De Wolfe Music Presents: Monty Python’s Flying Circus -30 Musical Masterpieces from the Infamous Television Series 1969-1974 (De Wolfe)

First things first: read the above carefully. This is the soundtrack to the groundbreaking and still celebrated TV series, so if you are looking here for ‘Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life,’ ‘Every Sperm Is Sacred’ or ‘the Lumberjack Song’ this is not the compilation you are looking for. (That’s called Monty Python Sings and has been available for twenty years.)

So, yes, this is what is called ‘Incidental music.’ Except of course, this being the Pythons, a comedy troupe made up of six geniuses, nothing was incidental. The compilation starts off with ‘The Liberty Belle’ which always ended with that splat. As the sleevenotes point out, on its own, the music may seem innocent enough, but to a Monty Python fan there’s a hidden layer of comedy in each track.

The thing about the Python’s humour, be it TV, Film or Live was the sheer absurdity of so much of it. In some way the ‘innocent’ music made things that little more believable. Whilst many of the songs from the films have been widely available for years (and in the case of ‘Bright Side’ a hit single), this is the first time that these recordings have been available. De Wolfe, responsible for last year’s staggeringly comprehensive Kung Fu soundtracks have put this compilation together and for a Python fan it’s a dream come true.

Will it appeal to people who aren’t Monty Python fans? There are some of this disturbing breed of people around, they worry me, and I think we’re just better ignoring them. They might go away…

For the rest of the populace, this is a compilation long overdue.

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Monty Python’s Flying Circus -30 Musical Masterpieces from the Infamous Television Series 1969-1974 is released by De Wolfe on June 29.

The opening credits

Spot The Looney

Blackmail