tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43984280683642475302024-03-13T02:06:20.015-04:00The Dark Forest"There ain't but two things in music: good and bad. Now if it sounds good, you don't worry what it is. You're just gonna enjoy it." -- Louis ArmstrongCerptshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788317865445255338noreply@blogger.comBlogger394125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398428068364247530.post-87790968452290304352021-03-11T10:00:00.055-05:002021-03-11T10:00:03.381-05:00<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: x-large;"><b> LIVE AT SING SING - MOMS MABLEY</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7teOEXsiUDK-5jaM0sHTuytfC9R3cL9zJ3DAFUElvc8Or3BPfqONtMrT4483BNEXNzOiw7EtzPI1RG8-Sv_g-C6lNKD8WOU3AYocK20OQkL14IOfFglZr23qKOWNANlxFNoiSMEsjeEA/s609/momsmableylivesingsing.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="609" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7teOEXsiUDK-5jaM0sHTuytfC9R3cL9zJ3DAFUElvc8Or3BPfqONtMrT4483BNEXNzOiw7EtzPI1RG8-Sv_g-C6lNKD8WOU3AYocK20OQkL14IOfFglZr23qKOWNANlxFNoiSMEsjeEA/w394-h400/momsmableylivesingsing.png" width="394" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b><p></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="color: red;">YEAR: </span></i> 1970</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="color: red;">LABEL: </span></i>Mercury</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="color: red;">TRACK LISTING: </span></i>Monologue I, Monologue II: Go Tell It On the Mountain</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: red;"><i>IMPRESSIONS: </i></span> We all know Moms Mabley is hilarious. But there's something extra hilarious and really ironic about the back cover of the album. There is a blurb written by Bill Cosby which, due to recent events, is hilariously ironic to say the least. I've just got to quote it here because have to see it to believe it: "<i>I know if I were an inmate and I heard that Moms Mabley was coming, sexually I would not be too excited. But once I start to think about it, I would begin to realize the groovy things that Moms would bring to me. . . .Laughter is one of the most important things in life to depressed and disturbed human beings, and I know that Moms realized this when she went to Sing Sing -- and she delivered. If I'm ever busted for anything, I hope that Moms comes to my prison and does a concert and I'll ask for an eight-by-ten picture of her in the nude. -- Bill Cosby</i>". I mean . . . . just wow.</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="color: red;">MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:</span></i> As usual with Moms Mabley albums, there's a Side One and a Side Two . . . so all of 'em.</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="color: red;">FACT SHEET: </span></i>LIVE AT SING SING is Moms Mabley's nineteenth album (more or less). Monologue II features a version of the song "Go Tell It On The Mountain" that was arranged by Moms Mabley. The back of the album contains liner notes/blurbs written by Bill Cosby and Merv Griffin. All original material was written by Moms Mabley and Eddie Parton.</span></b></p><p><b><br /></b></p>Cerptshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788317865445255338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398428068364247530.post-69198714007393451242021-03-10T16:57:00.007-05:002021-03-10T17:24:04.640-05:00<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: x-large;"> <b>THE VINYL DETECTIVE - VARIOUS ARTISTS</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIfqbRuGj9utyfq5wasZQMrw-ubnuBO1kzcMTtOY3levhST3Sc-kYl02osY1wiIIF7AsNvJT6qTXkDIire2GQx-nKILU9u3MzOzWqfBfSx8PJ-DlIMZs6VC6sdvg8gifApEtdOlk8ht-k/s1200/vinyldetectivelp.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIfqbRuGj9utyfq5wasZQMrw-ubnuBO1kzcMTtOY3levhST3Sc-kYl02osY1wiIIF7AsNvJT6qTXkDIire2GQx-nKILU9u3MzOzWqfBfSx8PJ-DlIMZs6VC6sdvg8gifApEtdOlk8ht-k/w400-h400/vinyldetectivelp.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b><p></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="color: red;">YEAR:</span></i> 2019</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="color: red;">LABEL:</span></i> Vinyl Passion</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: red;"><i>TRACK LISTING: </i></span> Theme From the Vinyl Detective - Joe Kraemer, I Could Write A Book - The Miles Davis Quintet, Goodbye Pork Pie Hat - Charles Mingus, Time After Time - Lucy Ann Polk, Warm Canto - Mal Waldron, Heart and Soul - Joanie Sommers, Love Theme From Spartacus - Yusef Lateef, The Way You Look Tonight - Betty Carter & Ray Bryant, Thou Swell - Blossom Dearie, Waltz For Debby - Cannonball Adderley & Bill Evans, Don'cha Go 'Way Mad - Lucy Ann Polk, Theme From The Vinyl Detective (Full Version) - Joe Kraemer</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="color: red;">IMPRESSIONS: </span></i> I discovered and started reading the Vinyl Detective novels by Andrew Cartmel in 2019 and loved them. I already knew Cartmel from his Doctor Who writings and here we had more fiction that was right up my alley: a detective of vinyl who finds rare records that just happen to be mixed up in some sort of murder mystery. And what could be a better companion to the books (3 of which I've read already and I've started the 4th one) than a vinyl LP (this is not available on CD) of jazz tunes which are the favourites of the Vinyl Detective himself?!?!?!!! Perfect! This LP contains some songs which were already favourites of mine as well as a newly written and recorded "theme song" for the Vinyl Detective himself! Besides that, this is also the record the first introduced me to the delights of Lucy Ann Polk's singing; which I'd never heard before this album.</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="color: red;">MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: </span></i> Goodbye Pork Pie Hat - Charles Mingus, Time After Time - Lucy Ann Polk, The Way You Look Tonight - Betty Carter & Ray Bryant, Thou Swell - Blossom Dearie, Waltz For Debby - Cannonball Adderley & Bill Evans, Don'cha Go 'Way Mad - Lucy Ann Polk, Theme From The Vinyl Detective (Full Version) - Joe Kraemer</span></b></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: red;"><i>FACT SHEET: </i></span> THE VINYL DETECTIVE album was released only on vinyl on September 6, 2019. Classic jazz tracks were curated by Andrew Cartmel specifically to tie-in to his VINYL DETECTIVE mystery novels as if they were chosen by his title character. A new VINYL DETECTIVE theme song was commissioned to be written and recorded by Joe Kraemer. </span></b></p>Cerptshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788317865445255338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398428068364247530.post-29458273403512451322021-03-09T20:45:00.001-05:002021-03-09T20:45:52.341-05:00<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"> <b>THE XYL FILE - CHUCK VAN ZYL</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-_Dj1hVn0u4eosnLRwih4vdrNDx71a7BPBOiwzuKiWrX8lbH0idryt9Qer6p0w-kVHA5UgVQMM8ohyphenhyphenuvLNvNUw1O2h77dVjDAXJu83ccfFgQ8d3_3Yz6-IpYgnxzKbbYkNNlyTMY-cNs/s751/xylfile.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="751" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-_Dj1hVn0u4eosnLRwih4vdrNDx71a7BPBOiwzuKiWrX8lbH0idryt9Qer6p0w-kVHA5UgVQMM8ohyphenhyphenuvLNvNUw1O2h77dVjDAXJu83ccfFgQ8d3_3Yz6-IpYgnxzKbbYkNNlyTMY-cNs/w400-h361/xylfile.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><b><span style="color: red;"><i>YEAR:</i></span> 2016</b></p><p><b><i><span style="color: red;">LABEL:</span></i> Industry8</b></p><p><b><i><span style="color: red;">TRACK LISTING: </span></i> Low Glide, The Theory Changes the Reality It Describes, Nuclear Winter, Runway, Faston, Testament of Youth</b></p><p><b><span style="color: red;"><i>IMPRESSIONS:</i></span> This CD is something of a Holy Grail for me and my doddy Cheeks and this is cuz why. In 1985 (or thereabouts), Cheeks and I were road tripping (as was our wont) here and there and everywhere. He may have a clearer memory of this but I think we were parked eating McDonald's or something . . . . all I know is that we were no longer mobile and were sitting in the car. Or maybe we were driving around. How am I supposed to know when we were that fubar?!?!? Anyway, we were randomly flipping through the radio stations when we came upon some obscure station (very possibly a Christian radio station) that was playing a song called "JESUS CHRIST" (or it's equivalent) by the Flying Evangelists. Now, THIS was what one might call "an experience"! Rolling around the radio dial some more brought us to another obscure station (probably a college radio station or it's equivalent) where we heard some electronic, spacey instrumental that was pretty freaky. The DJ identified it as something called "NUCLEAR WINTER" by Xyl. For decades, we desperately searched in vain to find said music. Until last year when I absently entered "Nuclear Winter" and "Xyl" into Discogs and lo and behold there it was. And the CD was fer sale by the artist! A magical moment in our lives when we finally got ahold of it and listened to the music we hadn't heard since 1985!!!! </b></p><p><b><i><span style="color: red;">MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:</span></i> Low Glide and then all of 'em!</b></p><p><b><span style="color: red;"><i>FACT SHEET:</i></span> THE XYL FILE is a CD album released by Chuck Van Zyl that is limited to 1000 hand-numbered and autographed copies. The first 4 tracks were originally released on cassette as "THE XYL FILE" and tracks 5 & 6 were originally released on the cassette "NUCLEAR WINTER". </b></p>Cerptshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788317865445255338noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398428068364247530.post-55006901239952025612020-09-09T20:16:00.004-04:002021-03-10T16:15:30.081-05:00<h1 style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">THE VIEW FROM A HILL - THE OWL SERVICE</span></b></h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPeNpDnr0vbEU3S4Xtp08ChkV1PhsN6U-kJDGgur-Xff8_iyWoSW80i89ec_rLz8020Sxo3iLyJ7erptDC9pQz_2DL9WCiWcCabImHKXJeyX16xOS52ovN3f96LBkzVBGWwWJKqSN1oW8/s550/viewfromahill.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="550" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPeNpDnr0vbEU3S4Xtp08ChkV1PhsN6U-kJDGgur-Xff8_iyWoSW80i89ec_rLz8020Sxo3iLyJ7erptDC9pQz_2DL9WCiWcCabImHKXJeyX16xOS52ovN3f96LBkzVBGWwWJKqSN1oW8/w400-h361/viewfromahill.png" width="400" /></a></b></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p><b><span style="color: red;"><i>YEAR: </i></span> 2010</b> </p><p><b><span style="color: red;"><i>LABEL:</i></span> Rif Mountain</b></p><p><b><i><span style="color: red;">TRACK LISTING: </span> </i>Polly On the Shore, The Banks of the Nile, Ladies Don't Go A-Thieving, I Was A Young Man, Sorry the Day I Was Married, Willie O'Winsbury, In Thorneymoor Woods Pt. 1, The Bold Poachers, In Thorneymoor Woods Pt. 2, The Lover's Ghost, The Ladies Go Dancing at Whitsun, Willie O'Winsbury (Reprise), The Loyal Lover, Within Sound, Cruel Mother</b></p><p><b><span style="color: red;"><i>IMPRESSIONS: </i></span> In 2020, I don't know what it was but I was bigtime into folk horror and read several books on the subject. I also read Rob Young's monumental tome on British folk music "ELECTRIC EDEN: UNEARTHING BRITAIN'S VISIONARY MUSIC" which had a section on this album lurking in its pages. As usual with a book of this kind, I read it with a pen and paper so I could jot down albums to buy. And this was one of them. </b></p><p><b><i><span style="color: red;">MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:</span></i> All of 'em . . . .because they're misty moisty Brit Folk music.</b></p><p><b><span style="color: red;"><i>FACT SHEET:</i> </span> The Owl Service was formed and lead by Steven Collins for it's entire ten year existence. The groups's name is from the folk horror/young adult novel THE OWL SERVICE by Alan Garner from 1967; the novel was adapted for British television in 1969 and starred Gillian Hills. THE VIEW FROM A HILL is The Owl Service's third album. Adam Leonard provides backing vocals on "Ladies, Don't Go A-Thieving", "Willie O'Winsbury", "In Thorneymoor Woods Pt. 2", "Within Sound" and "Cruel Mother". Alison O'Donnell provides vocals on "The Lover's Ghost". Magnus Dearness plays trombone on "Willie O'Winsbury (Reprise)". Naomi Browton provides backing vocals and plays cello on "Cruel Mother". </b></p><p><br /></p>Cerptshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788317865445255338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398428068364247530.post-44272563398104047002015-06-15T22:47:00.003-04:002015-06-15T22:50:17.019-04:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">ALL IN THE FAMILY - CAST</span></strong></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAiRskISH0XP7bPhIaxuffTI45oYiShNMIVDOd7hG7rtowLh8ueqqcE815oR2rdMDy6reZ1ANqomDuQ6soG8pmr1JJJQ7oXZYUNsQecRchLARNk3IMa_im2zZr-Jd91zNskw6jqCIZ6Hg/s1600/aitflp.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAiRskISH0XP7bPhIaxuffTI45oYiShNMIVDOd7hG7rtowLh8ueqqcE815oR2rdMDy6reZ1ANqomDuQ6soG8pmr1JJJQ7oXZYUNsQecRchLARNk3IMa_im2zZr-Jd91zNskw6jqCIZ6Hg/s320/aitflp.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">YEAR:</span></em> 1971</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">LABEL:</span></em> Atlantic Records</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">TRACK LISTING:</span></em> Those Were The Days - Theme, Why God Made Hands, Sweety Pie Roger, Transplants, A Station Wagon Filled With Nuns, No Ribs?, Do You Love Me?, God Is Black, VD Day, Archie's Hangup, Bacon Souffle & Women's Lib, Jury Duty, Shove Yours/Closing Theme</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em><span style="color: red;">IMPRESSIONS:</span></em> After a year and a half of letting this blog lay fallow, I've returned. The main reason is the death yesterday of my grandmother at the age of 97. As usual in times of grief or tremendous stress, I find myself retreating to "comfort TV" in order to soothe the troubled waters. So I began watching one of my favourite TV shows: ALL IN THE FAMILY. And it surprised me that I hadn't posted about this LP in the past; seeing as it played such a huge part in my childhood. I've had this record as long as I can remember; obviously I appropriated it from my parents' record collection early. It was probably my father's (my parents divorced when I was 5) and I took possession of it and, it must be said, played it to death. There were no DVD players back in the 70s, folks, let alone VCRs so this was the only way to relive the show at will. And this I did; resulting in the fact that I know great chunks of the first season of the TV by heart. Anything that reminds me of the 1970s gives me a warm feeling inside and ALL IN THE FAMILY is one of the seventies-est things I know. My late grandfather Buster was quite like Archie Bunker even though my grandmother was nothing like Edith. And the set of ALL IN THE FAMILY reminds me tremendously of my grandparents' old house in Pennsauken -- even though it really looks nothing like it at all. Perhaps it's because the set decoration for the show makes the Bunker residence feel like it's full of furniture and knick-knacks that have hung around since the 40's and 50's -- and my grandparents' house had the same feel. The Bunkers have radiators for heat and so did my grandparents. My grandmother wore "house dresses" quite similar to Edith's (and she even wore similar aprons when in the kitchen). The stairs going up the set of the Bunkers' house remind me of the stairs going up to the second floor of my grandparents' house. And I think you get the picture. Meanwhile, the actual ALL IN THE FAMILY record reminds me of the millions of times at my own home I would put this record on my old record player in my bedroom and listen over and over to it as a kid. As always, the memories of those who have left us stay alive in us when we remember them. And those halcyon days of 70's childhood always come back to me when I listen to (or even just look at) this record. Another favourite thing about this record is the back cover's liner notes by the show's originator Norman Lear (which I will now quote in its entirety because it's so great): "<em><span style="color: #351c75;">ALL IN THE FAMILY first aired on January 12, 1971 and two days later we received our first piece of mail. It was a letter from a woman who had been divorced many years before, when her son was 4 years old. The boy had never seen his father after that. On the night ALL IN THE FAMILY debuted, her son was now 32 years old and living in a city 1200 miles away. The show was on for about 10 minutes when the lady ran to the telephone and almost broke her dialing finger phoning her son. Happily she reached him and screamed across the miles: "You always wanted to know what your father was like--well, hurry up and turn on Channel 2!!". In this album, perhaps there is a touch of your father. Or neighbor. Or me. Or you. Whatever, whoever--enjoy! -Norman Lear"</span></em> </strong></span><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:</span></em> All of 'em!</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">FACT SHEET:</span></em> ALL IN THE FAMILY is an album released by Atlantic Records in conjunction with Tandem Productions in 1971. The album features audio taken directly from the first season of the programme (with tiny edits removing "visual" jokes). Featured on the album are main cast members Carroll O'Connor (as Archie Bunker), Jean Stapleton (as Edith), Sally Struthers (as Gloria), Rob Reiner (as Mike a.k.a. "Meathead") and Mike Evans (as Lionel Jefferson). The Stivics' friend Roger on the track "Sweety Pie Roger" is shockingly Anthony Geary (best known as Luke Spencer from General Hospital less than a decade later). The record also came with an interior two page booklet featuring a description of the show and cast bios. This LP was successful enough that a Volume 2 was later released; I own that one as well but it doesn't hold as dear a place in my heart because I bought it years later in the mid-1980s from a used record dealer.</span></strong>Cerptshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788317865445255338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398428068364247530.post-61627243894546121682013-12-08T00:30:00.000-05:002013-12-08T00:30:01.442-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">WARM BRANDY - DOLORES GRAY</span></strong></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0br-Na08JwJeOvGdq7lKSfn3wGivM4AwL5rNDeNIjEcn0FY27kYmHdqwXqWF-k6kSbWrG6anATZPsBogqzT5h79HoZP4P6-c0XcEgqEibmTw7yChotXmzOH6F8mE2GNA34nSAqf-HvmY/s1600/warmbrandy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0br-Na08JwJeOvGdq7lKSfn3wGivM4AwL5rNDeNIjEcn0FY27kYmHdqwXqWF-k6kSbWrG6anATZPsBogqzT5h79HoZP4P6-c0XcEgqEibmTw7yChotXmzOH6F8mE2GNA34nSAqf-HvmY/s320/warmbrandy.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">YEAR:</span></em> 1957</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">LABEL:</span></em> Capitol</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">TRACK LISTING:</span></em> Shangri-La, Penthouse Serenade, You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me, Kiss Me, How Long Has This Been Going On, Close Your Eyes, You Go To My Head, Do Do Do, Speak Low, Don't Blame Me, Isn't It Romantic, You're My Thrill</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">BONUS TRACKS:</span></em> My Mama Likes You, I'm Innocent, Fool's Errand, There'll Be Some Changes Made</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">IMPRESSIONS:</span></em> Since we're cruising into the dark nights of December and lounging lazily in front of the fireplace sounds appropriate, I thought I'd revisit one of the loungiest of lounge albums here provided by actress/singer Dolores Gray. She never broke out of B-list status for stardom and she was never a superb vocalist but here Gray is perfectly cast for the whispery, come-hither vocals contained in this album. Gray here is more of a song stylist than an great vocalist as she half-whispers/half-sings mostly quiet torch songs which are the audio equivalent of what used to be called "bedroom eyes". The album cover perfectly captures what's contained inside. As allmusic's J. Scott McLintock states:"<em>The original selections presented all have the fireside couch in mind (with an eye on the bedroom) and, for sheer cocktail romanticism, this set has few peers</em>." The same website's Jason Ankeny also evocatively conjures the following image for the album: "<em>Gray doesn't sing so much as she curls up in the melody as if it were a chaise lounge--Sid Feller's late-night arrangements further extend the sultry, profoundly adult ambience, with hints of cool jazz that float under the surface like ice</em> <em>cubes</em>." The lush strings and lightly-tapped bongos on "Close Your Eyes" is perhaps the perfect example of what this album stands for. This is an album where the drums are played solely with brushes. As the liner notes proudly proclaim: "<em>Dolores Gray draws close to the microphone and sings in a manner as intoxicating as warm brandy</em>." Especially as the hectic holiday season approaches, WARM BRANDY is perhaps the perfect album to put on as you wind down after a particularly crazy day.<br />
<em><span style="color: red;">MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:</span></em> Shangri-La, Penthouse Serenade, Kiss Me, How Long Has This Been Going On, Close Your Eyes, You Go To My Head, Speak Low, Don't Blame Me<br />
<em><span style="color: red;">FACT SHEET:</span></em> WARM BRANDY is an album by Dolores Gray released in 1957 by Capitol Records. The music was arranged and conducted by Sid Feller. </span></strong>Cerptshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788317865445255338noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398428068364247530.post-68237441192299349822013-12-07T01:00:00.000-05:002013-12-07T01:00:02.908-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">THE BIG HEAT - STAN RIDGWAY</span></strong></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLblfJKvcxCHoqeW_VZlL7oXu6C-Nd8GVgSJazQfaOCf7TMS2QaDHuopVUBvN1WFINjWUFsqjXy67PnbU88Mo6gVhAjrwSkIsTsEs_J3cOOjTvEXq3fdSBQfM9QXdgCXmvlmoJXuVhc50/s1600/ridgway.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLblfJKvcxCHoqeW_VZlL7oXu6C-Nd8GVgSJazQfaOCf7TMS2QaDHuopVUBvN1WFINjWUFsqjXy67PnbU88Mo6gVhAjrwSkIsTsEs_J3cOOjTvEXq3fdSBQfM9QXdgCXmvlmoJXuVhc50/s320/ridgway.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">YEAR:</span></em> 1986</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">LABEL:</span></em> IRS</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">TRACK LISTING:</span></em> The Big Heat, Pick It Up (And Put It In Your Pocket), Can't Stop the Show, Pile Driver, Walkin' Home Alone, Drive She Said, Salesman, Twisted, Camouflage, Rio Greyhound (Instrumental)</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">BONUS TRACKS:</span></em> Stormy Side of Town, Foggy River, End of the Line, Nadine, Can't Stop the Show (Live), Drive She Said (Live)</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">IMPRESSIONS:</span></em> Boy, I miss that 80's sound. Listening to this album once again, with its stabbing synths and drum machines, the sound of the mid-80's floods right back and I'm tempted to put on my acid-washed bomber jacket that's hanging in the back of my closet. It's the sound of "THE BREAKFAST CLUB" incidental music -- Wang Chungin' to the "Fire in the Twilight" -- that Devo-influenced, Kraftwerk-influenced early to mid-80's sound. A sound that was prevalent in . . . well . . . Ridgway's old group Wall of Voodoo even. Here we have Stan on his debut solo album which has been called heavily drenched in the world of film noir; after all, the title track and the album itself is at least partly inspired by Fritz Lang's classic 50's noir film of the same name. And that's kinda the feel of the whole album. Each song is just like listening to a mini-movie which sets up its own atmosphere and characters. Like the time-traveler in the title track who zips from 1986 to 1992 to read the headlines, Stan Ridgway's solo debut palpably rockets me right back to that time when I used to start my pre-close about five minutes after my shift started at 4pm and then rode around in my best friend's puke-coloured Camaro!</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:</span></em> The Big Heat, Pick It Up (And Put It In Your Pocket), Can't Stop the Show, Walkin' Home Alone, Drive She Said, Salesman, Twisted, Camouflage, Stormy Side of Town, End of the Line, Nadine</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">GUEST ARTISTS:</span></em> Mitchell Froom (keyboards, co-producer)</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">FACT SHEET:</span></em> THE BIG HEAT is Stan Ridgway's first album; originally released as a nine-song album, it was re-released in 1993 with the additional bonus tracks included. The album yielded the #4 UK hit single "Camouflage". Stan Ridgway was formerly the lead singer for the band Wall of Voodoo. "Nadine" is a Chuck Berry cover.</span></strong>Cerptshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788317865445255338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398428068364247530.post-42524790789501059182013-12-06T03:35:00.000-05:002013-12-06T03:35:00.613-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">MOMS MABLEY AT THE "UN" - MOMS MABLEY</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">YEAR:</span></em> 1961</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">LABEL:</span></em> Chess</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">TRACK LISTING:</span></em> Side A, Side B</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">IMPRESSIONS:</span></em> This is one of my favourite Moms Mabley albums. Pretty much every Moms Mabley album is the same: hilarious! So it's a little difficult to choose one from the other and say anything relevant about it other than Moms does her stand-up routine in front of a live audience and is hysterically funny. Perhaps this album she's a little funnier so I chose it to post about; in fact, the recent documentary "WHOOPI GOLDBERG PRESENTS MOMS MABLEY" uses quite a few clips from this album. But really it's to refresh everyone's memory about this groundbreaking (an adjective Mabley actually deserves) comedian who was the most successful female comic on the planet during her heyday. With her dentures out and her housecoat and floppy hat on, Moms Mabley is one of those people who could truly read the phone book and be funny.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:</span></em> There are no tracks as such but merely side a and side b so all of 'em.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><em>FACT SHEET:</em></span> AT THE "UN" is Moms Mabley's second album (perhaps) and was recorded live at the Uptown Theater in Philadelphia.</span></strong>Cerptshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788317865445255338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398428068364247530.post-7521450195237647992013-12-05T03:09:00.000-05:002013-12-05T03:09:00.614-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">BLOODSHOT - THE J. GEILS BAND</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">YEAR:</span></em> 1973</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">LABEL:</span></em> Atlantic</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">TRACK LISTING:</span></em> (Ain't Nothin' But A) House Party, Make Up Your Mind, Back to Get Ya, Struttin' with My Baby, Don't Try To Hide It, Southside Shuffle, Hold Your Loving, Start All Over Again, Give It To Me</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">IMPRESSIONS:</span></em> It's been a while but we're heading back to the 1970s living room in Maple Surple with the wood paneling and the lime green bean bag chair of my kiddiehood when my mother used to blast rock records while she was cleaning or else just dancing around. Consequently, I heard this J. Geils Band album many, many times while growing up. It's a little bit grungy and a little bit naughty with straight-ahead rockin' guitar and rollin' piano combined with a large soupcon of the blues and a hint of retro fifties style (this WAS the era when "HAPPY DAYS" was a big TV hit). The album starts off with a barnstorming cover "(Ain't Nothin' But A) House Party" which commences the joint to jumpin' and things stay pretty much on the same high-energy level of fun throughout the spinning of the entire clear red vinyl record. Wickedly risqué (in the early 70s) was "Don't Try To Hide It" with it's chorus of "<em>I see your heiney, it's nice and shiny, don't try to hide it, you know I'll find it</em>"!</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:</span></em> (Ain't Nothin' But A) House Party, Make Up Your Mind, Back To Get Ya, Don't Try To Hide It, Give It To Me</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">FACT SHEET:</span></em> BLOODSHOT is the J. Geils Band's fourth album. It went to number 10 on the Billboard charts; the highest ranking of a J. Geils Band album until the 1981 success of the multi-platinum "FREEZE FRAME" album. I frankly prefer BLOODSHOT. The album was recorded in New York City's Hit Factory and produced by Bill Szymczyk. The band consists of J. Geils (guitar), Peter Wolf (vocals), Stephen Bladd (percussion, drums, vocals), Danny Klein (bass), Seth Justmas (keyboards, vocals), Magic Dick (harmonica, trumpet) and Mike Hunt (saxophone). Are these last two names for real?!?! The album was pressed on red vinyl instead of the usual black. </span></strong>Cerptshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788317865445255338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398428068364247530.post-23714878733678823982013-12-04T02:36:00.000-05:002013-12-04T02:36:00.269-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">SNOOPY'S CHRISTMAS - THE PETER PAN SINGERS</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">YEAR:</span></em> 1968</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">LABEL:</span></em> Diplomat/Tinkerbell</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">TRACK LISTING:</span></em> Snoopy's Christmas, The Little Shepherd, Christmas Candy, Mary Christmas, The Snowflake Song, Jingle the Christmas Mouse, The Christmas Tree, Mr. Reindeer, Donner and Blitzen, Jack Frost's Christmas</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">IMPRESSIONS:</span></em> This is the other children's Christmas record my grandmother bought me while we were food shopping at the Holiday supermarket in the mid-1970s. The first one I talked about in yesterday's post. I don't have much to add to what I mentioned in the other "SNOOPY'S CHRISTMAS" post other than that this album is perhaps more lively than the other one and also features a wider variety of song styles; the Peppermint Kandy Kids album has many songs which sounds similar to one another while this album is musically more distinct with each song and features many memorable characters. My favourite of these is "Jingle the Christmas Mouse" but there's also "Mary Christmas" and the delightfully bonkers "Donner and Blitzen" song which sounds like Carmen Miranda fell into a jazz improv group!</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:</span></em> Snoopy's Christmas, Christmas Candy, Mary Christmas, The Snowflake Song, Jingle the Christmas Mouse, Donner and Blitzen</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">FACT SHEET:</span></em> SNOOPY'S CHRISTMAS is a children's Christmas record which most sources site as being released on Diplomat Records in 1968; my copy of the LP was on Tinkerbell Records released sometime in the early to mid-1970s. Both of these labels, however, were subsidiaries of Peter Pan Records and the studio musicians/singers can most properly be called "The Peter Pan Singers". The cover art on my copy of the LP (pictured above) was by Howie Post.</span></strong>Cerptshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788317865445255338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398428068364247530.post-25353685994080983162013-12-03T02:28:00.001-05:002013-12-03T02:35:28.106-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">SNOOPY'S CHRISTMAS - THE PEPPERMINT KANDY KIDS</span></strong></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaC9Z4ouDHoe0dCMsRUvnkujQxJhGLuhQh0Pnr7U-tB2pp5r3-ZgQHE1gV9RvFkXWR9nPgbmI2b3uNsUlYBAlIrq7lvjxlYmAtQ8jyEo8iWtaTc5gtzNYyXATmTN9FiEiZotdK4nv2LQw/s1600/peppermint+kandy+kids+snoopys+xmas.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaC9Z4ouDHoe0dCMsRUvnkujQxJhGLuhQh0Pnr7U-tB2pp5r3-ZgQHE1gV9RvFkXWR9nPgbmI2b3uNsUlYBAlIrq7lvjxlYmAtQ8jyEo8iWtaTc5gtzNYyXATmTN9FiEiZotdK4nv2LQw/s320/peppermint+kandy+kids+snoopys+xmas.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">YEAR:</span></em> 1972</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">LABEL:</span></em> Peter Pan Records</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">TRACK LISTING:</span></em> Snoopy's Christmas, Santa Claus For President (And Christmas All Year Round), Children of the World Unite Tonight, Who Stole the Mistletoe? (The Nose Knows), We Wish You A Merry Christmas, Jingle Bell Rock, Travelin' Man, Christmas Eve In Sloopyville, Superstar, The Happiest Time of the Year</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em><span style="color: red;">IMPRESSIONS:</span></em> Once again we delve into the Christmas kiddie wayback machine and look at one of those Peter Pan Christmas records I had as a kid. Just like <a href="http://thedarkforestvault.blogspot.com/search/label/Bunny%20Hoppers"><span style="color: red;">"The Bunny Hoppers" Christmas LP "THE CHIPMUNK SONG"</span></a> I posted about a couple years ago, this and another "SNOOPY'S CHRISTMAS" children's record were purchased by my grandmother when we were food shopping at the surely long-defunct Holiday supermarket. Clocking in at under 24 minutes, this is a shorty but a goody which I played endlessly when I was growing up. The Peppermint Kandy Kids, of course, were whatever studio musicians and singers Peter Pan Records were using that week and they cover the Royal Guardsmen's earlier hit single "Snoopy's Christmas" which gave it's name to this album. However, it appears Peter Pan Records were only allowed to use the Peanuts character names in the eponymous title track as, wherever else they appear, the names are changed. F'rinstance, in "Who Stole the Mistletoe", Charlie Brown's name is changed to "Harley" and Schroeder's to "Roeder" - and the very title of "Christmas Eve In Sloopyville" shows Snoopy's name change as well.<br />
<span lang="">I always liked the hushed, almost-spooky atmosphere of "Children of the World, Unite Tonight"; the picture I always got in my mind's eye was of a Currier & Ives frosted window pane in the dark of night with a lone candle burning as a child's face looks out hoping to catch a glimpse of Santa's sleigh. Hilariously, this rather subdued version of "Children of the World, Unite Tonight" has a raucous, faster counterpart on the aforementioned "Bunny Hoppers" Christmas record; the song title is exactly the same but the song itself is totally different. Then there's, what to me always sounded like, the faux-Peggy Lee style vocal on "Travelin' Man" with the added lounge-singer whistling bridge! "Superstar" obviously mirrors the time of the record's release (1972) when "JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR" was very popular; just substitute Santa as the eponymous superstar of the song and you have a hippy idea transformed by the extremely straight, white-bread style of the Peppermint Kandy Kids singers! The album also includes a version of "JINGLE BELL ROCK" which is a cover of the exact song you think it is but then there's the inclusion of "WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS" which is definitely not the song you think it is at all!<br />
<em><span style="color: red;">MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:</span></em> Snoopy's Christmas, Children of the World Unite Tonight, Who Stole the Mistletoe? (The Nose Knows), We Wish You A Merry Christmas, Travelin' Man<br />
<em><span style="color: red;">FACT SHEET:</span></em> SNOOPY'S CHRISTMAS is a children's Christmas record released by Peter Pan Records in 1972. The "Santa/Snoopy/Red Baron/Whatever It Is" figure seen on the cover is actually a gatefold cutout Christmas decoration which had a perforated edge so kiddies could tear it off and hang it on the wall; once you did this, however, the image still appeared underneath so the album cover looks identical with or without it. The album cover art was drawn by the legendary kid's records cover artist George Peed. In 1977, Peter Pan Records re-recorded the entire album with different versions of each of the songs linked together as a story; this version is actually available on iTunes and is godawful!</span></strong></span>Cerptshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788317865445255338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398428068364247530.post-27803535363816623542013-09-05T00:00:00.000-04:002013-12-03T03:53:19.691-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">GENUINE NEGRO JIG - CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">YEAR:</span></em> 2010</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">LABEL:</span></em> Nonesuch</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">TRACK LISTING:</span></em> Peace Behind the Bridge, Trouble In Your Mind, Your Baby Ain't Sweet Like Mine, Hit 'Em Up Style, Cornbread and Butterbeans, Snowden's Jig (Genuine Negro Jig), Why Don't You Do Right?, Cindy Gal, Kissin' and Cussin', Sandy Boys, Reynadine, Trampled Rose</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">BONUS TRACKS:</span></em> Memphis Shakedown, City of Refuge</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">IMPRESSIONS:</span></em> I've always been a fan of folk music and old 78 recordings such as those featured in Harry Smith's "ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN FOLK MUSIC" etc. That's probably why this album was such a joy to me. Oftentimes, when modern performers attempt to do old blues songs or jug band stomps or country blues, the results can sound dead or academic; but here, the Carolina Chocolate Drops recordings sound alive and authentic as this music should. After all, this music shouldn't be considered a museum piece (as often happens) but instead should be just as enjoyable as any other music one listens to today. And that's where the Carolina Chocolate Drops triumph over their competitors; the music sounds fresh and vital and not at all like some dusty music archeologist's attempts to catalogue lost folk tunes. This album is just a solidly great listen; an almost perfect album in every way. The song selections are pretty flawless; country blues and jug band hootenannies ("Trouble In Your Mind", "Your Baby Ain't Sweet Like Mine") with new compositions "Kissin' and Cussin'"), modern covers, instrumentals and even British folk music. We're used to hearing Peggy Lee's big band version of "Why Don't You Do Right?" but here the exquisite voice of Rhiannon Giddens renders it into a melancholy blues. There is murder ballad-stuff here as well as a hilariously incongruous but still tasty cover of Blu Cantrell's hit from about a decade ago "Hit 'Em Up Style" which somehow works. Rhiannon also provides us with an a cappella rendition of the Brit-folk standard "Reynadine" which I'm familiar with in versions by Fairport Convention and Bert Jansch all the way through to the Folktellers' version "Mr. Fox" on their <a href="http://thedarkforestvault.blogspot.com/search/label/Folktellers">"CHILLERS" album</a>. A superb collection of country blues.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:</span></em> Peace Behind the Bridge, Trouble In Your Mind, Your Baby Ain't Sweet Like Mine, Hit 'Em Up Style, Cornbread and Butterbeans, Snowden's Jig (Genuine Negro Jig), Why Don't You Do Right?, Kissin' and Cussin', Reynadine, Trampled Rose</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">FACT SHEET:</span></em> GENUINE NEGRO JIG is the Carolina Chocolate Drops' fourth album. The group at this time consisted of the trio of vocalist Rhiannon Giddens, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Dom Flemons and percussionist/banjoist Sule Greg Wilson with occasional guest appearances by Justin Robinson. The Carolina Chocolate Drops are one of the few existing African-American string bands whose stated purpose is to celebrate and bring attention to the history of string band music from the North and South Carolina Piedmont region which they learned at the feet of respected old-time fiddler Joe Thompson. In Giddens' words: "<em>it seems that two things get left out of the history books. One, that there was string band music in the Piedmont, period. (And that) black folk was such a huge part of string tradition</em>." Critically acclaimed, (The 9513 described the album as "<em>an album of feistily complex, yet endearingly soulful songs that have ages of history behind them and a bright future as well</em>.") the album was number 9 on Roots magazine's "Top 10 Albums of the Year" and was the first all-black group to appear at the Grand Ole Opry. "Peace Behind the Bridge" is an Etta Baker song. "Trouble In Your Mind" is a cover of a song originally done by Frank Blevins and the Tar Heel Rattlers. "Your Baby Ain't Sweet Like Mine" is a Papa Charlie Jackson song. "Hit 'Em Up Style" is a cover of a Blu Cantrell song. "Cornbread and Butterbeans" was originally recorded by the Carolina Sunshine Trio. "Why Don't You Do Right?" was recorded by multiple artists including most famously Peggy Lee. "Reynadine" is a traditional folk ballad; the version here was learned from a recording by Annie Briggs. "Trampled Rose" is a Tom Waits cover. In 2010, GENUINE NEGRO JIG won the Grammy Award for "Best Traditional Folk Album" and the Penguin Award for "Album of the Year".<br />
</span> </strong>Cerptshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788317865445255338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398428068364247530.post-89272615809706342142013-09-04T01:17:00.000-04:002013-09-04T01:17:52.732-04:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">TUPELO HONEY - VAN MORRISON</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">YEAR:</span></em> 1971</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">LABEL:</span></em> Warner Bros.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">TRACK LISTING:</span></em> Wild Night, (Straight To Your Heart) Like a Cannonball, Old Old Woodstock, Starting A New Life, You're My Woman, Tupelo Honey, I Wanna Roo You (Scottish Derivative), When That Evening Sun Goes Down, Moonshine Whiskey</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">IMPRESSIONS:</span></em> This album is the musical equivalent of kicking off your shoes and sprawling out in a hammock during a pleasant summer day. Much more laid back and less experimental than some of Van's other albums (and some people downgrade this album on that account), TUPELO HONEY finds the artist pausing to take stock of himself and his career. Originally conceived as a country album, Morrison eventually changed his mind and ditched half the songs which were very country and added some older songs he had "lying around". However, the album still sounds very, very country and is especially indicative of the era when everyone seemed to be enamored of making albums which sounded like The Band. TUPELO HONEY is a nostalgic, sepia-tinted evocation of Morrison's home in Woodstock, New York which he viewed as an idyllic refuge until the 1969 concert and 1970 concert film turned it into a tourist mecca and he decided he needed to move out. He relocated to California (where his then-wife Janet Planet had relatives) and it is there he recorded this album. The song "Old Old Woodstock" immediately followed with "Starting a New Life" lays out this scenario quite clearly. Besides being a paean to relaxing country home life and the sound of the Band, the album is also an extremely romantic one with Van providing loving tributes to his wife: the impossibly perfect love song embodied in the title track as well as such romantic longings as "You're My Woman" (which Van wrote sitting at the piano in the recording studio) and "I Wanna Roo You (Scottish Derivative)" ("roo" means "to woo"). However, this is not completely a quiet album; the lead-off track is the seminal rocker "Wild Night" featuring Ronnie Montrose on guitar and there is the honky tonk, rolling piano tune of "When the Evening Sun Goes Down" as well as the final track "Moonshine Whiskey" (which Morrison has said was written for "Janis Joplin or something") which alternates between a slow 6/8 time as a fast 4/4. Morrison himself has expressed some disappointment with the album stating that it doesn't feel fresh owing to his use of a lot of older songs he hadn't yet recorded. As if songs had a sell-by date. Whether a song is good or bad has no relation to when it was written and, while Van may have had the songs laying around for a while, they were brand new to everyone else. TUPELO HONEY may not be groundbreaking stuff but it obviously wasn't intended to be; the album succeeds in its intentions. My acquisition of this album goes back to the late 80s-early 90s camping trips we all went on with my late friend Cindy and her husband Rob; this and Van Morrison's greatest hits were recurring soundtracks and always remind me of those times. It is, indeed, the perfect album for reminiscing.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:</span></em> Wild Night, Old Old Woodstock, You're My Woman, Tupelo Honey, I Wanna Roo You (Scottish Derivative), When That Evening Sun Goes Down</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">GUEST ARTISTS:</span></em> Ronnie Montrose (guitar)</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">FACT SHEET:</span></em> TUPELO HONEY is Van Morrison's fifth album. It went to #27 on the Billboard album charts and has been certified gold. </span></strong>Cerptshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788317865445255338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398428068364247530.post-41799667097961208382013-09-01T00:00:00.000-04:002013-09-01T00:00:07.000-04:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">BOSTON - BOSTON</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">YEAR:</span></em> 1976</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">LABEL:</span></em> Epic</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">TRACK LISTING:</span></em> More Than a Feeling, Peace of Mind, Foreplay/Long Time, Rock & Roll Band, Smokin', Hitch a Ride, Something About You, Let Me Take You Home Tonight</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><em>IMPRESSIONS:</em></span> Surely one of the most quintessential albums of the 1970s! As Wikipedia so aptly says, the album "sold mightily" and became one of the biggest selling debut albums of all time and almost the entire thing plays constantly on classic rock radio to this day. Something of a surprise to the record label as well as the band members themselves, the phenomenal success led to record labels trying to copy Boston's sound in order to make the cash registers ring. Somewhat unfairly, the resulting "corporate rock" genre was laid at the band's door but they were only ever interested in making their music. Subsequent knock-down, drag-out tussles with their record company over control of their future led to the band's stagnation as it was unable to release more albums for years. But one of classic rock's bedrock albums still stands as something of a monument of the 1970s and something of a comet flashing across the sky of those UFOs on the cover.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:</span></em> More Than a Feeling, Peace of Mind, Foreplay/Long Time, Rock & Roll Band, Smokin, Hitch a Ride, Let Me Take You Home Tonight</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">FACT SHEET:</span></em> BOSTON is Boston's first album and has sold over 20 million copies worldwide and has been certified diamond. It is the second highest-selling debut album of all-time behind Guns N Roses' "APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION". Boston consisted of Tom Scholz (guitars, bass, songwriting), Brad Delp (vocals, acoustic guitar), Sib Hashian (drums), Jim Masdea (drums on "Rock & Roll Band"), Barry Goudreau (rhythm guitars), Fran Sheehan (bass guitar on "Foreplay" and "Let Me Take You Home Tonight"). Scholz wrote or co-wrote most of the songs on the album years before and plays most of the instruments as well as recording and engineering all the tracks. Album opener "More Than A Feeling" is about daydreaming and was inspired by the break-up of a school-time romance. The Left Banke's "Walk Away Renee" was popular at the time and inspired Scholz in his misery; in fact, unconsciously the chord progression from "Walk Away Renee" appears in the song right after the line "I see my Mary Ann walking away". Famously, Nirvana would appropriate the main riff of the song for their own "Smells Like Teen Spirit" years later. </span></strong>Cerptshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788317865445255338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398428068364247530.post-68037375396475352922013-08-31T00:00:00.000-04:002013-08-31T00:00:06.119-04:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">SINATRA AT THE SANDS - FRANK SINATRA</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">YEAR:</span></em> 1966</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">LABEL:</span></em> Reprise</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">TRACK LISTING:</span></em> Come Fly With Me, I've Got a Crush On You, I've Got You Under My Skin, The Shadow of Your Smile, Street of Dreams, One For My Baby (and One More For the Road), Fly Me To the Moon, One O'clock Jump, The Tea Break, You Make Me Feel So Young, All of Me, The September of My Years, Luck Be A Lady, Get Me To the Church On Time, It Was A Very Good Year, Don't Worry 'Bout Me, Makin' Whoopee, Where or When, Angel Eyes, My Kind of Town, A Few Last Words, My Kind of Town (Reprise)</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">IMPRESSIONS:</span></em> I can't hear a live Sinatra album without thinking of my friend Paul. Paul's family was a Sinatra household and on more than one occasion, I can remember a road trip during which a Sinatra concert was played on the car stereo -- particularly this one New Year's Eve in the late 1980s. However, I don't think it was this one. So this album doesn't really have anything to do with this story, does it? Other than I always think of my friend Paul whenever I hear a live Sinatra album and this one is Ol' Blue Eyes' first live album. It's usually considered to be a quintessential snapshot of this era of Frankie and who am I to argue? Produced by the very young Quincy Jones and backed by the sublime Count Basie and his orchestra, Sinatra here is celebrating (?!) his recent 50th birthday and is full of mischief; particularly in his decision to do what amounts to almost 12 minutes of standup comedy in the middle of his concert! While some of the jokes are a little wheezy, Frankie is rather funny with his delivery and brio. But then it's the music which is the most important part of a live concert album and here we have some of the pinnacle of 60's era ring-a-ding-ding Sinatra on display. Of particular note is the inclusion of more than a few of the slow, melancholy Sinatra songs I love so much and I appreciate their inclusion in his set quite a lot, actually. Without them, the whole thing would seem rather flippant but the sad ballads really anchor the performance and give it a surprising depth amongst the clinks of cocktail glasses in the Sands casino.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:</span></em> Come Fly With Me, I've Got a Crush On You, I've Got You Under My Skin, One For My Baby (and One More For the Road), Fly Me To the Moon, The Tea Break, You Make Me Feel So Young, The September of My Years, It Was A Very Good Year, Don't Worry 'Bout Me, Where or When, Angel Eyes</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">GUEST ARTISTS:</span></em> Count Basie (piano), Quincy Jones (producer/arranger)</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">FACT SHEET:</span></em> SINATRA AT THE SANDS is Frank Sinatra's first live album. It was recorded live in the Copa Room of the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The album was certified gold. "Luck Be A Lady" did not appear on the original LP but was only included as a bonus track on the 1998 cd reissue; subsequent cd releases do not feature the track either. </span></strong>Cerptshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788317865445255338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398428068364247530.post-17498437525497794152013-08-30T00:00:00.000-04:002013-08-30T00:00:09.564-04:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">THE VERY BEST OF THE RUMBA GIANT OF ZAIRE - FRANCO</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">YEAR:</span></em> 2000</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">LABEL:</span></em> Manteca</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">TRACK LISTING:</span></em> On Entre O.K. On Sort K.O., Mpata Ezangi Mokengeli, Bolingo Ya Bougie, Luvumbu Ndoki, Koun Koue! Edo Aboyi Ngai, Kinsiona, Azda, Liberte, Nalingaka Yo Yo Te, Laissez Pazzez, Attention Na Sida</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">IMPRESSIONS:</span></em> Loathe as I am to include "best ofs" on this blog, Franco is something of a special case. From the time he started recording as a teenager in the 1950s until his death in 1989, Franco recorded some 84 albums and there are something like 150 if you include compilations etc. In fact, on this very blog I've already posted one of them (which you can go read if you click the "Franco" link at the bottom of this post) and, franc-ly (sorry) this album only differs from that because it's a single disc and that other one has 4 cds in it; and even THAT barely scratches the surface of Franco's best work. But I will use any opportunity to talk up Franco since his music is some of my favourite of all time and he needs to be better known in this country. As previously eluded to, this cd is woefully inadequate as an overview of Franco's colossal career but it does contain some of my favourite Franco songs. Also, this is the first actual Franco cd I ever heard thanks to friend Roxor who mailed it to me in the early noughties. Roxor had previously sent me a cassette tape of the 1999 career retrospective episode of the Afropop Worldwide radio programme which caused me to fall in love with Franco's music. Not only did he send me several more Franco cds but also the superb and indispensable Franco biography "CONGO COLOSSUS" which sent me on my way to becoming a ravening Francophile! "THE VERY BEST OF THE RUMBA GIANT OF ZAIRE" is a short but happy collection of some of le maître's best tracks and would make a great starting point for anyone new to Franco's music. It spans his entire career from his first big hit "On Entre O.K., On Sort K.O." (which translates into "You enter OK, you leave K.O.'ed" from Franco's powerful music!) and ends with the 80s anti-AIDS epic "Attention Na Sida". Due to this fact (and the brief nature of a single cd), this album doesn't flow as well as other compilations and the greatly-varied styles of the songs here may be bewildering to some; however as a brief sampler I suppose it serves as a musical appetizer for the much richer main course to be found in the wealth of Franco's output (now happily more readily available on things like iTunes and amazon). It would be very simple to put "all of 'em" as my favourite tracks from this cd, but I'm going to be scrupulously frugal and force myself to only choose several.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:</span></em> On Entre O.K. On Sort K.O., Koun Koue! Edo Aboya Ngai, Kinsiona, Azda, Liberte, Nalingaka Yo Yo Te, Laissez Passez, Attention Na Sida</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><em>FACT SHEET:</em></span> THE VERY BEST OF THE RUMBA GIANT OF ZAIRE is a compilation from 2000. As something of a primer for Franco's soukous sound for the uninitiated, I'll leave it to Robert Christgau from his 2001 Village Voice review: "<em>First a melodic section following the contours of a lyric that with Franco is almost always in Lingala--a tonal pidgin, originally the patois of the Congo docks, that serves as a kind of working-class West African Swahili--is varied and repeated vocally and instrumentally. And then comes the sebene, soukous's signature selling point, which has been credited to both Franco and one of his mentors, long-repatriated Belgian-born guitarist-producer Bill Alexandre, but which predates both and only flowered in its countless variegations after Zaiko launched their '70s youth movement. The sebene is an "improvisational episode" or "groove" in which three guitarists repeat short phrases off which the lead player improvises, generally remaining close enough to the source riffs to reinforce them and break them down simultaneously. Eventually younger players like Kanda Bongo Man shucked the verse to play nothing but sebene--"speed soukous." The intricate rush of the sebene is what you hear in your head when you recall what soukous sounds like."</em> ***<span style="font-size: small;">(all ownership of this quote reside with the original copyright holders credited i.e. Robert Christgau from the Village Voice dated July 1, 2001 and is used here for review purposes.)</span></span></strong>Cerptshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788317865445255338noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398428068364247530.post-55430460533666308492013-08-29T00:00:00.000-04:002013-08-29T00:00:09.351-04:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">. . .IS IT SOMETHING I SAID? - RICHARD PRYOR</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">YEAR:</span></em> 1975</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">LABEL:</span></em> Warner Bros.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">TRACK LISTING:</span></em> Eulogy, Shortage of White People, New Niggers, Cocaine, Just Us, Mudbone - Intro, Mudbone - Little Feets, When Your Woman Leaves You, The Goodnight Kiss, Women Are Beautiful, Our Text For Today</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">IMPRESSIONS:</span></em> I led a sheltered life. For some reason (most probably due to the naughty nature of the albums), I never heard an actual Richard Pryor album until my friend Cheeks gave me some cerpts tapes containing them. And this was probably the first I got. I know it's the one we got the most "catch-phrases" from. And it was only when I recently got the new cd box set of Richard Pryor's 6 Warner Bros. albums from 1974-1983 and listened to these classic comedy gems which I hadn't heard for at least 15 years that all the memories came flooding back to me. Not only did I suddenly remember where the hell I got some of those old catch-phrases from ("Goddamn baby, I love you but shit!") but also received another of those vivid sensory flashbacks discussed in the previous post. Memories of those early early cerpts tapes that I would receive from Cheeks which alternated stuff like Duran Duran's "Wild Boys" song with Richard Pryor's "Mudbone" -- and all of this taped onto a Kmart cassette tape from his old wobbly-turntabled record player with the noticeable hum hinting that there must've been some shady wiring going on in that thing. As familiar and well-loved as all this material is to me, I never even knew the names of the albums they were taken from until I got the new box set! I wonder if Richard would be surprised that listening to his comedy albums would conjure up such a warm and fuzzy glow?</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:</span></em> All of 'em.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">FACT SHEET:</span></em> . . .IS IT SOMETHING I SAID? is Richard Pryor's fourth album and his first under his new contract with Warner Bros. records. The album cover was conceived by Richard Pryor. The album made #1 on the Billboard R&B album chart and won the Grammy award for Best Comedy Recording in 1976. This is the first appearance on record of Pryor's "Mudbone" character. "Just Us" is credited on the album label as having been "stolen from Paul Mooney". The album was recorded almost right down the road from me at the now-defunct Latin Casino in Cherry Hill, NJ. </span></strong>Cerptshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788317865445255338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398428068364247530.post-46331742104058494492013-08-28T03:56:00.000-04:002013-08-28T08:09:36.603-04:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">COSMO'S FACTORY - CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">YEAR:</span></em> 1970</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">LABEL:</span></em> Fantasy Records</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">TRACK LISTING:</span></em> Ramble Tamble, Before You Accuse Me, Travelin' Band, Ooby Dooby, Lookin' Out My Back Door, Run Through the Jungle, Up Around the Bend, My Baby Left Me, Who'll Stop the Rain, I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Long As I Can See the Light</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">BONUS TRACKS:</span></em> Travelin' Band (Remake Take), Up Around the Bend (Live in Amsterdam, September 10, 1971), Born On the Bayou (Jam with Booker T at Fantasy Studios)</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">IMPRESSIONS:</span></em> I've never been what you'd call a CCR fan; however this album was a very strong presence during my very young years and I always get very nostalgic about it. In fact, it's one of those album which conjures very strong sensory recall when I merely see the album cover or hear the songs within. When the album came out I was only 4 years old but I can remember very strongly COSMO'S FACTORY playing in the living room of our old house in Maple Surple. Music playing loudly in our living room was an almost-constant occurrence in my childhood. In this particular instance, it was a warm summer day and the front door was open revealing through the screen door the very green grass of our front yard and the strip of green next to the sidewalk. It was also, I recall, raining very heavily so the atmosphere was very much like a sultry, humid bayou caught in a summer downpour. I cannot hear "Lookin' Out My Back Door" (even though it was my front door), without immediately flashing on this scene from my very early childhood. Of course, the humid, rainy day also flashes back to me when I hear "Run Through the Jungle" or "Who'll Stop the Rain" as well. The record played often over the years during my seventies childhood on Linwood Avenue but these vivid memories always cling to this album like a swamp vine to a weeping willow tree.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:</span></em> Before You Accuse Me, Travelin' Band, Lookin' Out My Back Door, Run Through the Jungle, Up Around the Bend, Who'll Stop the Rain, I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Long As I Can See the Light</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">GUEST ARTISTS:</span></em> Booker T. (on "Born On the Bayou")</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">FACT SHEET:</span></em> COSMO'S FACTORY is the fifth album by Creedence Clearwater Revival which consisted of John Fogerty (lead guitar, piano, saxophone, harmonica, vocals, songwriter, producer, arranger . . . yeah), Tom Fogerty (rhythm guitar), Stu Cook (bass) and Doug Clifford (drums). The album cover was designed and photographed by Bob Fogerty. The album has been certified four time platimun with sales over four million copies. The title of the album comes from the rehearsal room during CCR's early career. John Fogerty insisted that the band practice every day and the rehearsal room was often so full of cigarette smoke that drummer Doug "Cosmo" Clifford started to refer to the rehearsal space as "the factory". Early pressings of the album featured an earlier mix of "Travelin' Band" with John Fogerty's first guitar solo mixed behind the horn section as well as "Before You Accuse Me" featuring a three-second audio dropout in the left stereo channel; both these takes were restored to the 40th anniversary cd release of the album. COSMO'S FACTORY topped the album charts in six countries. The first double-sided single "Travelin' Band/Who'll Stop the Rain" hit #2 on the Billboard Top 100 followed by the double A-sided single "Run Through the Jungle/Up Around the Bend" which reached #4 and # 2 respectively and "Lookin' Out My Back Door b/w/ Long As I Can See the Light" reached #2. All songs were written by John Fogerty except "Before You Accuse Me" which was written by Ellas McDaniel, the Roy Orbison cover "Ooby Dooby" written by Wade Moore & Dick Penner, "My Baby Left Me" written by Arthur Crudup and the Motown classic "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. In the Coen Brothers film "THE BIG LEBOWSKI", it is a cassette of "COSMO'S FACTORY" that "The Dude" has in his car stereo. </span></strong>Cerptshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788317865445255338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398428068364247530.post-87582771645703160402013-05-18T13:12:00.000-04:002013-05-18T13:12:00.382-04:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">WE'RE THE BANANA SPLITS - THE BANANA SPLITS</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">YEAR:</span></em> 1968</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">LABEL:</span></em> Decca</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">TRACK LISTING:</span></em> We're the Banana Splits, I'm Gonna Find A Cave, This Spot, Doin' the Banana Split, Toy Piano Melody, Soul, The Tra La La Song (One Banana Two Banana), Wait Til Tomorrow, You're the Lovin' End, In New Orleans, Two Ton Tessie, Don't Go Away -- Go-Go Girl</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">IMPRESSIONS:</span></em> In the interest of documentary truthfulness, this record actually belonged to my father. Yep, that's right. But he was a hippy so what can I say. Naturally, as a kid I watched reruns of "THE BANANA SPLITS" show on UHF (it was on channel 48, I seem to recall) and loved the silliness -- even if I only saw it on my black & white TV for years. The sound of the album (as were the songs featured on the TV show) have that bubblegum pop sixties flavour of the songs that were being written for the Monkees. Hardly a surprise there since I'll bet more than a couple songwriters wrote for both. And the shocking thing is that one or two of the songs (notably the surprisingly wistful "Wait Til Tomorrow") stand up as legitimate songs that any artist of the time would've been happy to record. Mostly though, the songs are silly fun most suitable for a children's Saturday morning programme. It is also recommended that you only listen to this album while wearing white go-go boots.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:</span></em> I'm Gonna Find A Cave, This Spot, Doin' the Banana Split, Toy Piano Melody, Soul, The Tra La La Song (One Banana Two Banana), Wait Til Tomorrow, Two Ton Tessie, Don't Go Away -- Go-Go Girl</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">FACT SHEET:</span></em> WE'RE THE BANANA SPLITS was the only album released by the session musicians who were masquerading as the Banana Splits. Apparently the vinyl copy I own is the earliest pressing with a darker green cover and no copyright notice on the front cover; later pressings had a lighter green cover with a copyright notice in the bottom left corner. The Banana Splits, of course, were a band of four musical animals: Fleegle (the beagle), Bingo (the gorilla), Drooper (the lion) and Snorky (the elephant) who were played by actors in animal suits a la Disneyland. Apparently vocals on "Doin' the Banana Split" were provided by Barry White (!), "Two Ton Tessie" by Gene Pitney and "You're the Lovin' End" by Al Kooper. "We're the Banana Splits" was originally intended to be the TV show's theme song but the television executives and advertiser thought "The Tra La La Song" was catchier and the latter was chosen to open the show. </span></strong>Cerptshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788317865445255338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398428068364247530.post-24936116449611557592013-05-17T10:47:00.001-04:002013-05-17T10:47:53.507-04:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">MUSWELL HILLBILLIES - THE KINKS</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">YEAR:</span></em> 1971</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">LABEL:</span></em> RCA</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">TRACK LISTING:</span></em> 20th Century Man, Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues, Holiday, Skin & Bone, Alcohol, Complicated Life, Here Come the People In Grey, Have A Cuppa Tea, Holloway Jail, Oklahoma U.S.A., Uncle Son, Muswell Hillbilly</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">BONUS TRACKS:</span></em> Mountain Woman, Kentucky Moon</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">IMPRESSIONS:</span></em> Described by Ben Eisen as probably the Kinks' last "great" album of their golden age, MUSWELL HILLBILLIES is relatively unknown compared to such other famous Kinks albums as SOMETHING ELSE, VILLAGE GREEN..., ARTHUR..., LOLA AND... etc. After the phenomenal success of "Lola", this album seems more laid-back and less flashy. It does share something in common with most of the previous Kinks albums in that it's something of a concept album if only obliquely; the subject matter of all the songs seems to be about working class lives. The album is also, as Stephen Thomas Erlewine points out, "..<em>.a skewed, distinctly British, cabaret take on Americana..." </em>with a pronounced bluesy, sometimes New Orleans feel combined with British music hall stylings Kinks fans are familiar with. Apparently the album was also recorded using ten year old microphones in order to play up the "antique" feel and sound of it. And "Holiday" must be Adam Sandler's favourite song? While the album does illustrate the struggles of modern life, it never leaves its protagonists defeated. I like that. </span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:</span></em> 20th Century Man, Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues, Skin & Bone, Alcohol, Complicated Life, Here Come the People In Grey, Have A Cuppa Tea, Holloway Jail, Oklahoma U.S.A., Kentucky Moon</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">FACT SHEET:</span></em> MUSWELL HILLBILLIES is the Kinks' ninth album. This is the first album the Kinks released on RCA records after leaving their previous record label Pye. Muswell Hill is a section of North London in which Ray & Dave Davies grew up. The cover photo was taken at the Archway Tavern two miles from Muswell Hill. The album only went to #48 in the US and didn't chart in the UK making it a significant failure after the success of "Lola". However, critically it was a success winning "Stereo Review" magazine's "Album of the Year" in 1972 and called by "Rolling Stone" magazine Ray Davies' "signature statement" as a songwriter. Allmusic.com's Stephen Thomas Erlewine calls MUSWELL HILLBILLIES "...<em>one of the Kinks' best albums</em>."</span></strong>Cerptshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788317865445255338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398428068364247530.post-54831603690844115572013-05-03T00:00:00.000-04:002013-05-03T00:05:05.919-04:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">INNERVISIONS - STEVIE WONDER</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">YEAR:</span></em> 1973</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">LABEL:</span></em> Motown</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">TRACK LISTING:</span></em> Too High, Visions, Living For the City, Golden Lady, Higher Ground, Jesus Children of America, All In Love Is Fair, Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing, He's Misstra Know-It-All</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">IMPRESSIONS:</span></em> Landmark album of his "classic period". Ridiculously impressive. Ridiculously prolific. Ridiculously talented. In just nine songs, Stevie runs the gamut of themes and subjects from love songs to politics and from hardcore funk to easy listening ballads. During this period, Stevie would dominate the charts as well as the Grammy Awards with classic album after classic album. And this album was almost his last. Only three days after INNERVISIONS' release, Wonder was involved in a car accident when a car driven by his friend crashed into the back of a logging truck; a log smashed through the windshield and hit Stevie directly in the forehead. The singer was in a coma for four days. Only when friend and tour director Ira Tucker sang "Higher Ground" loudly into Stevie's ear did the singer begin to tap his fingers to the beat and begin to come around. The cover painting has always been very strange to me since it practically foretells the car accident that would occur three days after the album's release; we see Stevie inside a shape with an opening that could be viewed as resembling a car windshield with another shape emerging from his forehead which also recalls the log which hit him in the exact same place. </span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:</span></em> Too High, Visions, Living For the City, Higher Ground, Jesus Children of America, All In Love Is Fair, Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">FACT SHEET:</span></em> INNERVISIONS is Stevie Wonder's sixteenth album. The album won Grammy Awards for "Album of the Year" and "Best Engineered Non-Classical Recording" and "Living For the City" won the Grammy Award for "Best R&B Song".</span></strong>Cerptshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788317865445255338noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398428068364247530.post-76568118041751311802013-05-02T00:00:00.000-04:002013-05-02T22:48:34.076-04:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">STORIES FOR RAINY DAYS - FRANK LUTHER</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">YEAR:</span></em> 196?</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">LABEL:</span></em> Vocalion</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">TRACK LISTING:</span></em> Jack and the Beanstalk, The Tick Tock Shop, The Raggleytaggletown Singers, The Ugly Duckling, Chicken Licken, Sleeping Beauty</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">IMPRESSIONS:</span></em> Frank Luther has a really nice way with a children's story. And how can an album utilizing the words "rainy day" fail to catch my interest. I've found several Frank Luther recordings and they're all great listens. Luther has some sort of simpatico with children (and even the adult listener); there is just something in his voice which is not only reassuring to children but also places himself on the same level as the children who are listening to him tell his stories. Luther never talks down to his listeners. Children hate that. Frank Luther tells a story with such enthusiasm as if he's just learned of something really interesting and can't wait to share it with you. If you have kids or know some, give 'em a couple Frank Luther records. I'm sure they'd appreciate it.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:</span></em> Come on now . . . once you follow along with Frank Luther you've got to go along to the end. All of 'em.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><em>FACT SHEET:</em></span> It's impossible to determine an accurate discography of Frank Luther's records. Even the date of "STORIES FOR RAINY DAYS" is uncertain although the best guest places it sometime in the early 1960's probably. He started out as a country music singer and a big band vocalist but in the mid-30's he happened to record a couple 78s of nursery rhymes at Decca Records and suddenly he was a children's record phenomenon. His children's records began to sell enormous amounts and pediatricians and child psychologists endorsed his recordings. Decca at one point claimed in 1946 that 85% of all children's records sold in the English-speaking world were Frank Luther's. </span></strong>Cerptshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788317865445255338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398428068364247530.post-64021604639548473372013-05-01T00:53:00.001-04:002013-05-01T00:53:19.974-04:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">ISN'T THIS A LOVELY DAY - ROY CASTLE</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">YEAR:</span></em> 1966</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">LABEL:</span></em> Columbia/Capitol/EMI Gold</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">TRACK LISTING:</span></em> Singin' In the Rain, April Showers, Pennies From Heaven, Isn't This A Lovely Day, Stormy Weather, Soon It's Going To Rain, Here's That Rainy Day, Gentle Rain, Everytime It Rains, Where Do You Go, February Brings the Rain, Rain Rain (Don't Go Away)</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">IMPRESSIONS:</span></em> Biff Bailey strikes again! Here we have Roy Castle's concept album; an album of songs about rain. I just love the cover photo of a vaguely overcast day with Roy gazing wistfully upward and the earth-toned colour scheme of greens and browns. The original title of the album was "SONGS FOR A RAINY DAY" (which I kinda prefer) and right there you know it's gotta hit a chord with me. The song stylings are gentle jazz arrangements with Roy singing in a comfortable, breezy, laid-back style that would make Dean Martin proud. There is even a nice variety of song styles from ballads to big, jazzy belters and swingin' sixties lounge music (and even a couple bossa novas). This also isn't just some album of fluff; Castle is accompanied by some of the best British jazzmen of the era. So if it's your day off and the rain is coming down all afternoon, put this album on (if you can FIND it, that is) as you settle down with a hot cup of coffee (or tea) and I guarantee a wonderful way to pass a rainy half hour.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:</span></em> Pennies From Heaven, Isn't This A Lovely Day, Stormy Weather, Soon It's Going To Rain, Here's That Rainy Day, Gentle Rain, Everytime It Rains, February Brings the Rain, Rain Rain (Don't Go Away)</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">FACT SHEET:</span></em> I believe ISN'T THIS A LOVELY DAY is Roy Castle's third album. The album is arranged by Victor Graham and features Gordon Beck on piano, Jeff Clyne on bass, Leon Calvert on flugelhorn, Al Newman on saxophone, Ike Isaacs on guitar and Ray Swinfield on flute. The album was originally released in 1966 as "SONGS FOR A RAINY DAY". </span></strong>Cerptshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788317865445255338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398428068364247530.post-31950954162730585372013-04-30T13:04:00.002-04:002013-04-30T13:04:22.541-04:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">THE VERY THOUGHT OF YOU - NAT KING COLE</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">YEAR:</span></em> 1958</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">LABEL:</span></em> Capitol</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">TRACK LISTING:</span></em> The Very Thought of You, But Beautiful, Impossible, I Wish I Knew the Way To Your Heart (Notorious), I Found A Million Dollar Baby (In A Five and Ten Cent Store), Magnificent Obsession, My Heart Tells Me, Paradise, This Is All I Ask, Cherie I Love You, Making Believe You're Here, Cherchez La Femme, For All We Know, The More I See You</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">BONUS TRACKS:</span></em> Don't Blame Me, There Is No Greater Love</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">IMPRESSIONS:</span></em> Mellow, mellow, mellow. This is the mellowest of mellow Nat King Cole; an album designed to be listened to by young lovers cuddled up on a couch in front of a roaring fire. As allmusic's Scott Yanow rightly points out "...<em>there is no piano playing or (sic) any hint of his jazz-oriented past..." </em>on this album. This, in fact, is a quintessential example of the 1950's LP; a vocalist standing in front of a microphone while a lush orchestra (heavy on the strings) wafts around him. And this album packs in some of the King's best balladeering: the gorgeous title track a magnificent opening salvo. And besides that, I love the cover photograph of Nat in his dapper hat!</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:</span></em> The Very Thought of You, But Beautiful, Impossible, I Wish I Knew the Way To Your Heart (Notorious), I Found A Million Dollar Baby (In A Five and Ten Cent Store), Magnificent Obsession, Cherie I Love You, For All We Know, The More I See You</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">FACT SHEET:</span></em> THE VERY THOUGHT OF YOU is Nat King Cole's ninth album (if you're counting 12" albums). The album was arranged and conducted by Gordon Jenkins. In addition to the two bonus tracks I have listed, apparently the 2007 CD reissue also included two more bonus tracks ("A Farewell To Arms" and "Happy New Year") which do not appear on my copy. All four bonus tracks were recorded at the same sessions as this album. </span></strong>Cerptshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788317865445255338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4398428068364247530.post-36524313784154228862013-04-22T00:00:00.000-04:002013-04-22T00:00:14.635-04:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">SIGNALS - RUSH</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">YEAR:</span></em> 1982</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">LABEL:</span></em> Mercury</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">TRACK LISTING:</span></em> Subdivisions, The Analog Kid, Chemistry, Digital Man, The Weapon, New World Man, Losing It, Countdown</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">IMPRESSIONS:</span></em> They could've made MOVING PICTURES PART 2 but they didn't. Instead, they embraced early 80's technology with synthesizers taking a more central role (to the chagrin of Mr. Alex Lifeson). The songs got were kept shorter (relatively speaking) and the lyrics were more concise. And the album opens with probably my favourite Rush song ever. As a high school student on the outskirts of popularity with self-esteem just south of a worm's navel, "Subdivisions" had (and still has) a tremendously-powerful connection with me personally. And hey, the rest of the album and half bad neither! The three members of Rush were self-confessed fans of the Police and you can certainly hear their influence on SIGNALS (hey, that's the second Police-influenced album in a row here!). </span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:</span></em> Subdivisions, The Analog Kid, The Weapon, New World Man, Losing It, Countdown</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">GUEST ARTISTS:</span></em> Ben Mink (violins)</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: red;">FACT SHEET:</span></em> SIGNALS is Rush's ninth album. Troy Hickman named his super-hero characters "The Analog Kid" and "Digital Man" in the comic book "COMMON GROUNDS" after the two songs from this album. All lyrics were written by Neil Peart except for "Chemistry" which features lyrics by Peart, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson; this is the last time to date Lee and Lifeson have contributed to the lyrics of any Rush song. </span></strong>Cerptshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788317865445255338noreply@blogger.com0