Contemporary Pop

Album: Contemporary Pop
Artist: various artists
198? Atmosphere
LP: ATMOS 002

Tracks:
Side A
Bright, Lively Pop

1. Martin Lawrence/Jamie Kaleth/Richard Thomas: "Flying Start" (4.13), Strong beat, plenty of action, changes. Full 10 min version available. [These are the notes on the album.]
2. Martin Lawrence/Jamie Kaleth/Richard Thomas: "Taverna" (2.09), Fun, sunshine, strong melody.
3. Martin Lawrence/Jamie Kaleth/Richard Thomas: "Secret Hideaway" (3.00), Bright, fun, activity, outdoors.
4. Geoff Downes: "March of the Ants" (2.22), Unusual, futuristic, strong marching melody.
5. Robert Painter/Terence Jenkins: "Jet" (0.60), Exciting, strong beat.
6. Robert Painter/Terence Jenkins: "Drive to the Beat" (1.02), Dynamic, bright, strong dance beat.
7. Robert Painter/Terence Jenkins: "Sparkle" (1.18), Lively, exciting, dramatic, disco beat.
8. Robert Painter/Terence Jenkins: "Caplypso Cool" (0.60), Catchy pop/reggae beat
9. Robert Painter/Terence Jenkins: "First Flight" (0.60), Slow, smooth, building to exciting end.
10. Martin Lawrence/Jamie Kaleth/Richard Thomas: "Sky" (1.26), Classical-rock, catchy rhythm, melody.

Side B
Jingles

11. Linda Jardim/Tom Blades/Geoff Downes/Luis Jardim: "High Energy" (0.30)
12. Geoff Downes: "Hi-Fly" (0.30)
13. John Groves: "Dynamo" (0.30)
14. Robert Painter/Terence Jenkins: "Action" (0.45)
15. Robert Painter/Terence Jenkins: "Funfare" (0.45)
16. Robert Painter/Terence Jenkins: "Muscle Bound" (0.30), Up-beat, action-packed. [Tracks on side B don't have individual notes. These notes apply to all the preceding songs.]
17. Robert Painter/Terence Jenkins: "Soda Pop" (0.30)
18. Linda Jardim: "Light Beat" (0.30), Light Reggae beat.
19. Martin Lawrence/Jamie Kaleth: "Escape Into The Dark" (0.28)
20. Martin Lawrence/Jamie Kaleth: "Jungle Fever" (0.28), Tense, dramatic.
21. Martin Lawrence/Jamie Kaleth: "Madness" (0.28)
22. Martin Cook: "Grasshopper" (0.30), Lively and bouncy.
23. Jan Pulsford: "Funk It" (0.28)
24. John Groves: "Midnight Blue" (0.34)
25. John Groves: "Inna Groove" (0.30)
26. Martin Lawrence/Jamie Kaleth: "Pfunk" (0.28), Funk.
27. Martin Lawrence/Jamie Kaleth: "Star Disco" (0.30)
28. Tom Blades: "Disco Gas" (0.28)
29. Martin Cook: "Drive Away" (0.30), Disco.
30. John Groves: "Pop Tag 1" (0.06)
31. John Groves: "Pop Tag 2" (0.07)
32. John Groves: "Pop Tag 3" (0.11)
33. John Groves: "Pop Tag 4" (0.09)
34. John Groves: "Pop Tag 5" (0.07)
35. John Groves: "Pop Tag 6" (0.10)
36. John Groves: "Pop Tag 7" (0.07), Pop tags.
37. Tom Blades: "Lite and Bright" (0.30)
38. Luis Jardim: "Live It Up" (0.30)
39. Tom Blades: "Pop In" (0.28)
40. Gaynor Sadler/Tony Sadler/N. Sadler: "Blue Beat" (0.38)
41. Tom Blades: "Uptown" (0.45), Light and bright.
42. Jan Pulsford: "Jogging" (0.30)
43. Tom Blades: "Alexander's Jive" (0.30)
44. Luis Jardim/Gaynor Sadler: "Bubbling Over" (0.40), Comical.

Notes: This is an album of library music from Atmosphere. You can find it on YouTube. Downes contributed work to a number of their releases. "High Energy" doesn't stand out much. "Hi-Fly" is more memorable and feels like it could have been a theme tune for a 1980s detective show, but the gem here is "March of the Ants". This is a solo piece, but you can easily imagine it fleshed out just a little bit more and turned into a good Buggles number... which indeed they sort of did as there is the beginnings of "Living in the Plastic Age" as a secondary theme in here. This is more apparent on an alternative version of "March of the Ants" included on Short Cuts: Jingles and Promotional Themes.

I haven't been able to pin down a release date for the album, but it seems to have been released in the early 1980s. However, I think Downes recorded his parts in the late 1970s. (HP, 22 Nov 24; updated 24 Nov 24)

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