if there's a better compiler than Bob Stanley out there, I'd sure like to know...

Better to say 'alternate' rather than 'enhanced,' I'm looking at my old copy and there are a number of tracks on that that aren't on this one.

"New and improved" is how it's described on the site. The first version went out of print pretty quickly, I certainly was never able to find a copy. Glad I'll be able to check that box off now. Has been something of a used-bin holy grail search for me.

Yeah, hold on, this is almost a totally different release using the same name.

Here's the original via Discogs:

1 –John Kerruish Time To Wander

2 –Graham Gouldman Nowhere To Go

3 –Jon Plum Alice

4 –Vigrass* Stop

5 –Kate Strange Girl

6 –Lea Nixon Off To Find A New Land

7 –Honeybus For Where Have You Been

8 –Eddie Addenbury* Captain Jones

9 –Nimbo Maisie Jones

10 –Almond Marzipan Summer Love

11 –Les Payne Very Well

12 –David Reilly Nothing Else To Say

13 –Lori Balmer Here Before The Sun

14 –Consortium Copper Coloured Years

15 –Marc Reid My World Turns Around You

16 –Roger Charles Watching The Boat

17 –The Tremeloes Till The Sun Goes Down

18 –Graham Gouldman Growing Older

19 –Steve Elgin Seductress

20 –Julian Brooks Justine

21 –Junior Campbell If I Call Your Name

22 –Quiet World Of Lea & John* There Is A Mountain

23 –The Humblebums Her Father Didn't Like Me Anyway

24 –Tuesday Sewing Machine

And the new one:

01 Pictures - Ray Brooks
02 I Can't Let Maggie Go - The Honeybus
03 Off To Find A New Land - Lea Nixon
04 Alice - Jon Plum
05 When The City Sleeps - Bombadil
06 Fading Yellow - Mike Batt
07 Say You Don't Mind - Colin Blunstone
08 The Seventh Hour - Gordon Waller
09 Mary Jane - Erasmus Chorum
10 Shapes And Shadows - Tandem
11 Please Believe Me - Nirvana
12 Forever Autumn - Vigrass & Osborne
13 Oh Girl - Richard Henry
14 Very Well - Les Payne
15 You're Lovely - Sunchariot
16 Pollution Song - Mike Sedgewick
17 Epitaph (When Times Were Good) - Bill Kenwright
18 Coathanger - Clifford T Ward
19 The Race - Christopher
20 Closing My Eyes - David McIvor
21 Lifetime - The Bliss
22 Two Sugars - Matthew Bones

There's only three specific tracks in common, at least on the CD version of this new one! I won't complain for that reason, but if you're hoping for a true repress with extras of the original, that's not what you're getting.

Hmmm, that's odd. Why not just tack on a "Vol. 2" at the end?

Of all the Stanley/Wiggs comps out there, this is the one that just cannot be found, at least at a decent price. I wonder if it got issued w/o officially acquiring the rights to some of those tracks - maybe that's why it disappeared so quickly and completely?

Maybe? I always figured it was label collapse. (I did spend a pretty penny getting my copy a few years back.)

I wondered that too, but their other comps of that genre/era (Early Morning Hush, Gather in The Mushrooms) came out on the same label and seem to be readily available, not cheap but not $$$ either.

Here’s that ‘Tears of technology’ 80s synth comp that Mark G referred to upthread.
https://acerecords.co.uk/bob-stanley-pete-wiggs-present-the-tears-of-technology-1

Nice range, and a whole lotta obscurities to boot (to me at least). Another one to order!

That Turquoise Swimming Pools (David Balfe and I think Troy Tate?) song is great, glad to see it available on CD

Meantime, got the new Tea & Symphony today and the issues/questions raised are addressed by Bob in the liners, at least:

The first TEA & SYMPHONY collection was released back in 2007 on the now-defunct Sanctuary label. It was the first official compilation of its kind, but the sudden demise of the record company meant it hardly made it into the shops (this compilation has four tracks in common with its ancient ancestor)....To the delight of people who thought the mine was exhausted, previously undiscovered gems by the likes of Matthew Bones, Erasmus Chorum and Les Payne continue to be unearthed.

Well, that 'splains that! Still leaves the original issue on my holy grail list...

... And now, everyone else's too

My Tears of Technology arrived today along with a card announcing the next comp he and Wiggs doing -- Occasional Rain, which based on the title, font choice and photo is some sort of sequel to English Weather.

Would have guessed a symphonic-soul comp based on that title, but I suppose that's not exactly their wheelhouse. And I also guess that someday soon Stanley and Wiggs will do a comp with "wheelhouse" in the title.

Dunno if Stanley has a wheelhouse, as a compiler. Recent releases include Baroque Pop, Glitter Rock and DAISY Age Hip-Hop, I don't think Symphonic Soul would be too much of a strech.

First glimpse of Occasional Rain?

In this time of financial hardship all I ask is that @rocking_bob and @petewiggs stop releasing brilliant compilations through @AceRecordsLtd pic.twitter.com/CO3jlj00cu

— Andrew Male (@Andr6wMale) March 4, 2020

Yep

https://acerecords.co.uk/bob-stanley-pete-wiggs-present-occasional-rain

Mott's "Waterlow" is so pastorally out of character for those hustlers, and really wonderful.

English Weather is like the ultimate comp for very early January, the sadness of the party being over, excited there's a sequel.

really wish the vinyl versions of these weren't so expensive, i would pick up a bunch but £29 is just too much

The Rough Trade shops edition of The Tears of Technology is cheaper than the standard edition (at £24.99) and you get a bonus track. Very limited though so you’d need to be quick.

Thread-adjacent: Saint Etienne have been releasing playlists on Spotify. Listening to the first one right now and it's brill.

are these playlists on the page for the band, or under some other account?

Yeah, they don't turn up on Spotify US on the band's page...

I third a request for being navigated/pointed in the right direction for these

#1 Hannah and Her Sisters:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1W3IFQSThNbmwbDs2wkSRL

#2 Picnic at Hanging Rock:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3dqpFvVJO1yVcEetltNtqO

Thanks!

Sorry, should have noted. It's under a Saint Etienne account but not the band's account.

It's interesting finding those personal accounts from artists. Kelsey Lu makes some good playlists

https://open.spotify.com/user/kelseylu69?si=F2MBHMeOR2CAfMNU3xl2gA

Sorry, should have noted. It's under a Saint Etienne account but not the band's account.

Sorry -posted in error (but I am noting these, thanks).

Okay, new comp announced focusing on Thom Bell's production work:

https://acerecords.co.uk/ready-or-not-thom-bells-philly-soul-arrangements-productions-1965-1978

01 Here I Go Again - Archie Bell & The Drells
02 I Can't Take It - The Orlons
03 You've Been Untrue - The Delfonics
04 Look The Other Way - Lesley Gore
05 Tick-Tock - Connie Stevens
06 What I See - Three Degrees
07 Moody Woman - Jerry Butler
08 What Kind Of Lady - Dee Dee Sharp
09 Ready Or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide From Love) - The Delfonics
10 I Wanna Be A Free Girl - Dusty Springfield
11 It's The Same Old Love - The Courtship
12 People Make The World Go Round (Single edit) - The Stylistics
13 Back Stabbers - The O'Jays
14 One Man Band (Plays All Alone) - Ronnie Dyson
15 Do You Remember Yesterday - The Intruders
16 I'm Doin' Fine Now - New York City
17 Life Is A Song Worth Singing (Album version) - Johnny Mathis
18 Something For Nothing - MFSB featuring Thom Bell
19 Could It Be I'm Falling In Love - The Spinners
20 You Make Me Feel Brand New (Album version) - The Stylistics
21 Close The Door (Single edit) - Teddy Pendergrass
22 It's Gonna Take A Miracle - Laura Nyro & Labelle
23 Track Of The Cat (Album version) - Dionne Warwick

Bob Stanley’s sleeve notes - with a rare exclusive interview with Bell himself - and a wealth of rare photos are icing on the cake.

Thom Bell did "Moody Woman"? Blimey, never knew that. And "Life Is A Song Worth Singing" is ALL TIME.

Moar!

"Saint Etienne Present Songs For The Fountain Coffee Room" is due: 31 July 2020 👍 pic.twitter.com/dY6TaZJzeM

— Ace Records (@AceRecordsLtd) June 4, 2020

English Weather sequel as good as the first one so far.

Back to the diner theme!

https://acerecords.co.uk/saint-etienne-present-songs-for-the-fountain-coffee-room

https://acerecords.co.uk/cache/images/CDCHD-1575_1200_1200.jpg

The latest in the popular “Saint Etienne Present” series – soundtracks for places both real and imaginary. This time, Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs have put together a selection to fit a bar in mid-70s Los Angeles, the kind of place where Warren Beatty and Julie Christie might meet in the afternoon for a secret rendezvous between shooting scenes for Shampoo.

--

01 Only Love - Bill Quateman
02 Where Are We Going? - Marvin Gaye
03 Get Closer - Seals & Crofts
04 Tell Her She's Lovely - Batteaux
05 One Way Or The Other - The Fifth Avenue Band
06 Lilly (Are You Happy) - Daryl Hall & John Oates
07 Love Is The Answer - Utopia
08 Oh Honey - Delegation
09 Easy To Love - Leo Sayer
10 A House For Sale (Single version) - Millie Jackson
11 Tin Man - John Edwards
12 Thunder In The Afternoon - Bobbie Gentry
13 Save It For A Rainy Day - Stephen Bishop
14 Love Don't Come No Stronger (Than Yours And Mine) - Jeff Perry
15 Hollywood - Boz Scaggs
16 A Love Of Your Own (Album version) - Ned Doheny
17 Natural High (Single version) - Bloodstone
18 Hickory - Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
19 Touch Me Baby (Reaching Out For Your Love) - Tamiko Jones
20 Sunshower - Dr Buzzard's Original Savannah Band

Ah missed Jeff's post there. Well a double notation, then!

Ooooh, my kind of thing. That Jeff Perry track is a particular favourite, I’ve played it out many times.

Good to have the track list, Ned. This looks like a must buy.

"Natural High" I remember, the others I couldn't approximate the tune or.

Friend of mine who knows Bob took him to the actual spot named, thus the title. Apparently it's amazing.

It never rains but it... um, never rains

Bob Stanley presents "76 In The Shade" is due 31st August ☀️ (link in bio) pic.twitter.com/HkgXONJmT0

— Ace Records (@AceRecordsLtd) July 7, 2020

Great! He had mentioned this was coming down the pike in a recent Ace podcast interview.

The months without rain and airless days and nights might not have been something out of the ordinary in the Algarve or the south of France, but it was without precedent in Britain. The Summer of 1976 has remained a benchmark for long, hot summers – there may have been scorchers since, but none have seemed quite as relentless or enervating. The country melted into a collective puddle. “76 In The Shade” probably wasn’t anyone’s real life soundtrack of the year – that could have included Bowie’s “Station To Station” and Abba’s “Greatest Hits”. Instead, Saint Etienne’s Bob Stanley has put a compilation together that sonically evokes the summer of 1976 itself, its sweet heat and almost narcotic lethargy.

01 Walking So Free - Spike Janson
02 Sugar Shuffle - Lynsey De Paul
03 Miracles (Single version) - Jefferson Starship
04 Get Out Of Town - Smokey Robinson
05 I'm Mandy Fly Me (Album version) - 10cc
06 Stoned Out - Simon Park
07 Nothing To Remind Me - Cliff Richard
08 Discover Me - David Ruffin
09 You're The Song (That I Can't Stop Singing) - Hollywood Freeway
10 You Are My Love - Liverpool Express
11 Liquid Sunshine - John Cameron
12 Not On The Outside - Sylvia
13 Stay With Me - Blue Mink
14 Wild Mountain Honey - Steve Miller Band
15 Fallin' In Love - Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds
16 Flowers - The Emotions
17 Montreal City - Azimuth
18 Rock'n'Roll Star - Barclay James Harvest
19 Miss My Love today - Gilbert O'Sullivan
20 Music - Carmen McRae

Surprised not to see 'Oh Lori' by Alessi on that compilation - released on a 1976 album, although not a hit single until 1977.

lol dude needs to slow down!

There was a curious exchange on Twitter where someone suggested that Bob makes all these compilations but actually spends his evenings listening to the Lighthouse Family.

"I don't get it," replied Bob.

I was bemused he engaged, to be honest.

This is out today... almost forgot to mention it! Actually suits the weather. Didn’t see that coming. pic.twitter.com/qCVDYIzQ16

— Saint Etienne (@bobpetesarah) July 31, 2020

Yeah, I was streaming this over the weekend and it sounded wonderful.