La Belle et le Bête (1982)

La Belle et le Bête (1982)- Bill Nelson When I first picked up this record, I thought it was the soundtrack for the Cocteau film (one of my all-time favourites), which would have been great on its own. It was even better though, it turned out to be the electronic soundtrack of a stage interpretation of the Cocteau film from a theatre in Yorkshire in the 80s. I don't know if that sounds incredible or terrible or both. I want to see that play, that's for sure. From the back cover: "The Yorkshire Actors Company, under the direction of Andy Winters, have transformed this cinematic tour-de-force into a densely enigmatic stage production. Although performed without recourse to filmic tricks, sets or elaborate lighting, the play manages to convey the conflicts and contrasts between the 'other-worldliness' of the Beast's castle and the squalidness of Beauty's family life. The result is a kind of 'human cinema' where gesture, dialogue and music alone replace the elaborate mechanics of the film world." Yes, "human cinema", aka theatre.    It also has a very long list of every synth, mixing desk and tape machine used in the recording. I won't bother to type them out here, but if anyone seriously does want them, just ask in the comments. I can't actually remember what tracks these samples are of, it doesn't really matter, the whole thing is much of a muchness. (Even though I like it)

Radiophonic Workshop 21 (1979)

Here's an actual credible record. I bought this in a charity shop in Cambridge. That's where you would expect to find a Radiophonic Workshop album. I like to imagine some academics having a tweedy fondue party in the 70s and listening to this. Like Abigail's Party, but with more Hegel and elbow patches. It's celebrating 21 years of the Radiophonic Workshop, and features a lot of their tv soundtrack work. I also have the photographic filter they use on the cover, it came in a big box of cheesy 70s filters I was given and a surprisingly uncheesy book about how to use them. I need to find excuses to use it more often.