The 49 Meter Band - Don't Stop The Music/ And I'm Alone (Dooba Doo Bop)

 

Mysterious mid-70s pop 45, unlisted on 45Cat or Discogs (until now)

Label: Laurie

Year of Release: 1974

We live in an age of excessive administration from hobbyists, where if something exists - especially if it has catalogue number or serial numbers attached to it - somebody has usually documented it online. Finding a record whose existence nobody has bothered to note is an increasingly rare event, like discovering a holiday resort nobody has done a vlog about yet. 

There are often good explanations for the above two scenarios, though. If nobody's bothered to film their exotic holiday in some location nobody's heard of, it's probably because there was nothing much to either brag or warn others about. And if nobody's listed a single on 45Cat or Discogs, it probably points towards a similar phenomenon; the record isn't going to bring you untold riches if you find it at a boot sale for 99p, and it's probably not breaking new ground musically either.

Still, it's always worth prodding a feathered fish with a stick when you find one. This appears to have been the mysterious 49 Meter Band's debut single, and it's one of those unusual cases where it's hard to tell which side is the A-side. The seller listed it as "Don't Stop The Music", so that's what I'm doing - it's a brooding and sparse middle-of-the-road-to-riches tale filled with twanging guitar lines and simple melodies. In terms of arrangements, it's closer to the kind of simple pop ditties doing the rounds in the early sixties, though the performances feel slap-bang in the mid-seventies era when they were recorded.

The B-side is just as simple but has a spartan and very likeable boogie going on which is begging to be sampled and looped. 

Both sides have an understated, earthy, homespun simplicity acting in their favour which suggest that The 49 Meter Band were a modest bunch with their eyes on the bar-room circuit and late night diners. That's entirely speculation on my part, though; they only had one single out after this one ("C'mon America") and nobody has bothered to upload that one or document their career. If anyone knows more, please do share your learning.

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