Album review: MARK WIRTZ – Dream Dream Dream The Anthology (5 CD Boxset)

Cherry Red [Release date : 15.11.24]

Long in the making, this Mark Wirtz Anthology misses out nothing in the fascinating life and times of this musical virtuoso – composer, producer, performer, conductor, author, (and ultimately, stand up comedian).

Too much to cover here, so we’ll just focus on some of the key moments in his varied career.

Wirtz spent most of his early life in England after emigrating from Germany in the early sixties to study graphic art. A prodigious musical talent, his name got to the right people very quickly, and he was taken under the wing of Geoff Emerick and George Martin at EMI Studios.

His music is probably best known by his (written and produced) 1967 UK no.2 hit single ‘Excerpt From A Teenage Opera’ (aka ‘Grocer Jack’), held off the no.1 spot by Engelbert Humperdinck (not his real name).

But it is only a small part of the huge volume of work he created during his lifetime.

This anthology tabulates Wirtz’s career across 5 CDs.

It begins with a 30 track collection of songs (singles) written and produced by Wirtz, recorded by a variety of artists, including the band Tomorrow, a respected UK psychedelic rock and pop band, spoken in the same breath as Pink Floyd and Soft Machine for a time.

Keith West was the band’s vocalist. Steve (pre Yes) Howe on guitar, with Twink, later to join The Pretty Things, on drums.

They were the first band to appear on John Peel’s Perfumed Garden (1967), Things looked good. A cover of their song ‘My White Bicycle’ was later a hit for Nazareth.

West’s solo chart success with Wirtz signalled the end of Tomorrow, and they disbanded after one album.

Two complete Collector Editions’ of Wirtz’s solo albums are included here. Reissued for the first time in 50 years, Come Back And Shake Me, from 1968, and Fantastic Teenage Fair from 1970.

Few artists dare to cover a Beatles’ song. It’s a measure of the man’s ambition that he does three. ‘Ob La Di, Ob La Da’, ‘Fool On The Hill’ and ‘Hey Jude’.

Elsewhere, a wealth of unreleased material, offering listeners out-takes, raretracks, work tapes, home demos and works in progress are sprinkled generously across the boxset. Additionally, several tracks are presented in stereo for the first time ever, providing a fresh auditory experience even for long time fans.

Between times he took on the role of Musical Director for legendary stage performer/actress, Marlene Deitrich, taking over from Burt Bacharach. Later doing the same for US Recording artist, Helen Reddy.

Discs 2 and 3 are jampacked with songs written and produced by Wirtz for many bands who never quite made it. The Kippington Lodge (later known as Brinsley Schwarz), Zion De Gallier and Miki Antony material all stand out.

More of Wirtz’s (with orchestra) classically inclined material also on Disc 3… a revelation and another auditory treat.

Disc 4 is fully occupied by the remasters of his two solo reissues mentioned earlier, and Disc 5 is full to the brim with outtakes, interviews and remixes.

Wirtz emigrated to the USA in 1970, where he lived and worked (in music, in comedy) until his death in 2020, aged 76.

His was a life well lived.

Dream Dream Dream is a fitting celebration. *****

Review by Brian McGowan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

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Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)