''Penguin Cafe Orchestra'' is the self-titled second studio album by the

Penguin Cafe Orchestra The Penguin Cafe Orchestra (PCO) were an avant-pop band led by English guitarist Simon Jeffes. Co-founded with cellist Helen Liebmann, it toured extensively during the 1980s and 1990s. The band's sound is not easily categorized, having elemen ...

, released in 1981, and recorded between 1977 and 1980. By this album, the line-up for the band had expanded greatly, with contribution including

Simon Jeffes Simon Harry Piers Jeffes (19 February 1949 – 11 December 1997) was an English classically trained guitarist, composer and arranger. He formed, and was the primary performer of, the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. He was the composer of the ballet ''Sti ...

, Helen Leibmann,

Steve Nye Steve Nye is an English music producer for several artists. Career Nye started out as a tape op at AIR Studios in London in 1971, where producer Rupert Hine discovered him. There he got into engineering (and later producing) many well-known a ...

Gavyn Wright Gavyn Wright is a British violinist and orchestra leader with the London Session Orchestra and Penguin Cafe Orchestra. He is best known for his orchestral arrangements on pop productions (including Elton John, Simply Red, Bush, Mecano, Oasis, ...

of the original quartet, as well as Geoff Richardson, Peter Veitch, Braco, Giles Leamna, Julio Segovia and Neil Rennie. All pieces were composed by Simon Jeffes except for "Paul's Dance" (Jeffes and Nye), "Cutting Branches" (traditional), and "

Walk Don't Run ''Walk, Don't Run'' is a 1966 American comedy film directed by Charles Walters and starring Cary Grant, Samantha Eggar, and Jim Hutton. The film, which was Grant's last film role, is set during the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. It is a remake o ...

" (by

Johnny Smith Johnny Henry Smith II (June 25, 1922 – June 11, 2013) was an American cool jazz and mainstream jazz guitarist. He wrote "Walk, Don't Run" in 1954. In 1984, Smith was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. Early life During the Great Dep ...

). The cover painting is by

Emily Young Emily Young FRBS (born 1951) is a sculptor, who has been called "Britain's greatest living stone sculptor". She was born in London into a family of artists, writers and politicians. She currently divides her time between studios in London and It ...

. "Cutting Branches for a Temporary Shelter" is based on the traditional Zimbabwean song " Nhemamusasa", a field recording of which can be heard played on

mbira Mbira ( ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and p ...

on the

Nonesuch Records Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly called Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Non ...

album '' The Soul of the Mbira''. In 2021, ''Penguin Cafe Orchestra'' was named among the fifty best albums of 1981 by Spin.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Simon Jeffes; except where indicated Side one Side two

Personnel

- ''guitar, cuatro, ukulele, piano, bass, violin, Dulcitone, harmonium, shakers, drums, ring modulator, rubber band, penny whistle, electric organ'' *Braco - ''shakers, drums, bongos'' *Giles Leaman - ''oboe'' *

Helen Liebmann Helen Liebmann was a founding member (along with Simon Jeffes) of the avant garde music group Penguin Cafe Orchestra in 1973. A cellist, she studied at the Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the olde ...

- ''cello'' *

- ''electric piano, cuatro'' *Neil Rennie - ''ukulele'' * Geoffrey Richardson - ''viola, guitar, bass, bongos, metal frame, ukulele'' *Julio Segovia - ''cymbals'' *Peter Veitch - ''accordion, violin'' *

- ''violin''

References

{{Authority control 1981 albums Penguin Cafe Orchestra albums Albums produced by Simon Jeffes E.G. Records albums