Anita Harris - Trains and Boats and Planes (1965, DES Stereo Remix 2023)

Описание: Writers - Burt Bacharach, Hal David. Released - 7th May 1965. © Pye. Catalogue - 7N 15868.

THE TALENTED ANITA HARRIS - Anita Harris was born in Midsomer Norton in Somerset, on June 3rd 1942. She walked out onstage at exactly three years of age at a cinema in Chippenham. The cinema's Saturday morning club for children was running a talent contest and Anita decided to try her luck. As she recalled - "I'll never forget what I sang - it was "Now Is The Hour". An uncle was particularly fond of this song and had taught me the words and music. Eventually I was brave enough to go on the stage and sing it. I can't remember if I won anything or not!" She moved with her family to Bournemouth when she was 7 and it was then she started to learn ice skating. As a young pianist, Anita Harris won prizes at music festivals in the area and as a championship - and exhibitionist - ice skater she won even more prizes. As a singer and dancer, Harris travelled to such famous centres of entertainment as Las Vegas and made many radio, television and cabaret appearances home and abroad. Not a bad summary at all from the blurb issued alongside her first record.

IT DIDN'T HAVE IT - "I Haven't Got you" was written by Lionel Bart, with accompaniment by John Barry, and was issued on Parlophone in October of 1961. It's a pleasant slice of Teen Pop with chirpy backing typical of Barry, sounding like it was stolen from a contemporary Adam Faith record. That's not a criticism! The B side "Mister One And Only" with its nice string section was also recorded by Cleo Laine (Fontana H 347). It was three years before a second 45 appeared, "Lies", which is rather jazzy and for 1964, rather challenging to be a hit. Nonetheless, it's a consummate performance, demonstrating Anita's wide vocal range, despite being too uncommercial to chart. Notably, both sides were written by producer Michael Margolis who would go on to produce much of Harris' 60's output (the pair went on to marry in 1973). Her English version of the French "Willingly" (on Decca) in early 1965 didn't chart. A change of tack was needed and that was a change of label.

ALL CHANGE - Her debut for the Pye label was a magnificent reading of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "Trains And Boats and Planes. It reunited her with the ever-reliable Johnny Keating who should be congratulated for creating a musical direction soundscape that gave it a unique and individualistic flavour. This confection should have been a hit, however two competing versions in the chase for chartdom put paid to that. Billy J. Kramer with The Dakotas made number 12 with theirs, while the other from original composer Burt Bacharach proved irresistible, led by an electric piano with wondrous female harmonies which went all the way to the Top five. It's unfortunate that Anita's version of this hugely-popular song couldn't sell enough to grab even the smallest slice of the Pop Parade. A nice production, this track split well, otherwise I wouldn't be presenting it to you now. Suffice to say it's a nice stereo mix retaining all the power of the original 45.

I DON'T KNOW ANYMORE - And neither did Anita, I'm sure. After the disappointment of that undeserved failure Margolis wrote the pretty "I Don't Know Anymore", another of those rare songs hard to find these days. He produced her third Pye outing, which returned to Bacharach and David and their jolly "London Life", a song I've heard no-one else perform, which is surprising, considering the composer was living in London at the time and was very much in demand! Mike Margolis and Anita Harris are credited for both sides of her next single, the A-side being the pretty decent Northern Soul-styled "Something Must Be Done". With the Jazz fused Mod beat flipside, this appears to be a desirable 45 to own, though again no chart-breaker. Something had to be done and it resulted in another label move at the end of 1966.

THE BIG GUNS - Signing a worldwide contract with CBS turned out to be Anita's best move. Her first outing on the label was the ballad "Just Loving You". Tom Springfield's melody was based on the slower part of Chopin's 'Fantasie Impromptu' and the arrangement was by Alan Tew, who'd recently completed Cat Steven's big-selling "Matthew And Son". It proved to be her long-awaited breakthrough in 1967, the year that anything went, from psychedelia through to bigger-selling ballads. The flipside, the sub-jazzy "Butterfly With Coloured Wings", is something else again! This single turned her into hot property, with her debut LP "There's An Apple In My Orchard" selling well, plus she'd filmed an appearance in the full-length feature film "Death Is A Woman", singing "Francesca" (the nightclub scene), and going on to appear in a few "Carry On" films. More success followed in the 70's.

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