I like compilation albums, they really fill a need, and this one is a really inventive double disc set, featuring certain Artists / songs that are hard to come by, nicely kept around the theme of one decade of British hits, there's lots of number one hits on these discs, though it's not a compilation of number one's, in this series there's a Fifties and Sixties set also, maybe even an Eighties set, they're well worth collecting.
I like the way the booklet is laid out, with black & white news stories of the decade, this booklet is yellow and blue in it's colours, it's a lovely visual marvel, the track listing on the back is also pleasing to read.
Well the tracks i liked the best were 9, 12, 19 & 26, and here's a synopsis of each,
9 Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street, The song that put the saxophone on the map, a stroke of genius in letting the saxophone take over the intro instead of the electric guitar, and a double stroke of genius to have the intro return before the start of the second verse also, and of course the outro as well, everyone loves the saxophone contribution [by Raphael Ravenscroft], the mix of instruments is delicious, a soft click clack on the percussion, nice warblings on the accordion, in the 'chorus' there's glockenspiel, and the travelogue meanderings of Rafferty [supposedly singing about himself], a real classic.
12 Hot Chocolate - So You Win Again, I remember when this first hit the charts, straight in at number 22, and the following week it shot right up to 3, before sitting on the top of the charts, Hot Chocolate's stroke of genius [as well as 'You Sexy Thing'], it's such a powerful song, there's elements of Reggae and Soul in there, and the xylophone is quite prominent in the background, the lead singer Errol Brown is from Jamaica.
19 Wizzard - Angel Fingers, In the Seventies they were one of my favourite bands, Wizzard / Roy Wood were a throwback to old time Rock & Roll, with saxophones very prominent, 'As i was lying in my bedroom fast asleep...', always thought it was a great opening line, one of the songs that really benefit from a third verse, it descends into doo wop at the end.
26 Real Thing - You To Me Are Everything, A real Disco masterpiece, got to number one, there's a certain flow to the whole thing, and the chorus is so strong, it really takes off, with three backing singers to make it more powerful, and the orchestral strings that come in also, reminds me of those endless summers as a teenager, hmmmn!.
9 Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street, The song that put the saxophone on the map, a stroke of genius in letting the saxophone take over the intro instead of the electric guitar, and a double stroke of genius to have the intro return before the start of the second verse also, and of course the outro as well, everyone loves the saxophone contribution [by Raphael Ravenscroft], the mix of instruments is delicious, a soft click clack on the percussion, nice warblings on the accordion, in the 'chorus' there's glockenspiel, and the travelogue meanderings of Rafferty [supposedly singing about himself], a real classic.
12 Hot Chocolate - So You Win Again, I remember when this first hit the charts, straight in at number 22, and the following week it shot right up to 3, before sitting on the top of the charts, Hot Chocolate's stroke of genius [as well as 'You Sexy Thing'], it's such a powerful song, there's elements of Reggae and Soul in there, and the xylophone is quite prominent in the background, the lead singer Errol Brown is from Jamaica.
19 Wizzard - Angel Fingers, In the Seventies they were one of my favourite bands, Wizzard / Roy Wood were a throwback to old time Rock & Roll, with saxophones very prominent, 'As i was lying in my bedroom fast asleep...', always thought it was a great opening line, one of the songs that really benefit from a third verse, it descends into doo wop at the end.
26 Real Thing - You To Me Are Everything, A real Disco masterpiece, got to number one, there's a certain flow to the whole thing, and the chorus is so strong, it really takes off, with three backing singers to make it more powerful, and the orchestral strings that come in also, reminds me of those endless summers as a teenager, hmmmn!.
