Disc 1 of this album can be streamed here
Disc 2 is available on YouTube. See below
Disc 1
On this disc you will find the expected eclectic mixture with which you
are familiar from previous Andy Murkin albums. Unless, of course, you've never heard any,
in which case it will come as a terrible surprise.
What's he got to say about it,
I wonder . . .
1. Theme from Thunderbirds [5.54]
Music by: Barry Gray [1925-1984]; published by: Sony/ATV Publishing; original MIDI
transcription: Stuart Wright
What a fabulous tune! I couldn't resist recording it and ever-so-slightly rearranging it.
It also introduces the vague theme of puppets and strings which, for some reason,
recurs now and again throughout the album.
2. 3 Pizzas, Lee (Baroque version) [3.12]
The first of 3 quite different versions of this piece, and the first of a group of tracks
which take us on a journey from baroque to jazz. Then elsewhere.
3. Sound the Trumpet [2.50]
Music by: Henry Purcell [1659-1695]; arranged by: Andy Murkin
An instrumental interpretation of a vocal number by one of England's world-class composers
of the 17th Century.
4. 3 Pizzas, Lee (Jazz version) [2.59]
Voices: Bruce (speaking); Tracey (singing)
The Jazz version of 3 Pizzas, Lee. As its name implies.
5. Puppet on a String [3.07]
Music & Lyrics by: Phil Coulter [1942 - ] & Bill Martin [1938 - ]; published by: EMI
Vocals: Tracey
The jazzy side of this classic 1967 Eurovision hit!
6. 3 Pizzas, Lee (Echo version) [3.10]
Voices: Bruce & Victoria (speaking); the Vocalettes (singing)
A slightly more abstract version of this theme.
7. Land of Great Skies and Measureless Horizons [8.48]
Additional Music: The School Song of Soham Grammar School by L. Geoffrey Johnson and
Andrew F. Pusey [fl.1954], published by Soham Grammar School.
The title comes from the first line of my old school song - sadly no longer in existence,
except in the minds of its old boys, and about one and a half minutes, and again at about 6 minutes,
into this piece.
8. That's Entertainment [11.48]
Additional Music: That's Entertainment by Howard Dietz [1896 - 1983] and
Arthur Schwartz [1900 - 1984], published by Chappell
Vocals: Andy, Tracey and the Vocalettes
This is another of the songs I wrote a long time ago. I think you can tell.
9. Samanta [12.55]
Although the opening guitar solo conforms to the rules, this piece is a development of the raga
of that name.
10. Expressly Denied [5.31]
Vocals: the Vocalettes
This largely a cappella number, in the doo-wop style, concerns events which happened to me
during the making of the album Goodbye Finisterre.
[TOTAL 51.58]
Disc 2
Another diverse collection. On this disc, all the tracks, one way or another, have their origin in the music for an imaginary spy film, as featured on From Aardvark to Zebra and Goodbye Finisterre. Some of them are based on loops created from a piano version of the theme, rendered unrecognisable, to a greater or lesser extent, by processes such as convolution, spectral mutation, ring modulation and phase vocoding. There is even a story to it, as you might expect from the soundtrack to a film, imaginary or otherwise. The plot, which need not detain us unduly here, is revealed by the song titles and sound effects - but is frankly irrelevant for appreciating the music, since the pieces received their names after I'd written them (with the exception of Temple Loop 4, where I never got round to altering the working title).
1. Ocean Swell [5.07]
2. White Sails in the Wind [4.19]
3. Coming Ashore [7.09]
4. A Night in the Forest [2.29]
5. Dawn Chorus [3.28]
6. Devil's Island [6.36]
7. Blue Sky [6.32]
8. Temple of Mystery [5.27]
9. Temple Loop 4 [3.21]
10. Secret Underground Laboratory [5.24]
11. UXB [4.40]
12. Escape from Devil's Island [1.08]
13. Freefall [8.16]
[TOTAL 62.48]
All tracks written by Andy Murkin and published by Fortspring,
except where otherwise indicated; arranged and performed by Andy Murkin.
Sound effects by AudioSparx.
An 8CD 'Virtual Boxset' of Devil's Island Discs and related music is available on YouTube, beginning here
In 2014, there was a 4CD 10th anniversary re-release of Devil's Island Discs. Read more about that here
Return to andymurkin dotcom Home Page