The George Lite Zone

Am I mad, in a coma, or have I just been listening to the Life On Mars Original Soundtrack CD. Most excellent. Not surprising really as the picking ground for material, the 70’s, has been identified as the best decade for popular music.

My only criticism of it is the lack of any Hawkwind, not that I’m biased, especially as the show has featured Brainstorm, Silver Machine, Urban Guerrilla, Ejection and You Shouldn’t Do That over its two seasons. Still there’s always the potential for a second soundtrack album at some stage in the future and plenty of material still to chose from.

Track Listing

1. King Of The Jungle (dialogue)
2. David Bowie - Life On Mars
3. Roxy Music - Street Life
4. Wings - Live And Let Die
5. ELO - 10538 Overture
6. John Kongos - Tokoloshe Man
7. Atomic Rooster - Devil’s Answer
8. T Rex - Rock On
9. Free - Little Bit Of Love
10. Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and the Upsetters - Jungle Lion
11. Armed Bastards (dialogue)
12. The Sweet - Blockbuster
13. The Faces - Cindy Incidentally
14. Ananda Shankar - Snow Flower
15. Slade - Coz I Luv You
16. Mott the Hoople - One Of The Boys
17. Lindisfarne - Meet Me On The Corner
18. Frankie Miller - I Can’t Change It
19. Thin Lizzy - Whiskey In The Jar
20. The Audience - I Had A Dream
21. Uriah Heep - Traveller In Time
22. Nina Simone - I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free
23. I Want To Go Home (dialogue)

For the curious and sad amongst you, a full listing of music used in the show follows.

Series 1

Episode 1.1

• David Bowie - Life on Mars
• Blue Öyster Cult - Stairway to the Stars
• Lou Reed - I’m so Free
• The Who - Baba O’Riley
• Deep Purple - Rat Rat Blue
• Deep Purple - Fireball
• Cream - White Room

Episode 1.2

• Wings - Live And Let Die
• Deep Purple - No One Came
• Willie Lindo & The Charmers Band - Drum Song
• Thin Lizzy - Saga of the Aging Orphan
• Deep Purple - Lazy
• Pink Floyd - One of These Days
• The Upsetters - Dream Land

Episode 1.3

• The Sweet - Ballroom Blitz
• Uriah Heep - Gypsy
• Free - Wishing Well
• Atomic Rooster - Head in the Sky

Episode 1.4

• Hawkwind - Brainstorm
• David Bowie - Jean Genie
• Jethro Tull - Cross-Eyed Mary
• Hawkwind - Silver Machine
• Slade - Gudbuy T’Jane
• The Rolling Stones - Wild Horses
• The Sweet - Blockbuster

Episode 1.5

• Thin Lizzy - Call the Police
• Status Quo - Good Thinking
• Thin Lizzy - The Rocker
• Cream - White Room
• T. Rex - Jeepster
• Roxy Music - Would You Believe
• Hawkwind - Urban Guerilla
• Hawkwind - Ejection
• Coloseum - I Can’t Live Without You
• Roxy Music - Mother of Pearl
• Nina Simone - I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free

Episode 1.6

• Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful World

Episode 1.7

• The Hollies - I Can’t Tell the Bottom From the Top
• Britney Spears - Toxic
• Peters and Lee - Welcome Home
• Pulp - Disco 2000
• Nina Simone - Sinnerman

Episode 1.8

• Atomic Rooster - Friday 13th
• Atomic Rooster - The Rock
• John Kongos - Tokoloshe Man
• Atomic Rooster - In the Snow
• Atomic Rooster - Devil’s Answer
• Wizzard - See My Baby Jive
• David Bowie - Life on Mars
• Lindisfarne - Meet Me on the Corner
• Free - Little Bit of Love

Series 2

Episode 2.1

• Atomic Rooster - Head in the Sky
• Roxy Music - Street Life
• Atomic Rooster - Break Through
• Chicory Tip - Son of My Father
• Three Degrees - Everybody Gets to Go to the Moon
• Dusty Springfield - Spooky
• Three Degrees - Year of Decision
• David Bowie - Star Man

Episode 2.2

• Mott the Hoople - Sweet Jane
• Mungo Jerry - In the Summertime
• Derek Wadsworth - Ain’t Got No
• Uriah Heep - Love Machine
• Uriah Heep - Bird of Prey
• The Hollies - Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress
• Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Episode 2.3

• David Cassidy - How Can I Be Sure
• Audience - The Big Spell
• The Sweet - Hellraiser
• Lindisfarne - Poor Old Ireland
• Barclay James Harvest - When the City Sleeps

Episode 2.4

• Frankie Miller - I’m Ready
• Lindisfarne - Court in the Act
• Santana - Samba Pa Ti
• Slade - Coz I Love You
• David Bowie - Aladin Sane
• T Rex - Rock On
• Barclay James Harvest - When the City Sleeps
• Gilbert O’Sullivan - Alone Again Naturally

Episode 2.5

• Hawkwind - You Shouldn’t Do That
• Roxy Music - Just Like You
• ELO - 10538 Overture

Episode 2.6

• Cozy Powell - Dance with the Devil
• Atomic Rooster - Breathless
• Ananda Shankar - Snow Flower
• Elton John - Rocket Man
• The Audience - I Had a Dream
• Shocking Blue - Hot Sand
• Uriah Heep - Traveller in Time
• Thin Lizzy - Whiskey in the Jar

Episode 2.7

• Traffic - Many a Mile to Freedom
• Traffic - Evening Blue
• Roxy Music - Virginia Plain
• The Faces - Cindy Incidentally
• The Sweet - Done Me Wrong Alright
• Cream - Crossroads
• The Sweet - Rock ‘n’ Roll Disgrace
• Mott the Hoople - One of the Boys

Episode 2.8

• Alvin Stardust - My Coo Ca Choo
• Elton John - Funeral for a Friend
• Atomic Rooster - Decision/Indecision
• Tom Waits - I Hope I Don’t Fall in Love with You
• Israel Kamakawiwo’ole - Over the Rainbow
• David Bowie - Life on Mars
• Mott the Hoople - One of the Boys
• David Bowie - Changes

Along with “Greasy Truckers Party” the original Triple Album “Glastonbury Fayre” album has always had legendary status amongst Hawkwind fans. Back in the days before commercialism came to town you could enjoy bands like The Grateful Dead, Gong and Hawkwind for free, whilst indulging in exotic mind altering substances, like tea.

The track listing of the Glastonbury Fayre album reads: -

CD One
1. THE GRATEFUL DEAD: Dark Star
2. BRINSLEY SCHWARZ: Love Song
3. MIGHTY BABY: A Blanket In My Muesli
4. MARC BOLAN: Sunken Rags
5. PETE TOWNSHEND: Classified
6. DAVID BOWIE: Supermen
7. HAWKWIND: Silver Machine; Welcome to the Future
8. SKIN ALLEY: Sun Music

CD Two
1. DAEVID ALLEN AND GONG: Glad Stoned; Buried Fielding; Flash And Fresh; Fest Footprint In My Memory
2. THE PINK FAIRIES: Do It
3. THE PINK FAIRIES: Uncle Harry’s Last Freak-Out
4. THE EDGAR BROUGHTON BAND: Out Demons Out

Silver Machine on this album is the original version with Bob Calvert on vocals, these were replaced by Lemmy’s in the chart conquering single.

The Dead, the Wind and Gong, what’s not to like?

There are currently a batch of re-mastered and extras packed versions of classic albums doing the rounds at bargain prices at the moment.

40th Anniversary versions of the The Doors albums can be found in the shops for under a fiver. The new versions have been remixed and include bonus tracks to keep any Doorheads out there happy. While I think that some of the re-mixes sound inferior to the originals I remember, the new editions sound clearer than they ever have before and at the price are well worth getting hold of.

Pick of the bunch: “The Doors“, “L.A. Woman” (arguably one of the greatest albums of the Sixties) and “Morrison Hotel“.

Speaking of heads and moving on a decade, brings me to the re-vamped Talking Heads albums that have recently dropped in price. Again these have been re-mixed with added extra track goodliness tagged on, but the real icing on the cake is the inclusion of a DVD that has Dolby Digital 5.1 versions of the original albums. Now you can immerse yourself in Road to Nowhere coming at you from all around, while you’re making flippy floppy in your big suit. Fantastic.

Cream of the crop: “Fear of Music“, “More Songs About Buildings and Food“, “Remain in Light“, “Talking Heads: 77“.

I expected it to be good, it was beta than I expected.

Brilliant !!!