THEY DON'T MAKE 'EM LIKE THAT ANYMORE #4 - 6

Ah, yes...the sweet sound of Tijuana. Of Mexican origin. Massively popularized in the '60s by Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass ensemble, thus spawning a legion of copycats. There's a nice overview of the scene over at Space Age Pop. Yet for me, a quintessentially British sound, I guess because it was constantly piped into the home when I was kid via the Test Card transmissions...

The blub on the rear sleeve readily admits that, for legal reasons, this isn't an album of genuine test card tunes, but that "this is the sound that could indeed easily be test card music". I certainly couldn't tell the difference. I close my eyes and listen to this and I'm right there in deepest, darkest 1973 - a small child alone in a room with this jolly yet somehow spooky muzak pumping from the TV mono speaker - as jolly/spooky as the little clown doll that stares insanely from the screen, locked in his cathode prison of strange monochrome lines and shapes. As for the little girl...the Mona Lisa ain't got nuthin' on her in the 'enigmatic expression' stakes.

MUMMY MUMMY PLEASE MAKE IT STOOOOOOPPP!!!!!!