TOP OF THE POPS LP – Volume 27 SHM 805
Wednesday, December 1st, 2010
- Year of Release: 1972
- Cover Girl: Penny Irving
Top of the Pops stalwart Tony Rivers would often claim that if any of these LP’s were played at a party, nobody would notice the difference. Personally, I’ve never allowed myself to agree with that statement. To my ears, the aural differences between the two are even more blatant now than they were almost forty years ago when I first discovered these records. However, listening today to this volume’s opener ‘Clair’, I finally find myself (if only for this one particular track) in agreement with Tony’s bold claim. Not only does session singer Ken Gold* provide an impeccable impersonation of Gilbert O’ Sullivan, but the track also clearly demonstrates what an excellent producer Bruce Baxter was. Despite time and budget constraints, Bruce managed to produce a cover version here which I’m convinced would have fooled me and most others had it been played at a disco party in 1972.
This high standard continues on track two with Lee Vanderbilt* delivering a great vocal performance on the Chairmen of the Board hit ‘Elmo James’. Although it’s unlikely that this version would also have fooled me back then, if It had, the game would have … Click here to read the rest of this post...