Easy Listening - The Pleasures of Middle of the Road
- Thread starter Big Tabs
- Start date
Del monaco
Del Monaco
Absolutely. His songs put Campbell on a new populist level. And Campbell sang them beautifully.Jimmy Webb should be mentioned alongside Glen too
Bananahead
pfm Member
What is it with all of these threads that only celebrate music from 50 years ago?
notaclue
pfm Member
Dear god. That is (far) too loud, (far) too bassy, (far) too clubby and most certainly not MOR.
Andy Stephenson
pfm Member
Apologies if I missed it, but I'm surprised that no one's mentioned Jim Reeves, surely one of the finest voices ever for smooth easy listening music.
A little bit of slightly related trivia: Jim Reeves was one of very very few singers to have an album released on LP with a playback speed of 16 2/3 RPM.
Andy
A little bit of slightly related trivia: Jim Reeves was one of very very few singers to have an album released on LP with a playback speed of 16 2/3 RPM.
Andy
Big Tabs
looking backwards, going forwards
Jim Reeves is one of the most ‘thrown in the bin’ artists that I come across. Cannot sell the albums at 10p. for minters.
out of interest -
I would categorise Reeves as Country or Folk rather than Middle of the Road.
Andy Stephenson
pfm Member
Sad. But yes, probably more country than MOR
Big Tabs
looking backwards, going forwards
It is sad that albums that are in excellent condition and 60 years old (ish) end up in the bin, but maybe a reflection of how taste changes, and that coming of Rock n Roll, Teen Pop, The Beatles etc. Those records hold more attraction to the market. It also reflects the age group that is coming to an end. The next 20 years will be interesting to see what ends up in charity shops. I don’t think I will ever see Stones, Hendrix etc going in the bin because nobody wants them…
paulfromcamden
Baffled
I stumbled across this on Discogs today. I like the atmospheric stormy intro but the best bit surely has to be that copies came with fragrance card stating "A Romantic Fragrance has been added to this album to enhance your Mystic Moods of Love"
*lowers the lights*
*slips into something more comfortable*
*lowers the lights*
*slips into something more comfortable*
paulfromcamden
Baffled
^ reading more I discover that the Mystic Moods Orchestra was the brainchild of Brad Miller who went on to form Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs.
JensenHealey
pfm Member
I'm not so sure about that. I have three millennial kids. They might have heard the name when mentioning the Rolling Stones, but that is it. Hendrix?...Nope never heard of. My lot had never heard of U2 the other day! Watching the Jubilee 'concert' the other day, there as an endless stream of 'who's that' from the other end of the sofa. Rod Stewart, Duran Duran and more. Elton John managed some recognition. Even so I cannot see any of them picking up this stuff from charity shops ever. Anyway, they only stream from Spotify. Not sure who is buying turntables - but none of the current generation of students seem to have one. At least any connected to my three young ladies and their boyfriends and mates.
When that generation gets into the next 20 years they will not be buying Hendrix albums! Or anyone else from the 60s and 70s or even 80s.
I went to wedding the other day. 140-odd people in a big marquee from 90yrs old (did not stay long!) down to a large bunch of 21 - 32 yr. olds. The band finished and the disco started. A lot of classic R & B that everyone knew at the beginning. Everyone up and doing their thang. At the end of the evening, there were about 30 or 40 youngsters dancing/moving to some hip hop stuff that I had never heard in my life, but they were all shouting along with. Time for a graceful exit and go to bed.
paulfromcamden
Baffled
Not really surprising - buying records is a niche hobby now rather than a normal household purchase. How many households even have a CD player now? Most people hunting down second hand records on a regular basis now will be big music fans who probably do know who Hendrix was.
The Discogs year end best sellers list is interesting - no Hendrix but MF Doom alongside DSOTM alongside Sault alongside Daft Punk alongside The Police. It's a really mixture.
https://blog.discogs.com/en/best-selling-records-on-discogs-in-2021/
Simon Dawson
Angry, Ill & Ugly
Paul L
coffee lounge for me
We all have some MOR in the memory or record vaults I’m sure, growing up with it ensures it. I have a soft spot for Jim Reeves He’ll Have To Go as my father used to sing along (it wasn’t his taste as such) so it’s nostalgic and I’ve done that too! Don Williams is another that springs to mind, Buddy Holly, the Seekers and others sound more MOR these days than the leading pop that it was. I only came across Alma Coogan recently and of course my mother now 82 recognised the voice and songs straight away.
perhaps MOR is anything you would want confined to a shopping mall lift, I know one person that puts Eva Cassidy firmly in that category. MOR has always seemed to cut across more than one genre though, you could argue the softer side of Cassandra Wilson or Diana Krall would be MOR even though I presume both are categorised as jazz.
perhaps MOR is anything you would want confined to a shopping mall lift, I know one person that puts Eva Cassidy firmly in that category. MOR has always seemed to cut across more than one genre though, you could argue the softer side of Cassandra Wilson or Diana Krall would be MOR even though I presume both are categorised as jazz.