The Pleasure Of Easy Listening
Although I'm not quite ready for a pipe and slippers, over the last few years I seem to have aquired an interest in forms of music that I would have never even considered listening to years ago. I still love my jazz, some classical, bag pipes, indie/rock/ prog rock, bit of drum and bass too etc, but easy listening seems to be creeping in now as well; the lush string arrangements of Henry Mancini, Sinatra, Tony Bennet and Andy Williams, are now just a few of the regulars on my old record player. You can buy all this stuff on vinyl so cheaply now, which is just marvellous news for lovers of this genre as the credit crunch bites hard at our music spending.
Is this a healthy interest or am I just old before my time (36) Perhaps I should head down for a dance at the over sixties club tomorrow night to discuss this matter further with fellow lovers, over a glass of sherry and a eccles cake. Any other fans of easy listening out there, any other good recommendations? Nice and easy does it now.
- More from David Wright.
- Login or register to post comments
Easy lover
Easy listening can, of course, be wonderful.
The Mancini album cover put me in mind of this slinky number - "Lujon". Play it and imagine you're Ray Winstone roasting in the sun by the pool...
(P.S. I'm 35.)
Perfection
Lovely lush listening, the perfect way to wind down after being put on hold by 02 for 35mins! I would happily go to a club with like minded souls to listen to this kind of stuff. There's a bar in Manchester called Fab Cafe and they sometimes play stuff like this in the day. Just think, if all offices had this kind of music as background music, the working day may be a little easier!
Here's another:
Lush
The great John Barry, with "The Girl With The Sun In Her Hair":
An obvious choice...
This truly is one of the greatest records ever made, a masterpiece in terms of singing, orchestration and arrangement. And the songs aren't half bad either. Oh, and the cover's great too...
Agreed Patrick
It truly is a beautiful cover and a magical album, perfect late night listening with a glass of whiskey and the last fag of the packet.This is of course its close cousin:
Luck Strike Listening
Before I pop out, here's a young Frank in action, in the days when tobacco advertising was the norm:
I myself am a bit partial..
to a bit of Julie London. WOW. What a voice, what a woman!
In vision AND sound: this was my introduction...
... to the glories of Ms London & this song at a tender age. I was lost for evermore.
I love the sheer escapism of easy listening. This is music not about hedonism but music AS hedonism. And how can you not dig the large-scale excitement of Les Baxter's orchestra in this clip? Did people truly live in such times?
Another classic...
Sorry...
I don't really see people like Sinatra, Bennett and London as easy listening.(Even though they are easy to listen to..but so is Nick Drake)
To me its the stuff you see stuffing the racks at charity shops, Percy Faith, James Last and Andy Williams, and sorry, you can keep that.
Sinatra, maybe not, but...
Julie London is definitely easy listening. Not that there's anything wrong with that... James Last is pretty disposable (apart from his excellent Voodoo Party LP), but Percy Faith did some quite good things (could I perhaps point you to his 'Bim! Bam!! Boom!!' album?) He's no Andre Kostelanetz, though, that's for sure.
Don't diss the Emperor of Easy!
This is cool enough, true:
But this is positively kewl:
Oh, I think
you do Andy Williams a 'dis'-service Mr Pacey. He's a very fine singer indeed. Saw him a few years ago and he could still reach the top notes. ( And he's only five foot seven ).
Any excuse will do
Time to repost this, I reckon. I defy any other 80-year-old on the planet to sing like this.
Fraser and I were only saying the other day...
...John Barry is a proper genius. That's the kind of thing that in the past I would only be able to say with my tongue in my cheek. I think it's because as you get older you begin to appreciate texture in music and that's one thing that people like Barry and Mancini did so well.
David, I refer you...
..to the sage words of Richard Thompson in your mag a few years ago.
"Mozart was a genius, everyone else is quite good basically"
I will concede that Barry, however is very very good.
Textures
Re David's comment. Indeed-texture = colour + arrangement here I reckon-and Barry is a master at both. For me it's the swirling intro to Diamonds are forever and the downhill rush of On Her Majesty's ... especially.
My guess from various remarks David makes in the mag and his blog is he may be finding same to be true of classical music ?
In a fascinating inverse version of this, Dan Levitan in his book tells the story of being asked by John "Telstar" Pierce, of Bell Labs, in his 70s at least, to play him some rock as he'd neglected it. Levitan duly found 5 examples, an interesting game initself. It turned out that the thing that Pierce then found interesting about rock was the-to him-unfamiliar textures.
Well said Shane...
I LOVE Sinatra but hate seeing his stuff in the 'Easy Listening' section. Try listening to 'Only The Lonely' while pissed after being dumped and tell me its 'easy'!
Anyone for a cocktail?
'Girl In A Sportscar' Alan Hawkshaw
If you like this then I recommend the 'Sound Gallery' compilations of which there are two.
Easy peasy
Yeah, fine in its place and all that, and I do enjoy the recent revisions of rock by the likes of Paul Anka and, less sure, Tony Christie. And I feel that Christies current mentor, Richard Hawley, especially on his more recent outing, the lush Ladies Bridge, falls into this category. But I say it again, this guy is the leader of the pack:
or
Fans of Mr Cheese could do worse than hear
Bud E Luv who on Diary of a Loungeman does cocktail versions of Black Sabbath songs.
Similar is Jamyz Bee.Here is their version of You Oughta Know.
Esquivel - Miniskirt
Matt Monro.
He was good.
Matt
He was good, often overlooked but shouldn't be forgotten!
He recorded
a great song called 'Honey On The Vine' in 1966. It was on his 'This Is The Life' album on Capitol. Being technically inept I can't load it here but perhaps some other Monro buff could do the honours??
Don't have access to that, but...
... I make no apologies for reposting this gem:
"Honey on the Vine" - Matt Monro
Here it is, Eddie.
You can never have too much of the singin' bus driver:
Thanks Nick.
That is such a great recording isn't it? Love the understated organ and his vocals, as ever, were spot on. He really nailed a song did Mr Matt. One of the most under-rated singers these islands have ever produced.
Matt's bizarre song
I do like this song, the b-side to a 1977 single, but the lyrics are a bit wierd. See what you think of Mama Packed A Picnic Tea.
First verse :-
It was on a sunny day in mid July
When a runaway train came tumbling down the line
And it happened very near to where we are
So we thought we’d take a trip there in the car …
Next Sunday mama packed a picnic tea
And we went to see what we could see
And the people came from miles around
To gather souvenirs they found
And just before it got too dark
Father took a photograph
And we all agreed that it had been
The most exciting trip we’d seen
Can't find a link to the song that plays...
Novelle Vague are really good
They did easy listening covers of famous 80s songs like Love Will Tear Us Apart etc
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bande-Part-Nouvelle-Vague/dp/B000EJ9N6Y/ref=sr_1...
1. Killing Moon
2. Ever Fallen In Love
3. Dance With Me
4. Don't Go
5. Dancing With Myself
6. Heart Of Glass
7. O Pamela
8. Blue Monday
9. Human Fly
10. Bela Lugosi's Dead
11. Escape Myself
12. Let Me Go
13. Fade To Grey
14. Waves
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nouvelle-Vague-Vol-1/dp/B00018D3JQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie...
1. Love Will Tear Us Apart
2. Just Can't Get Enough
3. In a Manner of Speaking
4. Guns of Brixton
5. This Is Not a Love Song - Melanie Pain
6. Too Drunk to F***
7. Marian
8. Making Plans for Nigel
9. Forest
10. I Melt With You - Paavo Siljamaki
11. Teenage Kicks - Melanie Pain
12. Psyche - Sir Alice
13. Friday Night Saturday Morning
Just Can't Get Enough was in an advert recently and Too Drunk to F*** was used in Planet Terror when Tarantino tries to rape the woman with one leg.
Also these Rolling Stones covers are pretty decent (and can be found on eMusic at http://www.emusic.com/album/Various-Artists-Bossa-N-Stones-Limited-Editi...):
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bossa-n-Stones-Vols-1-2/dp/B000GH2Y92/ref=sr_1_1...
If you like that...
..you will love this:
and
Understandably,being who I am, I prefer their version of Fotheringay, the Sandy Denny song
It was okay
I prefer my music to rock, this version of Love Will Tear Us Apart was too slow and inert for my taste.
http://vidtomp3.com/
Time To Relax
Thankfully I'm not at work today so can sit back and listen to this in pleasure. If you're your desk, take the phone off the hook, turn away from your in tray for a minute and relax to this.
Matt at his very best
EMI are planning to re-release Matt’s finest album, Matt Monro Sings Hoagy Carmichael, next year. Look out for it; it’s a peach.
Pat Boone
Stairway To Heaven. The CD also includes a cracking Smoke On The Water. I first heard it being played as interval music at a Porcupine Tree gig.
What no Dino?
No Sammy either.
His live albums are tremendous.
The Guvnor
I give you Nat 'King' Cole. His 20 Golden Greats is as good an investment as you're likely to make : brilliant songs, Gordon Jenkins' fantastic arrangements and the best singer ever IMHO. His version of Stardust turns me to jelly everytime
Cole
Forgot to mention the great Nat King Cole, I bought the gold collection back in 1993 and always play it near Christmas, just kind of puts you in the mood. You're right re the arrangments and the strings just give you a shiver up the spine everytime on "Too Young". I could listen to him all evening.
Chet
Whilst his trumpet is strictly and sublimely jazz, when he sings, jeez, is that easy on the ear or what! Here's a bit of both, when he looks close to the end, but the genius still creeps thru' his heroin "chic". (That's irony, kids!)
"The Great Unwanted" by Lucky Soul
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-Unwanted-Ruffa-Lane/dp/B000NO1RXW/ref=sr_1...
Brilliant album. Might be a bit too rocky for easy listening but I still think it just about fits into that genre.
I have George Benson in my car
Or rather his best of CD, and jolly good it is too, from smooth supper jazz guitar to suave disco-lite crooning.
Whatever happened to Johnny "Guitar" Watson, by the way?