The Great British Experience

What makes this set so particularly marvelous is that it contains the original recordings of these themes which were mostly unavailable to the public in the 1950's.

My one disappointment is that the BBC version of "Barwick Green" is not included, though this is hardly surprising since I have been trying for years to get a copy of it from the BBC, all to no avail.

Notwithstanding, there is no question that this is an outstanding treat for anyone who ever heard these programs in the 1950's.


Worth it for the Sea Songs alone   January 17, 2001
 8 out of 8 found this review helpful

This glorious CD set is worth it if only because its got the unsurpassed Nat Lyll recording of Vaughan Williams' Sea Songs on it. OK, old, originally mono, but wonderful. I'm sure this was the version Anglia TV used for years to open their broadcasts in the 60s, always followed by my neighbour Dick Graham's voice, btw. Why is this piece so little recorded? Who was Nat Lyll? What happened to light music? Anyway, as others have said, a long afternoon of great enjoyment here.


"The wireless" comes back to life on 2 CDs.   October 1, 2000
 15 out of 15 found this review helpful

Three reviewers have already done a fine job of summing up my feelings about this CD set. It's a stroll (a parade!) down memory lane on a grand scale; taking me back forty years or more to a time when I listened to most of these programmes with considerably more relish than I now watch my favourite television shows. It was a time when the pop charts were a mix of every conceivable musical taste with something for everyone. Light orchestral music was a significant portion of what we listened to. The music on these CDs stands alone by providing wonderful performances in their own right but when you mix in the memories they evoke of those marvellous programmes it all makes for an outstanding nostalgic treat. I grew up in Britain but a friend and neighbour, a retired sound engineer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp, tells me these same tunes were used as the themes for many Canadian programmes (not surprisingly, Robert Farnon's themes in particular). This is a collection to be savoured. Light a fire, put your feet up and try listening to it on a rainy Sunday afternoon with no distractions - you'll think you're in a time warp.