Various

The good folk at Ace Records in the UK know how to make a great/fun comp – and so here’s Greatest Hits From Outer Space – and no clues for guessing the theme. But there are nice surprises along the way, after the opening slice of classical obviousness, Mr. Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra it’s to country with The Ames Brothers and Destination Moon. From there the theremin abounds – of course. And from there it’s to old rock’n’roll, smooth soul (Bobby Womack’s Everyone’s Gone To The Moon is a highlight) and the original Dr Who theme.

There’s also Leonard Nimoy’s Theme From Star Trek, The Ventures’ Twilight Zone, The Byrds singing Mr. Spaceman and a demo version of a young David Bowie pushing Space Oddity into shape.

For every silly song (Billy Riley and His Little Green Men’s Flying Saucers Rock’nRoll) there’s something that transcends the theme – simply serving up a great song (Lightnin’ Hopkins’ Happy Blues For John Glenn). It’s also a snapshot of the strange fears and jubilant highs, the paranoia and the reflection of Hollywood’s obsession with Little Green Men – which, never mind outer space, all seems to come from a different time, and place and planet in this day and age.

A fun compilation, well researched and charmingly offered from Ace. These guys do good records. Almost anything they release is worth a look. This one’s certainly worth a listen.