Max Bygraves - Singalong With Max (Reader's Digest Box Set) - Disc 2: You Are My Sunshine

Here we have the second of a 6-vinyl set of Max Bygraves sing-a-long medley madness. The thing I like most about this one is that funny cover - should be a poster that should! Dig those Union Jack umbrellas there! Aaah, yes - the good old days.  The thing is, that cover really doesn't depict what's on the record. Looking at that pic, I would be expecting a good old knees up. "Don't dilly dally on the way" - and all that "down at the old bull and bush"-type stuff. But no, with the exception of the Tin Pan Alley medley that features the classic "My Melancholy Baby" (Chas & Dave would later score an excellent hit with the song), most of this disc is made up of lovey dovey ballads. There's some upbeat tunes to enjoy but it seems Max has mixed them into the downbeat stuff making for some awkward moodswinging medleys in my own personal opinion. Still, it's Max. So if you love Max then you'll need this Max for your Max collection. Enjoy!

Max Bygraves

Singalong With Max - Disc 2: You Are My Sunshine

Pye/Reader's Digest

1975

 91 mb

MU / RS

Ripped & encoded by X-Y-Z-Cosmonaut @ 320 kbps.

Max Bygraves - Singalong With Max (Reader's Digest Box Set) - Disc 1: True Love

I've been planning on ripping and sharing this rather collectible 1975 Reader's Digest box set of medley mad Max for years! Finally, I've got round to doing it! Rather than put up the complete set all at once, here's the first disc to test the waters and see if people want it and it's worth continuing with... Comments/encouragement are welcome!

Before anyone points it out - the blue-green light on the box cover on the bottom right corner is actually part of the cover and not the result of flash photography! I scanned it anyway - just in case you're wondering... You might think they put the light there to add a bit of excitement and make Max glamourous or something like that but, in fact, he is actually standing in front of the mothership from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. He was one of the humans that the aliens abducted but bought back at a later date (some may think it wasn't late enough) - hence the reason he is still singing songs from "the good old days" because he doesn't know we've moved on from "Say, Has Anyone Seen My Gypsy Rose" and "Happy Days Are Here Again". It would take him another millenia before he does the "Poker Face - Genie In A Bottle - All The Things She Said" Medley. Anyway, enough of this bizarre chit chat and onto the first record...

 "Yer name's not down - yer not coming in!"

Max "The Bouncer" Bygraves, yesterday.

Max begins this set in great style with a jolly medley consisting of "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing", "Everywhere You Go", " All I Do Is Dream Of You" and "If I Had A Talking Picture Of You". From then on, it's a mix of slowies and slightly more upbeat songs - some taken from famous musicals such as Annie Get Your Gun, The King & I and Cabaret. He also does "Tiptoe Through The Tulips" and "When You Wore A Tulip" but, funnily enough, he doesn't do his famous "Tulips From Amsterdam" here to make the obvious treble. But still there seems to be more songs on this disc about tulips than the alleged "love" of the title so maybe it should have been called Tulip Love rather than True Love instead... I have to say that some of this stuff just isn't really my cup of coffee at all. Some of it I found rather cringemaking. In fact, at one point when I was listening whilst I was drinking a cuppa, I cringed so much that I actually ended up choking. I blame Max for that. But don't let my personal feelings put you off. If you're into the easy listening/lounge scene then this is a must-own and Max Bygraves - whether you like him or not - it can't be denied that he was one of the kings of British showbiz.

Singalong With Max - Disc 1: True Love

Pye/Reader's Digest

1975

90 mb

MU / RS

Ripped & encoded by X-Y-Z-Cosmonaut @ 320 kbps.

I couldn't be bothered typing out all the tracklist/medley titles so I've put up a scan of the back cover instead...

Max Bygraves - Viva! Congalongamax Vol.10

Don't be fooled by the title there - this isn't Vol.10 of a series called Congalongamax - that would be just too crazy! No, it is, in fact, the tenth volume of Max Bygraves' top-selling Singalongamax series - this one being the excitingly titled Viva! Congalongamax with the kind of cover image that collectors of kitsch and amusing vinyl cover art and photography lap up as soon as eye contact is made... Which is exactly what happened with me, you see! You've got to admire anyone who can pull off a cover like that and still keep his integrity and career completely intact! That and going on to present Family Fortunes. Altogether now: "Biiiig moneeeey!" Also love the "Ole! May Bygraves" signature at the bottom right of the cover there - nice touch, Max! Ole!, indeed!... "Yeah, I love the cover but what's the music like?", you're probably now asking...

Bygraves is on top form here (as he always was on all of his records - a mere quick listen tells you that you're listening to a man who loved his work) - sounding a touch more laid back than he does on his masterpiece Discolongamax. Bygraves himself had the idea for the album after spending some time in Latin America. Covering a quite wide range of tourist spots from Spain and Brazil to Jamaica and Mexico, the album is ideal for shaking your maracas to. First track is a great starter with Max shouting "Enjoy yourself!" in a way only Max can to amusing effect. This is followed by the holiday party likes of "Y Viva Espana", "The Laughing Samba" and "Quando Quando Quando" along with slow and easy smoothers such as "And I Love You So", "Spanish Eyes", "Yellow Bird" and "Amor Amor". Personal faves would have to be "Singalonga Conga" and the "Enjoy Yourself" medley. Viva! Congalongamax is produced by the legendary Norrie Paramor.

Incidentally, I originally ripped and shared this years ago on my old turntable at 192 kbps but this one here be a spanking fresh and crisp sounding 320 kbps rip. For those that want it, I'll be re-ripping the "awesome" Discolongamax soon as the ages old 192 kbps rip I shared again recently doesn't sound that good in retrospect.

Viva! Congalongamax is a must own for the easy listening/lounge crowd so those of you out there with such an inkling for that particular music genre should download and follow Maxie's sound advice: Enjoy yourself and singalonga conga!

Max Bygraves
Viva! Congalongamax Vol.10
Pye Records
1975
78 mb
MU / RS

Side 1

1. Medley: Enjoy Yourself/Manana/The Coffee Song

2. Medley: And I Love You So/Fly Me To The Moon/Quando Quando Quando

3. Y Viva Espana

4. Medley: Blue Skies/Jealous/Am I Blue

5. Singalonga Conga

Side 2

1. Medley: Yours/ Besame Mucho/Amor Amor

2. Medley: Spanish Eyes, Always In My Heart/Marie Elena

3. Medley: Wedding Samba/Brazil/The Laughing Samba/Hava Nagila

4. Medley: Yellow Bird/Island In The Sun/Jamaica Farewell

Ripped & encoded by X-Y-Z-Cosmonaut @ 320 kbps.

Click play on the videobox to hear Max Bygraves'
"Enjoy Yourself Medley"

from Viva! Congalongamax

Musikladen Special - Shakin' Stevens Live

Here we have a bloody superb live concert performance from the total legend that is the one and only Shakin' Stevens on the legendary German pop show Musikladen. When Shakin' Stevens hit the scene in the early 80s, it was a breath of fresh air. Sure, there had been a rockabilly thing going on for a while in the forms of the legendary Showaddywaddy and the absolutely excellent Stray Cats... But Shaky was rockabilly and rock 'n' roll incarnate. He seemed to be the one the old school rock 'n' rollers were waiting for... It was as if the late great Elvis had been reborn or reincarnated as a Welsh milkman! (For the uninitiated, Shaky - real name Michael Barrett - is a Welsh man and used to be a milkman before he hit pop stardom. I wonder if anyone ever asked him for a milk shake!...). Shaky was the absolute creme de la creme of rockabilly as far as I'm concerned. He was so bloody brilliant that Fulchester United even signed him up for some memorable matches with Billy The Fish! Heh heh. Shaky was loved by just about everyone - djs, moms, dads, grannies, teenies and even the New Romantic and gender bending pop crowd (Boy George and Phil Oakey were allegedly fans). Shaky was the real deal and that's what made his otherwise supposedly "outdated" music style work to a very popular demographic. I don't think any modern rockabilly acts out there today in this day and age would be able to pull off the amount of hits and popularity that Shaky had back in his prime - it was amazing enough that he did it in the 80s, the age of electronics, dance music, new wave, new romantics and the dawn of hip hop (to count just a few music genres that occurred bigtime during the 80s).

 Early hits are performed here with extreme gusto - and a lot of sweat - such as "Hot Dog", "Marie, Marie", "Shirley", "It's Raining" and the über classic that is "This Ole House". No "Green Door" though. This is a treat for Shaky fans so if you are one - then download, sit back, watch and enjoy! Incidentally, this rip is really fresh - I just watched, recorded and ripped it as soon as it finished transmitting on television!

Musikladen Special - Shakin' Stevens Live
1982
XVID
Approx. 29 mins

349 mb
MU / RS

Playlist:
Mona Lisa
Let Me Show You How
Hot Dog
Marie, Marie
Shirley
Baby, You're A Child
It's Raining
This Ole House
Que Sera
Shake, Rattle & Roll

Ripped & encoded by X-Y-Z-Cosmonaut.

Lee Evans - So What Now?

From 2001, here we have So What Now? - a superb (at least in my opinion), hugely underrated and underappreciated Britcom high on farce and slapstick starring Lee Evans (also co-writer) along with top quality support from the ever watchable Stephen O'Donnell and acclaimed actress Sophie (sister of Emma) Thompson at her pottiest. Directed by the great Tony Dow with the late great Geoffrey Perkins serving as one of the executive producers. Hated by a lot of people or so it seems judging by what I've read on the net, So What Now? only lasted one series comprising of eight episodes - which is a shame as, personally, I found it good enough to have ran for at least one or two more seasons. Criticism has been levelled at the lack of development on the characters but, in my opinion, the characters are fine as they are. If there had been more series, I'm sure the characters would have been more fleshed out. Guest appearances include, amongst others, gorgeous Imogen Stubbs, Tony Gardner, David Ross (the original "Kryten" and also memorable as the voice of the talking toaster in Red Dwarf), and the late, legendary Hugh Lloyd who appears in possibly the most memorable episode in which he plays a crafty "old codger" who temporarily becomes a staying guest at the house being attended to his every need.

The plot: After being thrown out by wife Eileen, Lee then destroys his best friend Stuart's place in a gas explosion, and so the two are left flat-hunting. Although not intending to live together, the two are forced to take up lodgings in the home of the once reasonably wealthy Heather. Lee, accident-prone at the best of times, can't help but be stressed out under Heather's well-meaning but somewhat controlling nature...

The perfect sitcom vehicle for Lee Evans' physical comedy and very much a modern spin on Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, So What Now? may not be as well-received, much-loved and remembered as the afforementioned sitcom classic but, for me, it's one and only series is highly watchable, cosy entertainment with some charmingly daft and likeable characters, whacky scenarios, funny lines and stands up to repeated viewing.

Lee Evans - So What Now?
2001
XVID
Approx. 28 mins (per episode)

Approx 350 mb (per episode)

MU / RS

Ripped & encoded by X-Y-Z-Cosmonaut.

Injection X & Fred Weinberg - A Child's Life

Here's the latest from Injection X and what a superb piece of work it is! Fred Weinberg's brilliant "A Child's Life" is given a boost with a hip-hop injection of "x" that really does the original credit. It's so good that even Crossroads' legendary character "Benny" - as played by Paul Henry - makes a ghostly spiritual-like appearance on one of the mixes!

Injection X & Fred Weinberg

A Child's Life

Wokka Chokka Chum! Records

2010

33 mb

MU / RS

1. A Child's Life (7" Inch Mix)

2. A Child's Life (Momma Mix)

3. A Child's Life (Benny Mix)

4. A Child's Life (Dadda Mix)

Encoded @ 320 kbps.

Cocktail Swing

From the people who bought you Girl In A Suitcase, Watch With Teacher, Natural Born Fillers, The Day The TV Stood Still, Department TV and Girl In A Suitcase (Upgraded), here is one of the earliest of their superb cult/retro tv/radio/library music releases - the increasingly incredibly rare 1999 release Cocktail Swing on the Codename Music label. Cocktail Swing is an absolute must-own for collectors and connoiseurs of testcard/tv/radio/library music. All of the music comes from legendary big bands The Johnny Howard Band and The Otto Keller Band. The vibe is totally of an easy listening-lounge-testcard nature - so from that description you should know what to expect: plenty of brass, dings, dongs, happy nostalgia and how's yer father. Pearls on here include the original theme tune to ITV's Wish You Were Here, "Carnaby Chick" from Radio 2's Two's Best and "Eye Catcher" for Radio 2's The Early Show. Plus Test Card Transmission Tape classics such as "That's How The Hula Was Born", "Don't Fall In Love", "King For A Night" and "You Blew It". "Cocktails For Two" and "Everybody Loves Somebody" were used when Radio 5's Test Match Cricket was abandoned due to "Rain Stopped Play". Like I say - Cocktail Swing is an absolute must-own so download, listen and enjoy the classic retro television sound they just don't make anymore. Incidentally, there's just one copy of this selling on Amazon.co.uk selling for a rather hefty £24.70 at the moment and it certainly didn't cost me pocket money! If you download and enjoy this, please feel free to make a donation to CosmoBells to help boost the morale and the big band piggy bank! ;)

V/A

Cocktail Swing

Codename Music

1999

126 mb

MU / RS

1. Cocktails For Two
2. Everybody Loves Somebody
3. Opus 88
4. Burros De Bahia
5. That's How The Hula Was Born
6. Don't Fall In Love
7. King For A Night
8. You Blew It
9. Carnaby Chick
10. Eye Catcher
11. Mr Paganini: You'll Have To Swing It
12. Just One More Chance
13. Lucky 13
14. Rockin' Bugler Boy
15. I Dig You The Most
16. Beware My Heart
17. Starting Point
18. Calypso Reggae
19. Liebchen
20. See You Later

Ripped, encoded & tagged by X-Y-Z-Cosmonaut @ 320 kbps.

Injection X - Happy Endings

Give yourself a pinch as the cult 1989 Abbey National tv ad song Happy Endings gets the Injection X treatment...

Injection X

Happy Endings

Wokka Chokka Chum! Records

2010

65 mb

MU / RS

1. Abbey Endings (7:23)

2. Happy Endings (Reggae Mix+Dub) (11:39)

3. Happy Endings (Rub-A-Dub Mix) (12:54)

Encoded @ 320 kbps.