THE MURRAY HILL RADIO THEATER PRESENTS THE SHADOW  -  ORSON WELLES

YEAR:  1976
LABEL:  Murray Hill
TRACK LISTING:  The White God,  Murder On Approval,  Aboard the Steamship Amazon,  The Creeper,  The Power of the Mind,  The Hypnotized Audience
IMPRESSIONS:  Back around 1979 when I first got into old radio shows via my friend Ed Jacoby, I got my first taste of the Shadow with this 3 record box set I checked out of my school library.  I kept renewing the record and kept them checked out, as I recall, the entire months of October, November and December.  So therefore, while there's nothing Christmasy here, I do associate this record with winter and the Christmas season.  I taped the records, naturally, and listened to the millions of times but there was nothing quite as nice as having the actual LP to put on my turntable.  There is, of course, practically no better radio show opening than THE SHADOW with Rosa Rio's hauntingly spooky organ music and the classic tag line "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?  The Shadow knows!"  But I also loved the commercials spoken by the announcer for Goodrich Safety Silvertown tires "with the lifesaver tread"; there was just something so evocative about picturing in my mind's eye the rainy streets at night from these commercials and the blinking show hadn't even started yet.  Then of course there were the fine episodes taken from Orson Welles' tenure as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow; six corkers including the exotic "White God" residing inside an active volcano and probably my favourite all-time Shadow episode "The Creeper" in which a creepy character sneaks into people's homes at night (usually during a thunderstorm) via a labyrinth of subterranean tunnels beneath the city to kidnap his victims and spirit them away in the dark, drippy catacombs beneath the earth.  I mean, how can you beat this stuff?!?  My adolescent ears spun and my brain bubbled as my imagination and "mind's eye" were sparked into life.  
MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:  I will resist the temptation to say all of 'em so I'll choose:  The White God,  The Creeper,  The Hypnotized Audience
FACT SHEET:  THE MURRAY HILL RADIO THEATER PRESENTS THE SHADOW was a 3 record box set featuring six episodes of the Shadow radio programme.  THE SHADOW programme in this era starred Orson Welles as Lamont Cranston aka the Shadow and Agnes Moorehead as Margo Lane.  "The White God" was originally broadcast May 1, 1938.  "Murder On Approval" was originally broadcast August 21, 1938.  "Aboard the Steamship Amazon" was originally broadcast July 17, 1938.  "The Creeper" was originally broadcast May 29, 1938.  "The Power of the Mind" was originally broadcast July 3, 1938.  "The Hypnotized Audience" was originally broadcast March 27, 1938.  

BORIS KARLOFF IN THE INNER SANCTUM - Boris Karloff

YEAR: 1981

LABEL: Radiola/Radio Yesteryear

TRACK LISTING: The Wailing Wall, Birdsong For A Murderer, The Mahogany Coffin

IMPRESSIONS: Around 1979-1980 I got really big into old time radio shows owing mostly to my friend Ed Jacoby who discovered the local PBS radio station was rebroadcasting them daily. Also at the same time, my mother (who worked at ACME) called from the supermarket and told me there were a bunch of old-time radio cassettes for sale (by Metacom) and did I want her to pick me up some. What a question! Simultaneously I discovered Radiola records in stores and sent away for a mail-order catalogue. All this choice resulted in my swimming in old-time radio records and tapes. I still affectionately remember the thrill of having the mailman deliver that big LP-sized box containing about half a dozen Radiola records to my door. Among them was this BORIS KARLOFF IN THE INNER SANCTUM record. INNER SANCTUM is one of my favourite old radio shows and what could be better than a pair of episodes starring the King of Horror Boris Karloff??? I'll tell you what could be better: the little 15 minute episode of THE BLACK CHAPEL tagged onto the end, that's what. This is one of my favourite old radio shows of all-time. Airing a quarter of an hour before midnight on the CBS Pacific Network on the dark, winter evening of January 6, 1939, the story of "The Mahogany Coffin" is masterfully told by Ted Osborne (because unlike regular radio shows, this is simply one person telling a story in the best storyteller tradition). The Karloff episodes are top notch but this BLACK CHAPEL episode is a masterpiece!

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: All of 'em.

FACT SHEET: "The Wailing Wall" is an episode of Inner Sanctum broadcast on CBS Radio on November 12, 1945 sponsored by Lipton Tea & Lipton Soup. "Birdsong For A Murderer" is an episode of INNER SANCTUM broadcast on CBS Radio with no broadcast date given. "The Mahogany Coffin" is an episode of THE BLACK CHAPEL starring Ted Osborne broadcast on the CBS Pacific Network on January 6, 1939.

THE GOLDEN AGE OF COMEDY - Various Artists

YEAR: 1972

LABEL: Evolution/On the Air

TRACK LISTING: The Mad Russian - Eddie Cantor & Bert Gordon, Fibber McGee & Molly - Jim & Marian Jordan, Who's On First - Abbott & Costello, Feud - Fred Allen & Jack Benny, The Jukebox - Jackie Gleason, Saturday Night Couple - Sid Caesar & Imogene Coca, Gracie's Relatives - George Burns & Gracie Allen, You Bet Your Life - Groucho Marx, The Question Man - Ernie Kovacs, The Library Card - Milton Berle, Junior the Mean Widdle Kid - Red Skelton, Oscar Levant with Fred Allen, Baron Munchausen - Jack Pearl, Matinee With - Bob & Ray, Mr. & Mrs. Morning Radio - Fred Allen & Talullah Bankhead, Hello Mama - George Jessel, The Perfect Fool - Ed Wynn, The Holdup - Jack Benny, Dr. Kronkheit & His Only Living Patient - Smith & Dale, Laurel & Hardy

IMPRESSIONS: Around 1979, I was first introduced to the world of old time radio by my friend Ed Jacoby. At that time, the local public radio station WUHY-FM (now WHYY) played episodes of old time radio shows every weekday. The very first one I ever heard was an episode of FIBBER MCGEE & MOLLY and I was hooked for life. I began taping them offa the radio and, at the same time, discovered that my middle school library had several old radio show records which I could take out and tape as well. One of them was this collection of classic comedy routines from some of the greatest radio comedians and I played this so many times that I still have every word memorized. My favourite track of all is the classic hilarious parody of saccharine morning radio programmes by Fred Allen & Talullah Bankhead which, despite millions of listens, still breaks me into hysterics. Just hearing the first few moments of track one on the album (The Mad Russian's trademark line "How do you dooooooo!") immediately rockets me back to those times when a library card and a stereo needle touching down on a disc of vinyl could transport me back to those thrilling days of yesteryear.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: The Mad Russian - Eddie Cantor & Bert Gordon, Who's On First? - Abbott & Costello, Feud - Fred Allen & Jack Benny, Saturday Night Couple - Sid Caesar & Imogene Coca, Gracie's Relatives - George Burns & Gracie Allen, The Library Card - Milton Berle, Junior the Mean Widdle Kid - Red Skelton, Baron Munchausen - Jack Pearl, Mr. & Mrs. Morning Radio - Fred Allen & Talullah Bankhead, Laurel & Hardy

FACT SHEET: This was originally a two record set composed of comedy routines culled from old time radio recordings. There was a renewed interest in old time radio during the early 1970s and these years featured a blossoming of these recordings first made available on vinyl. In 1994, the "On The Air" label re-released this album on cd with a slightly altered title "A GOLDEN HOUR OF COMEDY" and a new (and inferior) cover art.