Penguin Cafe Orchestra

condition (record/cover): EX / EX-

The second studio album by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra, released on Editions EG in 1981 (EGM 113), and the record in which Simon Jeffes consolidated his band into the larger ensemble form it would carry for the rest of the decade. Recorded between 1977 and 1980 across various sessions, the album expands the Music From The Penguin Cafe template into a more developed compositional palette and introduces the songs that became Jeffes' best-known: "Air à Danser", "Yodel 1", "Telephone And Rubber Band" (built around the actual ringback signal of the UK telephone system, fed through delay) and the closing "Pythagoras's Trousers".

The ensemble by this stage includes Jeffes (guitar, ukulele, piano, kalimba), Helen Liebmann (cello), Steve Nye (keyboards, production), Gavyn Wright (violin), Geoff Richardson (viola, formerly of Caravan), Peter Veitch (accordion), Braco (percussion), Giles Leamna (violin), Julio Segovia and Neil Rennie (additional vocals and percussion). The arrangements are richer than on the debut, with more developed counterpoint and a wider rhythmic vocabulary. "Telephone And Rubber Band" in particular became the piece most listeners unconsciously associate with the band: the BT-derived dial tone phrase looped against a swaying chamber-pop arrangement that has been used in countless documentaries and films since.

The original vintage Editions EG UK pressing on EGM 113, with the iconic Emily Young front cover painting. A consistent studio statement, and the record that turned a cult Obscure-series debut into one of the more recognised chamber-pop projects of its decade.