[2019-09-27] The Electric Banana "The Complete De Wolfe Sessions" 3CD box set (Grapefruit UK)

Linda · **Posted:** Wed Jul 24, 2019 6:27 pm

Description
Initially coming together during a Fontana-era lull in The Pretty Things’ prodigious career, the band’s now-legendary body of work for music library de Wolfe as The Electric Banana saw their alter-egos become parallel universe superstars, their work utilised by film and TV producers in everything from soft-porn skin-flicks, a Norman Wisdom vehicle and horror classic Dawn Of The Dead to small-screen ratings winners like Dr. Who, The Sweeney and Minder.

In the Sixties, the Banana recordings mirrored British pop’s gradual evolution into rock, courtesy of brass-led Swinging London ravers (‘Walking Down The Street’, ‘Danger Signs’), primal garage punk (‘Street Girl’, ‘Love Dance And Sing’) and maximum psychedelia (‘Eagle’s Son’, ‘Alexander’). They switched gears again in the Seventies, confidently mixing swaggering bar-band hard rockers (‘The Loser’, ‘Sweet Orphan Lady’), putative terrace-anthems (‘Whiskey Song’), metal-based rock (‘Maze Song’, the Hendrix tribute ‘James Marshall’) and jangly, Byrds-inflected power pop (‘Do My Stuff’).

Taken from the original master-tapes, the 3-CD set The Complete De Wolfe Sessions represents a number of firsts: the first-ever legitimate CD issue of these recordings (authorised by both The Pretty Things and de Wolfe), the first time that the Banana’s Sixties and Seventies work has been made available under one roof, and the first time that the karaoke-anticipating backing tracks have been made commercially available.

Housed in a clamshell box that includes a lavish illustrated booklet, The Complete De Wolfe Sessions incorporates the original albums artwork, an extended essay on the band, quotes from pivotal members Phil May, Dick Taylor and Wally Waller, and some priceless photos of the classic “Even More Electric Banana” line-up, taken from the summer-of-’68 Swinging Southport film What’s Good For The Goose.

More than forty years after The Pretty Things last donned the Electric Banana mantle, this long-overdue complete package is the final, definitive word on these seminal and much-loved recordings.

Tracklist
[CD1: The Electric Banana (1967) / More Electric Banana (1968)]
1. Walking Down The Street
2. If I Needed Somebody
3. Free Love
4. ’Cause I’m A Man
5. Danger Signs
6. Walking Down The Street (Inst.)
7. If I Needed Somebody (Inst.)
8. Free Love (Inst.)
9. ’Cause I’m A Man (Inst.)
10. Danger Signs (Inst.)
11. I See You
12. Street Girl
13. Grey Skies
14. I Love You
15. Love Dance And Sing
16. A Thousand Ages From The Sun
17. I See You (Inst.)
18. Street Girl (Inst.)
19. Grey Skies (Inst.)
20. I Love You (Inst.)
21. Love Dance And Sign (Inst.)
22. A Thousand Ages From The Sun (Inst.)

1-10: The Album “The Electric Banana”, De Wolfe DW/LP 3040, Pressed 1967
11-22: The Album “More Electric Banana”, De Wolfe DW/LP 3069, Pressed 1968

[CD2: Even More Electric Banana (1969) / Hot Licks (1973)]
1. Alexander
2. It’ll Never Be Me
3. Eagle’s Son
4. Blow Your Mind
5. What’s Good For The Goose
6. Rave Up
7. Alexander (Inst.)
8. It’ll Never Be Me (Inst.)
9. Eagle’s Son (Inst.)
10. Blow Your Mind (Inst.)
11. Sweet Orphan Lady
12. I Could Not Believe My Eyes
13. Good Times
14. Walk Away
15. The Loser
16. Easily Done
17. Sweet Orphan Lady (Inst.)
18. I Could Not Believe My Eyes (Inst.)
19. Good Times (Inst.)
20. Walk Away (Inst.)
21. The Loser (Inst.)
22. Easily Done (Inst.)

1-10: The Album “Even More Electric Banana”, De Wolfe DW/LP 3123, Pressed 1969
11-22: The Album “Hot Licks”, De Wolfe DW/LP 3284, Pressed 1973

[CD3: The Return Of The Electric Banana (1978)]
1. Do My Stuff
2. Take Me Home
3. James Marshall
4. Maze Song
5. Whiskey Song
6. Do My Stuff (Inst.)
7. Take Me Home (Inst.)
8. James Marshall (Inst.)
9. Maze Song (Inst.)
10. Whiskey Song (Inst.)
11. The Dark Theme (Inst.)

1-10: The Album “The Return Of The Electric Banana”, De Wolfe DW/LP 3381, Pressed 1978
11: The Album “Even More Electric Banana”, De Wolfe DW/LP 3123, Pressed 1969

Amazon USA
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VDMMF3D/?tag=imwan-20

Amazon UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07VDMMF3D/?tag=imwan-21

Linda · **Posted:** Mon Aug 05, 2019 12:46 pm

Bump: Both pre-order links in the first post are now active.

[2019-09-27] The Electric Banana "The Complete De Wolfe Sessions" 3CD box set (Grapefruit UK)

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