This song comes from the stellar soundtrack to 1968 film "The Lion in Winter," my first outing w/J. Barry. Wow. The whole album edged out all rock music at parties. This song has a lovely rocking boat-on-water undercurrent to it (Queen Eleanor is being rowed upriver in a barge), with soaring turns-taking female /male voices singing in Latin. It has a little, quiet horn bridge to it, but then the waves of sound come back and die out. Gorgeous. Defintely a winter-feel album (the story takes place at Christmas, too).
Tony Mansfield (New Musik) produced mock-soul from the best beehive in the biz next to Kate & Cindy; from the spoken intro, to the soaring brass and strings, it is the blend of Bacharach and Motown that should've translated into a much bigger hit than it did.
14 Jan 05 ·n-jeff: It was quite a hit in the UK if I recall correctly. This post has just filled my head with Images. Neasdon, the mentioned Beehives, spangly mini dresses, Tony mansfields mid 70's pop show on TV. Did Tony Mansfield really look like Pete Waterman, as my memory insists? 28 Mar 05 ·Mike: Tony Mansfield was/is a musical genius, as noted elsewhere in my recommenations. Not quite sure how he could have had a pop show on tv in the mid 70s, though...The big hit he had with Mari Wilson was "Just what I've always wanted". He looked a bit geeky...did Pete Waterman copy his look? I don't know... 15 Apr 05 ·rsfinla: Actually Tony Mansfield did not produce Baby It's True. I believe it was Tot Taylor that gave this song the big sound it deserved. 07 Dec 05 ·n-jeff: I've just remembered it was Mike Mansfield that had the TV show. It ws fun all the same.
And it was Mike Mansfield that looked like PW, at least in my mind. 12 May 09 ·geezer: Awise and truly awesome choice of obscure pop
For me, simply the most perfect, most luscious piece of pop of its era. I just have to hear the opening downward guitar riff and I'm wrapped up in every note of the song, virtually holding my breath until the premature fade. Wow!
07 Feb 05 ·stupidwall: village green is one of my favorite albums of all time 07 Feb 05 ·bonzoboots: ray davies rarely put a foot wrong in that golden era : 66/68, and the three lps from then are filled with perfect gems- "lazy old sun", "rainy day in june", "animal farm" to name just three...but it could have been another three! 19 Mar 06 ·b. toklas: There is one more album which was recorded between "The village green ..." and "Arthur" but not released before 1973, I think on Reprise, called "The great lost Kinks album". To say it�s even better than those officially released in the Sixties may be a little annoying, but ... well, give it a try! Anyway�: the Kinks are the Kinks are the Kinks.
A re-recording, with Sylvian's lyrics, of Sakamoto's instrumental track written a few years earlier for the film "Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence".
Delicately, poignantly beautiful; an exquisite piece (ok - song) which used to be available as the "extra" track on CD versions of Sylvian's most consistent album, "Secrets of the Beehive".
