Released - 1969
Genre - Folk
Producer - Unknown
Selected Personnel - Peter Sarstedt (Vocals/Guitar)
Standout Track - As Though It Were A Movie
As I said, I went to a lot of trouble trying to track down Peter Sarstedt's back catalogue. His self-titled debut is difficult enough to get hold of, even with the presence of his only successful song, "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?", but his sophomore effort As Though It Were A Movie has more or less vanished without trace. Of course, these days a fair amount of his stuff can be tracked down online, but even then it takes time and diligence. Sarstedt's second album holds a similar place of fondness in my affections due to the particular circumstances that surrounded my discovery of it, and the memories it evokes, but it's also actually a step forward in terms of Sarstedt's songwriting and level of accomplishment as an artist.
Sadly, he still struggles to include anything anywhere near as brilliant as "Where Do You Go To...", although the grandiose pomp of the title track comes close. Elsewhere, it struggles to achieve anything as memorable, but overall it's a work of far greater consistency and maturity. The tone in general is fairly similar - being released later the same year as the self-titled album, there had hardly been enough time for there to be a huge leap forward in Sarstedt's musical style. These are more simple folk-inflected pop songs, most set to orchestral flourishes and accompaniments to flesh out and diversify the sound. But there's a sense that the Sarstedt we glimpse on this record is more serious, more reflective and thoughtful and less childlike and naive than the man behind the earlier album. That's not to say that the silly, frivolous fun of that album has entirely been left behind - "Take Off Your Clothes" is a joyous novelty number with Sarstedt having a ball delivering the cheeky, giggling vocal part, and "The Sunshine Is Expensive" mines a similar humourous vein to the earlier "My Daddy Is A Millionaire." But most of the other songs seem to deal with more serious themes, and strike a more pensive tone - "Step Into The Candlelight" is about a woman who struggles to come to terms with her own ageing, "Letter To A Friend" deals with the breakdown of the relationship between two friends, and the masterful title track is essentially a study in loneliness, the story of a man who fails to connect with the world around him in any meaningful or sincere way.
This album seems more ambitious in terms of its arrangements, as well - the title track's bombastic orchestral backing is appropriately cinematic, while "The Friendship Song (Hey Nena)" incorporates Latin rhythms and an extended percussive outro, as well as a prominent steel drum part. There's also the sense that Sarstedt has been paying attention to the more artistic and conceptual approaches to folk music being implemented by other artists at the time, as this album is given a vague conceptual slant by framing it as some sort of theatrical performance, including two overtures, an "Intermission," and a brief closing outro suggesting an audience leaving a theatre. The songs themselves are a million miles away from actually gelling seamlessly with this concept, but there's definitely a sense that Sarstedt was trying to inject more unusual ideas into his music than on the more straightforward pop of his first album.
Sadly, my search for Sarstedt's old work never succeeded in being totally exhaustive and, though I found a couple of other records of his, it was the charming innocence and simplicity of these two early albums that really caught my attention, and he never again really managed to captivate me after this. Still, these are two hugely enjoyable and endearing albums and, while they might not be masterpieces, they will always hold an important place in my heart, and both of them feature enough truly great songs that they're well worth a listen.
Sadly, he still struggles to include anything anywhere near as brilliant as "Where Do You Go To...", although the grandiose pomp of the title track comes close. Elsewhere, it struggles to achieve anything as memorable, but overall it's a work of far greater consistency and maturity. The tone in general is fairly similar - being released later the same year as the self-titled album, there had hardly been enough time for there to be a huge leap forward in Sarstedt's musical style. These are more simple folk-inflected pop songs, most set to orchestral flourishes and accompaniments to flesh out and diversify the sound. But there's a sense that the Sarstedt we glimpse on this record is more serious, more reflective and thoughtful and less childlike and naive than the man behind the earlier album. That's not to say that the silly, frivolous fun of that album has entirely been left behind - "Take Off Your Clothes" is a joyous novelty number with Sarstedt having a ball delivering the cheeky, giggling vocal part, and "The Sunshine Is Expensive" mines a similar humourous vein to the earlier "My Daddy Is A Millionaire." But most of the other songs seem to deal with more serious themes, and strike a more pensive tone - "Step Into The Candlelight" is about a woman who struggles to come to terms with her own ageing, "Letter To A Friend" deals with the breakdown of the relationship between two friends, and the masterful title track is essentially a study in loneliness, the story of a man who fails to connect with the world around him in any meaningful or sincere way.
This album seems more ambitious in terms of its arrangements, as well - the title track's bombastic orchestral backing is appropriately cinematic, while "The Friendship Song (Hey Nena)" incorporates Latin rhythms and an extended percussive outro, as well as a prominent steel drum part. There's also the sense that Sarstedt has been paying attention to the more artistic and conceptual approaches to folk music being implemented by other artists at the time, as this album is given a vague conceptual slant by framing it as some sort of theatrical performance, including two overtures, an "Intermission," and a brief closing outro suggesting an audience leaving a theatre. The songs themselves are a million miles away from actually gelling seamlessly with this concept, but there's definitely a sense that Sarstedt was trying to inject more unusual ideas into his music than on the more straightforward pop of his first album.
Sadly, my search for Sarstedt's old work never succeeded in being totally exhaustive and, though I found a couple of other records of his, it was the charming innocence and simplicity of these two early albums that really caught my attention, and he never again really managed to captivate me after this. Still, these are two hugely enjoyable and endearing albums and, while they might not be masterpieces, they will always hold an important place in my heart, and both of them feature enough truly great songs that they're well worth a listen.
Track Listing:
All songs written by Peter Sarstedt.
1. Overture I
2. As Though It Were A Movie
3. Open A Tin
4. Step Into The Candlelight
5. Take Off Your Clothes
6. Letter To A Friend/Intermission
7. Overture II
8. Boulevard
9. The Sunshine Is Expensive
10. The Artist
11. The Friendship Song (Hey, Nena)
12. Juan
13. I'm A Good Boy
14. National Anthem/Doors Close At 10:45 PM
God, I thought I was the only other person with a copy of this album in, at least, all of Canada!! I own both albums, of course. I believe this one sank so fast because of the almost disgusting artwork on the cover. He couldn't have made it uglier if he tried!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your review of the songs....I play them all the time, in my car, my recording studio when alone and just for the memories they evoke. Glad to know someone else appreciated the fine work he did.
God, I thought I was the only other person with a copy of this album in, at least, all of Canada!! I own both albums, of course. I believe this one sank so fast because of the almost disgusting artwork on the cover. He couldn't have made it uglier if he tried!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your review of the songs....I play them all the time, in my car, my recording studio when alone and just for the memories they evoke. Glad to know someone else appreciated the fine work he did.