Various Destination Moon 50 Years
Bear Family The compilations keep coming from Bear Family, this is a similar concept, though in CD format to the label's Grammy nominated Korean War themed box-set. As the title alludes, this compilation celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Moon landings.
The track list in an eclectic mix of musical styles dominated by the rock n roll era. Setting the scene there's a recording of a fascinating speech from J F K made in 1962 outlining plans to get a man to the Moon by the end of the decade, making Neil Armstrong's 'One Small Step' clip also included, extra poignant.
There are some real musical rarities nestling amongst the better-known tracks, Belgian Johnny Kay's 'Rocket To The Moon' being a notable. Left-field inclusions are the Les Baxter Orchestra and Russian band The Spotnicks along with some US pop that you might never knew existed had they not been included all of which were rubbed shoulders with rock n roll tracks in the 1950s but just not bought by the cool kids.
You might get a bit fed up of hearing the words Moon and Rocket by the end of this comp but it's a cracking journey and a worthy historical document.
Simon Nott
