[2020-01-31] Various Artists "Tea And Symphony: The English Baroque Sound 1968-1974 (Expanded Edition)" (Ace UK)

Linda · **Posted:** Tue Dec 10, 2019 4:38 pm

Description
When psychedelia had run its course in Britain at the end of the 60s, the predominant trend was to get hairier and heavier and more long-winded. Many musicians, however, were still hung up on the trappings of psychedelia’s home-grown strain, having found a musical home in its mournful evocations of Victoriana, its village green gentility and its nods to the pleasures of suburbia. They wanted to carry on using woodwinds, cellos and melancholic melodies. As the advent of the singer-songwriter offered another possible avenue for these refuseniks, a new brand of pop was discernible – the English Baroque sound.

First compiled by writer and Saint Etienne member Bob Stanley 15 years ago, the original “Tea And Symphony” CD now sells for between £50 and £100. This new and improved edition features several tracks that haven’t been reissued before; Lora Findlay’s distinctive artwork has similarly been given a fresh lick of paint.

A definitive collection of English Baroque, this compilation includes familiar classics like Colin Blunstone’s Say ‘You Don’t Mind’ and Honeybus’ ‘I Can’t Let Maggie Go’, as well Vigrass and Osborne’s original recording of the Justin Hayward hit ‘Forever Autumn’ and master of the observational, homespun pop Clifford T Ward’s ‘Coathanger’. In-demand rarities include Jon Plum’s gothic tale ‘Alice’, Mike Batt’s exquisite ‘Fading Yellow’ and Bombadil’s ‘When The City Sleeps’, a rare Barclay James Harvest spin-off single.

To the delight of people who thought the mine of great 60s and 70s 45s had been exhausted, previously undiscovered gems by the likes of Matthew Bones (the Kinks-like parlour piece ‘Two Sugars’), Erasmus Chorum (the epic ‘Mary Jane’) and Les Payne continue to be unearthed. Here are more than 20 of baroque pop’s finest moments. Make yourself a pot of tea, find yourself a comfy armchair, place a ginger cat on your lap and sit back.

Compiled and annotated by Bob Stanley.

Tracklist
1. Pictures - Ray Brooks
2. I Can't Let Maggie Go - The Honeybus
3. Off To Find A New Land - Lea Nixon
4. Alice - Jon Plum
5. When The City Sleeps - Bombadil
6. Fading Yellow - Mike Batt
7. Say You Don't Mind - Colin Blunstone
8. The Seventh Hour - Gordon Waller
9. Mary Jane - Erasmus Chorum
10. Shapes And Shadows - Tandem
11. Please Believe Me - Nirvana
12. Forever Autumn - Vigrass & Osborne
13. Oh Girl - Richard Henry
14. Very Well - Les Payne
15. You're Lovely - Sunchariot
16. Pollution Song - Mike Sedgewick
17. Epitaph (When Times Were Good) - Bill Kenwright
18. Coathanger - Clifford T Ward
19. The Race - Christopher
20. Closing My Eyes - David McIvor
21. Lifetime - The Bliss
22. Two Sugars - Matthew Bones

Amazon USA
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082JPQFVJ/?tag=imwan-20

Amazon UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B082JPQFVJ/?tag=imwan-21

Glenn S. · 30 Oct 2006

Yet another British compilation to put on my wish list.

Trivia: I had always assumed "Forever Autumn" was written for Jeff Wayne's War of The Worlds project but maybe not? I did not know there was a version before Justin Hayward's.

Jason Michael · 30 May 2012

Glenn S. wrote:

Yet another British compilation to put on my wish list.

Trivia: I had always assumed "Forever Autumn" was written for Jeff Wayne's War of The Worlds project but maybe not? I did not know there was a version before Justin Hayward's.

If Wikipedia is to be trusted, the song has an interesting history:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forever_Autumn_(song)

Quote:

"Forever Autumn" is a song written by Jeff Wayne, Gary Osborne and Paul Vigrass. The original melody was written by Wayne in 1969 as a jingle for a Lego commercial. Vigrass and Osborne, the performers of the original jingle, added lyrics to the song and recorded it for inclusion on their 1972 album Queues. Their interpretation was also released as a single and gained moderate commercial success in Japan, selling more than 100,000 copies and becoming a top-20 hit on the country's record chart.
The best-known version is the recording by Justin Hayward from the album Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds. Wayne wanted to include a love song on the album that sounded like "Forever Autumn", and he decided that the best course of action was to simply use the original song. Wayne chose Hayward, of The Moody Blues, to sing it saying that he "wanted that voice from 'Nights in White Satin'". It was recorded at London's Advision Studios in 1976. The song reached #5 on the UK Singles Chart in August 1978.

A jingle for Lego? Who'da thunk it?

Linda · **Posted:** Sat Dec 14, 2019 2:51 pm

Both of the pre-order links are now active:

Amazon USA
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082JPQFVJ/?tag=imwan-20

Amazon UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B082JPQFVJ/?tag=imwan-21

[2020-01-31] Various Artists "Tea And Symphony: The English Baroque Sound 1968-1974 (Expanded Edition)" (Ace UK)

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