03 January 2007

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".

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

hugh thanx for all the beautiful jewels ! Please post more 60s-tracks from the singapure-sampler!

baci da Milano

Michael Vee

Anonymous said...

Hi,
I can't find this for sale on the net anywhere... and I really, really want it!

Do you know any online retailers who offer it?

Thanks!

Anonymous said...

hi thanks so much for loading this track, but the link don't seem to work! thanks alot if u can fix it... =)

modcentric said...

hi anon #1: sorry i don't think its available for sale online yet! if you really do want a copy, drop me an email at modifiedmusicATgmail.com and i'll try to help. this also goes to all the rest of you overseas who want a copy!

hi anon #2: the link works for me. perhaps you can try again? you just need to click on it.

S.P. said...

Hi, I just discovered your site and was blown away by all this talk about 60's Singapore music! I've been collecting music from this era for the past several years. I document my collection online at http://www.pbase.com/sid_presley/the_record_collection ...Please check out the mp3's and leave comments too!

I too, am looking for this new compilation. Do you know if Popular carries it? I find it really strange that a major label CD can't be found online...

Cheers,

David

modcentric said...

hi david,
you have an AMAZING record collection! seriously! where did you manage to find all of these records? i am not sure if Popular sells it but i know for sure HMV does. =)

cheers,
georgiana

Anonymous said...

two other sites that often focus on 60s music from southeast asia are www.fareastaudio.com and www.radiodiffusion.net

Anonymous said...

This site is terrific. Congratulations!

I have a blog at: singapore60smusic.blogspot.com where I invite readers to contribute pictures, comments on those exciting rock n roll years. I was a part of that period and fronted a guitar group, The Silver Strings for a while.

I hope the content in the blog will be a catalyst for others to write too.

Thanks,
Andy Young