Goodbye From The Electric Penguins - Electric Penguins

Advantages: A Well put together Best of
Disadvantages: No Beanfields

...This album is billed as "a Penguin Café Primer" , everyone else has a best of or, greatest hits. This is taken a step further, all greatest hits albums have a few "exclusive" tracks not available on any other of their albums , just so you have to buy it, so does this. In true PCO style the exclusive tracks are by other artists. So what do you get? Nineteen pieces from their first album in 1976 up to 1996. There are three versions of "Music For A Found Harmonium", the opener by PCO , one by folk instrumentalist Patrick Street, and one an ambient remix by the Orb from 1996 called Pandaharmonium (these are the "exclusive extras"). ALl are brilliant. The liner notes also tell the story of how the tune came about, and there's a transcription of the music in there. The album also contains "Perpetuum Mobile" and "Telephone and a Rubber Band... Read review

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Advantages: A wonderfully uplifting and enjoyable experience
Disadvantages: None

...The Penguin Café Orchestra (PCO) was a group of eight or nine musicians led by the late Simon Jeffes who died of a brain tumour a few years ago. The instrumention is basically classical and acoustic and their music some of the most uplifting and relaxing sounds that you will hear. Probably Jeffes most famous piece of orchestration was the string arrangement on Sid Vicious' "My Way" but just let that go. This album is their "live" album from a concert at the Royal Festival Hall on the 9th July 1987. It is essentially a greatest hits package. Many of the titles seem very pretentious but they are very listenable, based on almost hypnotic three, four and five note motifs (I know nowt about music , so bear with me). The opening track is Air a Danser, two tracks later you get "Cutting Branches for a Temporary Shelter", see what I mean... Read review

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Advantages: Catchy songs, plenty of big loud hits.
Disadvantages: A few weak links, can become a novelty soon.

...Electric Six have always been known for their singles 'Gay Bar' and 'Danger, High Voltage'. These were both huge hits here in the UK, both peaking in the top ten. These singles were probably recognised for their great wit and, probably most noticably, the videos that came with them. Everyone remembers for the video for 'Gay Bar' because of the depiction of former president Abraham Lincoln, which I thought was genius. But there is more to this album then one may expect. I bought this album not knowing what I was going to get, but when I first stuck this in my CD player I was 'blown' away. It was packed with many an original disco punk number, from the highly danceable to the extra highly danceable. I was especially pleased with the tracks 'Electric Demons in Love' and 'Synthesizer', which seemed to blend some charismatic and often... Read review

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