The Latin-Continental Sound of the Sixties! Manuel, Mantovani and More!

The Latin-Continental Sound of the Sixties!

Manuel and the Music of the Mountains, Hugo Winterhalter, Mantovani, 101 Strings, Nini Rosso and Caterina Valente

There was something special about the musical and leisurely landscapes of Italy, Spain, Portugal and straight across the South Atlantic to the continent of Latin America. Maybe it was the carefree atmosphere, the zest for life, the colour in the cuisine, oranges, lemons and olives, and especially the colours of the dancers! Love was spelt as ‘amor’ and ‘amore’...just about everything had more than two tones of description!

The music of Manuel and the Music of the Mountains deserves a rediscovery with the release of two fully remastered LPs MANUEL (1962) and MOUNTAIN CARNIVAL (1963) by Jasmine Records of Great Britain. The liner notes by Ossie Dales, composed in July 2013, described Geoff Love’s enormous talent for arranging that came to light during his attachment to the Green Jackets Dance Band during World War Two. After the war, Mr Love provided arrangements and musical backing for a long roster of British popular and film artistes. It was when he conducted the the theme music from the film ‘Honeymoon’ that Norman Newell, a friend and fellow arranger with EMI suggested the name ‘Manuel’.

 

The sound of the mountains – breeze across the Pyrenees to Spain, thence across the blue waters to the Appenines of Italy – with a rich guitar soundtrack to match the wall to wall string arrangements. This music takes you on multiple journeys at once into your romantic memory of happy places and blends it in with sunny Mediterranean airs. The guitars are arranged to evoke the long flowing tresses of flamenco dancers while the strings soar like eagles and swallows high above the snow-capped mountains. Manuel’s music has this quality. Listen to ‘Plaza de Toros’ and you’ll never leave it – you can even smell the aroma of coffees and paella round the corner. Sample the evening cocktails with the serenades of ‘Ay Ay Ay’ and ‘April in Portugal’, but leave the wine alone. Save it for the crossing into Italy with the mushy ‘Anema e Core’. And before you turn down the lights with Manuel’s MOUNTAIN CARNIVAL, savour the sweetness of the rousing ‘Amor Amor’ from the film ‘Broadway Rhythm’ and then say a gentle ‘Adios’ with the poignant strings playing long low chords.

The sound of Manuel on this disc is as perfect as it can be considering that these were the early pressings of vinyl in stereo remastered for the digital era. Jasmine Records has used ‘noise reduction’ with a light touch – thankfully. What you hear is actually Geoff Love’s suave switching back and forth between guitar leads, front violin sections and the violas and bass – this surely is the hallmark of a great arranger who knows how to evoke dreams in music! And oh yes, listen out for the beautiful insertions of the solo wordless female soprano for that neoclassical touch of ‘splendour’.

1. MEXICAN HAT DANCE
2. YOU BELONG TO MY HEART (SOLAMENTE UNA VEZ)
3. PLAZA DE TOROS
4. THE MOUNTAINS ARE CRYING (AY AY AY)
5. SONG OF THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA (MY GYPSY HEART)
6. MEXICAN LULLABY
7. THE WEDDING SONG
8. THE THREE CABALLEROS
9. SONG OF THE MOUNTAINS
10. APRIL IN PORTUGAL (COIMBRA)
11. SONG OF MEXICO
12. BOLERO GAUCHO (WITHOUT MY LOVER)
13. LUNA ROSSA (BLUSHING MOON)
14. BE MINE (LA PALOMA)
15. CACHITA
16. YOURS
17. BLUE TANGO
18. THE BANDIT
19. PRIMERA
20. JEALOUSY
21. MOUNTAIN CARNIVAL
22. ANEMA E CORE
23. THE BREEZE AND I
24. CARNAVALITO (FESTIVAL OF THE FLOWERS)
25. AMOR AMOR
26. NIGHTS IN RIO
27. ADIOS

There is a lot more to the instrumental music celebrating the 1960s chic of continental Europe – such as the long forgotten LPs by Hugo Winterhalter and his orchestra – finally on Vocalion.

Hugo Winterhalter
Hugo Winterhalter Goes ... Continental & I Only Have Eyes for You

Hugo Winterhalter Goes ... Continental
The original LP LSP 2482 (1962) STEREO
Anna El Negro Zumbon (Vatro; Giordano; Engvick)
Melody of Spain (Winterhalter)
Swedish Rhapsody (Alfvén)
Fascination (Marchetti; de Féraudy; Manning)
Wonderland by Night (Neumann; Chase)
Funiculi-Funicula (Denza; Turco)
The Continental (Conrad; Magidson)
Greensleeves (Trad adapt Winterhalter)
Oh! My Papa O mein Papa (Burkhard; Turner; Parsons)
Never on Sunday (Hadjidakis; Towne)
Mademoiselle de Paree (Durand; Contet; Parish)
Volare (Modugno; Migliacci; Parish)

I Only Have Eyes for You
The original LP LSP 2645 (1964) STEREO
I Only Have Eyes for You (Warren; Dubin)
September in the Rain (Warren; Dubin)
I'll String Along with You (Warren; Dubin)
There Will Never Be Another You (Warren; Gordon)
Serenade in Blue (Warren; Gordon)
Cheerful Little Earful (Warren; I Gershwin; Rose)
You'll Never Know (Warren; Gordon)
Shadow Waltz (Warren; Dubin)
You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby (Warren; Mercer)
Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Warren; Dubin)
At Last (Warren; Gordon)
The More I See You (Warren; Gordon)

In this review, I shall focus primarily on Winterhalter’s trip to The Continent. Unlike perhaps a Mantovani or Manuel, Winterhalter gives prominence to the electric guitar to keep the beat, and the mood contemporary and faithful to the Sixties. This is reminiscent of the way Franck Pourcel sticks the guitar front and centre in his rendition of the fast paced ‘Chariot’ of similar vintage. Winterhalter manages in slightly under an hour to lead you through all the beautiful stereotypes of Europe. ‘Anna el Negro Zumbon’ starts off with a jaunty rhythm initiated by the musical triangle (look it up on GOOGLE or BING for a fresh discovery), seconded by strings, and a tantalizing tempo timed by short-paced a-go-go guitar work. Gentle and rhythmic – your European holiday gets under way – with stops in Spain, Sweden, France, Italy and Britain…Winterhalter evokes this effect by imitating tram motions (shuffle drumwork), bus and train horns (high pitched trumpets and harpsichord) and dramatic percussion to match the speed of the string work to evoke the majesty and swirl of celebrations. ‘Wonderland by Night’ is spectacular without sounding too much like Bert Kaempfert – more like taking in the sights of Copenhagen, Rome or Paris by night on bus or rivercruise with the gentle sounds of bells and whistles in the background. ‘Funiculi-Funicula’ epitomises Rome or Milan unlike any other track simply because Winterhalter positions his instruments in very strategic places after he creates the right mood. And the ladies should get their hats in order for the wonderful swirls of the tempos of ‘Mademoiselle de Paree’ and ‘Never on Sunday’…ending the tour on a sunny beach on the Italian Amalfi coast perhaps, with ‘Volare’! And oh don’t forget the Munich-like beer hall nostalgia in ‘O Mein Papa’ with its unforgettable trumpet solos guaranteed to bring out the sonic equivalent of sepia-toned photographs.

I might have gotten the images in the wrong order…but Hugo Winterhalter’s genius is a treasure you must savour if you are into Easy Listening Continental! There are simply so many more albums that celebrate European popular and folk tunes of the 1960s and earlier for a primarily instrumental audience. While I scour the DECCA and CAPITOL catalogues for more albums to review, I’d like to highlight one unique compilation from JVC Japan: POPS ITALIAN MOOD.

1.CHE VOULE QUESTA MUSIKA STASERA / NINI ROSSO

2.VOLARE / NINI ROSSO
3. IL FERROVIERE / RAYMOND LEFEVRE ET SON GRAND ORCHESTRE
4. L'ORAGE / RAYMOUND LEFEVRE
5. GELSOMINA / NINI ROSSO
6. CIAO CIAO BAMBINA / NINI ROSSO
7. MORE /MANTOVANI
8. COME PRIMA / MANTOVANI
9. QUI SAURA / RAYMOND LEFEVRE ET SON GRAND ORCHESTRE
10. SANTA LUCIA / 101 STRINGS ORCHESTRA
11. TORNA A SURRIENTO / 101 STRINGS ORCHESTRA
12. SINNO'ME MORE UN KALEDETTO IMBROGLIO / RAYMOND LEFEVRE ET SON GRAND ORCHESTRE
13. AL DI LA / NINI ROSSO
14. IL SILENZIO / NINI ROSSO
15. CATARI(COR'NGRATO) / MANTOVANI
16. IO CHE NON VIVO / RICHARD CLAYDERMAN
17. SUMMERTIME IN VENICE / RAYMOND LEFEVRE ET SON GRAND ORCHESTRE
18. ARRIVEDERCI ROMA / MANTOVANI

This is an album that winds from Naples (Napoli) – via ‘Santa Lucia’ played by the 101 strings complete with accordion, mandolins and chorus – up to Torino, down to Milan, Florence, Venezia, and back down to Rome. There are numerous pastoral stops that offer panoramic musical equivalents of vistas of verdant valleys from mountain tops, photo memories of afternoon coffees by the bays, and people watching in the fountain piazzas where pigeons are fed and ice cream vendors ply their carts. The choices of Mantovani and Raymond Lefevre to feature alongside the 101 Strings are natural. One cannot pay homage to mood music Italia any other way – lush strings with accordion, trumpet and gentle piano are standard characteristics.[Enjoy the 101 Strings performing ‘Santa Lucia’ on YouTube here, complete with lavishly illustrated Italian holiday scenery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll8ndJL88iw – swell!] Nini Rosso is however a surprise on this collection! I found his vocal interjections jarring at times on ‘Volare’, and ‘Ciao Ciao Bambina’, but upon repeated listening, there is a sense of artistic ‘amore’ in this technique alongside some very sharp trumpet playing. So it grows on you! Then listen to his version of ‘Al Di La’ which is one of the best on trumpet ever – and guaranteed to get you swooning…There is no better way to end the collection than with Mantovani’s poignant cascading strings on ‘Arrivederci Roma’…You can almost hear the train blowing its horns…

One final ‘gem’ I discovered while checking out the Vocalion catalogue recently was the remastering of ‘Caterina Valente in Italia’ and ‘Caterina Valente Canta Luiz Bonfa’. These are vocal offerings – of course – but they are like the water and cream that accompany a good coffee – or the sweetness of a well done Gelato on a summer afternoon.  Caterina’s mellifluous voice conveys such immense passion and opulence all at once [like the Da Vinci Emmespeakers in my last post J] and brings back ‘the good life’ even if it lasts in your imagination for three to four minutes…Listen to her balladic take on ‘Non Dimenticar’ and ‘Polvere di Stelle’ and you will be in a great mood for several hours after that.

When Caterina goes the Bossa Nova route, be prepared to expand your horizons on what the ‘new wave’ of the 60s Brazillian wave meant. Caterina is sexy, playful and carnivalesque in the way she improvises beyond what Jobim and Bonfa would have done and takes you to the seaside fiesta in so many different sonic ways…This is my first collection of Caterina’s and I’m certainly richer for it…and what can I say, my Italian themed collection of easy listening can only set to grow!

[I should add that the sequel to this post ought to include something by Pepe Jaramillo, Frank Chacksfield, Werner Muller, the Clebanoff Strings, Edmundo Ros and more Manuel perhaps…so watch this space in 2016!]

December 2015

ALAN