Side 1
01 Love’s Theme
02 Touch Me In The Morning
03 You Are The Sunshine Of My Life
04 Eye Level
05 Dreaming
Side 2
06 Never Never Gonna Give You Up
07 You’re So Vain
08 The Show Must Go On
09 Vado Via
10 Where You Lead
The blurb on the back:
This unique record is truly contemporary. The songs are all from the 70s and are performed entirely (with the exception of the rhythm section) on electronic keyboard instruments, some of which at the time of recording were prototypes.
Hits in Hi-Fi 1 was released between the two volumes of Keating’s Space Experience. It’s a lush listening experience which reinforces the record’s reputation as prime “stereo demonstration” material. Two Barry White tracks are featured – the smooth Love’s Theme and the spacey moog sounds of Never Never Gonna Give You Up – while Stevie Wonder’s You Are The Sunshine Of My Love is like floating candyfloss.
I’m particularly fond of the fat synths on Eye Level (theme to Van Der Valk) made famous by The Simon Park Orchestra in 1973. Watch out for a couple of Simon’s LPs coming to Spiral 2 over the next couple of months. The eerie Dreaming appears to be a Keating composition – credited to “M and K Keating”.
Leo Sayer fans should dig a catchy rendition of The Show Must Go On, complete with wonky synths while it’s always a pleasure to relax to Vado Via. The version here is as good as the one on Percy Faith’s Corazón. The LP finishes with another Carole King number (I Feel The Earth Move had kicked off Space Experience) – the cluttered-sounding Where You Lead.
Comments and feedback are welcome.
Preview
Spiral 2 