The Golden Age of Light Music: Non-Stop to Nowhere
see end of review for track listing
rec. 1942-62
GUILD LIGHT MUSIC GLCD5206 [70:47]
‘Scot Passes Scot’ is the cover art for this release, an LMS poster of 1937. Sleek speed: gloriously coloured livery flashes past, plumes of smoke trailing across the carriage tops, as awed passengers in the slower train going up the line look on. Despite the train, however, this release simply celebrates the genre of Light Music itself - there is no overarching theme. Much of it, it seems, derives from requests from followers of the long-running Guild series. If so, then those followers have good taste, having selected discs released between 1942 and 1962.
There are some familiar orchestras and directors here, though some out-of-the-way items too, which keeps interest levels high. Florian ZaBach impresses with his strong-toned violin playing, whilst Percy Faith unveils, in the love theme from the film The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse a sure sense of languorous lyricism and more than a hint, in André Previn’s score, of Aaron Copland.It’s always good to hear the piano duettists - at two pianos - Rawicz and Landauer as they perform a showy and rather over-decorative piece by Joe Reisman called Ballad of the Sea. Maybe Landauer, who arranged it, bears more responsibility than Robert Farnon, who conducts it.
The title track is played by The Piccadilly Strings and is a fine product of the genre written by Tony Hatch, then sheltering under the name Mark Anthony. He was only 23 and at the start of his distinguished career. The Awakening of Pedro is a rather buffoonish affair, the gentleman of the title presumably represented by a fat trumpet tone, which smooches its way about for a bit, before the music gets well and truly worked up. Bruce Campbell, by contrast, provides a slinky and sinuous Desiree whilst Roger Roger unveils some dapper Parisian Badinage, with Big Band hues. George Siravo certainly knows his American in Paris if his genially dispatched Hey! Taxi is anything to go by.
The Crawford Light Orchestra is recorded on the Josef Weinberger record library label [JW156] in a disc issued in 1958. They play Ken Warner’s attractive Poppet. (I’d like to enter a personal plea here for information on the whereabouts of any of the Warner family.) Sidney Torch takes us back to 1947 in stirring fashion, though the mood music sawing away in Frantic Fiddles is strictly for connoisseurs of such things. But such is also Light Music and it’s right that even lesser pieces like this are included. Far different are the wide-open vistas provided by Dolf van der Linden in Pennsylvania Dutch and the confident brio of Farnon’s conducting of Leslie Statham’s Ten to One. There’s a debut in this series for British composer Alec Rowley, whose Down Channel is a ‘Nautical Overture’. It quotes Shenandoah beautifully. Finally we hear one movement from Percy Fletcher’s Rustic Revels suite for Chappell in 1942. This had actually first been recorded back in 1919 by Alick Maclean - Fletcher fared quite well on acoustic discs.
Four of these tracks are in stereo and the rest is in mono. Excellent notes, as always. I know I may be flying a kite here, but perhaps one day Guild will consider an appendix volume or two devoted to acoustically recorded Light Music, such as Fletcher’s. It would be a transfer challenge - but the results would be rewarding.
Jonathan Woolf
And the first review by John France ...
Guild Records could have easily sold me this latest CD on the strength of
the cover alone. The former London, Midland & Scottish Railway poster
entitled ‘Scot passes Scot’ by the artist Bryan De Grineau is
a definite bonus. For many years the named train ‘The Royal Scot' departed
simultaneously from Glasgow Central and London Euston stations at 10am. The
journey would have taken some seven hours. Just quite where the two trains
passed I leave to railway enthusiasts, but I guess it must have been somewhere
north of Crewe.
This present CD does have a few fine railway-inspired pieces included in the
track-listings, however the basic premise of this release is a pot-pourri
of all kinds of ‘light’ music.
Beginning with the travel-themed pieces, the album’s title track refers
to a bouncy number by Tony Hatch. Older listeners will readily associate his
name with Petula Clark and Jackie Trent. Hatch has had a long successful career
writing a wide variety of ‘popular’ and ‘light’ music,
including a huge number of TV theme-tunes. His work as a producer included
the ‘fab’ Merseyside group, The Searchers. ‘Non-Stop to
Nowhere’ was written under the pseudonym of Mark Anthony.
I enjoyed George Siravo’s musical picture of a taxi journey through
the streets of New York or Chicago. ‘Hey Taxi’ makes use of motor
horns and muted trumpets to give it that frenetic mood. We are back on the
railways again with Ernest Tomlinson’s (Alan Perry) ‘Starlight
Special’. Not too sure whether this train leaves from Crewe or Clapham
Junction, but progress seems smooth and uninterrupted by red signals or leaves
on the line. It is a classic piece of transport music. I must confess I expected
something a little more romantic: Tomlinson has actually given us a jaunty
dash along the tracks by night.
I am not sure if Arnold Steck’s (Leslie Statham) ‘Ten to One’
is meant to refer to a train time or good odds on a horse. In actual fact
it is a worthy march tune. But as Major Statham was director of The Band of
the Welsh Guards, it is a safe bet that this tune certainly makes the running.
Alec Rowley is best known for his massive output of piano music, much of it
designed for teaching purposes but there is a serious side to this composer.
Listeners may be aware of his Piano Concerto released on Naxos a number of
years ago. Then there is a fine corpus of organ music that warrants exploration.
Included in his output are a number of orchestral suites and overtures. ‘Down
Channel: Overture’ is a nautically inspired piece: it makes use of two
or three shanties including ‘A-Roving’ and ‘Shenandoah’.
This overture is an attractive work that cries out for a modern day recording.
Certainly there are a number of other striking pieces in Alec Rowley’s
repertoire that could form part of a ‘retrospective’ CD of orchestral
music - these include the evocative-sounding ‘From a Devon Headland’,
‘Miniatures in Porcelain’ and the ‘Nautical Suite’.
The opening track on this CD is a big romantic piece that reflects what it
is like to be ‘On the Side of the Angels’. I have not heard of
Sheldon Harnick (and the other co-composers) however this American is quite
capable of writing great film music. Alas, this is what this piece never was.
Made up from cuttings from a projected movie score it makes use of orchestral
and big band pyrotechnics.
Another American is the well loved André Previn who presents the darkly
named 'The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse’. It is not quite as dramatic
as the title suggests. A good, well written piece that is just a little different
from most of the works on this CD.
The CD contains a good clutch of breezy, jolly tunes that largely epitomise
the world of light music in the 1950s and 1960s. ‘Candy Floss’
by Peter Dennis (Dennis Arthur Berry) most likely describes a vivacious lady
at the Opera House in Blackpool rather than the delicious spun sugar served
along the Golden Mile. This mood is repeated in Van Phillips’ ‘Twinkle
Toes’. This certainly does not refer to my attempts at the foxtrot or
the tango on the floor of the Tower Ballroom. Yet there is something warm
and comforting about this carefree music. In the same vein is Onslow Boyden
Waldo Warner’s (quite a mouthful and better ‘kent’ as Ken)
‘Poppet’. She is very definitely a classic example of a late ’fifties
miss.
Florian ZaBach hailed from the good ole’ US of A and gave the world
considerable pleasure with his fiddle playing. He had a million-selling hit
in 1951 with ‘The
Hot Canary’. The present ‘Harum Scarum’ defies analysis
- it is just a good romp with a superbly challenging violin part.
‘Frantic Fiddles’ by Johnny Gregory is exactly what is written
‘on the tin’ - there is a definite touch of Leroy Anderson here;
I am not quite sure whether they are Scottish or bluegrass fiddles. Cyril
Watters is a name that crops up quite frequently in the annals of light music
and ‘Folies Parade’ is typical of his ‘bright and breezy’
compositional style. ‘Folies’ I guess refer to theatrical ‘types’
specialising in variety - I think of Caitlin’s Folies in Llandudno.
Not convinced that there is a Parisian connection here.
‘Badinage’ means playful or frivolous repartee or banter. Roger
Roger’s piece fits the bill. Lots of twittering woodwinds, good string
tunes and the occasion blue-note gives the piece pizzazz. I enjoyed the Netherlands
composer Dolf Van Der Linden’s ‘Pennsylvania Dutch’ - this
is lovely hoe-down music that crosses the ‘herring pond’ in its
mood and is certainly appealing. Equally diverse is Ray Martin’s ‘Piccadilly
Hoe-Down’ which balances the American exemplar with a lush romantic
tune more appropriate to the West-End by night. Look out for ‘Oranges
and Lemons’ and ‘London Bridge is Burning Down’. A great
piece. Still in The Smoke (I assume) is Roger Barsotti’s ‘Metropolitan
March’. This is hardly ‘pomp and circumstance’ but a good
tune that could have been used as a TV Sports theme. In fact it was used in
the BBC series ‘Blott on the Landscape’ (Tom Sharpe).
Novelty pieces include the anthropomorphic ‘Poor Butterfly’ by
Raymond Hubbell and John Golden. This is a lovely romantic little number with
sweeping strings and electric guitar obbligato. Herbert W. Spencer’s
‘Grasshopper’ is a skittish little number. I have never really
studied the habits of grasshoppers but I guess this is probably the kind of
music they will party to.
A couple of Latin-American inspired pieces include the fine ‘The Awakening
of Pedro’ by Mitchell Ayres - sounding a bit like Henry Mancini’s
voluptuous strings. It comes complete with choral backing. Jacques La Rue
takes the listener down to the Dutch ‘Antilles’ in the Caribbean
with a catchy little number. Still on the briny is Joe Reisman’s ‘Ballad
of the Sea’: a little bit of a mixed bag. Nothing to do with nautical
types, Bantockian seascapes or ‘jack the lad’. This is mermaids
singing in a summer night somewhere quite unspecified. ‘Desiree’
by James Kriegsmann is just a pen portrait of a lovely lady that the composer
must have met. Pleasant music.
Clive Richardson is well-known to light music fans. Best recalled for his
‘London Fantasia’ depicting the war-torn Capital, the present
‘Jamboree’ seems to have little to do with boy scouting. More
likely a trip to the seaside with a lot of fun, fish and chips and fresh air.
It certainly zips along at a fair pace.
Gilbert Vinter is best recalled for his contributions to the world of brass
bands. His early ‘Salute to Youth’ and ‘Fancy’s Knell’
are still played. From his orchestral works his ‘Waltzing with (Arthur)
Sullivan’ is one of my favourites. ‘Toward Adventure’ is
a big powerful number. What the adventure is, I am not sure, but it definitely
involves some ‘Boy’s Own’ type of heroics.
The final number on this CD is Percy Fletcher’s ‘All the Fun of
the Fair’ from his ‘Rustic Revel’s Suite’. It is a
cheerful piece that gloriously lives up to its title.
It seems superfluous to say that I enjoyed every bar and every moment of this
CD. Everything is designed to give pleasure, raise the spirits and make the
listener feel optimistic, if sometimes just a little sentimental for past
times. The quality of the sound is superb. I hardly realised that I was listening
to a so-called historical recordings.
The liner-notes are outstanding and give all the information that the listener
requires. Once again Guild, the recording engineer Alan Bunting and producer
David Ades have dipped into the vast treasure store of light music, In fact,
it is more a cornucopia: it never shows any sign of drying up - thank goodness.
John France
Designed to give pleasure and raise the spirits … sometimes just a little
sentimental.
Track listing
Sheldon HARNICK, Jerry BOCK On the Side of the Angels (from
The Show "Fiorello") - Alfred Newman & His Orchestra (1959) [3:18]
Florian ZABACH (1918-2006) Harum-Scarum - Florian Zabach, his
Violin & Orchestra (1957) [2:16]
Raymond HUBBELL, John GOLDEN arr. Philip GREEN (1911-1982)
Poor Butterfly - Philip Green & His Orchestra (1959) [3:13]
Andre PREVIN (b.1929) arr. Percy FAITH (1908-1976)
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Love Theme from the film - Percy Faith
& his Orchestra (1962) [3:38]
Joe REISMAN arr. Walter LANDAUER (1910-1983) Ballad of
the Sea - Rawicz and Landauer (Two Pianos) with Orchestra & Chorus/Robert
Farnon (1962) [2:53]
Mark ANTHONY (b.1939) (real name Tony HATCH) Non-Stop
to Nowhere - The Piccadilly Strings (1962) [2:13]
Mitchell AYRES (1909-1969) Danny HURD The Awakening of
Pedro - Mitchell Ayres & his Orchestra (1956) [2:46]
Jacques La RUE, Jean Paul Rene GUILBERT Antilles - Joe Reisman
& his Orchestra (1956) [2:09]
James KRIEGSMANN arr. Bruce CAMPBELL - Desiree - The Coronet
Orchestra [Actually Bruce Campbell & his Orchestra] (1955) [2:56]
Herbert SPENCER (1905-1992) Earle H. HAGEN (1919-2008)
Grasshopper - The Spencer-Hagen Orchestra (1955) [2:24]
Chris ARMSTRONG (1918-1998) (real name Ray MARTIN) Piccadilly
Hoe-Down - Ray Martin & his Concert Orchestra (1952) [2:03]
Roger ROGER (1911-1995) Badinage - The Mode Symphony Orchestra/Roger
Roger (1962) [2:30]
George SIRAVO (1916-2000) Hey! Taxi - George Siravo & his
Orchestra (1956) [2:09]
Ken WARNER (1902-1988) (real name Onslow Boyden Waldo WARNER)
Poppet - The Crawford Light Orchestra (1958) [2; 57]
Peter DENNIS (1921-1994) (real name Dennis Alfred BERRY)
Candy Floss - The Harmonic Orchestra/David Johnson [Actually Dolf Van Der
Linden] (1953) [3:01]
Roger BARSOTTI (1901-1986) Metropolitan March - Queen's Hall
Light Orchestra/Sidney Torch (1947) [2:43]
Johnny GREGORY (b.1924) Frantic Fiddles - Westway Studio Orchestra
(1962) [2:05]
Cyril WATTERS (1907-1984) Folies Parade - Lansdowne Light Orchestra
(1960) [2:41]
Van PHILLIPS (1905-1992) Twinkle Toes - Lansdowne Light Orchestra [actually
Stuttgart Radio Orchestra/Kurt Rehfeld] (1956) [2:35]
Dolf Van Der LINDEN (1915-1999) Pennsylvania Dutch - Symphonia Orchestra/Ludo
Philipp (1955) [2:54]
Clive RICHARDSON (1909-1998) Jamboree - Queen's Hall Light Orchestra/Robert
Farnon (1948) [2:45]
Alan PERRY (b.1924) (real name Ernest TOMLINSON Starlight
Special - New Century Orchestra/Erich Börschel (1956) [2:38]
Arnold STECK (1905-1974) (real nameLeslie STATHAM) Ten to One
- Danish State Orchestra/Robert Farnon (1954) [2:56]
Alec ROWLEY (1892-1958) Down Channel: Nautical Overture - London
Promenade Orchestra/Walter Collins (1946) [2:48]
Gilbert VINTER (1909-1969) Toward Adventure - Lansdowne Light Orchestra
[actually Stuttgart Radio Orchestra/Kurt Rehfeld] (1957) [2:23]
Percy FLETCHER (1879-1932) All the Fun of the Fair (From "Rustic
Revels" Suite) - Queen's Hall Light Orchestra/Charles Williams (1942) [2:31]
All track in mono except 1-4 which are stereo.
Dates refer to recording not composition.
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