Going way back to 1964 for today's eclectic selection of 15 songs, designed to energise your Easter.
Some stone cold classics from The Kinks, The Temptations, The Beatles and Bob Dylan and not much I can add to the millions of words that have been written about them in the last six decades, other than...the songwriters would deserve legendary status if these were the only songs that they had written. And yet, they went on to write even better songs. Boggles the mind, sometimes.
In March 1964, my folks had barely been married a year and the hopes and dreams that my brother and I would subsequently crush were some years away. Back then, they were working hard and saving money to buy a house and start a family, so buying records was a luxury they couldn't afford. So, compilations have been an essential doorway into the past for me. And there are some cracking ones to be found.
Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968 (the 1998 4CD not the original 1972 double vinyl) offers up The Beau Brummels. In the early 2000s, a series of CDs curated by Saint Etienne caught my attention. I think Songs For Mario's Cafe (2004) might have been the first and introduced me to many artists, including Philadelphia trio The Sapphires. Let's Break Up For A While was written by Jerry Ross and Kenneth Gamble, the latter going on to enshrine the sound of Philadelphia in partnership with Leon Huff. Beryl Marsden was revealed to me via the essential Love Hit Me! compilation in 2016. The subtitle Decca Beat Girls 1962-1970 tells you all you need to know other than it's 24 tracks of pure pop gold.
Film and TV tie-ins were also a big thing and this selection features a 4-song sequence of music that became a staple of my gogglebox experience as a kid in the 1970s. Still a year away from the big-screen adaptation in 1965, Doctor Who was nevertheless proving to be something of a phenomenon, largely thanks to those psychotic pepperpots the Daleks. The unforgettable theme tune was also subject to numerous cover versions, mostly an attempt to 'normalise' the out-there music of Delia Derbyshire and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Eric Winstone & His Orchestra being one such culprit.
The Munsters were another must-watch for me, though I'm pretty sure I didn't get to see it until the Channel 4 repeats in the early 80s and, if I'm honest, The Addams Family were my favourite if forced to choose. What I didn't know until a few years ago is that, cashing in on the TV show's success, 1964 saw "the newest teen-age singing group" The Munsters appear with a 12-song eponymous album. Sadly, despite some of the promo photos, not the actors themselves but a quartet of musicians who performed wearing rubber masks of their respective characters. It's derivative, but not as bad as it sounds.
Stingray was one of Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation successes, high action, big budget puppet TV with all strings visible, oversized heads (didn't I do this already?) and lips that predicted the botox revolution of the 21st century. Aqua Marina was the closing theme song by The Barry Gray Orchestra, a paean to the amphibian beauty that captured the heart of lead character Troy Tempest. I always felt for Lt. Atlanta Shore, gazing wistfully at a photo of Troy. Yep, as a toddler I was already emotionally invested in TV characters!
Elvis Presley films were constantly on TV during my childhood, so I was familiar with the songs, even if the plots themselves were almost instantly forgettable. In recent years, the promo poster for Viva Las Vegas also adorns one of my tote shopping bags.
Rounding out the selection are another quartet of legends, The Pretty Things, Simon & Garfunkel and The Rolling Stones covering Chuck Berry, with The Queen Of Motown Mary Wells response to The Temptations' My Girl.
Perhaps not the selection or sequence that you might have expected from a 1964 collection but somehow, it all makes perfect sense. Must be those strange enchantments that Gary Miller was singing of...
1) Laugh, Laugh: The Beau Brummels
2) All Day And All Of The Night: The Kinks
3) The Way You Do The Things You Do: The Temptations
4) Let's Break Up For A While: The Sapphires
5) Don't Bring Me Down: The Pretty Things
6) My Guy: Mary Wells
7) Dr. Who (Cover of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop): Eric Winstone & His Orchestra
8) Eerie Beach: The Munsters
9) Aqua Marina: The Barry Gray Orchestra ft. Gary Miller & Joan Brown
10) Viva Las Vegas: Elvis Presley
11) Bleecker Street: Simon & Garfunkel
12) Eight Days A Week: The Beatles
13) Carol (Cover of Chuck Berry): The Rolling Stones
14) The Times They Are A-Changin': Bob Dylan
15) Love Is Going To Happen To Me: Beryl Marsden
Great selection, and if you can overlook Captain Tempest's caddish behaviour 'Aqua Marina' is a lovely tune
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