SUMMERTIME

 Yes, summertime with warmer weather and, generally, a relaxed mood emanating from everyone before the realities, stresses and strains of the coming year take over in a couple of months.

The holiday period - and by that I'm not endorsing that stupid Americanism of a few years ago 'Happy Holidays' as a weasel way of not committing to any particular religion's belief or custom - God (Robert's god), Americans are a pain in the arse. The holiday period I refer to encompasses Christmas and New Year and is the nicest in the year and I like to enjoy it most with summer drinks, summer activities and summer music.

Music, like food and wine can be seasonal. Roast dinners, red wines and vintage port match well with colder weather and being indoors with a cozy fire. Summer allows us to live alfresco, enjoying summer fruits and salads, sparkling wines and rose wine and - cruisy music.

Who doesn't like The Rascals singing Groovin' ?

Over the years - look away music experts now - I've bought 'cruisy' compilation albums that are suitable to 'Sunday afternoon and Summer al fresco living. I do have a reasonably comprehensive music collection which I listen to often but, on cruisy Sunday or holiday afternoons it's good not to break 'the rhythm' to change albums or CDs or, when guests are involved, not to subject them all to my own choices on a random selection (the CD player accommodates 6 CDs). A couple of the compilation albums set to play sequentially suffices.

I haven't bought any of these recently - please indulge an old fella here - and these ones below I just grabbed from the CD 'bookcase' ...

... are years old from the 90s I think.

They are:

Verve Remixed

Verve Remixed 2

Sunshine - The Cool Sound of a Hot Summer

Divaria and,

Nature's Best (NZ's top 30 songs of all time.

Divaria (as the name might suggest) mixes up some great opera diva arias with electronic dance music. Sounds naff? Maybe to purists but, believe me, as a sound backdrop to afternoon conviviality it works.

Verve Remixed also takes 'classical recordings, usually Jazz and blends them with electronic dance music. The result is 'cruisy' - way better than the electronic dance music stuff which I've never really had time for except perhaps for some Herbie Hancock albums. "Naff" you might say but, hey! Mixes like these have the advantage of introducing listeners to the classics and, maybe sometimes, something sticks. Here's a Verve Remixed version of Nina Simone's 'Feelin' Good':

Good eh? Well, that's because Nina Simone was just so bloody good but, if a 'disco' recording can bring her to a new audience what's wrong with that?

I have mentioned - but no doubt you've forgotten, that I am a fan of opera. The Old Girl and I take opportunities to see productions whenever we can and have done so at home and around the world. I 'discovered' opera from watching a French film Diva in the 1980s see: DIVA

The Cool Sounds of a Hot Summer features great tracks from Ramsay Lewis,  George Benson, Georgie Fame and, let's face it, many of the greats but it introduced me to some new performers like Diana Krall who went on to record some stunning albums. Here's the introductory song I heard from her, 'Peel Me A Grape'.

 I still drag these albums out and play them, particularly at this time of the year.

Here's another compilation album I dug out : Nature's Best (NZ's top 30 songs of all time.

There are no prizes for guessing which track from this, and the music that for me, defines my 'Sound Of Summer'.