On The Brink: Return Of The Instro-Hipsters

On The Brink: Return Of The Instro-Hipsters

On the Brink is a collection of 20 previously uncomped and absolutely superb UK instrumentals from the '60s and early '70s, assembled by legendary psych musician and Psychic Circle label-head, Nick Saloman (The Bevis Frond). Presenting session men discovering sitars, orchestras getting into the freaky side of things, hip theme tunes, Hammonds, fuzz and brass. Somehow sophisticated and cheesy simultaneously, these acts created their own musical world of Chelsea apartments, mini-mokes, dark velvet bespoke tailoring and the dolliest birds this side of Battersea Bridge. Welcome to the soundtrack of your own unmade Swinging London movie. Artists include: Mike Vickers, the Jim Sullivan Sound, the Shock Absorbers, Wynder K. Frog, Rita, Offside, the Les Reed Orchestra, David Smith, the Keith Mansfield Orchestra, the Dave Davani Four, the Fidd, Ken Woodman's Piccadilly Brass, the John Schroeder Orchestra, Trax Four, the Mike Cotton Sound, Lee Mason and his Orchestra, the Vic Flick Sound, the Chris Barber Soul Band, Brian Bennett and Stanley Myers.

From the mid-'60s to the early '70s, there were quite a few instrumental releases recorded in the U.K. that seemed geared toward the easy listening market. Or, if the intention wasn't quite as gauche, they certainly weren't meant for the average rock fan, who likely wanted something hipper with more vocals and guitars. Still, even if the limited audience for these might have been (at least in part) listeners who wanted to feel a little hip without getting too far out, the musicians nonetheless couldn't help but be influenced by the rock, soul, and jazz trends of the day. On the Brink: Return of the Instro-Hipsters is a 20-track compilation of cuts from obscure 1965-1973 releases in this mold, with Swinging London go-go-like organs and brass being perhaps the most common (though by no means only) ingredients in the arrangements. There are a few names here that will be known to serious British Invasion fans, like Mike Vickers (from Manfred Mann), Jim Sullivan (the numero uno British rock session guitarist before Jimmy Page eclipsed him), Wynder K. Frog, the Mike Cotton Sound, the Dave Davani Four, Vic Flick (famous for playing on "The James Bond Theme"), and British senior jazz statesman Chris Barber; others are known as top cats in the British easy listening arena and have already been honored by reissues of their own (Ken Woodman and John Schroeder).

While any compilation that takes such an unusual angle to such a heavily mined reissue field as British '60s pop is to be applauded, you'd have a hard time pushing all of this as essential listening, even within its narrow subgenre. A good deal of it really is kind of mundane background soul-rock instrumental music – something that could have worked satisfactorily on B-movie soundtracks of the era, but which doesn't stand too well on its own two feet. There are occasional psychedelic echoes on sitar and screeching fuzz guitar, but these sound more like cheesy appropriations to make the cuts seem more "with it" than they sound like outbursts of creativity. It's only occasionally that the tracks let rip with the groovy organ and devious spy guitar licks lots of curious listeners will really want to hear, as the Dave Davani Four's fine cover of the "Top of the Pops" theme and the Vic Flick Sound's "West of Windward" do on both counts. As for other gut-grabbers, Ken Woodman's Piccadilly Brass' "Mexican Flier" would have worked great as a '60s Bond-like thriller theme, and the Chris Barber Soul Band's "Morning Train" (from 1965) has to be the veteran jazzer's most effective stab at the pop/rock market, with some great Brian Auger organ and an edgy jazz-blues fusion that approximates (but doesn't quite match) the sound of the Graham Bond Organisation. Some worthwhile and fun stuff here, then, but there's a significant gap between the best of it and the rest of it.

Review by Richie Unterberger, Allmusic.com

 

 Tracklist:

01. Mike Vickers - On The Brink (02:23)
02. The Jim Sullivan Sound - She Walks Through The Fair (02:44)
03. The Shock Absorbers - It's Your Thing (02:40)
04. Wynder K. Frog - I'm A Man (03:20)
05. Rita - Sexologie (03:17)
06. Offside - Small Deal (02:08)
07. The Les Reed Orchestra - Big Drum (01:58)
08. David Smith - See Me (02:32)
09. The Keith Mansfield Orchestra - Soul Thing (02:59)
10. The Dave Davani Four - Top Of The Pops (02:12)
11. The Fidd - Happy Walk (02:30)
12. Ken Woodman's Piccadilly Brass - Mexican Flier (02:35)
13. The John Schroeder Orchestra - Nightrider (02:55)
14. Trax Four - Moanin' (02:01)
15. The Mike Cotton Sound - Soul Serenade (02:42)
16. Lee Mason And His Orchestra - Deadly Nightshade (03:03)
17. The Vic Flick Sound - West Of Windward (02:59)
18. The Chris Barber Soul Band - Morning Train (02:28)
19. Brian Bennet - Tricycle (02:50)
20. Stanley Myers - Organ Fantasia in D Major (05:49)

 

hipsville dudes

Return Of The Instro-Hipsters, Volume 2

Return Of The Instro-Hipsters, Volume 2
Groovy Instrumentals From The UK 1965-1973

Nick Saloman of the Bevis Frond once again invites us to join him in the obscure pleasures of little-known pop, R&B, and jazz instrumental sides of the '60s and '70s with this collection. A number of the selections featured on Return of the Instro-Hipsters are so obscure that even Saloman isn't sure just who is responsible for them (though he offers some educated guesses on the artists behind such names as Sharks, Oliver Bone, and the Masked Phantom), but there are a good share of solid grooves and kicky melodies to be found here from a number of gifted little-knowns. If you went to the movies in the '70s, "Soul Thing" by Tony Newman will sound familiar, while flautist Harold McNair solos over a Dave Brubeck-influenced piano groove on "The Hipster," Jerry Allen demonstrates new uses for game calls on "Fuzzy Duck," Thunder Road's synthesized version of "Peter Gunn" beats Art of Noise's variation on the theme by more than 15 years, "The Brooke Bond Beat" by Cliff Adams may be the most swingin' tea commercial ever, and the Outer Limits serve up some tough, moody rock, appropriately titled "Black Boots." While there's a bit of "Space Age Bachelor Pad" ambience to this set, it's more a matter of evoking a period than obsessing over a particular sound or style; the disc doesn't wallow in camp for its own sake, with solid instrumental chops and strong songwriting the order of the day. Another solid offering from what's becoming one of the most consistently interesting reissue labels operating today.

Review by Mark Deming, Allmusic.com

 Tracklist:

01. D Cordell's Tea Time Ensemble - A Quick One For Sanity (03:08)
02. The 4 Instants - Discotheque (02:42)
03. The Roger Coulam Quartet - Simba (02:05)
04. Harold McNair - The Hipster (04:41)
05. Music Through Six - Floppy Ears (02:38)
06. Sounds Sensational - Night Cry (02:19)
07. The Masked Phantom - Fried Scampi (02:33)
08. The Johnny Harris Orchestra - Lulu's Theme (02:28)
09. Tony Newman - Soul Thing (03:14)
10. The Tony Evans Band - Beach Bird (02:34)
11. Kenny Clare - Hum Drum (01:53)
12. Sharks - Funkology (02:22)
13. The Outer Limits - Black Boots (03:21)
14. Cliff Adams - The Brooke Bond Beat (02:22)
15. Oliver Bone - Jugger Tea (02:56)
16. Thunder Road - Peter Gunn (02:14)
17. Jerry Allen - Fuzz Duck (02:51)
18. Paraffin Jack Flash - Blue & Groovy (04:15)
19. The Helmut Zaccharias Orchestra - Ton Up (02:37)
20. Ning - More Ning (02:44)

hipster2

The Mutants - Death Cult

The Mutants - Death Cult
Mixture of 60's garage rock, surf, porn funk and manic psychedelia, the instrumental madness of The Mutants is a lost soundtrack for Russ Meyer's, Tarantino's and Aki Kaurismäki's films. Impossible to categorize, they call it "afro-garage-mambo".
The Mutants were founded in 1998 by Weijjo a.k.a Abnormal, who wanted to form an instrumental band after getting tired of difficult singers. Members were picked partly from his previous punk band "Isebel's Pain" and from locations you don´t want to know about. The sound of The Mutants has been wonderfully weird from the first beginnings, only to get seriously sicker since. After the first chaotic gigs with the usual rock instrumentation + organ, they needed to sound bigger. A Saxophone and percussion were added. The originally punk/surf/garage -based stuff is now smashed through Parliament/Funkadelic filter. The beats have been funkier since. You will love it with leather and rubber.

Tracklist:
01. Welcome To Death Cult
02. Port-au-Prince
03. Heavy Caramba!
04. Cps In Heat
05. Iron Jamaica
06. Mutants Death Cult
07. Serious Mojo
08. Jung'ala
09. White Trash Trouble Man
10. The Ghost Of Meadow Hill

killerdiller

A change of pace:
Over at Twilight Zone blog folks have been having a fun time posting "song swarms" or massive comps of versions of the same song.

For example, I posted almost 200 versions of Ghost Riders in the Sky over there. 
Check out the comments sections at the Zone for all kinds of awesome song swarms.

Here's a little one to whet your appetite. A few friends and I worked on this over the years. 

Eexperiment in Terror 3 in 1 – Banzai Pipeline, A Shot in the Dark, and Experiment in Terror
All covers of songs by Henry Mancini
Various bit rates due to various source material

Mostly Modern Surf versions
Banzai Pipeline –

Henry Mancini
The Astronauts
The Boardwalkers
The Panthom Five
The Raybeats
The Blue Hawaiians
The Moonrays

Contributors: Eek and Bossexec

A Shot in the Dark –

Treble Spankers
Big Ray and the Futuras
Four Piece Suit
Henry Mancini
John Zorn
Whiskey Buscuit
Creed Taylor and his Orchestra
Chris Mancini and Leonard Maven
Girl Trouble
Jimmy Haskell
The Moonrays

Contributors – RYP, Bossexec

Experiment in Terror

Al Caiola
Danny Morris
The Champs
Davie Allen and the Arrows
Henry Mancini
Impala
Laika and the Cosmonauts
The Moonrays
The Blue Hawaiians

Contributors -- Bossexec, Frisian

getitnow

The Avengers and other Top 60's T.V. Themes

Fun set with 60(!) themes from hit U.S. & U.K. TV shows of the '60s, all digitally remastered. A must for fansof lounge music, it includes numerous spy, detective & sci- fi themes, including 'The Avengers' (fans of the 1998 film starring Uma Thurman, Sean Connery & Ralph Fiennes need look no further for the original theme), 'Dr. Who', 'The Saint', 'The Fugitive', 'Perry Mason', 'Out Of This World', 'Peyton Place' & 'Thunderbirds'. The themes to the British shows are the original versions. Some of the others are rerecorded for this set. Purists might scoff, but, there is no other source for some the obscure British spy show themes. Extremely loungerific in most excellent quality recordings.

1. The Avengers - The Laurie Johnson Orchestra
2. A Man In A Suitcase - Ron Grainer & His Orchestra
3. Thunderbirds - The Barry Gray Orchestra
4. Dr. Who - Eric Winstone And His Orchestra
5. Old Ned (Theme From 'Steptoe & son) - Ron Grainer
6. Who Do You Think You Are Kidding... Mr. Hitler? (Dad's Army) - Bud Flanagan
7. Captain Scarlet - The Barry Gray Orchestra
8. Theme From Z-Cars - Johnny Keating & His Orchestra
9. The Saint - Cyril Stapleton & The Eliminators
10. Department S - The Cyril Stapleton Orchestra
11. Joe 90 - The Barry Gray Orchestra
12. Crossroads Theme - The Tony Hatch Orchestra
13. Lucky Stars (Theme From 'Thank Your Lucky Stars') - Peter Knight & The Nightriders
14. Light Flight (Theme From 'Take Three Girls') - Pentangle
15. Stingray - Gary Miller/Barry Gray Orchestra
16. High Wire (Theme From 'Danger Man') - The Bob Leaper Orchestra
17. The Champions - The Tony Hatch Orchestra
18. Hancock's Tune (From T.V. Show) - The Derek Scott Music
19. Forsyte Saga Theme - Cyril Stapleton, His Choir & Orchestra
20. On The Ball (World cup TV Theme) - John Schroeder Orchestra
21. The Power Game - The Cyril Stapleton Orchestra
22. A Little Suite (Theme From 'Dr. Finlay's Casebook') - The Les Reed Strings
23. Fireball (Theme From 'Fireball XL5') - The Flee-Rekkers
24. Maigret Theme - The Eagles
25. Out Of This World - The Tony Hatch Orchestra
26. No Hiding Place - The Laurie Johnson Orchestra
27. The Fugitive Theme - John Schroeder Orchestra
28. Theme From 'Who-Dun-It' - The Tony Hatch Orchestra
29. W. Somerset Maugham - The Cyril Stapleton Orchestra
30. Happy Joe (Theme From 'Comedy Playhouse') - Ron Grainer

aven1

aven1b

1. Scarlett (Theme From 'Scarlett Hill') - Peter Knight Orchestra
2. How Soon (Theme From The Richard Boone Show) - Jackie Trent
3. The Willow Waltz (Tim Frazer's Theme) - The Tony Hatch Orchestra
4. Mr. Rose - Roy Budd Listen Listen
5. The Doctors - The Tony Hatch Orchestra
6. Theme From Sam Benedict - Johnny Keating & His Orchestra
7. Ben Casey - The Tony Hatch Orchestra
8. Sir Francis Drake - The Piccadilly Strings
9. Perry Mason - The Tony Hatch Orchestra
10. Our House - The Piccadilly Stings
11. Who Is Sylvia? - Charlie Drake
12. Latin Quarter (Theme From 'Riviera Police') - The Laurie Johnson Orchestra
13. Ghost Squad - The Tony Hatch Orchestra
14. Echo Four-Two - The Laurie Johnson Orchestra
15. Our Love Story (From TV Series 'Love Story') - Sounds Orchestral
16. Theme From 'Naked City' (Somewhere In The Night) - The Tony Hatch Orchestra
17. Sucu Sucu (From TV Series 'Top Secret') - The Laurie Johnson Orchestra
18. Casablanca (Theme From 'Crane') - Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen
19. Oliver Twist Theme - The Eagles
20. Carlos' Theme (From 'The Sentimental Agent') - Johnny Keating
21. The Spies Theme - Cyril Stapleton
22. The Deputy - Laurie Johnson Orchestra
23. Man Alive - The Tony Hatch Orchestra
24. Memories Of Summer (From TV Series 'Love Story') - The Tony Hatch Orchestra
25. Lunar Walk (Theme From 'Thank Your Lucky Stars') - Johnny Hawksworth Orchestra
26. West End (From 'Whicker's World') - The Laurie Johnson Orchestra
27. Three Live Wires - Bob Wallis & The Storyville Jazzmen
28. Quick Before They Catch Us - Paddy, Klaus & Gibson
29. That's Me Over Here (Ronnie Corbett's Theme) - Cyril Stapleton
30. Theme From 'Peyton Place' - Jack Dorsey Orchestra

tv1

tv1b

Naked City -- John Zorn

Zorn is definately a post-modernist. And as a post-modernist, he has a need to include nearly EVERYTHING on this CD...surf music, 60's film themes, Ornette Coleman covers, country and western (he likes both kinds of music!), cartoon music, film noir music, post-punk...you name it, Zorn includes it. While to me, this post-modern mishmash doesn't work on his string quartets and other "classical" pieces, seeming more pretentious than interesting, here it is absolutely hilarious...there's an almost playful quality to the referencing, much like an episode of the Simpsons. And like the show, he is fast. You miss much on the first listen...even on the fourth or fifth listen.
Most of this disc is a sonic whirl through the musical styles of the past 40 years...held together by the vision of an incredibly unique New York Improviser. This group is joined on several tracks by vocalist Yamataka Eye as they explore, pretty much everything, musically. The accomplishments on this record are stunning. Tackling material by Morriconi, Henry Mancini, Ornette Coleman, Jerry Goldsmith, John Barry ("The James Bond Theme") and a series of Zorn originals, the band moves genres effortlessly.

The opener on the album sets the stage for the rest of the record-- "Batman" begins with a crazed guitar figure, then moves underneath a wailing sax to a driving rhythm and backbeat, maintains this sort of pseudo-swing feel but structures itself such that it occasionally collapses into hard core noise. There are also some really serious beautiful moments as well. Zorn's cover of Chinatown starts as an almost ambient piece and then goes into the familiar Jerry Goldsmith theme with absolute seriousness and soulfulness. And even the James Bond Theme, which is campy to the max, is also quite brilliantly played and ultimately treated as a serious vehicle for improvisation. "The Sicilian Clan" is delightful. Even though there is noise (the entire middle of the album-- all hardcore songs under a minute featuring Eye), sometimes all in the same song ("Snagglepuss"), it adds to the dreadfulness of being alone in a dark alley. Someone once said-- "if you don't like Naked City, wait ten seconds, it'll sound completely different", and its really quite accurate. This music requires a certain level of fearlessness (and probably a healthy dose of bravado) combined with virtuoso performers who are willing (and capable) of expressing themselves in any form. But really, in order to pull this off, both the composer and the musicians have to know when to let loose and have fun-- when serious is too serious, and John Zorn does know this.

Probably one of the most important things to remember about this disc is that it really bears repeated listens-- there's a lot here, I've played it often over the years, and I'm still finding new and exciting moments in it. There are people who didn't "get it" at first, and eventually, it sunk in and made sense. Give it a try or two or three, skip anything that really bothers you and come back to it later, this is not easy music, but it is brilliant and highly rewarding. If you are a fan of unique, creative, improvised, or just downright interesting music, you owe it to yourself to check out this recording.

If you truly want to have your musical ideals challenged and your ear expanded, I wholeheartedly recommend this album. It takes you farther than you thought possible.

1.Batman 2. The Sicillian Clan 3. You Will Be Shot 4. Latin Quarter 5. A Shot In The Ejaculation 6. Reanimator 7. Snagglepuss 8. I Want To Live 9. Lonely Woman 10. Igneous 11. Blood Duster 12. Hamerhead 13. Demon Sanctuary 14. Obeah Man 15. Ujaku 16. Fuck The Facts 17. Speedball 18. Chinatown 19. Punk China Doll 20. N.Y. Flat Top Box 21. Saigon Pickup 22. The James Bond Theme 23. Den Of Sins 24. Contempt 25. Graveyard Shift 26. Inside Straight Dark

naked1

naked2

Crime Scene - Night Time at the Lounge

This is the real deal -- some of the best true crime/spy jazz out there to sink your ears into.

Crime Scene

Here is a touch of late night in the dark alley of the Lounge. Crimes Scene from the exquisite Ultra Lounge Series --

"The Untouchables" theme by Nelson Riddle is quite nice, and truly conveys the Crime Scene I think Ultra-Lounge is trying to evoke; this is the signature track for this CD. The "Mission: Impossible" theme is excellent too, starting off true to TV form, with no variations or deviations in arrangement, but then moves on to some good solos with a nice, fat backing from the band. There’s the hard-boiled yet mysteriously exotic, boss, crime-waltz version of "Mister Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" and the bossanova take on the "James Bond Theme." The best part of this entire album is the last (real) track, "Music to Be Murdered By." Jeff Alexander is credited, but the track is introduced by the Master of Suspense and Macabre himself, Sir Alfred Hitchcock, who assures us that "naturally, the record is long playing, even though you may not be." It puts you in the right mood. With jazzy and slick tunes, this one doesn't fail to please. Theme songs to TV shows and movies alike make up a refreshingly familiar and cool set of tunes.

Dragnet/Room 43 - Ray Anthony 2. I Spy - Earle Hagen
3. Thinking Of Baby - Elmer Bernstein
4. From Russia With Love - Count Basie
5. Big Town - Laurindo Almeida & The Danzaneros
6. Man With The Golden Arm - Billy May
7. The Untouchables - Nelson Riddle
8. The James Bond Theme - Leroy Holmes
9. Mission: Impossible - Billy May
10. Harlem Nocturne - Spike Jones New Band
11. Walk On The Wild Side - Si Zentner
12. Mister Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - Elliott Fisher
13. The Wild Ones - Lou Busch
14. Staccato's Theme - Elmer Bernstein
15. Search For Vulcan - Leroy Holmes
16. Peter Gunn Suite - Ray Anthony
17. The Silencers - Vikki Carr
18. Music To Be Murdered By - Jeff Alexander With Alfred Hitchcock
19. Bonus Track - Ultra-Lounge Volume 7: The Crime Scene

1.Dragnet/Room 43 - Ray Anthony 2. I Spy - Earle Hagen 3. Thinking Of Baby - Elmer Bernstein 4. From Russia With Love - Count Basie 5. Big Town - Laurindo Almeida & The Danzaneros 6. Man With The Golden Arm - Billy May 7. The Untouchables - Nelson Riddle 8. The James Bond Theme - Leroy Holmes 9. Mission: Impossible - Billy May 10. Harlem Nocturne - Spike Jones New Band 11. Walk On The Wild Side - Si Zentner 12. Mister Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - Elliott Fisher 13. The Wild Ones - Lou Busch 14. Staccato's Theme - Elmer Bernstein 15. Search For Vulcan - Leroy Holmes 16. Peter Gunn Suite - Ray Anthony 17. The Silencers - Vikki Carr 18. Music To Be Murdered By - Jeff Alexander With Alfred Hitchcock 19. Bonus Track - Ultra-Lounge Volume 7: The Crime Scene

Crime 1

crime 2