Label: Page One
Year of Release: 1982
Roger Greenaway is a hugely successful songwriter whose list of tracks would be the envy of anyone trying to get the public's ear. From "Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart" to Andy Williams' under-praised "Home Lovin' Man", to the... er... unique novelty talents of The Pipkins, his abilities and work with Roger Cook often seemed effortless throughout the sixties and seventies.
Besides his attempts to crack the charts, he also had a successful career writing songs for television adverts, some of them among the most iconic jingles of the period. This is a two-sided single boasting two of his better known efforts retooled for home listening, released on the short-lived relaunched eighties version of the Page One label.
A-side "Sorry" is actually the music used by Allied Carpets to flog their wares to excited home improvers, and would usually be accompanied by the slogan "Allied for carpets for you". However, it's only in this rewritten seven inch guise with the corporate sponsorship removed that you realise how much the damn jingle sounded like a Sparks tribute. "Sorry" suffers from a slightly cheap, Rumbelows synthesiser production, but besides that the jerkiness of the arrangement, the wryness of the lyrics and the vocal stylings smack of Ron and Russ Mael. All this begs the question - how on earth did anyone in the marketing department think that a subtle reference to the Mael brothers might have put people in mind of luxury carpet fittings? Did Ron's hypnotic stare indirectly help to sell many a roll of quality feltback? Could he, even today, resuscitate the ailing fortunes of the carpet showroom and cause a shift away from the modern trend in wooden floorings and laminates? We may never find out.
The flip side "Beautiful Gas", on the other hand is - if you haven't guessed already - an atmospheric synthesiser driven version of the "Cookability" theme for British Gas. I'd have preferred a vocal version myself, but what we have here is interesting enough, sounding strangely futuristic (especially next to its rather more minimally produced A-side) and almost ambient in style. If it doesn't make you want to install a new gas hob in your kitchen, I don't know what will.
Carpetbaggers were obviously a studio group and not a going concern, but it would be interesting to find out who sung on the A-side. If anyone knows, drop me a line.
HereCarpetbaggers - Sorry/ Beautiful Gas
Music Lovers Carpetbaggers - Sorry/ Beautiful Gas, Aѕ mentioned above, nоt оnlу dо thе aspects included аѕ music vary, thеіr importance varies. Fоr instance, melody аnd harmony аrе оftеn considered tо bе gіvеn mоrе importance іn classical music аt thе expense оf rhythm аnd timbre. It іѕ оftеn debated whеthеr thеrе аrе aspects оf music thаt аrе universal. Thе debate оftеn hinges оn definitions. Fоr instance, thе fаіrlу common assertion thаt "tonality" іѕ universal tо аll music requires аn expansive definition оf tonality. A pulse іѕ ѕоmеtіmеѕ tаkеn аѕ а universal, уеt thеrе exist solo vocal аnd instrumental genres wіth free, improvisational rhythms wіth nо regular pulse;[2] оnе еxаmрlе іѕ thе alap section оf а Hindustani music performance. Aссоrdіng tо Dane Harwood, "We muѕt аѕk whеthеr а cross
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