Pocket Symphonies is a collection of dreamy, harmony-laden pop songs from my collection reminiscent of peak-era Beach Boys (that is 66-73 to me at least…). Some of the artists on here made one Beach Boys sound-alike track while others dedicated most of their career to trying to perfect what Brian had started. Anyway, enjoy!

Pocket Symphonies for Brian

...Or Was It Just The Summer's End?

A mix to celebrate the great Burt Bacharach and his music.

Burt Bacharach and his music stepped into my life in the late nineties. Back then, Bacharach was considered a has-been by most, an old dinosaur whose kitschy music (or muzak…) was only ever played in elevators. The chance of a 15-year-old indie kid discovering his music was understandably rather slim. But somewhere around that time, a few things changed (most notably the easy listening craze of the mid-nineties, Noel Gallagher mentioning Bacharach as a source of inspiration and Burt’s cameo in “Austin Powers the Spy Who Shagged Me”) and in 1998 - Burt released a celebrated comeback record together with Elvis Costello.

Over the years my love for the pop maestro grew and Bacharach became more or less a cornerstone of my musical universe. Today the music he wrote together with Hal David can be found on hundreds of records in my collection. Not surprising since it was practically mandatory in the late sixties to include at least one Bacharach tune on your record for any artist on the softer side of the spectrum.

I have probably forgotten a bunch of must-haves I should have included. Some of the tracks in the mix are cheap as chips and easy to find while others are mucho rare. I wouldn’t say that all of them necessarily are the ultimate versions of each track but they all have a special place in my heart for different reasons.

I’m not going to write a book on all of them but a few songs deserve an extra mention. One of them is the vocal version of “Nikki” by Ed Ames. Nikki was written for Burt’s daughter with the same name (who sadly later committed suicide) and is one of his most beautiful melodies. I can’t go 30 seconds of listening before bursting into tears. Burt recorded it as an instrumental and he preferred it that way, but I think Hal David’s lyrics add an extra dimension to it. Another big favorite of mine is “To Wait for Love”, written in 1964. Herb Alpert recorded “To Wait for Love” on “Warm” from 1969. The song is a jewel in Herb’s late sixties catalog when he had started to move away from the patented mariachi sound towards a soft MOR-oriented territory.

I have included two tracks from “On the Flip Side”, a made-for-TV musical from 1966 for which Bacharach/David wrote the music. And what a soundtrack it is! Not only does it have a bunch of great Bacharach/David numbers but also it features Rick Nelson AND Joanie Sommers. An all-star team if there ever was one! The mix ends with THE version of “A House Is Not a Home” by the Anita Kerr Singers. I don’t know how many times I have listened to it since I discovered it during one of my AKS phases a few years ago. Simply sublime!

Anyway, enjoy! It's an appetizing Smorgas-Burt as the man would have said himself.

Tracklist:
Johnny Burt Society – Something Big (1972)
Burt Bacharach – Pacific Coast Highway (1970)
Fifth Dimension – One Bell Less to Answer (1970)
Leslie Uggams – In the Land of Make Believe (1968)
Ed Ames – Nikki (1967)
Rick Nelson - They Don't Give Medals (To Yesterday's Heroes) (1966)
Liz Damon’s Orient Express - Loneliness Remembers (What Happiness Forgets) (1971)
Blossom Dearie – Alfie (1967)
Astrud Gilberto – Trains and Boats and Planes (1969)
Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass – To Wait for Love (1969)
Liv, Tor & Four Jets - Under Høstsolens Lys (Don't Go Breaking My Heart) (1971)
Joanie Sommers – Try To See It My Way (1966)
Birgit Lystager – Another Night (1970)
Vi Velasco – That’s Not the Answer (1965)
Gals & Pals – Cross Town Bus (1966)
Pedro Biker – Wives and Lovers (1966)
Joe Pass – Are You There (with Another Girl) (1965)
Siw Malmkvist - Snart Så Stiger Solen Upp Igen (Do You Know the Way to San Jose?) (1968)
Bobbi Boyle and the Trio – This Gal’s in Love with You (1967)
Voices in Latin – The Look of Love (1968)
Triste Janero – Walk On By (1969)
Burt Bacharach – Monterey Peninsula (1973)
Sue Raney – Knowing When to Leave (1968)
The Anita Kerr Singers – A House is Not a Home (1969)

The Burt Bacharach Songbook

Spring Equinox

Even by my standards, this is probably my most ”niche” mix ever. The tunes here all have more or less the same sound and feel. It is a sound I absolutely adore, and you all recognise it when you hear it. You can find it in ”Wichita Lineman”, ”Honey” by Bobby Goldsboro or in theme song to "Midnight Cowboy" - Nilsson's version of "Everybody’s Talkin’". Basically, it is the adult pop sound of 1968, or as I see it - soft rock for (middle-aged) hopeless romantics. 

It is all string-heavy folk songs with a slight country flavour and the best singers and musicians (mandatory Wrecking Crew-involvement) of the 60’s. I say country flavour because it sounds more like if country would have been born in the Hollywood Hills instead of rural Nashville. 

This sound was a perfect opportunity for some of the popular crooners and washed-up rock'n'rollers of the early pop era of the late 50’s to come back in search of a (slightly) younger audience. Around 1968 they all showed up in a dashing fringed suede jacket and a Jimmy Webb song about lost love to match.

I always imagined this is how ”americana” would sound, but of course, it never did… well anyway, here it is, Tinseltown Cowboys.

Tinseltown Cowboys

Skogens prinsessa

Midsommarnatten

The first in a series of short mixes of late 60's early 70's soft rock and related styles.

Soft As a Rock

"Bittersweet symphonies to God"

The second volume in a series of short mixes of late 60's early 70's soft rock and related styles.

Soft As a Rock vol.2

Soft As a Rock vol.3 the yule edition. A collection of mainly US/Canadian soft rock goodies. Heavenly harmonies, turtlenecks, eggnog and all around holiday good times!

Tracks by Mutual Understanding, Laurie Bower Singers, Free Design, Stephanie Taylor, the Going Thing and more.

Soft As a Rock vol 3. Sunshine On Snow

A Splendored Lovething

A re-work we did for the Concretes.

Download it at http://theconcretes.bandcamp.com/track/good-evening-eden-rock-version

The Concretes - Good Evening (Eden Rock Version)

Azzurre Stelle

A re-up of a mix from 2013 for the wonderful blog Seekmagic. http://theseekmagic.tumblr.com/

Summer Blue

55 mins soft rock mix for the summer. Perfect harmonies, scat vocals and all over summer vibes from all over the world.

Eden Rock

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