As I sat at my desk reviewing my data and writing a one page precise for a possible book chapter in a family business publication my Spotify Music Stream produced an odd sound. It was a cover of the Eagles classic “Desperado”. I stopped what I was doing and listened closer, who was signing, why hadn’t I ever heard this version before?

The solo sent shivers down my spine — such an innocent sounding voice. My first thought was of a young voice, but little did I realise how young. The version I was listening to was from The Langley School Music Project, a collaboration of four Canadian elementary schools (the equivalent of a lower primary school in Australia) recorded in a school hall in two-track in the mid-1970s. Of course, the version I was listening to had been remastered, but the simplicity of the recording remained intact.

As I listened further, the school choir element became more obvious particularly with the simple music arrangement of “Band on the Run”. The tambourines and the symbols so reminiscent of school choirs of my era. But why should that be a surprise, it was recorded in my era!