What does it sound like?:
Alan Hawkshaw is eighty-one years old. Brian Bennett is seventy-eight. They have been friends for sixty years and collaborated together musically for most of those. Alan has played keyboards for a variety of acts but has made most of his money composing instrumental music for TV, including theme tunes such as Countdown. Brian was the drummer in The Shadows but has also created instrumental music of his own.
They specialise in the smoothest of smooth lounge jazz dominated by cool Hammond organ, well-mannered drums and polite horns. In fact, jazz is probably not the correct term as that implies an element of chance, the possibility of improvisation. The musicians on this album have easily got their ten thousand hours of practice in to be impressively skilled but the music is buttoned up tight. The sound is so perfectly controlled, it goes in one ear and out of the other without leaving any impression whatsoever. The song titles suggest a panoramic journey across the world, Flying, Serengeti, Open Road, In The Clouds, On The Nile, Marrakech, Oasis, Midnight Jazz, but, in fact, Full Circe never leaves the benign atmosphere of Lounge. It is actually Library, perfectly suitable to be played without any risk of a stern faced librarian demanding shush. It is so unprepossessing, it wants to sit quietly in a corner without disturbing anyone, not so much as a single cough or sniffle. If you try to actively listen, there is nothing for ear or brain to latch onto, no humour, no tongue-in-cheek, nothing cheeky or sexy, no decent hooks, no riffs, no lyrics, only tunes that are the very antithesis of ear-worm. Twelve tracks slip by unnoticed, each track indistinguishable from the others.
It’s great to see octogenarians enjoying themselves, flexing their fingers, stretching their backs and hanging out with their friends but this should be marketed as a soundtrack for an afternoon nap. I’m surprised Messrs Hawkshaw & Bennett managed to play without nodding off.
What does it all *mean*?
They say there is a fetish and a partner for everyone. No doubt a niche audience for Library music will adore Full Circle. It will be interesting to see if there are any takers on the Afterword.
Goes well with…
Something else to do or the best mind-expanding drugs known to man. Full Circle almost demands not to be listened to. It works best if you don’t.
Release Date:
Might suit people who like…
Magnolia paint, M&S socks for Christmas, chicken sandwiches, sensible shoes, a caravan holiday, Vauxhall cars.
Sniffity says
Sounds like it could almost be marketed as ambient music.
chiz says
Ambien music
Tiggerlion says
Ambient relates to its immediate surroundings. It is music designed to interact with a particular place. It is meant to enhance the experience of being in that space.
Library Music is music for hire, to be used as background in videos, films, TV. A producer will want a piece of music for a particular scene and will search for some Library Music. That’s why the titles are so important. However, I have to say that Midnight Jazz, the final track on Full Circle, sounds nothing like Jazz to me. Library is music as heard through the ears of civilians.
I wish you’d asked your question sooner. It would have improved my review.
Leicester Bangs says
Ooh, Alan is father of Kirsty, whose vocals have graced more cracking dance tunes than you can count, including this one…
Tiggerlion says
Fabulous! If only they got her to sing on the record.
minibreakfast says
Thanks Tigs. This has been on my radar, but I’ll probably now plump for one or two of the 10 KPM reissues planned alongside this, from when Hawkshaw et al were younger and more thrusting.
minibreakfast says
Quite tempted by their Synthesizer & Percussion library LP.
Lodestone of Wrongness says
I’m honestly not being contrary or aggressive for the sake of it but, honestly, what is the point of such a beautiful written review of an album virtually no-one in the world will ever listen to and whose author damns with praise so faint as to be derisory?
You are a brilliant writer Tiggs even when describing music I would normally run away from but why waste your talent on something you clearly have no time for? This place is not a “real” music magazine where contributors are forced to review stuff they have no interest in. It surely is a place where enthusiasts enthuse either positively or negatively about music they care for with a passion
Moose the Mooche says
“I’m honestly not being contrary or aggressive for the sake of it”….
*Afterword breathes long, deep, tired collective sigh*
Tiggerlion says
I enjoyed the challenge. It makes a change, for me, to write a negative review.
Mike_H says
I appreciate a well-written review. Even if I have no intention of listening to the record and would never have thought to do so anyway.
Some people here like to write and are quite good at it.
Lodestone of Wrongness says
Not sure you answered my question, Tigger. This ain’t a music paper (although by the amount of album reviews these days it sometimes looks like it) so why construct such an essay?
This place has supplied me with much music that most probably would have passed me by. Most of these recommendations have been short and to the point and along the lines of “This is great”.
I have no problem whatsoever with discussions on “What’s the best Can track?” But, and this is now a wider point, I am becoming increasingly tired of the seemingly endless stream of album reviews. That’s what Mojo or Quietus, shiver, are for. I come here for entertainment: Moose one-liners, discussions on which flavour of crisp is best etc. I come here for pointers to music I have never heard or had forgotten about.
I am not important enough nor liked enough to flounce but looks like it’s time for me to shuffle off into the dark goodnight.
Tiggerlion says
If the Nights In upset you that much, you don’t have to read them. They aren’t compulsory.
I enjoy writing them. they flex my brain. Numbers come naturally to me, words not so much. It’s good for me to sit down and string some sentences together now and then. The exercise also involves listening to music, something I love doing even if, now and then, I encounter some rubbish.
Lodestone of Wrongness says
Oops, still stumbling around trying to find the exit. The Mods in their wisdom decided to keep Nights In on the main blog page so despite myself I get drawn in. Still haven’t answered my question – why this review? Did you wake up and say “You know what, I fancy reviewing something I don’t think I’ll like just for the hell of it?” Or are there more sinister forces at play? Did money or the promise of a regular column get to you?
Ah, there it is – anybody would think I can’t see that bloody great sign, Bloody hell it’s a bit cold out here. Nevermind, I’ll be fine, don’t you worry. Look, there’s a campfire over there , some guys & gals are playing guitars and laughing. Well hi, the name’s
Tiggerlion says
No promises, no money changing hands. Just the opportunity to talk bollocks.
Moose the Mooche says
Fuck sake! Are you still bloody here?
Lodestone of Wrongness says
Just like to say Mr Hull, fuck right off
Moose the Mooche says
Lord God, don’t bring Lindisfarne into this!
retropath2 says
M. Pouzolles, ou est le vin?
Twang says
I have to say I read the bit of the review on the main page and thought “Lodes ain’t going to like this…”
Mousey says
Hang on a minute. This series is a reissue of the KPM music library created in the 1970s, covering all the music styles/genres likely to be of use in film and TV. A quick sampling on iTunes reveals tracks that could come from any 70s TV series, and probably did.
Library music is the bane of the soundtrack composer’s life, because directors chuck in one of these tracks and then ask you to create something “a bit like it” – ie exactly the same, without infringing copyright, but cheaper to licence and also they’re probably getting a cut of the music publishing in the film. There’s a million of these bloody things out there. They are inevitably well written, recorded and a total fucking nuisance.
Mike_H says
I can understand that as a working composer this sort of stuff annoys you, Mousey.
Too easy for lazy or cheapskate film-makers or TV producers to just sling some library music on a project. Or, as you say, hire someone to clone something. A shame these cheapskates are in such positions.
There is a recurring fad for Library Music among ordinary music punters which I don’t understand. Doesn’t really do anything much for me as a purely listening thing. Without the visuals it’s intended to accompany, it’s only half an experience.
Mousey says
You raise a few interesting things here @Mike_H
First of all, despite my protestations, I do understand why producers use this music, which is because it’s cheaper than hiring a composer. In some situations, e.g. corporate videos, “magazine” type TV pieces etc, that’s understandable.
Secondly – the “recurring fad” – yeah it happens every generation, and being an old bugger of 60+ years I’ve seen it a few times.
Third, “without the visuals it’s intended to accompany” – exactly. It’s music written, and I acknowledge it’s done very cleverly, with an intended use in film. It’s always derivative, copying ideas from the great original film and TV composers – Nino Rota, Ennio Morricone, John Barry, the list goes on, we all know them. THAT’S possibly what gives me the shits.
Moose the Mooche says
Are you saying that Hawkshaw is a hack?
I’ll get me carcoat.
Tiggerlion says
Thanks for this, Mousey. I always regret a negative review. However, you have made me feel stronger. I just wish I’d included the paragraph in my reply to Sniffity in the review itself.
mrxsg says
Well, I’ve got a bit of previous as far as Library music is concerned.
I’ve done a bit for KPM and Zomba etc. I’ve even done a little bit of work with these two.
Mousey I understand your frustration in regards to Soundtracks.
Soundtracks are “Featured” music. Library music isn’t meant to be and isn’t written for that purpose.
As a library composer, sometimes you write something that you think is really great and it earns nothing as it’s too noticeable or busy. It’s the crappy thing that you threw together when you’d run out of ideas that earns the money because it’s bland and someone can talk over it. It’s a bit frustrating really.
Abergavenny Thursday says
Sniffy review, did not like. But fair enough, you probably don’t like (e.g.) Brian Bennett’s ‘Image’ either, but it’s beautiful.
Tiggerlion says
I tried it. It did nothing for me after a promising start. Sorry.
deramdaze says
I wouldn’t buy recent recordings in-the-style-of-library-music like this but circa 1995-1998 you couldn’t move for library music compilations of the original material.
Much of the stuff attributed to the 1970s was actually recorded in the 60s (see also: Children’s TV programmes).
It’s the sort of music, like French pop, that, when you drag an example out from the shelf you can’t imagine listening to anything else ever again and then, after two listens max., you don’t go near it for another three years.
But then it’s music that wasn’t really meant to be listened to with one finger in your ear!
Martin Hairnet says
I’ve got Alan Hawkshaw’s Mo’hawk: Essential Vibes and Grooves 1967-1975. It’s the ideal accompaniment to an evening of fondue and Babycham, and gets regular airings at the Abigail’s Party Appreciation Society (Spanish division).
minibreakfast says
Not a library piece, but an actual commercial single, this is probably Hawkshaw’s finest hour:
Martin Hairnet says
Hair just slightly over the ear. But combed neatly.
Could do with some Jackie Mittoo.
metal mickey says
Library music tends to be thought of as synonomous with “lounge” or easy listening, which is far from the whole story. Like anything, there are good & bad (& awful) examples of Library music… most of it is forgettable tosh, but the best of it is a treasure trove of little-heard music (or occasionally massively well-known, like “Approaching Menace”, AKA the Mastermind theme), immaculately arranged & performed, and across a a huge range of genres (one of my favourite Library albums consists of Philip Glass-style minimalism.)
PS Another reason programmers like Library music is that they hear it in advance and know what they’re getting – commissioning a new soundtrack is a huge act of faith in the composer…
minibreakfast says
Agreed. The fun of digging for library music, like all music, is finding the real gems. Lots of chaff to look through (or listen through), but the rewards make it worthwhile.
This one might ring a bell for TV viewers of a certain age. I seem to recall Chris Moyles also using it, to great comedic effect – no, really!
KDH says
I’m a casual fan of this stuff, even allowing it it’s own genre on my iTunes (currently sitting at 434 tracks, fact fans!). I was grateful for the review as it’s pushed it on to my “stream first before buying” list, instead of automatic purchase. This site has always been about variety for me, so I’m happy to see the reviews – I can easily ignore the ones I have no interest in.
Hawkshaw wrote the themes to Grange Hill, Tucker’s Luck, Channel 4 News and Dave Allen At Large (and the Milk Tray ad), but I think this track is my favourite by him, and at nearly 150k views, perhaps not quite the niche interest some may think:
Mike_H says
Nope. Doesn’t do anything without the film footage. You are not supposed to be giving this music your attention. It’s just there to enhance the visuals.
We see a beautiful slim blonde driver, expertly changing through the gears of the little white sports car, top down, long hair blowing in the wind. Exquisite Alpine scenery unfolds. The hunky shades-wearing action hero sits passive in the passenger seat, admiring her long legs.
Just as the music fades, they round a sharp bend and there before them is the wrecked bullet-riddled black sedan blocking the road. With a bloodied corpse hanging out of the half-open door..
Tiggerlion says
Good point, well put.
KDH says
And here’s me thinking it was just a nice tune! 🙂
Moose the Mooche says
Afterword t-shirt
aardvarknever says
By some kind of synchronicity this came up on my way into work this morning