It's strange hearing a sweet, soothing kiddie tune sung in German, with all its hard syllables. "Pinocchio"'s sugary, synth-based production can best be described as "ABBA lite". Mary Roos is a singer I know little about, except she once entered the Eurovision song contest with "Arizona Man", an early Giorgio Moroder composition. She's so appealing here, though, that I would like to look into her other stuff.

A superb twangy, bongo-ridden theme from Tony Hatch. It's hard to believe this is the same man who wrote the themes for soap operas like 'Crossroads' and 'Neighbours', but it is... Overall this sounds kind of how I once expected/hoped John Barry's early 60s work might sound - harpsichord, twangy guitar etc. It opens with some eerie effects, bongoes and spare harpsichord sound before breaking into a fully fledged shadows/spy theme style masterpiece, stopping abruptly after just over two minutes. Since I heard this on a compilation, I have no idea as to its origin, which is a shame, as I would love to track down any similar work Tony Hatch may have done. I did some research, and it seems that the session guitarist on this track was none other than Big Jim Sullivan, who cut a couple of sitar LPs on Mercury in the 60s.
n.b. this is not the same tune as the much recorded and superb Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer 'out of this world'.

The 'Best Of' album, 'Death to the Pixies' is full of classics, but if I had to choose one it would be Track 14 'Where is my Mind?'. Its haunting and uplifting at the same time, its got that epic feel to it which makes it seem like more than just a song, plus it kicks arse simply as a rock song! Not sure if I understand entirely what its about, but heh, music is also just about an emotional experience.

My favorite track from one of favorite Morricone scores. Dig that harpsichord.

A gem from the classic '60s television soundtrack to "Secret Agent Man"/"Danger Man". Driving rhthym with harpsichord and brass.