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"And Guess What I Found..." Part 9: The Top Ten

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  And so, we reach the final curtain... Nowhere near as much work or as many words as the TWP blog , of course, but just as enjoyable to do, certainly. It was also a great reminder of the strength in depth of the Cinerama back catalogue: leaving aside the Valentina  misfire (and even that had a couple of decent tracks) there were hardly any songs that weren't at least pretty decent. There was much less controversy from readers this time. I think this is partly because of the quality of the material, and also due to this blog inevitably attracting a smaller audience (about a quarter of Suddenly... ). 10 Crusoe (B-side of  Dance, Girl, Dance, 1998) The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe was a 1960s Franco-German TV show that was dubbed into English for broadcast in the UK, and is a programme I remember enjoying during my summer holidays in the 70s. The use of the distinctive theme tune  (composed by Robert Mellin  and Gian-Piero Reverberi ) as the basis for this Cin...
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"And Guess What I Found..." Part 8: 11-20

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  Surprisingly, last week's post provoked less reaction than any one so far. I'm presuming that this means I'm getting everything just right. We're into the top twenty this week, so expect some high quality tunes... 20 10 Denier (B-side of Wow, 2000) A light and fluffy but delightful concoction, one of the best examples of Cinerama doing kitsch 60s pop. Framed around a playful, meandering piano part and bolstered by almost austere strings, it's joyfully melodic and abandoned.  The lyric treads a fine line between passionate and creepy in places - 'stroke your 10 denier'; 'your hungry mouth locked onto mine' - but overall it's just a gloriously flimsy pop song. 19 Your Time Starts Now (Disco Volante, 2000) It's a pretty tall order to close an album after something as majestic as 'Wow' (which you probably won't be surprised to learn doesn't appear until next week) but YTSN manages the task with a certain elegant grace. By Ge...
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"And Guess What I Found..." Part 7: 21-30

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  Surprise bone of contention from last week was 'Get Up And Go', which I'd placed just above mid-table. Several people were outraged that it wasn't top ten; a few others felt it was far too high. This sort of thing happened in many of the TWP posts, so that in itself wasn't surprising - I just wasn't expecting GU&G to be one of those songs. We're getting into the top third this week, so expect some quality tunes... 30 You Turn Me On (Va Va Voom, 1998) It's somewhat fitting that 'You Turn Me On' is exactly three minutes long, as it's a perfectly concise little pop song. Driven by a predictable but infectious arpeggio, it's undoubtedly a light and frothy confection, but the song's simple, direct melodicism is deftly winning. Its sequencing on Va Va Voom  also works well, its vibrant energy wedged between the more laid-back 'Barefoot In The Park' and 'Ears'. The lyric is in general as straightforward as the title s...
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"And Guess What I Found..." Part 6: 31-40

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  Not many comments at all on last week's instalment, other than to query the inclusion of some of the TWP tracks (I had explained how I decided what I was going to be included in the A-Z post at the very beginning). Despite the lack of comments, the readership figure was similar to previous weeks, so I'm going to presume that everyone just agreed with me! Anyway, on to the top forty... 40 It's Not You, It's Me  (Single, 2004) Released right at the tail-end of Cinerama's original incarnation, 'It's Not You, It's Me' was rather overlooked at the time. A shame, because it's a tidy little tune, delicate and melodic,  underpinned by a hypnotic guitar arpeggio and fleshed out with a trademark rousing chorus.  Infidelity is the subject once more, but on this occasion it's for the last time: she might be 'undoing her blouse',  but she makes it clear that 'this is the final time' because it's all got too complex and she's had...
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"And Guess What I Found..." Part 5: 41-50

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  There was a little more disagreement with last week's list, but nothing major, and the comments were one or two people suggesting a specific song should be higher rather than en masse disapproval of the placing of any one track in particular.  As I mentioned, I think that every song from last week onwards is a very good one, so I don't see any of the ones below as being 'low', despite the fact that this selection takes us to just past half way. A reminder that there's a link to the main page at the bottom, where you can check out any posts that you might have missed and see the entire rank order so far. 50 I'm From Further North Than You / Edinburgh (John Peel Sessions: Season 3, 2007) Known as 'Edinburgh' to begin with, Cinerama played the song at a slightly pacier tempo than the Take Fountain version . Tidy enough, but being slowed down a little suited it better. 49 Get Smart (Torino, 2002) The second half of Torino contains a run of very decent ...
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