| A good honest Yorkshire
lad, Geoff Love started out on 'bone in his local brass band,
but soon put that behind him and started on an auspicious career
as a radio and TV band leader. The man responsible for many a
charity shop staple, like Manuel And His Music Of The Mountains,
Love also did the deed for some of the most awful cabaret acts
down the years. Oh my God, what a CV...Ken Dodd, Johnny Mathis,
Des O'Connor, Frankie Vaughan...Geoff was in his own way responsible
for them all. Not satisfied with all this, he launched Geoff Love's
Banjo Band on an unsuspecting world and cornered every angle of
the easy-cheesy market with an absolute armful of releases covering
everything from Tango to Disco. No barrel was left unscraped in
his quest to inflict pain on the listening public, a tradition
which was carried on by his son Adrian Love, a truly terrible
DJ on BBC Radio. To many folk though, Geoff Love will always be
best remembered as the Glenn Ponda of his day as the band leader
for Max Bygraves on his 'end-of-the-pier' Singalongamax TV show.
|
|
|
Geoff Love first
embraced the world of easy-money TV/movie theme albums with
'Your Top TV Themes' (MFP, 1972). It's ubiquitous, but definitely
worth your 50p for the sparkling 'Jason King Theme'. Skip past
the rest and dwell only briefly on lackluster versions of 'The
Persuaders' and 'Hawaii Five-O'. There isn't much of a groove
to either of them and the accent is geared towards wholesome
family entertainment.
|
|
|
Things do not really
improve much on Love's trawl through a few dull film themes
on 'Big Suspense Movie Themes' (MFP, 1972), where a so-so run
through of 'Shaft' is the sole worthwhile offering. Only in
"That London" does this one sell for more than a quid,
and rightly so.
|
|
|
Not one to give
up, Love soon returned with 'Your Favourite TV Themes' (MFP,
1973), implying that the public were less than pleased with
his previous set. If it were possible this one is even more
of a duffer than his first attempt and is only really of use
for nostalgia purposes - apart from a fairly decent stab at
'Ironside'.
|
|
|
Then its back to
the flicks with 'Big Bond Movie Themes' (MFP, 1975). There are
a couple of different sleeves for this album. A first issue
with Roger Moore and his 'piece', and a later one with Bond's
back turned and all the other characters somewhat smudged. Presumably
they all threatened to sue. Maybe they heard the album! To be
fair it's not half bad - if Bond Themes are your cup of tea.
You know them all like the back of your hand and they do their
thing, right enough, but nothing to write home about really.
|
|
|
Right, now we're
talking! Things started to get seriously funky for Mr. Love
from here on in, and 'Big Terror Movie Themes' (MFP, 1976) has
some killer moments. Check
out 'Tubular Bells' - a super groove that has none of the antiseptic
nature of the original. Best version ever ! Over to side two
and 'Airport 75' and 'Death Wish' are great slabs of orchestral
funk worthy of attention, but absolutely nothing in comparison
to the magnificent 'Three Days Of The Condor'
- a slow burning wah-wah & vibes number that struts along
the street in the manner of the most awesome pimp-shit.
|
|
|
Rolling right along
with Love's next foray into themeology; 'Star Wars & Other
Space Themes' (MFP, 1978). Here we have a few nice takes on
all the usual space stuff like 'Star Trek' and 'UFO' alongside
a lot of really bad orchestral rubbish. Perhaps why this album
is seemingly so highly prized is 'Space 1999', a theme that
doesn't crop up elsewhere very often at all and one which is
given a right-royal funk-up on this outing.
|
|
|
The world went
D.I.S.C.O. in '78, and the ever hip Mr. Love was no exception.
He lost no time on launching his 'Big Disco Sound' incarnation
onto an eager public, thrashing out at least a couple of nightmarish
non-stop-disco-hits efforts before the ker-ching of easy cash
by disco-ing up everything else in sight wassuccumbed to on
'Close Encounters Of The Third Kind'
(MFP, 1978). Most of this is as disgraceful as you would imagine
- think Meco's version of 'Star Wars' and you're about right.
However, tagged on at the end of the album are a couple of numbers
penned by Love's then assistant Nick Ingman.
This fact is highly fortuitous us as 'Solar Sailor' and 'Space
Patrol' are pretty damn sorted!
|
 |
What next to do then, but go the
whole nine yards with this 'dis-ploitation' thing and make an
entire LP of tunes from the then-recent crop of disco-flavoured
movies! They're all here; Saturday Night Fever, Grease, The Stud...ooof,
and ooof again! To be fair, there is actually a really decent
version of 'Car Wash' on this album that is well worth a few pence,
so why not? |
 |
Themes For Super
Heroes' (MFP, 1979) is often spotted on dealer lists for the
kind of sums that you would pay for a truly prized item - -something
a bit special, y'know. Thing is, it's just more of the same
old guff ! Sure, there are a few great moments like 'The Saint',
'Six Million Dollar Man' and a storming 'Wonder Woman', but
it's also loaded with a lot of utter cobblers in the traditional
manner. Every copy we have found to date has had a Woolworth's
'Price Blitz' sticker on it, proclaiming that the amount to
pay for this LP is just 75p.
|
 |
To round things off for now we
have the obligatory ropey compilation, of which there are several
of Mr. Love's work. Although it is highly debatable so to whether
the so-so run through of 'The Pink Pather' is even worth coppers
on 'Big TV Themes' (MFP, 1984).
Geoff Love left a very large legacy
of recorded music that will grow steadily mustier in the racks
of charity shops the length and breadth of the country. However,
all of the above are well worth a dabble, but remember - pay
pence only!
|
|
|
|
| Keith Mansfield was
a big time pop arranger during the later part of the sixties for
the likes of Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones and Georgie Fame but
made his reputation crafting hits with bands like The Marmalade.
Another man most renowned for his contribution to the world of
library music, with such money-spinners as the themes to "Grandstand"
and the BBC's Wimbledon coverage to his credit. Despite lending
his skills to many pop acts as an arranger and penning hundreds
of library tracks of varying qualities, Keith Mansfield commercial
albums are surprisingly thin on the ground and ver hard to obtain
for reasonable sums. |
| |
|
|
 |
| The first of these,
'All You Need Is Keith Mansfield' (CBS, 1968) seems proof positive
that Mr. Mansfield was indeed big in Poland, as issues from that
country of origin on the Pronit label are seen offered by for
sale on an increasingly regular basis. Consisting of a set of
funky covers of fairly easy pop tunes like 'Whiter Shade Of Pale',
apart from great takes of the less poppy 'Take Five' and 'Moanin'
that really cut the mustard, with his mate Alan Hawkshaw on keys
moving things along nicely. However, the true highlights are Mansfield's
own numbers. 'Soul Thing' and 'Boogaloo' are a couple of tracks
that Mansfield lent both to Library release, and for adaptation
to other artists he was arranging albums for. And why not, cos'
they are both great big steaming lounge groovers to die for and
were worth revisiting time and again! |
| It has to be said that due to the
heights of his first LP, the follow-up 'Face On The Wind' (CBS,
1969) is a serious let down. It's still blessed with Mansfield's
usual smooth and upbeat orchestrations, but alas, features a chorus
of singers pretty much throughout, and original compositions like
the title track and 'All For You' are layered with loads of billing
and cooing. No sign of any cheesy organ flourishes either. Damn!
The two instrumental tracks are very limp too: with 'The Look
Of Love' being the pick of the album above 'Love Story' which
never gets out of first gear, with a bit of nice flute, but that's
about it. Do not on any account pay money for this album without
getting a listen first, or you will definitely feel cheated. |
 |
| 'Loot' (CBS, 1970) is the soundtrack
to one of those cheerfully crap British comedies of the era that
always seemed to star Robin Asquith or Hywel Bennet or some such
nonentity. Even Dick Emery gets a part here...Hello Sailor, indeed.
Despite the fact that the film itself sucked logs of large proportion,
the soundtrack is a killer. Steve Ellis, singer with one of Mansfield's
acts Love Affair appears on a lot of the stuff - but not at all
to it's benefit we are sorry to say - but the brass and beaty
'Loot's The Root' is a pretty hot number all the same, as is the
slow groover 'Stealth In The Night'. Crying shame that they weren't
left as instrumentals though because the one that is unsullied
by vocals really is brilliant. |
 |
|
'The Undertaker Song'
is a fantastic slice of British lounge finery that's difficult
to top. Loaded with beats and cheesy grooves, it's the business
all right. If you ever chance upon a copy of this album you
are one very lucky puppy indeed, so don't think twice - buy
it!
|
|
| Park graduated from
Oxford with a degree in music and immediately joined the DeWolfe
publishing house in 1969. Something of a protégé of the time he
quickly realised a string of library releases that range from
the ultra funky to the most disgusting orchestral pap before moving
into more mainstream film and TV work - and is still going strong
today. |
|
|
It's shake-of-the-head-time
really, when you consider that Park had a number one hit single
in the UK with his version of the ultra-nauseating orchestral
theme for the Amsterdam detective show 'Van De Valk' taken from
the album 'Eye Level' (Studio2Stereo, 1973). How on earth did
this happen ? Maybe it reflected the diversity of radio at the
time, instead of the unceasing Britney Beat of modern daytime
stations. Perhaps we can forgive Mr. Park his crimes relating
to that particular tune if we consider the one beautiful stand
out track on this platter - 'Dawn To Dusk'. A wonderful piece
of slowly grooving orchestral cheese, with some great harp motifs
and a killer bassline. Definitely worth putting up with the
rest of big orchestra numbers on the album for.
|
 |
Something of a more
contemporary feel is thankfully prevalent on his follow up 'Something
In The Air' (EMI, 1974). With a load of really quite tasty cover
versions, such as the title track, 'I Am The Walrus' and 'Honkey
Tonk Women'. Splashed with regulation Moog and with firm backbeats
they all posses that distinctive quirky edge that Park brought
to his work: never truly fluid and groovy, but definitely interesting
and most certainly his own. An infatuation with the mighty Westminster
Central Hall organ is clear, as big cathedral honks are to be
had throughout, not least those punctuating the stand out original
'7.48 Stomp'. What was going through his head? Who knows, but
the track sure cooks !
|
|
|
Moving into the
heyday of the Moog, Farfisa and Fender Rhodes, the players assembled
for 'Venus Fly Trap' (EMI, 1975) does read like a who's who
of British session men. Names like Alan Parker, Denis Lopez
and Vic Flick to name but a few. Simon Park plays all of the
keyboards, smothering every track in heavy synth grooves. A
mix of cover versions (6) and originals (4), the standout tracks
are 'I Can't Stand The Rain' with its breathless flutes and
moody orchestration and the original composition 'Tides'. The
cover of Sparks' "This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both
Of Us' deserves a mention for the sheer cheek of it! What would
the little bloke with the dodgy 'tache say, eh?!
|
|
