Digging For Gold ..................Albums that have finally been tracked down

[gryphon]

The Hank Marvin Guitar Syndicate



In 1977/8 I was working as a program controller in a UK radio station, one part of my job was to get and maintain contact with record labels to obtain promotional copies of their releases..........an interesting area; because, I would be the person who received and got to listen to all the newly released records each week and decide if they were to be slotted into our play lists...........


I remember EMI sending me a copy of a single by the Hank Marvin Guitar syndicate one week. It was Flamingo/Syndicated..............I liked the rather unusual instrumental and used it for talk over music and the like for quite a few weeks............

The copies of the records that I received were the property of the radio station but, being well paid, I could afford to buy any that I liked................so this one went on the list..................many of the singles could easily be obtained as cheap deleted singles and this privileged position that I held meant that unlike most people , when I had a copy of a non chart record in my hands, I knew exactly what was on it...............I combed the deleted singles for many weeks and never found a copy of his one. Time went on and I tried and tried..................


Never mind I thought .......I’ll pick up the album...............no such luck.................even at record fairs, I had little luck...................My contacts with a network of dealers revealed that, although demand was not sky high, this had sold in only a handful of copies, hence it as going to be hard work.


Time went on and no copy but, the album was reissued on “See For Miles” ( a company that specialised in reissues of EMI recordings) ...................................I missed this and by the time I caught up with it, it was deleted and fetching high prices ..............Finally, I tracked it down on Amazon but still at a high price and in the last few weeks.......I got a copy at a reasonable price...................


Now, it is often the case that when you finally get a copy of a long lost album, the memory is better than the result but, not in this case.............

This is a rather unique album.....................In 1977 Hank had assembled a guitar orchestra of ten leading guitar players and bass player and the old Joe Meek session drummer: Clem Cattini.


Taking mostly newly written material, he arranged and produced eleven tracks, for the guitar orchestra. With himself in the production chair he went on to produce an excellent “ New Age” sounding album many years before many of the traditional new age artists.


At the time people were confused. It was not a full blown rock album, nor was it easy listening but instead, was an assertive statement of how Hank wanted to see guitar music develop.


There are few classics to compare this too but, in sound it could match the likes of many of the guitar greats .................It is gentle and yet powerful, creative, original and very listenable.


Track Listing


1 New Earth Parts 1 and 2

2 Bird Of Beauty
3 Have You Never Been Mellow
4 Thunder Thumbs And Lightning Licks
5 St Louis Blues
6 Flamingo
7 I’ve Got You Under My Skin
8 Silvery Rain
9 Syndicated
10 You Are Every Thing
11 Ebb Tide





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