VA - The Easy project: 20 Loungecore Favourites (1995) & House Of Loungecore (1996) @ 320

VA -  The Easy project -20 Loungcore Favourites (1995) @ 320 (20 / 1:02:37)

Review by Donald A. Guarisco

As lounge music began to experience a revival in Europe during the early '90s, English record companies were among the first to capitalize on the popularity of this sound by putting out compilations drawn from their back catalog of easy listening tunes. One of the notable early releases in this style was The Easy Project, a Sequel Records release that compiled the work of several English easy listening specialists from the '60s and '70s. Subtitled "20 loungecore favorites," this disc delivers a series of fast-paced instrumentals that all have a bright, well-produced sound. A lot of the cuts have a strong crime jazz element to them: the Alan Tew Orchestra presents effective and surprisingly funky covers of "Ironside" and "Walk on the Wild Side," while the Ray McVay Sound dishes up swinging originals like "Kinda Kinky" that are built on blaring brass. Other cuts experiment with a psychedelic sound: the most notable track in this area is "But She Ran the Other Way," a cut from the John Schroeder Orchestra that alternates jazzy sections built on a staccato piano riff with expansive instrumental breaks where organ and electric guitar create a sound reminiscent of Pink Floyd. Elsewhere, fans of kitschy early electronic sounds will be delighted by "House of the Rising Sun" and "Superfly," two cuts from Synthesonic Sounds that reinterpret these tunes as instrumentals full of whooping synthesizer leads. There is the occasional dull cut ("The Clown" by the Johnny Keating Orchestra is an odd inclusion because it lacks the jazz or rock overtones of the rest of the set), but there are enough memorable oddities to make up for these occasional missteps. All in all, The Easy Project is a solid release that will please anyone who wants to explore the English lounge sound.

 01. The Laurie Johnson Orchestra - The Shake 

 02. The Ray McVay Sound - Kinda Kinky 

 03. Sounds Orchestral - Mas Que Nada 

 04. The Johnny Hawksworth Orchestra - Lunar Walk 

 05. The Alan Tew Orchestra - Walk On The Wildside 

 06. The Johnny Hawksworth Orchestra - It's Murder 

 07. John Keating - Theme From San Benedict 

 08. Synthesonic Sounds - House Of The Rising Sun 

 09. Paraffin Jack Flash LTD - Blue 'N' Groovy 

 10. The John Keating Orchestra - The Clown 

 11. The Laurie Johnson Orchestra - Echo Four Two 

 12. John Shakespeare Orchestra - Mucho Mexico Seven-O 

 13. Les Reed - On The Scene 

 14. The Eliminators (4) - Staccato 

 15. The Alan Tew Orchestra - Ironside 

 16. Johnny Keating And The Z-Men - A Little Waltzin' 

 17. The Ray McVay Sound - Revenge 

 18. The John Schroeder Orchestra - But She Ran The Other Way 

 19. The Harry Roche Constellation - Spiral 

 20. Synthesonic Sounds - Superfly 

VA -  The Easy project\VA - The Easy Project II- House Of Loungecore (1996) @ 320 (23 / 1:14:51)

Review by Richie Unterberger

Easy-listening mood music that borrowed a lot of riffs and styles from pop and rock was a big deal in Britain as well as the United States, and this compilation gathers 22 examples that were unleashed on Pye Records between 1962 and 1978. In comparison with its American cousin, British easy listening tended to be more up-to-date and modish in its appropriation of fuzzy guitar riffs, wah-wahs, blaring horns, funkish rhythms, and Moog synthesizers. It still sounds square in a desperately-trying-to-keep-up-with-what's-hip fashion, but there's undeniable charm in its mixture of lounge music, movie soundtracks, and downright strange attempts at futurism. Some of this is pretty bland, to tell the truth, but the better moments can be exhilarating, like Tony Hatch's peppy "Out of This World," the creepy organ fills of Jerry Allen, the suave Europop of the City of Westminster String Band, Anita Harris's Bacharach/David-penned "London Life" (Petula Clark with laryngitis), the surprisingly ominous "The Bird Has Flown" by John Schroeder, and the 11-minute blowout of Roy Budd's "The Car Chase." And at 75 minutes, the CD certainly offers good value.

 01. Roy Budd And His Orchestra - Fear Is The Key (Main Theme) 

 02. Tony Hatch - Out Of This World 

 03. The Saint Orchestra - Funko 

 04. The Laurie Johnson Orchestra - West End 

 05. Roy Budd - Mr. Rose 

 06. Tony Hatch Orchestra - Sportsnight 

 07. The Harry Roche Constellation - Pinball Wizard 

 08. The John Schroeder Orchestra - Wana Nana Wana Nana 

 09. Pete Moore's Orchestra And Chorus - Turnpike Lane 

 10. Cyril Stapleton - Love Today, Cry Tomorrow 

 11. The Tony Hatch Sound - Man Alive 

 12. Jerry Allen And His Trio - Blue Streak 

 13. Killer Watts - Sleep Walk 

 14. The John Schroeder Orchestra - The Virgin Soldiers March 

 15. The City Of Westminster String Band - Le Blon 

 16. The Alyn Ainsworth Orchestra - Colditz March 

 17. The John Schroeder Orchestra - Peter Popgunn 

 18. The Laurie Johnson Orchestra - Limehouse 

 19. Anita Harris - London Life 

 20. The John Schroeder Orchestra - The Bird Has Flown 

 21. Roy Budd And His Orchestra - The Car Chase 

 22. Killer Watts - We Can Work It Out / Hey Jude 

 23. Unknown - [hidden track] 

***

Thanks to Jeff