Various - All Those Times We Spent Together: A Tribute to the Television Personalitie

  by Mark Rowland

published: 8 / 7 / 2010

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Review

Canadian indie label The Beautiful Music has committed itself to releasing ten Television Personalities tribute albums over the next few years. It is an idea that is both bonkers and admirable, as if the label is trying to make up for all the praise and recognition that the band has sadly missed out on over its 30 plus year existence. Tribute albums are often quite hit and miss, but for TVPs fans, the songs are familiar and much loved, and several bands offer a fun and different take on the song they perform. After the Years’ spiky version of ‘This Angry Silence’, Anorak Girl take a kitschy electro pop approach to ‘Smashing Time’ It sort of sounds like a solo effort from the girls from the Human League, which is great, and seems to suit the song. Blue Petal’s arrangement of ‘A Good and Faithful Servant’ is fairly faithful to the original, slowing it down and giving it a swinging, waltzy beat, but capturing the sentiment of the song nicely. A Smile And A Ribbon’s take on ‘Magnificent Dreams’ sounds a bit Electrelane-like, and has a nice innocent, childish vibe to it. Sarandon take ‘And Don’t the Kids Just Love It’ and sharpen up the 60s garage rock influence within it, making it more overt. The Painted Word unsurprisingly takes ‘The Painted Word’ and adds a breakbeat to it, which, with the Beatles-ish backwards guitar and tambourine, makes it sound a bit like an early Britpop song. Good on them for being daring and trying something a bit different though. Amida’s loose, de-anglified version of ‘In a Perfumed Garden’ reminds me a little of Pavement, and therefore gets two thumbs up. Armstrong’s nice harmonies and simple, arrangement of ‘This Heart’s Not Made of Stone’ is another highlight; different enough from the original to stand up on its own, but keeping the sentiment of the original. Cineplexx gives ‘I Hope You Have a Nice Day’ a sort of lo fi Phil Spector treatment, while Apple Orchard strips away the 80s jangle of ‘The Dream Inspires’ and replaces it with Sloan-meets-Belle and Sebastian indie pop. La Grande Illusion Gainsbourg-ifies ‘Glittering Prizes’; it’s unexpected, but surprisingly good. The alt-rock version of ‘The Man Who Paints the Rainbows’, supplied by the oddly-named Bunnygrunt, is another good one; it’s a natural adaptation that is different but doesn’t feel forced. Versions of ‘This Angry Silence’ book-end the compilation, with Boyracer’s closing take making it sound very Buzzcocks-like. A few arrangements don’t quite work, but thankfully, ‘All Those Times We Spent Together’ is more hit than miss.

Track Listing:-

1 The Years- This Angry Silence
2 Anorak Girl- Smashing Time
3 Blue Petal- A Good And Faithful Servant
4 The Model Spy- I Know Where Syd Barret Lives
5 Jo Bartlett- If I Could Write Poetry
6 A Smile And A Ribbon- Magnificent Dreams
7 Sarandon- And Don't The Kids Just Love It
8 The Painted Word- The Painted Word
9 The Hi-Life Companion- King And Country
10 Amida- In A Perfumed Garden
11 Armstrong- This Heart’s Not Made Of Stone
12 Languis- Paradise Is For The Blessed
13 Cineplexx -I Hope You Have A Nice Day
14 Out Of Nowhere- 14th Floor (The Psychedelic Electro Mod Mix)
15 Apple Orchard -The Dream Inspires
16 La Grande Illusion- Glittering Prizes
17 Jim Jasmine- A Sense Of Belonging
18 Bunnygrunt- The Man Who Paints The Rainbows
19 S/T- When The Dolphins Leave The Sea
20 The Meek- All My Dreams Are Dead
21 Cootie Shot- Jackanory Stories
22 Jeremy Gluck & Superczar- King And Country
23 Boyracer- This Angry Silence
24 JC Brouchard W Dave Bartholomews New Orleans Jazz Band- Reves De Grandeur (Magnificent Dreams)
25 The Afternoon Tea- Jackanory Stories
26 The Puddle- You Are Special And & You Always Will Be
27 Arnau Obiols Gali- The Prettiest Girl In The World
28 The Coosticks- Me And My Big Ideas
29 The Milestone Band- Honey For The Bears
30 Golden Teardrops- I Remember Bridget Riley
31 Two Angry Men- The Glittering Prizes
32 The Painted Word- Scream Quietly
33 Black Umbrella- Where's Bill Grundy Now?
34 Babybee- A Picture Of Dorian Gray
35 Tac's- Le Petite Illusion (Intermission)
36 Except The General- Geoffrey Ingram
37 The Pristines- The Painted Word (Minimal Mix)
38 Humdrum- Part Time Punks
39 Palmflower- Jackanory Stories
40 Simon Goalpost- Where's Bill Grundy Now?
41 The Airwaves- We Knew Where Syd Barrett Lived
42 The NoMen- A Picture Of Dorian Gray
43 Neil Mooney- Any Love Is Good Love
44 Isaac Snazell Thackray- Silly Girl
45 Nicholas Maycroft- I Want To Be A Bartlebee
46 Television Personalities- Arthur The Gardener (Live Berlin 1980)

Label Links:-

http://thebeautifulmusic.com/
https://twitter.com/WallyTBM
https://www.facebook.com/The-Beautiful