It's a song about a suicide pact gone wrong. Amazing falsetto (and non-falsetto) vocals. Great glam production. Fantastic guitar solo at 1:40.
It's hard to choose just one track to recommend by this group, but I've settled for this one for now. 'Thank God it isn't Christmas' was a close runner up.
(weirdly, there are a few tracks by them that I would really rather never hear again in my life. Like 'Get in the swing'. Have you heard this track? I have serious trouble with it!)
18 Nov 06 ·Mike: Sparks have indeed produced some good and some extremely bad material. I may still own - somewhere - this LP, though the most-played track on it was always "This town ain't big enough..."
1974 - yes, an incredible year which also brought us such marvels as the Glitter Band's "Angel Face". 18 Nov 09 ·geezer: only Sparks could be comfortable with such subject matter there is humour in everything they do like Tryouts for the Human Race a song for sperm everywhere
This is a rather ridiculous but super–catchy take on this theme to the 1967 spoof Bond movie. Performed by German session musicians, it ends up being a rather groovy mix, with viola d’amore, flute, female wordless vocals, harpsichord, and that other staple of the Baroque era, funky drums. It’s short and sweet and really very cool. The late sixties were cool for many reasons, but one of them is that they could accomodate TWO albums called 'Bacharach Baroque' - this one, and the other great Snuff Garrett-produced one by 'The Renaissance'. Both are superb.
21 Feb 08 ·leonthedog: I found the entire "Bacharach Baroque" album superb!
The "baroque" is not overdone. The arrangements are very pleasing - better than most of the hundreds of instrumental takes on Bacharach that surfaced in the 60's and early 70's. So where can I find more by the ephemeral "18th Century Corporation"?
Listening again to a compilation I made almost four years ago, I heard this magical track, which really had a big effect on me. It's probably not for everyone. Meandering and rather wistful, it's not at all funky like some of their later work, but I find it utterly compelling.
As you might have heard, Novi Singers were an incredibly talented quartet of vocal singers recording in Poland in the late 60s and 70s. They did several amazing records. This is taken from what I think was their first, Bossa Nova. But rather than renderings of songs like 'One note samba' and 'Desafinado', the album consists of a delightful and varied collection of originals in a related mood. The result is like bossa nova from a parallel, slightly more melancholic universe.
The accompaniment is a slow, gentle bossa played by a small jazz group, with some rich strings dropping in and out, and the vocals (all wordless/scat) take centre stage. The chord sequence is staggeringly beautiful, and at times the vocalists take slightly extravagant scat solos.
It sounds strange to say it, but this is really one of those tracks that seems to tell an enormous, emotional story, in spite of the fact that it doesn't contain one word! It would make a fantastic soundtrack to a silent movie.
from Bossa Nova (Polskie Nagrania) available on CD - Bossa Nova/Torpedo (Polskie Nagrania)
22 May 07 ·delicado: just to reiterate, this IS the best song ever!
This is a really stunning Brazilian take on 'Midnight Sun' - a really haunting song written by Lionel Hampton. It starts with a creepy, ornate string arrangement and Sylvia's vocal in Portuguese is stunning. The whole album is great.
from Bossa Balanco Balada, available on CD
23 Jul 08 ·shida: Hi, I think have a mistake in the name of the track. The real name is "Sol da meia noite".
Cheers 23 Jul 08 ·delicado: Very good point shida - thanks for that. I've updated it now.
This probably sounds like an odd thing to recommend, but the more I hear this track, the more I love it. It's as if the arranger didn't actually like the song that much - he has changed it a great deal, but for better. Mixed with the trademark Mystic Moods sound effects, it begins lush and gentle. However, after the sound effects fade away, the quality of the arrangement and recording come through, with crisp drums, a nice bass and some great piano. It has a very cool funk-orchestral feel, recalling some of Pete Moore's best work.
from English Muffins, available on CD (Bainbridge)
25 Oct 11 ·delicado: Erm- when I wrote this I think I hadn\'t yet got into the Carpenters. this is basically the Carpenters\' version of ticket to ride but an orchestral version. Still very cool, but that was the origin of the arrangement!
