Landfall In Unknown Seas - Lindsay String Orchestra of Wellington (1960)

I’m very interested in the ways that Australasian musicians and composers attempt to recreate their natural surroundings with music. In some cases, as in last post’s Rainforest or John Sangster’s work, this is done in a literal sense with field recordings, bird calls and occasionally abstract evocations of ‘otherness’. These are old continents, but new to the Europeans whose musical traditions we inherited. This lovely recording by the Lindsay String Orchestra of Wellington takes a very different approach; this is the discovery of New Zealand by white men interpreted in modern verse and orchestral strings.

The A side is taken up entirely by the titular track - a combination of original poetry and music by Allen Curnow and Douglass Lilburn respectively. Curnow was commissioned to write a poem for the 300th anniversary of Abel Tasman’s discovery of New Zealand. Lilburn, one of New Zealand’s most prominent composers of the time and a student of Vaughan Williams, was approached to create music to accompany the verse. The poem, read by the author, is interspersed by three movements of a pastoral, modern classical feel. The second movement is my favourite, ‘a dramatic lyric, in rapid short metre and strict pattern recounting the Landfall in New Zealand, the bloody clash with the islanders, and Tasman’s departure.’

Landfall In Unknown Seas is followed up with three pieces by other New Zealand composers. All three are modern classical interpretations of folk music. Cindy: A Square Dance For Strings and Turkey In The Straw are both from the American folk tradition, while Dances Of Brittany was inspired by ‘a suite of Breton popular tunes.’

I have no idea when this recording was produced, but I’d say it was sometime in the early sixties, based on the dates mentioned in the various composers’ bios*. Also, this record is the first I’ve seen on the Kiwi label. According to a blurb on the sleeve, this label used to release ‘New Zealand composers, New Zealand bird song, leading Maori concert groups, records for children and for educational purposes, folk song, language instruction’ - it all sounds very appealing! If you have any interesting records on this label please let me know in the comments.

*EDIT 4/05/2016: I have found a review of this record in the December 1960 edition of Te Ao Hou, from the National Library of New Zealand: 

Te Ao Hou was published from 1952 to 1976 by the Māori Affairs Department in New Zealand Aotearoa. According to its first editorial, Te Ao Hou aimed "to provide interesting and informative reading for Maori homes … like a marae on paper, where all questions of interest to the Maori can be discussed."

Although the release date of this LP was originally unknown to me, I can now assume it was 1960. 

Label: Kiwi

Released: 1960

Players: Alex Lindsay - conductor

Allen Curnow - poet

Douglas Lilburn - composer (Landfall In Unknown Seas)

Ashley Heenan - composer (Cindy: A Square Dance For Strings)

Larry Prudent - composer (Dances Of Brittany)

John Ritchie - composer (Turkey In The Straw)

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Rainforest - Andrew Richardson (1985)

Here is another recording from Victorian flautist Andrew Richardson, the man responsible for Expanse and the Sally/Dive single. Rainforest is an ambient, fairly free-form piece which couples solo flute performances with Australian field recordings and a few other accompaniments. It’s a very sparse record and I must admit that I would like to have heard more structure and rhythmic flow. On the few occasions on Rainforest where Richardson does augment his solo flute playing it lifts the material considerably, such as the distant rhythmic rumbling percussion on Dense and the unexpected and brief appearance of a choir section in Shady Rill.

I am always interested in Australian recordings which incorporate field recordings and Rainforest uses this technique well - the fusion between these sounds and the flute playing feels very natural. The recordings are predominantly birds calling, the most obvious species being Rufous Whistler (Pachycephala rufiventris), White-throated Treecreeper (Cormobates leucophaea), Grey Fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa) and the Australian Magpie (Cracticus tibicen). This particular combination of species suggests that these recordings were made in dry temperate woodland in the southeast of Australia - which is actually a very different habitat type to the tropical rainforests that Richardson alludes to on the LP cover.

On the back of the sleeve Andrew writes: Australia is blessed with some of the world’s most magnificent rainforests. This recording represents a journey through one of these beautiful rainforests; and an attempt to make people conscious of these areas of rare and fragile beauty. As mankind is propelled into the Twenty-first Century these regions are unique, and must be saved in their entirety - not destroyed for short-term profit. One of Australia’s dedicated rainforest ecologists, CAROLE HELMAN, describes the Daintree Rainforest in north east Queensland as “one of the world’s most important tropical rainforests, because it is the home of the world’s most primitive tropical rainforest plant families.” The distinguished naturalist, DAVID ATTENBOROUGH, described Queensland’s rainforests as “one of the most breathtaking wild areas in the world, unbelievably beautiful, unbelievably interesting. There are birds, mammals and plants there that are unique. Beyond any dispute it is a treasure.”

Label: A.R.M. Digital

Released: 1985

Players: Andrew Richardson - flutes

Tapes - Jim Moginie

Tapes - Michael Gissing

Bells - Adrienne Overall

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Making It Happen - Eric Jupp And His Music (1969?)

Although they show up with some regularity, I’ve stopped buying Eric Jupp albums when I find them in op-shops these days. I’ve listened to a few, and Jupp’s LPs are typically schmaltzy lounge-room jazz firmly ensconced in an old-school, conservative musical mindset. It's pleasant enough stuff and features some great players, but not really my thing. I bought Making It Happen from the Salvos because it features an original composition by John Sangster, and due to the presence of some of my favourite sixties/seventies Oz jazz players (John Sangster, Don Burrows, George Golla, Derek Fairbrass, Warren Daly). 

This feels like an album where the young turks have dragged old fart Jupp into a more hip, modern set of songs. It’s not that hip though; there are still a number of soundtrack numbers and standards that are ever-present on these sorts of LPs - Theme From Exodus, Tara’s Theme from Gone With The Wind, Live For Life theme, Nino Rota’s A Time For Us from Romeo & Juliet and Hava Nagila. Most of these are pretty nice, if forgettable. 

The bulk of the set however is made up of instrumental arrangements of contemporary pop songs such as Puppet On A String (Sandie Shaw, 1967), Sounds of Silence (Simon & Garfunkel, 1966), The Other Man’s Grass Is Always Greener (Petula Clark, 1967), When I’m 64 (The Beatles, 1967), Help Yourself (Tom Jones, 1968) and Spinning Wheel (Blood, Sweat and Tears, 1969). A lot of these tracks are pretty great and the playing is always top-notch - for example, check out Burrow's echoey clarinet solo in the impossibly jaunty rendition of When I’m 64. 

The highlight is unquestionably Kaffir Song written by John Sangster. Most people would be familiar with this song from The Jazz Sound of The Don Burrows Quartet. In my opinion, the version on Making It Happen is superior. It’s a more fast-paced, less conspicuously ‘jazzy’ version and the interplay between the percussion and the bass is far more complex and interesting. (As amazing as the bass work is, the bassist is not credited in the liner notes - I’m guessing it’s Ed Gaston, but who knows?) It’s a looping, hypnotic trip into faux-exotica highlighted by Burrows high-pitched Bb school flute.

The other track which I really like is the Live For Life theme. From what I can tell, the original recording of this theme was a slow waltz - here Jupp reimagines the piece as a frantic whirlwind of exotic strings and horns, with the same picked bass tone as featured on Kaffir Song. It sounds like the kind of song that would played in a sixties movie over a montage of people doing important things very quickly. 

Label: Columbia

Released: 1969? (There is no date listed, but the latest of the cover songs was released in 1969). 

Players: Eric Jupp - piano, arrangements and musical direction.

Don Burrows - flutes, clarinet

Billy Burton - trumpet

George Golla - guitar

John Sangster - percussion, vibraphone

Derek Fairbrass - drums

Warren Daly - drums

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Hymn For Holy Year - Kim and Leanne (1974)

This is a lovely religious/psychedelic pop tune attributed to two singers known only as “Kim and Leanne”. Did they go on to achieve musical success? Did they go on to achieve ecclesiastical success? This, like the holy trinity, is a mystery that will probably never really be known by mankind. The label says that the track was written by Julie Atton and produced by Peter Martin - an online record shop I found says that this is “jazz heavyweight” Peter Martin (and such a man does exist) but I’m unsure as to how they would have distinguished between that Peter Martin and some random Peter Martin from the congregation of Kim and Leanne’s church. 

The single was released by Sydney’s 2SM radio station which was enormously popular in the seventies and eighties and pretty much molded the Top 40 radio format as we know it in Australia. However, despite their populist appeal, until 1992 2SM was in fact owned by the Catholic Broadcasting Company which in turn was controlled by the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney. (The ‘SM’ apparently refers to Sydney’s St. Mark’s Church) I won’t go into it in depth here, but yes, running a popular radio station that was controlled by the Catholic Church did have it’s challenges; various songs couldn’t be played, such as obvious examples like Skyhooks’ sleazy seventies stuff but also songs like The Ballad Of John and Yoko due to its conspicuous use of the word ‘Christ’. (All information on 2SM stolen from the excellent Australian vintage pop site, Milesago.)

Anyway, the song itself is great, Kim and Leanne are sweet, unpretentious singers, the phrasing of the melody kind of reminds me of Radiohead’s Optimistic and you literally won’t believe their use of primitive synths. The lyrics are rubbish and are in reference to the Catholic holy or jubilee year of 1974 - now this weird: the B-side features Father John Murphy talking about the Holy Year of 1974, but all the media I can find on the web says that the year in question was in fact 1975. Another Biblical mystery, on par with the resurrection, no doubt. So, enjoy this unique gem and give thanks to reader Rex who sent me this single. Amen.

Label: 2SM

Released: 1974

Players: Kim and Leanne - vocals

Peter Martin - production

No other musicians credited.

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The Unique Sound of Andy Sundstrom - Andy Sundstrom/Sven Libaek (1963)

Earlier this year I wrote a post about a single by Andy Sundstrom from 1963 playing a couple of songs composed and produced by Sven Libaek. I have now come across the EP from which this single was taken thanks to Urban Bowerbird reader Rex. The Unique Sound of Andy Sundstrom features the two songs from the single - Northern Territory and Theme From Black Orpheus - and two more Libaek-penned tunes; Free Fall and Theme From An Unwritten Movie. Although I didn’t realise this after hearing the single, Sundstrom plays these songs not on a guitar, but on a balalaika. This has added a whole new layer to the music for me and makes Andy a bit of a pop oddity. Whoever thought that balalaika surf-pop from the early sixties Australian music scene even existed? Two of the tracks, Northern Territory and Theme From An Unwritten Movie would be recorded by Sven with his usual jazz ensemble of the time and included on The Music Of Sven Libaek released four years later. The third track, Free Fall, was written by Libaek and performed by Australian surf group The Atlantics on their Bombora LP from 1963. (I’m not sure who played it first - both recordings came out in 1963).

Back cover liner notes: Three years ago ANDY SUNDSTROM came to Australia as a crew member on the 38 foot ketch “Sarong”. He had a guitar under one arm and a balalaika under the other. He wasn’t planning to stay too long, as all his family live in Denmark, his country of birth. However, he fell in love, with Australia, as do so many other visitors and migrants - and he’s still here! He hasn’t wasted his three years here either, on the contrary, he has established himself as one of Australia’s leading entertainers. 

ANDY’S speciality is the balalaika and in playing it he has been referred to as the “fastest man on strings”. However, his first CBS disc was far from a fast one. It was a haunting melody simply entitled “THEME FROM AN UNWRITTEN MOVIE” and although it was not a hit for ANDY it certainly made a stir among the public as well as disc jockeys and show business personalities. It was NORTHERN TERRITORY that really established Andy as a top pop artist with his balalaika. His beautiful rendition of THEME FROM BLACK ORPHEUS also became extremely popular with the public. All these tracks you will find on this E.P. and in addition, his latest entitled FREE FALL, a virtuoso surfin’ number.

This collection could easily have been entitled - “The Best of Andy Sundstrom”, but THE UNIQUE SOUND OF ANDY SUNDSTROM seemed more appropriate. It is indeed a unique sound - this strange haunting and brilliant way of playing that rather unusual instrument the balalaika, with a pop flavor. ANDY has created a new branch of Australian entertainment business. A branch that is growing in popularity every day.

Label: CBS, produced and composed by Sven Libaek

Released: 1963

Players: Andy Sundstrom - balalaika, guitar (no other musicians credited)

EDIT: Urban Bowerbird reader "randbasic" emailed me a reconstructed version of the artwork for this record. It looks great.

EDIT 25/09/2016: Here's a short article talking about Andy's work on this EP from Australian Womens Weekly in 1962. 

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Hayman Island Promo Single - Jimmy Parkinson (1957)

Sandy Scott was glad he lost his heart in Sydney - and Jimmy Parkinson lost his heart on Hayman Island. Presumably in the fifties and sixties you couldn’t walk around a popular Australian tourist spot without tripping over some pop-star's lost, dismembered heart. This recording is a nice little Oz exotica single from the late fifties featuring crooner Jimmy Parkinson singing a couple of tunes about Hayman Island.

From Wikipedia: Hayman Island is the most northerly of the Whitsunday Islands, part of the Cumberland Islands, which are located off the coast of Central Queensland, Australia at 20°03′S 148°53′E. Hayman is a private island open to the public, most famous for its luxury resort which was built in the 1950s by millionaire Reg Ansett, who also founded Ansett Australia. The island is a significant drawing point for tourism in Queensland.

Jimmy Parkinson was an Australian born singer who had a significant hit in the UK with ‘The Great Pretender’, released a few singles and one LP. This single features two tunes about the tropical wonders of Hayman Island with backing by Bob Gibson, His Orchestra and Chorus. It was a promotional single produced by the Royal Hayman Hotel. The two tracks are (Pack Up A Dream) And Head For Hayman Island and I Lost My Heart On Hayman Island - both done in a late fifties exotica style; Queensland via Honolulu.

My copy has no picture sleeve, but apparently one exists (picture above borrowed from popsike.com who borrowed it from eBay).

Label: EMI Custom

Released: 1957

Players: Jimmy Parkinson - vocals

Bob Gibson - Orchestra

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I'm Glad I Lost My Heart In Sydney - Sandy Scott with Edwin Harrison and His Orchestra (1969)

To follow on from my last post on the brilliant A Place To Stand, a song extolling the virtues of Ontario, here’s a track a little closer to home. I’m Glad I Lost My Heart In Sydney is a charmer of a song with a musical theatre swing and a few local references to keep the New South Welshmen happy. The vocals are by Aussie crooner Sandy Scott, who was huge in the sixties and seventies. The b-side is an instrumental version, showcasing the talents of Edwin Harrison and his Orchestra. I can find very little information about this single and the people involved, but it’s a nicely done piece of late-sixties Australiana. 

Lest you think I’m not bringing you the quality music you’ve come to expect, fear not: this song is award winning! According to the information on the disc, this song, written by one Freddie Morgan, was the winner of Sydney radio station 2GB’s International Song Competition. If any one has any information on this tune, let me know in the comments.

Label: ATA Records (Distributed by Festival)

Released: 1969

Players: Sandy Scott - vocals

Edwin Harrison and His Orchestra - music

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