singapore wonderful!

Although the title reads "Recollecting Singapore 60's", this cd in actual fact is a compilation of Singapore bands from the 1960's and 70's. Hence, you get a diverse range of sounds - from pop (Rita Chao) to garage (Straydogs) to country (Matthew and The Mandarins) to 70's soft rock/ballads. Personally I would have prefered the cd to just focus on the 1960's, since I'm sure there's a wealth of recordings to mine from in that decade alone. But I admit, the decision to include local 70's radio staples like Matthew and The Mandarins and Tania was probably necessary in order to acheive the "mass appeal" formula. And when it comes to preserving Singapore pop music history, I'm a firm believer that one needs to target the masses cos there's no point in just educating music collectors, is there?

Track listing, here.

To my knowledge, this cd is currently only available in Singapore. You can find it at major retailers like the HMV outlets.

And here's one of the poppier tracks that I enjoyed on this cd:



The Sundowners and The Tornados - Malaysia Wonderful

Written at a time when Singapore was part of Malaysia, The Sundowners were one of the first pop groups in Singapore to cut records. The lyrics make you long for a more idyllic time of "beautiful countrysides".