The Goodies

★★★★ The Cricklewood Tapes NETWORK. CD

Goodie goodie yum yum: 3-CD box of music from the classic ’70s TV comedy.

One of the most popular, yet least revived, shows of the 1970s, The Goodies was crammed with wit and visual comedy – but notable also for its music. Provided by Bill Oddie and jazz arranger Michael Gibbs, Goodies songs were hits, while the musical cues in the show – mixing folk, soul, country, funk and even prog rock – were more sophisticated and modern than was usual. And now – hand in hand with Network’s reissues of the original shows – comes this triple CD of Goodie music: not the chart tunes, but the music from the actual shows, or what can be found, from the prog funk of Fun Palace to the Kinksy liteness of Changed, from the fan-fave Dumb Animals to ad parody There Are 50 Men In My Life. A deranged yet superb cornucopia.