Artist : John Baker
Title : The John Baker Tapes Vol.2 (Rare & Unreleased
Recordings 1954-1985)
Genre : Electronic
Year : 2008
Date : 09/2008
Bitrate : VBR kbps
Tracks : 39
Label : Trunk Records JBH029CD
Source : CDDA
Encoder : Lame 3.97
Length : 73:19 min
Size : 93,9 MB
Tracklist:
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01.tempo counter 00:07
02.get happy 03:54
03.electro-twist mq lp1,1 01:24
04.electro-suspense mq lp1,2 01:28
05.electro-rhythm mq lp1,3 01:25
06.electro-slow mq lp1,4 01:34
07.boy on a bicycle 04:05
08.brass bandied mq lp14,1 01:18
09.brass window mq lp 14,2 01:40
10.omo and giro adverts 01:21
11.i wanna hold your hand medley 02:33
12.electro-auto mq lp35,1 01:30
13.electro 5,4 mq lp35,2 01:31
14.electro waltz mq lp35,3 01:29
15.johnny johnson jingles 01:26
16.1980s feedback loop 00:07
17.requioso - pil 9011 02:21
18.jb dubs 01:14
19.out of nowhere 05:23
20.electro-beat mq lp19,1 01:30
21.electro-weird mq lp19,2 01:25
22.electro-fugue mq lp19,3 01:14
23.electro-aggression mq lp38,1 01:58
24.electro-tension mq lp38,2 02:28
25.jazz advert 01:39
26.brylcreem 00:31
27.john baker goon advert 00:35
28.power source mq lp39 03:24
29.1980s tape fx 00:43
30.pots 'n' pans mq lp48,2 03:23
31.banshee boogie mq lp48,2 01:47
32.feedback mq lp48,3 02:58
33.space workshop mq lp48,4 03:14
34.piano concrete mq lp48,5 02:57
35.jb test tone 00:10
36.piano strokes 02:26
37.jb at home on the piano 00:52
38.brief lives - jb obituary 01:49
39.jb 78 rpm - all the things you are 02:26
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73:19 min
Now you've had sufficient time to digest the first half of
Trunk's John Baker retrospective, they unveil the second,
this time collecting the Radiophonic Workshop maestro's
soundtrack work, covering films, TV music and advertising
jingles.
Even prior to the release of that first, essential volume of this
two-part career overview, anyone familiar with the Radiophonic
material already in circulation will have been aware of Baker's
brilliant sound designs on TV music like 'Factors' and 'Structures'
- he's probably one of the more widely recognized contributors
to the Workshop's sound during its golden age, from the early
'60s to early '70s, but this volume from Trunk sheds so much
more light on Baker's formidable talents.
We probably already knew him as the master of jingles, stings
and TV/radio idents but this collection pulls together yet more
evidence of his innovation and all-round mastery - and that isn't
restricted to the meticulous tape edits and electronic wizardry
for which he's best known. This compilation also goes someway
toward revealing Baker's relationship with jazz and more formal
composition; Baker had studied piano and honed his craft as a
writer at the Royal Academy Of Music, and you can certainly
hear where that training paid off on these recordings.
His knack for difficult rhythms and intricate editing comes to the
fore on impeccably timed tape collages like the collection of
'Electro' library pieces. Further to that, Baker's more conventional
compositional technique shines through on a number of jazzy
piano works ('Get Happy', for example) while his score for 'Boy
On A Bicycle' (Ridley Scott's first motion picture, no less) is
arranged for a full band, comprising a brass ensemble.
Making a connection between these conventional instrumental
excursions and Baker's more abstract material, 'Piano Strokes'
and 'Piano Concrete MQ LP48/5' might be seen as precursors
to the kind of electronic piano treatments that were all the rage
a couple of years back in the microsound community, pulling
apart the natural timbres of the instrument via tape manipulation.
As the album draws to a close, we're treated to Baker's radio
obituary, as broadcast by the BBC on Brief Lives in 1997, which
includes recorded snippets of the man himself talking us through
examples of his work. Finally, Baker's first ever recording - a
piano rendition of 'All The Things You Are', originally pressed up
on 78rpm vinyl concludes this superlative set on an especially
poignant note, completing a fine tribute to a remarkable career.
As unnecessary as it probably is to make such a statement,
anyone with even the remotest interest in tape music or the
Radiophonic Workshop should consider this an indispensable
document of one of Britain's very greatest sound designers
at work. Immense.
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