Music from the Penguin Cafe

Music From The Penguin Cafe was the first album by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra, and was recorded between 1974 and 1976, and released in 1976. The line-up for much of the album consisted of the original Penguin Cafe Quartet: Simon Jeffes (electric guitar), Helen Leibmann (Cello), Steve Nye (electric piano), and Gavyn Wright (violin). Tracks 2-8 were performed by the ensemble "Zopf", which included the members of the quartet as well as Neil Rennie (ukelele), and Emily Young (vocals). Later reissues have mistakenly listed those pieces as though they were movements of a suite entitled "Zopf", instead of being performed by them.

The executive producer for the album was Brian Eno, who released this album on his experimental Obscure label, with catalogue number "Obscure 7". The original cover was by John Bonis. The reissue cover painting was by Emily Young. The album was later released on CD by E.G. Records in 1991 and later in remastered form in 2006 - both using the reissue cover instead of the original.

Track listing

1. "Penguin Cafe Single" - 6:16
2. "From the Colonies" (for N.R.) - 1:38
3. "In a Sydney Motel" - 2:28
4. "Surface Tension (Where the Trees Meet the Sky)" - 2:22
5. "Milk" - 2:22
6. "Coronation" - 1:33
7. "Giles Farnaby's Dream" - 2:19
8. "Pigtail" - 2:44
9. "The sound of someone you love who's going away and it doesn't matter" - 11:46
10. "Hugebaby" - 4:48
11. "Chartered Flight" - 6:41

Tracks 1, 9-11 performed by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra.

Tracks 2-8 performed by Zopf.