Saturday, April 30, 2011

FF009 LEGENDS OF LIBRARY - STEVE GRAY


















http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?n7dy3eu5epbldvg

Track 1 - Bulldozing
Track 2 - Soul Searching
Track 3 - The Sausage Machine
Track 4 - Discolypso
Track 5 - Snowman's Stomp
Track 6 - Go For Broke
Track 7 - Nevada Junction
Track 8 - Synchronous
Track 9 - Maniac
Track 10 - Beverley Hills
Track 11 - Time To Fly
Track 12 - Running From Danger
Track 13 - Zirkon Fanfare
Track 14 - Eye Catcher
Track 15 - Winning Is Easy
Track 16 - A Tender Touch

Much more than a Legend Of Library, Steve Gray was a session player of note who performed for the likes of Quincy Jones,  Lalo Schifrin, John Barry and Henry Mancini. During his career he collaborated with a diverse range of artists including Olivia Newton-John, Petula Clark and Brian Eno while also playing in a fusion group called Wasp with Brian Bennett and in Sky after replacing Francis Monkman. But today we are focusing on his work for Bruton, KPM and Amphonic.

Some of the tracks on this collection could be described as orchestral funk, others are more experimental ( "The Sausage Machine", "Zirkon Fanfare", "Synchronous" ) and there is also some very nice easy listening thrown in for good measure. You might recognize a couple of the songs from "Time To Fly: Easy Listening From The KPM 1000 Series". As with many of the best library composers, Gray's abilities as a musician gave him the skills to go beyond simple song structures to create new and interesting music without abandoning the core elements required for good production tracks. Steve's "library" of work sits proudly alongside other greats such as Bennett, Parker and Hawkshaw and his impact on the British music scene will not soon be forgotten.

Steve Gray passed away on September 20, 2008.

5 comments:

Mike said...

One of the pioneers of library music. I'm going to enjoy this comp immensely. Super thanks.

lastofthegoodwins said...

Thanks!

Crazy B said...

that was SICK! thanksss

Mike said...

This comp was brilliant. There were a few cuts which I hadn't previously heard. Soul Searching was just excellent, as well as Beverley Hills, but my two favorites would be Time To Fly & A Tender Touch. I can hear more than a little Burt Bacharach influence in the latter, which is always nice, but of course Steve Gray adds his personal touches. I LOVE those arrangements, especially the way he alters the harmonies and arrangements the second time through Time To Fly to create a heightened sense of interest. The attention to detail is absurd. Another similar song Steve did is called Early Riser but the version I found has a skip in part of the song.

Massive thanks for this great comp.

Varon Dandy said...

I love him. Go for Broke is one of the most psychedelic track I have ever heard.
Thank you!