CD of the month
Audio CD April 27 2009.
DVD April 27 2009.
Label EMI Gold
Discs 2
Running Time Audio 74 minutes
Running Time DVD 57 minutes
DVD Region 0
Bar Code 50999 698912 2 9
Catalogue Number 698 9122
CD Running Order
1 The Nearness of You
2 Stardust
3 Let's Face The Music And Dance
4 Small Fry
5 Gone With the Wind
6 Rockin’ Chair
7 I Cried For You
8 Cheek to Cheek
9 Memories of You
10 Memphis in June
11 Love Walked in
12 I Should Care
13 The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else
14 Prisoner of Love
15 How Little We Know
16 Out of Sight Out of Mind
17 One Morning in May
18 Skylark
19 A Cottage For Sale
20 My Kind of Girl
21 Georgia on My Mind
22 I’m a Fool to Want You
23 Blue Orchids
24 Garden of Eden
25 That Old Feeling
26 I Get Along Without You Very Well
27 Something’s Gotta Give
Bonus Tracks from Saturday Club
28 How Do You Do
29 As Long As I'm Singing
30 It's Alright With Me
DVD Running Order
Matt Sings Monro
Born Free
Let Me Sing and I'm Happy
Walk Away
And You Smiled
From Russia With Love
Yesterday
We're Gonna Change the World
Maria
Softly as I Leave You
Saturday Night at the Mill
Born Free
Walk Away
Portrait of My Love
If I Never Sing Another Song
Cilla Black
Curiouser and Curiouser
Crowther, Monro and Black
Morecambe & Wise
Thanks
Matt at the BBC
with Ted Heath and his Music
During Matt Monro’s remarkable career he made nearly seven hundred television and radio appearances ranging from standard variety fare, talk shows, game shows, duet routines, comedy skits, commercial jingles to programmes he hosted himself. Sadly little of this material exists today with only a handful of appearances stored in dusty uncared for archives. In those early years the thought of archiving programmes for future use was not given consideration because tape was inordinately expensive. The solution to keeping costs down was to wipe the programmes and re-use the tape. Once a radio or television station was sold or closed, the material was categorised as disposable media commodities and destroyed without a second thought.
The British Broadcasting Corporation Transcription Service was set up in the 1930’s to package and sell BBC Radio programmes to overseas broadcasters who subscribed to the service. Initially it issued a cross section of material from all genres, but after the war they began to issue exclusive material that was not, as a rule, broadcast in the United Kingdom. This ranged from special editions of Hancock’s Half Hour and The Goon Show to whole series. The shows were always issued on disc, initially 78 rpm and later on 331/3 as this was considered the most universal format and playable all over the world.
The Star Show was made for transcription use only and never broadcast in the UK. The premise of the show was to have a regular orchestra, usually Ted Heath, a vocal group, a well-known resident vocalist and a different star guest each edition along with an announcer, more often than not Pete Murray.
Matt first appeared as a guest in 1961 and subsequently in 1963 took the place of Dickie Valentine as resident for a 13 show series singing two songs at each outing. To save on costs each show had little rehearsal and was recorded in as few takes as possible.
Aside from The Star Show Matt recorded one other series exclusively for the Transcription Services in 1959 called The Mood For Love with arranger Merrick Farran. That series survives in its entirety but is unsuitable for release due to uninspired arrangements. Matt recorded more than 300 performances for BBC Radio between 1956 and 1984 and nearly all of them have been wiped.
Top Of The Pops, no connection to the television series of the same name, was a transcription show which ran from the early 60’s and drew from editions of shows such as Saturday Club and Top Gear. Saturday ‘Skiffle’ Club, a pop music programme hosted by Brian Matthew and produced by Jimmy Grant, started life in 1957. It eventually dropped ‘Skiffle’ from its name and opened to the familiar theme music Saturday Jump. It broadcast between ten and twelve Saturday mornings on the BBC Light Programme later moving to BBC Radio2 and consisted mainly of ‘live’ pre recorded performances by artists and bands of the time until it went off the air on January 18th 1969.
None of Matt’s appearances on Saturday Club or Top Gear have survived but fortunately the Service retained copies of all the transcription programmes Matt appeared in including Top of the Pops.
Last year EMI announced a special agreement with the BBC allowing the release of archived performances. The question was how much material could we find? The BBC submitted a list of what they held but it was worrying sparse. It called for some serious research and there is no better than my trusty accomplice Richard Moore who has been responsible for helping bring Rare Monro, Matt Sings Nelson Swings, Yesterday and Live in Australia to the market. Richard is responsible for remastering the music to a high level of restoration and without his expert input some of these would not have been possible.
Richard immediately suggested that we look at the transcription library. We knew that the transcription service still existed – now called BBC Radio International but how much it held was an unknown quantity. Rumours abounded that the library was missing large amounts of material. Richard spent a day huddled in the British Library scanning through old catalogues and submitted our request. Delightedly we found the rumours to be just that and all of Matt’s transcription recordings had survived. There was just one problem!
Back in the 1960’s tape stock was expensive and bulky, so master tapes of the vast majority of these recordings were often re-used and copies kept on vinyl disc only. Whilst the 45-year-old discs were in very good condition they were by no means perfect. They were expertly transferred to digital by BBC Radio International and sent to Richard who set about getting the recordings back to master quality. The recordings suffered mainly from surface noise, clicks and pops but there was also a small amount of low-level crackle and that was more of a challenge to remove.
The 1961 Star Show had a certain amount of groove wear and several recordings contained minor clicks, which could not be removed completely without harming the recording. However the vast majority of songs now sound as good as the original master tapes once did with no extra compression or tweaking required – a testament to the brilliance of the original BBC engineers.
The bonus Saturday Club tracks were not as well recorded. They sounded thin and lacked the same warmth as the Star Shows but after a little care and attention these now sound much closer to its counterpart.
What is additionally special with these recordings are that they are presented with either different arrangements or sung in different keys from the originals. When Matt first recorded for Decca his performance was confined as the record company had very set ideas about the way they wanted him to sing the lyrics. These BBC recordings have a much better feel, are more laid back and Matt’s artistic freedom shines through.
This bumper CD also features eleven tracks that were originally on Matt’s Hoagy Carmichael album but again most of the arrangements have been tailored to compensate for the lack of strings. There is also the wonderful adaptation of Something’s Gotta Give, the only known recording by Matt of this Johnny Mercer song.
The second part of this extraordinary bundle is equally impressive. EMI are bringing to the market for the very first time a dedicated DVD of some of Matt’s finest BBC television performances. Firstly the inclusion of Matt’s own television show Matt Sings Monro, a thirty-minute 1974 special produced by Peter Ridsdale Scott, highlighting all your favourites including the massive hits Born Free, Portrait of My Love and Walk Away.
Saturday Night at the Mill gives us nearly twenty minutes of Matt at his best and as well as a plethora of song it allows us access to an in-depth interview showcasing Matt’s warm gentle manner and keen sense of humour highlighting what made him such a popular return guest across all media formats.
The inclusion of an extract from the Cilla Black Show in 1972 gives us a rare opportunity of seeing the star perform Curiouser and Curiouser from the film Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Another guest on the show, Leslie Crowther, joins together with Cilla and Matt to entertain us with a rendition of the specially written skit Crowther, Monro and Black.
Rounding off this fantastic collection is an appearance from a 1971 Morecambe and Wise Show, which includes the track Thanks. Fans across the world have constantly asked where this is available but Matt never recorded the song. Other than this DVD performance the only other rendition Matt did features in the finale of LWT’s Whittaker’s World of Music but not as a solo.
Twenty-four years after Matt’s death we can finally say that these performances are being put to good use. Revived from the dusty depths of the BBC vaults they are at last being seen and with the advent of new media formats will hopefully be preserved for all time. One can only hope that we continue to unearth more of these hidden gems and I can promise you one thing – Richard Moore and I will never stop on our quest to uncover lost, hidden or forgotten rarities. With Richard’s innate extraordinary talent for bringing damaged, soiled and tainted material back to life – nothing is impossible.
What makes Matt Monro special is that he sang a song how it was written, he made people feel special and sang with true feeling. He made people feel good about themselves. He chose good lyrics, great musicians and the best producers in order to give the song the best possible treatment. He didn’t try and fool an audience with a lacklustre or uninspiring performance, when he went on that stage he meant it and it came across.
I’m often asked what my favourite song is. This is actually not an easy question for me as my response changes all the time depending on my mood. To me my father’s songs are like close intimate friends, something I grew up with. Some I fell in love with instantly and some I learnt to love over time, some are passionate, some sad and some are breezy, bright and uplifting. I know them really well; they have seen me through my private nightmares, my highs and lows, my reveries and my demons. They are always there for me whether I want them or not but invariably they will elevate me to a better place. They take me to a wonderland of imagination and sometimes I can quite easily live there for a while and when reality hits, I’m better for the song I’ve heard. A song is as changeable as my disposition and that is why my answer varies from day to day.
If you have never heard of Matt Monro or are unfamiliar with his music then you are in for a treat as there is a wealth of material to chose from. My favourite has to be the live Australian concert. The diction and phrasing is letter perfect and his wonderful breath control show what made him unique. A fantastic performance from a wonderful entertainer, artist, father and friend – I miss him.
Extract from the forthcoming biography ‘The Singer’s Singer’ by Michele Monro
Details of future releases can be found on the dedicated Matt Monro website www.mattmonro.com
© Michele Monro 2009
Trivia Facts devised and written by Richard Moore
Ted Heath Orchestra – should be labelled “Ted Heath and His Music” which is the name his orchestra was called on record and announced during the programme.
The BBC Transcription Service was set up in the 1930’s Thirties to package and sell BBC Radio programmes to overseas broadcasters who subscribed to the Service.
Initially it issued a cross section of material from all genres, but after the war began to issue exclusive material that was not, as a rule, broadcast in the UK. This ranged from special editions of programmes such as Hancock’s Half Hour and The Goon Show to whole series.
The shows were always issued on disc as this was considered the most universal format and playable all over the world. These were initially 78rpm discs and later 33&1/3 vinyl discs.
The Star Show was made for transcription use only and never broadcast in the UK.
The premise of the show was to have a regular orchestra, a vocal group, a well-known resident vocalist (usually just for one series) and a different Star Guest each edition along with an announcer (often Pete Murray). The show was evidently a hit with overseas stations as it ran from around 1960 to the mid sixties
Matt appeared as a guest in 1961 and became resident (in place of Dickie Valentine) for 13 shows in 1963. The shows would have had very little rehearsal and recorded in as few takes as possible.
The resident singer and the star guest would always get two songs each.
Matt recorded two different series exclusively for the transcription services, one in 1959 called “The Mood For Love” with arranger Merrick Farran and the Star Show in 1963.
‘The Mood For Love’ survives complete but is unsuitable for release due to uninspired arrangements.
The Matt recorded more than 300 performances for BBC radio between 1956 and 1984. Near all of these have been wiped.
The transcription service has thankfully retained copies of all of the transcription programmes Matt appeared in.
‘Top Of The Pops’ was a transcription which ran from the early 60’s onwards and has no connection to the TV series of the same name.
‘Top Of The Pops’ was presented by Brian Mathew and performances were drawn from editions of shows such as Saturday Club and Top Gear. Neither of these shows were archived, so it is thanks to the transcription service that these recordings survive.
Saturday Club was a pop music programme which started life as Saturday "Skiffle" club in 1957 hosted by Brian Matthew and produced by Jimmy Grant. The Skiffle part was eventually dropped to become Saturday Club opened by the familiar Saturday Club theme music "Saturday Jump" The programme was broadcast from 10am to 12noon Saturday mornings on the BBC Light Programme from Oct 4th 1958 to Sept 23rd 1967 then BBC Radio2 from Sept 30th 1967 to Jan 18th 1969. The show consisted mainly of "live" pre recorded performances by artists and bands of the time as there were restrictions on the amounts of "Needle Time" (record playing) at that time.”
The Monro estate has been searching for lost performances for many years, and when EMI announced it was entering into an agreement with the BBC to release archive performances we jumped at the chance. The problem was, how much could we find? The BBC was asked to provide a list of what was in their archives. This was worryingly little. Richard suggested the transcription library might have something.
We knew that the transcription service still existed – now called BBC Radio International but how much it held we didn’t know rumours had it that the library was missing large amounts of material. Richard researched what there might be (including a day huddled in the British Library scouring old catalogues) and we put in our request. We were delighted to find that the rumours were not true and all of Matt’s transcription recordings survived.
Restoration information
Back in the 1960’s tape stock was expensive and bulky, so master tapes of the vast majority of these recordings were often re-used and copies kept on vinyl disc only. Whilst the 45 year old discs were in very good condition they were by no means perfect. They were expertly transferred into digital by BBC Radio International and sent to Richard Moore who set about getting the recordings back to master quality.
The recordings suffered mainly from surface noise and clicks and pops. There was also a small amount of low level crackle that was more of a challenge.
The 1961 show had a certain amount of groove wear and a few recordings contained minor clicks which could not be removed completely without harming the recording. However that vast majority of the songs should now sound as good as the original master tapes once did with no extra compression or tweaking required – a testament to the brilliance of the original BBC engineers.
The bonus Saturday Club recordings were not as well recorded. They sounding thin and lacking in the warmth of the star show recordings. After a little care and attention these now sound much closer to the other material featured on this set.
Recording Information - The Star Show - with Ted Heath and His Music.
Recorded - 22nd February 1961
-
Something’s Gotta Give
Only known recording by Matt of this Johnny Mercer song– originally sung by Fred Astaire in the film “Daddy Long Legs”
Recorded - 16th April 1963
-
Stardust
Originally recorded for Hoagy album, similar arrangement but brass led than string led. Starts in better place lyrically. “Sometimes I wonder.....” rather than “.......and I am once again with you”
-
Let’s Face The Music And Dance
Originally recorded for “Love is The Same Anywhere” Same Arrangement (Johnnie Spence)
-
Memories Of You
Originally recorded for Decca. Taken slower, new arrangement, up a semitone.
-
Small Fry
Originally recorded for “Hoagy” album Same Arrangement (Johnnie Spence) Much faster tempo wise.
Recorded – 15th July 1963
-
The Nearness Of You
Originally recorded for “Hoagy” album Same Arrangement (Johnnie Spence) Missing Opening Verse.
-
Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind
Originally recorded for Decca. New arrangement and new key
Recorded – 21th June 1963
-
Gone With The Wind
Originally recorded for Decca. New arrangement and new key
-
I Cried For You
Originally recorded for Decca. Swingier than Decca and new key
Recorded 26TH – 27TH April 1963
-
A Cottage For Sale
Originally recorded for Decca. Same key and arrangement (Malcolm Lockyer)
-
Prisoner Of Love
Originally recorded for Fontana. New slower arrangement.
-
I Should Care
Originally recorded for “Parade Of The Pops”. LP similar arrangement.
-
Cheek To Cheek
Originally recorded for “Love is The Same Anywhere”. Same Arrangement (Johnnie Spence)
-
I’m A Fool To Want You
Originally recorded for “Parade Of The Pops”. LP similar arrangement.
-
My Kind Of Girl
Originally Parlophone single. Same Arrangement (Johnnie Spence).
-
Rocking Chair
Originally recorded for “Hoagy” album. Same Arrangement (Johnnie Spence) .Much faster tempo wise.
-
I Get Along Without You Very Well
Originally recorded for “Hoagy” album. Similar, but brass led arrangement.
-
Memphis In June
Originally recorded for “Hoagy”, same arrangement.
-
Love Walked In
First Parlophone single – Similar arrangement, swings more
-
Georgia On My Mind
Originally recorded for “Hoagy” - similar arrangement.
-
One Morning In May
Originally recorded for “Hoagy” - similar arrangement.
-
Skylark
Originally recorded for “Hoagy” - similar arrangement.
-
How Little We Know
Originally recorded for “Hoagy” - similar arrangement.
-
Blue Orchids
Originally recorded for “Hoagy” - similar arrangement.
-
Garden Of Eden
Originally recorded for Decca. Same key and arrangement (Malcolm Lockyer)
-
That Old Feeling
Originally recorded for Decca. New key and new arrangement
-
The One I Love Belongs To Somebody Else
Originally recorded For Decca. Same key. Similar, but adapted arrangement, swings more!
Summary:
11 of the 12 tracks featured on his Hoagy Carmichael album – Arrangements often adapted due to no string section.
8 Tracks originally recorded for Decca. Most songs were re-arranged and in different keys. Matt sings these very differently to the original Decca recordings where he sings very straight. These BBC recordings have a much better feel; more laid back, much more his own style.
1 Track originally recorded for Fontana
2 Tracks originally recorded for from “Parade Of The Pops” LP
The two standards recorded for the “Love Is The Same Anywhere” album
2 tracks issued as singles
1 song released nowhere else.
Bonus tracks: Saturday Club
Recorded 25th January 2966
-
How Do You Do
-
As Long As I’m Singing
Probably Recorded - 8th December 1964
-
It’s Alright With Me
Arranged as per Parlophone recordings
Conducted By Johnnie Spence.
The track listing running order shown above is how it originally appeared in the shows; it is NOT the running order on the album
Audio CD : 3rd November 2008
Label: EMI Gold
Discs: 1
Running Time; 60 minutes
Catalogue Number: 50999 236419 2 1
Matt Live in Australia officially hit the shops last month and as well as being available on the high street it is also on all your favourite Internet sites including HMV, Play.Com and Amazon. It is certainly the closest you can get to being at an actual concert without being there. It also shows off Matt’s wonderful nature and humour and you certainly feel you know him better after the experience. Clive Fuller from In-Tune Magazine gave this review.
Here is the text for the review of the new CD and I have confirmed that this will be in the January 2009 edition. There is also a website for the Magazine at http://www.gnudawn2.talktalk.net/intune/current.html
Here also is My Top 10 CDs of 2008. The list isn't in any order they are just 10 of the best! This should also appear in the January issue.
Matt Monro, Live in Australia EMI Gold 50999 236419 21
One Voice/ The Second Time Around/ I Write the Songs/ Portrait of My Love/Walk Away/I Write the Songs/ Georgia On My Mind/ Gonna Build A Mountain/ From Russia With Love/ The Impossible Dream/ Hava Nagila/ New York New York/ Birth Of The Blues/ Born Free/ Where Or When/ Softly As I Leave You.
This new CD captures a live performance from 1984 when Matt Monro was once again touring Australia. His 14th tour of the country and the final night of the tour was a great success. There is always a bit of a worry when you compare a live show with a studio session where it is possible to retake for whatever reason to achieve the right result. However, in this case there are no such concerns as from the opening song clarity and atmosphere makes it a super performance. Matt always tailored the words for his venue and it was touching to hear references to Australia in The Second Time Around. It is also an opportunity to listen into the comedy and banter between Matt and the audience and orchestra.
As far as highlights go and there are many I will have to single out track 3, a medley of I Write the Songs/ Portrait of My Love/ Walk Away/ I Write the Songs. Then you have to choose between the powerful The Impossible Dream and standard Where or When, I think it is a draw. Could Matt have ever completed a concert without singing either of these classics From Russia with Love or Born Free? There really is so much that justifies the phrase “A Singers Singer” and in the case of Matt Monro it was well deserved. Musical director Peter Warren can be heard on piano solos and it is a swinging tour band. Liner notes are by Michele Monro and we get the story of how this recording first came to light. Richard Moore was sound engineer on the project and has achieved remarkable results. The running time is just under 60 minutes and this is an excellent addition to the Matt Monro CD titles currently available - a bargain at around £6.99 plus postage.
Top Ten CD releases 2008 - By Clive Fuller
Gary Williams, Swingin on Broadway, BOS 6816
The Best of Doris Day (2CD) NOT2CD266
Chris Hutchinson, Easy Going Me, Flashlight FLLT003
Matt Monro, Live in Australia, EMI Gold 50999 236419 21
Matt Monro, Yesterday, NOMCD 102
Frank Sinatra; Let
Ella Fitzgerald Songbooks: The Original Cole Porter And Rodgers & Hart Songbooks (3CD) NOTCD0017
Jack Simpson and His Sextet-Jack
The Essence Of Tommy Dorsey, 2CD, 33327
Marches in Swingtime, CDMOIR 594’s be Frank, Performance 38279’s the Boy for Work, SUN 2176.
Available 24 March 2008
Pre-orders are available through, www.hmv.co.uk, www.play.com and
www.amazon.co.uk
October 1956
On 28th October 1956 Terry Parsons stepped through the doors of Decca Recording Studios, in West Hampstead. Those few steps were to transform the Teddington bus driver into one of the most sought after singing stars of the 60’s.
While working as Terence Parsons on a Number 27 Highgate – Teddington bus during the day – he sought to establish himself as a band singer at night. He sang first as Terry Fitzgerald and then as Al Jordan. His biggest break over that period was with the popular Harry Leader Band. During the various trips he became friendly with a couple of musicians in Scotland and talked them into going into a studio with him. “Polka Dots and Moonbeams” was the first disc Terry Parsons recorded. He hated it so there, for the time being, his aspirations rested.
Meanwhile the girlfriend of one of the Glaswegian musicians had been sending copies of the disc throughout the music industry and it eventually came to the attention of Winifred Atwell. She was so impressed that an introduction to Decca Records and an audition followed. They shared Ms Atwell’s zeal so much that they took the practically unheard of step of launching a new singer with an LP and a recording contract. The usual practice would have been a single disc release. It was made with the Malcolm Lockyer Orchestra and called “Blue and Sentimental”. Terry, who was still driving his Number 27 bus turned up at the studios one morning to cut his first professional disc. It was a chilly miserable Sunday and Terry’s temperature was not helped by a grade A attack of nerves. Partly to keep himself warm and partly to have the comfort of familiar things he kept on his heavy blue serge bus driver’s jacket.
It all looked a trifle bizarre. An aggregation of the country’s finest musicians, looking very professional, all the mechanical clutter of a recording studio looking very intimidating…. And in the middle of it all, a bus driver wearing his pasteboard roundel indicating that he was licensed to drive a public service vehicle. No wonder the orchestra looked a little startled and wore a “now we’ve seen everything” look. Certainly Terence was a little uneasy upon recognising several top musicians in the business.
They ran through the first number “Okay let’s take this one” boomed a voice from the control box. They took it. They played it back. The musicians listened, looked at the not-so-tall singer and after a pause, burst into applause.
Terry Parsons had satisfied the toughest, most cynical, and certainly the most musicianly audience he ever had to face. He sang with a gimmickless freshness as if the lyrics were his own personal thoughts … he phrased it with a maturity that belied his inexperience.
From that moment on he was one of them. He loosened his tie, opened his collar, and took off his bus driver’s jacket. That action symbolised Terry’s entry into a new career.
Decca decided he needed a different name. “Matt Monro” was decided upon in only a matter of minutes. “Matt” was taken from the first name of a Fleet Street journalist, the first to have written a spread on Terry Parsons, and “Monro” from the first name of Winifred Atwell’s father. Matt Monro was born.
“Blue and Sentimental” was released in England as a 10-inch and a 12-inch in the U.S.A. with the added tracks “The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else” and “My Old Flame”.
Between 10 November 1956 and 14 January 1957 Matt released three singles with the company making a total of 20 tracks that were recorded while under contract with Decca. It is interesting to note that two other tracks were also laid down at a session on the 16th January 1957, “I Never Had a Dream Like This Before” and “Mare Piccola” and although they are listed on Decca’s paperwork, they have never been found.
Also included are photographs from the original recording session that have never been released before and only located in 2007.
October 1967
By contrast, “An Evening With Matt Mono” is the singer at his best, working to a live audience in intimate surroundings, and giving us such unforgettable classics such as “My Kind of Girl”, “From Russia With Love” and “Born Free”.
For nearly 40 years a film reel of this performance lay in the family garage covered in cobwebs under a mountain of other forgotten debris. Its discovery was momentous: the only known film of Britain’s greatest singer had at last been found.
Odeon Entertainment had approached the Matt Monro Estate with a view to making a documentary on the singer’s life. Weeks were spent pouring over photographs, press cuttings, flyers, brochures, radio interviews and cinematic footage. One of the conditions of the contract was that, at Odeon’s expense, they would transfer all of the Monro’s video and cinematic footage to DVD, the newest format on the market. One unmarked canister was also handed over to Odeon to check its contents. It was taken off to a specialized processing plant and a phone call came to explain that the footage looked to be a live performance. Weeks followed while everyone held their breath, waiting for news that the footage was undamaged.
The day that a rough cut was delivered to the Monro’s was heavy with expectation and with trepidation running through the room the Monro’s played the footage. It was as first thought, a full-length undamaged performance of the singer in cabaret at the New Twenties Club in Melbourne, Australia. The clarity was fantastic and the actual performance pitch perfect.
Odeon pleaded that the contract be amended and that this performance supersede the documentary “A Portrait of Matt Monro” which everyone agreed to.
Now for the first time, this audio edition is available. If Matt Monro had gone into the studio and recorded this presentation, it couldn’t be any better vocally. The added bonus here is that the listener is able to share in the singer’s warmth and love he has for his art while catching a glimpse of his rich personality which rarely comes through on a produced record.
This truly is a unique find and packaged together with the artist’s first ever album we can enjoy the singer’s journey from the days of Terry Parsons to that of the legendary artist we know as Matt Monro.
Michele Monro
www.mattmonro.com
ALSO AVAILABLE
Audio CD 10 December 2007
Label
Nostalgia Direct
Exclusive Christmas Release
Discs 1
Catalogue No. 50999 517579 2 2
Audio CD February 2008
Label EMI – General Release
Discs 1
Catalogue No. 50999 517579 2 2
Tracks
BROTHER JOHN
COME BACK TO ME
WHAT TO DO?
LET’S FACE THE MUSIC AND DANCE
IN THE ARMS OF LOVE
WALK AWAY
IT’S ALRIGHT WITH ME
BORN FREE
WHEN YOU BECOME A MAN
SHADOW OF YOUR SMILE
THE JOHN F KENNEDY MARCH
SOFTLY AS I LEAVE YOU
STRIKE UP THE BAND
Matt Monro and Nelson Riddle were born within nine years of each other on opposite sides of the world and their contributions towards the advancement of popular music, especially in the 60’s was as significant as anyone in that epoch. Both of their musical achievements were immense and each has left a noteworthy footprint on musical history.
By the early 60’s Nelson was established as an outstanding arranger of popular music and Matt as an outstanding singer. Both were signed to Capitol Records and worked with some of the best assemblage of musicians in the business. Both artists had a string of hits to their credit and were no strangers to the pop charts.
Nelson was perhaps best known for his work for Capitol Records, providing jazzy big-band arrangements to accompany such vocalists as – Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Rosemary Clooney, Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Peggy Lee, Louis Prima and Keely Smith. Later Ella Fitzgerald, Shirley Bassey and Linda Ronstadt also used his arranging talents. His arrangements are characterized by groundbreaking orchestrations with counter melodies and instrumentation that express the emotion of each verse of a song.
Matt first became noticed when his recording of ‘Portrait Of My Love’ entered the New Musical Express charts in the early 60’s, reaching number three. This was followed through with ‘My Kind of Girl’ ‘Softly As I Leave You’ ‘Walk Away’ ‘From Russia With Love’ and ‘Yesterday’. For the most part Johnnie Spence provided such majestic support for Matt in these early years claiming his fame with outstanding inventive arrangements that have stood the test of time.
Matt’s fame spread and led him to other shores including America taking the place left by the sad demise of Nat King Cole. Working on albums with Capitol Records gave him the opportunity of working with two of the all time greats, Billy May and Syd Feller.
With a string of exceptional recording achievements both artists were drawn into the area of movies. One of Nelson’s greatest joys was scoring for the big screen and his works included ‘Johnny Concho’, ‘Robin and the Seven Hoods’, ‘Can Can’ and ‘The Great Gatsby’. Matt on the other hand had huge hits with ‘Born Free’, ‘From Russia With Love, ‘The Wilby Conspiracy’ and ‘The Italian Job’ to name but a few.
Both performers had a great passion and love for their art, especially that area including concert touring and personal appearances, which gave them the chance to engage with their audiences and cross the footlight barriers. Their worldwide recognition allowed them both to travel the world gaining them each a new fan base and greater audience appreciation.
As well as a love for their music they also had a great respect and admiration for each other and were able to understand some of the immense challenges that each other’s work could throw at them and each harboured a quiet respect for the solutions offered in any given situation.
Unfortunately, although considered two of the finest performers of popular music by their peers, they only ever worked together on one occasion, as more often was the case that they were always in different countries to the other and their touring schedules around the world never saw them appearing in the same place at the same time.
The one time that they came together was a landmark musical highlight for them both. The date was the 14th July 1967 and the venue was at the Television Centre, Wood Lane, London. The British Broadcasting Corporation had brought them together for a BBC televised concert which would allow both artists to show off their excellence to a select invited audience. Matt said of the evening ‘It was spectacular’ and he meant it.
The event was the original brainchild of Vic Lewis, an exceptional bandleader in his own right, who had been Nelson Riddle’s European manager since 1960. Within that capacity he had already organised several successful television and radio shows for Nelson as well as a highly lucrative and well publicized concert tour with Shirley Bassey. Therefore it seemed a natural progression that Nelson Riddle, regarded at the time as one of the finest arrangers in the world, should meet up with Matt Monro, regarded at the time as one of Britain’s most outstanding singers. Two majestic talents merged together for one spectacular performance
The 12th July saw Riddle’s three boxes of music parts arrive from Hollywood courtesy of TWA and the production crew were in charge of ensuring everything was in place for the following day’s rehearsal. The programme budget estimate was a luxurious £7538.00, which allowed a free reign to meet the artist and musician’s needs.
The 13 July saw Matt and Nelson at the television centre rehearsing for the following day’s concert and with an eight-hour time constraint it was a long gruelling day but both artists enjoyed the challenge in garnering the handpicked orchestra to produce the music to the best of their ability. With a line up of 12 violins, 4 trumpets, 2 percussionists, 4 violas, 4 trombones, 4 cellos, 5 saxophones, 1 guitar, 1 bass, 2 horns, 1 harp, a xylophone, vibraphone, a C3 Hammond organ, a pair of pedal tymps and a Steinway 6’ 11 inch piano this was music at its best with a theatrically produced ensemble and high end opulent lighting creating the perfect of atmospheres.
The evening kicked off with Nelson performing ‘Brother John’ and Vic Lewis’ name crops up again on the recording of ‘When You Become a Man’, which he composed with lyricist Don Black. The evening culminates with Matt singing a version of ‘Strike Up the Band’, which Riddle especially arranged for him. The high swing number culminated in a double encore and saw the 500 strong audience on their feet demanding more.
Unfortunately as with most of the early BBC footage, the televised highly sought after concert was wiped over to save money and achieve stringent budget restraints. The show simply does not exist anymore.
Dick Turpin, a Sinatra Music Society Member, who passed on the tape to former committee member Bryan Officer, made the reel to reel of this concert. Thirty years on Bryan stumbled across the tape in his attic and considered that such a gem should be made available to a wider audience. The CD was re-mastered and re-engineered by Alan Bunting, a recognized name in his field for resurrecting missing and mutilated recordings from long-gone years and so the first print of this compact disc was pressed and made available to the Nelson Riddle Appreciation Society.
In 2006 I had the opportunity of buying the rights to these masters and with the backing of EMI jointly decided to release this exceptional concert to the mass market. Richard Moore had the arduous task of re-mastering the album from scratch. The source for this recording was a 3-¾ inches per second, quarter track, reel to reel tape which had been recorded directly from a TV line source. Professional standard mono recordings are made at the very least on 15 inches per second full track tape. As you decrease the speed of the tape the quality and frequency response of the recording drastically reduces. On quarter track tape the sound is squashed into a smaller area and any defects on the tape become more pronounced causing what is known as ‘dropouts’, where the sound disappears for a fraction of a second.
The original restoration by Alan Bunting had removed some of the hiss and tape noise but had left behind some smaller defects that still needed to be addressed which meant removing them so as to bring the recording, as close to it’s original sound as possible. The first problem was a hum (caused by the mains electricity supply) that ran throughout the tape but was most pronounced during the spoken sections. The recording also has had a considerable amount of high frequency distortion removed and had then been re ‘EQ’ed’ to compensate for the slow recording speed. After more hiss removal there was still two more faults that needed attention which was altogether much more time consuming. The microphone that Matt used during this broadcast had a minor flaw, which caused some strange ‘clunking’ noises to appear on the soundtrack whenever the microphone was jolted. On this high-class edition, as many of these noises have been digitally removed as possible, but only where the removal of the noise would not harm or interfere with the original recording. Lastly, as many of the large ‘dropouts’ as possible were repaired although once again immeasurable care was taken not to harm the original recording. One thing that could not be achieved was to restore the bass frequencies; there was nothing there to boost. As these frequencies are not usually lost on lower speed recordings, it can only be assumed that it was broadcast in this way.
Whilst it still has it’s imperfections, which you would expect from a 40 year old home recording, we hope it now sounds much closer to how it was originally broadcast and it is presented here in all its brilliance for your listening pleasure.
Michele Monro
Copyright 2007.
Matt Sings Nelson Swings:
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Previous Titles
Matt At The Movies
Matt at the Movies – Disc 1
WEDNESDAY’S CHILD THE QUILLER MEMORANDUM (1966)
COME BACK TO ME ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER (1970)
EXODUS EXODUS (1960)
AROUND THE WORLD MIKE TODD’S AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (1956)
ALFIE ALFIE (1966)
DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES (1962)
SPRING IS HERE
I MARRIED AN ANGEL (1942)
I’VE GROWN ACCUSTOMED TO HER FACE
MY FAIR LADY (1964)
GONNA BUILD A MOUNTAIN STOP THE WORLD I WANT TO GET OFF (1966)
FOR ALL WE KNOW LOVERS AND OTHER STRANGERS (1970)
IMPOSSIBLE DREAM MAN OF LA MANCHA (1972)
LOVE STORY
LOVE STORY (1970)
MARIA WEST SIDE STORY (1961)
HAPPY LADY SINGS THE BLUES (1972)
MY KIND OF GIRL SCANDAL (1988)
PRECIOUS MOMENTS
THE SEA WOLVES (1980) NEW
A MAN AND A WOMAN
A MAN AND A WOMAN (1966)
SECOND TIME AROUND HIGH TIME (1960)
SEPTEMBER SONG KNICKERBOCKER HOLIDAY (1944)
THE SHADOW OF YOUR SMILE
THE SANDPIPER (1965)
ON A CLEAR DAY (YOU CAN SEE FOREVER) ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER (1970)
JEAN THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE (1969) NEW
WHEN I LOOK INTO YOUR EYES
DR DOOLITTLE (1967)
ALL MY LOVING
HARD DAY'S NIGHT 1964
THE WRONG TIME (IT’S ALRIGHT WITH ME)
CAN CAN (1960) – FULL ORCHESTRA
Matt at the Movies – Disc 2
HELLO DOLLY
HELLO DOLLY (1969)
A PLACE IN PARIS
TIME FOR LOVING (1971)
OVER THE RAINBOW
THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)
ALONE AM I
TOMORROW NEVER COMES (1977)
LET ME SING AND I’M HAPPY
MAMMY (1930)
HELLO YOUNG LOVERS
THE KING AND I (1956)
MORE
MONDO CANE (1962)
CHATANOOGA CHOO CHOO
THE GLENN MILLER STORY (1953)
SUNRISE SUNSET
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (1971)
EVERYBODY’S TALKIN’
MIDNIGHT COWBOY 1969)
CHARADE
CHARADE (1963)
UNCHAINED MELODY
GHOST (1990)
LET’S FACE THE MUSIC AND DANCE
FOLLOW THE FLEET (1936)
SOMEWHERE
WEST SIDE STORY (1961)
BE MY LOVE
TOAST OF NEW ORLEANS (1950)
LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDOURED THING
LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDOURED THING (1955)
WHAT TO DO
WOMAN TIMES SEVEN (1967)
YOU’RE SENSATIONAL
HIGH SOCIETY (1956)
LAURA
LAURA (1944)
AS LONG AS SHE NEEDS ME
OLIVER (1968)
BORN FREE
BORN FREE (1966)
STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT
A MAN COULD GET KILLED (1966)
PEOPLE
FUNNY GIRL (1968)
SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN
SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (1952)
WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STAR
PINOCCHIO (1940)
Matt at the Movies – Disc 3
ON DAYS LIKE THESE
THE ITALIAN JOB (1969)
A TIME FOR LOVE
AN AMERICAN DREAM (1966)
NEARNESS OF YOU, THE
ROMANCE IN THE DARK (1938)
STARDUST
THE EDDY DUCHIN STORY (1956)
MOMENT TO MOMENT
MOMENT TO MOMENT (1966)
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963)
STRANGER IN PARADISE
KISMET (1944)
I WILL WAIT FOR YOU
THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (1964)
MEMORY
CATS (1998)
PUT ON A HAPPY FACE
13 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ONE THING (2001)
SPEAK SOFTLY LOVE
THE GODFATHER (1972)
I HAVE DREAMED
THE KING AND I (1956)
WHEN I FALL IN LOVE
ISTANBUL (1957)
RAINDROPS KEEP FALLING ON MY HEAD
BUTCH CASSIDY & THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)
NOTHING TO LOSE
THE PARTY (1968)
IN THE ARMS OF LOVE
WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE WAR DADDY? (1966)
LOVE WALKED IN
RHAPSODY IN BLUE (1945)
AND WE WERE LOVERS
THE SANDPEBBLES (1966)
WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD
GOOD MORNING VIETNAM (1987)
GEORGIA ON MY MIND
RAY (2004)
SOUTHERN STAR (THE)
THE SOUTHERN STAR (1969)
CHEEK TO CHEEK
TOP HAT (1935)
GREEN LEAVES OF SUMMER
THE ALAMO (1960)
TILL THE END OF TIME
TILL THE END OF TIME (1946)
MATT MONRO
EN ESPANA/GRANDES EXITOS EN ESPANOL
En Espana
- Sueno Imposible (The Impossible Dream)
- No Me Pesa, Es Mi Hermano (He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother)
- Te Esperare (Les Parapluies De Cherbourg)
- Jean
- Si Yo Fuera Carpintero (If I Were A Carpenter)
- La Sombra De Tu Sonrisa (The Shadow of Your Smile)
- Donde Hallarse? (Where In The World)
- En Dias Como Estos (On Days Like These)
- Los Dos (Two People)
- Puedo Ser Feliz (You’ve Made Me So Very Happy)
- Que Tonto Fui
- La Estrella Del Sur (The Southern star)
Grandes Exitos En Espanol
- Alguien Canto (The Music Played)
- Que Tiempo Tan Feliz (Those Were The Days)
- Lo Que Quedo (All That Remains)
- No Puedo Quitar Mis Ojos de Ti (Can’t Take My Eyes Off You)
- Todo Pasara (Everything Will Happen)
- Vete Por Favor (Walk Away)
- Nacida Libre (Born Free)
- La Montana
- No Me Dejes (If You Go Away)
- Amandote Otra Vez (Lovin’ You Again)
- Si Tu Te Vas (If You Go)
- La Perla Y El Rubi (The Ruby And The Pearl)
Audio
CD February 5th 2007
Label EMI Gold
- When I Fall In Love
- On Days Like These
- From Russia With Love
- Days Of Wine And Roses
- Till Then My Love
- Walk Away
- Portrait Of My Love
- Autumn Leaves
- More
- Historia de Amour (Love Story)
- Born Free
- Ebb Tide
- The Shadow Of Your Smile
- Once In Every Long and Lonely While
- The Music Played
- Be My Lady
- I'm Glad There Is You
- Softly As I Leave You
- Till The End Of Time
- September Song
- For Once In My Life
- My Kind of Girl
- Music To Watch Girls By
Click Here for the TV advert.
The Rare Monro
Audio
CD September 4th 2006
Label EMI Gold
Discs 2
Catalogue No.
Side One
Other People
Mirage
All of a Sudden
Yours Alone
Let Me Choose Life
Only The Night Wind Knows
No Puedo Quitar Mis Ojos De Ti
(Can’t
Take My Eyes Off You)
Love Song
Try To Remember
Alone Am I - Soundtrack from “Tomorrow
Never Comes”
The Lady Smiles
Don’t Answer Me
The Touch Of Your Love
How Could I Ever Leave You
I Love You Too
Walk Into The Dawn
Is There Anything I Can Do
Love Comes Along
It’s That Time Again
During One Night
Only Friends
I’ve So Much To Be Thankful For
These Things Happen
Cuando Miro En Tus Ojos
(When I Look into
Your Eyes)
Where In The World
New York, New York
Side Two
Taking a Chance on Love
All That Remains
Lover’s Caravan
All Of You
Floral Dance
Nothing to Lose
So Little Time
I’m Just Breezing Along with the Breeze
By The Way
Everything is Nothing Without You
Picking Up the Pieces
I Got Love
Sitting on Top of the World
Blue Moon
Making Whoopee
Row, Row, Row
Day In, Day Out
Strike up the Band
Till
Birth of the Blues
In the Still of the Night
Lulu’s Back in Town
Up a Lazy River
The Wrong Time (It’s Alright By Me)
Bonus Extra
Let The Train Take the Strain – British
Rail Jingle
Babycham
Pop Gear
Mangers
The Heart of The Man
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