Motorway City – The Golden Age Of Car Travel 1966-82 – Compiled by Bob Stanley

Motorway City is a superb, driving-based collection of library music. The tracks on this album were all written between the mid-60s and the early 80s to hymn car travel, back when the petrol-operated motor car was seen as the transport mode of the future, when motorways were new and thrilling. It was car travel’s golden age. The tracks are highly collectable rarities from the libraries of De Wolfe, Chappell and Hudson. It has been compiled by Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne who has also written the informative sleevenotes. It stretches from mod movers to proto-ambient, something for every car journey. Library music soundtracked the many short films that extolled the virtues of TopTray restaurant at Watford Gap or the comfortable leather seats in an Alpine Sunbeam. These tunes illuminated the joys of motor travel, and were given titles such as ‘Fast Lane’, ‘Super City’ and ‘Clearway’. Many of these tracks seem time specific. The sun peeks over the horizon for Basil Kirchin’s ‘Through New Territory’; Reg Tilsley’s ‘Hold The Road’ is so bright at midday that you’ll need to wear shades to stop the sun getting in your eyes; John Fiddy’s ‘City Skyline’ has to be seen (and heard) at dusk. Ex-Soft Machine Karl Jenkins provides the tense ‘Wheeling’, and Peter Reno’s thunderous ‘Convoy’ shifts the mood up a gear. Maybe you should risk nudging the speed up, 80-plus, to the soundtrack of Alan Hawkshaw’s ‘Fuel Injection’ or Simon Park’s mellow-but-dynamic ‘Big Road’. Beautifully packaged in a gatefold sleeve, Motorway City could be the soundtrack to your summer holiday. 01 Wire Wheels – International Studio Orchestra 02 On The Move – Johnny Hawksworth 03 Motorway – Cliff Johns 04 Through New Territory – Basil Kirchin 05 Super-Travel – James Clark 06 Driving Force – Herbert Chappell 07 Town Beat – Jack Trombey 08 Hold The Road – Reg Tilsley 09 Convoy – Peter Reno 10 Motordown – John Scott 11 Soul City Drive – Soul City Orchestra 12 Big Road – Simon Park 13 Wheeling – Karl Jenkins 14 Nevada Junction – Steve Gray 15 Highway Song – The Cool 16 Silver Thrust – Peter Reno 17 Lorry Load – Frank McDonald 18 Fast Lane – Mike Gillingham & Roy Stone 19 Walk the White Line – Peter Reno, Reg Tilsley 20 Fuel Injection – Alan Hawkshaw 21 Super City – John Fiddy 22 Take a Break – Reg Tilsley 23 Clearway – Frank Ricotti 24 Soft Throttle – Alan Hawkshaw 25 Night Moves – Patchwork 26 City Skyline – John Fiddy 27 Freeway – Roger Webb 28 Hometown – Alan Parker