they are all world
premieres but unmistakably Malcolm Arnold whose lush brass sounds
remind us of his many dramatic film scores. Isn’t it amazing
how much good music there is out there just waiting to be recorded.
Well done Classico for taking the risk. More please! Edmund
Whitehouse
ERIC PARKIN (piano) : Reginald King – piano
pieces Song of Paradise; Humoresque; Sentimental Interlude;
Pierrette on the Balcony; Beside the Lake; Polka Piquant; In Bluebell
Land; Prelude in D; Tropical Moonlight; Passing Clouds; One Summer
Day; Windflowers; Where Water Lilies Dream; Julia; The Haunted Ballroom
(Toye, arr. King); Summer Breezes; Lilacs in the Rain; Elegy; Marionette;
Whispering Violin; Meditation; Money Spider; Green Valleys; Yorkshire
Relish; June Night on Marlow Reach; Moonlight Reverie; Prelude in
A; Three Miniatures; Cynthia; A Prayer at Eventide. Shellwood
SWCD17 (2 CDs) 108 mins. What a delightful collection this
is! Light music lovers struggle to find recordings of Reginald King’s
compositions today, but here Shellwood treat us to no less than
34 charming works, performed with warmth and affection by Britain’s
foremost pianist. In recent years Eric Parkin has become renowned
for his rediscoveries of the piano works of Jerome Kern, George
Gershwin and, most importantly, Billy Mayerl. Reginald King deserves
to be added to this illustrious list, and lovers of the piano cannot
fail to be enchanted. I suspect that some will half remember hearing
many of these works, especially Summer Breezes which was
featured in the BBC Television Interlude film of the white kitten;
the orchestral version was not taken from one of the usual recorded
music libraries, so it has remained one of those elusive pieces
missing from private collections. The well illustrated CD booklet
notes by John Archer confirm King’s important contribution
to the British musical scene in the middle years of the last century.
This is an important release in all respects, and it will give a
lot of pleasure. David Ades
THE CHEESY LISTENING ALBUM Wheels (cha
cha) - Joe Loss Orchestra; Guatanamera - Geoff Love Orchestra; Let's
face the music and dance - Nelson Riddle Orchestra; Music to watch
girls by – Joe Loss Orchestra; Mas que nada - Manuel &
The Music Of The Mountains; Mexican hat dance - Geoff Love Orchestra;
Tequila - Joe Loss Orchestra; Do you know the way to San Jose -
Ron Goodwin Orchestra; Quando quando quando - Manuel & The Music
Of The Mountains; Desafinado - Laurindo Almeida & Bossa Nova
All Stars; Girl from Ipanema – Geoff Love Orchestra; This guy's
in love with you - Ron Goodwin Orchestra; Unforgettable - Starlight
Strings; Can't take my eyes off you - Basil Henriques & The
Waikiki Islanders; One note samba (remixed) - Geoff Love Orchestra;
What the world needs now is love - Ron Goodwin Orchestra; Raindrops
keep falling on my head - Joe Loss Orchestra; Man and a woman -
Geoff Love Orchestra; Moon river - Nelson Riddle Orchestra; Music
to drive by - Joe Loss Concertium; Walk on by - Ron Goodwin Orchestra;
Let's do it (let's fall in love) - Nelson Riddle Orchestra; Peanut
vendor - Manuel & The Music Of The Mountains; Y viva Espana
- Pepe Jaramillo; Wives and lovers - Ron Goodwin Orchestra EMI
Gold 5389412. This doesn't happen very often but EMI have
just released a new all popular instrumental/orchestral CD featuring
great British and US artists/orchestras like Geoff Love; Nelson
Riddle; Manuel & The Music of the Mountains; The Starlight Strings;
Ron Goodwin etc. The CD was released in the UK in June and it contains
approx 71 minutes of what EMI call "25 very ripe instrumental easy
classics"! I bought mine when I was visiting Guernsey in June and
saw it in a record shop in St. Peter Port. I see it can also be
bought at www.hmv.co.uk and
www.amazon.co.uk etc. as
well as the usual record stores. Chris Campbell
APOLLO SOUND: Test Card Music Volume 8 My
Friends (G. Garanjan), At Sundown (Harvey Richards), Tierpark [Zoo]
Promenade (Hans Bath), L’Amour Est Grand (J. Dieval), Flowers
for Yvette (Harry Heinze), Santiago de Chile (Rudolf Maluck), Rockin’
Strings (William Gardner), Goodnight (arr. Sam Fonteyn), Fancy That
(Gerhard Paul), Rockin’ Chair (Peter Hope), Irish Imp (William
Gardner), Music in Mind (hendric Haydegg), Zambra Flamenca (John
Carmichael), Moon Over Altea (L. Portner), In the Shade (Fernando
Paggi), Ventuno [21] (Ulrich Sommerlatte), Talisman (Walter Franz),
Blue Train (Roger Senicourt- actually Frank Chacksfield), Don Pedro
(Horst Grosser), Machito (Heinz Hotter), Charley-O (T. Marino),Loose
Cover (Sam Fonteyn), You are Mine (K. Veidt/P. Forester). Apollo
Sound APSCD 228. Chris Churcher has assembled another fine collection
for Apollo Sound in this impressive series, which has become a valuable
source of material for the many collectors whose primary interests
focus on the kind of bright and rhythmic 1960s/1970s sounds which
used to be heard on television in the days before 24-hour programming,
when gaps in the schedules were filled with test cards mainly for
the benefit of engineers installing new sets. Once again the archives
of Mozart Edition have provided all but one track, giving further
evidence of that library’s strength in this kind of music.
Readers will spot some familiar composers, while others will offer
some pleasant surprises. I do not pretend to be an expert on test
card music, but I know that some readers could probably give the
days and times when these tunes were originally heard. They will
need no further encouragement from me to snap up this latest compilation.
David Ades This CD is available by mail order direct
from Apollo Sound (see page 89); it can also be purchased from the
RFS Record Service for £12.75 [US $25.50].
ALPHORN CONCERTOS Sinfonia Pastorella
(Leopold Mozart), Dialogue with Nature and Concerto
for Alphorn & Orchestra (Jean Daetwyler), Concertino
Rustico (Ferenc Farkas). Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra conducted
by Urs Schneider. Naxos 8.555978. The 12 foot long alphorn may not
be the most versatile of musical instruments but in expert hands
it is quite capable of making pleasant and jolly sounds as witnessed
by these ancient and modern musical offerings. It is certainly an
unusual CD and all the more satisfactory for that. It is unlikely
you will have heard any of the pieces before but each gives the
lie to the myth that the alphorn has only two notes, one for calling
animals and the other for contacting your goatherd girlfriend or
boyfriend in the next valley! Edmund Whitehouse
CAREY BLYTON Film and Television Music Valse
Musette, Girl Friday, Commuter Special, On the Go, Something in
the Wind, Action for Orchestra, Blues in the Round, Neurosis, Man
at Work, Noises of the Night, etc. plus television adverts for
Birdseye Florida Orange juice, Mackintosh’s Quality Street,
Lyons’ Harvest Pies, Nimble Bread, Elastoplast, and Lux
Toilet Soap. Apollo Sound APSCD224. This is the first of four
collections of the late Carey Blyton’s commercial music, which
must have involved considerable research to acquire the recordings
from a wide variety of different sources. Thus the first part of
this CD concentrates on the composer’s commissions from several
British recorded music libraries (Boosey & Hawkes, Weinberger,
Synchrofox), leaving the remainder of the CD focussing on Blyton’s
television commercials from 1964 to 1971. There are sometimes several
different treatments of the same theme, and two of the tracks feature
the finished product, complete with voice-overs. This offers a truly
fascinating glimpse of the music business that will be unfamiliar
to many. As a bonus, the CD booklet provides a wealth of very detailed
information, even to the extent of listing full credits for the
advertising agencies involved. An excellent release in all respects,
and highly recommended to readers with an interest in this often
hidden side of the world of production music. David Ades Apollo
Sound CDs are available from the RFS Record Service for £12.75 [US
$25.50] each. They can also be purchased direct from Apollo Sound
– see advertisement on page 89 of this issue.
GEORGE LLOYD The Serf (Orchestral Suite)
and Cello Concerto (USA) Albany TROY 458 Albany Symphony
Orchestra conducted by David Alan Miller. All George Lloyd fans
will be delighted to learn of this posthumously issued CD, covering
yet more of this fine tuneful composer’s later works. It’s
very Lloydesque and yet altogether new at the same time. Who said
serious music had to be dull to be enjoyed? Here is a man whose
career was shattered by the war yet continued to compose melodious
post-war masterpieces in the face of the avant garde lobby who refused
to broadcast it. Well done George, you deservedly had the last laugh
on them. Peter Worsley
PALM COURT ORCHESTRA Conducted by CHARLES JOB
‘Un Peu d’Amour’ Amparito Roca, Un Peu d’Amour,
By the Light of the Silvery Moon, Love’s Garden of Roses, Wedding
of a Rose, Nola, Alicante, Gavotte, Ecstasy Waltz, The Sunshine
of your Smile, Song of Paradise, Neapolitan Serenade, Fairytale,
Teddy Bears’ Picnic, Dreaming, Bird Songs at Eventide, Hiawatha,
Entry of the Gladiators, Da Capo Palm Court Orchestra CD02,
63:22 mins. The music lovers of British Columbia in Canada are fortunate
in having someone like Charles Job on the scene promoting quality
light music through a regular series of concerts, and occasional
CD releases such as this. I’m pleased to find Reginald King’s
Song of Paradise, together with Leon Jessel’s Wedding
of the Rose. The melody Dreaming is not the familiar
Archibald Joyce piece, but a lesser-known work by Haydn Wood, who
is also responsible for Love’s Garden of Roses, charmingly
sung by Sally Braswell, mezzo soprano, who also performs two other
numbers, The Sunshine of your Smile and Eric Coates’
Bird Songs at Eventide. Gerhard Winkler’s Neapolitan
Serenade is a good choice (a perfect example of a tune you know,
but have difficulty naming!). Lovers of the more traditional style
of light music will thoroughly enjoy this collection, well played
and conducted by musicians who have their hearts in what they are
doing. David Ades This CD is available from the
RFS Record Service for £11.00 [US $22].
SIR VIVIAN DUNN Conducts Sir Arthur Sullivan
Yeoman of the Guard – Overture, The Tempest – Incidental
Music, The Merchant of Venice – Suite, Entrance and March of
the Peers – from Iolanthe, Overture in C – In Memoriam
Bournemouth Symphony, City of Birmingham Orchestra and
Band of HM Royal Marines School of Music Eastney RHMSEC006.
Paddy Dunn remains very active in the promotion of his late father’s
recordings, and it is appropriate that he should have recognised
the upsurge in interest in the music of Sir Arthur Sullivan. Although
his work in the world of military music is unsurpassed, Sir Vivian
Dunn was a master of so many different kinds of music, and we are
fortunate that there exist so many recordings of his encounters
with some of the finest symphony orchestras in the land. This new
CD neatly brings together several different sessions, providing
a tribute to Sullivan that will find favour with his many admirers.
The CD booklet is packed full of interesting facts, making this
a collection that will find itself in many appreciative homes. David
Ades This CD is available from Eastney Collection, 60
Mayford Road, London, SW12 8SN, England – price £10 (UK, postage
paid), £11.50 (overseas, postage paid). Credit cards accepted. Please
mention the RFS when ordering.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK On the Town –
Opening [Lyn Murray]; Sidewalks of New York [Shannon Quartet]; Broadway
Melody [Ben Selvin]; Give my Regards to Broadway [George M. Cohan];
Park Avenue Fantasy, Stairway to the Stars [Paul Whiteman]; Forty
Second Street [Boswell Sisters & Dorsey Brothers Band]; Slumming
on Park Avenue [Red Norvo with Mildred Mailey]; Slaughter on Tenth
Avenue [Lennie Hayton & MGM Orchestra]; Skyscraper Fantasy [Mantovani];
Manhattan Tower [Gordon Jenkins] etc… 22 tracks ASV Living
Era CD AJA 5441, 75:01 mins. David Lennick and Ray Crick have come
up with a fascinating selection of ‘New York’ music, which
should sell very well in the USA. The choice of material is wide,
offering something for lovers of show and film music, plus a light
orchestral ‘standard’ and a comparatively rare Gordon
Jenkins masterwork. Peter Dempsey’s booklet notes are entertaining,
but he has missed a trick by not mentioning that Slaughter on
Tenth Avenue is a classic Conrad Salinger arrangement, much
sought-after by his admirers. Currently there is great interest
in this unsung hero of Hollywood musicals, and his work is destined
to receive much greater acknowledgement in the future. This version
of Slaughter… comes from the 1948 MGM musical ‘Words
and Music’. It was briefly available on an EMI CD of tracks
from the film in 1990, but since then has been hard to find. In
an ideal world it would be preferable to go back to the original
tapes, because both the EMI and ASV transfers show their age. A
more serious ‘howler’ in the booklet notes concerns Skyscraper
Fantasy. We are told that it is the work of the famous clarinettist
Sid Phillips, but readers of this magazine will know that the actual
composer was Donald Phillips, the brilliant backroom boy also responsible
for Concerto in Jazz, who died in 1994. This Mantovani 78
of Skyscraper Fantasy has also recently appeared on CDs from
Vocalion (CDEA6019) and Naxos (8120516). Other gems include Park
Avenue Fantasy (incorporating Stairway to the Stars)
by Paul Whiteman, Jo Stafford’s delectable Manhattan Serenade,
Frank Sinatra’s Autumn in New York and Dick Powell’s
Lullaby of Broadway. And what about Gordon Jenkins’
Manhattan Tower? Quite frankly, like baseball it hasn’t
travelled well eastwards across the North Atlantic. You either love
it or hate it! David Ades
THE WARTIME PICNICS and A COUNTRY CALENDAR
by Peter Cork. Here is something really unusual, two privately produced
double-CDs by a Kentish composer who once taught music to Dudley
Moore! Both are semi-autobiographical because they recreate the
war years and a time when our landscape was more gentle and perhaps
more musical than it is today. The Wartime Picnics (90 minutes)
is a musical relating a family love story in a poignant world, evolving
around three picnics on the Kentish Downs during and after the Second
World War. A young girl falls for a serving airman and their relationship
gradually unfolds against the dark clouds of conflict. A Country
Calendar (140 minutes) describes the British life and landscape
in words and music from the Thirties, Forties and Fifties, long
before motorways shortened journey times and made virtually everywhere
accessible to everyone. The narrators are Rosemary Leach, Tim Pigott-Smith
and Dennis Quilley, and the aptly-named producer is Piers Plowright,
a well-known BBC personality and friend of the composer. Scenes
range from the Cumbrian Lakes to the coastal paths of Cornwall and
events from August Bank Holiday to the Battle of Britain and a frosty
Christmas Eve. Each month and season is covered by separate tracks
with the background music played by a pleasant light orchestra.
Such ventures are to be encouraged and applauded in this day and
age and at £13.99 for each double-CD they will not break the piggy
bank. Available post free from Re-Collections, JEM House, Littlemead,
Cranleigh, Surrey, GU6 8NH, ENGLAND. Tel. 0870-727-4104, Fax 01483-268889.
Edmund Whitehouse
RON GOODWIN AND HIS ORCHESTRA ‘Music for
an Arabian Night’ and ‘Holiday in Beirut’
EMI 7243 5397892. These two fine albums caused quite a stir
when they were released on Parlophone LPs back in the 1960s. Since
then they have reappeared on CDs available mainly in the Middle
East, but it is good to have them available again as a ‘2 on
1’ with general distribution. Ralph Harvey has contributed
the booklet notes, and the original album covers are also reproduced.
Don’t hesitate; if these vintage Ron Goodwin LPs are not already
in your collection, you can correct that omission right away! David
Ades
ALBERT SAMMONS – Delius Violin Concerto
[w. Liverpool P.O., cond. Dr Malcolm Sargent – rec. 1944]/
Elgar Violin Concerto in B minor [w. New Queen’s Hall
Orch., cond. Sir Henry Wood – rec. 1929] Dutton super budget
CDBP9735, 66:30 mins. Two classic recordings from the Shellac Era,
which deserve a place in every serious collection of British Music.
Arguably the greatest of all English violinists, Albert Sammons
[1886-1957] was also a highly respected teacher [his pupils included
the youthful George Lloyd] remembered as a man of great kindness
and integrity who referred not to use the fiddle as a mere box of
tricks. Sadly, the onset of Parkinson’s disease in the mid-1940s
enforced his early retirement from playing. Delius had dedicated
his 1916 Concerto to Sammons, who also made the Elgar work
[written for Fritz Kreisler] very much his own. Neither work is
Light Music, of course, but so many readers have expressed admiration
for these wonderful and highly original composers, that I make no
apology for submitting this review. In any case, the Delius is a
virtually uninterrupted stream of beautiful melody, while the Elgar
is so full of marvellous themes and striking ideas – the "guitar
effect" in the last movement cadenza is just one – that
listeners will always be finding something new. Michael Dutton’s
state-of-the-art transfers ensure these magnificent performances
have never sounded better. For listeners whose appetites for more
Sammons have been whetted, Michael Dutton has also produced an historic
CD [Dutton Epoch CDLX7103] of chamber music by John Ireland, on
which violinist and composer perform the Second Violin Sonata;
and there is also an Hyperion issue [CDA67096: ‘The English
Kreisler’] on which Paul Barritt and Catherine Edwards present
20 of Sammons own Salon Pieces in excellent style. John
E. Govier
TED HEATH AND HIS MUSIC ‘Nice One Ted!’
Hindustan, Swannee River, Song of the Vagabonds, Two Guitars,
Lyonia, Roumanian Roundabout, The Nearness of You, Colonel Bogey,
Button Up Your Overcoat, Rag Mop, Blue Skies March, London Fog,
Euphoria, Lady Byrd, Sidewalks of Cuba, Sophisticated Lady, Tequila,
Move, Father Knickerbopper, Saxophone Mambo, You’re Nearer,
Trumpet Voluntary, El Abanico, Post Horn Boogie, My Silent Love
Memoir CDMOIR565, 68:40 mins. Ted Heath fans have been well
served by various record companies in recent years, and it seems
that the flow of new releases is accelerating. At the same time
it is difficult for new compilations such as this to avoid duplications,
and collectors will have to decide for themselves whether or not
there are enough new delights on this CD to persuade them to part
with their precious pounds. Personally I cannot imagine any true
fans hesitating for long, because Memoir have come up with such
a splendid production, thanks to the excellent sound restoration
by Ted Kendall, and the superb booklet notes by Campbell Burnap.
The gifted arrangers make one’s mouth water: Reg Owen, Eric
Jupp, Reg Briggs, Norman Stenfalt, George Shearing, Bruce Campbell,
John Dankworth, Phil Bates and Wally Stott (Roumanian Roundabout).
Personnel, recording dates, matrix numbers, studios … all the
information you could ever want is here. To paraphrase the CD’s
title: "Nice One, Memoir!" David Ades
NAT KING COLE ‘Here’s To My Lady’
A Portrait of Jennie, That’s My Girl, Because of Rain,
Nature Boy, Baby Won’t You Say You Love me, Here’s To
My Lady, Song of Delilah, The Magic Tree, I’ll Never Say ‘Never
Again’ Again, Unforgettable, Little Girl, Red Sails In The
Sunset, Too Young, Put ‘Em in a Box, Lillette, I’m Hurtin’,
A Little Bit Independent, Wine Women & Song, Mona Lisa, Lush
Life, Lost April, Always You, My First and Last Love, Home
Memoir CDMOIR566, 71:55 mins. I suppose that many of the comments
I have made about the Ted Heath CD (above) equally apply to this
new Nat King Cole release. Again, keen collectors may well already
possess the majority of the tracks, but the fine remastering (by
our friend Ted Kendall, of course), and the comprehensive notes
(this time by Nigel Hunter) elevate this above the offerings from
the major companies. It seems incredible, but true: often the major
record companies who originally released recordings such as this
seem to take little trouble to make their occasional reissues attractive,
when it comes to information in their booklets. Thank goodness for
the fact that in Britain we still have a thriving independent record
sector, where true enthusiasts are able to impart their knowledge
to fellow collectors. At least generations to come will be able
to read something about the artists, the music and the recording
history – and why their contributions to the art of recorded
music are so important. David Ades Memoir CDs are
available from the RFS Record Service for £10 [$20] each.
TONY WHITTAKER ‘Keyboard Magic’ In
Love For The Very First time, Call Me, Laura, Music of the Night,
So Nice, Sands of Cairo, Warwick Waltz, Stairway to the Sea, All
I Ask of You, Matrimony, Memory, The Boy From… , As Time Goes
By, Cat’s Tail, Merry as a Grig, Abba Medley TWMS CD05/02.
RFS member Tony Whittaker has produced an attractive collection
of piano pieces, augmented on some tracks by bass, guitar and strings.
You may have noticed Merry as a Grig in the listing above
– an interesting choice, by Van Phillips, the arranger who
produced some interesting dance band sounds in the 1930s, then went
into production music, but eventually achieved greater fame as an
acclaimed photographer. It is also nice to find less hackneyed numbers
– In Love For the Very First Time makes a good opening.
All in all, an enjoyable selection of music which will please piano
fans. David Ades This CD is available direct from
Tony Whittaker, 83 St. Helen’s Road, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire,
CV31 3QG, England – price £10.00. You can also order via Tony’s
website: www.tonywhittaker.co.uk
GLORIOUS VICTORY: Willcocks – Guards
Armoured Division; Alford – Eagle Squadron, By Land and Sea,
Holyrood, The Vanished Army, Army of the Nile, The Standard of St.
George;Panella – On the Square; Kendall – Glorious Victory;
Kelly – Arnhem, Arromanches; Sousa – Liberty Bell, The
Stars and Stripes Forever; Eley – Duke of York; Zehle –
Wellington; Rhodes – Golden Spurs; Bagley – National Emblem;
Strauss – Radetzky March; Stanley – Alamein. Kings
Division Normandy Band, Director of Music Captain Gary Clegg
Plantagenet Music PMRD9425, 65:00 mins. A superb, well planned compendium
of military marches, some old favourites, others less familiar,
recorded in the ample acoustic of St. Michael’s Parish Church,
Kirkham, Lancashire. A generous representation of the martial music
of the English ‘March King’ Kenneth J. Alford including
his impressive slow march By Land and Sea in which A Life
on the Ocean Wave is cleverly interweaved. Two of Sousa’s
best, although the rendering of The Stars and Stripes Forever
is surprisingly rather small scale and lightweight, with a sharp
accelerando towards the end. There is also a rather curious arrangement
by Sharpe of the Radetzky March.There’s a fascinating
example of an early 19th century march Duke of York
by Christopher Eley, a Hanovarian Bandmaster brought to England
by the aforementioned Duke. Bandstand favourites such as Panella’s
On the Square and Bagley’s National Emblem intermingle
with less well-known (at least for this listener) but nonetheless
impressive marches by the likes of G.H. Willcocks (Director of Music,
Irish Guards 1938-48); Albert Kelly (who served as Bandmaster of
the Royal Sussex Regiment); Samuel Rhodes (one time Director of
Music with the Scots Guards with no less than 44 years’ service
with Army bands); and Leo Stanley (the pen name of Randolph Ricketts,
brother of Frederick Ricketts, better known as Kenneth Alford!).
Despite the very minor quibbles above, all these marches are played
with an impressive degree of aplomb, precision and professionalism,
and one hopes that the Kings Division’s next CD won’t
be too long in the making. Roger Hyslop Plantagenet
CDs are available from: Plantagenet Music Ltd., 90 Holgate Road,
York, YO24 4AB, England – telephone orders 01904 64710. Also
available from Discurio, 46 High Street, Rochester, Kent, ME1 1LD,
England – tel/fax 10634 845222 www.discurio.com
THE KING’S SQUAD Jager – Esprit
de Corps; Gray – Thunderbirds; Donajowsky – Preobrajensky
Blankenburg Action Front; Menken – A Whole New World; Willcocks
– Sarafond; Charles Williams – Blue Devils; etc…
Band of HM Royal Marines Commando Training Centre / Capt.
N.J. Grace Plantagenet PMRD 9426. Here’s a military band
with a difference! An audio representation of the Pass-Out Parade
of the Kings Squad – the senior recruit squad in Royal Marines
training, recorded at the Commando Training Centre, Lympstone, Devon,
with a spoken narration by a certain Lord (better known as Paddy)
Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon in Somerset– a former Royal Marines
Officer between 1959 and 1972; his contributions are brief and succinct
and should not become too irksome on repeated playings. The doyen
of British military musicians, Lieutenant Colonel Sir F. Vivian
Dunn (who was appointed Director of Music of the Portsmouth Division
Band in 1931, at the incredibly early age of 22, and completed an
illustrious career with the Royals as Principal Director of Music
at Deal), is represented by several of his very attractive arrangements,
including Preorajensky, The Globe and Laurel, Where ere You Walk
and Sarie Marais. Since the playing of the Royal Marines
bandsmen display their usual enviable musical prowess, and the recording
is excellent, this CD must be strongly commended. Roger Hyslop
Plantagenet CDs are not available through the RFS Record
Service, but details of how to obtain them can be found at the end
of the previous review.
JOHNNY HARRIS ‘Movements’ Fragments
of Fear, Reprise, Stepping Stones, Something, Give Peace a Chance,
Footprints on the Moon, Light My Fire, Wichita Lineman, Paint It
Black + bonus tracks Warner Bros 8122-73602-2 [also on vinyl
as 2-LP set: 8122-73601-1]. 43:35 mins. This album really needs
no introduction. It was big in its day but has become even bigger
in recent years after it was rediscovered when tracks were sampled
on modern dance records resulting in original copies changing hands
for up to £50. And after just one listen it’s very easy to
see why! The opening track is taken from the score of the obscure
psychological thriller "Fragment Of Fear" and has a deliciously
chilling melody that will weave its way into your brain and stay
there. Over a distorted rhythmic shuffle a flute is joined by strings,
wah-wah guitar and a bubbling Hammond Organ resulting in a non-stop
groove with a warm, rich sound which is worth the cover price alone.
However it is the next track "Stepping Stones" which usually
gets most attention. This fast and frantic jazz piece was used for
a chase sequence in the same movie and sees a repeated screaming
flute motif (played by Harold McNeil) across a hard percussive backing
offset by stabbing strings and guitar, resulting in a funky sound
which wouldn't be out of place in the score to a black cop movie
such as "Shaft" or "Superfly". There are some
quieter moments too including the delicately haunting "Footprints
On The Moon" complete with angelic choir choruses, and some
superb covers including "Something" which Harris later
reworked for Shirley Bassey, "Wichita Lineman" and a truly
amazing arrangement of the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black"
which owes more than a little to "Night On A Bare Mountain".
The CD also features a colourful 24-page booklet covering the composer's
long career in music and there are two bonus tracks including the
groovy Lulu's theme which was used for the "Happening For Lulu"
show where Harris acted as MD. NB: There are plans to follow this
up with a reissue of Harris' other Warner Bros album "All To
Bring You Morning". David Noades
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