This song is living proof that whatever you try to do, if you execute it well, the rest can take care of itself. Serge didn't even bother writing a song (this is just an arrangement of Chopin's prelude in E minor). But the song is excellent, and stands up to (at least several hundred) repeated listens. There's a slow, jerky beat, and a heavy bassline. Birkin's delicate vocal works well with this backing, and the whole thing has a very hip feel.
available on CD - Master Serie Vol. 1 (Polygram France)
A really lovely version of this song, which was more famously recorded by The Left Banke. The introduction nicely recalls the melody of The Association's 'Never my love'.
The instrumentation has a folk flavour, with a nice strummed acoustic guitar. The production is superb, with great, slightly distant sounding vocal harmonies and occasional sparkly percussion sounds. Overall, it's a sound not millions of miles away from groups like Spanky and Our Gang, but it has a melancholic edge to it that makes it more listenable to my ears. Something has happened to me over the last couple of years, and some of the more lightheartedly happy music I used to like appeals to me much less.
from Ascending (MGM MGM 4569) available on CD - The Very Best Of Orpheus (Varese)
25 Nov 03 ·executiveslacks: I had just finished recommending Belle & Sebastian's "Piazza, New York Catcher" when I came across this recommendation. They namecheck "Walk Away Renee" in "Piazza..."
I haven't heard this song, but now I want to hear it! 10 Dec 04 ·WayCool: Orpheus' version of "Walk Away Renee" is a classic example of how this group effortlessly applied their distinctive sound to material by other bands. I enjoyed the original version by The Left Banke but always thought the wimpy vocals could have used some testosterone. The Orpheus version is without fault and I'm totally puzzled why it failed to eclipse the original. 13 Dec 04 ·jeanette: I hear the legendary Pink Lady have also recorded a version - what a treat! Anyone heard? 11 Oct 06 ·delicado: Having heard several versions of this song (most recently, The Blades of Grass), I'd just like to reiterate that this for me is THE rendition of the song - I'm with WayCool on this one! 19 Apr 07 ·artlongjr: I have a 45 of this by the Four Tops...I like their version, it sounds very mature the way Levi Stubbs sings it, compared to the youthful innocence of the original! I have the Orpheus version and it's great, but I will always like the Left Banke original best...I wonder if anybody ever covered "Pretty Ballerina"?
This bizarre Morricone pop tune sounds as if it came from a parallel universe. With an instrumental mix of guitar, harpsichord, bass and drums, it achieves the same kind of spooky, melancholic atmosphere as 'Deep Down', another Morricone film song from the same year. But in contrast to Christy's passionate vocal in 'Deep Down', Peter Bloom's delivery is light-hearted and much more low-key. Both tracks feature classic Morricone wordless vocal effects and some truly ridiculous lyrics. I haven't seen Partner, but I'd be interested to see how this song fits in to the story:
"I want to be your dazzling white knight
I'll splash you sizzling cool with bright light
I'll kiss your cleanliness
...Your soft, silkiness
Oh what happiness:
It's biological...
SPLASH
DASH
FLASH"
Ridiculous words, but the arrangement makes the track genuinely powerful. Shame Ennio didn't bring this one out for the crowd at the Royal Albert Hall last year.
from Partner OST (Cam) available on CD - Morricone a Go-Go
18 Jan 04 ·bobbyspacetroup: I love this song! I haven't seen Partner either but have heard it's pretty awful. 06 Oct 04 ·eftimihn: It's absolutely superb, that harpsicord sound is especially lovely and the lyrics are really weird throughout with Peter singing something with "my super-duper-baby/ we're goin' whoops-a-daisy" in the bridge part of the song... 23 Oct 04 ·megaphonerecords: i can't beleive it!!!!!!!! i first heard this song while i was living in australia. it shot right into my being & resonated hard. since i've been back in the states i've been trying to find this song with no luck. it's been 5 years now & this is the first time i've seen a sign that this song really exists & wasn't just a magical dream i had. maybe i'll be fortunate enough to actually hear this song again before i die! 02 Jul 06 ·dominb: I saw "Partner" at a revival at a cinema in Madrid and although Morricone does the whole s/track this song is the only pop number so it really stands out,the scene which accompanies it features the main character played by Pierre Clementi romping with his girlfriend in soap suds pouring out of a washing machine,he then jams her head in the washer's door and kills her!...Partner is a pretty pretentious film but it's odd enough to be enjoyable.When I saw it,this song was the high point for me,even though it only lasts a few mins....Where did you get this from? 02 Jul 06 ·dominb: ah..."morricone a go go"...I'll look out for it,must be a million morricone compilations,finding new morricone music is a hobby of mine! 03 Jan 13 ·delicado: To see the film clip with the music (dominb\'s description above is pretty accurate), visit http://youtu.be/ftueIAmdwBw
When I heard this album by the Brazilian organist Ed Lincoln, I really wasn't expecting a tune like this. It's a beautiful, tender vocal, sounding like something from a Francis Lai soundtrack, with lovely male-female alternating vocals and an exquisite Morricone style trumpet blending well with the guitar/organ/percussion instrumentation. An absolutely stunning track - playful but slightly sad at the same time, with some spooky laughter/sighing from the female singer towards the end.
24 Feb 04 ·n-jeff: Thats the thing with Lincoln, its not just the cheese, he played alongside the best Jazz musicians in Brazil. He could cut a pretty funk when the occasion demanded, and his "Seu piano eletrico" album ranges from african tinged stompers to mid sixties style vocal cuts.
IMHO opinion underrated as a producer as well, he seems to have been active on the cutting edge of Brazilain music from the late fifties right through to the late seventies.
I intended to use this track as the payoff for a compilation I did for a cd trading ring, but I don't think I had the space.
He was in hospital just before Christmas (2003), not sure how he's doing now. 28 Feb 04 ·delicado: I have to say, I'm pretty blown away by his work. I know you've been harping on about him for years, so I wish I had listened earlier! 05 May 04 ·sodapop650: Ed Lincolns best work is the recordings he did with Orlann Divo becasue he is a little more low-key and the arrangements are just plain better. I love O Ganso cause its so damn crazy and his recordings under the name Claudio Marcelo are pretty good too. A rcord seller in Brazil actually got me his autograph as a present because I bought so many of Ed Lincolns LPs. But I gotta tell you, someone like Sergio Carvalho or Eumir Deodato are much more powerful on the Hammond and Ely Arcoverde, Juarez Sant'ana Ze Maria I think are all more mature organists. I put Ed Lincoln with Walter Wanderley a little heavy on the cheese.
Genius late 60s pop with vocal harmonies. This was composed by Roger Nichols, and has some beautiful chord changes and Bacharach-meets-Brian-Wilson interludes.
The verse is sombre and in a minor key, but when they sing 'close to me' to usher in the chorus, the sun comes out! There's some scat singing in the interludes. I had previously only really known the Vogues for '5 o'clock world', but this is superb - an unusual and memorable track.
