My Musical Alphabet : O

As I keep saying, this stuff isn't mine and may very well be pulled for breach of copyright. You can, of course, go looking on YouTube, or its variants, for other copies. I'm sure you know how.

I have said this because I have found, fairly recently, that UK copyright chasers are being quite strong in getting music pulled from on-line sources. If you've tried the internet source Music Garden, you'll know what I mean. It is a bit hit and miss though.

I'll post a link/s for the stuff you really should search for as well as the video/s that I like. Sometimes YouTube leaves them up, sometimes anyone can see them, sometimes your country may be blocked.

Anyhow, my musical alphabet tour has reached the letter O and in no particular order I shall start with a Moldovan O. That will be in the form of the band O-Zone. Now, unsurprisingly, Romanian (the language of Moldova) is not a language I am overly familiar with - likewise, the music. This track, though, managed to tickle my fancy when I first heard it. I don't know where or how but it goes my the title of "Dragostea Din Tei." It did reach near the top of the UK charts. I rarely pay attention to the lyrics of songs other than ballads so I can't help with the meaning of the song. You'll need to translate it all yourself.

The journey continues westwards to the Austrian Tirol for my next pairing. Firstly we have, Gerhard Friedle. Of course, he is better known to you as DJ Ötzi, and he hit my ears a long time back with "Anton aus Tirol". 

On the back of him I would like to introduce you to Sandra Stumptner, better known as Antonia aus Tirol. I know that seems like a tenuous link with the guy above. Anyway, this lady goes by the moniker of Antonja following a re-launch recently. She brought us the classic , " Ich bin viel schöner" She fits into the O as sie kommt aus Österreich.

Moving north west we find Mike Oldfield. I didn't get into him back in the days of Tubular Bells or his Christmas song, I picked up on him with Moonlight Shadow. His version is OK and highlights his guitar playing skills. 

There are several versions of this. I quite like the instrumental cover by the Shadows.

If you followed any of this blog, you'll remember that I have quite a connection to lots of German stuff and Moonlight Shadow is no exception. Here are a couple of covers. They both hit the spot, well, my spot. The first is from Juliane Werding. Possibly more of her later. I think I heard this on a DLF (Deutschlandland Funk), a German radio station, or perhaps the German broadcast of Radio Luxemburg.

More recently, I have heard another cover. This by a lady who goes by the name of Sotiria, a Berliner (not the doughnut).

Now I come to Original soundtracks. These are not the American Graffiti type (brilliant, in any case) but the other kind. I'd like to draw your attention, if I may, to some that I really like. First up is that for Len Deighton's, "Game, Set & Match" You need to search for Game, Set & Match Richard Harvey.

Sadly, I understand that the author of the stories behind this fine TV series wasn't too happy with it or the producers and bought the rights to it. It was shown once on TV and never again. You can find it on Youtube and it really is worth a watch. It is an espionage series set at the mid to late 80s full of Solidarność and perestroika.

The next one is Len Deighton's, "The IPCRESS File." Here the theme is covered by an orchestra. You'll need to search for IPCRESS Danish National Symphony Orchestra to find this one. This is from the original Michael Caine take from the early 1960s and not the Joe Cole one from 2022. Both the movie and mini-series are well worth a watch.

Next up is a pair of martial arts movies. Bruce Lee's, "Enter The Dragon," and "The Game Of Death". The first one was produced by Warner Brothers and pretty much introduced Bruce Lee to the west. The music is by Lalo Shifrin and the soundtrack is a nice mix of eastern and western music. The 2nd film was released after Bruce Lee had suddenly died. The music was by John Barry and very Bond-esque.

The Final one is for, "Das Boot," in particular this fine guitar piece. The film is, in my view, the best anti-war war movie ever made. As Chopin said, “Nothing is more beautiful than a guitar, except, possibly two.”

Lastly for the letter O, I'll finish with this piece that gets my neck hair standing on end - it is the 4th movement from Beethoven's 9th symphony, know by the title, "Ode an die Freunde"