I'm on vacation!

Out of town, out of the country and out of mind.

See you in a few weeks....

Cat Stevens - "Harold and Maude" soundtrack

I suppose it made sense at the time not to release a soundtrack album to the film "Harold and Maude." There were only two original songs, and they were released as a single. Plus the rest of the songs could be easily found on Cat Stevens' albums Mona Bone Jakon and Tea for the Tillerman.

But as the years have gone by and "Harold and Maude" has become such a cult favorite, the film's lack of a soundtrack seems to be an unfortunate circumstance. 

In actuality, a sort of soundtrack was released in 1972 in Japan titled Harold and Maude. However, it did not include the two new songs; instead, it included five Cat Stevens songs that weren't used in the film. 

Then, in 2007, a vinyl-only release of 2,500 copies of an "official" soundtrack was released. But the fact that it was produced in such a limited quantity obviously didn't exactly satisfy fans. Besides the nine Cat Stevens songs, it included two instrumental versions of "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out." Plus it was released with a 7-inch single that featured an alternate version of that song and a demo of the other original tune, "Don't Be Shy." 

But unless you were one of the lucky 2,500 people who bought the album, you're basically on your own.

SIDE A

1. Don't Be Shy

2. On the Road to Find Out

3. I Wish, I Wish

4. Miles from Nowhere

5. Tea for the Tillerman

6. I Think I See the Light

SIDE B

1. Where Do the Children Play?

2. If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out

3. Trouble

4. Don't Be Shy (demo version)

5. If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out (alternative version)

For this album, I included all the Cat Stevens songs that were used in the film and added the demo version of "Don't Be Shy" and an alternative version of "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out" that were released on the 2007 single.

The cover is from the 2007 release.

Herman's Hermits - "Sleepy Joe"

I should note right off that I'm not a big Herman's Hermits fan. Before I started working on this project, I think I could only name maybe three of the band's songs. I don't hate the band, but when it comes to '60s pop, I'd rank them far down the list of my favorites.

That said, my curiosity was piqued when I noted that MGM Records had scheduled a Herman's Hermits album titled Sleepy Joe but never issued it.

In 1968, the band released the album Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter, which was the soundtrack to a fairly lame movie (or so I've read—I have no interest in seeing it). One wonders if Herman's Hermits was really so keen on making a film with the title of a song they released three years earlier.

But like many pop bands of the British Invasion, they were seeing a decline in popularity in the late '60s. Many of the groups had been seen as gimmicky and were finding it difficult to compete with more "serious" groups.

Even though the band would continue recording into 1971, Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter was the last "new" album by the group.

I don't know why the Sleepy Joe album never saw the light of day, but the title song was the beginning of a decline in single sales for the group in the U.S. (although they continued to do well on the U.K. charts).

SIDE A

1. Sleepy Joe

2. Just One Girl

3. London Look

4. Something's Happening

5. Nobody Needs to Know

SIDE B
1. Sunshine Girl

2. Ooh! She's Done It Again

3. My Sentimental Friend

4. My Lady

5. Here Comes the Star

6. It's Alright Now

Other than the title track, I wasn't sure what should be included on this album. I've seen no tracklist for it. But the band's Blaze album was re-released in 2001 with a dozen bonus tracks, including "Sleepy Joe." And I thought, aha!

I kicked off the album with that song and began the second side with "Sunshine Girl," which was the follow-up single. The only bonus cut I didn't include was the song "The Most Beautiful Thing in My Life" because it already appears on Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter.

Overall, this album is a good example of lightweight Brit pop from the mid-to-late-'60s, and I don't mean that in a derogatory way.

As stated, all the songs can be found on the 2001 version of Blaze. For a cover, I found this photo on the web, cropped it and added titles.