Quincy Conserve - Epitaph - 1971

Side1

• Aire Of Good Feeling
• Peeling Paint
• My Michellechan
• That Same Feeling
• Going Back To The Garden

Side2

• Someone To Find
• Mystery Lady
• All Right In The City
• Here I Am Baby
• Common Man

Quincy Conserve - Aire Of Good Feeling


Quincy Conserve - Peeling Paint


Quincy Conserve - My Michellechan


Quincy Conserve - That Same Feeling


Quincy Conserve - Going Back To The Garden


Quincy Conserve - Someone To Find


Quincy Conserve - Mystery Lady


Quincy Conserve - All Right In The City


Quincy Conserve - Here I Am Baby


Quincy Conserve - Common Man


A cross between a big band and a rock group Quincy Conserve were a band from Wellington, New Zealand. They played in the early 70's and I used to see them a lot on television on various music and variety shows.
Members from the band went on to be involved in the top big bands in New Zealand such as The Golden Horn Big Band , The 1840 Band and The Roger Fox Big Band.

I suppose you could compare the music to that of Blood Sweat & Tears or Chicago but to me Quincy Conserve were far  more energetic and groovy. The emphasis is more on the instrumentation yet they possessed a great voice in the group with the bands leader Malcolm Hayman.

My Michellechan and Here I Am Baby are two great instrumentals but there are plenty of wonderful solos in the other songs  featuring breathy flutes , fuzzed electric pianos and in your face brass.

I'm afraid my copy is pretty rough and there's plenty of clicks and pops. You can actually get a CD compilation of this band through New Zealand music shops like Real Groovy or Marbecks. I'm not sure how long they will be available.

Brian Bennett - Drama Montage Volume Two BRJ8 - 1979

Side1

• Mr Big
• Mr Big Link 1
• Mr Big Link 2
• Villain
• Spiv
• Hip Joint
• Hip Joint Link
• Psychopath
• Psychopath Link
• Knuckleduster
• Knuckleduster Link
• Thrash 1
• Thrash 1 Link
• Trash 2
• Thrash 2 Link

Side2

• Got It Made
• Got It Made Link
• Blueprint For Murder
• Stealth
• Watchful Eye
• Watchful Eye Link
• Fuse
• Fuse Link
• Timewatch
• Waiting
• Eyeopener 1
• Eyeopener 2
• Girl Alone
• Day Off

Brian Bennett - Mr Big & Links


Brian Bennett - Villain


Brian Bennett - Spiv


Brian Bennett - Hip Joint & Link


Brian Bennett - Psychopath & Link


Brian Bennett - Knuckleduster & Link


Brian Bennett - Thrash 1 & Link


Brian Bennett - Thrash 2 & Link


Brian Bennett - Got It Made & Link


Brian Bennett - Blueprint For Murder


Brian Bennett - Stealth


Brian Bennett - Watchful Eye & Link


Brian Bennett - Fuse & Link


Brian Bennett - Timewatch


Brian Bennett - Waiting


Brian Bennett - Eyeopener 1 & 2


Brian Bennett - Girl Alone


Brian Bennett - Day Off


Here's a great offering from Brian Bennett on the Bruton Music Library. I think I may prefer this album to Drama Montage 1 as the tracks on the first half of side 1  work so beautifully together.
Mr Big really reminds me of the music you would come across in British spy shows on TV like The Sandbaggers or Callan . There's something sort of sad but cool about it.

I'm afraid my copy is a bit rough , especially side 2 which is a shame as a lot of the tracks are so quiet. I'm posting on here so you know what they are like before you go crazy on eBay.

The nice thing about Bruton Library albums is that songs seem to appear on various releases. A lot of this set can be found on Contemporary Motion BRK5 which may be easier to come by.

enjoy

The Flying Dutchmen (Pete Moore) - Contrasts - 1973

Side01

• Cool Echo
• Sunday's Child
• Soul Punch
• Sweet Idleness
• Cross-Town-Mover
• Lovers' Lullaby

Side02

• Rolling
• Mr. Buzz
• Happiness Is . . .
• Gumshoe
• That's Nice!
• Stoned

Flying Dutchmen - Cool Echo


Flying Dutchmen - Sunday's Child


Flying Dutchmen - Soul Punch


Flying Dutchmen - Sweet Idleness


Flying Dutchmen - Cross-Town-Mover


Flying Dutchmen - Lovers' Lullaby


Flying Dutchmen - Rolling


Flying Dutchmen - Mr. Buzz


Flying Dutchmen - Happiness Is . . .


Flying Dutchmen - Gumshoe


Flying Dutchmen - That's Nice!


Flying Dutchmen - Stoned


The Flying Dutchmen are led by the composer Piet Van Meren on this excellent album of contrasting compositions. One minute funky and brassy and the next gentle and lilting, the style is unmistakeably that of Pete Moore.
To double check this assumption I ran the word Meren in a Dutch-English language translator and came back with the word Moor as in "to Moor a boat".

But it's the track Cool Echo that really gives him away, a snappy reworking of his Spiral composition for  The Harry Roche Constellation.
There are many other great tracks on the album Mr.Buzz features a fantastic breathy flute sound and was on the Music For Dancefloors compilation The Cream Of The Bosworth Library Sessions.

I'm not sure why these library artists worked under so many pseudonyms, Pete Moore is also known as Lee Mason. Perhaps it's to get around contractual restrictions. In any case Pete Moore enjoyed a successful career with both library and mainstream releases and is very much admired today by lounge collectors and DJs.

Pepper Tanner Jingles 3082-M

Side01

• Safe Driving Promo
• Seat Belt Promo
• C&W Radio Promo
• Contemporary Radio Promo
• Contemporary Radio Promo
• Contemporary Radio Promo
• Talk Radio Promo

Side02

• News Intro Promo
• Good Music Radio Promo
• Vote Promo
• Contemporary Radio Promo
• Weather Intro
• Sports Intro A Capella
• Community Chest A Capella
• Law Enforcement A Capella
• Radio Promo A Capella

Safe Driving Promo 


Seat Belt Promo


C&W Radio Promo


Contemporary Radio Promo 


Contemporary Radio Promo 


Contemporary Radio Promo


Talk Radio Promo


News Promo Intro


Good Music Radio Promo


Vote Promo 


Contemporary Radio Promo


Weather Intro


Sports Intro A Capella


Community Chest A Capella 


Law Enforcement Promo A Capella


Radio Promo A Capella


I don't really set out to collect these old Jingles albums but sometimes they come with  Library albums I buy and I can't really bring myself to get rid of them because I find them so interesting.

Being a New Zealander this style of jingle seems so exotically American, I like the way they make such ordinary things feel really glamorous. The quality of the singing is great , it almost sounds like The Singers Unlimited performing them.

I remember the first totally private radio station in Christchurch coming on to the scene (Radio Avon, 1290) in the early 70's. What distinguished it from the other stations were these sort of slick close harmony radio features which I can only assume were bought from the Pepper Tanner Library.

I also have a very interesting album promoting the effectiveness of Tanner Jingles which reveals the amount of effort that goes into influencing an audience.

If you like these sorts of things you will love the Jingle Jetsam Blog  which I highly recommend. It's well written by an ex Radio DJ who offers an insight into the world of audio jingles and promos.

The Peddlers - London Suite - 1972

Side One

• The Strange Affair
• Raining In London
• Sequence Of Thought
• Did She
• Under London Lights
• River Lines

Side Two

• I Have Seen
• Impressions
• A Year And A Day
• This Strange Affair (Reprise)
• This Is It
• A Year And A Day (Metamorphosis)

The Peddlers - London Suite Side One


The Peddlers - London Suite Side Two


London Suite is quite an extraordinary album. A concept album by a cabaret band about love in the city of London.
The Peddlers were never an ordinary cabaret act, as gifted performers, arrangers and songwriters they are more than mere interpretors of musical  standards.

This is an unusual album for the band as they have surrounded their tight three piece combo with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The sound of the core band is quite funky at times and at other times moody and introspective.
I think this is what leads some people to compare this work with that of David Axelrod.

All the compositions were created by Roy Phillips the band's keyboardist and singer. I have been lucky enough to see him play in my home town a few times as he has retired to New Zealand.

I decided to put up two long tracks rather than chop them up into the tracks as the music flows seamlessly together. If you like this post you may also like this cracking funk track by the band , Nothing Sacred.

Frank And The Top Ten - Meet The Gang - 197?

Side1

• Meet The Gang
• Beach Bunny
• A Pocketful Of Dreams
• Big Party
• Pebbles
• Double Face

Side2

• Way Down There
• Tuning Up
• Sunshine Road
• Bad Girl
• Hippie Happening
• Dirty Trick

Frank And The Top Ten - Meet The Gang


Frank And The Top Ten - Beach Bunny


Frank And The Top Ten - A Pocketful Of Dreams


Frank And The Top Ten - Big Party


Frank And The Top Ten - Pebbles


Frank And The Top Ten - Double Face


Frank And The Top Ten - Way Down There


Frank And The Top Ten - Tuning Up


Frank And The Top Ten - Sunshine Road


Frank And The Top Ten - Bad Girl


Frank And The Top Ten - Hippie Happening


Frank And The Top Ten - Dirty Trick


Note - I have just re-uploaded these tracks as I felt they were a bit distorted. I was trying out some vinyl cleaning software and while it seems very good on quite tracks, it seems to get confused with big brass sounds and it distorted them, I think its better to put up with some minor crackles.

I really like this German library record , it's a sort of a typical German Happy Sound album but with a great brass section that sometimes feels like it could be playing on a Soul or Ska number.

There's also a very distinctive fuzzed guitar running through some of the tracks. It's not really like a Jimi Hendrix type fuzz sound, it's more like a thin dying bee sound. It doesn't sound so good when I put it like that but it works really well on the tracks.

Some of the tracks sound similar to each other when they open but it's worth listening to them right through as there are some pretty groovy middle sections and solos to be enjoyed throughout the album.

This record is stylistically similar to another great Golden Ring Library album called Turn On , I wonder if they were both recorded at during the same sessions.

Enjoy

Apollo 100 - Joy - 1972

Side01

• Joy (Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring)
• Mad Mountain King (Hall Of The Mountain King)
• Mendelssohn's 4th (Second Movement)
• Libido
• Jazz Pizzicato
• Tamara

Side02

• Reach For The Sky
• Evil Midnight (Danse Macabre)
• Air For The G String
• Exercise In A Minor
• Classical Wind

Apollo 100 - Joy (Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring)


Apollo 100 - Mad Mountain King (Hall Of The Mountain King)


Apollo 100 - Jazz Pizzicato


Apollo 100 - Evil Midnight (Danse Macabre)


Here's a great album that my six year old son loves to dance around to . I originally heard the title track many years ago in the 1970's and was recently reminded of it when I saw the movie The 40 Year Old Virgin in which this was part of the soundtrack.

But there's more than just the great title track , Mad Mountain King is great fun amd my son stomps around the room to that one as it builds to a frenzied climax. It's based on  Hall Of The Mountain King which is one of those few Classical tracks that rock bands love to cover such as The Who , Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow and Apocalyptica.

Jazz Pizzicato is kind of kitsch but I like it , there;s something about those  plucked violins . Finally I love the take on Danse Macabre ( Evil Midnight ) which has some great drumming and organ work . Fans of the TV show Jonathan Creek will know this tune well from the show's theme.

I think what I like about this album is that despite the modern instruments these old classics have been altered very little in the arrangements ( apart from the odd drum solo ).The track Joy is very much in the same spirit as the Bachs' original composition and it really does feel like Joy when you hear it.

Jacques Loussier - Tu Seras Terriblement Gentille - 1968

Face01

• Generique debut
• Ballet Photo Rouge
• Ballade Dans Paris La Nuit
• Poursuite Jaguar
• Promenade Au Luxemboug
• Kam-Tcha-Ka
• Baiser

Face02

• Leslies Jerk
• Sortie Metro
• Clara's Jerk
• Top Cover Girl
• Ballarde Dand Paris
• Robe Rose
• Generique Fin

Jacques Loussier - Generique debut


Jacques Loussier - Ballet Photo Rouge


Jacques Loussier - Ballade Dans Paris La Nuit


Jacques Loussier - Porsuite Jaguar


Jacques Loussier - Robe Rose


Jacques Loussier - Clara's Jerk


Jacques Loussier - Ballade Dans Paris


I'm reposting this because I felt mean only putting up one track from this incredible album.

An absolutely stunning sound track. I found my first copy at a second hand book and magazine shop in a section out the back past the old Playboys and Penthouses . Because there was no record player I didn't realize how special the album was until I got home . That's one of the thrills of collecting vinyl from op shops and church fairs.

I think the music is wonderful and so typical of really cool French soundtracks. Full of catchy tunes and quirky instrumentation. And then there's the ever present Bossa Nova tracks that lead me to believe Brazilian music must have been hugely influential to the French composers of the time.

Tres Cool n'est pas.