{"product_id":"larry-blake-robert-connelly-jack-f-fuller-the-complacent-americans","title":"Larry Blake, Robert Connelly, Jack F. Fuller – The Complacent Americans","description":"\u003ch4\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLarry Blake \/ Robert Connelly \/ Jack F. Fuller – The Complacent Americans\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003eOriginally released in 1961 by the Cee-Dee Record Company, \u003cem\u003eThe Complacent Americans\u003c\/em\u003e is a remarkably unusual piece of Cold War-era spoken word, combining dramatic narration, documentary-style presentation and civil-defence instruction. Rather than functioning as a conventional musical recording, it belongs to the strange world of early-1960s nuclear preparedness and Cold War educational records, where the threat of atomic warfare was communicated through dramatic scenarios designed to make the consequences feel immediate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003eRobert Connelly is credited with \u003cem\u003eThe Complacent Americans\u003c\/em\u003e, while Jack F. Fuller is associated with the civil-defence material. The original Cee-Dee release was sufficiently distinctive to later attract attention from collectors of obscure Cold War recordings, and it was reissued in its entirety on Bear Family's extensive \u003cem\u003eAtomic Platters: Cold War Music From The Golden Age Of Homeland Security\u003c\/em\u003e collection.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003eThe record's unusual presentation is immediately apparent from the sleeve instructions. Side A is introduced with the warning \u003cem\u003e“This Side Is Not Pleasant... Nor Is Nuclear Warfare... Hear”\u003c\/em\u003e, setting up the record as a dramatic simulation rather than entertainment. Side B carries the instruction that it should not be played for at least ten minutes after Side One, concluding with the stark phrase “You Will Survive”. The original album therefore works as much as a historical document of Cold War culture as it does a piece of recorded audio.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003eThe record is particularly interesting in the context of early-1960s American civil-defence culture, when government agencies and private organisations produced films, pamphlets, broadcasts and recordings intended to explain what civilians should do in the event of nuclear attack. \u003cem\u003eThe Complacent Americans\u003c\/em\u003e takes that culture and turns it into an unusually dramatic listening experience, making it an intriguing artefact for collectors of Cold War memorabilia, nuclear-age ephemera, spoken-word records, documentary audio and experimental sound.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003eIts later inclusion in \u003cem\u003eAtomic Platters\u003c\/em\u003e alongside atomic-themed songs, public-service announcements and civil-defence films has helped preserve the recording as part of the broader cultural history of the Atomic Age. The Bear Family set identifies \u003cem\u003eThe Complacent Americans\u003c\/em\u003e as one of two full-length spoken-word “scare” albums from 1961, alongside \u003cem\u003eIf The Bomb Falls\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSide A\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003col data-spread=\"false\" start=\"1\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis Side Is Not Pleasant... Nor Is Nuclear Warfare... Hear\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSide B\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003col data-spread=\"false\" start=\"1\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt Is Suggested That This Side Not Be Played For At Least 10 Minutes, Following Side One. \"You Will Survive\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003ciframe src=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/embed\/lp_the-complacent-americans_larry-blake-robert-connelly-jack-f-fuller\" width=\"500\" height=\"30\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cee Dee Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55575160062294,"sku":"CS-1","price":40.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1009\/1013\/7686\/files\/rn-image_picker_lib_temp_2d1dd2c4-b7b5-494b-96dd-cf82d0db937d.jpg?v=1790937716","url":"https:\/\/www.sounds-grounds.co.uk\/products\/larry-blake-robert-connelly-jack-f-fuller-the-complacent-americans","provider":"Sounds + Grounds","version":"1.0","type":"link"}