|
|
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The 1968 soundtrack album plus some 1970s singles, 10 Jan 2005
To be clear, this 20-song album entitled "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter" is a re-release of the original soundtrack for the 1968 movie with 10 bonus tracks. There is a 25-song collection, also entitled "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter," which is really a collection of songs that the group put out circa 1964-65, noted for an interesting cover of "For Your Love." I actually saw the movie when it came out and it was loosely based on the hit song that gave the film its title in that Mrs. Brown was the name of a greyhound that the boys wanted to race, but they need money to get the dog entered so they start performing songs in public. One of the reasons that everybody thought lead singer Peter Noone was supposed to be Herman was that in this movie he played a character named Herman Tulley, just to add to the general confusion. The first ten tracks compromise the original soundtrack, ending with the title track (which is sung to a litter of newly born puppies at the end of the film) and featuring another Herman's Hermits hit with "There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)." Part of the problem is that by the time the movie came out, Herman's Hermits were pretty much history, so besides the two recycled hits there is nothing really great here, although "It's Nice to Be Out in the Morning" is a pleasant enough tune about Manchester and the two-part instrumental "Daisy Chain" is something of a change of pace for the group. If you like Herman's Hermits, and there was a time when they were the second most popular British invasion group after the Beatles, then chances are you will find these tracks passable. The title song has a special place in my memory because I am pretty sure it was the first song I ever played on a jukebox (you know how memory wins out over truth as the years roll along). The song, written by Trevor Peacock, was written for a television play starring Tom Courtenay, and originally sounded like it should be performed in an English music hall. But for Herman's Hermits the song was stripped down to a simple banjo accompaniment in order to better feature Noone's simple and rather shy vocals, complete with his Manchester accent. Ironically, the song was not released in the United States but disc jockeys started playing it and a single version was rushed out. I have read that "Mrs. Brown You Have a Lovely Daughter" had the highest chart debut in history up to that time, hitting #1 on the Billboard charts within a month, which I find rather hard to believe given we are talking 1965 a.k.a. the year after the Beatles exploded on this side of the pond and they sold 250,000 units of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in three days and one million in two weeks. Anyhow, "Mrs. Brown You Have a Lovely Daughter" ended up as the 19th best selling single of 1965. The thing is, you should already have a copy of the song without needing to pick up this album to have it in your music library. The bonus tracks represent mostly the singles and B sides that Herman's Hermits released in 1970, right before Noone left the group. That would be "Years May Come, Years May Go"/"Smile Please," "Bet Yer Life I Do"/"Searching For the Southern Sun," and the best of the bunch, "Lady Barbara"/"Don't Just Stand There." Regardez Moi" is actually a French version of "Here Comes the Star," and while you can find "Big Man," "Wings of Love" and "Mum and Dad" on "Best of Herman's Hermits, Volume III," as near as I can tell this is the only place you can find the rest of the songs, so for Herman's Hermits fans there are a few things here that they might not have which are worth the having.
|
~ Herman's Hermits
~ Various Artists
~ Various Artists
![Up The Junction [DVD] [1968]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51S4wkSn7XL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ Dennis Waterman
~ The Tornados
