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KEEPING TRACK
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KEEPING TRACK
Dateline December 2007
KEEPING TRACK - DECEMBER
Orchestral
FOUR DECADES OF LIGHT MUSIC – VOLUMES ONE AND TWO
Various artists (GUILD, GLCD 5134 and GLCD 5135)
Full tracklistings of all Guild Light Music CDs can be
accessed via the link on our home page, or by visiting Guild
Music [this company and many other record labels can be
found on our links page]. You can also visit the Light Music
CDs page on this website.
These two new releases contain a wealth of different styles
and sounds, and it becomes increasingly clear just how far
compositions, arrangements and orchestras evolved during
those four decades. The first volume contains the earliest
tracks to appear on any Guild issue, dating from 1926. This
is a sub-genre which has not been particularly prominent
as far as the RFS is concerned, although of course, it was
the core interest of the erstwhile Vintage Light Music Society.
Whilst some of the tracks are well known such as Parade
of the Tin Soldiers (Jessel), Teddy Bears’ Picnic
(Bratton) and Estudiantina (Waldteufel), I believe
there are quite a number making their CD debut. There’s
a wonderful Percy Fletcher piece entitled Pearl
O’Mine – Lyrical Melody and Charles Orth’s
In a Clock Store; this is a superb novelty number
with all sorts of effects which must have kept several percussionists
busy! Following the success of Eduard Kűnneke’s
Overture to his Dance Suite (GLCD 5106), this
time another movement – Blues – has been
included. From a 1937 Bosworth library recording, Frog
King’s Parade (Kronberger; Marriott) makes a surprising,
though welcome, second appearance on Guild, but this is
very different from the arrangement to be found on the "Bandstand
in the Park" CD. Pieces like Flapperette (Greer)
and Lustspiel – Overture (Keler-Bela) have a
wonderful ‘period’ feel to them, as does The
Selfish Giant of Eric Coates, an early composition which
was heavily influenced by the syncopated style of contemporary
popular music of the time. I would also single out for special
mention In A Merry Mood (Harringer), Raindrops
– Pizzicati for Strings (T de la Riviera) and Montague
Ewing’s Dancing Clock – timepieces were
obviously an inspiration to light music composers! The whole
programme is well assembled and highly enjoyable, more so
with each listening. It’s from an era about which I
am personally very keen to learn more, and I hope that there
is further material available which could be incorporated
into future releases.
Like the song What a Difference a Day Made, it’s
extraordinary what a difference a few years made as far
as our kind of music is concerned! Volume two
covers the 1940s and 1950s and there is often a markedly
different character to the compositions and indeed the orchestral
performances. As with many other areas of creative activity,
light music post-WWII seems to reflect a new order, with
pieces like March For Americans (Grofé) and
World Of Tomorrow (Beaver) embracing this. A rather
surprising inclusion is the more-than-ubiquitous Charles
Williams composition The Old Clockmaker. It’s
good to hear Charles Shadwell’s signature tune Down
with the Curtain again. As a child, I was taken on several
occasions to Tom Arnold’s Circus at Harringay, in North
London, where CS and his orchestra were the ‘resident
band’ - and this piece always introduced the proceedings.
Considering that, for many, the 1940s are the definitive
era of light music; it’s a tad disappointing that we
are offered a mere ten tracks, compared with seventeen for
the 1950s selection. This may be because there is a great
deal of 1940s material already available on previous Guild
issues, whilst advantage can now be taken to include more
recordings from the middle, and late, 1950s, as we approach
2008. I have remarked before that the music of this latter
era (particularly from about 1953/54 onwards) is rather
more ‘glossy’, more sophisticated, than its predecessors,
and this is very evident in the programme presented here.
Although several of the titles will be familiar, they are
to be heard in wonderful arrangements of the highest quality;
particularly worthy of mention are Song Of India
(Rimsky-Korsakov) given the Laurie Johnson treatment,
Wally Stott’s reading of the Theme from Spellbound
(Rozsa) and Werner Műller with Forty Second
Street (Warren) . With the orchestras of Geraldo, Farnon,
Chacksfield, Stanley Black, Ray Martin, David Carroll, Roger
Roger and more, this CD is yet another worthy addition to
the Guild series.
Tony Clayden
LIGHT MUSIC FOR ALL SEASONS
Various artists (GUILD, GLCD 5138)
The seasons have provided inspiration for many light music
composers over the years and I’m sure that there are
dozens more season-related pieces than the 24 represented
here. The programme is arranged chronologically (from a
Northern Hemisphere perspective) starting with April
in Paris (Vernon Duke) and continuing with several spring
compositions. May, June and summer themes follow, through
Autumn, September, (and even November) and so on, finishing
up with George Melachrino’s A Christmas Fantasy.
Most of the tracks are taken from commercial recordings,
although there are some from the libraries of Paxton, Bosworth,
Chappell and Boosey and Hawkes. The performing orchestras
include those of Michel Legrand, Gordon Jenkins, Sidney
Torch, Dolf van der Linden and his Metropole Orchestra,
Ron Goodwin and Richard Hayman. There’s a very
characteristic Robert Farnon arrangement of One Morning
in May (Schertzinger) and a similarly distinctive version
of Indian Summer (Victor Herbert) by George Melachrino
and played by his strings. A slight departure from
the usual is Ethel Smith’s version of Sleigh Ride
(Leroy Anderson), played on the Hammond organ as only she
could, and accompanied by a small ensemble. This is a very
thoughtfully assembled and extremely enjoyable programme.
It’s a definite ‘must-have’ for all those
who love the kind of music which was the very backbone of
the BBC Light Programme and BBC Radio 2 in its early days.
Tony Clayden
MUSICAL KALEIDOSCOPE – VOLUME 1
Various artists (GUILD, GLCD 5139)
In distinct contrast to the various ‘themed’
CDs in the Guild series, this new compilation brings together
a wonderful array of pieces which do not necessarily fit
into neat categories, but sets out to ‘offer a wide
variety of styles and ensembles and hopefully spring a few
surprises along the way’. The recordings span a period
of nearly 25 years, from a Reginald King track of 1932-
Roses At Dawning (Kahn, Moret), to three 1956 recordings,
including the eponymous Kaleidoscope (Schreckenberger)
from a FD&H library disc. As is so often the case, several
of the items evoke a reaction of ‘I haven’t heard
that for years’ – accompanied by a real ‘buzz
’! To single out just a few, I would mention
Ballet of Madeira (Gregori, Freitas), Fiesta
(Jack Coles), Policeman’s Holiday (Ewing) and
Sailor’s Holiday (Martell). There are some lovely
‘vintage’ pieces like Cockney Girl (Melachrino),
In Happy Mood (Mackey), Legend (Crowdson)
and Keep Moving (Charrosin). A section entitled Seven
Famous BBC Orchestras includes the two alternate versions
of Oranges and Lemons, which were used to open the
Light Programme every morning, and the selection closes
appropriately with Billy Cotton’s ‘playout’
music – Legion Patrol (Simpson). I have
played this CD so many times already that had it been a
record, it would probably be beginning to wear out! Hugely
enjoyable and highly recommended. With the next release
the Guild series will reach the ‘Big Four-O’ –
an amazing and unparalleled achievement on the part of David
Ades, Alan Bunting, and the enterprising company behind
the whole project – Guild GmbH of Switzerland.
Tony Clayden
BRITISH LIGHT MUSIC PREMIERES Volume 4
Ernest Tomlinson – music from "Aladdin";
John Fox – A Surrey Rhapsody; Jim Cooke – Concert
Jig; Phillip Lord – Nautical Overture; Richard Valery
– The Magic Carpet; Lionel Sainsbury – Cuban Dance
No. 2; Adam Saunders - Overture: Pirates Ahoy!; Carey Blyton
– Suite: The Golden Road to Samarkand; Peter Flinn
– Cinema Suite.
Royal Ballet Sinfonia Conducted by Gavin Sutherland
and Paul Murphy (Dutton Epoch CDLX 7190) 77:06 mins.
The music in this collection covers a wide range of styles,
with the earliest piece dating from 1940 and the latest
2006. Ernest Tomlinson was certainly on form back in 1974
when he composed "Aladdin", and it is good to
have three Jewel Dances plus Aladdin’s Dance
of Joy and Young Man In Love. John Fox loves
the county of Surrey – and especially the area around
Banstead – where he has lived for many years, and his
beautiful Surrey Rhapsody is his vision of a wonderful
part of the world. From the dawn chorus at the opening,
to the excitement of Epsom racecourse (and even a traffic
jam on the M 25) we are transported musically around one
of the loveliest parts of southern England. John is a master
of melody and orchestration, and this work is an important
addition to the light music repertoire of the 21st
century. If John represents the older school of composers
(we celebrated his 80th birthday with him at
an RFS London meeting in 2004), then Adam Saunders is certainly
an up-and-coming writer who promises to keep the fine traditions
going in future years. His contribution is a lively piece
Pirates Ahoy! which should appeal to concert promoters
as a lively opener. The other varied works on this CD offer
an interesting collection which will possibly make their
composers better-known. Now that the Sanctuary White Line
series has disappeared, we are fortunate that Michael Dutton
is willing to continue supporting new light music on his
Epoch label, and he deserves the support of us all. David
Ades
LIGHT MUSIC WHILE YOU WORK VOLUME TWO
Various artists (GUILD, GLCD 5137)
It is encouraging to note that the success of ‘Light
Music While You Work Volume One’ has prompted another
selection of delights which, far from being a pale imitation
of the first album, is even better! When reviewing the previous
CD, I suggested that the London Coliseum Orchestra and the
orchestra of Harold Collins, Wynford Reynolds and David
Java should be included next time – and sure enough
they are all here, together with old friends like Ronnie
Munro, Richard Crean, Harry Fryer and Harry Davidson. Perhaps
I should point out that Wynford Reynolds (no relation!)
was appointed Music While You Work organiser late in 1941,
over a year after the radio programme’s inception and
contrary to suggestions in the booklet notes, he did not
conceive the original idea for the programme. The show came
about as a result of a directive from the War Office, who
felt that a programme of uninterrupted and tuneful music
would boost morale in industry. Although this CD is primarily
of light music, the dance music aspect of the series is
represented by several Phil Green recordings and one by
Reg Pursglove – although Raymond Scott’s excellent
Toy Trumpet was often heard played by light orchestras
and military bands. Indeed I heard it on a park bandstand
quite recently! I am told that when it comes to reviews,
I have a reputation for being somewhat ‘picky’.
Well, if that is the case, I offer no apologies as I think
that a reviewer should give a truthful opinion. It is true
that with volume one, I expressed some reservations relating
to programme building, but on this occasion there is absolutely
nothing to criticise. The programme has been built with
great care and is full of contrast – a lovely mixture
of marches, waltzes, selections and novelties. I like the
way that Calling All Workers (this time it’s
the Eric Coates version) has been tailored in such a way
that the recording sounds almost like an extended MWYW broadcast.
Indeed the opening signature tune has been effectively ‘clipped’
at the end so as to create a natural segue into Marche
Lorraine. I think that my favourite item on the disc
is Castles in Spain, a super piece which has probably
not been performed in decades. It is customary, when reviewing
Guild Records, to pay tribute to Alan Bunting for his fine
restoration work, but as this goes without saying, I won’t
mention it!
Brian Reynolds
MARCHING AND WALTZING
Various artists (GUILD, GLCD 5136)
‘Marching and Waltzing’ was another famous radio
programme from the golden years of radio. It started during
the war, continuing intermittently until 1984. It soon developed
into a studio production featuring an orchestra to play
the waltzes – for many years Wynford Reynolds’
Raeburn Orchestra, alternating with a brass or military
band to play the marches. I think that it should be stated
at the outset that whilst this CD is inspired by the radio
series, it is not intended to replicate it. There are no
bands – everything is played orchestrally by some of
the finest including Ron Goodwin, Sidney Torch, Cyril Stapleton
and a certain Robert Farnon. One surprise inclusion is dance
band leader Lou Preager, but on this recording fronting
a large concert orchestra. I found this recording quite
delightful and in some ways more interesting than the radio
series with its broader range of music, particularly amongst
the marches. However there is one point in the accompanying
notes which is inaccurate. ‘Marching and Waltzing’
was actually probably the only radio series to use two signature
tunes and shortened versions of King Cotton and Vienna
Blood opened and closed every programme. This is an
excellent selection of tunes, with the original recordings
as always beautifully restored by Alan Bunting. It has to
be one of Guild’s best yet!
Brian Reynolds
MUSIC WHILE YOU WORK VOLUME 2
Calling All Workers, In the Arena, The Last Tango,
Songs of Old England, Show Boat, A Kiss in the Dark, Parade
of the Pirates, Temptation Rag, Wood Nymphs, Careless Cuckoo,
Linger Awhile, Memories of the Early Twenties, Salad Days,
Friml in the Ballroom, Marigold, Teddy Bears Picnic, Tick
of the Clock, You Are My Sunshine, Sing-along Medley, Mad
About Music, Choristers Waltz, Waldmere March, Lonely
Troubadour
Various artists (Frank Bristow, FBCD 166)
This delightful new slice of nostalgia comes superbly remastered
and therefore very highly recommended, as one would expect
with Brian Reynolds, Brian Stringer and Alan Bunting behind
it. You will recognise much of the music but some of it
may be unfamiliar which is a good thing. Well done chaps!
Edmund Whitehouse
Frank Bristow CD’s are ONLY available directly from
him at 2 Cross Street, Brighton, Victoria 3186, Australia.
Tel. 03-9528-3167. Email: franbris@ozemail.com.au
Credit cards and Paypal are accepted, but no cheques —
details on request. Please visit his website for further
details on CDs in his catalogue www.musicfromthepast.com
ANY OLD IRON
Original Dixieland one-step, By Heck, Stumbling,
Steppin’ in Society, Is it True What They Say About
Dixie?, Johnson Rag and 22 other tracks
Sid Phillips and his band (Vocalion, CDVS1949)
77:14
This CD arrived on a lovely summery morning in August and
seemed an ideal accompaniment to match the mood of the day.
At only £2.99 (Yes, £2.99!), and to celebrate the 100th
anniversary of this most accomplished musician’s birth,
it will also make an excellent Christmas stocking filler!
I have always had a soft spot for Dixieland music and ‘England’s
King of the Clarinet’ was a master of the genre. He
recorded more than 200 sides for HMV throughout the 1940s
and 1950s, and we have here a selection of tracks made during
the years 1951-1956. As well as the likes of The Birth
of the Blues, Stardust, Tiger Rag, When
the Red Red Robin, Alexander’s Ragtime Band,
Wabash Blues and the title tune, there are Sid’s
own compositions: The Clarinet Cadenza, Stratton
Street Strut, High Jinks and The Jolly Jazzers.
As a classical music enthusiast, I was fascinated to read
in Oliver Lomax’s very informative booklet notes that
in 1946 Sid composed a symphony entitled Symphony Russe,
premiered and broadcast afterwards by Sir Adrian Boult.
Peter Burt
Editor: Unless CDs are purchased direct from record
shops, please note that postage may be charged on top of
the prices quoted in reviews when buying by mail order or
the internet.
SULLIVAN
Pineapple Poll, Irish Symphony
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted
by David Lloyd-Jones (Naxos, 8.570351) 78:26
This is Sullivan, without W.S. Gilbert, which is the way
I prefer it. Here we have a marvellous melange of Sullivan’s
melodies fashioned into a ballet score by the distinguished
Australian conductor Sir Charles Mackerras back in 1951.
Rightly does he write in his comprehensive liner notes of
"eminently danceable tunes." Sir Arthur
was of partly Irish descent and the 35-minute symphony originated
from a holiday in Northern Ireland when he was 21.
It, too, is very tuneful and approachable. I would
think that the whole disc will appeal to quite a number
of light music enthusiasts.
Peter Burt
1929-1947 PERFORMANCES
The New Friends of Rhythm (HPCD1086) 76:19
27 intriguing titles, brilliantly remastered, gathering
together almost all the groups recordings both commercial
and transcription. The group’s cellist and arranger
Alan Schulman first started arranging for dance bands coming
to the attention of NBC radio, where his group made their
debut in 1939. Clever writing and very humorous retitling
such as The Barbers Hitch (based on The Marriage
of Figaro), Shoot the Schubert to Me Hubert,
The Droschky Drag, Coo Dinny Coo are just
a few samples. The group consisted of three violins, a viola,
cello, bass, guitar, clarinet and a harpist way ahead of
her time, Laura Newell. Schulman said "She put in fills
I could never have thought of". One critic said "The
group is recommended to those who are not adverse to highly
arranged parodies of formal music". By 1940, the group
had sold 20,000 records and got the title "Toscanini’s
Hep Cats". During wartime service, Schulman met Nelson
Riddle. Nelson’s later arrangements for Sinatra, Cole
and Fitzgerald reflect Schulman’s influence. Schulman’s
copyist named him "The classical guy on the jazz bus".
Until the CD arrived, I admit that I had never heard of
them but the groundbreaking group deserves your attention
– you can then enjoy the music that has been circulating
in various formats by those who were in the know! Executive
Producer, Alastair Robertson deserves plaudits for putting
all this delightful music in one package.
Paul Clatworthy
THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS AND OTHER SEASONAL MUSIC
FOR ORCHESTRA
Classic Sleighride, A Christmas Overture, The Last
Sleep of the Virgin, Overture on French Carols, The Night
Before Christmas, Christmas Tree Suite, On the Twelfth Day
BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Barry Wordsworth
(Naxos, 8.570331)
A truly original and magical Christmas record avoiding the
predictable and would make an excellent stocking filler.
The familiar name of Philip Lane features large, so enjoyment
is guaranteed especially the Overture on French Carols.
It is Philip’s piece in the style of ‘Peter and
the Wolf’ which gives the disc its title with excellent
narration from Stephen Fry. The longest piece on this well
filled disc is On the Twelfth Day where the orchestra
is joined by the BBC singers and written by film composer
Doreen Carwithen. The only work with which I was familiar
is The Last Sleep of the Virgin which receives a
fine performance from soloist Matthew Lee on cello. All
in all a thoroughly fresh and entertaining disc featuring
stylish and idiomatic playing you would expect from this
orchestra under the baton of Barry Wordsworth with excellent
sound from the Watford Coliseum.
David Daniels
GRIEG AND GOLDMARK
Grieg: Symphony in C Minor, Goldmark: Symphony No
1 in Eb Major (Rustic Wedding) Op26
Bergen Symphony Orchestra conducted by Karsten Andersen/Los
Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jesus Lopez-Cobos
(Decca Eloquence, 4768743) 80:00
Reviews of recordings of symphonies don’t often appear
in the columns of Keeping Track but this release of material
emanating from the early 1980s is particularly valuable
in featuring the first ever commercial recording of Grieg’s
youthful Symphony in C Minor, composed mainly at
the promptings of the Danish composer Niels W Gade and completed
in 1864. The piece received several performances before
Grieg subsequently set aside the score with the injunction
that it ‘must never be performed’. After his death,
it was lodged in the Bergen Public Library and it wasn’t
until 1981 that this institution agreed to release the orchestral
score and Decca subsequently recorded the symphony with
Grieg’s own orchestra. Grieg’s critical judgement
of the works worth seems to be have been unduly harsh since
it undoubtedly possesses genuine stature and breath and
memorable themes all attractively orchestrated and well
worth more than an occasional airing.
What makes this disc an even more desirable acquisition
is the inclusion of Goldmark’s adorable Rustic Wedding
Symphony simply brimming over with heart warming melodies.
The structure is perhaps more closely related to a suite
rather than a symphony with descriptive titles to individual
movements such as Bridal Song, Serenade and the rapturous
In the Garden; this could easily come within the
compass of ‘quality light music’. Both symphonies
receive exemplary performances and the recording retails
for £5. Well worth investigating – you will be amply
rewarded!
Roger Hyslop
Solo instrumentalists
THE SWINGIN’ BASSOON
I’m Getting Sentimental Over You, Well You Needn’t,
Hay Burner, Scrapple from the Apple, Mood Indigo, Summer
Samba, Out of Nowhere, St Thomas, I Remember You, Home At
Last, A Night in Tunisia
Daniel Smith (Zah, ZZCD9824)
When this arrived for review, I was hoping to find Bob Farnon’s
last work Romancing the Phoenix on the disc, but
alas it is not there but evidently still awaiting its premiere!
Well chosen jazz vehicles, but I am afraid the only part
that really swings is the rhythm section which is very little
to please jazz enthusiasts! Daniel’s technical ability
is wonderful but even his powerful lungs cannot make the
bassoon a suitable jazz solo instrument! The slightly mournful
sound is far better used as colouring in a bank of woodwind
and brass scored by the likes of Farnon and Gil Evans, where
it comes into context. A brave but misguided recording which
will inspire other bassoon players to match the playing
but still sitting into the novelty category.
Paul Clatworthy
THE ESSENTIAL COLLECTION 1954-55
Out of This World, There’s a Small Hotel, You
Are Too Beautiful, When Your Lover Has Gone, Low Life, With
the Wind and Rain in Your Hair etc
Bob Brookmeyer (AVC887)
Right from the opening track, 9:20 Special, Bob’s
flowing solo shows he was a total master of the trombone
even this early in his distinguished career. By track nine,
on this double CD, the limitations of a small group start
to become obvious to me as a big band fan. The playing is
excellent by the varied line ups but each number seems to
merge. Johnny Green’s Body and Soul changes
the pattern but is a little too mournful for me. Bob switches
to piano on his own Under the Lilacs and Berlin’s
They Say It’s Wonderful. Seven tracks include
a small string section which I believe originally came out
under Bud Shank’s name. Players involved include Red
Mitchell, John Williams, Jimmy Rowles, Mel Lewis, Bud Shank,
Conte Candoli, Zoot Sims and Stan Levy. 34 tracks essential
for small group fans but for me Bob’s writing and playing
in larger groups is far more rewarding.
Paul Clatworthy
GRIEG ALBUM
Arietta, Norwegian Dance No. 2, Solveig’s Song,
Anitra’s Dance, I Love Thee, etc. 27 tracks
Sigmund Groven, harmonica with Norwegian Radio Orchestra
and soloists (Grappa GRCD4264) 64:56 mins.
RFS members have had the pleasure of meeting Sigmund at
our London meetings, and he is especially remembered from
the occasions when he came to the Bonnington Hotel with
Tommy Reilly. Sigmund is now regarded as one of the finest
exponents of the harmonica, and it is hardly surprising
that he should choose the music of his famous fellow countryman
for his latest CD. Somehow the often melancholic music of
Grieg seems well suited to the harmonica, although it is
equally suited to the brighter numbers, such as the perky
Anitra’s Dance from ‘Peer Gynt’. Lovers
of the harmonica will want to add this to their collection.
David Ades
This CD can be purchased direct from Sigmund
Groven,PO Box 5167, Majorstua, N0302, Oslo, Norway –
email sgroven@online.no
Keyboard
DIZZY FINGERS
Dizzy Fingers, Where’s That Rainbow?, Sahara,
Waltz of the Gypsies, It All Depends On You, Swingin’
Down the Lane, A New Kind of Man with a New Kind of Love
for Me, Lucky Day, Jerome Kern medley, Blue Skies, Indian
Love Call and more
Piano Rolls selected and played by Philip Legg
(Shellwood Productions, SWCD33) 71:24
The Pianola, the forerunner to the modern computerised electronic
organ, where an individual can sit and play music like Sparky
and His Magic Piano! I recall that a visit to my Aunt and
Uncle’s meant I could play their Pianola and one of
the secrets of playing this instrument is to be able to
pedal your feet at the current speed to keep the music playing
at the correct tempo.
Philip Legg on this CD has played all the piano rolls, which
he also selected, to perfection. There is a varied selection
of tunes to suit all tastes and having been originally played
for the rolls to be made by different pianists’ results
in varied piano styles. This CD comes with a comprehensive
set of notes in the foldout booklet describing all the tunes.
If you are looking for a CD purely of piano and no backing
– this is the one for you with over an hour of entertainment.
Gillian Endacott
SPORT MODEL ENCORE
Sport Model Encore, On a Spring Note, Colour Scheme,
Maple Leaf Hora, Pixie Parade, Black Tulip, Chopins Charleston
Dream, Ray Noble medley, Cottontail Rag, Goulash, Joy Jumping,
Magia De Ritmi, Foxtrot, Chanuka medley
Alex Hassan (Shellwood Productions, SWCD34) 59:19
This fourteen track CD played by Alex Hassan, an American,
takes on the syncopated style similar to Scott Joplin and
a complete contrast to the Pianola playing as reviewed previously.
Again this is a piano CD without any added backing and Alex
has arranged and embellished quite a few of the tunes, with
pieces ranging from 1928-1959.
An enjoyable CD to listen to if you champion this style
of playing but to anyone who enjoys a relaxing piano CD
with contrasting beats and rhythms, then this is not for
you. On a Spring Note looses its appeal through this
version for my liking.
Gillian Endacott
Soundtracks
AUTHOR! AUTHOR!
Original film soundtrack (Varese Sarabande, VCL03071062)
I am encroaching on Jeff Hall’s excellent pastures
but I could not let this one pass without a mention, as
regular readers will know that I am a dedicated fan of Johnny
Mandel’s writing! The final score used was written
by Dave Grusin, but record producer Nick Redman whilst delving
in the vaults, was amazed to find two scores for this film!
The second unused score was by Johnny Mandel! This is no
reflection however on the quality of the writing as evidently
the film’s producers had decided that they had a bit
of a ‘Dodo’ and thought a more pop orientated
score would increase the audience. I never saw the film
or know if it ever saw light of day, all I know is I am
more than a little pleased to get both scores! Grusin’s
is good but for me Mandel makes the better of the two, intuitively
he ushers melody into the soundtrack, sometimes with a tinge
of jazz. Every track is a winner focused yet expansive lyricism,
distinguished by quality composition. Another surprise for
me was that I had heard some of the tantalising music before!
A few years ago, Vic Lewis had visited Johnny Mandel in
California whilst he was composing the score and had given
Vic a taster of the music which he let me hear. I have no
doubt Johnny got paid for his work but the thought that
this could have languished in a 20th Century
Fox music library does not bear thinking about!
Paul Clatworthy
Vocal
SINCERELY YOURS
Disc one: The Coral Years, Disc two: The ABC and
Paramount Years
Eydie Gorme (Jasmine, JASCD450) 65:01 and 57:12
Excellent playing time with CD one as very pop orientated
and CD two really bringing home the bacon starting on track
ten where Eydie’s material is classic vocalising, rivalling
the best ballad singers of the era. Backed by the wonderful
Don Costa Orchestra on tracks such as I’ll Take
Romance, Fine and Dandy, Too Close for Comfort,
The Gentleman is a Dope, Be Careful It’s
My Heart, Saturday Night is the Loneliest Night of
the Week and the tear-jerking Guess Who I Saw Today
and ballads of similar quality Eydie really shows where
she belongs – classic tracks! Other backing by Monty
Kelly, Dick Jacobs, Neal Hefti, George Gates and Sid Feller
make the pop tracks an enjoyable contrast even if some of
the lyrics are slightly cringe making! There are enough
excellent performances included here to entice new fans
to seek out the many other outings she made solo and with
her husband Steve Lawrence, many of them arranged by Don
Costa (what a team!)
Paul Clatworthy
JUMP, JIVE AN’ WAIL: THE ESSENTIAL
Tracks include: That Old Black Magic, Pennies from
Heaven, Sing Sing Sing, Just One of Those Things, Hello
Dolly!, Cabaret, Civilization and more
Louis Prima (EMI, 3952662)
Another new hits collection featuring the best solo and
collaborative work of the big band and swing musician. Most
famously known as the voice of King Louie in Disney’s
‘The Jungle Book’ which is featured here for the
first time on a Prima compilation. Not my cup of tea, but
if you are a fan of Prima and or would like to add his work
to your collection then this may be the one for you.
Adam Endacott
GREATEST HITS
Tracks include: I Am a Cider Drinker, Morning Glory,
Combine Harvester and more
The Wurzels (EMI GOLD, 3939022)
What can you say about this release? Certainly not ‘our
kind of music’ but if you are a fan of novelty records,
then this will add nicely to your collection.
Adam Endacott
THE CAVERN: THE MOST FAMOUS CLUB IN THE WORLD
Tracks include: Apache, Anyone Who Had a Heart, Stand
By Me, I Think of You, It’s All Over Now, Go Now and
more
Various artistes (EMI)
This three CD set celebrates The Cavern’s 50th
anniversary with 50 tracks from artists who have all appeared
at the club over the years and can be described as a who’
who of British pop music ranging from The Beatles to Georgie
Fame to Arctic Monkeys. Well mastered recordings some of
which still sound as fresh today as they did fifty years
ago.
Adam Endacott
Compilations
COMIC CUTS
Various artistes (Sounds of Yesteryear, DSOY732)
105:00. Grandad is seething in the corner, muttering under
his breath, rubbish! It is his birthday party and the youngsters
are playing the like of the Arctic Monkeys. Time to put
a smile to his face by digging out this novel double CD
— 36 tracks by bands of the 1930s. Billy Cotton,
Carroll Gibbons, Jack Payne, Jack Hylton, Ambrose, Henry
Hall and many others feature and all tracks concentrate
on the humorous. I am a Grandad but only knew a few of the
titles, three of which I did not know, The Pig Got Up
and Slowly Walked Away, Airman! Airman! and What
Can You Give a Nudist for Their Birthday, giving you
some idea of the content. You also get the well known Laughing
Policeman, I Like Bananas, Chinese Laundry Blues and
many others well aired in the past on the Billy Cotton Band
Show and Family Favourites. A fun collection for all the
family, especially if those listening are well oiled!
Paul Clatworthy
CD round-up by Wilfred Askew
WE LOVE NELSON RIDDLE – NELSON RIDDLE AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Recorded between 1954 and 1956 for Capitol Records.
Tracks include: Shadow Waltz, Robin Hood, Could You,
All or Nothing At All, Body and Soul, Farmer’s Tango,
Port Au Prince, The Deep Blue Sea etc
(Cherry Red ACMEM118) 73:58
LAURIE JOHNSON — YOU’RE NEEDED
Original Pye recordings. Tracks include: Bali Hai,
My Favourite Things, It’s a Raggy Waltz, The Donkey
Serenade, Lock Up Your Daughters, By Myself, South of the
Border etc
(Cherry Red ACMEM112) 58:46
MAESTRO SOPHISTICATE — LEO REISMAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Tracks include: You Do Something to Me, Time On My
Hands, Night and Day, Poor Butterfly, My Sister and I, Mimi,
Love Walked etc. With vocalists such as Lee Wiley, Fred
and Adele Astaire, Jack Kitty and Frank Luther – original
recordings from 1929-1941.
(Flare, ROYCD244) 76:00
RAY STARITA AND HIS AMBASSADORS BAND – VOLUMES
1 AND 2
Original recordings from 1928-32. Tracks include Spread
A Little Happiness, It’s a Habit of Mine, I Call You
Sugar, My Love Affair, Just a Crazy Song, Get Happy
etc
(Mellotone Mello 012 and 013)
GORDON MACRAE – NEVER TILL NOW
Original Capitol recordings on two CDs. Tracks include:
One Misty Morning, How Green Was My Valley, Stranger
in Paradise, Last Night, Love’s Old Sweet Song, My
Love etc.
(Jasmine, JASCD453) 156:19
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KEEPING TRACK
Dateline September 2007
Orchestral
BRITISH LIGHT MUSIC PREMIERES VOLUME 4 Ernest
Tomlinson:Aladdin (1974) -Jewel Dances, Aladdin’s Dance
of Joy, Young Man in Love; John Fox: A Surrey Rhapsody (2006);
Jim Cooke: Concert Jig (2004); Phillip Lord: Nautical Overture
(1965); Richard Valery: The Magic Carpet (1940); Lionel
Sainsbury: Cuban Dance No.2 (1991); Adam Saunders: Overture
- Pirates Ahoy! (2006); Carey Blyton: The Golden Road to
Samarkand (1991); Peter Flinn: Cinema Suite (2006). Royal
Ballet Sinfonia conducted by Gavin Sutherland and Paul Murphy
(Dutton Epoch CDLX7190).
The advance publicity for this new release states: This
is the latest instalment in Dutton Epoch’s prestigious
series of light music CDs and, as with the previous volumes,
features Gavin Sutherland conducting the Birmingham Royal
Ballet Sinfonia through sparkling recordings of charming
light music scores by some of the finest British composers
working in the genre. Ernest Tomlinson’s Aladdin
opens the disc and bears the hallmarks of grace, elegance
and melodic invention for which this figurehead of British
light music is so well-known. Among the many other delights
on offer include Surrey-born composer John Fox’s orchestral
ode to his home county A Surrey Rhapsody,
and Carey Blyton’s enchanting The Golden Road
to Samarkand orchestral suite. As ever, Gavin Sutherland’s
inspired conducting and the Royal Ballet Sinfonia’s
impeccable and sensitive playing combine to bring this colourful,
beautiful music to life in spectacular fashion. A review
of this important new release will appear in our next issue.
NEW GUILD "GOLDEN AGE OF LIGHT MUSIC" CDs
5129 "Beyond The Blue Horizon" full
tracklisting in JIM 170, page 15
5130 "Cornflakes" full tracklisting
in JIM 171, page 80
5131 "Light Music On The Move" full
tracklisting in JIM 171, page 82
Readers who remember the late pianist and composer Albert
Semprini may recall how he introduced his regular BBC Radio
programmes with what we would today term a ‘mission
statement’ – ‘Old ones – New ones –
Loved ones – Neglected ones’. This formula could
well apply to the entire GUILD series and to these three
CDs in particular. [The ‘new’ ones are not actually
new, of course - just unfamiliar!]
Beyond The Blue Horizon is a collection of Light
Music which presents ‘…a mix of likeable melodies
featuring different colours.’ Not surprisingly, Blue
definitely predominates here, as it seems many composers
have a ‘thing’ about that colour, and it’s
featured in 14 of the 27 tracks. Many of these originate
from commercial 78s, although there are some interesting
library pieces, including Out Of The Blue (Robert
Busby) and Blue Mink (Peter Yorke), both of which
I well remember were used in BBC tv demonstration transmissions
during the early ’50s. Also included is, I believe,
another first for GUILD – a rare BBC Transcription
recording (The White Scarf by Edgar Bainton). There’s
a wonderful Robert Farnon arrangement of Irving Berlin’s
Blue Skies, which features the great Dave Goldberg
on guitar, and an equally superb Angela Morley treatment
of Deep Purple (Parish, De Rose). The highly enjoyable
programme is rounded off with another rarity – George
Melachrino’s Fantasy Ballet, based on the traditional
Little Brown Jug. This is taken from a 1947 recording
for the EMI library, which Melachrino was instrumental in
setting-up in association with the record company in the
early years after WWII.
Cornflakes was not necessarily designed to accompany
your breakfast – although it would perform that duty
admirably – but, like a number of other GUILD CDs,
takes its name from the title of one of its tracks, in this
case a Norrie Paramor composition. There are many familiar
numbers featuring some leading ’50s musical directors,
including Frank Cordell, the aforementioned George Melachrino,
Werner Müller, Cyril Stapleton, Mantovani and Malcolm
Lockyer. Almost half of the items are grouped together under
the title The Polygon Legacy and included in this
section are most of the latter company’s tracks which
have not already appeared on other GUILD releases. There
are some very informative liner notes detailing Polygon’s
history and its subsequent demise, when it was subsumed
into PYE Records in the mid ’50s. One unfortunate omission,
however, is apparent in Song Of The Pearl Fishers’
Tango by the Laurie Johnson Orchestra, which is credited
to ‘Heno Gaze – (arr Johnson)’. Whatever
became of the actual composer of the tune in question –
one Georges Bizet?!
Light Music On The Move is a compilation of mainly
upbeat pieces depicting movement in many forms on Land,
Sea and Air. Transport features prominently and besides
several trains (inevitably!), we are treated to such delights
as a Cycling Chimp (Pagan), a few horses and a donkey, a
couple of fairground roundabouts and John Malcolm’s
famous Non Stop, which must have earned him a penny
or two as it was used for many years as the signature tune
for Independent Television News on British TV [see also
my comments towards the end of this feature]. In contrast
you’ll find an Amsterdam Sleepwalker (Steggerda),
a space journey, and if you hanker after a more relaxed
form of movement, try Drifting On A Cloud (D’Artega
- Syracuse ). As with all of these new offerings, LMOTM
is a clever assemblage of excellent tracks with Alan Bunting’s
digital transfers being of his usual superlative quality.
Tony Clayden
BEST OF BRITISH LIGHT MUSIC 2CD compilation
CD 1 includes CURZON: Robin Hood Suite: March of the
Bowmen; HEDGES: Overture: Heigham Sound; TOYE: Concert Waltz:
The Haunted Ballroom; FARNON: Melody Fair; WOOD: Serenade
to Youth; COLLINS: Vanity Fair; TOMLINSON: A Little Serenade;
QUILTER: A Children’s Overture; WORLAND: Millennium
— A Celebration March; KETELBEY: In a Persian Market;
GRAINGER: Country Gardens; ADDINSELL: Goodbye Mr Chips:
Theme; GOODWIN: Theme from 633 Squadron"
CD 2 includes BENNETT: Theme and Waltz from ‘Murder
on the Orient Express’; WHITE: Puffin’ Billy;
TORCH: ALL Strings and Fancy Free; MAYERL: Marigold; DUNCAN:
High Heels; ELLIS: Coronation Scot; FARNON: Colditz March;
KETELBEY: In a Monastery Garden; BINGE: Elizabethan Serenade;
COATES: By the Sleepy Lagoon; COLERIDGE-TAYLOR: Hiawatha
Overture; GERMAN: Tom Jones, Act III: For Tonight (Sophia’s
Waltz-Song); COATES: Dam Busters’ March Various
Orchestras Naxos 8570575-76 (2 CDs). Naxos decided to make
this compilation ‘CD Of The Month’ for August,
which demonstrates their faith in Light Music. The tracks
are taken from previous Naxos and Marco Polo CDs, and represent
some of the finest composers of the last century.
MUSIC FROM MOTION PICTURES
Exodus, Cimarron, King of Kings, Ben-Hur, The Bible,
Butterfield 8, Colonel Bogey/River Kwai March, The Robe,
Lygia, Julie, Romeo and Juliet, Spellbound, Spartacus and
more
David Rose and his orchestra (Frank Bristow, FBCD161)
MUSIC FROM STAGE AND SCREEN
Humoresque, Great Pretender, Fascination, Love is a
Many Splendoured Thing, Bewitched, Just a Memory, Take My
Love, Serenade, What’s New Pussycat, Forbidden Planet,
La Strada, I’ll Take Romance, And I Love Her, Pigeon
and more
David Rose and his orchestra (Frank Bristow, FBCD162)
A DAVID ROSE COLLECTION
Intermezzo, Beautiful Ohio, Diane, Was It a Dream?,
Remember, Satisfaction, King of the Road, Estudiantina,
Every Time We Say Goodbye, Downtown, Are You Sincere? and
more
David Rose and his orchestra (Frank Bristow, FBCD163)
Our Australian friend, Frank Bristow, has already issued
a dozen or so David Rose CDs but he has found another 85
ex-MGM tracks to issue over the span of three CDs (all available
separately) with a total playing time of nearly four hours!
Without checking each individual track, I can’t say
offhand whether there is any duplication with previously
issued material, but I’d be inclined to say not. Taking
the discs in numerical order, the first one is the best
with works by the elite composers of Hollywood embracing
works by Steiner, Rota, Tiomkin, Rozsa, Newman et al. It
has such best sellers as The Green Leaves of Summer,
Laura, Around the World, Summertime in Venice and
Tara’s Theme. In fact there isn’t one dud
track among them (well, you wouldn’t expect one, would
you?)
"Stage and Screen" has more of the same (including
the only Rose composition in the whole set, something called
Pigeon) plus semi classical pieces, a Beatles hit
and other songs of the late 50’s and early 60’s.
There are also ten songs from the Moose Charlap and Norman
Gimbel’s 1948 Broadway flop "Whoop Up" which,
as far as I could hear from the selection, deserved better.
"The Rose Collection" is a hybrid (you could
say a motley) melange ranging from Strauss and Romberg to
Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones. Eleven tracks are devoted
to jazzed-up versions of Tchaikovsky, Brahms and Grieg which
(to be quite frank) are neither one thing nor the other!
Arthur Jackson
Frank Bristow CD’s are ONLY available directly
from him at 2 Cross Street, Brighton, Victoria 3186, Australia.
Tel. 03-9528-3167. Email: franbris@ozemail.com.au Credit
cards and Paypal are accepted, but no cheques — details
on request. Please visit his website for further details
on CDs in his catalogue www.musicfromthepast.com
SONGS TO REMEMBER/THE INCOMPARABLE MANTOVANI
With These Hands, Faraway Places, A Very Precious Love,
Jamaica Farewell, Tenderly, Blue Star, Gigi, When I Fall
In Love, No Other Love, Vaya Con Dios, Two Different Worlds,
Tonight/I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now, As Time Goes
By, Catch A Falling Star, Where Are You, (I Left My Heart)
In San Francisco, I’ll Be Seeing You, Yesterdays, Fly
Me To The Moon, I’ll Get By, September In The Rain,
Long Ago, More
Mantovani and his orchestra (Vocalion CDLK 4347)
78.07
These albums were both originally issued in 1960 —
neither have been issued on CD in Europe or America before
— and the first includes some of the best songs of
the previous decade in which Mantovani had become world
famous. Monty-meister Colin Mackenzie tells me that it is
in his top five of favourite albums. The well remembered
Edward Rubach is the pianist on Blue Star, which
was the theme for the US TV series ‘Medic’; Monty
himself plays piano on the lovely When I Fall In Love.
My favourite track is Jamaica Farewell with an arrangement
by Roland Shaw which I have treasured in my mind for years
but for some long forgotten reason did not buy on LP at
the time! Richard Rodgers’ No Other Love is
delicately played, the big Les Paul and Mary Ford hit Vaya
Con Dios (meaning go with God in Spanish) has a nice
touch of accordion, and the Bernstein piece is given a powerful
rendition. In the June issue of JIM, I was highly enthusiastic
about the last Vocalion reissue from Mantovani — my
enthusiasm is maintained for this album. The second selection
is also attractive with Monty’s trademark swoop of
strings very strikingly used on Catch A Falling Star
(catchy being the word to describe the Cecil Milner arrangement!),
a couple of beautifully arranged Jerome Kern classics, and
I Wonder with its effective use of Ivor Mairant’s
electric guitar. Incidentally, I was surprised to learn
from Colin’s comprehensive liner notes that the song
dates from as far back as 1909! We all, including those
readers who still resist the Venice born maestro, should
be thankful to Mike Dutton for not only enabling Mantovanians
to obtain well-loved recordings in a CD format, as well
as filling a few gaps in our collections, but also for giving
new light music enthusiasts an opportunity to hear someone
who really was incomparable.
Peter Burt
LOST ENGLAND
George Butterworth: 2 English Idylls, The Banks of Green
Willow
Walter Leigh: Squadron 992, Overture — Jolly Roger,
Harpsichord Concertino, The Fairy of the Phone
Kent Sinfonia/Malcolm Riley with Marion Whitehead (harpsichord)
‘Lost’ because both George Butterworth and Walter
Leigh were killed in combat during the world wars. The Butterworth
pieces have been recorded previously, and possibly better,
but these thoughtful performances are worth having. The
discs principle interest comes with the Water Leigh items
as his music is little heard. Before his premature death,
he composed chamber music (issued fairly recently on a Dutton
CD), two operettas and some twenty film scores. Here we
have the overture to one of the operettas, which is cheerfully
nautical, the Harpsichord Concertino is light in
touch, but with a hint of his study with Hindemith and two
film scores lovingly reconstructed by Malcolm Riley. The
Fairy of the Phone was written for a GPO film unit
release on how to use the telephone; it is for six vocalists
and ten instrumentalists (six of them woodwind) in an engaging
‘1930s popular’ idiom. Squadron 992 comes
from a 1940 documentary on the move of an RAF balloon unit
and recalls the music of Vaughan Williams and Sir William
Walton. All told, a valuable issue well played by Kent Sinfonia
whose fresh sound I like, and recorded with commendable
clarity if less full toned than many modern releases. Strongly
recommended.
Philip L Scowcroft
This CD is only available from Kent Sinfonia, 5 Pine
Grove, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 2AJ (kwsoloists@hotmail.com)
£11 incl. P&P
TOWARDS AN UNKNOWN LAND
Quay and Departure, Towards an Unknown Land, Stars My
Compass, Song to the Sea, Dream in the Sun, Lifetime Ago,
Eastern Waltz, Loch, Out in the Cold, Sirens
Michael Buck (Prestige, CDSGP9041) 54:40
Close your eyes and listen to the music and you are sure
to be transported away on a unique musical journey. What
has been achieved in the past with a full orchestra is created
here by one man and his imagination. The composer of all
ten tracks plays high quality samples that ‘live’
in his computer and are controlled by him from a digital
piano (Yamaha P90). Michael also uses several virtual synthesizers
(Spectrasonics Atmosphere Synthesizer and East West Symphonic
Choirs) to get some of the lovely textured backgrounds.
The entire album was produced and recorded in Michael’s
own studio which is set-up in his home. Michael would love
one day to record with a full real orchestra, but this is
currently beyond his reach, but he is nevertheless very
happy with this, his first album. Listening to the tracks
is like watching a film in your mind, by simply sitting
back, relaxing and hearing this musical story. This is a
CD to dip in and out of, as listened to in full, readers
may find this repetitive and the tracks merge into one.
The title track is a highlight along with A Lifetime
Ago which are both very reflective. There is certainly
some influence from John Barry and Ennio Morricone in some
of these tracks. So if you want something new to try, then
you won’t be disappointed with this CD release.
Adam Endacott
SPIRIT OF VIENNA Overture "Reiche Madchen"
(Strauss II), music from Operetta "Katz und Maus"
(Strauss III), Traumverloren Waltz (Siegfried Translateur),
march and waltz from Operetta "Casanova" (Paul
Lincke), also works by Alfons Czibulka, Edmund Eysler, Richard
Eilenburg and Joseph Hellmesberger Die Flotten Geister,
Czech Republic Conducted by Christian Pollack The press
release from The Johann Strauss Society of Great Britain
describes this as a scintillating new recording of rare
operetta & Viennese dance music which has been co-issued
by the Johann Strauss Societies of Great Britain and the
Czech Republic. This album features the renowned European
orchestra ‘Die Flotten Geister’ and Viennese supremo
Christian Pollack conducting. Warning — this is no
ordinary Strauss & Co album — for a start there’s
no ‘Blue Danube’ or ‘Radetzky March’!
The music featured on this disc comprises worthwhile compositions
which have until now escaped the recording studio, making
it a premiere recording in every respect. Johann Strauss
II (the Waltz King) is represented with two virtually unknown
operetta overtures Reiche Mädchen and Fanny
Elssler. The waltz is by no means forgotten and the
transfix of three/four time is represented by the respective
pens of nephew Johann Strauss, Siegfried Translateur, Edmund
Eysler, Paul Lincke, and Joseph Hellmesberger. There are
marches, polkas, and gavottes by Paul Lincke, Alfons Czibulka
and Richard Eilenberg to fill up this jam packed disc which
runs for a truly melodic 79 minutes. The recording was produced
in the Czech Republic.
"Spirit of Vienna" is available online from:
The Johann Strauss Society of Great Britain www.johann-strauss.org.uk
or through Discovery Records Limited, Nursted Road,
Devizes, Wilts. SNIO 3DY. www.discovery-records.com
Price £12.99 UK inc. P&P
CASINO DANCES
Hiawatha, Fox Intermezzo, Marusja*,
Yearning (Just for You), Musette,
Da Capo, Londonderry
Air*, Hello Ma Baby, Donkey Serenade,
Serenata, Pizzicato
Violins, Casino Dances,
Sparrow Concerto, Monna
Vanna*, Zigeuner Boogie,
By the Waters of Minnetonka, Von
der Puszta
Aspidistra Drawing Room Orchestra with Elizabeth
Menezes* (soprano).
This CD seeks to recreate the sound of the once popular
saloon orchestra with its seven players and follows their
previous two CDs in the series. This is indeed a foot-tapping
confection, mainly of less familiar material from the light
music genre. The Londonderry Air is heard in a less
usual version, by the composer Geoffrey O’Connor-Morris.
Of the rest I particularly enjoyed Helmut Zacharias’
two gypsy-based titles and it is good to hear a Jacob Gade
tango which is not Jealousy. Performances by the
orchestra, which includes flute and oboe to add colour,
are splendid and well recorded. Highly recommendable.
Philip L Scowcroft
This CD can only be purchased directly from the Aspidistra
Drawing Room Orchestra; please see www.aspidistra.org for
further details or send a cheque made payable to ‘Aspidistra
Drawing Room Orchestra’ for £11 (incl. P&P) to
49 Bankside, London, SE1 9JE, England.
THE BRITISH LIGHT MUSIC COLLECTION Volume 1 2CD
set Royal Ballet Sinfonia Conducted by Gavin Sutherland
Sanctuary CD RSB 205. This is a reissue of two ASV White
Line collections: the first was originally released on CD
WHL 2113 as "Brian Kay’s British Light Music Discoveries"
in 1998; the second CD first appeared in 2000 as "British
Light Music Discoveries 2" on CD WHL 2126. The composers
include Sir Malcolm Arnold (The Roots of Heaven and
Little Suite No. 4), William Alwyn (Suite of Scottish
Dances), Clifton Parker (The Glass Slipper –
Overture), Sir Richard Rodney Bennett (Little Suite);
David Lyon (Joie de Vivre), Paul Lewis (English
Overture) and Philip Lane (Suite of Cotswold Folk
Dances). These works (and there are more on these CDs)
should be in every serious light music collection, so if
you missed these the first time round this is your opportunity
to remedy the omission. The booklet says there are two more
similar volumes of reissues to follow – hopefully the
purchase of Sanctuary by Universal will not disrupt these
plans. David Ades
CALYPSO/CALYPSO MAN
Saturday Night, All Night Tonight, Sll the Pussy, Papa
Says, Margie, Limbo Bar, High Cheek Bones, Run for the Doctor,
Melodie d’amour and many more
Edmundo Ros and his orchestra (Vocalion CDLK 4348).
How pleasant it is to be able to hear every word on this
album (unlike the music of today) especially so as every
song tells a story, again unlike today’s music. This
is Edmundo Ros at his very best and I highly recommend this
release to add to your Latin American collections.
Alec Hellyer
HIGH IN SIERRA
Tap Tap, Sururu, Chica Boa, Jamaica Way, To Be or Not
To Be, High in Sierra, Off Shore, Wonderful, Latin Lady,
When You’re in Love, So Deep My Love and many more
Roberto Inglez and his orchestra (Vocalion CDEA
6131) 75:39 This disc is great stuff and is the third CD
that Vocalion have issued of Roberto Inglez — it is
always a pleasure to listen to his orchestra. With 27 tracks
this is certainly great value. With the so called summer
weather we are having at the moment, it is nice to get this
CD to bring some sunshine into the room.
Alec Hellyer
SERENATA
Love is Blue, Hungarian Dance No. 5, Penelope, Sabre
Dance, A Frenchman in Dublin, Paris Musette, Angelic Demon,
Rio Forever, Le Piano Sur La Vague, A Whole New World, Great
Brilliant Waltz Op 18, Entr’act of L’Arlesienne,
Intermezzo from Carmen, Invitation to the Dance
Paul Mauriat and his orchestra (GLD GK38359)
MOVIE THEMES
Unchained Melody, Lara’s Theme, Calling You (from
‘Baghdad Café’), Beauty and the Beast,
I Will Always Love You, Charade, Chariots of Fire, Colours
of the Wind, Schindler’s List, Conquest of Paradise
Paul Mauriat and his orchestra (GLD GK38361)
SAYONARA CONCERT
Space Race, My Heart Will Go On, Invitation to the Dance,
Etude in a New Form, Piano Concerto No. 21 Andante, Caravan,
Thais Meditation, Czardas, Dolls and Dreams, Serenade a
Coline, Begin the Beguine, Toccata, Penelope, Love is Blue/El
Bimbo, Hungarian Dance No. 5
Paul Mauriat and his orchestra (GLD GK38360)
These three CD’s, released only in Argentina, contain
a compilation of songs recorded by Paul Mauriat during the
nineties. The ‘Serenata’ CD contains great hits
of the sixties and seventies such as Love is Blue,
Penelope and Le Piano Sur La Vague whereas
the ‘Movie Themes’ CD has a repertoire of film
songs of the nineties plus some remembered themes like Lara’s
Theme from ‘Doctor Zhivago’ and Charade.
The third CD is a live concert released in Osaka, Japan
and dated 29 November 1998. Mauriat offers us an interesting
selection of his best hits, world-known melodies and some
classics. This is a collection of CD’s for every Mauriat
fan and collector of his recordings.
Mario Luis Kocian Rossi
GRANDES EXITOS
Que C’est Triste Venice, A Man Without Love, Lamento
Borincano, My Sweet Lord, Mariachi, All of Me, Sunny, Aranjuez,
Sentimental Paris, Brigitte, Mona Lisa, Unforgettable, Ecology,
A Man and a Woman
Franck Pourcel and his orchestra (EMI 72434997278)
This is an interesting compilation released by EMI in Argentina
with a total of fourteen tracks including great Pourcel
hits. The songs are digitally remastered and the sound quality
is excellent.
Mario Luis Kocian Rossi
GRANDES MELODIAS
Strangers in the Night*, My Sweet Lord^, Bridge Over
Troubled Water~, Only You, Somewhere My Love*, The Most
Beautiful Girl^, Last Tango in Paris~, Singing in the Rain,
Melodie D’Amour*, Michelle^, Love Story~, Moon River
Ray Conniff*, Percy Faith^, Andre Kostelanetz~ and Caravelli
(Columbia 2-470045)
A reissue product containing songs digitally remastered
on CD by Columbia Argentina. This is a good release for
lovers of good compilations.
Mario Luis Kocian Rossi
SLEEPY SHORES
Sleepy Shores, Live and Let Die, Aranjuez Concerto,
Killing Me Softly, The Morning is Broken, Brother Sun Sister
Moon, Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree, Summer
of 42, If, You’re a Lady, The Green Leaves of Summer,
People, Sing, Zarathustra
Johnny Pearson and his orchestra (Carmusic 0203-02)
This rare recording of the composer of the remembered Sleepy
Shores contains an interesting repertoire of songs from
films of the seventies and great hits like Tie a Yellow
Ribbon, Killing Me Softly and Green Leaves of Summer.
Now available on CD in Argentina and also available (like
the other Argentine releases) for members and collectors.
Mario Luis Kocian Rossi
RFS members who are interested in buying any of the
CDs from Argentina reviewed above are invited to write to:
Mario Luis Kocian Rossi, Sucre 2815, C 1428, DVY, Buenos
Aires, Argentina.
THE COMPLETE MANHATTAN TOWER
Magical City, Happiness Cocktail, I’m Learnin’
My Latin, Once Upon a Dream, Never Leave Me, This Close
to the Dawn, Repeat After Me, The Magic Fire, Married I
Can Always Get, The Statue of Liberty, The Party, New York’s
My Home and bonus tracks
Gordon Jenkins (Sepia Records, 1087) 76:00
Although I am not a fan of the work of Gordon Jenkins,
I listened to this CD with a fresh mind and to reappraise
his work. The Manhattan Tower work has quite a following
and it is released here in its entirety, recorded back in
July 1956. The music is well orchestrated and a very polished
performance is given by the Gordon Jenkins orchestra but
the linking narrative becomes dull and irritating for me.
The highlight for me was Never Leave Me which is
a very dramatic piece with Elliott Lewis and the Ralph Brewster
singers. The bonus tracks are a range of vocal and instrumental
pieces from 1953-55 with Gordon at the piano for Angel’s
Lullaby. Remastered by RFS member Robin Cherry, the
sound quality is excellent and accompanying CD booklet is
very detailed and includes all recording dates and personnel.
This is certainly for those who remember the Manhattan Tower
with affection and for those not accustomed to the work
of Gordon Jenkins.
Adam Endacott
ROMANTIC EUROPE Love in Madrid, Under the bridges
of Paris, In old Lisbon, Swedish Rhapsody, London by night,
Tulips from Amsterdam, Vienna, city of my dreams, Summertime
in Venice, Wonderful Copenhagen, Stars over Crete, La Belle
Suisse, Wonderland by night
GLAMOROUS HOLIDAY Evening in Paris, Ca c’est
Paris, J’attendrai, Mademoiselle de Paris, Clopin-clopant,
Parlez-moi d’amour, La vie en rose, Can can, Evening
in Rome, Santa Lucia, Anema e core, Mattinata, Catari, Catari,
The echo told me a lie, Mama, Come back to Sorrento
Frank Chacksfield and his Orchestra (Vocalion
CDLK 4345) 73:45. Another collectable 2-on-1 from one of
Britain’s most popular ever orchestra leaders who,
as another reviewer once wrote, "rarely, if ever, puts
a foot wrong." The first album was originally issued
on a Decca Eclipse album in 1972. In the complete absence
of any booklet notes, I am left wondering if like some earlier
Ace of Clubs budget issues it was aimed at the North American
market. Among the highlights for me is the evocative French
horn on London by night and Stars over Crete with
its shimmering strings. La Paloma is not as overblown
as it sometimes is, and it is interesting to hear Chacksfield’s
take on items more associated with Riddle, Faith, Mantovani
and Kaempfert. In old Lisbon is different
from Frank’s 78 rpm version.
The second album was an early stereo issue in 1958. The
titles had already appeared on the 1954/55 mono LPs ‘Evening
in Paris’ and ’Evening in Rome’,
the CD of which was recently deleted by Vocalion
[CDLK 4167]. This has been a disc I have often returned
to, and for anyone who missed it here is a chance to get
half of the 28 tracks in twin-channelled sound. Chacksfield
had a way with Italian melodies throughout his celebrated
career. As far as I could tell from the limited time I had
to compare them, the arrangements here are not exact copies
of the earlier albums. The arrangements throughout the disc
[only Leon Young is credited on two tracks] are always interesting
and keep the listener involved. The use of accordion, guitar
and mandolin is well-judged. The sound is enhanced by Mike
Dutton’s customary fine remastering. Peter Burt
GUILD "GOLDEN AGE OF LIGHT MUSIC" CDs
5132 "Continental Flavour" full tracklisting
in JIM 172, page 72
5133 "Amor Amor" full tracklisting in JIM
172, page 73
Continuing their successful policy of developing different
themes for the series, David Ades and Alan Bunting have
come up with one or two new ideas. New to GUILD, that is
– both CDs are very much in a similar vein to many
albums which made their appearance in the heyday of the
LP, although naturally there is a wider variety of performing
styles represented here than would normally be the case
on a one- orchestra disc.
Continental Flavour provides a mix of European,
British and American orchestras; a good number of pieces
are by Continental composers, with some British notables
(and a sole American) making up the balance. As usual, the
familiar ‘rubs shoulders’ with the ‘rarely-if-ever-heard-of’
variety, but there are some most welcome surprises. Listening
to this selection a few times, it struck me that there is
often a marked difference between the ‘sound’
of British composers and their French, Italian, German and
Spanish counterparts. It has a lot to do with the orchestration
and sometimes the instrumental lineup employed.
The team is to be congratulated in putting together another
very imaginative and thoroughly enjoyable collection, which
I’m sure will win many new friends.
Amor Amor – Music For Romance again takes its
title from an eponymous track, in this instance by the Frank
Cordell Orchestra. The original plan was to call it Cocktails
For Two after the opening number, a marvellous arrangement
of the Johnson-Coslow composition (originally written to
celebrate the end of prohibition in the USA); this could
only have been created by Robert Farnon and is faultlessly
executed under his baton. The full roll call of orchestras
is impressive and includes those of Ron Goodwin, David Rose,
Stanley Black, Werner Müller, Philip Green and Gordon
Jenkins – several other equals share the honours, with
a total of 24 tracks of the highest quality – they
don’t come any better than this. The mood is very relaxed
and the whole CD would undoubtedly make a perfect accompaniment
to an intimate candlelit dinner for two; the only things
missing are a suitably exotic meal and some appropriately
fine wine - but regrettably, these items are not included
in the price!
These two latest releases, together with the previous three
reviewed at the top of this feature, were excellent company
on a recent lengthy drive from my home in North London to
the North West of England and back. They are all extremely
worthy additions to the GUILD catalogue, which has now topped
well over the 30-mark, but stand by for some more newcomers
which I hope to review in the near future.
Tony Clayden
AT THE MOVIES
Over the Rainbow, Moon River, As Time Goes By, Somewhere
(from ‘West Side Story’), The Shadow of your Smile,
The Pink Panther, The Way We Were, The Summer Knows, It
Might be You, Cinema Paradiso Suite, A Whole New World,
Schindler’s List Dave Koz, saxophone (Capitol
383 6582). It’s always nice when something turns out
to be so much better than you expect. When this CD arrived
from EMI I took a quick glance though the booklet (with
my magnifying glass!) and read the publicity blurb. Until
I actually played the CD I had no idea that the talented
jazz musicians were going to be supported by a lush-sounding
concert orchestra performing some very pleasant arrangements.
Dave Koz is obviously a talented player who solos on soprano,
alto and tenor sax (at times supported by trumpeter Chris
Botti), with guest singers on most of the tracks –
among them Barry Manilow, Anita Baker, Johnny Mathis and
Donna Summer. The opening track features an excerpt from
Judy Garland singing her most famous song, while there are
some spoken words from Ingrid Bergman to introduce As
Time Goes By. Rob Mounsey, Rob Mathes, Randy Waldman
and Victor Vanacore share the arranging and conducting credits,
and at times it seems that the great arrangers of the past
half-century are looking over their shoulders. Two numbers
– It Might be You and The Shadow of your
Smile are reprised at the end in instrumental-only versions.
A lot of money has been spent on this recording and the
quality is obvious. If you enjoy popular music that is melodious
and slightly jazzy, without being too abrasive, then you
would do well to sample this. Of course, it isn’t light
music in any sense, but I certainly like it and I suspect
that many readers of this magazine might also welcome it
into their collections as a fine example of today’s
younger musicians. David Ades
Classical
BBC LEGENDS: SILVESTRI — ELGAR SYMPHONY NO.1 ETC
Cockaigne Overture, Symphony No. 1 (Sir Edward Elgar),
Beckus the Dandipratt (Sir Malcolm Arnold), Symphony No.
2 (Tchaikovsky), Jeux (Debussy), Four Sea Interludes (Sir
Benjamin Britten), Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 (Enescu)
Constantin Silvestri and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
(BBC Legends, BBCL 4182-2). I always tell people if
they want to hear a piece of music done the right way, then
listen to the old ones — such is the case with this
breath taking two CD set! The heart of this release is the
greatest single recording ever of Elgar’s First
Symphony — it can be made to sound shapeless and
formless in less caring hands. Here, Silvestri keeps everything
in check with great attention paid to each individual strand
and the result is a sharply focused performance with every
player knowing their parts and executing them with confidence
and assuredness. The same qualities are heard in another
troublesome score that of Debussy’s Jeux which
is very clear cut. The Tchaikovsky Second Symphony
also benefits from Silvestri’s inspired leadership,
matching many points brought out by this work’s greatest
advocate, composer Igor Stravinsky. The Britten Sea Interludes
come from an entirely different concept than Previn’s
rather hasty, sloppy performance. Silvestri’s penetrating
insight into the gnarled textures of this work result in
one of the most satisfying readings available to the general
public. The crowning glory was always a great favourite
of Silvestri’s, Enescu’s fabulously colourful
Roumanian Rhapsody No.1 in which images of a true
Roumanian band are more vividly caught than in any other
reading. Even if classical music is not your ‘bag’,
buy this immensely rewarding set. It will become one of
the jewels in your treasure box of favourites!
Richard Jessen
SONG OF THE BIRDS – ENGLISH CELLO MUSIC (Sanctuary
White Line CD WHL 2153).
At JIM we do our best to make available details of interesting
CDs as soon as they are released; unfortunately, this is
one that got away! Published way back in 2004, it seems
to have escaped the notice of our stalwart band of reviewers,
and might still be in a state of limbo were it not for a
chance remark made to me recently by Marjorie Cullerne,
on the telephone from Canada, when I was preparing for the
unveiling of the commemoration plaque to her great uncle,
Haydn Wood (see more details on page ????). The strange
thing is, I was aware of plans for a recording of
Wood’s Philharmonic Variations For Cello And Orchestra;
it was being spoken about by Ray Crick, of Sanctuary Records,
a good eight or nine years ago and forms part of this splendid
collection. Although the CD box bears the label British
Light Music, the four compositions are really at the
‘serious’ end of the genre. They were all published
between 1936 and 1951, with the exception of the Rubra work.
Herbert Murill (1909-1952) had become organ scholar at Worcester
College, Oxford, by the age of 19 and after studying (and
later teaching) composition at the RAM, became Assistant
Head of Music and then Director of Music at the BBC, an
appointment abruptly curtailed by his death at the age of
only 43. Written for the composer’s cellist wife, Vera
Canning, the Cello Concerto is dedicated ‘…in
respect and affection…’ to the great Pablo Casals
and features a Catalan folk melody Song Of The Birds
which permeates the entire concerto and from which the CD
takes its name. Sir George Dyson (1883-1964) was the son
of a Halifax, Yorkshire, blacksmith and having gained his
FRCO at 16, won an open scholarship to the RCM where he
studied under Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. The Prelude,
Fantasy and Chaconne was written in 1936 for his daughter
Alice who was a cello student at the time, and in effect
is a miniature three-movement concerto. Edmund Rubra (1901-1986)
hailed from Northampton and although originally a railway
booking clerk eventually studied with Gustav Holst at Reading
University and later went on to the RCM. His career as a
pianist and composer flourished during the 1930s; the Soliloquy
was written during WWII, when the composer was the pianist
for the Army Classical Music Group. This is no miniature,
but a full-blown symphonic movement scored for strings,
two horns and timpani. And so to the jewel in the crown;
Haydn Wood (1882-1959) also studied with Stanford at the
RCM, and has been recounted before, produced a large canon
of compositions in both ‘light’ and ‘serious’
genres. In the latter category are Piano and Violin concertos
and these Philharmonic Variations, which were given
for the first time in 1939 by the BBC Symphony Orchestra
under the composer’s baton. After an introductory solo
passage, which seems to allude to the Elgar Cello Concerto,
the main theme is stated, followed by seven variations and
an extended finale with an elaborate cadenza. The whole
work has echoes of Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations;
it lay forgotten for half a century until revived for a
concert performance in 1990 at Eton College. This piece
is further proof, if such were needed, of the undoubted
composing talents of Haydn Wood, who is only now receiving
the recognition which he so richly deserves. The performances
are in the highly capable hands of cellist Rafael Wallfisch
and the BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted this time by the
greatly underrated Vernon Hanley, whilst recording engineer
Paul Waton has worked the same magic with the acoustic at
BBC’s Maida Vale studios that he would repeat some
seven months later for the first Montague Phillips (Vocalion)
CD.
Tony Clayden
Keyboard
SO WHAT’S NEW?
Calling All Workers, Estrellita, Waltz from Masquerade,
Eternally, Temptation Rag, The Rose, Medley: Downtown/YMCA/Avenues
and Alleyways, Serenade, Medley: The Girl from Ipanema/Moving
South/Eso Beso, Medley: Almost Like Being in Love/May I
Have the Next Dream with You/I've Heard That Song Before,
Medley: Ragtime/And All That Jazz, The Whistler and His
Dog, The Trolley Song, Medley: Under the Sea/You've Got
a Friend in Me, Medley: Ciribiribin/Oh Maria Marie/Autumn
in Rome/On an Evening in Roma, The Harry Lime Theme, Medley:
I Wish You Love/If You Love Me, Medley: So What's New?/Jeepers
Creepers/Everything's in Rhythm With My Heart
Phil Kelsall (Grasmere, GRCD127) 71:56
You can always rely on Phil Kelsall to release a CD with
a variety of tunes and tempos and ‘So What’s New?’
will not disappoint with just over an hour of Wurlitzer
at its best with all the stops pulled out. Tim Wills co-wrote
Moving South and Eso Beso (although not credited
after the tunes) and also produced this CD. Old favourites
such as Calling All Workers, Waltz from Masquerade
and The Harry Lime Theme mingle with lesser heard
tunes. The Rose has an enjoyable church organ section.
Covering three decades Downtown, YMCA and Avenues
and Alleyways start the foot tapping and the medley
of Italian related songs have you thinking of warm nights
and holidays. Disney is not forgotten with Under the
Sea and You’ve Got a Friend in Me. This
CD was recorded in January 2007 on the Wurlitzer Organ at
the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool.
Gillian Endacott
ALFRED HOLLINS — ORGAN WORKS
Concert Overture in C major , Benediction Nuptiale,
A Trumpet Minuet, Allegretto grazioso, Concert Overture
in C minor, Evening Rest, Concert Overture in F minor, Andante
in D, A Song of Sunshine, Maytime Gavotte, Theme with Variations
and Fugue
Timothy Byram-Wigfield (Delphian DCD34044) 80:00
www.delphianrecords.co.uk
The composer, Alfred Hollins, born in Hull in 1865 had
the very considerable handicap of being totally blind, but
he enjoyed a high reputation as both a virtuoso concert
pianist and organist. His compositions for the latter instrument
despite the vagaries of musical fashion have always continued
to feature in the repertoire of many organists. It is in
this latter regard that a review of this new Delphian disc
seems appropriate since Hollins was often dubbed ‘the
Eric Coates of the organ loft’. He wrote a number of
delightful, often delicate light miniatures, for the ‘king’
of instruments of which several are included here. There’s
a radiant A Song of Sunrise, a charming Maytime
Gavotte and a resplendent A Trumpet Minuet, Handelian
in character and with highly effective use being made of
the trumpet stop. As for the more overtly serious works
such as the three Concert Overtures and the substantial
Theme with Variations and Fugue, these are all highly
accessible and attractive pieces in which good robust memorable
themes are never far from the surface.
The attractions of this release are further enhanced by
virtue of the fact that Timothy Byram-Wigfield plays on
the three manual organ designed by Alfred Hollins himself
which was installed in the Caird Hall, Dundee opened in
1923 . The recording and performances are superlative, unlike
so much organ music on CD’s where much of the detail
can be clouded by excessive reverberation — everything
here is crystal clear with every detail telling. Timothy
Byram-Wigfield incidentally holds the post of Master of
Music at St Georges, Windsor. An outstanding recital of
rewarding and essentially tuneful organ music and I do urge
you to give Alfred Hollins a try. Roger Hyslop
Military and Brass Bands
THE MUSIC OF THE BLUES AND ROYALS
Overture — My Old Stable Jacket, The Windsorian,
The Tangier Horse, Le Cheval Royal, Men of Kent, March of
the Royal Horse Guards, Music for the Queen’s Birthday
Parade and more
The Band of the Blues and Royals (Specialist Recording
Company SRC133) 76:00
The SRC series featuring music associated with specific
regiments of the British army continues with the Blues and
Royals. There are no less than 39 tracks on this CD, principally
trumpet calls and a selection of fast and slow marches and
it is impossible to include comment on all of them, so I
hope these highlights will give a sufficient flavour to
persuade some readers to put it on their shopping list!
Particularly noteworthy is Cavalry Brigade, a stately
and imposing slow march officially attributed as anonymous
but thought likely to be the work of G J Miller whilst by
way of contrast, Thornburrow’s The Windsorian
has a distinctly jaunty air. Strauss makes something of
a surprise appearance in this compilation with his March
of the Royal Horse Guards — a refreshing change
from his ubiquitous and much played Radetzky March!
The Tangier Horse is a splendid march which flowed
from the pen of a former DOM, Lieutenant Colonel G E Evans.
A J North’s With Wings as Eagles is an impressive
salute to the memory of all members of the Household Cavalry
who have been killed whilst on operations. In complete contrast
to the trumpet calls and marches comes Bach’s Jesu
Joy of Man’s Desiring and a popular piece of film
music — the haunting strains of Gabriels Oboe
by Ennio Morricone from ‘The Mission’ which is
beautifully and sensitively played by Staff Corporal Mark
Redman. The recordings were made in The Chapel, Chelsea
Barracks and are fully up to SRC’s usual high standard
and the CD booklet comes with detailed notes. There are
many rarely recorded items in this compilation so that even
the most avid collector of military band CD’s will
duplicate very little in their collection and will find
a great deal of interest. A notable and fascinating release
which can be strongly recommended. Roger Hyslop CDs
issued by Specialist Recording Company are available from:
Discurio, Unit 3, Faraday Way, St Mary Cray, Kent, BR5 3QW,
England tel/fax 01689 879101. You can also order via their
website: www.tillystips.com/dis/
ONCE A MARINE
A Life On The Ocean Wave, Plymouth Hoe, The Captain
General, The Padstow Lifeboat, Peter Rabbit and Tales of
Beatrix Potter, HM Jollies, Adagio for Trumpet, Cockleshell
Heroes, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, On the Quarterdeck, The
Shanghai Sailor, Sarie Marais, Kalinka, Comrades in Arms,
The Hounds of Spring, Once a Marine
The Royal Marines Association Concert Band (Clovelly
CLCD15507) 66:00
The Royal Marines Association Concert Band is an entirely
new ensemble formed in June 2006 in response to demand from
retired members of the band service. This is their first
CD and their versatility and accomplishment is amply demonstrated
by the diverse range in style and mood of music included
in this compilation, which they tackle with consistent commitment
and whole hearted enthusiasm. There’s a fine selection
of marches including several by Kenneth J Alford with On
the Quarter Deck and HM Jollies and Sir Vivian
Dunn with The Captain General and possibly his most
popular and arguably one of his finest scores Cockleshell
Heroes. Dunn’s march has a lively catchy first
section followed by an appropriately poignant trio tune
which suitably reflects the growingly somber mood in the
latter part of the film. There is also a fine new march
Comrades in Arms which has flowed from the pen of
the band’s DOM Captain Whealing whilst Ray Woodfield’s
Once a Marine was written especially for the Royal
Marines Association and makes clever use of two tunes intimately
associated with the Corps namely A Life on the Ocean
Wave and Sarais Marais. A good deal more music
is featured here other than marches including two well chosen
overtures. Alfred Reeds’ The Hounds of Spring
is an easily likable piece, new to me, whilst the more familiar
strains of the nautical overture by John Ansell, Plymouth
Hoe, is a wonderfully invigorating piece based on several
traditional tunes — the listener envisions a wonderful
whiff of salt laden sea breezes which never fails to raise
one’s spirits. A welcome item on this disc is the excerpt
from Tales of Beatrix Potter and Slaughter on
Tenth Avenue which gives the band a chance to demonstrate
their big band credentials. Finally, and by no means least,
there are two solo spots featuring members of the band.
Jon Yates, principal trumpet, plays his own composition
Adagio for Trumpet, an attractively lyrical and heartfelt
piece whilst Steve Tanner takes centre stage with Donald
Bridgers’ The Shanghai Sailor. This is an impressive
debut disc with fine and consistently good wind playing
throughout which, given the pedigree of this group of musicians,
is hardly surprising. The recording sessions were held at
the Clovelly St Edmund’s Studios, Dover and the resultant
sound, if a trifle dryish, is very good. Roger Hyslop
For information on how to purchase this CD visit Clovelly
at www.clovellyrecordings.com
or telephone: 01304239356. This CD is also available from
the RMA Concert Band c/o RMA Central Office, Whale Island,
Portsmouth, PO2 8ER. The CD costs £12 incl P&P and cheques
should be made payable to The RMA Band Fund.
A RIFLES BANDSTAND
Royal Windsor, Orpheus in the Underworld Overture, The
Westminster Waltz, The Lines of Torres Vedra, The Watermill,
Cornish Through and Through, Light Serenade, Lucy Long,
Shepherd’s Hey, Scottish Dances, Mountain Song, Robbin’
Harry, High on a Hill, Rifles Review, Evening Hymn and Sunset,
Mechanized Infantry
The Bands and the Bugles of the Rifles (Specialist
Recording Company, SRC126) 78:00. The Band of the
Rifles was formed in February 2007 and this release is particularly
noteworthy as it is the band’s debut CD. The programme
has plenty of contrast and interest, particularly for readers
of this journal, with a selection which has certainly not
ignored the area of British light music. There are two classics
of this genre Westminster Waltz, sounding surprisingly
effective in a wind band transcription and The Watermill
beautifully played as an oboe solo. Two further solo spots
on this disc are worthy of comment, a very accomplished
bassoonist with Lucy Long and a xylophone impressively
propels Robbin’ Harry at a breathtaking speed.
The concert opens with plenty of pomp and splendour with
Frederic Bayco’s march Royal Windsor whilst
the familiar Offenbach overture which follows combines sensitivity
and exhilaration to satisfying effect. The two bugle marches
included are calculated to both raise your rafters and annoy
the neighbours if played at too high a volume! The recordings
were made in Romsey Abbey, Hampshire and the resulting sound
quality fully measures up to SRC’s consistently high
standard. I recommend this to all admirers of fine wind
band playing with confidence.
Roger Hyslop
Soundtracks
"SUMMER SONG"
Overture, Just Around the Corner, My Darling Karolka,
Once a Year is Not Enough, Cotton Tail, No-one Told Me,
Murphy’s Pig, One Boy Sends You a Rose, Deep Blue Evening,
I’ll Be Remembering and more
Original London Cast (Sepia Records, 1086) 78:00
This musical, from 1956, was penned by Anton Dvorak with
lyrics supplied by Eric Maschwitz. Described as ‘a
story of the new world’ this recording features a very
appealing vocal performance by British actress and singer
Sally Ann Howes and the male lead is taken by David Hughes.
Orchestrations are by Ronald Hanmer and the orchestra is
under the direction of Alexander Faris. The highlight of
this CD is the Summer Song Selection which is performed
by the Melachrino orchestra conducted by George Melachrino
and recorded in April 1956 and lasts for over seven minutes
— a real delight! Wally Stott also features in the
bonus tracks as backing to three tracks from David Hughes,
dating also from 1956, There But for the Grace of God
Go I, Love is a Many Splendoured Thing and Two Different
Worlds. The sound quality and remastering (by RFS member
Robin Cherry) is of the highest quality, as expected by
Sepia Records who are one of the lead CD labels in issuing
rare and sought after material from the back catalogue.
This is very nostalgic and takes you right back to the world
of post war musical theatre.
Adam Endacott
"AS LONG AS THEY’RE HAPPY" & "AN
ALLIGATOR NAMED DAISY"
You Started Something, Be My Guest, Hokey-Pokey Polka,
In Love for the Very First Time, Midnight Madness and bonus
tracks including A Kiss and a Cuddle, I Feel so Mmm, Close
Your Eyes, What More Can I Do and many more
Original film soundtracks (Sepia Records 1092) 76:00
Two classic British film soundtracks are given new life
on this very likable and enterprising CD. The main artistes
are Jeannie Carson, Jack Buchanan, Jerry Wayne and Diana
Dors who all give polished performances in these fun and
romantic songs. For both films the musical score and direction
is by Stanley Black with the Pinewood Studio Orchestra and
his usual excellence shines through with lush orchestral
links and arrangements which comes into its own in the reprise
of I Don’t Know Whether to Laugh or to Cry Over
You with Jack Buchanan. A sensational Diana Dors single
(A Kiss and a Cuddle/I Feel So Mmm) from 1953 is
included in the bonus tracks with the orchestra conducted
by Frank Cordell. Other orchestras featured in the bonus
tracks with Jeannie Carson are Reg Owen and Geoff Love.
Wally Stott makes an appearance with Jerry Wayne for Lassoo
and What More Can I do recorded in 1953. I thoroughly
recommend this CD which is a joy from start to finish. Remastering
is again by Robin Cherry and of excellent quality.
Adam Endacott
Vocal
MOMENTO
Momento, Bring Back the Love, Close to You, Os Novos
Yorkinos, Azul, Cacado, Night and Day, Tranquillo, Um Segundo,
Cade Voce, Words
Bebel Gilberto (V2, VVR1044522) 42:37
The sweet summer sounds of her previous albums are still
there but there are a few moments that do not gel! If the
vibe of the first tracks had been maintained, then this
outing could have topped her earlier recordings. Close
to You is Bebel’s own composition (not the one
made famous by The Carpenters). An intriguing rhythm is
employed rivalling the beat of Bring Back the Love which
uses a couple of instruments that I have never heard before
— Repique and Gongue — intoxicating sounds! In
fact, most tracks employ instruments new to me creating
music that is decidedly different. I am not sure what Cole
Porter would have thought of this version of his classic
song Night and Day! The sax player has a stab at
emulating Stan Getz but Bebel’s vocalising seems to
lose the way! Tranquillo is a live track and sounds
like just a filler.
Paul Clatworthy
BEVERLY SILLS: PLAISIR D’AMOUR. Plaisir
d’amour; Parlez-moi d’amour; Les filles de Cadiz;
Plus 6 Other Songs in French and 3 Songs In Spanish.
48.26 Beverly Sills with Andre Kostelanetz and his Orchestra
Sony Classical SMK 60576. For those who never heard
her sing even on records, Beverly Sills was a most remarkable
artist. Along with her technical mastery of her craft was
a deep humanity and a heart breaking poignancy to her way
of performing, no doubt coming from her triumphing over
personal tragedies. The body of this CD comes from a pair
of 1975 sessions when Sills began working with Andre Kostelanetz
who provided all of these arrangements himself. Kostelanetz’s
earlier experience as a vocal coach at the Metropolitan
Opera in New York City pays off wonderfully with great understanding
of his vocalist. With such a charming and soothing set of
songs, it’s difficult to find favorites. A personal
favorite is "La filles des cadix" which is the original
chart written Lily Pons, Andre’s former wife. The programme
is rounded off with three songs sung in Spanish and never
before released in any format. Of particular interest in
this group is a stellar performance of "Estrellita" which
is sung very movingly by Sills. The orchestra performing
behind Beverly Sills is the New York Philharmonic which
adds to the high polish of the accompanying orchestra. This
is without a doubt a worthwhile release spotlighting one
of the most beloved of all opera stars, Beverly Sills who
artistry is being rediscovered anew thanks to many releases
of her great performances. Richard Jessen
JESSIE MATTHEWS (1907-1981): A Centenary Celebration
2CD compilation from 78s, film soundtracks and private
tapes AVID AMSC 907. This enjoyable collection is the brainchild
of veteran LP and CD compiler Hugh Palmer, and he has certainly
assembled some rare and fascinating tracks in this well-deserved
tribute to a great star of the 1930s. Over 50 of the best-known
songs associated with Jessie Matthews are included, so it
is highly unlikely that you will not discover your own personal
favourites such as Over My Shoulder, Dancing on the Ceiling,
When You’ve Got a Little Springtime in your Heart etc.
From 1926, through to some private recordings from the
late 1970s, we can enjoy her performances of popular songs
plus selections from films such as "Out Of The Blue",
"One Dam Thing After Another", "The Good
Companions", "Evergreen", "It’s
Love Again", "Gangway" and others. Among
the musicians accompanying Jessie are Leslie Hutchinson
(‘Hutch’), Carroll Gibbons, Louis Levy, Jay Wilbur,
Fred Hartley, Peter Yorke, Debroy Somers, Bob Busby and
Harold Geller. It would be silly to deny that this style
of music now seems dated, but surely that is part of its
charm. For those who remember how great Jessie Matthews
was, and would like a lovingly-compiled souvenir of her
career, this is the perfect answer. David Ades
Compilations
COMIC CUTS
Various artistes (Sounds of Yesteryear, DSOY732)
105:00. Grandad is seething in the corner, muttering under
his breath, rubbish! It is his birthday party and the youngsters
are playing the like of the Arctic Monkeys. Time to put
a smile to his face by digging out this novel double CD
— 36 tracks by bands of the 1930s. Billy Cotton,
Carroll Gibbons, Jack Payne, Jack Hylton, Ambrose, Henry
Hall and many others feature and all tracks concentrate
on the humorous. I am a Grandad but only knew a few of the
titles, three of which I did not know, The Pig Got Up
and Slowly Walked Away, Airman! Airman! and What
Can You Give a Nudist for Their Birthday, giving you
some idea of the content. You also get the well known Laughing
Policeman, I Like Bananas, Chinese Laundry Blues and
many others well aired in the past on the Billy Cotton Band
Show and Family Favourites. A fun collection for all the
family, especially if those listening are well oiled!
Paul Clatworthy
CD round-up: some new releases noted by Wilfred Askew
HURRAH FOR MALCOLM ARNOLD
The Belles of St Trinian’s Prelude (Conducted by
Muir Mathieson), The Sound Barrier —A Rhapsody For
Orchestra Op 38 (conducted by the composer), The Captain’s
Paradise: Postcard From the Med (MM), Trapeze: Prelude,
Lola’s Theme, Juke Box, Mike and Lola’s Love Theme
(MM), Hobson’s Choice Overture (MM), Beckus the Dandipratt
— Overture for Orchestra Op 5, English Dances Op 27
& Op 33 (Conducted by Sir Adrian Boult), A Grand Grand
Overture for Orchestra (conducted by the composer)
(Cherry Red ACMEM95) 54:12
ROY BUDD — BLUE BUDD
Original 1967-70 Pye recordings. Tracks include: Pick
Yourself Up, Girl Talk, I’ll Remember April, On a Clear
Day, Pavanne, Call Me, Bye Bye Blues etc
(Cherry Red ACMEM96) 63:52
SPIRAL/SOMETIMES — THE HARRY ROCHE CONSTELLATION
Two original 1973 Pye recordings. Tracks include: Rhapsody
in Blue, Pinball Wizard, You Are the Sunshine of My Life,
Watch What Happens, You’ve Got Possibilities, Carnaby
Chick, My Romance, That’s Living etc
(Cherry Red ACMEM100) 79:54
PORTS OF PARADISE
Original Capitol recording from 1960 of instruments and
voices by Alfred Newman and Ken Darby. Tracks include The
Enchanted Sea, Whispering Wind, Forever More etc
(EMI Special Markets (US) 3670162) 39:03
CRIME SCENE USA: CLASSIC FILM NOIR THEMES
Music by Elmer Bernstein, Adolph Deutsch, Frank DeVol,
David Raksin, Miklos Rozsa, Max Steiner, Franz Waxman and
more. Tracks include: Street Scene, The Letter, High
Sierra, Double Indemnity, Key Largo, The Big Heat, Strangers
on a Train, Born to Kill etc.
(Giant Steps GSCR019) 63:47
HORACE HEIDT AND HIS MUSICAL KNIGHTS
Double CD. Tracks include: I’ll Love You in My
Dreams, Clarinet Polka, I’ll Get By, South of the Border,
Piggy Wiggy Woo, It’s a Blue World, The Singing Hills,
Toy Piano Jump, Where or When, Because of You, The Hut Sut
Song etc.
(Jasmine JASCD455) 139:32
DVD’s
ALMA COGAN — HER FABULOUS STORY
(Odeon, ODNM 009) 107:00 (Region 0)
The Alma Cogan story has been told in many different ways
over the years and the main part of this DVD contains an
excellent testimony in a documentary format about her all
too short opportunity to entertain in her own unique way.
It is very well produced and contains many personal contributions
from those fortunate to have experienced the charm of knowing
and working closely with her. Like most well thought out
material available in DVD format there are some important
extras. Very important in this case, for the producers have
sought out two quite revealing Hammer cinema film shorts
by the Eric Winstone band of the mid 1950’s, on which
Alma is the main guest artist. The use of shorts by a great
variety of performers were by no means new of course, but
perhaps by the 1950’s peoples expectations were higher.
A few enterprising film companies made up for this by producing
what was in effect a completely self contained film version
of the kind of show one may have still expected to find
on the bigger variety stages of the time. Enter Hammer films
who probably produced the best example of this craft in
a series of band shows ranging from performers such as Cyril
Stapleton, Johnny Dankworth, Edmundo Ros and, as found here,
Eric Winstone. Our 21st century sophisticated
eye will spot the fact that this is a canned series of ‘takes’
rather than a continuously live performance, but to the
cinema audiences of the mid 1950’s it was often thrilling
to be able to experience on the large screen (and in colour)
performances of radio, television and record stars of the
time. The first of the two shorts is "The Eric Winstone
Bandshow" which is immediately interesting; in that
Eric’s theme tune Stagecoach is performed over
the opening credits using strings. The continuity in this
film is created by the old film trick of captioned book
page turning and the first number is Fanfare Boogie
with all its customary excitement as an opener. Trumpeter
Kenny Baker makes a centre stage appearance next on What
Could Be More Beautiful followed by a sumptuous credited
Wally Stott arrangement of These Foolish Things sung
by Alma. Brian Fahey’s arrangement of Skyliner
comes next followed by an intriguing Latin American medley
performed by the George Mitchell singers and extras. Alma
then returns for another Stott arrangement; this time it’s
the ‘poppy’ Got’n Idea including some
amusing 1950’s role playing by Mr Winstone. Opus
one Mambo (another Stott arrangement) is up next featuring
four uncredited percussionists and this first show finishes
with another showcase including a string section —
namely the Winstone arr. Stott title Heartbreak.
The second film short "Eric Winstone’s Stagecoach"
is all linked ‘in vision’ by Eric himself and
after the theme he welcomes us and incorrectly announces
the first Brian Fahey number Curtain Call as Curtain
Up! Alma puts in her first appearance this time round with
another ‘poppy’ number, The Sycamore Tree
and next is the Ray Ellington quartet being as ‘tongue
in cheeky’ as ever on The Three Bears assisted
by the lovely Marion Ryan, who takes us through a great
typical piece of 1950’s band and stage action, one
part of which is rather awkwardly mis-cast using Winstone
as the fall guy but Marion saves the day though! Reg Owen’s
gorgeous Slow Train Blues comes next and as during
most of these two film shorts, the camera work accurately
follows solos. (She Wore) A Little Jacket of Blue
may not be a number which one may expect Alma to tackle,
but here she is again doing just that with great aplomb
followed by something that I feel could have been better
thought out — an Irish sketch. This is all done in
an ‘Irish cor blimey’ type of style that seems
corny and wooden by any standards; maybe better performed
live on stage but doesn’t do it for me here! To close
this short there is something for everyone. Firstly, At
the Woodchoppers Ball with some lovely section, unison
and as always good camera work, then the entire cast rousingly
sees us out with Riding on a Rainbow followed by
a reprise of the same by the band. I’ve checked quite
closely and it’s interesting to note that several of
the titles mentioned above have also been recorded commercially
by the Winstone band on Polygon or Pye-Nixa. Only one, Opus
One Mambo, appears to use a dub of that issue. So, a
brilliant DVD in my opinion; sound quality lets things down
a bit in parts where I suspect over processing of film and
noise removal at the expense of music quality. However,
you’ll probably forget all that as you get wrapped
up in the overall presentation. On the one hand this is
a piece of pure 1950’s visual kitsch exotica; on the
other, a wonderful historical document of just one very
small part of popular music history showing how it used
to be. Go, buy and enjoy!
Philip Farlow
Postscripts to previous reviews
British Light Music Miniatures – Vintage TV
& Radio Classics (Naxos 8.570332 - JIM172)
Those who, like me, have become ‘hooked’ on the
music of Montague Phillips will be pleased to learn that
that this CD contains probably the first ever recordings
of the three Dance Revels; these were not included
on either of the Vocalion CDs, probably due to lack of space.
It’s worth the asking price for these alone! Do I detect
definite echoes of Haydn Wood’s Joyousness in
number three? This CD also contains Non Stop by John
Malcolm; I have seen a review in another publication which
claims that this piece was used as a signature tune for
ITV’s News At Ten. This is not the case –
the piece was used for many years by ITN well before the
advent of News At Ten, which used for its signature tune
part of Johnny Pearson’s lengthy composition The
Awakening; this is still employed in an amended form
to this day.
Box Of Delights (Lyrita SRCD214 - JIM172)
Edmund Whitehouse mentioned the ‘…rarely heard
complete Fancy Dress Suite of Cecil Armstrong Gibbs’,
but once again I’m pretty certain that this is the
first time that the whole work (not just Dusk) has
appeared on any sort of recording. It is interesting to
hear this composer’s most famous tune in the context
of the whole suite, and the other movements are worth getting
to know too!
English String Miniatures – Volume 5
(Naxos 8557752 –JIM 169)
This CD of new recordings contains another great favourite
of mine, the Folk Song And Fiddle Dance by Percy
Fletcher. Although this work has been recorded a couple
of times before, it’s the first time that the Folk
Song has appeared in full. This piece consists
of a theme, followed by a number of variations, but on previous
occasions one of the latter (a jig variation in the major)
has been left out, presumably because there was insufficient
space on a 78 rpm disc. Philip Lane has now remedied this
situation, and it’s good to hear the whole piece as
its composer intended. Tony Clayden
Finally some more new CDs
A listing here does not preclude the possibility of
a full review in a future issue
TED HEATH: Big Band Themes Remembered Volumes 1 &
2 Vocalion CDLK 4345
EDMUNDO ROS: Calypso & Calypso Man Vocalion
CDLK 4348
MAREK WEBER AND HIS ORCHESTRA: Musicale Vocalion
CDEA 6130
ROBERTO INGLEZ: From the Savoy Hotel, London Volume
3 Vocalion CDEA 6131
THE STEPHEN FOSTER COLLECTION 2CD set which includes
six tracks from the Decca LP by the Robert Farnon Octet
(the complete LP is included on the Vocalion CD "Songs
of Britain" CDLK 4174). Other featured artists include
Bing Crosby, Sammy Kaye, Al Jolson, Frank Luther and the
Andre Kostelanetz Orchestra. Jasmine JASCD 454
FRANKIE CARLE: Silver and Gold 2CD set Jasmine
JASCD 462
DENNIS DAY: Serenade 2CD set Jasmine JASCD 662
SALUTING THE STARS 2CD collection featuring American
stars of the 1940s and 1950s, such as Perry Como,Nat King
Cole, Eddie Fisher, Andrews Sisters, Henri Rene, Sauter-Finegan
Orchestra, Dinah Shore and many more. Jasmine JASCD 665
RICHARD ARNELL Symphonies 4 & 5 Royal Scottish
National Orchestra conducted by Martin Yates. Dutton Epoch
CDLX7194.
SID PHILLIPS BAND ‘Any Old Iron’ Bargain
CD to celebrate his centenary year. Dutton CDVS1949.
JACK HYLTON BAND Volume 6 ‘Boomps-a-Daisy’
Vocalion CDEA6128.
PAUL WHITEMAN ORCHESTRA ‘If I Had a Talking Picture
of You’ Vocalion CDEA6129.
An apology
In the last issue of JIM (172), the Bing Crosby CD ‘Good
and Rare’ was featured. This was incorrectly credited
to Sunflower Records. This CD and its sequel, ‘Good
and Rare Volume Two’ have been produced by Sepia Records
and both CDs feature recording from the 1940s and 50s, which
have not been released on CD before. Combined, there are
a total of 53 tracks ranging from The Big Movie Sky in
the Show to What a Little Moonlight Can Do. The
correct catalogue numbers for these discs are ‘Good
and Rare’ (Sepia 1071) and volume two (Sepia 1091)
Full details on these CDs, and more, can be found on Sepia
Records website, www.sepiarecords.com
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KEEPING TRACK
Dateline June 2007
LENA HORNE with ROBERT FARNON AND HIS ORCHESTRA and
featuring PHIL WOODS saxophone: "Lena – A New
Album" I’ve Grown Accusomed to His Face,
Someone To Watch Over Me, My Funny Valentine, Someday My
Prince Will Come, I’ve Got The World On A String, Softly
As I Leave You, I Have Dreamed, A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing,
I’ve Got To Have You, My Ship Vocalion CDLK 4342,
43:03 mins. Last February Mike Dutton asked me to pen some
notes for this reissue of an album which – I must confess
– I hadn’t listened to carefully for several
years. To say it was a magical experience is something of
an understatement. Around that time, in the mid-1970s, we
were in the happy situation of receiving a steady supply
of new Farnon albums, each one containing some priceless
gems. To coin a familiar phrase, it was like being let loose
in a sweet shop; there were so many treats all around that
you didn’t always realise how wonderful some of them
really were. I am facing the same situation today when I
make selections for the Guild Light Music CDs. I often include
individual tracks from Bob’s early Decca LPs (now out
of copyright) and in many cases they stand out from the
rest. In their original settings, among twelve or so of
similar works all receiving his masterly touch, the orchestrations
still sounded wonderful – but not as wonderful as they
seem today when placed in the spotlight on their own. After
several years of negligence I have now returned to the Lena
Horne project, and it has been a true revelation. At times
I struggled to find the words to express my overwhelming
feelings of admiration for the way in which Bob treated
each number – the only exception being A Flower
Is A Lovesome Thing which Lena’s husband Lennie
Hayton arranged. When three unique talents met at London’s
Olympic Studios in April 1976, the result was bound to be
something rather special. Lena Horne had already been at
the top of her profession for almost forty years, beginning
with her international fame in great musicals such as "Stormy
Weather " and "Cabin In The Sky" (both in
1943), leading to her many concert appearances at the finest
venues. She felt equally at home at the plushest nightspots
in London, Paris, Monte Carlo, Stockholm, Chicago and New
York, and the talented little girl who grew up in Brooklyn
never short-changed her legions of doting admirers. By the
time she was 16 she appeared at the famous Cotton Club,
and this tended to set the tone for her life in show business.
Lena was in her element entertaining the diners in nightclubs,
yet to the millions who adored her around the world it was
her films and recordings that were so magical. Her taste
in choosing her material was undoubtedly helped by her marriage
to Lennie Hayton, from 1940 to 1953 one of the leading musical
directors at M-G-M. The third ingredient in the magical
mix of unique talents was Phil Woods, a bebop-influenced
alto-saxophonist whose impressive credits included working
with Benny Goodman, Quincy Jones, Gene Krupa and Thelonious
Monk – to pick just four at random. He honed his craft
during four years at the Julliard in New York where he majored
in clarinet. Critics and readers of Downbeat praised him
with awards, and he received two Grammys around the time
that he went into the studios with Lena Horne and Robert
Farnon. The bonus of an album such as this is that it allows
those involved to express the music in a way that may be
completely different from the version that has already become
familiar. Divorced from "My Fair Lady", I’ve
Grown Accustomed to his Face takes on an almost doleful
feel, bringing out the full meanings in Alan Jay Lerner’s
lyrics which cleverly convey the realisation that familiarity
has moved on to a new, higher plane. Composers must get
frustrated when their carefully crafted verses get omitted
by singers, but happily Lena Horne does not disappoint in
Someone to Watch Over Me. This track marks the first
appearance of Phil Woods, far removed from his bebop roots,
but his saxophone provides the perfect foil to Lena’s
complete grasp of the meanings in the lyrics. My Funny
Valentine reveals the Robert Farnon strings in all their
glory, with an almost religious feel encompassing the singer
who clearly worships her lover. The earlier comment about
familiar versions of well known tunes certainly applies
to Someday My Prince Will Come. For a while after
the release of Walt Disney’s 1937 masterpiece "Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs", Adriana Caselotti’s
high soprano frightened off anyone else but by 1976 a new
generation had emerged largely untouched by the original,
and receptive to a new interpretation. Robert Farnon always
knew when simplicity was best, and Lena begins with the
intimate sound of Gordon Beck on piano, with the strings
gently ushering in Phil Woods as the chorus ends. This is
late night music par excellence. The simple theme is maintained
in I’ve Got the World on a String with Phil
Woods and Gordon Beck supported by Chris Laurence on bass,
before the strings eventually shimmer in and alert us to
the fact that the lady is about to sing – preceded
by a suitable fanfare from the brass. Softly As I Leave
You gets the tender treatment it deserves, with the
strings providing a heart-rending backdrop before the piano
provides just the right touch of perception.I Have Dreamed
recreates the jazzy sound of saxophone, keyboard and
bass, but the rich orchestral colours are never too distant.
Lena’s husband Lennie Hayton provides the lovely string
setting for A Flower is a Lovesome Thing, then
I’ve Got to Have You is the one track that acknowledges
that popular songwriters were still around in the 1970s,
although styles had changed quite dramatically. Personally
I feel that this is the one number that was out of place
in this collection. Kurt Weill composed My Ship for
the 1941 show "Lady in the Dark" and it now seems
incredible that some bands at the time treated it as an
up-tempo number (which you can find on a future Guild CD!),
especially when you hear the magnificent setting created
for Lena Horne and Phil Woods. Farnon always filled his
orchestras with the top session players: his regular Concertmaster,
and first violinist, was Raymond Cohen (for whom Farnon
composed his "Rhapsody for Violin and Orchestra")
and the usual choice of harpist was David Snell, today a
leading composer and conductor for films. Each and every
performer involved in this album was at their peak when
this recording was created in 1976, and the sheer quality
shines through in every track. I urge every reader to add
it to their collection while they can. If you need an extra
incentive, in the booklet there is a colour photo of Bob
with Lena relaxing during a break in the sessions. David
Ades This CD is available from the RFS Record
Service for £10 [$20].
VINTAGE TV & RADIO CLASSICSSea
Songs (Vaughan Williams), Marigold (Billy Mayerl),
Waltzing with Sullivan (Gilbert Vinter), Sound
& Vision (ATV March) (Eric Coates), Radio 4 Theme
Tune (Fritz Spiegl), Holiday Spirit (Clive Richardson),
Imperial Echoes (Arnold Sarfroni), Top Dog
(Ivor Slaney), A Thousand Kisses (Archibald Joyce),
Parisian Mode (Woolf Phillips), Willow Waltz
(Cyril Watters), Non Stop (John Malcolm), Winter
Sunshine (George Melachrino), Paris Promenade &
Paris Metro (William Hill-Bowen), Out of the Blue
(Hubert Bath), Barnacle Bill (Ashworth Hope), Galop
(Alan Langford), Three Dance Revels (Montague Phillips),
Widespread World (London Rediffusion Call Sign)
(Johnny Dankworth). Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted
by Paul Murphy and Gavin Sutherland Naxos 8.570332.
These are all new recordings of old favourites and jolly
good they are too. Try listening to them without first reading
the liner notes and see if you can identify the programmes
they introduced. Need a few clues? Oh all right then: try
Billy Bunter, The Men from the Ministry, Children’s
Newsreel and What’s My Line – but that’s
only for starters. Edmund Whitehouse
While nothing can really match the original
broadcast version of a famous signature tune, we have here
a good varied collection of themes played by the Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra. In particular, Vaughan Williams’ Sea
Songs, the Radio 4 UK theme, Barnacle Bill and
ATV’s Sound And Vision by Eric Coates are given
rousing performances and, despite that ‘something’
which is nearly always lacking in the sound quality from
Naxos, the whole package is very good value. The crowning
glory is the quite outstanding reconstruction by Gavin Sutherland
of Sir John Dankworth’s Rediffusion march Widespread
World. You can almost hear the voice of ITV’s Redvers
Kyle introducing the TV station after the opening fanfare
– great stuff! – well done the RPO (and Naxos).
Bill Watts
Of special interest here for many will
be Fritz Spiegl’s Radio 4 UK Theme for early
wakers over which there was such a hoo-ha last year
when it was axed by the BBC. Some of the other 21 pieces
on this disc have not been heard since the shellac years
– three even had to be reconstructed – and here
they are all freshly minted and played by one of our leading
symphony orchestras. It is refreshing to find, among others,
well-loved pieces by Billy Mayerl, Clive Richardson, Ivor
Slaney, Archibald Joyce, Hubert Bath, and Montague Phillips
given such a sparkling modern treatment. Among the memories
evoked are those of ‘Radio Newsreel’ by the Arnold
Safroni [real name, A.S. Middleton] march, Imperial Echoes,
and there are reminders of two defunct TV stations in Eric
Coates’ Sound and Vision ATV March and John
Dankworth’s Widespread World, the original call
sign music for Rediffusion London. And who of a certain
age has ever forgotten Ashworth Hope’s Barnacle
Bill, long-time signature tune for ‘Blue Peter?’
A warm welcome and **** from me for a collection that will
give much pleasure.
Peter Burt This CD is
available from the RFS Record Service for £6 [$12].
FLORILÈGE DE MUSIQUES PITTORESQUES
("Bouquet of Picturesque Music") 4CD set -
CD 1 features later recordings of old favourites Post
Horn Galop (Orchestre Champetre), Teddy Bears’ Picnic
(Teddy Petersen Orchestra), Doll Dance (Robert Maxwell,
harp), Hot Canary (Florian Zabach), Fairy On The Clock (Reginald
Foort, organ), In A Clock Store (JanCorduwener Orchestra),
Tritsch Tratsch Polka (Johnny Nelson, whistler), Nola (Sidney
Torch Orchestra), Toy Trumpet (Tommy Reilly, harmonica),
Whistler And His Dog (Florian Zabach) 26 tracks; CD
2 includes separate sections with light music from Denmark
, The Netherlands, France, Italy, Germany and the USA
(Fiddle Derby – Percy Faith, Bugler’s Holiday
– Leroy Anderson, On A Little Country Road In Switzerland
– David Rose, Oriental Polka – Mitch Miller, Sandpaper
Ballet – Leroy Anderson & Rainfall –
Percy Faith) 26 tracks; CD 3 is a tribute to Britain’s
contribution to Light Music from the late 1940s onwards
Coronation Scot (Sidney Torch), Messenger Boy (Ron Goodwin),
Alpine Festival (Fred Hartley), Henpecking & Dancing
Bells (Ray Martin), Comic Cuts & Song Of The ‘Maggie’
(Sidney Torch), Tic-Toc Tango (Ray Martin), Cornflakes (Sidney
Torch), Jumping Bean (Robert Farnon), Waltzing Bugle Boy
(Frank Chacksfield), Stringopation & Running Off The
Rails (Philip Green), Flying Colours (Queen’s Hall
Light Orchestra conducted by Robert Farnon), Strings On
Parade (Ray Martin), Little Jumping Jack (Camarata –
the one non-British conductor who crept in to this CD!),
Tickled Pink (Ray Martin), Runaway Rocking Horse (Orchestre
Raymonde), New Baby & Rip Van Twinkle (Norrie Paramor),
Pied Piper (Frank Chacksfield), Elephant’s Tango (Cyril
Stapleton), Ballet Of The Bells (Jackie Brown), Woodpecker’s
Waltz (Ray Martin), Copenhagen Polka (George Melachrino),
Little Laplander (Ron Goodwin) and Back Track (Stanley Black)
28 tracks; CD 4 focuses on virtuoso soloists Holiday
For Strings (David Rose), Callahan’s Monkey (Norrie
Paramor), Peanut Polka (Busketeers – Harmonica Group),
Plink Plank Plunk (Florian Zabach), Galloping Comedians
(Hotcha Harmonica Trio), Red Wings (Florian Zabach), Laughing
Violin (Noucha Doina), Pizzicato Waltz (Helmut Zacharias),
High Horse (Tommy Reilly), Fiddle Faddle (Wagn Sorensen,
xylo-marimba), Fiddlin’ For Fun (David Rose) 23 tracks.
(France) Marianne Melodie 071901 4 CDs not available separately.
This incredible compilation is the brainchild of veteran
French broadcaster Pierre-Marcel Ondher, and in the English
section of the booklet Ralph Harvey accurately describes
it as a ‘mini-anthology’. These four CDs contain
a wide cross-section of so many music forms which PMO feels
come within the umbrella of ‘light music’ in its
widest sense. The emphasis is on what he calls ‘the
juniors’, meaning the orchestras and soloists who carried
the banner for light music following the second world war.
PMO rightly believes that he has covered the earlier period
(the 1920s and 1930s) comprehensively in his previous compilations
such as ‘The Wonderful Music That Tells A Story’,
and readers who have purchased his previous collections
(following reviews in this magazine) will know that his
immense knowledge of his subject is beyond doubt. He manages
to find records that many of us simply didn’t know
existed – for example, were you aware that a harmonica
group called ‘Busketeers’ has recorded Robert
Farnon’s Peanut Polka on the Tell Record label?
It’s amusing to see Bob’s famous works listed
as ‘Le Haricot Sauteur’ and ‘Cacahuète-Polka’
– alias Jumping Bean and Peanut Polka!
Although there are some notes in English, the bulk of the
highly informative booklet is in French. PMO has generously
listed many of his friends in Light Music, including our
own magazine. This collection – to put it simply –
is a joyful celebration of the fun side of light music.
It does not pretend to offer the more serious works in the
genre that are widely available elsewhere, but the kind
of bright pieces that make you smile when you hear them.
The digital sound restoration appropriately provides clear,
bright and crisp results that seem just right for this repertoire.
Obviously the abridged tracklisting at the head of this
review will alert you to the fact that you probably have
many of these titles already in your collection. But at
least one third – probably more like half – of
the tracks are sufficiently rare to have eluded even the
most assiduous collector over the years. A great deal of
sheer hard work has gone into these four CDs, and everyone
involved should be very proud of the finished product. David
Ades This 4CD set is available to special order
from the RFS Record Service – see page 96.
BOX OF DELIGHTS (British Light
Musical Gems) London Fields- Springtime at Kew, Maze
at Hampton Court, St. James Park, Hampstead Heath (Phyllis
Tate), Three Waltzes (Samuel Coleridge-Taylor), Russian
Scenes - At the Fair, Mazurka, Polka, Valse, Cossack Dance
(Granville Bantock), Fancy Dress Suite - Hurly Burly,
Dance of the Mummers, Dusk, Pageantry (Cecil Armstrong
Gibbs), En Voyage - Golden Arrow, Channel Crossing, Yvette,
Paris Soir (Elisabeth Lutyens). London Philharmonic
Orchestra conducted by Barry Wordsworth and Simon
Joly. Lyrita SRCD 214. 15 years is a long time to wait
for a CD but gosh, it was worth waiting for. This is one
of the Lyrita discs shelved in the early 1990s but now,
happily, resurrected. The recordings are outstanding and
the music superb. Phyllis Tate’s marvellous London
Fields was composed for the 1958 BBC Light Music Festival,
and is a shining example of what Light Music is all about.
Joie de vivre pulsates through every movement with daffodils
wafting gentry in the breeze at Kew and the xylophone running
amok in the Hampton Court Maze. Meanwhile, swans glide along
the pond at St. James Park and bank holiday makers go ape
on the Hampstead Heath funfair during the exciting finale,
subtitled Rondo for Roundabouts. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
composed much wonderful light music during his short life,
including the three rare waltzes heard here. Sir Granville
Bantock is often regarded as austere but his Russian
Scenes are real foot tapping eye openers. Armstrong
Gibbs’ complete Fancy Dress Suite is rarely
heard but this will hopefully now be redressed. Elisabeth
Lutyens later eschewed her tuneful works, one of which is
the rare En Voyage, a journey from London to Paris
by boat and train. This "Box of Delights" really
is a collection of "British Light Musical Gems"!
Edmund Whitehouse
MATT MONRO From Matt Monro With Love
When I Fall In Love, On Days Like These, From
Russia With Love, Days Of Wine And Roses, Till Then My Love,
Walk Away, Portrait Of My Love, etc 23 tracks EMI 3845212.
This CD was released just in time for Valentine’s Day
but beautiful music such as this deserves to be heard at
any time of the year. He was one of the finest singers of
his generation, and when you listen to his songs it makes
you realise that today’s entertainment business seems
to be lacking the kind of quality that Matt always exemplified.
His daughter Michele has penned an excellent booklet note,
but I would have liked to see his fine backing orchestras
and arrangers given some credit in the tracklisting. David
Ades
OLIVER CROMWELL Rutland Boughton
1st Symphony (Oliver Cromwell), Edgar Bainton 3rd
Symphony. BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Vernon
Handley. Dutton Epoch CDLX 7185. Recognise the orchestra
and conductor? Then you will realise straight away that
this must be tuneful music. Oliver Cromwell was composed
as long ago as 1905 when British music was undergoing a
renaissance, with Elgar a prominent figure championing his
contemporaries. Bainton, a much underrated composer, was
also active but was unfortunately interred during the First
World war after being stranded during a European tour. He
eventually emigrated to Australia as Director of the Sydney
State Conservatory. This is a fine and timely CD premiering
two forgotten works, made possible by generous separate
donations from the Bainton, Boughton, and Oliver Cromwell
Societies. Edmund Whitehouse All Dutton
Epoch CDs are available from the RFS Record Service for
£10 [$20].
THE MELODY LINGERS ON – 100 Unforgettable
Memories on 4 CDs. Original Recordings, Original
Artists. V2TV1031392. This is a stellar selection
of songs largely from the early 1950s. Obviously not all
the tracks can be listed here but from Nat ‘King’
Cole’s Pretend to Blue Tango by Ray Martin
& His Concert Orchestra, from The Harry Lime Theme
by Anton Karas to The Weavers’ Goodnight Irene,
from Judy Garland’s Over The Rainbow to Glenn
Miller’s In The Mood, from It Might As Well
Be Spring by Dick Haymes to Sinatra’s One For
My Baby, this is a wonderful nostalgia inducing
box-set. Most of the artists are from the U.S. but as well
as the likes of Astaire, Clooney, Crosby, Day, Fitzgerald,
The Ink Spots, Kelly [Gene], Lanza, and Waller there are
contributions from, Calvert, Chacksfield, Mantovani, Josef
Locke and Whitfield – not forgetting Chevalier, Piaf,
and Trenet. If you shop around online the set can be found
for less than £12.
Peter Burt
THE FILM MUSIC OF JOHN ADDISON Themes
from I was Monty’s Double; Centennial;
Swashbuckler; A Bridge Too Far; The Maggie; Reach for the
Sky; Strange Invaders; The Man Between; Tom Jones;
Charge of the Light Brigade; Brandy for the Parson;
Torn Curtain; Touch and Go; Sleuth; Carleton-Browne
of the F.O.; Murder She Wrote. BBC Concert Orchestra
conducted by Rumon Gamba. Chandos CHAN 10418 Another
fine film music CD from the enterprising Chandos
label. You are sure to recognise many of the tunes
on offer, especially from Reach for the Sky but
probably also the jaunty melody called The Maggie
based on a Scottish puffer boat adventure. The rest
varies from sheer suspense and drama such as Strange
Invaders, The Charge of the Light Brigade
and I was Monty’s Double to the comedy of Carleton-Browne
of the Foreign Office. Watch out for five
other premiere recordings amongst this great offering. Edmund
Whitehouse
I have always enjoyed John Addison’s
scores; for me they always included that certain ‘something’
which was lacking from many other film composers. I was
disappointed that commercial recordings were not always
available, especially of catchy themes such as I Was
Monty’s Double. Happily soundtrack albums started
to become more commonplace as his career developed, and
his music made Torn Curtain far more enjoyable, even
though I always felt that Julie Andrews was badly mis-cast
– despite that memorable scene with the two buses –
what suspense! I have to admit to some disappointment with
the Sidney Torch version of Reach For The Sky; I
heard a different arrangement played by the BBC Concert
Orchestra on radio about thirty years ago, and other themes
were introduced which I felt gave it a better balance. For
many people it will be the theme for TV’s Murder
She Wrote which is now Addison’s most familiar
work, although that memorable march from A Bridge Too
Far (a film which made me despair of the ability of
high ranking officers of all nations to make the right decisions
in wartime) surely runs it a close second. John Addison
was a superb composer of film (and TV) music, and this collection
is long overdue. Bravo Chandos! David Ades This
CD is available from the RFS Record Service price £12.50
[$25].
SIR EDWARD ELGAR Wand of Youth Suite No. 1 (Overture,
Serenade, Minuet, Sun Dance, Fairy Pipers, Slumber
Scene, Fairies & Giants); Wand of Youth Suite
No. 2 (March, Little Bells, Moths & Butterflies, Fountain
Dance, Tame Bear, Wild Bears); Nursery Suite (Aubade, Serious
Doll, Busyness, Sad Doll, Wagon Passes; Merry Doll,
Dreaming); Dream Children. Ulster Orchestra
conducted by Bryden Thomson and Bournemouth Sinfonietta
conducted by Norman del Mar. Chandos CHAN 10422
X. Unmistakably Elgar but unmistakably light music
of a very high quality. Both the charming Wand
of Youth Suites date back to Elgar’s early
years when children playing make believe fascinated
him as a young man while The Nursery Suite was a
late work dedicated to the young Princesses Elizabeth
and Margaret. Meanwhile Dream Children
provided a perfect introduction to an E. Nesbitt children’s
television series. This release of a previous LP (now at
budget price) is very welcome indeed. Edmund
Whitehouse
STANLEY BLACK & The London Festival
Orchestra – France & Russia. France -
Original Decca LP PFS 4110 (1967) Stereo:
I Love Paris (Porter) ; What now my Love (Becaud; Delanoe)
;Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo (Kaper; Deutsch) ; At Last! At Last! (Miles;
Trenet) ;Gigi medley (Loewe; Lerner) ; Gigi medley - The
night they invented Champagne; Thank heavens for little
girls ; La Normandie – Can Can (Offenbach arr Black)
;Mademoiselle de Paris (Durand; Maschwitz; Contet) ;La Mer
(Trenet; Mair; Lawrence; Lasry) ; Plaisir d’Amour (Martini
arr Black) ; French Soldiers medley (arr Black) - Can Can
(Offenbach); Aupres de ma blonde; Vive la Compagnie; Alouette;
La Marseillaise. Russia - Original Decca LP PFS 4084
(1966) Stereo: Meadowlands (Trad arr Black) ;Two Guitars
(Trad arr Black) ; Under Moscow Skies (Trad arr Black) ;
At the Balalaika (Posford; Maschwitz) ; Sabre Dance (Khachaturian)
; Dark Eyes (Trad arr Black) ; Trepak (Tchaikovsky) ; Song
of the Volga Boatmen (Trad arr Black) ;Baba Yaga’s
Hut – The Great Gate of Kiev (Mussorgsky orch Ravel).
Vocalion CDLK 4336 2 LPS on 1 CD. Some very familiar titles
here, but given the Black treatment this a superb disc –
especially his rendering of the Cole Porters. I Love
Paris is pure joy, enhanced by its stereo effects. Alec
Hellyer All Dutton Vocalion CDs are available
from the RFS Record Service for £10 [$20].
Orchestral Sweets 4 – Emerald Concert
Orchestra / Christopher Ball.
Eric Coates – Merrymakers Overture
; Dance In The Twilight ; Knightsbridge March ; Charles
Williams – Rhythm On Rails ; The Old Clockmaker ; Devil’s
Galop ; David Rose – The Tiny Ballerina ; Holiday For
Strings ; Ernest Tomlinson – Dick’s Maggot ; Little
Serenade ; Peter Hope – Jaunting Car ; Playful Scherzo
; Trevor Duncan – The Girl From Corsica ; High Heels
; March From A Little Suite ; Victor Herbert – March
Of The Toys ; Wally Stott – Rotten Row ; Pink Champagne
; Ron Goodwin – The Headless Horseman ; Anthony Collins
– Vanity Fair ; George Gershwin – Walking The
Dog ; Ronald Binge – The Watermill ; Vivian Ellis –
Coronation Scott ; Peter Yorke – Sapphires And Sables.
Dimore Records DRD108. Orchestral Sweets 5 – Emerald
Concert Orchestra / Christopher Ball. Robert Farnon
– Portrait Of A Flirt ; Westminster Waltz ; Little
Miss Molly ; Jumping Bean ; How Beautiful Is Night ; Peanut
Polka ; Manhattan Playboy ; Leroy Anderson – Serenata
; Trumpeter’s Lullaby ; The Waltzing Cat ; Sandpaper
Ballet ; Fiddle Faddle ; Sarabande ; Jazz Legato ; Jazz
Pizzicato ; Chicken Reel ; Horse And Buggy ; Promenade ;
Plink Plank Plunk ; Pennywhistle Song ; The Typewriter ;
The Syncopated Clock ; Forgotten Dreams ; Bugler’s
Holiday ; Sleighride ; Holiday For Trombones ; Belle Of
The Ball. Dinmore Records DRD109. The above two discs
are available from Dinmore Records, 11 Romsley Hill Grange,
Romsley, Worcs. B62 0LN. Tel/Fax 01562 710 801. www.dinmore-records.co.uk
Email: paul@dinmorerecords.co.uk. £5 per disc inc p+p, cheques
only. A glance at the titles at the head of this review
will tell you that the essence of this pair of discs is
primarily popular light music classics which exist already
in a number of alternative versions available in various
compilations, many of them boasting modern stereo recordings.
Before you dismiss these new releases as non-essential additions
to your collection and turn the page, may I suggest that
they have a number of positive features going for them which
might make you wish to reconsider? They of course have the
advantage of modern recording technology resulting in very
good sound and furthermore Dinmore display a decent sized
professional concert orchestra with an adequate number of
strings, so vital in this type of repertoire – and
you certainly get all the appropriate special effects, notably
in the Leroy Anderson pieces on the second disc. All the
music portrayed here is played with satisfying elan and
style and obvious affection – and when all these virtues
are coupled with maximum playing time and a super budget
price they do make an exciting proposition. Indeed some
of the titles on these discs receive better and more attractive
performances than rival accounts. I cite, for example, Anthony
Collins’ Vanity Fair which receives a less distant
and fragile interpretation than John Wilson’s version
on his all-Collins disc – Dutton Epoch CDLX7162 –
whilst Vivian Ellis’ famed Coronation Scott definitely
has noticeably more impetus than Ernest Tomlinson’s
somewhat under-powered performance on Marco Polo 8.223522.
As an added inducement there are several novelties included
here – disc 1 includes Peter Hope’s Playful
Scherzo and The Tiny Ballerina by David Rose,
whilst a rare Leroy Anderson piece, Holiday For Trombones,
appears on the second disc, all of which were new to me.
There are no booklet notes with these discs but it would
be churlish to make too much of this in view of their exceptional
value, although it would have been interesting to have at
least some background information about the orchestra and
conductor and where the recording sessions took place. All
light music aficionados should support this imaginative
and welcome venture, and let us hope that Christopher Ball
and the Emerald Concert Orchestra may be emboldened and
encouraged to go on to record more of our sort of music.
Roger Hyslop
Songs of STEPHEN FOSTER – Ashokan
Farewell / Beautiful Dreamer. Jay Unger, Molly Mason
[guitar], Thomas Hampson [baritone], David Alpher [piano].
Ashoken Farewell, Bound for Another Harvest Home,
Prairie Spring, Haymaker’s Hoedown, Solstice Hymn,
Thanksgiving Waltz, Le Chanson de Mardi Gras, Boneparte’s
Retreat/Hoedown, Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair, Hard
times, come again no more, The Voice of Bygone Days, Foster
Favourites Medley, Beautiful Dreamer, etc. 20 tracks
EMI Classics for Pleasure 09463 382225 2 1 [77:21] What
wonderful releases it has been my privilege to review recently
and this is one of the very best. The title track, another
version of which is much requested on a certain radio station,
is almost worth the cost of this budget priced re-issue
alone. It was written by Jay Unger who also plays fiddle
and violin, as well as arranging and being musical director
throughout the disc. The Nashville Chamber Orchestra under
Paul Gambill accompanies on a couple of tracks. The first
eight tracks [listed above] celebrate farming and the seasons:
half of them are Jay Ungar compositions, one is by Mrs Ungar
[aka Molly Mason] and three are traditional. If you can
listen to Haymaker’s Hoedown without tapping
your feet, I’ll be surprised. On La Chanson de Mardi
Gras you’ll find an interesting line-up of instruments
including Cajun accordion, horse clops and triangle. The
classical composer Aaron Copland used the melody of Boneparte’s
Retreat as the primary theme for the ‘Hoedown’
in his ballet ‘Rodeo’. There are a dozen
Stephen Foster tracks, most of them being graced by the
sensitive singing of the superb Thomas Hampson. Although
Beautiful Dreamer, described by David Foil in his
very full liner notes as "the consummate Foster love
song", sets the standard every track has its
merits. I can’t imagine anyone who appreciates heart
lifting music of any genre will regret adding this CD to
their collection.
Peter Burt
EDMUNDO ROS and his Orchestra - Dancing
With Edmundo & Heading South Of The Border. Dancing
With Edmundo, Original Decca LP SKL 4100 (1960) Stereo:
Cuban Love Song (Stothart; McHugh; Fields) Rumba ; Toku
(Lecuona) Rumba ; Brasil (Barroso) Samba ;Lua do Brasil
(Rios) Samba ; Spanish Gipsy Dance (Marquina) Paso Doble
; Te Quiero Y Ole (Laredo) Paso Doble ; Tony’s Cha
Cha Cha (Osborne) Cha Cha Cha ; Pao Pao Cha Cha Cha (Monchito)
Cha Cha Cha ; Te Quiero Dijiste (Grever) Rumba ; Divina
Mujer (Moral) Rumba ; Copacabana (Ribeiro; De Barro) Samba
; Rio Brasil (Carvalinho; Monteiro) Samba ;La Morena de
mi Copla (Catellanos; Villegas) Paso Doble ; Que me Estas
Queriendo (Guijarro) Paso Doble ; Puerto Rican Peddler (Brandon)
Cha Cha Cha ; Fanfare Cha Cha Cha (White) Cha Cha Cha. Heading
South Of The Border, Original Decca LP PFS 4193 (1970) Stereo:
Heading South (Rios) ; Mrs Robinson (Simon) ; Light My
Fire (Morrison; Manzarek; Krieger; Densmore) ; What Now
My Love (Becaud; Sigman; Delanoe) ; Forbidden Games (Yepes;
Stellman) ; United We Stand (Hiller; Simons) ; Up, Up and
Away (Webb) ; My Cherie Amour (Wonder; Moy; Cosby) ; I Was
Kaiser Bill’s Batman ; (Greenaway; Cook) ; The Skaters’
Waltz (Waldteufel arr Ros; Hanmer) ; I’ll Never Fall
in Love Again (Bacharach; David) ; Hey Jude (Lennon; McCartney).
Vocalion CDLK 4334 - 2 LPS on 1 CD. There are some unfamiliar
titles here among the familiar ones, all given the excellent
Ros treatment. Alec Hellyer
ERIC COATES conducts ERIC COATES –
For Your Delight. For Your Delight ; Calling All
Workers ; Wood Nymphs ; Summer Days suite ; By The Tamarisk’
; The Three Bears ; By The Sleepy Lagoon ; Cinderella ;
A Song By The Way ; London suite ; Saxo-Rhapsody ; Footlights
; Sound And Vision ; London Again suite ; Springtime suite
; The Jester At The Wedding ballet concert suite ; Last
Love ; The Three Elizabeths suite ; Four Centuries suite
; The Dam Busters. Sanctuary Living Era AJD 2013 –
Double CD. This is another excellent collection which has
received the magic touch of Alan Bunting. The sound quality
is superb throughout. It is great to see five of Coates’
suites appearing complete in one package, including the
infrequent Three Elizabeths and Four Centuries.
Another gem from Living Era. Bill Watts This
2CD set is available from the RFS Record Service for £11
[$22].
THE DAY THE TV STOOD STILL –
Winchester Hospital Radio WHRCD701. A double CD of melodic
tunes compiled by Steven Wills, so you know the quality
is going to be good. Here we have over 60 tracks from a
wide range of composers, orchestras and bands. John Cacavas,
Roger Webb, Angela Morley, Roger Roger, Syd Dale, Steve
Race, Peter Yorke to name a few. But I’m sure of particular
interest to Robert Farnon fans will be the tracks included
here from the great man himself, namely Pleasure Drive,
A Lonely Affair, Blue Moment, and Drum Dramatics
No.13. This CD brings a host of lovely instrumentals
together tunefully from those carefree "interlude"
days when the TV stood still! Malcolm Batchelor
The advertisement on page 59 of this issue
give you an idea of the contents of this 2CD collection,
which mainly comes from original recordings in the Chappell
Recorded Music Library from the late 1950s onwards, with
the emphasis firmly in the 1960s. Thus the repertoire is
mainly from a later period than that which is currently
being covered in the Guild Light Music CDs, and the 61 tracks
will provide many pieces which readers will not have had
the opportunity to purchase previously. If you like this
kind of repertoire, don’t hesitate to buy while this
set is still available! David Ades Please
refer to page 59 for details of how to purchase this collection.
It is not available from the RFS Record Service.
ANDRẾ PREVIN Plays My Fair Lady
& a dozen great standards – André Previn
[Piano], Shelly Manne [Drums] and Leroy Vinnegar [Bass]
20 tracks including: I Got It Bad And That Ain’t
Good, Take The "A" Train, This Can’t Be Love,
Should I?, Hallelujah!, Just One Of Those Things, September
In The Rain, Lullaby Of Broadway, Black And Blue, I’ve
Got A Feeling I’m Falling, Honeysuckle Rose, Who’s
Sorry Now? Sanctuary Living Era CD AJA 5656 [75’42"].
What a delight to find yet another fondly remembered recording
resurrected on compact disc, with terrific tunes and immaculate
instrumentalists. ‘Shelly Manne & His Friends:
My Fair Lady’ was a hit LP recorded in August 1956,
originally issued on the Contemporary Record label, that
eventually became a classic of its genre. It also started
the vogue for jazz treatments of Broadway scores. The ‘dozen
great standards’ are all performed by the multi-talented
Previn with either his Trio, Quartet or, in the case of
the last track, Quartet plus Strings. The first six tracks
listed above are from 1946-47, the rest from the ‘50s.
If, like me, you are not in the habit of buying jazz CDs,
then I urge you to make an exception for this one –
it should be available online at £5.99. Sanctuary: I salute
you for making an old[ish] man very happy.
Peter Burt Sanctuary Living Era
single CDs are available from the RFS Record Service for
£8 [$16].
GORDON JENKINS – A Musical Prodigy.
Jasmine JASCD 660. Double CD. In his review of these recordings
in JIM 171, David Ades rather damned with faint praise what
arguably might be regarded as Jenkins' finest work, The
Seven Dreams. I believe this is the first full version
since the original LP on Decca DL9011, back in the early
50s (?) and, in my opinion, far outshines the earlier, more
widely known and acclaimed Manhattan Tower, which
here is a fair way short of the complete work. The Seven
Dreams was wider in range and larger in scenario than
he had previously attempted, with some memorable and beautiful
melodies. There is indeed much narration, witty and highly
original. The Blessing which ends The Pink
Houseboat is gloriously uplifting. The whole theme
of The Girl on the Rock is hauntingly enchanting.
Even if you are not particularly a Jenkins' fan, this is
well worth getting for The Seven Dreams alone.
Ray Greaves This CD is available from the
RFS Record Service for £12 [$24].
FRANK CHACKSFIELD – Frank Chacksfield
in the Limelight Limelight theme & incidental
music, Flirtation Waltz, Prelude to a Memory, Pulling Strings,
Meet Mister Callaghan, Gin Fizz, Little Red Monkey, Golden
Violins, Golden Tango, Dancing Princess, Pied Piper, Song
of Canterbury, Misty Valley, Mademoiselle de Paris, Black
Velvet, Someday I’ll Find You, Dance Little Lady, Twentieth
Century Blues, Smile, Sur Le Pave de Paris, A Kid for Two
Farthings, Cockleshell Heroes, Song of the Trees, Love is
a Many Splendoured Thing, In Old Lisbon, The Donkey Cart,
Memories of You, Waltzing Bugle Boy, Ebb Tide Sanctuary
Living Era CD AJA 5655 [77:14]. If you have the 2001
Vocalion ‘Presenting Frank Chacksfield’/’Dinner
At Eight-Thirty’ [no longer in their back catalogue]
there are over a dozen duplications here but if you are
without a CD of early Chacksfield or no other copy of his
mini-hit novelty number Little Red Monkey or The
Donkey Cart – both UK chart entries – or the
catchy Meet My Callaghan, which like Monkey features
the clavioline, you will be interested in this. Many of
the 30 mono tracks represent the late-flowering maestro
[he achieved fame with Limelight and Ebb Tide
in his 40th year] at his best. The aforementioned
million sellers top and tail the collection. The lovely
Song of Canterbury is from the pen of Ronald Binge,
and Waltzing Bugle Boy is reckoned to be marginally
superior to composer Ray Martin’s own version. Chaplin’s
Smile is also included together with three Noel Coward
numbers, two of Chacksfield’s own compositions, Georges
Auric’s atmospheric Sur Le Pave De Paris, and
a trio of 1955 movie themes. There are voices on four tracks
which I would have preferred not to be there. The audio
was in the hands of the masterly Alan Bunting and the informative
liner notes are by David Ades, who gives due credit to arranger
Leon Young – so what further recommendation to buy
do we need?
Peter Burt
JOHN PHILIP SOUSA - Music for Wind Band
Volume 6. Royal Artillery Band / Keith Brion.
Easter Monday on the White House Lawn; The Golden Star;
The Dauntless Battalion; Sextet from The Bride Elect; The
Federal March; Three Quotations (Suite for Band ; The Liberty
Bell; The Gridiron Club; La Reine de la Mer; The Chariot
Race; The Gladiator; New Mexico March; The Picador March.
Naxos American Classics 8559132. Quite a time has elapsed
since the appearance of volume 5 in this Sousa series, reviewed
as far back as the December 2004 issue of JIM (p.85) –
but with the arrival of this latest splendid addition we
have I think been amply rewarded. By far the best known
piece in this new release for the general collector is Liberty
Bell which came even more to resonate in the public
memory by its adoption as the signature tune for BBC television’s
popular comedy series Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
The disc gets off to a lively enough start with a piece
composed in ragtime and bearing the extraordinary title
of Easter Monday On The Whitehouse Lawn, replacing
the stately Coronation March as the concluding movement
of Tales Of A Traveller suite. Thereafter comes an
abrupt change of mood as the succeeding march The Golden
Star, dating from 1919 and dedicated to Mrs Theodore
Roosevelt, is cast in the form of a solemn and poignant
funeral march written in honour of members of the American
military who fell in the first world war and displaying
a less familiar and more serious side of Sousa. Track 3
restores a more light-hearted genial mood with The Dauntless
Battalion, a fine march dating from 1922 to honour cadets
of Pennsylvania Military Academy. Keith Brion has recorded
the enigmatically titled three quotations previously on
a Marco Polo disc carrying the appellation volume 3 on Wings
of Lightning with the Bratislava-based Razamovski Symphony
Orchestra, (catalogue number 8.223874). The quotations seem
to have a fairly obscure origin, two coming from the 16th
century, and whilst the music is entertaining enough, the
individual movements labour under some bizarre titles such
as The King Of France (with twenty-thousand men marched
up the hill and then marched down again) and I Too Was
Born In Arcadie. Interestingly enough Keith Brion takes
more than a minute longer over the former movement with
the Royal Artillery Band than he does with the Razamovski
Symphony Orchestra. Track 11 on this CD amply demonstrates
the ease with which Sousa moves from 4/4 to 3/4 when the
occasion demands with a lovely lilting Waldteufian waltz
which appropriately bears a French title La Reine De
La Mer. The lady Sousa had in mind, alas, was the rather
prosaic figure of the wife of the secretary to the US navy!
The chariot race is a vivid descriptive piece which could
easily have lent itself as suitable background music to
many an action sequence in a feature film down the years,
whilst the New Mexico March with its Spanish inflections
is a product of his later years. All the marches in this
collection are played as usual with superb panache and swagger
and the recording sessions, based at Woolwich town hall
dating as far back as January 2002, incidentally were produced
and edited by Mike Purton of the Specialist Recording Company
and the resultant sound can be best described in one word
– magnificent! If you haven’t already embarked
on this outstanding series I do urge you to give it a try,
particularly as the super budget price of these discs won’t
exactly break the bank, and let us hope that Naxos doesn’t
keep us waiting quite so long for the next one!
Roger Hyslop Naxos CDs are available
from the RFS Record Service price £6 [$12].
MANTOVANI – Waltz Encores &
American Waltzes Charmaine, Wyoming, Love Makes The
World Go ‘Round [La Ronde De L’Amour], Love, Here
Is My Heart, Lovely Lady, The Moulin Rouge Theme, Greensleeves,
Lonely Ballerina, The Kiss In Your Eyes, Dear Love, My Love,
I Live for You, Dream, Dream, Dream/The Waltz You Saved
For Me, Beautiful Ohio, When The Moon Comes Over The Mountain,
The Sidewalks Of New York, Marcheta, The Whiffenpoof Song,
Let Me Call You Sweetheart, Missouri Waltz, The Sweetheart
Of Sigma Chi, Meet Me In St Louis, Louis, Clementine, Alice
Blue Gown [74:45 ] Vocalion CDLK 4341. With this
release "CD" could well stand for "cracker
of a disc" – Mantovani and waltzes were made for
each other. Neither album has been issued in the UK before
or on CD in the States. ‘Waltz Encores’,
recorded in 1958, features stereo recordings of old favourites
[several from Monty’s very first album and including
five million sellers] with the stereo intensifying the tingle
down the spine feeling those early cascading strings still
give. The second album, from 1962, includes tracks which
I imagine have never been heard before by many of Monty’s
admirers. For those who appreciate voices with their orchestra,
the female Sammes Chorus provide support on five of the
songs. There is a delicious jangle piano on Sidewalks
and Meet Me. Mantovani guru Colin Mackenzie tells
me of something that only came to light after he had written
his extensive liner notes: that when London [Decca] issued
the Let Me Call You Sweetheart track on LP they chopped
all 19 seconds off the lovely intro to the tune. The mistake
was subsequently repeated on the Japanese CD. Mike Dutton
discovered the abandoned intro at the end of the tape supplied
to him by Universal and has restored it to where it belongs.
Monty never made a less than good album but this 2-on-1
brings us two that bear comparison with his finest. An obvious
"must have" for all Mantovanians, I would like
to think that anyone who is aiming to build a representative
collection of the best in light music will also consider
giving it a spin.
Peter Burt
ERIC COATES – London Philharmonic
Orchestra / Barry Wordsworth. The Three Men suite;
Dancing Nights ; I Pitch my Lonely Caravan ; Birdsongs at
Eventide / I Heard You Singing ; Summer Afternoon ; The
Enchanted Garden ; Footlights ; Rhythm (from Four Centuries
suite) ; London Bridge. Lyrita SRCD213. Lyrita has been
busily engaged in recent months re-issuing much of their
distinguished back catalogue, but this Coates compilation
they have kept up their sleeves since this would appear
to be its first appearance in any format. Further they have
been somewhat coy regarding the details of this recording
– no dates are given for the recording sessions or
any indication where they took place. I would guess that
they probably originate from the late 1980s or early 90s
but Lyrita’s sense of timing is certainly impeccable
since this year of course marks the 50th anniversary
of the composer’s death. Centrepiece on this new disc
is a splendid account of Coates’ longest single movement
based upon a story suggested by his wife and briefly all
about a princess menaced by the spirits of darkness and
protected by the birds and animals in the garden until her
prince returns – in the nick of time! The scenario
of The Enchanted Garden is easy enough to follow
through the genius of Coates’ vividly descriptive music
and Barry Wordsworth’s beautifully structured and characterised
interpretation which completely holds the attention from
first bar to last. Also included is a complete The Three
Men suite, the final movement of which – The
Man From The Sea – finally resolves into a fugue
in which Johnny Come Down To Hilo and Three Blind
Mice are cleverly interleaved and two of Coates’
elegant and graceful waltzes Footlights and Dancing
Nights, the latter sounding suitably and stylishly svelte.
Alas, there is only room for the concluding movement of
the Four Centuries suite with its emphasis on the
dance rhythms of the 20th century, but Wordsworth
compensates by bringing out the rich heady art-deco feel
to this music. This disc is brought to a resounding conclusion
by one of Coates’ inimitable marches, the stirring
London Bridge, dating from 1934, and if memory hasn’t
failed me completely, this was deployed as the signature
tune of a daily BBC radio soap which predated Mrs Dale
and I think might have been called The Robinson Family.
This Lyrita release comes at premium price £15 although
by shopping around a little you may find a cheaper copy
– but nonetheless this is unmistakably a Rolls Royce
product and you will be amply compensated by superb accounts
of Eric Coates’ music, excellently recorded and with
generous playing time. Unmissable!
Roger Hyslop
NEW YEAR’S CONCERT IN VIENNA 1987
– Wiener Philharmoniker / Herbert von Karajan Die
Fledermaus: Overture, Music of the Spheres, Anna Polka,
Delirium, Pleasure-train, Pizzicat-Polka, Beloved Anna Polka,
Thunder and Lightning, Voices of Spring, Without a Care!,
The Blue Danube, Radetzky March. Emperor Waltz [80:29]
DG Grand Prix 477 6336. Those for whom Mantovani’s
‘Strauss Waltzes’ [reviewed in our last
issue] would not have been to their liking, this is the
"real" thing. Originally released in the year
of recording it is now reissued at mid-price with an added
"bonus" track of the glorious Kaiser-Walzer.
The orchestra was, and still is, arguably the best in the
world ─ certainly in this repertoire. Karajan was
one of the greatest conductors ever and this live foray
into the lighter end of the classical genre is still regarded
as foremost in a long line of such recordings. The soprano
Kathleen Battle is a charming soloist in Voices.
I find the music of Johann Strauss the elder and his two
sons Johann and Josef irresistible, and this release is
highly recommended.
Peter Burt
HALLÉ ORCHESTRA Conducted by
MARK ELDER Claude Debussy (1862-1918) La Mer,
Preludes Sanctuary/Hallé CD HLL 7513, 67:24 mins.
Debussy completed the orchestration of La Mer on
the south coast of England at Eastbourne in 1905. This magnificent
work is now regarded as a fine piece of classical music,
and it has probably encouraged many listeners to explore
further the riches on offer in similar vein. Yet the critics
were less than favourable at its premiere – such is
the way in which fashions change over time. I grew up listening
to this work on a Decca 10" Medium Play LP (remember
those?) by Ernest Ansermet and L’Orchestre de la Suisse
Romande. In one’s youth there is a temptation to believe
that the first, familiar version of a particular work becomes
regarded as the definitive one. Later, when exposed to other
conductors’ interpretations subtle changes in tempi
and emphasis can add to the understanding of what the composer
may have had in mind. Mark Elder’s reading of La
Mer seems, to me, to be fairly similar to my familiar
Ansermet, apart from a noticeable slowing of the tempo towards
the climax which, in my humble opinion, adds to the majesty
and grandeur of the work. The composer’s Preludes
were written for piano, and in 2001 Mark Elder commissioned
Colin Matthews to orchestrate them for the Hallé.
The CD booklet explains that "…far from writing
note-for-note transcriptions, Matthews has discovered the
secret of each piece and in most cases translated it faithfully,
which does not mean literally, into orchestral terms."
London born Colin Matthews is Associate Composer with the
Hallé, and he studied music at the Universities of
Nottingham and Sussex, where he also taught, and subsequently
worked with Benjamin Britten and Imogen Holst. Apart from
the final movement, The Girl With The Flaxen Hair (now
in a sumptuous string setting by Matthews) I have to show
my ignorance by admitting that I am not familiar with these
works; all I can say is that the orchestrations sound faithful
to the style of Debussy. If any readers have not yet added
La Mer to their collection, I have no hesitation
in recommending this version. David Ades
WERNER MÜLLER and his Orchestra
– Spectacular Tangos & Gypsy! La Cumparsita,
Blue Tango, Jalousie, Tango Bolero, Carminito, Czardas,
Hungarian Dance No.5, Zorba’s Dance, Gypsy Love, At
the Balalaika, etc. 24 tracks [77:38] Vocalion CDLK
4318. Those of you who, like me, are pushovers for both
tango and gypsy music will delight in this 2-on-I as much
as I have. The tune selection is fairly predictable but
there are some interesting arrangements and the playing
is of a high standard. Even the inclusion of a wordless
chorus on some of the first album’s tracks does not
raise my usual hackles. [I wonder why four of the tracks
from the original LP have been replaced.] It’s a pity
that Vocalion is no longer giving us the total playing time
and, in consideration of those new to Herr Müller’s
music, the complete absence of liner notes is also to be
regretted. Both the albums were originally issued in Decca’s
famed Phase 4 format and have been spectacularly remastered.
Enjoy!
Peter Burt
With thanks to Wilfred Askew for bringing
the following releases to our attention:
BING CROSBY – Good and Rare (recorded
1949-55). The Yodel Blues ; So In Love ; Someplace
On Anywhere Road ; So Tall A Tree ; This Is The Time ; And
You'll Be Home ; Milady - (with Dorothy Kirsten) ; The Best
Thing For You ; Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo ; Silver Moon ; Don't
Ever Be Afraid To Go Home ; On The 10.10 From Ten-Ten-Tennessee
- (with Ben Lessey) ; Ohio ; Cela M'est Egal ; What A Little
Moonlight Can Do - (with Gary Crosby) ; My Love, My Love
; Mon Coeur Est Un Violon ; La Vie En Rose ; Embrasse-Moi
Bien ; Liebchen ; The River ; It's Mine, It's Yours ; The
Search Is Through ; The Land Around Us ; Let's Harmonize
; Jim, Johnny And Jonas ; Farewell. Sepia 1071
CATERINA VALENTE – The Hi-Fi Nightingale
(recorded 1954-55), original Polydor recordings. Just
you, just me ; Istanbul ; Oho Aha ; Casanova ; El mosquito
; Ganz Paris ; I love Paris ; Gespensterblues ; The Breeze
And I ; If hearts could talk ; Temptation ; This ecstasy
; Jalousie ; Fiesta cubana ; Malaguena ; The way you love
me ; My Lonely Lover ; Begin the beguine ; Siboney ; This
must be wrong. Cherry Red ACMEN87CD.
BILLY COTTON and his Band – Wakey
Wakey! Featuring Alan Breeze and Doreen Stephens. I've
Got A Lovely Bunch Of Coconuts ; Poppa Piccolino ; The Dam
Busters March ; When You're Home With The Ones You Love
; Someone Else I'd Like To Be ; He's A Real Tough Guy ;
Bring Your Smile Along ; Play Me Hearts And Flowers ; Yellow
Rose Of Texas ; Hang On The Bell, Nellie ; When You Hear
Big Ben ; The Petite Waltz ; Somebody Goofed ; I Only Saw
Him Once ; The Ring Fell Under The Sofa ; Crazy Mixed Up
Song ; This 'Ole House ; A Present For Bob ; The Whistling
Song ; Where Did The Chicken Lay The Eggie? ; Big Head (Big
'Ead) ; Friends And Neighbours ; Domani ; I Miss My Darling
; Rain ; Two On A Tandem ; Can I Canoe You Up The River
; Oh Little Fish ; I Love The Sunshine Of Your Smile ; Dandelion
Clock ; Have You Made The Day Worthwhile ; Longing For You
; Stick It On The Wall, Mrs. Riley ; Daddy's Little Girl
; If I Were A Blackbird ; The Flying Saucer ; London Calls
; The Night The Floor Fell In ; Star Of Hope ; A-Hunting
We Will Go. Pulse PDSCD 645 – Double CD.
PAUL MAURIAT and his Orchestra –
Blooming Hits. Somethin' Stupid; Penny Lane ; This
Is My Song ; Alone In The World ; Inch Allah ; There's A
Kind Of Hush (All Over The World) ; Puppet On A String ;
L'Amour Est Bleu (Love Is Blue) ; Adieu To The Night ; Mama.
Collectors’ Choice CCM-0710-2
MICHEL LEGRAND and his Orchestra –
Paris, Rome Vienna. I Love Paris ; Mademoiselle de
Paris ; Paris ; Autumn Leaves ; Under the Bridges of Paris
; Seine ; Paris in the Spring ; Paris Canaille ; April in
Paris ; Paris ; Vie en Rose ; Under Paris Skies ; Paris,
Je T'Aime ; Song from Moulin Rouge ; Last Time I Saw Paris
; I Love Paris (Reprise) ; Vieni Vieni ; Fiorin Fiorello
; Dicitencello Vuie! ; Neapolitan Nights ; Aveva un Bavero
; Munasterio 'E Santa Chiara ; Vola Columba ; Luna Lunera
; Funiculi Funicula ; ; Addormentarmi Cosi ; Torna a Surriento
(Copme Back to Sorrento) ; Vilia ; 'Third Man' Theme ; Cafe
Mozart Waltz.Cherry Red ACMEM73CD.
VICTOR SILVESTER and his Ballroom Orchestra
– Strictly Ballroom Dancing.
Summer Sweetheart ; Rosalie ; Apple
Blossom Time ; White Sails ; A Mist Is Over The Moon; Fragrant
Flowers; Tears On My Pillow; Love Bells; Green Eyes ; Deep
Purple ; Maria, My Own; So Deep Is The Night; I'll Write
A Love Song; When You Wish Upon A Star ; Shy ; Begin The
Beguine; Once In A While; Faith Forever; My Secret Love
Affair; Cuban Lady ; The Lady Is A Tramp ; Mexicali Rose
; Give A Little Whistle. Sunflower SUN2170.
THE SQUADRONAIRES – Wolf on the
Prowl. Ring Dem Bells ; Five Minutes More ; Reflections
On The Water ; High Society ; Picnic In The Snow ; Somebody
Stole My Rose Coloured Glasses ; Winter Wonderland ;Hobo's
Prayer ; More Than Ever Before ; Jeeper's Creepers ; The
Champ ; Slow And Easy ; Mudhopper ; Wine, Women And Song
; Wolf On The Prowl ; Set Me Free ; Hesitation ; Coach Call
Boogie ; Lies ; Donegal Cradle Song ; Eventide ; The Last
Waltz. Sunflower SUN2166.
CARROLL GIBBONS and the Savoy Hotel
Orpheans – Sweet as a Song. On The Air ; My
Romance ; You're A Sweetheart ; A Foggy Day ; My Love For
You ; One Song ; Nice Work If You Can Get It ; Tears In
My Heart ; Can I Forget You ; Francesca ; The Masquerade
Is Over ; In The Still Of The Night ; Sweet As A Song ;
With A Smile And A Song ; Over Wyoming ; Rosalie ; The Moon
Got In My Eyes ; Please Be Kind ; Silver Wedding Waltz Sentimental
Fool ; Goodnight My Love ; Wandering Along. Sunflower
SUN2168
Mike Dutton continues to please critics
and buyers alike with his interesting mix of new releases.
In May it was the turn of his budget labels, and the following
details are taken from the press release.
CDBP 9772 focuses on the 1940s Decca
recordings of violinist Ida Haendel performing works by
Mendelssohn and Stravinsky, as well as those of Szymanowski,
De Falla and Albéniz. Malcolm Sargent conducting
the National Symphony Orcehstra accompanies Haendel in a
performance of Mendelssohn’s Concerto in E minor
for Violin and Orchestra, while in contrast Stravinsky’s
La Baiser de la Fée: Divertimento for Violin and
Piano (arranged by violinist Samuel Dushkin and based
on Stravinsky’s ballet music ‘The Fairy’s
Kiss’) shows off Haendel in an intimate chamber setting.
Among the other works on this disc are Szymanowski’s
Tarantella and Albéniz’s Malagueña
– the latter in an arrangement by Kreisler.
The legendary Busch Quartet are the subject
of CDBP 9773, which contains two of their 1930s HMV
recordings of Beethoven’s string quartets. Led by Adolf
Busch and acclaimed as perhaps the finest interpreters of
the composer’s work in that idiom, their recordings
of the Quartet in C major No.3 ‘Rasumovsky’
and the Quartet in C sharp minor No.14 leave the
listener in no doubt as to why they enjoy such exalted status
among chamber music groups of their era. Also available:
Dutton CDBP 9743 The Busch Quartet and Pro Arte Play
Schubert and CDBP 9765 Busch Quartet Play Beethoven
Vol.1
Several of the finest 1940s and ’50s
recordings of Marian Anderson are contained in CDBP 9774,
which is one of two discs in Dutton’s May 2007 batch
of releases to feature singers. Subtitled Oratorio and
Lieder, this release contains superlative examples of
her recordings in those styles. Anderson is accompanied
by pianist Franz Rupp in Schubert’s Ave Maria
and by pianist Kosti Vehanen in Der Tod und Das Mädchen,
and by Robert Shaw conducting the RCA Chamber Orchestra
in an excerpt from Bach’s Christmas Oratorio
and Zum Reinen Wasser from Cantata No.112,
among other items.
CDBP 9775 concentrates on the voice
of Helge Roswanege, known as ‘The Dane with the High
D’. Recorded during the 1930s and ’40s, these
remarkable performances show off his unique voice to telling
effect in repertoire ranging from Puccini’s Madama
Butterfly and Bizet’s Carmen to the works
of lesser known but equally engaging composers such as Kattnigg
(Balkanliebe) and Wille (Küss die hand,
schöne frau). Also available: Dutton CDBP 9728
Helge Roswaenge - The Dane with the High D
CDBP 9776 sees the continuation
of Dutton’s commitment to the music of Sir Edward Elgar,
in a glorious programme of this giant of British music’s
late 1920s and ’30s HMV recordings. Including works
such as Falstaff: Symphonic Study in C minor, the
charming Nursery Suite (the version presented here
recorded in the presence of royalty) and the Cello Concerto
in E minor, with Beatrice Harrison as soloist, we are
reminded why Elgar was such a force to be reckoned with
in 20th century music. On this disc the composer
conducts the London Symphony and New Symphony Orchestras.
Other Dutton Elgar discs include CDLX 7172 The Spirit
of England and CDLX 7148 Elgar/Walker Piano Concerto
CDBP 9777 is a particularly remarkable
release, as it comprises recordings made in the pre-electric
‘acoustic’ era. Titled British Composers Conduct
on Acoustic, it features recordings dating back as far
as 1916 of charming orchestral works such as Sir Frederic
Cowen’s The Butterfly’s Ball, Elgar’s
Fringes of the Fleet recorded for HMV in 1917 and
Holst’s Beni Mora – Oriental Suite recorded
in 1924. Music aside, it is quite astonishing to hear how
incredibly clear these vintage recordings sound in the 21st
century, owing to Michael J. Dutton’s exquisite remastering.
CDBP 9778 is the latest chapter
in Dutton’s ongoing series featuring composers performing
their own works, and in this instance the focus is on three
very important names in 20th century music. Bartok
plays piano in his fascinating Contrasts for Violin,
Clarinet and Piano, which is also notable for featuring
clarinettist Benny Goodman. Manuel de Falla is the harpsichordist
in his Concerto for Harpsichord featuring flautist
Marcel Moyse, while Poulenc’s pianistic talents are
on display in his Aubade concerto scored for eighteen
instruments. Rounding off this programme is Jean Françaix’s
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra conducted by Nadia
Boulanger, and Concertino for Piano and Orchestra
conducted by Leo Borchard - both with the composer as pianist.
Several important HMV recordings by conductor
Sir Eugene Goossens, spanning the 1920s to the 1950s, are
compiled on CDBP 9779. In the main they focus on
Goossens’s recordings of Bax’s works – a
composer he championed – including Tintagel
composed between 1917-19, and his Symphony No.2 in E
Minor & C composed between 1924-26. The latter work
was broadcast by the BBC in November 1956 as part of their
memorial cycle of Bax’s symphonies, and is the recorded
version presented here. Also included on this disc are Goossens’s
recordings of Australian composer John Antill’s remarkable
Corroboree ballet suite, which incorporated Aboriginal
musical influences, and Goossens’s own work Tam
O’Shanter, inspired by Robert Burns’s
familiar poem.
Kenneth McKellar makes his fourth appearance
on the Vocalion label with CDLF 8131, which is the
first ever CD reissue of his 1965 Decca stereo album Songs
of the British Isles. Here the famous Scottish tenor
is heard giving unique and beautiful interpretations of
traditional songs – in arrangements by Bob Sharples
– including Cockles and Mussels, Greensleeves
and Island Moon among many others.
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KEEPING TRACK
Dateline March 2007
ERIC COATES CONDUCTS ERIC COATES For Your Delight
For Your Delight, Calling All Workers, Wood
Nymphs, Summer Days – Suite, By The Tamarisk, The Three
Bears, By The Sleepy Lagoon, Cinderella, A Song By The Way,
London – Suite, Saxo-Rhapsody, Footlights, Sound And Vision,
London Again – Suite, Springtime – Suite, The Jester At
The Wedding – 2 movements, Last Love, The Three Elizabeths
– Suite, Four Centuries – Suite, The Dam Busters
Eric Coates conducting various symphony and concert orchestras
Sanctuary Living Era Classics, 2CD set, AJD2013 total
timing 156:49 mins. In 1994 Conifer released an excellent
2CD collection of recordings of Eric Coates’ music, compiled
by Hugh Palmer and digitally remastered by Ted Kendall.
Two years later the same team produced a second 2CD set
and, once again, Coates’ own recordings were augmented by
versions conducted by leading musicians such as Clarence
Raybould, Basil Cameron, Emanuel Starkey and Charles Williams.
These two releases provided a wonderful selection that demonstrated
the wide range of Eric Coates’ composing talent, and they
deserved to remain in the catalogue for many years since
they represented such an important part of Britain’s musical
heritage. But shortly afterwards BMG bought Conifer Records,
and virtually the entire catalogue was deleted with indecent
haste. A few years later Naxos released several CDs of Coates’
music (possibly trying to fill the gap left by the Conifer
deletions) but the sound quality on some of the tracks was
barely acceptable. Happily the situation has now improved
dramatically, thanks to this new 2CD collection from Living
Era Classics. Although it is obviously impossible to match
the wide scope of the earlier Conifers (this new release
is two CDs, not four), this is a superb selection of many
of Coates’ greatest compositions, and it is obviously a
great bonus to have the composer’s own interpretations.
No worries about indifferent sound quality this time … Alan
Bunting has expertly treated each and every track with the
gentle care and love they all deserve – not always easy
when you consider that the earliest 78 dates from 1933 with
the most recent in 1955, just two years before Coates died
from a stroke on 21 December 1957. It is not possible to
discuss all the titles in detail, but it should be mentioned
that the recording of By The Sleepy Lagoon comes
from a 12" Columbia 78 recorded on 4 March 1935 with
a larger orchestra, rather than the usual 1940 version on
the reverse side of Calling All Workers. This year
marks the 50th anniversary of Eric Coates’ passing,
and it is to be hoped that his importance will be recognised
by the BBC and other broadcasting organisations. Whatever
you do, don’t miss this new release. It should have pride
of place in every light music admirer’s collection, and
these days you can never be sure how long CDs will remain
in the catalogue. Remember what happened to Conifer … buy
this CD now! David Ades
"Don’t look back" WARREN VACHE and The Scottish
Ensemble. It was written in the stars, My Mistress’
eyes, Spring, My love and I, Molly on the shore, April in
my heart, Valse Prismatique, I fall in love too easily,
Love is for the very young, On the street where you live,
Don’t look back. 58:45. Arbors Records ARCD19318). Some
while ago I read a news snippet in "Crescendo"
written by Duncan Lamont saying that Warren had managed
to coax Bill Finegan out of retirement to write some string
charts for an album. Excited by the news I intended to write
to Duncan for further details but dallied longer than intended!
Discussing the project with fellow member Malcolm Fraser
he hit me with the surprise news that he had the CD! On
first playing I wished the dozen strings had been augmented
to a lusher sound but after repeat listening I realised
the orchestra used perfectly suited Warren’s intimate style
of cornet playing. As listed above you can see Warren knows
a good tune! Two by David Raksin, "Love is for the
very young" arranged by Warren and "My love and
I" originally commissioned to Robert Farnon but with
his sad passing (see ‘Jumping Bean’ in this issue) handed
to Alan Barnes who grasps the opportunity with both hands!
Bill Finegan arranged "It was written in the stars",
"April in my heart" and "Don’t look back".
Bill had not put pen to chart for ten years but it certainly
does not show, especially on Johnny Mandel’s eloquent composition
"Don’t look back". Yet another bonus contained
here, a lost chart by John Carisi "Spring" which
was left off of Charlie Parker’s string backed outing. Warren’s
creditably emotional interpretation of good ballads clearly
show; he likes a strong melody. CDs of this calibre always
welcome in my player! Paul Clatworthy
LIGHT MUSIC WHILE YOU WORK – Various artists. Guild
GLCD 5128 full tracklisting in JIM170. Those who
are aware of my interest in the radio programme Music While
You Work will not be surprised that I’ve been rather looking
forward to this the 28th recording in Guild’s
splendid series. They will also expect me to listen to it
with a critical ear. Fear not, apart from one or two reservations
I think it is really very good. The radio programme Music
While You Work came about when the BBC was asked to provide
programmes of morale boosting tuneful music to Britain’s
wartime workers. During the programme’s 27 year run and
subsequent revivals, hundreds of dance bands, light orchestras
and groups were heard. To supplement the broadcasts in the
factories, Decca instituted its own Music While You Work
series of records, and it is primarily from this series
that the tracks on this CD have been drawn – with the emphasis
on light orchestral music – in line with the general theme
of these Guild recordings. There is the added bonus of a
couple of tracks which were probably earmarked for the Decca
series but never issued. Included in this compilation are
the orchestras of Richard Crean, Reginald Pursglove, Harry
Davidson, Philip Green, Ronnie Munro and Mantovani with
the Harry Fryer Orchestra taking the lion’s share with no
less than ten items. Whenever I have suggested a CD of Harry
Fryer I have been told he is not sufficiently well-known.
Well, it’s true that many will be unfamiliar with his name,
and even I am too young to remember his broadcasts, but
a study of wartime editions of Radio Times shows that he
was a big name in radio right up until his untimely death
at the age of 50, often broadcasting three times a week,
so this CD is partly a tribute to him, particularly as its
release date of November 2006 coincides almost to the day
of the 60th anniversary of his death! Another
radio stalwart of many years standing was Richard Crean
whose orchestra’s final broadcast, conducted by Reginald
Kilbey, was actually a few days after the maestro’s death
in 1955. His four contributions to this disc include a short
but delightful version of the Haunted Ballroom which
serves as an antidote to the dreadful rendering of this
piece by a contemporary orchestra a few years ago. As most
items on this CD are played by orchestras of similar instrumentation,
i.e. theatre orchestras, the illusion of an actual MWYW
broadcast is created, topped and tailed with an exhilarating
version of Calling All Workers. I have to say that
I felt it a mistake to use the whole piece at the end of
the recording. On radio this signature tune always commenced
at the trio section (letter c on the music). Perhaps it
was decided that as this version by the Tivoli Concert Hall
Orchestra has never appeared on CD it should be reproduced
in full, but for me it really jarred, spoiling the authenticity
of the recording. Nevertheless I applaud the use of this
record as opposed to the hackneyed Phil Green Victory Band
version so often used whenever a MWYW compilation has been
produced. During radio’s golden years the BBC attached great
importance to programme building and so do I – even on a
CD where technology enables you to build your own programme.
On radio an orchestra leader who included two consecutive
waltzes in a broadcast, apart from in a medley, could expect
a reprimand from the BBC. Four items out of five in waltz
time, such as occur towards the end of this CD, would have
seen the orchestra taken off the air! Surely a couple of
them could have been used to break up the block of five
marches / paso dobles in the middle of this recording? Apart
from these minor quibbles I think that this is an excellent
CD. Once again, Alan Bunting has worked his magic and produced
recordings which sound as if they were performed yesterday.
David Ades has again produced comprehensive and informative
notes and I appreciate his comment to the effect that my
recent book on MWYW was helpful in their preparation. Having
said that, I hope he won’t think me churlish in pointing
out one or two small discrepancies. The first – probably
a typographical error – states that Harry Davidson appeared
on MWYW 109 times in the first year of the programme. It
was actually the number of programmes which Harry played
in the series from 1940-46. Also, following his retirement,
the programme Those Were The Days was conducted by Sidney
Davey for ten and a half years, not twelve. Finally, Reg
Pursglove’s Albany Strings were previously known as the
Muted Strings, not the Albany Players, which was a larger
and much earlier orchestra. Overall this is a super CD which
will appeal to all lovers of traditional light music. Some
will say, why were Wynford Reynolds, David Java, Harold
Collins and Reginald Burston’s Coliseum Orchestra not represented
on this disc? They all recorded on the Decca MWYW label.
Well, perhaps they have been earmarked for Volume Two. There
has surely got to be one! Brian Reynolds
DIANA KRALL – From This Moment On. It Could Happen
To You; Isn’t This A Lovely Day; How Insensitive Plus
8 Other Selections 51:36 mins. Verve B0007323-02. This CD
is a most welcome return from the controversial album of
songs co-written with her husband Elvis Costello. The mood
is, if anything, deeper and richer. This is aided by steamy,
hazy arrangements by John Clayton who uses clusters of sound
with remarkable Gil Evans-like textures. The opening cut
"It Could Happen To You" shows this sound perfectly with
sustained brass chords throughout while "Come Dance With
Me" is more appropriately Basie / Hefti-like with soft brass
and sax with a solid swinging beat. We hear more from Krall
as a pianist on this CD than previously on songs such as
"Exactly Like You" with a marvellous solo by this singer
matching the ebulliently rhythmic vocal line she establishes.
And what about the title track "From This Moment On"? The
almost passionate arrangement brings practically steals
the show! This is a very special CD for it shows off to
splendid effect the very best that Diana Krall is capable
of providing! Richard Jessen
XAVIER CUGAT – Cugat’s Favourite Rhumbas. Say
"si si" (Para vigo me voy) (Lubon; Lecuona); Begin
the beguine (Porter); Green eyes (Aquellos ojos verdes);
(Utrera; Menendez); Estrallita (My little star) (Ponce);
Rumba rumba (Valencia; Parfumy); La golondrina (The swallow)
(Serradell); Besamé mucho (Kiss me much) (Velazquez);
La paloma (The dove) (Yradier); Cielito lindo (Blue skies);
No can do (Tobias; Simon); Bambarito (Rosell); You forgotcha
guitar (McCarthy; Monaco); Cugat’s nugats from "Luxury
Liner" (Cugat; Angulo); The wedding samba (Ellstein;
Small; Liebowitz); Cha-cha-cha (Rizo; Morgan); Zing-a zing-a
zing boom (Black-Out-Ze Maria; Moore); Mambo no.8 (Prado);
I am a bum (Castro); Night must fall (Shaw; Cugat); Cariberia
(Seri); Si si si Senor (Angulo); Para que? (Garcia; Silva);
Un poquito de tu amor (Gutierrez); You can in Yucatan (Capullito
de alell); (Drake; Shirl; Hernandez); Rio la yagua (Miranda).
Vocalion CDVS 1948. This is most certainly my kind of music
and my period too but quite a lot of tracks, when reading
the titles, do not mean anything to me and it is quite unusual
not to see that old standard Brazil listed – perhaps
it is not the right rhythm. Outstanding for me are tracks
Rhumba Rhumba, Zing-a zing-a zing boom, and
Un poquito de tu amor – all titles which I seem to
recall from those 40s days of my youth. A lot of these numbers
I seem to recall he played when he was fronting his orchestra
when appearing in those wonderful MGM musicals. A pity that
none of the vocals seem to have the wonderful Lina Romay
doing her stuff – a very sexy person was she! I just wonder
how long it will be before some more excellent titles in
the Latin vein come out. Vocalion certainly seem to have
the monopoly in this field these days. Thank you Vocalion
for two good CDs for me to end 2006 on. Alec Hellyer
MANTOVANI – Mantovani Today & Musical Moments With
Mantovani Midnight Cowboy, Up, up, and away, I’ll
never fall in love again, Blowin’ in the wind, Deserted
shore, Without love [There is nothing], Everybody’s talkin’,
Lemon tree, Good morning starshine, Leaving on a jet plane,
Wand’ring star, Love is all / And I love you so, Eye-level,
Le Chanson de Maria, For all we know, Tie a yellow ribbon
round the ole oak tree, It’s diff’rent now, Say, has anyone
seen my sweet Gypsy Rose?, Our last affair, Elizabethan
Serenade, Fool, Dear father [70:44] Vocalion CDLK 4315.
Another attractive 2-on-1 from the two maestros of music
and remastering. The first album saw the light of day in
the US in 1970 [there was a UK release of the same name
with a slightly different track selection]; the second,
recorded in Paris, appeared in the UK four years later on
a Decca SKL vinyl. This is the first CD incarnation for
both albums. The then newly written Deserted shore,
and Our last affair are both Mantovani compositions.
Up, up, and away is given a very up-tempo treatment
by Roland Shaw. Bacharach’s I’ll never fall oozes
class. In his indispensable biography of Mantovani, Colin
Mackenzie remarks how in some pieces on the ‘Today’ album
the woodwind play a more important role than before. On
the second album Monty’s old associate Ronald Binge’s Elizabethan
Serenade really is a choice composition. It is good,
too, to be reminded of Eye Level, the signature tune
for the excellent Dutch-based detective series ‘Van Der
Valk’, a version of which by the Simon Park Orchestra topped
the British singles chart in 1973. But my favourite track
is the arrangement given Neil Diamond’s Dear father that
closes the programme. If not among his absolute best – using
mainly modern pop songs rather than from the classic songbooks
precluded that – these albums are two more fine examples
of a consummate musician’s legacy to the world of light
music. Please keep them coming, Mr Dutton. [NB The CD’s
digital information is slightly awry in that there are only
22 tracks shown instead of 23, but it may have been corrected
by the time you read this]. Peter Burt
THE MAGNIFICENT MARINES – The Band of HM Royal Marines
School of Music / Lt-Col. Vivian Dunn; Frederick Harvey
(baritone). Finale from 'Carillon', The Preobrajensky
March, Famous Songs of the British Isles, Shenandoah, Up
from Somerset, Trade Winds, Glorious Devon, Fleet Air Arm
March, Sarie Marais, Lilliburlero, Barcelona, La Ritirata
Italiana – Drescher, Marche des Parachutistes Belges, Ponderoso.
The Alfalfa Club, The United States Marine Corps Hymn, Theme
from 'The Great War', Theme and March Glorious, March of
the Victors, The Finest Hours, Here Comes the Band, No Hiding
Place, 1812 Overture. Eastney Collection RM HSE CO14.
This latest release from the Eastney Collection concludes
the series of the many distinguished recordings which Vivian
Dunn made with the Royal Marines Band for EMI. They have
again been subject to digital remastering by Brian Culverhouse,
former EMI record producer, who was responsible for supervising
the original sessions. Despite the fact that this compilation
embraces tracks ranging between 1954-68, all are in stereo
with consistently high quality. An excellent selection of
marches includes a resplendent Preobrajensky March
adapted as the regimental slow march of the R.M. during
the corps’ tercentenary year and which was originally the
march of the Preobrajensky Guards, of which a great uncle
of Mountbatten was one of the last colonels. Subsequently
Mountbatten received the score from King Alfonso XIII of
Spain in 1934. Pierre Leemans’ Marche des Parachutistes
Belges is a gloriously ear-tickling patrol march and
a great personal favourite, whilst the lively Fleet Air
Arm March emanated not from a professional musician
but from Freddie Stovin-Bradford who wrote the march in
1963 whilst chief of staff to Flag Officer Air at Lee-on-Solent.
He subsequently sent a copy of the manuscript to Vivian
Dunn with a request that it be scored for military band,
which was duly done. This disc is particularly valuable
in incorporating three more tracks which the well-regarded
and much admired English baritone Frederick Harvey made
with this band – he has already featured on several other
earlier discs in this series. Here he contributes songs
which were immensely popular in the first half of the latter
century – Up From Somerset, Trade Wins (words
by Peter Masefield) and who better qualified than Frederick
Harvey, a Devon man born and bred in Plymouth, to intone
Edward German’s stirring Glorious Devon. His crystal
clear articulation is impressive and surely an object lesson
for many a contemporary singer. Any other compelling reasons
for acquiring this disc? Well... there is a rarely heard
piece here by a certain Robert Farnon whose title and music
is quite unfamiliar to me. Mention is made in the CD booklet
that the Guv’nor was a long-standing friend of Vivian Dunn
and when Farnon settled in Guernsey he was a frequent visitor
to the R.M. School of Music at Deal. Here Comes the Band
is described as being, appropriately enough, in cheerful
light-hearted style, but I wonder whether a kindly member
of our society can provide any further information on this
particular score? One or two TV theme tunes included here
are notably Wilfrid Joseph’s music for The Great War
which chillingly and vividly conveys the utter desolation
and bleakness of the Flanders battle fields, and on a contrasting
lighter note Laurie Johnson’s dramatic score for No Hiding
Place, which conveys visual images to those of us of
a certain age – of black liveried police cars hurtling at
speed, accompanied by screeching tyres from the portals
of New Scotland Yard. The disc is brought to a satisfactorily
resounding conclusion by the final section of Tchaikovsky’s
1812 Overture in which the Royds join the Bournemouth S.O.
under Constantin Silvestri in a performance recorded at
the resort’s Winter Gardens in 1966. An excellent indispensable
addition to the ever-growing Eastney collection, well up
to the production standards of its predecessors and recommended
with all possible enthusiasm. Roger Hyslop
EARLY RECORDED MOVIE MUSIC LIBRARIES For tracklisting
please refer to page 76 of JIM 170 – December 2006. This
is a special CD, exclusively for members of the Robert Farnon
Society, which has been compiled by Graham Newton to accompany
his series of articles in Journal Into Melody. There
are so many fascinating areas of recorded music during the
20th century, but surely this CD is truly unique.
In every respect it is an historical document, and but for
the dedicated research and enthusiasm of Graham Newton (one
of the world’s leading sound restorers) it is likely that
much of this music would have been lost to future generations.
It is certainly a labour of love, and something which Graham
felt needed to be done to illustrate the wealth of superb
music that was written to accompany the early motion pictures.
The sound quality of some of the cues is absolutely outstanding
considering when the original recordings were made. As a
good example compare The Conspirators on track 8
(from "Marked Money") with the same cue from the
Victor Pict-Ur library found on track 37. These recordings
were made by expert musicians, who were clearly incredibly
good at their craft, in one take with no editing possible!
Some tracks last only a few seconds, but others are full
length. Clearly this music was not written in the expectation
that people would listen to it in their homes, so it may
not be something you will place regularly in your CD player.
But, on the other hand, you are unlikely to find anything
like this elsewhere, and anyone with an interest in the
history of film music should have this in their collection.
David Ades For details of how to order,
please see page 37 of this issue.
SHERRIE MARICLE and the DIVA JAZZ ORCHESTRA present
TNT: A Tommy Newsom Tribute. Titter Pipes; Pensativa;
Three Shades Of Blue; Moonlight Plus 6 More Selections
(1:04:13) . Lightyear 54698-2. There’s no more better tribute
to one of the mainstays of The Tonight Show Orchestra than
this CD release. Sherrie Maricle is the heartbeat of this
CD and is one of the few drummers who truly understands
the art of both driving a band without overwhelming everyone.
Of all of the selections, "Titter Pipes" is the oldest number,
dating from the Newsom’s Skitch Henderson days with the
Tonight Show of the 1960s. "Pensativa" and "Three Shades
Of Blue" represent the flowing eloquence of Newsom’s style
with great solos Karolina Strassmeyer on flute on the former
and playing soprano sax in a highly individual lyrical manner
on the latter. Newsom’s wit comes through on the Nat King
Cole medley with a vocal trio drawn from the orchestra singing
"Straighten Up And Fly Right" while the entire ensemble
makes "Nature Boy" sound more interesting than most would
think. The Zoot Sims - Gerry Mulligan composition"Red Door"
end everything on a solidly flowing groove with swinging
solos by Anat Cohen on tenor sax and Barbara Laronga on
trumpet. If ever there is both an enlivening and instructive
CD, this is the one to own and cherish for years ahead.
Bravos to both Sherrie Maricle and her superb band and for
the arranger/composer Tommy Newsom. Richard Jessen
THE MUSIC OF THE ROYAL ENGINEERS – The Band of the Corps
of Royal Engineers / Maj. E.H. Keeley. Sesqui-Centennial
Celebration March; Imperial March / Mazurka Militaire (Flux);
Public Duties (Pryce); On the Countermarch (Keeley); Royal
Standard (Brigham); The Acrobat (Greenwood); Amazing Grace
(Newton)... Specialist Recording Company SRC136. This
disc represents some fine music associated with the Corps
of Royal Engineers – popularly known as the Sappers, which
may be largely unfamiliar to the general listener. It is
nonetheless well worth his time and pocket to purchase this
disc when he will be well-rewarded with an unhackneyed and
refreshing collection of military music. The disc is timely
as it celebrates 150 years of Royal Engineers music, the
original band having been formed in 1856, and because it
was one of Major Keeley’s last recordings with the band
before he retired in August 2006. He has however not been
lost to world of military music since he has subsequently
taken up the post as D.O.M. of the Honourable Artillery
Company (T.A.) band. Following the R.E. Corps Fanfare the
first track is the R.E.’s Sesqui-Centennial Celebration
March – rather unwieldy title this – composed by Peter
Graham, Professor of Composition at Salford University,
and proving convincingly that a modern march can be both
contemporary and tuneful. Neville Flux became Bandmaster
Royal Engineers in January 1905 on the personal recommendation
of Sir Alexander McKenzie, Principal of the Royal Academy
of Music, and since he was a civilian, caused a lot of adverse
comments from both the military and musical press of the
day. Two of his pieces are featured here and are testimony
to the fact that he was a highly accomplished composer –
an imposing Imperial March and a catchy Mazurka
Militaire. Quite properly there are also two of Maj.
Keeley’s own compositions – On The Countermarch and
Spongs Leap, a distinctly unusual title inspired by a McSpong
who lost control of his horse, careered through the arch
to Brompton Barracks and horse and rider cleared a 6-foot
iron fence and disappeared down a drop of 42 feet! Amazingly
neither were seriously hurt and were able to continue on
their way. There is even a plaque commemorating this bizarre
incident at the R.E. HQ Officers’ Mess! One of the highlights
on this CD is an outstanding slow march, Royal Standard,
by Earl Brigham, a pseudonym of Maj. A.L.F. Young, D.O.M.
of the band 1944-58. The piece has been used by the band
as its unofficial slow march and for a while was also used
as the Kneller Hall slow march, and deservedly so. John
A. Greenwood’s The Acrobat is one of those infernally
irritating pieces you seem to have known forever but never
discovered the title. The booklet notes remind us that it
was Percy Thrower’s theme tune in his BBC radio gardening
series back in the 1960s and it is delivered here flawlessly
played on the trombone by L.Cpl. M.P. Lawday. The familiar
strains of Amazing Grace come complete with piper
in the person of staff Sgt. Kenny Kerr, a past Pipe Major
of the Royal Highland Fusiliers. The vivid recording was
made in an interesting and unusual location, the Royal Dockyard
Church, Chatham. The band are on top form throughout, and
the CD comes with usual high standard of artwork and excellent
notes – so this production is something of which the recording
company and the band can feel justly proud. A noteworthy
and fascinating release; one not to be missed. Roger
Hyslop
A SONG FOR CHRISTMAS Deck the Halls with Boughs
of Holly, Once in Royal David’s City, Jingle Bells, etc.
12 tracks Mantovani and his Orchestra 40:45
mins Vocalion CDLF 8122. Promised at our November
2004 meeting, this was announced too late for mention in
the last JIM which was a pity because good sales might encourage
Mike Dutton to release the earlier and even better million-plus
selling ‘An Album of Christmas Music’. Monty is accompanied
by the Mike Sammes Chorus & Singers on the first two
tracks listed above as well as on The Holly and the Ivy,
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, The Twelve Days
of Christmas, Mary’s Boy Child and I Saw Three Ships.
All the tracks are a delight, especially so Monty’s own
trademarked Christmas Bells and Charles Chaplin’s
Toy Waltz, prompting thoughts again of what an underrated
tunesmith he was. The standout track for me is Cecil Milner’s
4.42 minute arrangement of the Handelian O Thou That
Tellest Good Tidings from ‘Messiah’. The unacknowledged
organist for the recording, made in Holborn’s Kingsway Hall
in August 1963, was Harold Smart. If the selection appeals,
buy now for around a fiver – it will soon be Christmas!
Peter Burt
STANLEY BLACK Conducting the London Festival Orchestra
Film Spectacular Vol. 5 Casablanca, A Man
and a Woman, Intermezzo, Blood and Sand, La Strada, Love
Story, Gone With The Wind Film Spectacular Vol. 6
Spitfire Prelude and Fugue, Bridge on the River Kwai, The
Guns of Navarone, Victopry at Sea, 633 Squadron, The Longest
Day, Western Approached (Seascape), The Great Escape, Mrs
Miniver Suite. Vocalion CDLK 4328. These two LPs (now
occupying two CDs for the price of one from Vocalion) were,
in my humble opinion, highlights in Stanley Black’s career
as a conductor (and on some tracks arranger) and I am delighted
to see that they are available once more. Decca sound engineers
were world leaders in 1975 (when both LPs were recorded)
and it certainly shows. Superb music – and spectacular sound!
David Ades
MULLIGAN MEETS MONK. ‘Round Midnight; Rhythm-a-ning;
Sweet And Lovely; Decidedly Plus 4 More Selections (59:31).
Riverside OJCCD-301-2. On paper, this looks like a definite
clash of ideas. Yet it’s just the opposite. Gerry Mulligan,
baritone sax virtuoso, was actually good friends with pianist
/ composer / arranger Thelonious Monk which resulted in
this remarkably fine album. "‘Round Midnight" is appropriately
stark whereas Rhythm-a-ning" is a delightfully crazy romp
with a catchy theme as is Mulligan’s own "Decidedly." "Sweet
And Lovely" is about as rough as this duo gets with Monk’s
pungent chords and runs on the keyboard contrasting with
Mulligan’s appealing lyricism. "Straight, No Chaser" refers
not only to a drink but also to this relaxed swinger with
plenty of room given to not only Mulligan but bassist Wilbur
Ware. Everything winds up in everybody’s pocket with "I
Mean You" by Monk, a swinging number showing off Monk’s
striding pianistic skills while both Thelonious and Gerry
accompany Wilbur Ware. Shadow Wilson provides the rock solid
rhythm pattern for this session which was originally to
be recorded in stereo with an expanding group of musicians.
Such isn’t the case as all four men were playing so well
that it was decided to keep things just the way they turned
out. For 1957, the stereo effect by Riverside engineers
is flawless with a good deal of presence and air surrounding
the musicians. A truly remarkable recording for all music
enthusiasts. Richard Jessen
MANTOVANI and his Orchestra play Strauss Waltzes Blue
Danube, Roses From The South, Vienna Blood, Voices Of Spring,
Artist’s Life, Tales From The Vienna Woods, Emperor Waltz,
Morning Papers, Accelerations, You And You, Wine, Women
And Song, Village Swallows, Gypsy Love Waltz, Tell Me You
Love Me, Le Chaland Qui Passe [46:25] Goldies GLD 63237.
Of Portuguese provenance and not the easiest to find [I
obtained my copy online for a few pence under £4.50], this
CD consists of ten tracks taken from one of Monty’s earliest
and most popular LPs, recorded and issued in 1952, reckoned
by some Mantovanians to be better than the subsequent stereo
re-make. Although probably not for the purist, these wonderful
flowing melodies are given the full Milner/ Mantovani treatment.
The second "Bonus Track" is of great historic
interest: Tell Me You Love Me being an adaptation
of Puccini’s On With The Motley and the very first
example of Ronald Binge’s "New Sound" for Monty
from 1951 making its first album appearance. Despite rather
veiled sonics this is definitely worth seeking out. Peter
Burt Editor: to avoid correspondence, may I mention
that "Tell Me You Love Me" has already appeared
on a Guild CD – Mantovani By Special Request Vol. 2 GLCD
5113.
The Symphony Sessions – THE MANHATTAN TRANSFER. City
of Prague Symphony Orchestra / Cory Allen. Route
66, Candy, Embraceable You, That’s the Way it Goes, A Nightingale
Sang, Because you are all heart, To You, Vibrate, Clouds,
The Quietude, The Offbeat of Avenues, Birdland. (56:49).
Rhino 8122-74740-2), available Compact Disc Club. Six of
the tracks are arranged by Cory Allen and he provides backgrounds
of fine stimulation and subtlety – Embraceable You
in particular, vocals arranged by Gene Puerling. Route
66 and Candy are arranged by Billy Byers, the
first title with echoes of Nelson Riddle, and Vibrate
is arranged by Gil Goldstein. This is group vocalising
at its best! Vocals also arranged by Dick Reynolds, Al Capps
and group members. Paul Clatworthy
VIKKI CARR: The Ultimate Collection. It Must
Be Him (Sung In English, Spanish and Italian) Plus 78
tracks on 3 CDs. EMI Gold 0946 3 68615 2 4. The title explains
itself more than adequately. What we get are 3 CDs full
of songs exploring every facet by the well loved and honored
lady of song, Miss Vikki Carr. And what a collection! Most
of these song titles have not been available for more than
40 years which is a shame for they explore every style and
genre of song this lady can sing with an overwhelmingly
magnetic power. Her big international hit "It Must Be Him"
is the thread on all 3 CDs and she sings it with conviction
in three different languages (English, Spanish and Italian).
The styles covered include the great American Songbook (Where
Are You), Broadway (The Surrey With The Fringe On The Top),
big band swing (Time After Time), jazz (Moanin’), Latin
(Mas Que Nada), current pop standards (Can’t Take My Eyes
Off You) and country (Make It Rain). This is not your usual
Vikki Carr compilation. Instead, what you get is a collection
of songs new and fresh interpreted with vibrancy by one
of the truly great artists who is still very much around
and performing at the same level of these recordings. No
greater tribute need be added except that this record set
is consistently beating out all others. The program notes
are written with mastery by Randy Cordova and Vito Cifaldi
with plenty of thank yous and a special note written by
Vikki Carr. And as she so truthfully says, "the best is
yet to come." Let’s hope there is a fresh release by EMI
of this great artist! Richard Jessen
EDMUNDO ROS and his Orchestra – New Sounds on Broadway
/ Broadway Sing Along. New Sounds On Broadway (Decca
LP PS 352 (1963) Stereo) The Cutty Wren from the show
"Chips With Everything" (Farrell); High Is Better
Than Low "Jennie" (Dietz; Schwartz); Gonna Be
Another Hot Day "110 In The Shade" (Schmidt; Jones);
Waitin’ For The Evening Train "Jennie" (Dietz;
Schwartz); My Wish "Here’s Love" (Willson); Here
And Now "The Girl Who Came To Supper" (Coward);
That Man Over There "Here’s Love" (Willson); I’ll
Remember Her "The Girl Who Came To Supper" (Coward);
Is It Really Me "110 In The Shade" (Schmidt; Jones);
London (Is A Little Bit Of All Right) "The Girl Who
Came To Supper" (Coward); You Don’t Know "Here’s
Love" (Willson); Where You Are "Jennie" (Dietz;
Schwartz). Broadway Sing-Along (Decca LP SKL 4123 (1961)
Stereo). (There’s No Business Like) Show Business from
the show "Annie Get Your Gun" (Berlin); People
Will Say We Are In Love "Oklahoma" (Rodgers; Hammerstein);
Get Me To The Church On Time "My Fair Lady" (Loewe;
Lerner); There Is Nothing Like A Dame "South Pacific"
(Rodgers; Hammerstein); I Love Paris "Can Can"
(Porter); Hey There "The Pajama Game" (Adler;
Ross) Heart "Damn Yankees" (Adler; Ross); I Could
Have Danced All Night "My Fair Lady" (Loewe; Lerner);
They Say It’s Wonderful "Annie Get Your Gun" (Berlin);
On The Street Where You Live "My Fair Lady" (Loewe;
Lerner); Standing On The Corner "The Most Happy Fella"
(Loesser) Almost Like Being In Love "Brigadoon"
(Loewe; Lerner). CDLK 4330. What a terrific collection
this is, especially New Sounds On Broadway. And it is nice
to get 12 tracks of rarely if ever played numbers - and
I for one would not expect many people to know many of them.
For myself, I am lucky in that I have original cast recordings
of them all, and just to see the titles like High Is
Better Than Low, Waitin’ For The Evening Train
and Where You Are from Jennie brings to mind
Mary Martin in the show. Then there are numbers from 110
In The Shade, Here’s Love and The Girl Who
Came To Supper - and in fact the only number on this
collection I had not heard before is the first track The
Cutty Wren from the show "Chips With Everything";
perhaps it is because I did not see the play or the film.
When it comes to Broadway Singalong, I thought when I saw
the list of numbers, oh no not again, but then get them
dressed up as merengue and cha-cha-chas you can’t go wrong
– they come out very well with this treatment. What a shame
that the dances on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing don’t dance
to these rhythms as the rhythms they dance to are unrecognisable.
As usual the Ros rhythms are superb and I am glad to have
this album at last. A must for all Ros fans. 24 tracks in
all. Alec Hellyer
THE WORLD’S GREAT MARCHES – The Band of HM Royal Marines
/ Lt-Col. Vivian Dunn. Grand March from 'Tannhauser',
Soldiers Chorus from 'Faust', Entrance and March of the
Peers from 'Iolanthe', March Militaire from 'Suite Algerienne',
All Marcia from 'Karelia Suite', The British Grenadiers,
The Dashing White Serjeant, A Southerly Wind and a Cloudy
Sky, Braganza, Espana, Le Pere de la Victoire, Belphegor,
Under the Banner of Victory, Old Comrades, The Gladiators'
Farewell, Under The Double Eagle, The Champion, National
Emblem, On The Square, Blue Devils, Namur, Army and Marine,
Glorious Victory, March from 'Little Suite' (Arnold). Eastney
Collection RM HSE CO13. Eastney continue their trawl through
the rich legacy of recordings which Sir Vivian Dunn and
the Royal Marines Band made for EMI, concentrating on this
new release on the years 1960-67. Like others in this series,
Brian Culverhouse, who supervised the original recordings
made at Abbey Road, has been responsible for the digital
remastering of these valuable tapes. The first tracks are
taken from the concert hall and opera house, thus the Grand
March from Tannhauser, the Soldier’s Chorus from
Faust and the Alla Marcia from Karelia. Particularly
valuable, however, is the inclusion of Saint-Saens’ splendid
march from his Suite Algerienne, of which there are
not exactly a plethora of alternative recordings, and fascinating
to listen to Chabrier’s Espana, cleverly transformed
into an effective quick march. The remainder of the disc
is a compilation of familiar parade marches with the exception
of the concluding item, the march from Malcolm Arnold’s
Little Suite. Despite the familiarity of such pieces
as Old Comrades, Under The Double Eagle, National Emblem
and On The Square, you will never hear them better
played than here; they positively sparkle under the inspired
baton of Sir Vivian. Look out especially for Charles Williams’
Blue Devils, composed early in his career and a great
favourite with military bands. The Blue Devils of the title
was the nickname given to a T.A. unit called the Kensington
Rifles that had served in South Africa during the Boer War.
Eastney’s claim that this disc features really stunning
foot-tapping stuff is certainly borne out and if you want
only one representative military band CD on your shelves
– shame on you! – this quality production could be it. As
with all this series of re-releases; strongly recommended.
Roger Hyslop
PRODUCED BY GEORGE MARTIN Highlights from 50 years
in recording including George Martin and his
Orchestra – Theme One, The Pepperland Suite, Friends and
Lovers; Ron Goodwin – Elizabethan Serenade; Tommy Reilly
– Melody on the Move; plus various pop stars and comedy
records EMI 375 4862. Five years ago EMI issued a 6CD
box set of recordings produced by George Martin, from which
the tracks on this CD have been extracted. As one would
expect, the Beatles are included, together with Cilla Black,
Gerry and the Pacemakers and Billy J. Kramer. A bit more
up-market are Shirley Bassey and Matt Monro, and to provide
variety we have Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Flanders
& Swann. It is particularly nice to have Tommy Reilly’s
1952 recording of Clive Richardson’s Melody on the Move
which, according to the booklet note, showed George Martin’s
"position at the front of new recording technology
with the first use of tape echo". Tommy’s widow Ena
has told us that Tommy returned home from this particular
Abbey Road session on the back of George Martin’s motorcycle!
Full marks for the CD booklet – and the CD label which reproduces
a familiar Parlophone 45. Even without his work as the Beatles’
recording manager, Sir George Martin has secured his place
of honour in the British recording industry, and he fully
deserved to be inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame on
14 November last year. David Ades
FRANK CHACKSFIELD AND HIS ORCHESTRA "KING
OF KINGS" : King of Kings, Song of Delilah, The Robe,
Quo Vadis, The Green Leaves of Summer (from 'The Alamo'),
Exodus, Parade of the Charioteers and Love Theme from 'Ben
Hur', The High and the Mighty,The Prodigal, The Sundowners.
FILM FESTIVAL : The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Elvira Madigan,
Doctor Zhivago, The Mercenaries, A Countess from Hong Kong,
Zorba's Dance, Alfie, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Irina
(from 'Shalako'), James Bond Theme, Rose of Saigon (from
'Tell Me Lies'), A Man and a Woman. Vocalion CDLK 4322
71:45 mins. For some years now the Vocalion label has been
responsible for the very commendable reissue of several
Frank Chacksfield albums from the 1950s and 1960s, and this
particular disc, released in 2005 but not previously reviewed
in this magazine, should also command your attention, as
it encompasses this orchestra's excellent interpretations
of selected film themes from the era in question. Included
are several items not available elsewhere, thus adding to
the attractions of this mid-price reissue. Of the LPs under
consideration, the first to be issued originally was 'King
of Kings', and this is by far the rarer - it appeared originally,
in mono only, on the Ace of Clubs Label in 1962, with only
ten tracks. Here we have an expanded version in stereo,
available for the first time in Britain. As the title track
suggests, we have Frank Chacksfield's lavish and tasteful
recordings of music which dates from a time when 'road show'
spectaculars were designed to lure people away from the
ever-encroaching challenge of TV in the home. Many will
be familiar with the two selections on offer from 'Ben Hur',
of course, but the rest of the LP included several rarities
such as 'The Prodigal' and 'Francis of Assisi', the latter
being a particularly beautiful piece. Even the extract from
'Quo Vadis' contains music not normally found on any other
soundtrack album for this film. Amongst the other highlights
are a stirring rendition of Ernest Gold's magnificent theme
from 'Exodus' (so much a part of the film music 'scene'
in the early 1960s) and a beautiful realisation of Alfred
Newman's theme from 'The Robe'. The sound has come
up very well indeed, and Mike Dutton's usual wizardry has
ensured that the best possible stereo spectrum has been
derived from the original tapes, with particularly enticing
string tone, as befits much of the scoring for these pieces.
The second LP here reissued (actually placed first on the
CD) dates from 1968, and the difference in mood is immediately
apparent - epic lushness has been replaced by shorter, more
varied melodies reflecting the change in cinematic tastes
of this period. Frank Chacksfield's ability to alter his
interpretations to 'suit the occasion' is immediately obvious,
and we have an extremely colourful selection of items in
arrangements by Roland Shaw. Robert Farnon enthusiasts will
be delighted to have his 'Irina' (from 'Shalako') included
- aptly described by Nicholas Briggs in his liner notes
as 'a slow, swaying theme of deceptive simplicity'. Two
other rarities are the themes from 'The Mercenaries' - a
highly rhythmic yet memorable track - and the alluring 'Rose
of Saigon' from the somewhat obscure feature 'Tell Me Lies'.
Even the James Bond theme here sounds freshly minted, and
the familiar main theme from 'Doctor Zhivago' is given a
very effective 'piano concerto' treatment. The original
LP was in the Decca Phase 4 format, and again the
remastering has resulted in sound which is both clear yet
comfortably full, with a wide stereo 'spread'. It is good
to see that much time and effort has gone into providing
extremely informative notes, as the original LPs were notably
deficient in this regard; both the films and their music
are placed in the correct historical context. This is therefore
a significant release, which should be high on your list
of priorities. Lawrence Preston
"LONDON TOWN" Film soundtrack: Overture,
You Can’t Keep a Good Dreamer Down, Daffodil Hill – ballet
music. My Heart Goes Crazy, If Spring Were Only Here to
Stay, So Would I, The ‘Ampstead Way, Sid Field Plays Golf
featuring Sid Field, Beryl Davis, Ann Sullivan,
Scotty McHarg with Salvador Camarata and the London Town
Orchestra plus 13 ‘bonus tracks’ featuring the film’s
stars plus the Film Songs Selection by Peter Yorke and
his Concert Orchestra on Columbia. SEPIA
1076, 79:26 mins. For many years I had noticed the 78s from
"London Town" in the Decca catalogue but none
of them ever seemed to come my way. So I was pleased to
discover this recent release from Sepia Records, a small
British independent producer that has built up an impressive
catalogue since it was launched in 2002. They believe in
giving full value for money, because the remaining time
available is fully utilised with 78s from the same period
by some of the stars who appeared in the film. Foremost
among these (from a light music viewpoint) is the fine Peter
Yorke non-vocal selection. Although J. Arthur Rank is reported
to have spent £1 million on the film in 1946 (compared with
around £50,000 for "Spring in Park Lane" which
was a massive hit) it was a financial disaster, and is remembered
today mainly because both public and critics panned it.
It should have succeeded: it was in glorious Technicolour,
and Rank hired top American talents Camarata (music director),
Wesley Ruggles (director) and Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny
Burke (music and lyrics). Sadly Van Heusen and Burke failed
to come up with a hit song – only So Would I being
vaguely memorable. The ballet sequence Daffodil Hill
composed by Camarata is similarly disappointing; a certain
Robert Farnon would have been a much better choice! And
as for Sid Field’s golfing sketch … words almost fail me.
Over the years we have been told that Field was greatly
admired within the profession, but maybe the big screen
couldn’t capture the magic of his stage act. I’m pleased
that Sepia has made this available, and the extra tracks
are certainly entertaining (for example there is Beryl Davis
with Stephane Grappelly and George Shearing in 1944). The
booklet is excellent for a medium priced release, but it
would have been nice to have included the original catalogue
numbers of the records. David Ades
GORDON JENKINS – A Musical Prodigy Manhattan
Tower, You Have Taken My Heart, Blue Prelude, When A Woman
Loves A Man, With You So Far Away, Homesick That’s All,
P.S. I Love You, Blue Evening, Goodbye, Alone Again, Marietta’s
Waltz, The Lady And The Cellist, Mood At Midnight, California
– a Musical Narrative, Maybe You’ll Be There, I Don’t See
Me In Your Eyes Any More, Again, Don’t Cry Joe, My Foolish
Heart, Bewitched, Seven Dreams – a Musical Fantasy Gordon
Jenkins and his Orchestra plus soloists Jasmine JASCD
660, 2-CD set, 138:55 mins. In Britain many of us are probably
unaware that Gordon Jenkins made a lot of 78rpm recordings
featuring singers, because his name in later years was mainly
associated with his orchestral albums plus, of course, his
superb arrangements for the likes of Nat ‘King’ Cole and
Frank Sinatra. The big exception is his ‘Musical Narrative’
Manhattan Tower which launches this collection. It
was warmly received in the USA, where it was recorded more
than once, and resulted in another similar tribute a few
years later in praise of California. The other fascinating
work in this collection is Seven Dreams which I have
to confess is new to me. It is similar in style to Manhattan
Tower and California but I do wonder how often
people would wish to hear it since the narrative is something
you’ll either love or hate. If you want an interesting collection
of Gordon’s popular recordings from the 1940s and 1950s
then don’t hesitate to add this to your collection, but
if you prefer his purely orchestral offerings you’ll have
to look at what is currently on offer in the Guild Light
Music series. David Ades
FRANK SINATRA ‘Romance – Songs from the Heart’ I’ve
Got You Under My Skin, Time After Time, Day By Day, All
The Way, Too Marvellous For Words, My Funny Valentine, Love
Is Here To Stay, I’ve Got A Crush On You, Cheek To Cheek,
Try A Little Tenderness, I Wish I Were In Love Again, Angel
Eyes, Nice ‘N’ Easy (previously unreleased version), If
You Are But A Dream (CD debut)etc 21 tracks EMI 363
3772. Released in February in time for Valentine’s Day,
this collection is taken from Frank’s time at Capitol (1953-1960).
Sinatra fans will already have most of these on various
CDs or LPs, but EMI state that the tracks have all been
remastered from the original tapes so you may find that
the sound quality is better than your existing copies. As
we went to press we had only received a promotional CD and
list of titles, so we cannot comment on the booklet. David
Ades
MIKLOS ROZSA : Selections from QUO VADIS and
BEN HUR. Quo Vadis: Prelude, Marcus and Lygia, Fertility
Hymn, The Burning of Rome, Petronius' Banquet, Ave Caesar,
Chariot Race, Assyrian Dance,, Aftermath/Hail Galba, Finale,
Epilogue. Ben Hur : Fanfare, Friendship, The Burning Desert,
Arrius' Party, Rowing of the Galley Slaves, Parade of the
Charioteers, The Mother's Love, Return to Judea, Ring for
Freedom, Lepers' Search, Procession to Calvary, Miracle
and Finale. Royal Philharmonic / National Philharmonic
Orchestras and Chorus, conducted by Miklos Rozsa.
Recording dates : 1977 / 1978. Vocalion CDLK
4332 (Two-disc set). During the late 1970s, the Decca
Record Company invited Miklos Rozsa to London to record
selections from two of his finest scores, using the cream
of the capital's best musicians. The two resulting LPs originally
appeared on Decca's Phase 4 label, but disappeared quite
quickly when Decca was subsumed into the Universal group.
Both titles did appear, apparently, in the very early days
of CD, but were again quickly deleted and soon commanded
the inevitable (and regrettable) inflated prices for interested
collectors. This Vocalion reissue, therefore, represents
quite outstanding value for money and should be eagerly
snapped up by all those who appreciate some of the finest
film music ever written in Hollywood's 'Golden Age'.
The two LPs here reissued far surpassed in terms of sound
quality and orchestral playing all previous selections of
this material, and did much to cement the renewal of interest
in classic film scores which had been growing throughout
the 1970s, when several record companies spared no expense
in releasing newly-recorded selections of vintage material
which one could only vaguely appreciate when viewing the
films in question. It is difficult to decide which
is the finer of the two scores. 'Ben Hur' has always been
regarded as Rozsa's 'magnum opus' - the composer, fully
conscious of the fact that the future of MGM rested on this
epic, certainly regarded this score as the apex of his career,
and several of the themes (particularly the Parade of the
Charioteers) became very well-known in the late 50s/early
60s. The score for 'Quo Vadis' was much less familiar, partly
because much of the music was buried under the dialogue
in the film, which certainly disappointed the composer at
the time. The CD in question here revealed for the first
time the extremely varied nature of Rozsa's score : not
for him the writing of two or three main themes with endless
reprises ( a fault of many modern scores) - the selection
from 'Quo Vadis' on this CD is, if anything, more varied
musically than its companion, but it was always difficult
to choose ideal extracts from such an interwoven score as
Ben Hur to make an ideally balanced LP. Rozsa's own selection
for Decca was about the best that could be achieved for
this purpose. Mike Dutton has worked his usual magic
in re-mastering the two LPs. The sound quality on both discs
was, and remains, extremely good, with none of the
excesses of balance which sometimes marred earlier 'Phase
4' issues. We have here two of the best examples
of orchestral sound in the late analogue era - resplendent
brass, rich string tone and a wide stereo spread. Probably
'Quo Vadis' has the slightly finer quality in terms of clarity
and presence. My own LP of the 'Ben Hur' selection was cut
at such a high level that there was a tendency to overload,
but this has been rectified for this CD reissue. The
two-disc set is released at the cost of a single mid-price
CD. As if all this were not enough, we also have five pages
of exemplary notes by Alan Hamer of the Miklos Rozsa Society.
It is almost certain that these two LPs will not be re-released
again in such a convenient form, and Vocalion is to be congratulated
for its enterprise in offering such high-quality material
for such a reasonable outlay. Nicholas Briggs
ANTHONY COLLINS - Orchestral works. Festival
Royal – Overture, Vanity Fair, The Song of Erin, Victoria
the Great – suite, The Saga of Odette - Valse Lente, The
Lady with a Lamp - Prelude & Valse Variation, Eire –
suite, Santa Cecilia, Louis XV Silhouettes, Symphony for
Strings. BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by John
Wilson. Dutton 'Epoch' CDLX 7162. 73:52
mins. For most readers, the name of Anthony
Collins (1893 - 1963) will be synonymous with either his
much-praised set of the Sibelius symphonies recorded for
Decca in the early 1950s (recently reissued on the Beulah
label, incidentally) or else his own best-remembered composition
'Vanity Fair', which has indeed been recorded several times
in the past. That 'bonne bouche' is, of course, included
on this new CD under review, but a glance at the remaining
titles will show that there was very much more to the
man than this short calling-card. As the excellent notes
by Lewis Foreman make clear, Anthony Collins pursued
an extremely varied career within both the UK and the USA,
which allowed him to make full use of his manifold talents
as composer as well as conductor. A great deal of
time and effort has gone into producing this most enterprising
CD, as much of the music was difficult to source - indeed,
were it not for the tenacity of all concerned, it is
doubtful if several of the pieces on the disc would have surfaced
at all, let alone have been recorded. Specifically,
Collins was able to fuse a generous melodic gift with great
clarity of orchestration, and the disc in question portrays
an excellently-balanced programme in which the level of
inspiration remains consistently high. The opening 'Festival
Royal' overture has a magnificent central theme for
strings (almost a cross between Elgar and Walton)
framed by passages of brassy splendour, into which Collins
subtly interweaves references to 'God Save the Queen' and
the Westminster chimes - a marvellous start to the disc.
My own favourite piece, however, is the short 'Song of Erin',
which employs a haunting, wistful melody initially given
to cor anglais and harp. The composer was also responsible
for the scores of several well-known films of the period,
the best remembered of which is probably the waltz from
'The Saga of Odette'. In all these pieces one notes again
the subtle variety of mood and texture, underpinned by sharply
memorable themes. Moving to the suite 'Eire', this is one
instance where Collins does use existing melodies but is
able to imprint his own characteristic arrangements on the
material, resulting in another delightful short work. I
also particularly enjoyed the 'Louis XV Silhouettes', which
comprise a series of pastiche dance numbers - light
music at its very best. I was rather reminded of the composer
Gretry, whose often obscure pieces Sir Thomas Beecham used
to dig out (and sometimes record) on his periodic visits
to France later in his career - he would surely have approved
of Anthony Collins's short work, which was published in
1939. The final item on the disc, 'Symphony for Strings',
instantly belies its rather severe title by offering three
short movements of immediate melodic appeal, of which the
highlight for me was the wistful central 'adagio'. The recording
quality, as one would expect from this source, is in the
finest traditions of the house : it has a very wide dynamic
range, great clarity of detail and broad stereo information,
all set within a sympathetic acoustic - just right for appreciating
the composer's flair for a colourful orchestral patina.
In his notes, Lewis Foreman reveals that many of Collins's
works are either missing or definitely lost, which is a
pity, as the quality of what is on offer here would certainly
justify a second CD. In the meantime, the combination of
unhackneyed yet memorable material, excellent performances
and recording quality, together with superb liner notes,
leads me to conclude that this was one of the most significant
new releases of 2006, which should be investigated urgently
by all those who are looking for something quite special.
Nicholas Briggs
... And with thanks to Wilfred Askew for news of the following
releases
MIKLOS ROZSA – Three Choral Suites. Cincinnati Pops
Orchestra / Kunzel; Morman Tabernacle Choir. Ben-Hur;
Quo Vadis; King of Kings. Telarc CD-80631
NELSON RIDDLE and his Orchestra – Sing a Song with Riddle
(1959) / Hey Diddle Diddle (1959, released 2005-6).
Little White Lies Darn That Dream Near You; Day In-Day
Out; The More I See You; My Baby Just Cares For Me; Everywhere
You Go; I Had The Craziest Dream; Fools Rush In; You Make
Me Feel So Young; It’s A Sin To Tell A Lie; You’re Driving
Me Crazy! (What Did I Do?); The Farmer In The Dell; Little
Jack Horner; Oh Dear What Can The Matter Be; Jack And Jill;
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; The Muffin Man. DRG
Records DRGCD 19097
HORST JANKOWSKI – A Walk in the Black Forest (1967-69).
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang; A Walk In The Black Forest;
My Gerti; Moon River; By The Time I Get To Phoenix; Turkischer
Marsch; Tiflis Melody; Our Beach Affair; Games Of Memories;
This Guy's In Love With You; I Will Wait For You; Slick;
Man & A Woman; Yesterday; Days Of Wine & Roses;
Fly Me To The Moon; Lover's Concerto; Mcarthur Park; Violinkonzert
D Dur; And We Got Love. Universal 983 776-2
GEORGE SHEARING – Swinging in a Latin Mood (1974).
Lullaby Of Birdland; Continental; Do You Know The Way
To San Jose; East Of The Sun And West Of The Moon; Thine
Alone; Aquarius; We'll Be Together Again; I'll Be Around;
Alone Again (Naturally); Nearness Of You; Hands Of Time;
To A Wild Rose; Superstar; Eleanor Rigby; When Your Lover
Has Gone; Roses Of Picardy; You Are The Sunshine Of My Life;
Killing Me Softly With His Song; Someone To Watch Over Me;
Way We Were. Universal 985 857-4
THE MARIACHI BRASS – A Taste of Tequila (1966) /
Hats Off (1966). Featuring Chet Baker, Arrangements by Jack
Nitzshe and George Tipton. Flowers On The Wall; Tequila;
Mexico; Love Me With All Your Heart (Cuando Calienta El
Sol); Hot Toddy; Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa; .Speedy Gonzales
; Come A Little Bit Closer ; El Paso ; La Bamba ; Happiness
Is ;.Sure Gonna Miss Her; Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)
; The Phoenix Love Theme (Senza Fine) ; These Boots Are
Made For Walking ; On The Street Where You Live ;.Armen's
Theme ; Spanish Harlem ; Chiquita Banana ; When The Day
Is All Done ; You Baby ; It's Too Late ; Colonel Bogey March
(Bonus Track). Ace CD BGPD 178
LENNY DEE – Double Dee-Light: Hi-Fi Organ solos with
a beat (1954-56). 2 CD compilation. Plantation Boogie
; Laura ;Yes Sir That's My Baby ; Birth Of The Blues ; Little
Brown Jug ; September Song ; Ballin' The Jack ; Exactly
Like You ; Siboney ; Sweet Georgia Brown ; World Is ; Waiting
For The Sunrise ; Donkey Serenade ; Coquette ; I'm Beginning
To See The Light ; Chinatown; Charmaine ;Five Foot Two Eyes
Of Blue ; Out Of Nowhere ; Caravan ; That's My Weakness
Now ; This Ole House ; Five O'Clock Whistle ; Twelth Street
Rag ; Good Night Sweetheart ; Delicious ; Stompin' At The
Savoy ; Diane ; Honky Tonk Train Blues ; Alabamy Bound ;
Tarragona ; At Sundown ; Jersey Bounce ; Hawaiian War Chant
(Ta Hu Wa Hu Wai) ; What Is This Thing Called Love ; Toot
; Toot Tootsie Goodbye ; Jumpin' On The Organ ; Avalon ;
Somebody Stole My Gal ; Hot Foot Boogie ; Josephine ; Way
Down Yonder In New Orleans ; Oh You Beautiful Doll ; Indian
Love Call ; Ain't She Sweet ; Yodelin' Organ ; Let Me Call
You Sweetheart ; China Boy. Jasmine JASCD 427
CARMEN CAVALLARO – Stairway to the Stars (1941-55).
2 CD compilation. You're Mine, you; Dancing In The Dark
; I'm Always Chasing Rainbows ; Oh, Marie ; I Love You ;
Medley of hits from 1932 - In A Shanty In Old Shanty Town/Speak
To Me Of Love/Play Fiddle Play/Paradise; Medley of hits
from 1932 - Forty Second Street/Of Thee I Sing/Shuffle Off
To Buffalo; Someone To Watch Over Me ; Tonight We Love ;
If I Had You ; Medley of hits from 1921 - Peggy O'Neil/When
Francis Dances With Me/Song Of Love ; Medley of hits from
1932 Louisiana Hayride/You're Getting To Be A Habit With
Me/Alone Together ; Come Back To Sorrento ; A Bushel And
A Peck ; I've Never Been In Love Before ; I'll Know ; Fugue
For Tinhorns ; My Time Of Day ; Medley of hits from 1932
- April In Paris/I've Told Every Little Star/The Song Is
You ; I'll Follow My Secret Heart ; My Reverie ; Moon Love
; Body And Soul ; Our Love ; It's All Right With Me ; Medley
of hits from 1932 - Soft Lights And Sweet Music/Night And
Day/Underneath The Harlem Moon ; Medley of hits from 1932
- Brother Can You Spare A Dime/Just An Echo In The Valley/Let's
Put Out The Lights ; Dream Of Love ; Lover ; Medley of hits
from 1921 - Say It With Music/Tuck Me To Sleep In My Old
Kentucky Home/My Mammy ; Guys And Dolls ; More I Cannot
Wish You ; Luck Be A Lady ; If I Were A Bell ; Sue Me/Sit
Down You're Rocking The Boat ; Medley of hits from 1921
- Ma, He's Making Eyes At Me/Yoo-Hoo/I'm Just Wild About
Harry ; Medley of hits from 1921 - Sweet Lady/Make Believe/April
Showers ; All Through The Night ; I Concentrate On You ;
Falling In Love With Love ; Stairway To The Stars ; Ain't
Misbehavin' ; Will You Remember? ; So In Love ; Love, Your
Magic Spell Is ; Everywhere ; P.S. I Love You ; Between
The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea ; September Song ; Tenderly.
Jasmine JASCD 430
DANNY KAYE In Selections From The Soundtrack Of MERRY
ANDREW Arranged And Conducted By NELSON RIDDLE (1958) /
Music Of The BIG TOP CIRCUS BAND Conducted By Nelson Riddle
(1950). The Pipes Of Pan ; Chin Up, Stout Fella ;
Everything Is Ticketty Boo ; You Can’t Always Have What
You Want ;. The Square Of The Hypotenuse ;. Salud (Buona
Fortuna) ;. Medley: Thunder And Blazes / Billboard March
; Hippopotamus Rag ; Circus Waltz ; Lassus Trombone ; Minor
March ; Bozo’s Song (March). DRG Records DRGCD 19082
BING CROSBY – A Musical Autobiography. 4 CDs. AVID
AMBX147. Includes the complete 1954 5-LP set with between-track
chat by Bing, accompanied by Buddy Cole and his Trio, followed
by recordings with co-stars Mary Martin, Bob Hope, Andrews
Sisters, Judy Garland, Al Johnson, Louis Armstrong and Jane
Wyman. Selections from Paris Honeymoon and The
Star Maker complete CD3. The 4th CD has
20 tracks of film soundtracks and publicity discs.
Classic Rey – ALVINO REY and his Orchestra with
the Four King Sisters. Original recordings from 1940-44.
Tiger Rag ; Not a Star in Sight ; Rose Room [Instrumental]
; Cielito Lindo (Beautiful Sky) ; Oh! For Heaven's Sake
; Dearly Beloved ; Drowsy Old Riff [Instrumental] ; Lover's
Lullaby ; He Wears a Pair of Silver Wings ; Strip Polka
; How Green Was My Valley ; Gobs of Love ; William Tell
[Instrumental] ; Daybreak ; Woodland Sympathy [Instrumental]
; I'm Old Fashioned ; Army Air Corps Song ; Sand in My Shoes
; Liebestraum (A Dream of Love) [Instrumental] ; Yo Te Amo,
Oh! Baby ; Ferris Wheel ; Having a Lonely Time ; My Buddy
; San Fernando Valley. Flare ROYCCD 242
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