Wombling Songs Explained

Wombling Songs
Type:Studio
Artist:the Wombles
Cover:Wombling Songs.jpg
Released:November 1973
Recorded:1973
Studio:CBS Studios, Wessex Studios
Genre:
Length:35:29
Label:CBS
Producer:Mike Batt
Next Title:Remember You're a Womble
Next Year:1974

Wombling Songs is the first album released by the Wombles. "The Wombling Song" was released as a single. The album was written, arranged and performed by Mike Batt, with vocals credited to "the younger Wombles, assisted by Mike Batt".

History and reception

According to Batt, the album is a simple compilation of character songs and background music for the television series.[2] It has garnered a small cult following in the 21st century, with music journalist Bob Stanley calling it "something of a kid-rock masterpiece, a pre-teen Odessey and Oracle, chock-full of woodwinds, harpsichords, and minor-key McCartney-esque melodies".[3] Staff writers of The Scotsman noted the album's "glimpses of pop sophistication – the clarinet figure in the theme tune, the wistful pop of Orinoco's song "Dreaming In The Sun"...".[4]

In 2022, Batt revealed he destroyed the master tapes of Wombling Songs and the three subsequent Wombles albums, so "people can't fuck with them after I'm gone...if I wanted to go back and change it I would. They aren’t perfection but they are a faithful representation of what I offered to the world in 1974 and 1975."[5]

Chart Performance

The album spent 17 weeks in the UK album charts, peaking at number 19 on 2 March 1974.[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mike Batt.

  1. "The Wombling Song (Television Version)" - 1:40
  2. "Wombles Everywhere" (3:20)
  3. "Exercise Is Good for You (Laziness Is Not)" - 2:30
  4. "The Wombles' Warning" - 3:25
  5. "Tobermory" - 3:35
  6. "Dreaming in the Sun (Orinoco's Song)" - 4:10
  7. "Madame Cholet" - 3:48
  8. "Great Uncle Bulgaria's March" - 3:28
  9. "Wellington Womble" - 3:50
  10. "Bungo's Birthday" - 2:30
  11. "Wombling Along (Link Piece)" - 0:48
  12. "The Wombling Song (Full Version)" - 2:25

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Newsroom. Album reviews: The Wombles: Wombling Songs, Remember You're A Womble, Keep On Wombling, Superwombling. . June 19, 2011. November 10, 2023.
  2. Book: Bubblegum Music Is the Naked Truth. Kim Cooper . David Smay . Jake Austen . 2001. Feral House. 0-922915-69-5. 159.
  3. News: Stanley . Bob . Bob Stanley (musician) . Bubblegum pop: all the young dudes . . December 2, 2010 . November 10, 2023. October 31, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201031235627/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/dec/02/bubblegum-pop-wombles-banana-splits . live .
  4. Web site: The Newsroom. Album reviews: The Wombles: Wombling Songs, Remember You're A Womble, Keep On Wombling, Superwombling. . June 19, 2011. November 10, 2023.
  5. Web site: Ali. Shutler. Wombles songwriter destroys master tapes to avoid The Beatles-style remasters. . October 10, 2022. November 10, 2023.
  6. Book: The Complete Book Of The British Charts: Singles and Albums. Neil Warwick . Jon Kutner . Tony Brown . 2004. Omnibus Press. 1-84449-058-0. 1203–1204.

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