THE GOLDEN AGE OF LIGHT MUSIC
An introduction
Whether you happen to know it as Easy Listening, Middle-of-the-Road, Concert Music, Mood Music - or simply Light Music, there is no doubt that these are the sounds that will rekindle some happy memories. Because Light Music has been around all our lives, and not so long ago it was heard regularly on radio stations around the world.Some broadcasters may no longer realise just how much their listeners would like to hear this kind of pleasant, easy-on-the-ear music, but thankfully record companies like Guild are aware that Light Music is currently enjoying a revival.This CD is intended as a ‘taster’ to illustrate the different styles that will be found in this new series, featuring many of the great composers and conductors who were once household names. Their vintage recordings have been digitally processed to the highest standards, ensuring that you only hear the music - sounding better today than it did when originally released.
GLCD 5101
THE GOLDEN AGE OF LIGHT MUSIC
The 1940s
If the names Robert Farnon, David Rose, Sidney Torch, Percy Faith, Eric Coates, Stanley Black, Morton Gould and Andre Kostelanetz already mean something to you, then you will need no further encouragement to go back in time to a period when ‘popular music’ was simply a term that meant it was enjoyed by millions. Light Music is tuneful music, you hear the melody and you feel better for it. Although the world was blighted by war, the 1940s nevertheless managed to produce an amazing outpouring of many musical styles. In retrospect it can be seen that Light Music was at the crossroads: would the genteel sounds of the early years of the 20th century be swept away by a brash tide of mediocrity, or would new talents emerge to adapt and even improve upon what had gone before? Happily for us, Light Music would survive, and reach even greater heights.
GLCD 5102
THE GOLDEN AGE OF LIGHT MUSIC
THE 1950s
With the new decade came a revolution in the way in which music would be heard in the home, thanks to the arrival of high fidelity sound and the long-playing record. Both were ideally suited to the requirements of light orchestras, and before long their albums were selling in millions. But for a while 78 and 45rpm singles still dominated the market, and Light Music featured regularly in the lists of latest releases from the record companies. New names such as Ray Martin and Ron Goodwin emerged to challenge the past masters, but there was plenty of room for everyone and the record-buying public were the main beneficiaries.This third CD in Guild's new Light Music series provides a ‘snapshot’ of a world that was determined to start enjoying itself once again, and the bright and breezy sounds produced by so many orchestras world-wide undoubtedly contributed towards those happy feelings.
GLCD 5103
Tracklistings:
GLCD 5101 - An introdcution
1. Gateway To The West (Farnon) - QUEEN'S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA/ROBERT FARNON 2:57
2. Going For A Ride (Torch) - SIDNEY TORCH AND HIS ORCHESTRA 2:47
3. With A Song In My Heart (Rodgers, Hart) - ANDRE KOSTELANETZ & HIS ORCHESTRA 3:30
4. Heykens' Serenade (Heykens, arr. Goodwin) - RON GOODWIN & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:30
5. Martinique (Warren) - RAY MARTIN & HIS ORCHESTRA 3:13
6. Skyscraper Fantasy (Phillips) - CHARLES WILLIAMS & HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA 3:53
7. Dance Of The Spanish Onion (Rose) - DAVID ROSE & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:53
8. Out Of This World - theme from the film (Arlen, Mercer) - MANTOVANI & HIS ORCHESTRA 3:06
9. Paris To Piccadilly (Busby, Hurran) - L'ORCHESTRE DEVEREAUX/GEORGES DEVEREAUX 3:04
10. Festive Days (Ancliffe) - LONDON PROMENADE ORCHESTRA/ WALTER COLLINS 3:15
11. Ha'penny Breeze - theme from the film (Green) PHILIP GREEN & HIS ORCHESTRA 4:10
12. Tropical (Gould) - MORTON GOULD & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:28
13. Puffin' Billy (White) - DANISH STATE RADIO ORCHESTRA/HUBERT CLIFFORD 3:00
14. First Rhapsody (Melachrino) - MELACHRINO ORCHESTRA/GEORGE MELACHRINO 4:15
15. Fantasie Impromptu in C Sharp Minor (Chopin, arr. Farnon) KINGSWAY SO/CAMARATA 3:25
16. London Bridge March (Coates) - NEW LIGHT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA/JOSEPH LEWIS 3:59
17. Mock Turtles (Morley) - QUEEN'S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA/ROBERT FARNON 2:14
18. To A Wild Rose (MacDowell, arr. Peter Yorke) - PETER YORKE & HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA 3:21
19. Plink, Plank, Plunk! (Anderson) - LEROY ANDERSON & HIS 'POPS' CONCERT ORCHESTRA 2:24
20. Jamaican Rhumba (Benjamin, arr. Percy Faith) - PERCY FAITH & HIS ORCHESTRA 3:07
21. Vision in Velvet (Duncan) - NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA/JACK LEON 3:14
22. Grand Canyon (van der Linden) - DOLF VAN DER LINDEN & HIS METROPOLE ORCHESTRA 2:33
23. Dancing Princess (Hart, Layman, arr.Young) - FRANK CHACKSFIELD & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:15
24. Dainty Lady (Peter) - REGINALD KING & HIS LIGHT ORCHESTRA 2:43
25. Bandstand ('Frescoes' Suite) (Haydn Wood) - NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA/SERGE KRISH 3:55
GLCD 5102 - 1940s
1. Music In The Air (Lloyd, arr.Torch) - QUEEN'S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA/SIDNEY TORCH 3:07
2. Just One Of Those Things (Porter) - BILLY TERNENT & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:34
3. Melody On The Move (Richardson) - QUEEN'S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA/CHARLES WILLIAMS 2:45
4. Out Of My Dreams (Rodgers, Hammerstein II) - THE GERALDO STRING ORCHESTRA 3:11
5. Linda Chilena (Orefiche, Connelly) - THE STANLEY BLACK ORCHESTRA 3:17
6. Laura (Raksin) - MORTON GOULD & HIS ORCHESTRA 3:24
7. Golliwog's Cakewalk (Debussy, arr. Douglas) - MAYFAIR ORCHESTRA/WALTER GOEHR 2:27
8. Manhattan Square Dance (Rose) - DAVID ROSE & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:22
9. Runaway Rocking Horse (White) - ORCHESTRE RAYMONDE/ROBERT PRESTON 3:05
10. Woodland Revel (Melachrino) - MELACHRINO ORCHESTRA/GEORGE MELACHRINO 3:09
11. Music for Romance (Sherwin, Maschwitz) - ALBERT SANDLER & HIS PALM COURT ORCHESTRA 2:52
12. Canadian Caravan (Farnon) - QUEEN'S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA/CHARLES WILLIAMS 2:50
13. Waltz from "TheThree Bears" (Coates) - QUEEN'S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA/ERIC COATES 3:09
14. Metropolis (Brown) - NEW CENTURY ORCHESTRA/SIDNEY TORCH 2:31
15. Gorgeous Hussy (Gray) - THE HARMONIC ORCHESTRA.HANS MAY 2:53
16. Ascot Enclosure (Yorke) - QUEEN'S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA/CHARLES WILLIAMS 3:00
17. Ten Green Bottles (Trad. arr. Hanmer) - BBC VARIETY ORCHESTRA/CHARLES SHADWELL 3:04
18. Wagon Lit (Torch) - QUEEN'S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA/SIDNEY TORCH 3:02
19. Roving Fancies (Wood) - THE REGENT CLASSIC ORCHESTRA 3:04
20. "The Way To The Stars" - Film Themes (Brodszky) - TWO CITIES SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA/CHARLES WILLIAMS 6:38
21. Theatreland (Strachey) - NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA/JAY WILBUR 3:06
22. Dancing Tambourine (Polla, arr. Gould) - ROBIN HOOD DELL ORCHESTRA/MORTON GOULD 2:58
23. "Blue Skies" - Selection (Irving Berlin) - Blue Skies,Always, Heat Wave, Getting Nowhere,A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody,You Keep Coming Back Like A Song, Blue Skies -LOUIS LEVY & HIS MUSIC FROM THE MOVIES 8:03
GLCD 5103 - 1950s
1. Liza (I & G Gershwin, Kahn) - DAVID ROSE & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:27
2. Caravan (Ellington) - PHILIP GREEN & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:35
3. Marching Strings (Ross) - EDMUNDO ROS & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:21
4. Fandango (Perkins, Bradford) - HUGO WINTERHALTER & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:48
5. Heart-O-London (Williams) - CHARLES WILLIAMS & HIS CONCERT ORCHESTRA 2:42
6. Hey Presto! (Wilson, arr. Duncan) - NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA/FREDERIC CURZON 2:46
7. The Melody Maker (Gay) - ROBERTO INGLEZ & HIS ORCHESTRA 3:01
8. Proud Canvas (Farnon) - QUEEN'S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA/ROBERT FARNON 2:07
9. Festival (Addinsell) - MANTOVANI & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:55
10. Blue Moon (Rodgers, Hart) - PAUL WESTON & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:55
11. Dancing Bells (Martin) - GROSVENOR CONCERT ORCHESTRA/PEDER VAN ZUIDER 2:47
12. Granada (Lara) - MONTY KELLY & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:42
13. Petite Waltz (Heyne) - BILLY COTTON & HIS BAND 3:04
14. Shortcake Walk (Torch) - SIDNEY TORCH & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:16
15. Flirtation Waltz (Heywood) - FRANK CHACKSFIELD & HIS ORCHESTRA 3:03
16. Angel Cake (Morley) - DOLF VAN DER LINDEN & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:45
17. Waltz Of The Bubbles (Rose) - DAVID ROSE & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:15
18. Sportsmaster (Busby) - DANISH STATE RADIO ORCHESTRA/ROBERT FARNON 2:50
19. Paris Interlude (White) - MUSIC BY CAMARATA 3:05
20. At Last,At Last (Trenet) - RAY MARTIN & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:50
21. Roller Coaster (Busch, Delugg) - HENRI RENE & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:54
22. The Moon Was Yellow (Ahlert) STANLEY BLACK, HIS PIANO & HIS ORCHESTRA 2:37
23. Piccadilly Spree (Watters) - NEW CONCERT ORCHESTRA/R. de PORTEN 2:34
24. Champagne March (Henman) - QUEEN'S HALL LIGHT ORCHESTRA/ROBERT FARNON 2:48
25. Jungle Fantasy (Esy Morales) - PERCY FAITH & HIS ORCHESTRA 3:13
26. Parade of the Film Hits - Broadway Melody, Laura,Wedding Of The Painted Doll, Please, Over The Rainbow, A Fine Romance, Be My Love, La Ronde,The Trolley Song - MELACHRINO ORCHESTRA/GEORGE MELACHRINO 9:22
From Living Era comes a new collection of Robert Farnon recordings – including 10 very rare Transcription recordings never previously available commercially
"Portrait of Farnon"
featuring Robert Farnon and his Orchestra
with guest stars Vera Lynn, Anne Shelton, Denny Dennis, Pearl Carr, Norman Wisdom, Beryl Davis, Paul Carpenter, Donald Peers, Kathran Oldfield and Denny Vaughan
All titles composed and/or arranged by Robert Farnon
1 A STAR IS BORN (Robert Farnon) Robert Farnon Orchestra
2 DAISY BELL Robert Farnon Orchestra
3 A RAINY NIGHT IN RIO Anne Shelton & Robert Farnon Orchestra
4 JUMPING BEAN (Robert Farnon) Kingsway Symphony Orch / RF
5 SHE’S MY LOVELY Robert Farnon Orchestra
6 LONDON MELODY Norman Wisdom & Robert Farnon Orchestra
7 WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT Robert Farnon Orchestra
8 THROUGH A LONG AND SLEEPLESS NIGHT Vera Lynn & RFO
9 FRENESI Robert Farnon Orchestra
10 THIS CAN’T BE LOVE Pearl Carr & Robert Farnon Orchestra
11 PROMENADE OVERTURE (R. Farnon) Danish State Radio Orch/RF
12 EVERY TIME I MEET YOU Denny Dennis & Robert Farnon Orchestra
13 LOUISE Robert Farnon Orchestra
14 PORTRAIT OF A FLIRT (R. Farnon) Kingsway Symphony Orch/RF
15 YOU’D BE HARD TO REPLACE Kathran Oldfield & R. Farnon Orch
16 HUCKLE-BUCKLE (Robert Farnon) Robert Farnon Orchestra
17 HOW HIGH THE MOON Denny Vaughan & Robert Farnon Orch
18 LULLABY OF BROADWAY Robert Farnon Orchestra
19 PINCE NEZ AND ASPIDISTRAS (Farnon) Danish State Radio Orch/RF
20 PUT THAT KISS BACK WHERE YOU FOUND IT Beryl Davis & RFO
21 MANHATTAN PLAYBOY (Farnon) Queen’s Hall Light Orch/R. Farnon
22 TIME AFTER TIME Paul Carpenter & Robert Farnon Orchestra
23 HALL OF FAME (Farnon) Danish State Radio Orchestra / R. Farnon
24 MORE THAN YOU KNOW Robert Farnon Orchestra
25 BOW BELLS Donald Peers & Robert Farnon Orchestra
26 PEANUT POLKA (Robert Farnon) Robert Farnon Orchestra
27 NIGHT AND DAY Kathran Oldfield & Denny Vaughan with RFO
28 MELODY FAIR (Farnon) Robert Farnon Orchestra
Sanctuary Group Living Era CD AJA 5509
When Ray Crick at Living Era told me that he wanted a CD of early Robert Farnon recordings, he explained that many of Bob’s best-known works should be included to ensure that it would appeal to a wide cross-section of potential purchasers. However I was aware that a recent Naxos compilation had already covered much of this ground, although Living Era will be hoping to sell a large number of copies to their regular customers in the USA, who may not have come across the Naxos release.
To make this new release as attractive as possible – and to ensure that it is an ‘essential purchase’ for existing Farnon fans – a selection has been made which will introduce people presently unfamiliar with Bob’s work to some of his ‘biggest hits’, while at the same time including many rare and completely new tracks which purists will definitely want. The latter are taken from transcription recordings in the RFS archives, and thanks are due to two Australian members, Ian Rohl and Alan Heinecke, for four of them. Ian originally alerted us to their existence, then Alan provided good transfers for Alan Bunting to process.
As well as these 10 superb Farnon scores from the 1940s, previously unavailable on record, there are some rare Decca 78s where he is working as a ‘house arranger’ with some of their biggest stars of the time. (Before you question the inclusion of The Way You Look Tonight, this is not the version on Bob’s ‘Two Cigarettes In The Dark’ LP but an earlier more up-tempo arrangement).
An attempt has been made to recreate the atmosphere of Robert Farnon’s radio broadcasts of the late 1940s, minus the announcements, of course. Some of the Farnon compositions will already be familiar, although their names may elude many listeners who are not members of the Robert Farnon Society! Foremost on this CD are Jumping Bean and Portrait of a Flirt – the former being, at one time, the most-used signature tune in the world. Only slightly less familiar are A Star Is Born (nothing to do with the later Judy Garland film, but heard in Britain every week to introduce the main celebrity in ‘In Town Tonight’), Peanut Polka (named Popcorn Polka in North America), Manhattan Playboy (the male equivalent of the famous ‘Flirt’) and Melody Fair – often used by Farnon as his theme music (it originally came from a long-forgotten film called ‘Paper Orchid’).
Several rarely heard Farnon originals have been added to provide additional interest, and avoid too many familiar numbers that keen collectors may already possess.
In between the orchestral pieces there are some charming vocals by popular singers who were household names at the time. Some are still fresh in the memory, such as Vera Lynn, Anne Shelton and Norman Wisdom; others may take a little while to stir the memory banks, although it should not take too long before their accomplished ways with a good song spark some pleasant rekindling of recognition. Notable among the ‘lesser-knowns’ are fellow-Canadians Denny Vaughan (who sang with several British bands before returning for a successful television career in North America); Kathran (Kip) Oldfield (who also sang with Norrie Paramor, Johnny Dankworth and Laurie Johnson); and Paul Carpenter (who became a familiar face in British films).
Purely by chance, Kathran Oldfield contacted us last June to say that she had been delighted to discover our website, which brought back many happy memories for her. She explained that she felt privileged to be Bob’s female vocalist on his radio shows, especially as she was (as she put it) "…fresh off the boat from Canada." She eventually had a series on Radio Luxembourg called "Soccer Songtime" which ran for two years and featured Kathran with Norrie Paramor and his group. She also appeared in London’s West End on stage and in cabaret, and can still recall an early television show with Terry-Thomas. Eventually she returned to Canada where she married, although during the 1960s she appeared on US TV with the likes of Rock Hudson, Sir Cedric Hardwicke and Yul Brunner. ‘Kathran (Kip) Oldfield’ was her stage name: she is now Alixe Wallis.
Robert Farnon has enjoyed such a long and varied career that any collection of his music can only represent one facet of his considerable talents. In the years after these recordings were made he expanded his horizons further into the jazz and more serious musical fields, and today it is not uncommon to find his name alongside the likes of Mozart and Elgar, J.J. Johnson and George Benson on new CD releases.
The popular music of the period immediately following World War 2 is now viewed with some curiosity by younger generations, who are starting to discover that there was, indeed, a vibrant musical scene in Britain before The Beatles. Perhaps one day melody will again move centre stage, but until then those of us already ‘in the know’ can enjoy the kind of pleasing sounds digitally captured on this shiny disc for posterity.
David Ades
Here finally is the album that many have wanted to own on CD!
"Showcase for Soloists" and other cameos
Original compositions by Robert Farnon
Showcase for Soloists
1 Trumpet Talk
2 Two’s Company
3 Piccolo Flight
4 Gentle Vibrations
5 A Violin Miniature
6 The Snow Goose
7 Travellin’ Jazz
8 Flute Fantasy
9 The Dame In Red
10 Clarinet Melange
11 Walkin’ Happy
12 Blue Waters
13 Globe Trotting
14 Country Girl
15 Westbound Passage
16 Horn-a-Plenty
17 Shepherds’ Delight
18 Toyland Tattoo
19 Pleasure Drive
20 Sounds Of History
21 Little Miss Molly
22 Here Comes The Band
23 Doing The Raccoon
24 Power And Glory
25 Winter Jasmine (Robert Farnon, Philip Buchel)
26 Portrait Of Lorraine
27 Closing The Ring
28 The Grand Alliance
29 Shepherds’ Warning
30 Western Panorama
All titles played by
ROBERT FARNON AND HIS ORCHESTRA
except
15, 19 Roger Roger and his Orchestra
16, 17, 20, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30 Danish State Radio Orchestra conducted by Robert Farnon
22 Knightsbridge Symphonic Band conducted by Cecil Hunter
26 Eric Delaney and his Group
Vocalion CDLK4238
For some while Robert Farnon Society members have been asking me when Bob’s fine "Showcase for Soloists" LP would be included among the many reissues of his albums on a new CD. Well, here it is at last, with the bonus of a selection of tracks from the Chappell Recorded Music Library, some of them on commercial release for the very first time.
Although it only represents twelve of the thirty tracks, the main work on this album is "Showcase For Soloists", a collection of individual pieces each intended to highlight the particular talents of the gifted musicians for whom they were specially composed by Robert Farnon.
Since 1946 he had been contributing numerous orchestral cameos to Chappell’s Recorded Music Library specifically for use by radio, television and film companies worldwide. But Farnon’s works were recognised as being too good to be half-forgotten as incidental music ‘hidden’ in the background behind speech and sound effects. Initially a few were chosen as signature tunes or regular themes within programmes (Jumping Bean, A Star Is Born and Portrait Of A Flirt certainly fall into this category), and this brought them to the attention of the general public, resulting in commercial recordings.
Thereafter many new Farnon creations received well-deserved public airings on radio, television or records, even though most of them continued to appear first in the famous Chappell Library.
The twelve titles in "Showcase For Soloists" were also recorded by Chappells during 1972 and duly appeared on one of their LPs made strictly for the music business. Happily a small independent record company, Invicta, decided to license the tapes and a commercial LP was released in 1973. Invicta showed faith in their product by taking out a full-page advertisement in the prestigious British magazine The Gramophone in April, although one wonders if many of the readers of that classical music periodical would have been tempted to make a purchase. Not only was this collection made available on an LP, but Invicta also released it on cassette and 8-track cartridge. Unfortunately the release was delayed, because it was discovered that the original master disc was not producing satisfactory pressings. A new one was manufactured, and the LP eventually reached the shops early in June 1973. Invicta repeated much of their press advertising, which must have been a considerable financial commitment for a small record company.
Most of the soloists on the LP were regarded as being the best in the music business at the time, and many were regulars in the Robert Farnon Orchestra for its recordings and broadcasts. The album opens with a sparkling display from two great trumpeters – Kenny Baker and Stan Roderick. Sadly both of them are no longer with us, although Kenny was still thrilling audiences with his mastery of his instrument right up until his death in December 1999. Stan Roderick passed away in 1994 following a short retirement. Their legacy - Trumpet Talk - has long been regarded as a truly virtuoso performance.
Two’s Company is in complete contrast, with smooth sultry tones from the trombones of Bobby Lamb and Don Lusher, who received a well-deserved OBE in 2003. Robert Farnon’s earliest days as a composer are recalled in the following number, because Piccolo Flight is actually based on a theme in his first symphony, written at the end of the 1930s. Farnon has politely, but firmly, resisted all attempts to persuade him to let modern audiences hear this work, which was last performed in North America over 60 years ago. Therefore this catchy piece is all the more welcome, and in the capable hands of David Sandeman the piccolo darts about all over the place, ably supported by the strings of the orchestra.
Alan Hakin is featured on vibraphone, one of the most popular of the tuned percussion instruments, and this charming slow melody exploits its nuances to the full. For many years Raymond Cohen occupied the leader’s chair in the Robert Farnon Orchestra, and his romantic warm tone admirably suits A Violin Miniature. This short work bears some slight similarity with Robert Farnon’s major opus Rhapsody for Violin and Orchestra which was commissioned by the BBC in 1958, featuring Raymond Cohen as the solo violinist.
The spotlight falls on Frank Reidy for two numbers in this collection: first of all he excels on Cor Anglais in The Snow Goose (no connection with the similarly titled popular song), then later he reappears with his B flat clarinet in the aptly titled Clarinet Melange. Robert Farnon has worked with several talented pianists (Sidney Bright – brother of bandleader Geraldo – and Douglas Gamley being two prime examples), but his choice of Dennis Wilson was undoubtedly correct for Travellin’ Jazz. This bright up-tempo piece of piano jazz, backed by a swinging orchestration, was ideally suited to the style that kept Dennis at the top of his profession for so long.
Another soloist who appears twice is the great Roy Willox, happily still working today on top sessions such as the John Wilson Abbey Road recordings for Vocalion in May 2003. A master of so many reed instruments, he is superb in both Flute Fantasy on flute, and with his favourite alto saxophone on The Dame In Red. He has been a familiar face among the reeds in so many Farnon sessions. Few harpists have chosen to exploit the jazz possibilities of the harp to the full. Fans of British Dance Bands still remember Mario ‘Harp’ Lorenzi from his 78s in the 1930s, and in the USA Casper Reardon rose to stardom until his premature death in 1941. David Snell is a master of the instrument, as he proves in Walkin’ Happy. An all-round musician, David is also a fine conductor.
Robert Farnon’s tribute to musicians he greatly admires comes to an end with a slow lyrical melody, Blue Waters, which exploits the beauty in Judd Proctor’s guitar.
The remaining eighteen compositions on this CD are further examples of Robert Farnon’s mastery of so many different idioms and styles. The listener has to be prepared for a wide variety of contrasting moods, although the first number following the "Showcase" collection – Globe Trotting – has been deliberately chosen to maintain the bright, easy going jazzy feel that has been evident until now. But with Country Girl we are into completely different territory, although few people still remember that it was originally a failed entrant in that glorious annual example of blatant international xenophobia – otherwise known as the Eurovision Song Contest. In the early days of this musical bunfight the BBC used to invite established composers to submit entries, and in 1966 Country Girl was one of five chosen for Kenneth McKellar to sing in the British heats. It didn’t win, so McKellar didn’t go on to sing it in Europe. He didn’t win either, but Farnon was the outright winner in the long run, because Country Girl was picked up by Tony Bennett and it has since become one of the most popular songs in his repertoire.
Many of the titles of the remaining melodies are self-descriptive, with fine examples of Farnon’s gift for scenic beauty (notably Westbound Passage and Western Panorama) plus a few in the style of the quirky novelties for which he is much admired (Horn-a-Plenty, Toyland Tattoo and the delicate Little Miss Molly). Pleasure Drive is in the true Farnon tradition of free-flowing bright up-tempo numbers, while his tongue is definitely firmly in his cheek for Doing The Raccoon, with a suitably happy-go-lucky sound from the musicians who may have just returned to the studio from a liquid lunch!
Portrait of Lorraine evokes images of smoke-filled bars around closing time, while a distinct martial feel – reminiscent of many war movies – is present in Sounds of History, Power and Glory, Closing the Ring and The Grand Alliance. Shepherd’s Warning is perhaps the most wistful piece in this collection and, like many other pieces included here, this is the first time that it has been available on a commercial recording.
Together these thirty tracks make up a varied and highly entertaining collection of original compositions that could only have been written by Robert Farnon.
David Ades
At last some important gaps in Percy Faith’s impressive recording career have finally been filled.
PERCY FAITH AND HIS ORCHESTRA
"DELICADO"
ASV LIVING ERA CD AJS 278 [2 CDs]
These two CDs contain Percy Faith’s earliest commercial recordings, made for the Majestic, Decca and RCA Victor labels in the 1940s, none of which have ever been issued on CD, plus a selection of those he made after joining Columbia including his best sellers "Delicado", "Swedish Rhapsody" and "The Song from Moulin Rouge". Thus this collection finally fills the gaps left by the many other CD reissues of Faith’s music allowing us to hear many fascinating and long-forgotten examples from his long and distinguished career.
CD ONE – THE EARLY YEARS
01 Amor (from "Broadway Rhythm") (Gabriel Ruiz)
02 Negra Consentida (My Pet Brunette) (Marjorie Harper / Joaquin Pardave)
03 Embraceable You (from "Girl Crazy") (George & Ira Gershwin)
04 Baia (Ne Baixe Do Sapateiro)
05 If There Is Someone Lovelier Than You (Arthur Schwartz / Howard Dietz)
06 Tico Tico (Ervin Drake / Zequinha Oliveira)
07 Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year (from "Christmas Holiday") (Frank Loesser)
08 Bem Te Vi Atrevido (Lina Pesce)
09 I Love You (from "Mexican Hayride") (Cole Porter)
10 Capullito De Aleli (R Hernandez)
11 Long Ago And Far Away (from "Cover Girl") (Jerome Kern / Ira Gershwin)
12 La Cumparsita (Matos Rodriguez)
13 Stardust (Hoagy Carmichael / Mitchell Parish)
14 Mar (Stars In Your Eyes) (Gabriel Ruiz / Mendaz)
15 Bim, Bam, Boom! (John A Camacho / Noro Morales)
16 I’ll Close My Eyes (Billy Reid / Buddy Kaye) (Vocal – Hildegarde)
17 There’s No Holding Me (Arthur Schwartz / Ira Gershwin) (Vocal – Hildegarde)
18 Dancing In The Dark (Howard Dietz / Arthur Schwartz
19 That Old Black Magic (Johnny Mercer / Harold Arlen)
20 All Through The Night (from "Anything Goes") (Cole Porter)
21 Begin The Beguine (from "Jubilee") (Cole Porter)
22 The Touch Of Your Hand (from "Roberta") (Otto Harbach / Jerome Kern)
23 Tia Juana (B Green / R Scott)
24 Temptation (from "Going Hollywood") (Arthur Freed / Nacio Herb Brown)
25 Noche Caribe (Caribbean Night) (from "Starlift") (Percy Faith)
TOTAL TIME – 76:35
CD TWO – INTO THE FIFTIES
01 Swedish Rhapsody (Midsummer Vigil) (Hugo Alfven)
02 Body And Soul (Heyman / Sour / Eyton / Green)
03 Da Du (Percy Faith) (with Male Chorus)
04 Deep Purple (Mitchell Parish / Peter De Rose}
05 Fiddle Derby (Percy Faith)
06 My Dream Concerto (David / Lawnhurst) (Vocal – Ray Charles and Chorus)
07 Dizzy Fingers (Zes Confrey) (with The Magic Voices)
08 I Got Rhythm ("Girl Crazy") (George & Ira Gershwin)
09 Flight 33 1/3 (Percy Faith)
10 Solitude (Duke Ellington / Eddie De Lange / Irving Mills)
11 Nervous Gavotte (Percy Faith) (Featuring Lou Stein – Piano)
12 Mosquitoes’ Parade (J Kennedy / Howard Whitby) (with Chorus)
13 La Mer (Beyond The Sea) (Charles Trenet) (with Wordless Chorus)
14 Kitten On The Keys (Zes Confrey) (with The Magic Voices and Stan Freeman & Bernie Leighton – Pianos)
15 Whirlwind (Jones) (with Chorus)
16 El Cumbanchero (Rafael Hernandez)
17 Goodbye John (Edward Eager / Alec Wilder) (with The Ray Charles Singers)
18 Perpetual Notion (Percy Faith)
19 They Can’t Take That Away From Me (George & Ira Gershwin) (with Chorus)
20 Soft Lights And Sweet Music (Irving Berlin)
21 Oodles Of Noodles (Jimmy Dorsey)
22 Would You (Freed / Brown) (Vocal – The Magic Voices and Peter Hanley)
23 Cumana (Hillman / Spina / Allen)
24 Delicado (W Azevedo) (Harpsichord – Stan Freeman)
25 The Song from "Moulin Rouge" (Where Is Your Heart?) (William Engvick / Georges Auric) (Vocal – Felicia Sanders)
TOTAL TIME – 77:56
Compiled by Alan Bunting from his own collection.
Transfers, audio restoration and re-mastering by Alan Bunting.
This new release marks the realisation of a cherished ambition by Alan Bunting. As the acknowledged British expert on Percy Faith recordings, his enthusiasm for the music of this great Canadian conductor has endured three distinct phases. First of all there was something approaching desperation in the early 1990s, when the flood of reissues on CD of material from LPs seemed to be ignoring the great contribution from Faith. Then gradually the situation improved as the close of the 20th century approached, and today the position has been reached where – astonishingly – virtually all of his albums are now available once again, mainly due to the support of Collectables in the USA. But these reissues have largely ignored Faith’s work in the pre-LP era, when he was closely involved with radio and his commercial recordings provided many clues to the greatness that was to follow.
Would any record company in the USA or elsewhere ever cover this period, even if they could locate the original 78s? It seemed unlikely, until Alan managed to persuade Ray Crick, the enterprising label manager at Living Era in England that there was a demand from Percy Faith collectors world-wide for this now very rare material. Not only did Ray encourage Alan to work on this project, but he also allowed him a 2-CD set in order that the missing gaps could be properly filled.
Alan was the ideal choice to compile this collection, in view of his extensive knowledge of Faith’s work. Also there was the important factor that a lifetime’s collecting meant that Alan actually possessed all the rare 78s from this period. His considerable experience in the digital restoration and remastering of vintage recordings has produced superb results which will delight collectors with their clarity and richness of sound.
In his comprehensive notes accompanying this release (which includes full recording dates and catalogue numbers), Alan explains why it is so important that these tracks should be available at long last:
"Percy Faith is considered to be one of the greatest arranger/conductors ever in the field of light and popular music and many rate him as number one. This is borne out by the fact that more of his work has been re-issued on CD than that of any comparable artist. Until now though, none of his earliest commercial recordings have been available on Compact Disc. These two CDs contain all of his Majestic, Decca and RCA recordings, plus a selection of the first he made with Columbia in the early 50s.
"Faith's broadcasting career had given him boundless opportunities to arrange and conduct every kind of music - classical, choral, swing, popular, even jazz and he was well versed in providing appropriate backings for singers ranging from operatic stars to the latest pop idols. It is therefore rather surprising that someone who was extremely popular in both the USA and Canada, and had been broadcasting to huge audiences in both countries every week since the end of the 30s, didn't make any commercial records until 1944. Even more surprising is that some of these weren't actually released until several years later. The precise reasons are unclear - certainly Canada's record industry had always been overshadowed by America and did little to promote native artists, especially orchestras, but why Faith was ignored for so long by the American Record industry will probably remain a mystery.
"Percy's first commercial recordings were for American Decca and on April 20th 1944 he recorded Amor and Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year in their Chicago studios. He returned in May to record five more titles although one of them, If There Is Someone Lovelier Than You, was not destined to be released as a 78 and record buyers had to await the arrival of the LP format before they could hear this superb arrangement. The next Decca titles were cut in New York in June 1945. As The Contented Hour didn't move to New York until some six months later one wonders why these sides weren't recorded in Chicago where he had a ready made orchestra familiar with the arrangements, most of which had already been tried out on the programme. There was now a gap of over a year before he recorded again, this time in the role of accompanist to the popular singing star Hildegarde. Four titles were recorded in October 1946 and, although not strictly speaking "Percy Faith and his Orchestra", two of them are featured here as a vocal interlude before we move on to the next phase of his recording career.
"For some reason Decca did not call further upon Mr. Faith's services (a decision they probably regretted in later years), and Percy's next recording venture was an album for the fledgling Majestic label. The term ‘album’ as used here refers to the original concept of an album - a number of 78 rpm discs contained in an album with the discs stored in individual pockets. Majestic was a division of The Majestic Radio & Television Corporation of New York, but it was short-lived and the parent company didn't last much longer. Faith recorded eight sides for them in 1947 and six were issued as the 78 album Presenting the Exciting Music of Percy Faith. Again two titles never appeared as 78s and there was a long delay before they eventually surfaced. In fact we had to wait for Majestic to sell their catalogue to The Mercury Radio & Television Corporation in 1948, and for Mercury in turn to sell it on to the Wright Record Corporation (part of the now long defunct Eli Oberstein empire) less than a year later. Mercury had re-issued the six sides as 78s but Wright dubbed them to LP format and released them, together with the two previously unissued tracks, on their Royale label. All of the Majestic titles subsequently turned up on a variety of Oberstein labels, among them Varsity, Rondo-lette, Galaxy and Allegro under several different overall album titles.
Two years were to elapse before Faith's next recording session, this time for RCA. In 1949 he recorded twelve tracks at RCA's Manhattan Center and, yet again, two of them never made it as singles, eventually being included in the LP album Soft Lights and Sweet Music. Although still very busy with his radio commitments, this lack of interest in his music from the record companies must have been quite frustrating for him but, very soon, everything was to change dramatically.
"RCA may well have been hoping to make further recordings but Columbia were planning a major assault on the popular market and, in 1950, having appointed Mitch Miller as Head of Artists and Repertoire, they invited Percy to join them as Director of their Popular Division. Some 26 years later Percy was still recording for Columbia and continued to do so until less than a month before he died, on February 9th 1976. Initially Percy had a dual role at Columbia; as well as making recordings in his own right, part of his contract was to develop up and coming new singers and also to ‘rescue’ established ones whose careers were faltering. Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, Johnny Mathis, Guy Mitchell and Doris Day are just a few of those nurtured by Faith and their success owes much to his skills. The majority of his own Columbia recordings at this time featured arrangements of current hit songs, usually with vocal chorus, as well as some superbly arranged instrumental items. These usually used a somewhat smaller orchestra than the Decca, Majestic and RCA recordings - the lush and exciting orchestral albums which made him world famous came later and are outside the time span of this collection.
"A prolific composer (five of his pieces are to be found in this compilation), he always argued strongly in interviews that arranging is very similar to composing and deserves equal status. Unlike the majority of orchestra leaders, Faith always arranged everything himself and it was one of his ‘arrangement / compositions’ that became one of his greatest hits. He adapted Swedish Rhapsody from themes by Hugo Alfven and, backed with his memorable version of The Song From Moulin Rouge, it became one of Columbia's best selling singles of that era. As well as this vocal version of Moulin Rouge, he also recorded a magnificent extended arrangement and one wonders why he didn't use it for the Felicia Sanders recording. Perhaps it was considered too long for a single in those days so, in speculative mood, this compilation ends with a composite version of the two, which may well be what the maestro would have preferred to record over fifty years ago!"
The above excerpts from Alan Bunting’s booklet notes are reproduced by kind permission of Alan and Living Era. A comprehensive Percy Faith discography may be found on Alan Bunting’s WEB pages at http://homepages.tesco.net/~alan.bunting/
