in my beautiful balloon

Mixcloud | View image | Duration: 2 hours 4 minutes

A minor dilemma for me, as a blogger living in a different hemisphere to almost all of my readers, is when to share a mix that seems so perfect for a particular season. I've had this mix in mind as a soundtrack for spring, but wondered whether to post it in your spring or mine? I've decided perhaps this is an ideal time for you and I alike, as my springtime begins, and maybe some of your summery days still linger as it turns to autumn. Whatever the weather, I think this provides some much-needed sunny cheer. It's music for daydreaming out the window.

This mix was inspired by, and shaped around, the simple, escapist joy of the song 'Up, Up and Away'. Written by Jimmy Webb and originally recorded by The Fifth Dimension, the harmonic slice of breezy listening was a big hit around the world in 1967. I wanted to create a mix with a feeling of pure escapism and floating away from troubles. Is there any song that better epitomises this?

The version I decided to include here is the less familiar Supremes' cover from their 1968 album Reflections, which is a little sweeter and more buoyant to my ears, and of course has Diana Ross' irresistibly silken vocals. It's nestled among a collection of songs I find uplifting, comforting and sometimes achingly beautiful (wow, that Aretha cover of 'Over The Rainbow').

While the mix is a joyous, romantic ride through sunny, clear skies, there's also some stormier weather encountered here in its more melancholy moments. There's always, after all, a twinge of sadness that underlies escapism. As The Free Design sing on one of the tracks here, 'Bubbles': "Bubblegum kind of keeps my heart from getting heavy and crying." Even 'Up, Up and Away', which embodies exuberant lightness, hints at worry in the world below: "The world's a nicer place in my beautiful balloon / it wears a nicer face in my beautiful balloon". But from high up in the clouds, some of that melts away and doesn't seem so bad.

I hope you will enjoy soaring away with 'In My Beautiful Balloon', which is packed with lots of sixties sunshine pop, as well as jazzy pop, soft orchestrations, heart-melting harmonies... and quite a bit of flute!

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