#1

I realised I don’t really listen to any music from the 1960s or 70s other than The Beatles, early Springsteen and Neil Young.
Anyhow, over Christmas I made a commitment to broaden my horizons and I stumbled across a couple of playlists that are based on recent compilations released by Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs.
One is set to the “autumnal sound of Britain at the turn of the seventies, looking out through wet window panes with a mixture of melancholy and optimism for what come next. With the Beatles gone and the pound sinking, a new distinctive sound emerges, led by flutes and mellontrons.”
The other one, State of the Union – The American Dream in Crisis is billed as “the sound of a country trying to work its way out of a crisis.”
Both are great listens. Personal favourites are;

Elvis Presley. Clean Up Your Own Backyard.
Ray Stevens. Mr. Businessman.
The Tokens. Some People Sleep (all 39 seconds of it).
Van Der Graaf Generator. Refugees.
Daevid Allen. Wise Man In Your Heart.

English Weather

State of the Union

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#2

They’re incredible compilations. Love that Starts of the Union one. There’s a French compilation as well which is good.

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#3

been listening to the english weather one a lot in the last few months

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#4

Yep, these are superb compilations. I still have to pick up State of the Union, and another recent one of 1968 French pop called Paris In The Spring.

I love one of the earlier compilations Bob did for Ace, Songs for the Carnegie Deli. A night in the life of mid-century midtown Manhattan told through 24 Brill Building pop gems. He explains the concept better than I could:

(Incomplete Spotify playlist based on that comp)

Their next one is themed around 1973 and the ThreeDay Week, another fantastic idea:

Out at the end of March! :wink:

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#5

Yeah, they’re all great compilations.

Particularly love that Peter Mitchell photo on the cover of English Weather.

#6

I splashed out on Paris in Spring album. It really is wonderful.

I think I’d decided my music taste doesn’t generally fit with Bob Stanley’s with regard to British stuff but I should really check these other comps out.

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#7

I like Bob a lot, his writing is often well worth reading, I’ve found quite a bit of music through him and his taste in Non League football teams is nothing short of impeccable.

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#8

Just finished 1971 by David Hepworth. The premise is that 1971 is the Golden year for rock music. Hard to argue with this playlist.

#9

If you can find yourself a copy of the commentary they did with Richard X from the ‘Foxbase Beta’ CD 10 (!) years back then you really should, it’s priceless.

#10

English Weather is really good. There’s a compilation of football songs they’ve done called Match Day which I would love to get hold of, but seems almost impossible to find.

Also, Bob Stanley’s history of pop music, Yeah Yeah Yeah, is pretty indispensable, you can get properly lost in it