Before the “Skip Intro” feature became ubiquitous on streaming services, TV show opening sequences were a mainstay of popular culture. Though these title sequences have grown shorter over time, music has played a pivotal role in these sequences. One of Cherry Red Records’ latest box set, What’s It All About? Film & TV Music of Swinging London (which gets its title from the theme song of 1966’s Alfie), pays homage to ‘60s British pop culture. Though the three-CD clamshell set of 96 (!) tracks primarily capitalizes on nostalgia, most listeners who enjoy music from the decade will have a lot to uncover, mainly because the diverse pop music scene was at the time.
Insert the first disc and you’ll go from Vashti Bunyan’s “Winter is Blue,” a trippy psych folk song from the documentary Tonite, Let’s All Make Love in London to the brilliant combo jazz of Sonny Rollins’ “Alfie’s Theme” (reference here self-explanatory) to the sweet bubblegum pop of the romcom and title track “Georgy Girl” by the Australian folk/pop band the Seekers. These shifts are frequent throughout all three CDs. In general, it’s appreciated. Because most pop songs of the era were short, too, if there’s something you particularly dislike or cornball, it quickly fades from memory.
And let’s be clear — cornball music is present occasionally. Several ensembles (often, but not always, identified as an “orchestra”) use similar methods to the bargain-bin mainstay Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, such as the Bob Leaper Orchestra’s “High Wire” (from the 1964 series Danger Man). However, the Velveeta isn’t that cut-and-dried, as many bands find other ways to be cheesy to a different effect. Traffic’s “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush” (from the 1967 film of the same name) is almost cute in how jaunty and upbeat it is, yet Noveltones’ “Left Bank Two” (used in the BBC TV arts program Vision On) plinking xylophone keys sounds like a distant cousin of elevator music. As expected of most comps like this, it’s a mixed bag.
What’s impressive is how many times the collection hits, especially over a four-hour runtime. Of course, you have nostalgia-inducing classics like big lungs belter Tom Jones’ “Thunderball” to remind listeners of how regularly good James Bond themes are and the cartoonish march of the Regimental Band of the Scots Guards’ “Liberty Bell” (fittingly the Monty Python’s Flying Circus’s TV theme). Several big names at the time, such as the Yardbirds, the Small Faces and Lulu, also regularly crop up, which will be fun for those more into the music of the time than TV shows and films. And, if you’re on board for discovery, off-beat psych freak jams like Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera’s “Talk of the Devil” (the title track of a short Faustian film directed by Francis Searle) or jazzy breakdowns such as the jangling guitar and noodling keyboards of Wynder K. Frog’s “Dancing Frog” from the 1968 crime drama The Touchables, again, What’s It All About? has you covered. As expected with these Cherry Red compilations, the box set includes a comprehensive 40-page booklet featuring a thoughtful essay from Chris Allan of Cherry Red Records, as well as a track-by-track write-up relaying fun facts about each of the selections.
Because What’s It All About? presents such a widespread collection, it’s impressive that the compilation can make more baskets than it misses. Mixes of this magnitude can often be widespread in terms of quality, but even when one track falters from being too cornball, it’s easy to forgive. It’s not as if these choices are poor selections, but instead a fantastic exemplification of British pop culture (especially music) in the decade. For these reasons, What’s It All About? is a particularly strong compilation, especially when considering the price, selection and the care and love given to the subject matter. Those at all interested in ‘60s pop culture would do well to give What’s It All About? a shot.
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