Gulf Stream – Sophisticated Soul
Listen/Download Gulf Stream – Sophisticated Soul
Greetings all
The day of the hump is upon us, and I have something groovy lined up for you.
I’m a big fan of the UK library sound, especially where it intersects with the Hammond.
Today’s selection popped into my ears whilst I was casting my net on the interwebs.
I had never heard of Gulf Stream, nor the tune ‘Sophisticated Soul’ but I liked what heard, so I pulled the trigger.
As it turns out, Gulf Stream was (as far as I can tell) a one-off project for UK library maestro Alan Moorhouse.
Moorhouse was a trumpeter, composer and arranger who collaborated with no less a light than the mighty Keith Mansfield and put together his own stuff for the KPM music library.
The track I bring you today is the very groovy ‘Gulf Stream’, released on the Paramount label (at least here in the US) in 1969.
‘Sophisticated Soul’ is a reworking/rebuilding of the track ‘Boss Man’ that Moorhouse composed and arranged for KPM around the same time (you can find it on iTunes on ‘The Big Beat Volume Two’).
The track opens with an acoustic guitar riff, before the drums and organ (wish I knew who that was) come in. You get a very groovy organ solo starting around the :52 second mark, with the guitar joining in soon after.
The tune has the feel of a piece of soundtrack music, reminding me of a slightly more laid back version of the kind of stuff Barry Gray was writing for Gerry and Sylvia Anderson shows like ‘UFO’.
Paramount Records had – at that time – a strange catalog, packed with middle of the road singers past their sell-by date, easy listening stuff, a grip of pop and rock bands that were never heard from again, and the occasional gem.
As far as I can tell this is the only release under the Gulf Stream name.
Moorhouse continued to write and record for KPM, as well as releasing his own albums of mood music in the UK.
I hope you dig it, and I’ll see you on Friday.
Keep the faith
Larry
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