BY DARREN ALLISON
The Swinger (1967) and The Pleasure Seekers
(1964) are films featuring the charismatic Ann-Margret. Both films are considered to be typical
Hollywood pop cinema; light and frothy, flawed, but full of period bric-a-brac
and stylish music, much like the Elvis Presley movies of the day. In fact,
Margret had already made quite an impact starring alongside Elvis in the film Viva
Las Vegas (1964). Margret was certainly beginning to shine in all the right
places and had come a long way since emigrating from her native Sweden back in 1942.
The title song of The Swinger was written by
André and Dory Previn and the score composed by Marty Paich with additional
arrangements by Johnny Williams and Quincy Jones. The Swinger was originally
released in both mono and stereo and appeared on the RCA Victor label as one of
their DYNAGROOVE recordings. It’s a great collection of songs performed by the
enigmatic Margret in her own unique style and also features a couple of tracks
from the film’s composer Marty Paich. As the title suggests, the album is also
woven with ‘other swingin’ songs’ so expect some excellent additional material
such as ‘More’ from Mondo Cane (1962) all of which fits rather seamlessly into
the overall essence of the album. At
just 32 minutes (which was typical of an album for this time), Cherry Red has
sensibly taken the opportunity to pair this album up to make a very respectable
and ideal twofer release.
The Pleasure Seekers soundtrack was also
originally released on the RCA Victor label and featured a score by Lionel
Newman and Alexander Courage. In addition the album also featured four songs
from the writing team of Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen. The songs are of
course performed by Ann-Margret, with tracks such as ‘Bossa Nova’ and ‘Something
to think about’ adding a genuine lush, vibrant feel to the album. At 34
minutes, it works perfectly alongside The Swinger and rounds off the CD rather
nicely.
The Swinger / The Pleasure Seekers (CD ACMEM324CD)
really does have a great deal going for it. Firstly, they are a match made in
heaven. Both albums showcase Margret’s distinguished vocal style and clearly
reflect her place in popular culture. Secondly, Cherry Red’s CD marks the first
time these two albums have ever been released on any digital format. It’s hard
to understand how they had previously slipped under the radar and never seen
the light of day before now. The audio quality is also very clean. Whilst there
is no indication of the source, both recordings are clear, with nice range and
are free from any form of background hiss. Cherry Red has also produced a very
nice 12 page booklet to accompany this release which is full of relevant and
interesting notes. The only minor grievance I have is in the booklet layout.
Whilst there is a lovely reproduction of the original album artwork of The
Swinger to the front of the booklet, the full page reproduction of the album
art for The Pleasure Seekers sits buried inside the booklet. Placing this
artwork to the back cover of the booklet renders it far more practical and
makes it completely reversible. It
provides the owner with an opportunity of choosing exactly what album cover
they want to display to the front. It’s a very simple option, but makes a world
of difference to the collector. Other than that, it’s a first rate release that
I’m sure will be welcomed and enjoyed by a great deal of people.
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