Jim Ottaway’s new single is a cover of Jerry Lordan’s Wonderful Land. Jim says that the instrumental hits of popular music of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s have always been some of his favourites. In particular, Jim has a great fondness for Jerry Lordan’s Wonderful Land which was made famous by the UK instrumental band The Shadows in 1962. Some people may also be familiar with Mike Oldfield’s interpretation of the tune from 1980.
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Jim has a number of copies of The Shadows 45RPM in his collection, one of them being the original 45RPM purchased by his eldest sister ‘back in the day’. Jim says that he wanted to stay true to the 1960s sound but has added some modern drums and bass, and some innovative strings and trills. Jim has also extended the length of the track, as the original version by The Shadows had a very ‘1960s radio-friendly’ run time of just over 2 minutes!
BT Fasmer’s comment: “In his rendition of Wonderful Land, Ottaway stays true to the 1960s sound while incorporating modern elements. By using synthesizers instead of guitars, Ottaway demonstrates how classic compositions can be reimagined through different instrumentation. The recording has the potential to appeal to both fans of 1960s instrumental music, New Age music and contemporary electronic music.”
Jim is releasing Wonderful Land as a non-album single along with his new electronic album A Promise of Eternity and the 20th Anniversary Edition of his first album, First Light – 20th Anniversary Edition.
Jim composes and records all his music in his home studio situated at the foothills of the beautiful Springbrook Mountain on the Gold Coast, Australia. Wonderful Land was recorded, mixed and mastered between April and June 2024.
To find out more about Jim and his music, visit his website: www.jimottaway.com.
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