The Department Of Records

Feelin' The Burn

2012-01-19T01:35:00.003-05:00

Yeah, those post numbers were nice while they lasted, hmm? Speaking of numbers, 22: that's how many of those soul 45s I just burned. Some may have to be cleaned and re-burned, but overall, I'm satisfied with the quality. You get what you can on 45s, and it ain't usually much. I have a feeling I got real real lucky with this batch. Moral: covers and proper storage are a great investment.

Here's a sampling of what I put on this disc, the first of a few. And no, these are not my Youtube posts:

Pat Lundi - Party Music
The elegant side of New York disco, from 1975. Worth it just for the strings.

The Peppers - Pepper Box
Not the Red Hot Chili Peppers soundalike from a couple years ago, but a French synth band that apparently was a little bigger in the UK than here.

The Fatback Band - Yum Yum (Give Me Some)
A delicious 1975 party track.

Tony Camillo's Bazuka - Dynomite
Not sure if JJ Evans had anything to do with it, but "good times" are guaranteed once you enjoy this one.

Next up: more morals, and secrets for the perfect burn revealed!

We Need A Little Golddiggers

2011-12-23T07:23:00.003-05:00

Well, damn...only 2 days away from Christmas and only 2 songs posted. Including this one, which I'd never forgive myself for if I didn't share it.

Some of you may be old enough to remember the Dean Martin Show from the '60s and '70s. I'm not, but I'm just familiar enough with it to know that there was a group of young women on the show who were called The Golddiggers. More than just eye candy, The Golddiggers were a bona fide group of great singers. They were so great, in fact, that they released a few albums, including a Christmas one called We Need A Little Christmas. Pretty sure it dates to 1969. I'd post it, since it's an excellent transfer from LP to CD, but it's still available...from The Golddiggers themselves! They're still around, perky as ever, and you can get the album (as well as others) from their store:

http://www.originalgolddiggers.com/store.shtml

Every track will be a favorite, but this one is my favorite of favorites - an original called I Just Want You For Christmas. Enjoy:

I have no gift to bring...

2011-12-11T08:02:00.001-05:00

So I'll bring you someone else's. In the spirit of expanding this blog to being more than just sharity (and yes, I'll get to steppin' on that aspect soon), I just now came up with the idea of posting Christmas videos to make up for the paucity of holiday tunes I can share.

You may remember this song from the first A Very Special Christmas album in 1987. It's the beautiful, haunting Coventry Carol by Alison Moyet. Sorely overlooked as far as I know. But in the company of songs like U2's Baby Please Come Home, Whitney Houston's Do You Hear What I Hear, and Bruce Springsteen's Merry Christmas Baby, it's easy to see why it's been overshadowed all these years. A shame. But I hope that showing you this video rectifies that, even on a small level. Enjoy:

102: Souled Out

2011-12-07T20:45:00.001-05:00

Well, I went on ahead and did it. Last week, I bought out most of what was left of that suitcase at the Savers. I saved some of the more common 45s for the common folk. I'm not gonna bore you like it seems I do and list every damn title, but I will tell you there were:

More Peppers (on a different label)
More Fatback Band (Do The Bus Stop!)
A Vicki Sue Robinson 45 I got because it was in the cover for the Fatback Band's 45
A few more UK records

So all in all, about 70 more added to the 50 I got the first time. I'll have to clean some of them up a little so the best can show up here, but first...

CHRISTMAS!!!

Yes, the box of holiday albums is about to be gone through, and a few lucky residents of that box may find their way to CD pretty soon, and that may mean you could hear them too - if they haven't already been shared, or are commercially on CD. Sadly (for me, at least) lots of what I have is already out there, so you won't get much. But for the mean time, if you need a Christmas fix, I heartily recommend seeing fellow vinylista Ernie (not Bert). He's the prime purveyor of all your holiday music needs, and not only can he hook you up with music, he's got links to other holiday music sharers that have even MORE good tidings. And you may even find a few things on falalalala.com, which is kind of on hiatus this year but the forum is still active with caring, sharing members who keep its tradition alive.

Off to a delightfully unwintery wonderland* as I get the holiday albums ready for popp - uh, burn - no, that doesn't sound right, either, D'ah, I'll just get the box out and see what's in there.

*If you live in the northeast, you know exactly why I say this, and you most likely hope it stays that way.

101: The Soulful Suitcase

2011-11-21T03:58:00.001-05:00

Here's a hint for all you thrift shoppers out there: if you're spotted by someone who sees you going through a pile of stuff they say there's more of in the back...run. Like out the door, and fast-like. "There's more in back" can only mean trouble if you're a collector.

I learned this at my Savers on Saturday. I flipped through the usual crappy albums that have been there for months, but I also decided to hit the 45s they placed in front of them. Hmm, good stuff. Soul Train 1975 theme, I Love Music...some funky-looking thing I never heard, and so on. Then a worker said, "We have a whole suitcase of 'em back there that we haven't put out yet. I mean, there's like, a shitload of 'em." Her actual word. So, sucker that I am, I agreed to riffle through them. I thought it'd be worth it. Wow. Understatement (and maybe mistake) of the year.

The case was kind of small, thankfully, but it had to have at least 200 more records in it. And what records. All sleeved up and decent-looking. Soul, disco and R&B the likes of which even I with my well-traveled ears had never seen. And even some records from England! I stopped at 50, knowing full well that if I didn't, I'd be packing that suitcase and walking off with the whole thing. So what did I end up with, you ask me? I'm sorry you asked. Maybe you will be too. I'm separating US and UK discs for convenience, but other than that, no particular order. Side 2 listed if it's different. I hope for a few of these to be heard here soon.

The O'Jays: I Love Music (perhaps the most common of the bunch)
The Ventures: Superstar Revue (2 copies, for some reason)
The Soul Train Gang (actual credit): Soul Train '75
Manu Dibango: Soul Makossa/Weya
Rhythm Heritage: Theme From S.W.A.T./I Wouldn't Treat A Dog (The Way You Treated Me)
The Fantastic Puzzles: Come Back (again, 2 copies. I couldn't BELIEVE what this went for on eBay!)
Pat Lundi: Party Music ( I LOVE the strings on this one)
The Disco Sound Of Andre Gagnon: Wow
Black Satin feat. Fred Parris: Everybody Stand And Clap Your Hands (For The Entertainer)/Hey There Pretty Lady
Hot Blood: Soul Dracula/Sin Dracula
Eddie Drennon & B.B.S. Unlimited: Let's Do The Latin Hustle/Get Down To The Latin Hustle
Hank Ballard & The Midnighters: Hey There Sexy Lady (not to be confused with the pretty lady in Black Satin's song)
The Mystic Moods (not the Mystic Moods Orchestra): Honey Trippin'/Midnight Snack
The Vast Majority: Love For Sale/Ocean's Apart
Max B.: Bananaticoco
Notations: Think Before You Stop/I'm Losing
Fudge Lips: Satan's Triangle/Please Come Home For Christmas (on the same record?!)
The LTG Exchange: Waterbed
Tony Camillo's Bazuka: Dynomite
Spaghetti Head: Funky Axe/Big Noise From Winnetka
Rhythm Makers: Prime Cut/Zone
Boris Gardner: Melting Pot/Let's Stay Together
Cleveland Eaton: Chinatown theme
Disco Tex & The Sex-O-Lettes: I Wanna Dance Wit' Choo
Ronnie Limar: Love Came
Calhoon: (Do You Wanna) Dance Dance Dance/Rain 2000
5000 Volts: I'm On Fire/Still On Fire
The Equals: Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys/Ain't Got Nothing To Give You
The Peppers: Pepper Box/A Pinch Of Salt
The Fatback Band: Yum Yum (Give Me Some)/Let The Drums Speak
The Eleventh Hour: Hollywood Hot
Titanic: Sing Fool Sing/Rain 2000
Jack Ashford & The Sound Of New Detroit: Do The Choo Choo
Lyn Collins: Rock Me (Again & Again...)/Wide Awake In A Dream (James Brown discovered Lyn...and he backs her up on Rock Me)
Clifton Ridgewood: Little Drummer Boy (one side has a disco version - yowza)
Moonlion: Little Drummer Boy (again with the disco version)

UK 45s (recourds?)
The Armada Orchestra: Tell Me What You Want/The Drifter
Jimmy Helms Don't Pull Your Love (imagine what Tom Jones would sound like doing a Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds song)
The Temptations: Law Of The Land/Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On (Yes, they're our American Temptations, but they're on Tamla Motown, which in the UK was one label)
Brian Bennett: Chase Side Shoot-up/Pegasus
The Chequers: Undecided Love (this is interesting: I have a US and a UK version. UK is on the Creole label, US is on Scepter)
Zenda Jacks: Earthquake
Binzi: Touch A Touch A Touch A Touch Me (from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, of course)
Ernie Bush: Breakaway
The Biddu Orchestra: Jump For Joy/I Could Have Danced All Night
Federation: Back To Back/Hoping

And as a bonus, what appears to be an acetate (or lacquer, if you prefer) of MFSB's Love Is The Message. Side 1 has a label with "45 RPM" and "LOVE IS THE MESSAGE" typed in green. Side 2 is part 2 and has no label. It feels different fom the others, and when it's held to light, the edge has a cobalt-colored glow.

I have all I can do to keep from picking up more and really packing up that soulful suitcase. Stay tuned and find out what happens.

100!

2011-11-21T03:38:00.001-05:00

In TV, hitting 100 means your show has enough episodes to go into syndication and be seen on other channels than just the ones affiliated with the show's network. In blogdom...I'm not sure what it exactly means, but it must be some kind of milestone. So to celebrate that milestone, I say to thee earnestly (not Bertly) that yes, there will - that's will as in yes - be more posts here.

Really this time?

Yes, really. I've been dealing with the proverbial loose ends, making sure the blog is absolutely, positively ready for prime time. And they're just about all tied up. In the interest of full disclosure, here's what's been happening:

In equipment news, a new receiver, turntable, and even speakers are all in place. By new, of course, '70s-era. There's also a '90s CD burner to make transfers nice and speedy - no more pesky computer to get in the way of that great, out-in-front soundstage vinyl is so well known for. You'll forgive the few pops and scratches that may surface - I think they're a small price to pay for better overall sound.

On the subject of vinyl, yes. LOADS of new stuff has come in (after all, it's only been 5 years)...but now older stuff has to go out. I'm pruning the hedges, separating the wheat from the chaff, whatever you want to call it. The music I've been finding lately has been better and better - so better that I find some of my old stuff just not worth having around - at least on full albums. Keep your socks on, though - you'll still get to draw lines from the songs to the artists least likely to cover them (hey, maybe I should make that a real game), and the Celebritunes and general weirdo tunes aren't going anywhere. Except maybe to my CD and then here and my iPod.

And as far as the site, I hate to be a tease, but yes, I'll still post acquisition reports (in fact, one is coming up in a few minutes) and if you're new to vinyl, there really will be tips on how to get into it for real. Spoiler: that new USB turntable you want for Christmas is NOT "for real."

So stay tuned. There ARE new things coming up here. Perhaps even more than 100 more posts worth.

Dossier: Wayne & Marin Foster

2011-09-26T02:52:00.000-04:00

Well...that ain't happen. Turns out Wayne And Marin Foster won't be making an appearance here after all. Seems they've already made the sharity rounds. Won't take much on Google to find them. I pride myself on my made-from-scratch-with-special-ingredients, can't-get-'em-anywhere-else music shares, and since you can get this album "anywhere else," you'll just have to do that. Such is the price of due diligence.

I've done some research...'fact, I'm doing some now as I listen to their album. It turns out Wayne has been blind since he was small. I've known some blind folks who've been incredibly talented musicians, and Wayne seems no exception. He and Marin sound great together, and their sound here on To-Get-It Together is up-to-the-minute mid-'70s. I fell instantly in love with the Bossa Nova treatment on the Show Medley, with Put On A Happy Face, A Lot Of Livin' To Do, and I've Got Love, which highlights Marin's vocal range. Wayne, in the mean time, gives a mellow, heartfelt showcase of his writing skills with the next-to-last last track of side 1, To My Friends. The Fosters' four daughters help round out side 1 with their help on Brotherhood Song.

Side 2 is where that version of satisfaction is that I talked about. It'll throw ya. It's done in half-time and has a little slinkiness to it. It speeds up to double time by the end and has about enough surprises for the whole album. Wayne and Marin team up for a couple more medley duets on side 2, including A Monent Of Nostialgia (a few sweet-band tunes), and the perky blend of Happy Together, More Today Than Yesterday and Sweet Caroline. Good vibes all around. And the best part is...

Wayne's still at it! His company does entertainment for weddings and other special events. Here's his company's website: http://waynefoster.com/

Acquisitions: 9/24/11

2011-09-24T22:14:00.002-04:00

Well-traveled ears deserve music worth traveling for, and I believe this expedition, while it had some disappointments, was ultimately worth it.

First stop was a Salvation Army. I've been going to this one for the past couple of years on the hopes that they'd eventually be able to follow up on the massive pile of awesome new-wave I found there once. They have yet to, but occasionally some gems do show up.

Enoch Light & The Light Brigade: Big Bold & Brassy/Tony Mottola: Roman Guitar
There's just something - maybe a few somethings - that compel people to buy Command records like these. Is it the bold cover art? Is it the fascinating text inside the gatefold that lists every nuance of every song, and the technical details on the back that list evey mic for every instrument? Or is it really for the music, and the top-notch talent used to perform it? I mean, you don't get much better than Tony Mottola, Doc Severinsen, Bobby Byrne, Phil Bodner and Bucky Pizzarelli. And between these two albums, they're all there. And so is everything else that makes for a top-notch evening of listening.

Wayne & Marin Foster: To-Get-It Together
OK, you want mash-up? Here you go. This one album by two people (a wifey-hubby team) contains 28 songs (some in medleys) in almost as many styles. There's Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White, Put On A Happy Face, You Made Me Love You, Little Green Apples, Happy Together, some originals, and the one I'm most looking forward to, Satisfaction. I hope to post a couple tracks from this one soon.

Paul Jabara: The Third Album
The album is two medleys, one a side. The first artfully - wittily? - arranged into segments called Disco Wedding, Honeymoon (In Puerto Rico), and Disco Divorce. And I bet an unbelievable number of the latter happened in the late '70s. On side two, the other medley: A Foggy Day, Never Lose Your Sense Of Humor (with guest Donna Summer), and Just You And Me - not to be confused with Chicago's Just You 'N' Me.

Pseudo Echo: Love An Adventure/Animotion
I do love me some First Wave on the Sirius XM satellite. But for all I listen, there's still so much to learn about it. I think that's what inspired me to try out these minty-nice nuggets of '80s synthiness.

Next stop was another Salvation Army upshore. Like any other thrift store, the selection is hitsy-missy, but when you hit, you can hit it big. Last visit I scored THREE Cruisin' America With Cousin Brucie radio shows - cue sheets and all. This time? Not so much, but I'm still proud.

The Carpenters: Christmas Portrait
"Merry Christmas darlin', happy new year too." I can't believe I've gone so long without this one in my collection! I may not have many Carpenters albums, but if you're like me, you have to have this one if none other.

George Thorogood & The Destroyers: Maverick
This is the one with I Drink Alone. Looking forward to Willie & The Hand Jive and Memphis, Tennessee.

Kenny Burrell: Guitar Forms
If I had to judge a book (or record, in this case) by its cover, this one would get high marks just for its personnel. Gil Evans arranges and conducts "modern interpretations of the classic guitar styles played by Kenny Burrell against a tight and glowing orchestral backdrop." Ron Carter (bass), Roger Kellaway (piano), and Grady Tate (drums) make appearances here on this 1965 album produced by legendary Creed Taylor.

Johnny Jenkins: Ton-Ton Macoute!
He played with Otis Redding. He inspired Jimi Hendrix. And he never let his talents get in the way of working a solid day job. This is his 1971 debut on Capricorn Records. Duane Allman on guitar. Derek Trucks's uncle Butch plays drums. See where this is going?

Television's Greatest Hits
The album that started it all for TVT Records: a must for any TV fan, and probably still available, just not on double-record vinyl. Cover has some ringwear, but the records are decent.

I also hit a Goodwill today, This Goodwill never ceases to fail me. A piddling electronics section, and three - count 'em, THREE - boxes of records. Two of those boxes consisted entirely of Reader's Digest box sets...and those box sets consisted of boredom. I think I'll stick with the few that I already have, thanks.

Next album feature as yet undecided, so hang tight and wonder along with me!

Enjoy Yourself Tonight

2011-09-16T01:35:00.007-04:00

And finally, another set of tasty tunes has arrived at the Department. Hope you like Chinese, 'cause that's exactly what's on the platter tonight.

My record store (which I'll post about soon enough) got a nice box of Asian music in one day, mostly from Japan and China. My grasp of Asian languages is probably as good as yours, so I had no idea what most of the music was. But of the 5 or 6 albums I got, one stood out. It's this one: Enjoy Yourself Tonight. Apparently, Enjoy was a popular variety show with a very long run. It got its start in the late '60s, and was based pretty heavily on Australia's In Melbourne Tonight. I know this because of the English on the back cover.

There's not a whole lot I actually can tell you about this album. Google doesn't help much. It seems to be a soundtrack-type album: I hear hosts, a little banter, and even an open and close. And yeah, there's some music. It's SOME MUSIC, too. The singer is Betty Chung, and she runs the gamut of styles. You'll be hearing two of her peppier cuts.

First, Kowloon Hong Kong. This swinger seems to also have been called The Ding Dong Song. There's something mentioned about The Reynettes, but it's in Chinese so I don't know exactly what.

The second one amazed me. I could have sworn in Cantonese that some American or British band did it first, but apparently not. I can't find the first thing about it. It's called I Want Action, and it's superbly rockin'. Betty's all-talk-and-no-action lover is making her just a leeeeeeetle impatient. Something must be done, and Betty's just about ready to do it herself if she has to. In perfect English to boot. Look out, boys.

Your two tracks are presented, as just about all of them will be, as 256K MP3s and shared through MediaFire. We've included a little of the hosts' banter (don't you love that word?) in front of I Want Action just for fun. And if you're good and you finish your Lo Mein noodles, I just might post another track or two.

ENJOY YOURSELF TONIGHT
Pathe/EMI, c. 1968

1. Kowloon Hong Kong (4.74 MB)
2. I Want Action (5.59 MB)

Oh, And Did I Mention...

2011-09-13T08:39:00.003-04:00

For the first time, I might also have some 45s to share? There are over 500 in my collection, and a select number of them could possibly show up here, depending on condition and appeal. I'll share the story of how most of them were acquired in a little. (I know, I'm such a tease. But I promise.)

PS: The first album's been picked out and is almost ready for processing. It's a knockout.

All new, all over again

2011-09-12T06:23:00.001-04:00

Man, things sure have changed around here. Blogger's grown into a thing I don't even recognize, Google's grown into an all-consuming information monster, and I've...grown five years older. Yes, things have changed.

That new job I got five years ago? Still got it. The new place? Replaced since by a couple of other places, one of which could warrant a blog by itself. And there've been a couple of interesting health things.

And oh, those records. Some have come, others have gone; either by attrition or, um, other means (see "new place," above).

So you're asking: are you gonna post records again? Probably. You may not get every track on an album every time, and it there may be a good stretch between one post and the next...but a new technique will make it much easier to give you music when the need arises - and the copyright gods allow. Will I repost old albums? Might not be a bad idea, actually. If nothing else, they'll sound better this time, thanks in part to that new technique.

To keep you occupied between albums, I plan on posting about other stuff: new records I come across, haunts and hangouts where those records pop up, how-tos for you new collectors...and I might even get down-n-nerdy with my setup for all y'all to show you how I DO it.

If you're just joining us, welcome. If you've been away for a while, welcome back. Let's reconnect and share the joys that only vinyl can give us.

Um, hello?

2006-07-05T05:32:00.000-04:00

Me here...the Keeper Of Records. My apologies for not keeping up with my keeping. You're asking me, "What in the name of hell happened?! Why has it been more than 6 months since I've seen any updates?" Well, lots has happened. A new job in a new area has taken up a lot of time. The move to the new area has left my collection of almost 3,000 records shuffled seemingly beyond organization (but fortunately undamaged). Plus, I'm adding new stuff to the library, most of which comes from flea market runs to the old area. And to top things off, there's about to be yet another equipment upgrade...involving the switch from a PC to a Mac, which I'm using to post this message.

Since I've been gone, I've noticed several great blogs and sharity sites that have either been taken down entirely or stopped offering new material. It was a tough decision for them, I'm sure. I thought about going that route myself with all that's been going on in the past few months. But as I re-shelved my records and explored the web I realized just how much sites like this mean to some people. I owe it to them not to bow out entirely. And the music is too interesting not to share. Not always good, but almost always interesting. And otherwise unobtainable in many cases.

If you're still out there, tell me something: are you interested in becoming a vinyl collector? Would you like to know more about turntables and the art of playing vinyl? I'm considering doing monthly column-type things to maybe inspire people to start their own collections, or help people bring their collections back to life and make them sound better than ever. If you have any other suggestions, e-mail them to me and I'll consider them for the re-launch.

Hope to be back sharing again soon.

The Keeper of Records

Happy New Year!

2006-01-04T00:27:00.000-05:00

For those of you still reeling from your new year celebrations, we offer an unusual remedy. In 1978, Miles Laboratories, the makers of Alka Seltzer, released a special collection of hits. What made it special was not so much the hits themselves. In fact, other than two tracks, the entire album was the same greatest hits collection you could get anywhere else. But the two special tracks are indeed truly special. They're rare versions of the Plop Plop Fizz Fizz song as performed by...Sammy Davis, Jr. And they're here for you to enjoy:

Plop Plop Fizz Fizz: Rock version (2.5 MB)
Plop Plop Fizz Fizz: Big Band (2.4 MB)

Happy New Year from thedepartmentofrecords.com!

A Year At The Top/Hawaii Five-0

2005-12-18T13:05:00.000-05:00

Here's probably one of the oddest double bills since Jimi Hendrix was on tour with the Monkees.

Would you sell your soul to have a shot at the spotlight? In 1977, an NBC TV show chronicled the tale of two guys from Boise who did just that. They were looking for their break, and found an agent who had an unusual clause in his contract: "In exchange for their fame, Greg and Paul must sign away their souls to me, the son of the devil." Interestingly enough, A Year At The Top was co-produced by none other than Don Kirshner - the man who gave us The Monkees and The Archies. Coinciidence? Maybe that's why NBC pulled the show after 4 episodes.

A Year At The Top was an unholy alliance between Kirshner and another famous producer: Norman Lear, who by this point had clearly lost the magic touch that put All In The Family (and all its many spinoffs) and Sanford And Son
on the air a few years before. As for Greg and Paul, well, they didn't too too badly after this. Greg was played by Greg Evigan, who went on to BJ And The Bear the next year, and My Two Dads in the '80s. Paul? That's David Letterman's right hand musical man Paul Shaffer. You get to hear them play and sing on this album (that's Paul doing the falsettos), which is impressive simply because it was released for such a short-lived TV show.

TRACK LISTING
Paul Shaffer & Greg Evigan A Year At The Top Casablanca Records, 1977

SIDE 1
She's A Rebel
Like A Rising Star
Give Me More
We've Come So Far
A Year At The Top

SIDE 2
We're Lovers After All
Good Time Girl
Sweet Love
Love Just Comes And Goes
You Are The One

ZIP FILE if you dare - contains the entire album, front cover and bonus photos! (23 MB)

Here's a soundtrack to a show that lasted much longer than A Year At The Top - 12 years, in fact. Hawaii Five-0 was one of the longest-running crime dramas on TV, thanks to the beautiful Hawaiian settings and Jack Lord in his role of Steve McGarrett. Also getting some credit is the unforgettable theme to Five-0, which you can hear in its full original form. It's in stereo, if that's a bonus for you. This album contains the theme and incidental music used on the show for the first couple of seasons, all composed by Morton Stevens. Track 2, Call To Danger, is the basis for music of the CBS Special Presentation intro used in the '70s.

TRACK LISTING
Morton Stevens
Original Hawaii Five-0 Soundtrack
Capitol Records, 1969

SIDE 1
Hawaii Five-0
Call To Danger
McGarrett's Theme
Front Street
The Long Wait
Blues Trip

SIDE 2
The Floater
Interlude
Operation Smash
Beach Trip
Up Tight
The Chase/Hawaii Five-0

ZIP File - all tracks plus front cover (27.8 MB)

Learning About Me & The Way I Move/It's About Time

2005-12-11T13:21:00.000-05:00

In September we gave you a bunch of great educational albums to listen to. These two are the Keeper's favorites. They were produced in 1974 and 1975, respectively. Learning About Me is a nice, acoustic/soft-rock flavored way to teach kids about their growing bodies. It's About Time teaches about, well, time, and cranks things up a notch with musical varieties ranging from swing to country to plain ol' rock. The standout has to be Yesterday, Today, And Tomorrow with its totally rockin' guitar intro.

Both albums feature Gail Contini and Steve Clayton on vocals. The great arrangements were done by Jamie Glaser, who at the time was about 20 years old. His parents, Hy and Lynn, wrote the songs and produced the albums.

These albums were uploaded to upload.sc, and alternative to yousendit that allows more downloads per file and keeps files for a minimum of 30 days. Files are deleted after 30 days without a download.

TRACK LISTING
Learning About Me And The Way I Move
Ultrasound Records, 1974

SIDE 1
The Walking Song
The Jumping Song
The Skipping Song
The Hopping Song
The Running Song

SIDE 2
The School Parade
I Can
The Parts Of Me
What I Can Do With Me
Look At Me

.ZIP File (19.3 MB)
All songs and front cover

TRACK LISTING
It's About Time
Ultrasound Records, 1975

SIDE 1
Seven Days In A Week
Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow
Twelve Months
Thirty Days In September
The Clock Song

SIDE 2
The Season Is Fall
When Winter Comes
Spring Is Here!
Summer
A Time For Everything We Do

ZIP file (21 MB)
All songs and front cover

It's Christmas After All!

2005-12-05T23:52:00.000-05:00

While we're doing our year-end review and giving you your favorite albums, we'd like to let you know that we actually are posting Christmas music. We're just being sneaky and not doing it here. But if you go over to visit our friends at falalalala.com, you'll find new stuff every once in a while. We've just posted :Larry Ferrari's "I Wish You The Merriest". Larry was the king of Philadelphia organists. He had his own show on WPVI, Philly's ABC station for 43 years, and released several albums. "I Wish You The Merriest" is an early '60s offering you'll like for its rendition of Blue Christmas. There's plenty more to like too. Look for it in the Members Share section of the forum. We'll see you there!

The Safari

2005-12-04T00:59:00.000-05:00

Here's the winner of the voting that took place in November. Safari's a great kids' album from 1979. It takes listeners on a jungle tour of sorts, with lots of interesting locals to meet. The arrangements are witty, with instruments mimicking the sounds of the animals themselves on many tracks. Kids' music maven Steve Clayton is one of the two male singers here, and on the next 2 albums you'll hear. Check back next week for those.

TRACK LISTING
The Safari
Clarus Records, 1979

SIDE 1
The Safari
Chitter Chatter Monkeys
Herbivorous Hippopotamus
Nocturnal Animals
Horns
The Lion Is The King

SIDE 2
Elephant
Ostrich
The Long Necked Giraffe
Watch Your Step
Birds In The Wild Are So Free
The Safari (Reprise)

The Entire Album
as a ZIP file. Figure on about 27 MB - the file includes all songs plus the front cover art.

Behind The Blog

2005-12-03T02:39:00.000-05:00

In television, some stations like to take some time during the holidays to give you a behind-the-scenes look at the things and people that make your favorite shows possible. We've decided to do the same thing here at thedepartmentofrecords.com by introducing you to the team that makes the albums happen.

On the left is the most important part of the team: the Pioneer PL-518 turntable. It's a direct-drive unit made in the late '70s. This is not one of those $90 toys you get at Best Buy. No siree, ma'am. This one cost a whole $14.98 at a thrift store. It's direct drive with a pitch control and automatic return, and it weighs about 30 pounds. To find one with feet that haven't rotted off is rare, and this one stands on all fours. It works just fine, but it's been upgraded with a wonderful Audio-Technica AT440ML cartridge. Most of the albums you've heard since summer have been spun from this table.

On the stack on the right sits an hp Pavilion laptop. This trusty steed is outfitted with Creative Wave Studio, which is a nice quick way to get the albums out to you. The Creative SoundBlaster Audigy 2 NX sound card is next door to its right. This little card does the trick, and more. It even has 7.1 channel surround sound and optical in and out.

Below, another thrift find: a Tascam 133 cassette deck. This is a professional model with XLR connectors, and DBX noise reduction with an outboard box. It records at 2 speeds, which is just dandy for slowing down Chipmunk voices or speeding up those godawfully slow Christmas choir performances.

Underneath it all, a Harman Kardon PM645 amp. No tuner here, just good solid sound for cheap. You guessed it, another thrift find. It came from the same lot as the cassette deck. This mid '80s piece is good for 40 watts per channel.

This team is currently looking for a more civilized home, such as a rack. But for now they're happy to stay where they are and provide you with the music you hear on thedepartmentofrecords.com. Enjoy!

Happy Christmas, Voting's Over If You Want It

2005-11-30T23:28:00.000-05:00

Thanks to all of you who voted in our poll in November...you sure made things interesting. At the end of the poll, the album you most wanted to hear again was:

Safari! This 1979 kids album is plenty of fun to listen to no matter what your age. And you can hear it again starting on Sunday, December 4.

Believe it or not, there was a 6-way tie for second place, and the winners of the silver platter were:

It's About Time
Learning About Me & The Way I Move
Greg & Paul: A Year At The Top
Hawaii Five-0: Original TV Soundtrack
Ted Knight: Hi Guys
Thurl Ravenscroft: Great Hymns In Story And Song

Tentatively, we'll be scheduling the reposts of these albums pretty much in that order, possibly pairing them up. It's About Time and Learning About Me were two of the same series of educational records, so it's natural that they be reposted on the same week. Greg & Paul will team up with Ted Knight (how's THAT for a weird double-bill?), with Hawaii Five-0 possibly slotting as a midweek post just before Christmas. Ravenscroft will post on or near Christmas eve, and don will we then our best Christmas album. If you need more Christmas music, we heartily recommend a visit to falalalala.com, where you'll find more holiday tunes than you can shake a candy cane at.

We'll be back with some new surprises in January...until then, happy holidays!

Bill Cullen's Minstrel Spectacular

2005-11-28T00:51:00.000-05:00

In the '50s and '60s, pepole couldn't get enough of Bill Cullen. In fact, they found it hard to avoid him. James Brown had nothing on the other Hardest Working Man In Show Business. Between being host of TWO live daily editions of The Price Is Right (yes kids, there really was life before Bob Barker), a panelist on I've Got A Secret, NBC's Pulse radio show, and countless other game show guest spots and hosting gigs, he was hard-pressed to get a snooze in edgewise. Yet he had just enough time to record this album. How so? Well, it's not really his album. Yeah, he's on it all right, but he's more of a host to the musical acts on it. Indeed, this album was likely just a promotional thing to capitalize on Cullen's success. You hear him between songs, but he doesn't sing. Soft shoe? Would have been a more plausible premise if Cullen hadn't had polio as a child. His limp kept him from full mobility. In fact, if you watch some of the old game shows GSN runs, you'll rarely, if ever see him walking. Although that limp didn't prevent Cullen from looking fabulous on the album cover.

So now that you're thoroughly disappointed, how's the music, you ask? Well, it's OK. Not too special, but it's good for a nostalgic evening. Soft shoe, spoons, the whole thing. The group is called The Endmen. Cullen ties their tunes together with a little narration and facts about ragtime (hey, once a game show host, always a game show host).

It's fun, it's educational, but would we call it a blockbuster? No, but Eye Guess everyone's entitled to their opinion. This was one of two albums that we know of by Cullen (see Goose Who's Coming To Dinner, above, for the other one), so he wasn't exactly on a winning streak. If he had sung, he might have started a chain reaction of hits. But some blankety-blank producers would probably pass the buck and credit for his singing talents would have been passed around lke a hot potato. (Wow, the joker who wrote this went wild. But he works for free and the price is right.)

Link Of Record

billcullen.net
Matt Ottinger's tribute site to the greatest (and busiest) game show host ever. If for nothing else, visit to see how many titles of Cullen game shows we used in the last paragraph. But do stick around afterwards - there's a lot here for game show fans and regular folks alike.

TRACK LISTING
Bill Cullen's Minstrel Spectacular
ABC-Paramount Records, c. 1959

SIDE 1
Introduction/The Glendy Burke/March To The Theatre/Oh Didn't He Ramble
Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown
Shine On Harvest Moon
Georgia Camp Meeting
Shenandoah/Erie Canal
Old Dan Tucker

SIDE 2
Kingdom Coming
Beautiful Dreamer
Waiting For The Robert E. Lee
Asleep In The Deep
Old Folks At Home/Dixie
Camptown Races/Banjo On My Knee

Bill Cullen: Goose Who's Coming To Dinner

2005-11-23T23:13:00.000-05:00

Here's a special Thanksgiving treat for you all, especially those of you like your Keeper who are not big turkey fans. In 1982, Bill Cullen, the King Of Game Show Hosts, was commissioned by the National Goose Board to do a series of 5 radio spots to air the week before Thanksgiving. Each is a 2-minute nugget of historical info with some fun facts: did you know that on the first Thanksgiving, there were such delicacies as eels and popcorn? Or that geese can be used as guard animals? They get pretty fierce sometimes. Each spot ends with some info on making goose the centerpiece of your Thanksgiving feast. Speaking of which, enjoy your feast, and the holiday that goes with it. And check back on Sunday for another Bill Cullen surprise, plus some unfinished business from a few weeks ago.

Goose Who's Coming To Dinner
Narrated By Bill Cullen for David J. Clark Productions, 1982

Stories Of Famous Children In The Old Testament

2005-11-15T22:52:00.000-05:00

In addition to his game show-hosting duties, Bud was actively involved in his loacal church. He narrated two album for Columbia's Harmony label, the first of which we gave you last time. This album, also from 1962, is more of the same.

Collyer narrates the stories of the Old Testament's best-known children: Jacob and Esau, Joseph, and David, most notably. Music is provided this time around by the Merrill Staton Singers. Staton's resume included vocal arrangements for TV shows like the Ed Sullivan Show, Omnibus and the Hallmark Hall Of Fame.

TRACK LISTING
Stories Of Famous Children In The Old Testament
Narrated By Bud Collyer
Music By The Merrill Staton Singers
Columbia/Harmony Records, 1962

SIDE 1
Hagar And Ishmael
Isaac And The Test Of Abraham's Faith
Jacob And Esau

SIDE 2
Joseph And The Coat Of Many Colors
Benjamin And The Cup Of Silver
Moses In The Bushes
David - The Shepherd Boy

Notes Of Record: WFMU Record Fair

2005-11-07T23:24:00.000-05:00

Yes, there's been another delay in posting the new album. But this week we have a great excuse: we're fresh back from the WFMU Record Fair. Held each November in Manhattan, the three-day musical extravaganza is host to scores of music vendors, including WFMU itself. WFMU uses the proceeds of their sales to fund daily operation of the station, located in Jersey City, NJ. WFMU is unique in that it's a college radio station whose college no longer exists. Upsala College closed in 1995, but the station soldiers on thanks entirely to the support of its listeners.

The variety of music for sale at the fair is as diverse as the playlists of WFMU itself. Sure, you have Conniff, Mantovani and 101 Strings (OK, maybe a little more diverse), but you also have plenty of punk, hardcore, jazz, Golden Throats, and good ol' rock to balance things out. And yes, it is mostly records. There are millions. But if you look carefully, you might find some cassettes, 8-tracks, or even a reel-to-reel. You digital-age punks have plenty of CDs to choose from as well, if that's what spins your platter.

If you're a bargain hunter, you'll want to wait until Sunday to make your trip in to the City. That's when tired traders toss their tons of tunage to the trash and cause free-for-alls - literally - on the Metropolitan Exposition Center floor. You can come away with some good stuff. Here are the latest additions to thedepartmentofrecords.com's already bursting collection:

Chipmunk Punk - Alvin, Simon and Theodore ride the new wave with covers of '70s and '80s hits like Call Me and My Sharona.
Adam Ant - Rough Stuff EP
Chet Atkins - Caribbean Guitar and Teen Scenes: 2 albums worth of twang.
Ginger Baker At His Best: Cream's drummer doing his own thing with help from Steve Winwood and Denny Laine.
Jeff Beck - There & Back
The Cars - Their eponymous debut.
Chicago - Live At Carnegie Hall Vols. I, II, III and IV:A tremendous 4-disc box whose box is not in the best of shape, but the discs inside are. Complete with 3 huge posters.
Climax Blues Band: A tripleheader with Rich Man, Sense Of Direction and Shine On
Cock Robin - The first from this British band. Jazz percussionist Paulinho DaCosta is a guest.
Crown Heights Affair: A couple of disco classics. Dance Lady Dance and Dream World.
Emerson Lake & Palmer - Welcome Back My Friends, To The Show That Never Ends
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - Birthday Party: Old skoo, yo!
Bill Haley & The Comets - Rockin': The group that started it all. A Pickwick compilation of their big hits.
Joe Jackson - Night And Day: Best copy yet. Near mint, if we dare say.
Rock & Roll Party Starring Frankie Lymon: With special guests The Cleftones, The Heartbeats, Billy King, Sammy Green, and Jimmy Vogel.
Herbie Mann - Super Mann: Look! On the turntable! It's a flute! It's Jazz! It's Herbie Mann!
Menudo: NO freakin' idea why this one is in here. Ricky Martin's not even on it.
Wham! - Make It Big
Kenny Rogers - The Gambler: One of Kenny's best. Also has a poster inside.
Lisa Stansfield - Affection: Been around the world and she STILL can't find her baby. Give it up already.
Johnny Tillotson: It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'
California USA - A beach compilation from Columbia Records. Awesome lineup with artists like Jackie DeShannon, Lou Christie, The Inconceivables, Ricci Martin (no, not Ricky), and The Blue Rose.

Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass - South Of The Border and The Brass Are Comin': The first one lives in just about every thrift store in America but will soon live in the apartment of a new vinyl lover. The second, not quite as common, is the soundtrack to the Brass's late '60s TV special.
Rolando Briual - Si w Mele and Sakitayo: Remix records on the Isma'a label.
Ace Cannon - The Golden Sax Of Ace: A 1982 effort on Barbados-based WIRL Records.
Fiesta En Su Casa Vol. VIII: From what we can tell, late '60s Latin hits. Cover bears resemblance to London's Phase 4 LPs.
Insuperables!: Huge hits from Latin heartthrobs of the '80s.
Joy - The Original Cast Recording: A Play by Oscar Brown, Jr.
Johnny Mathis - Those Were The Days: Some unlikekly matchups of song and artist: Light My Fire and The 59th Street Bridge Song? Mathis? Okaaaaaaaaaaaaay, then.
Tony Mottola - Tony & Strings: An early '70s album from Enoch Light's Project 3 label.
The Unpredictable Jimmy Smith - Bashin': From 1962. Doc Severinsen guests.
The Group Visits Puget Sound: A folksy five pack from Washginton State.

The Cosby Sides: Four of Cos's comedy albums: WHy Is There Air?, Revenge, I Started Out As A Child, and Bill Cosby Is A Very Funny Fellow, Right!
Allan Sherman - My Son The Celebrity: The producer of all but one of the Bill Cosby albums, and a very funny fellow in his own right
Jonathan Winters...Wings It! His first for Columbia lives up to the title. It's almost all improv.
Bob Newhart - The Button-Down Mind On TV: Captured on tape before a live audience.

November: Election Time

2005-11-01T01:27:00.000-05:00

Well, it's November, and you know what that means. Yes, elections. And oddly enough, elections are a relevant topic here at the Department Of Records. All this month, we're inviting you to cast your ballot for the album you'd most like to hear again.

Look back through each of the albums on this blog (there's over a year's worth) and select ONE album you'd like us to feature again. They're all fair game. Send your vote in an e-mail to email...thedepartmentofrecords...com. Remember to make it clear in your subject that you're voting. COMMENTS POSTED ON THE BLOG ARE NOT VOTES! Voting ends on November 30, and at that time we'll tally the votes and name the 4 top voted albums. Each of those albums will be featured here for one week in December. We already know what one of the albums will be, based simply on the number of requests we get for it, DESPITE the disclaimer on the side of the page that says we don't honor requests. The other three are a mystery. But they're all up to you. So get out and vote this November...and put your favorite tunes in office.

Bud Collyer: Bible Stories For Children

2005-10-30T20:39:00.000-05:00

Clayton "Bud" Collyer was more than America's #1 Clock Watcher on Beat The Clock. He was also the host of To Tell The Truth, one of America's three most popular panel shows during its original run on CBS. But when not involved with either show, Bud was heavily involved in the church. He was the Superintendent of Sunday School at the First Presbyterian Church in Greenwich, Connecticut, and was honorable vice-chairman of National Bible Week.

With credentials like that, and his name recognition, Collyer was a natural to narrate two bible story albums on Columbia Records' Harmony label, the first of which was this one, The First Six Stories Of Genesis. Collyer narrates stories written for the album by Gillette French. French, Collyer's fellow New Englander, was a children's book author and illustrator who "...Saw a need for some of these wonderful stories to be ret0ld clearly and directly for children." She continues, "After hearing bud Collyer read these stories, perhaps one may return to Genesis and read it with greater pleasure and appreciation." You may also gain appreciation for a side of Bud Collyer you may not have known about.

TRACK LISTING
The First Six Stories Of Genesis, Narrated By Bud Collyer
Written By Gillette French
Music Recorded From The Tune Sheets Of A Regina Music Box
Harmony/Columbia Records, 1962

SIDE 1
How It All Began (The Story Of Creation)
Adam And Eve
Cain And Abel

SIDE 2
Noah And The Planning Of The Ark
Noah And The Ark And The Flood
The Tower Of Babel

George De Witt Sings That Tune

2005-10-23T21:42:00.000-04:00

Some have tried, but no game show has ever duplicated the success of Name That Tune. The show spanned thirty years and took on three different forms, more if you count home games. Harry Salter's creation began as a radio show hosted by Red Benson, who took the show to television in 1953. Bill Cullen, who you'll hear from in a few weeks, carried the show to CBS for a year, after which George De Witt, our featured artist this week, took over.

There were plenty of hosts who also entertained with their musical talents. Bert Parks is a prime example. He hosted several musical game shows, including Name That Tune's cousin, Stop The Music. Singing game show hosts are not as rare as you'd think: Jack Narz, Allen Ludden, Alan Thicke, Chuck Woolery and Vicki Lawrence are just a few modern-day examples. Thicke composed several game show themes, and has gone so far as to sing on two of them: 1973's Wizard Of Odds (Alex Trebek's first US show) and Animal Crack-Ups, which he also hosted.

Now to George De Witt: He was a singing waiter in Atlantic City, NJ during high school, and eventually entertained in USO tours during WWII. His nightclub and theater stints afterwards led him to the hosting gig on Name That Tune in the late '50s. He sang occasionally on the show, and his unique style sent folks to request this album, his first of two on Epic Records. Ray Ellis provides the backgrounds to the standards De Witt sings. It's a good effort overall, but we'll let you make the call on his French accent in the Gigi Medley.

TRACK LISTING
George De Witt Sings That Tune
Columbia Records, c. 1959

SIDE 1
Volare
Everybody Loves A Lover
Come Closer To Me
All The Way
Non Dimenticar
Gigi Medley: Thank Heaven For Little Girls, Gigi, The Night They Invented Champagne

SIDE 2
That Old Black Magic
It's Not For Me To Say
That's Amore
Fascination
It's All In The Game
Fever

In our never-ending quest to provide you with the most convenient way to download an entire album, we offer you this album in two ZIP files, one for each side. Our thoughts are that this new method is more convenient than downloading each track individually, and faster than downloading one ZIP file containing the entire album. Does this work for you? Your comments are welcome at email...thedepartmentofrecords...com.

The Worth Is Yet To Come: Stan Worth Sings And Plays

2005-10-09T20:23:00.000-04:00

Stan Worth scored a lot of points on the game show music scene. He composed themes to Heatter-Quigley shows like High Rollers, Hollywood Squares and Las Vegas Gambit. He was the bandleader for Tom Kennedy's Name That Tune for the last two years of its run. And for bonus points, he teamed up with another game show musician, Sheldon Allman, to create the theme to the decidedly non-game-show George Of The Jungle.

But before all that, Stan released a couple of albums. In the awkwardly-titled "The Worth Is Yet To Come," you'll hear him having fun with various standards and modern hits for the day. The album was recorded with an audience at RCA's Music Center Of The World in Hollywood. Stan has plenty of fun heckling an audience member on You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You, and you'll "hava" lot of fun listening to Stan's unique rendition of Hava Nageela (that's the way it's spelled on the album). The tap-dancing Donald O'Connor had as much fun writing the liner notes as Stan had recording the album. O'Connor, as agile with words as he was light on his feet, said: "There are so many things to say about this guy, but I didn't want to use the standard praise words, superlatives, impressive-sounding adjectives. Then I tried inventing a few words about him. For example, he's a "marpert"*. I figured this wouldn't work because I'm the only guy who would know what it meant. So back to the standards."

O'Connor explained "marpert": "In case you're wondering, that's a Marvelous Expert."

So sit back and listen to Stan Worth's "marpertise" as he sings and plays.

This album is a mono copy. Surface noise will be evident on a few tracks. Because of the continuous sequencing of the tracks, each side is presented as its own track. Click a Side heading to download.

TRACK LISTING
Stan Worth
The Worth Is Yet To Come
RCA Recods, 1964

SIDE 1
The Lady Is A Tramp
Kansas City
Gravy Waltz
Beauty Is Just Skin Deep
A Lot Of Livin' To Do
Hava Nageela

SIDE 2
Lollipops And Roses
Hit The Road Jack
Loop De Loop
Speedy Gonzales
Relax (And Let It Happen)
You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You

Paul Taubman Plays 40 All-Time Song Favorites

2005-10-03T22:42:00.000-04:00

Paul Taubman was well known in New York as the proprietor of The Penthouse Club, a restaurant with an excellent view of Central Park, and an equally excellent house organist. The organist was Taubman himself. In addition to being the organist for his own club, Taubman also composed the themes to several Barry & Enright game shows such as Dough Re Mi, Tic Tac Dough and the inafmous Twenty One. On this album, one of four he did for Columbia records, Taubman takes 40 singable standards and melds them into medleys made for mealtime magic. You can hear a little of the enthusiasm he'd put into his game show music in some of the more upbeat tracks.

TRACK LISTING
Paul Taubman At The Penthouse Organ Plays 40 All-Time Song Favorites
Columbia records, ca. 1960

SIDE 1
Get Happy/Pretty Baby/Something To Remember You By/Sweet Georgia Brown/Thou Swell
Jeepers Creepers/Ain't We Got Fun/Blue Room/You Do Something To Me/Bye Bye Blackbird
I Know That You Know/Just One Of Those Things/Smiles/I Got Rhythm/I Want To Be Happy
Sally Won't You Come Back/My Buddy/Til We Meet Again/The Band Played On/Dancing With Tears In My Eyes

SIDE 2
Avalon/Baby Face/Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart/Sometimes I'm Happy/Oh You Beautiful Doll
Tiptoe Thru The Tulips/Oh Lady Be Good/Cuddle Up A Little Closer/Bidin' My Time/Sing Something Simple
I Get A Kick Out Of You/Ain't She Sweet/Here In My Arms/Am I Blue/Lullaby Of Broadway
For You/Speak To Me Of Love/Shadow Waltz/Kiss Me Again/I'll See You Again

October Is Game Show Month

2005-10-03T22:22:00.000-04:00

It's Game Show Month here at thedepartmentofrecords.com (you have changed your bookmarks, yes?). Sure, we could be all trite and do a Halloween thing like just about everyone else is going to do, but we're better than that. Jack, we're going off the board for $200 by showcasing five albums by people associated with game shows. Two of them are by well-known composers of theme music; the other three are by hosts. So sit back, give that wheel a spin and (at least with the first album) name that tune!

Little Red Riding Hood/The Devil Wants You To Smoke

2005-09-25T23:22:00.000-04:00

Here's a bizarre little album for ya. It was produced by J.I. Rodale, the publisher of Prevention and Men's Health magazines. On the first side is "It Shouldn't Happen To A Wolf", a twist on the old Little Red Riding Hood story. It's the same story until the wolf goes through Little Red's bag and discovers all the bad ingredients of the food Little Red got for Granny. The apple juice contains Don Quixote soda. There's Polywollyoxin in the cake. The figs have sulfites. And let's not even talk about the canned beef. To prove how bad the ingredients are for people, the Big Bad Wolf eats everything in the bag and gets really sick. While he suffers, he gets arrested for hanging out with little girls. Little Red, in the mean time, gets back the $8 she spent for all the food. Not a bad deal.

Side 2 gets really trippy. In "The Devil Wants You To Smoke", a deceased street gang member paying out his time in hell as a devil gets recruited to get people to smoke. He and his boss fly by UFO to Wilmington, Delaware to meet Little Miss Muffet (now, if that premise doesn't get you to smoke, nothing will). After repeated attempts, Muffet, who speaks almost entirely in nursery rhymes, refuses to take the hit, which is a real drag for the devil, since his chance of earning 2 merit badges goes up in a puff of smoke. To add to the devil's strife, the Pied Piper comes along to tell the sad tale of the death of his brother, Peter. All the coughing from the cigarettes made him shake, and that shaking is what pickled Peter's peppers (there goes the family recipe). We also learn that Peter Piper has been moonlighting as Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater. Between the double life and the smoking, it's no wonder he had a wife and couldn't keep her. Anyway, Muffet fools the devil into taking a cigarette with the old "what's in this hand" game, and that sends the devil and his boss to Russia, where "nobody listens to us anyway." Far as we know they're still there. As for Muffet? We think she became Rexella Van Impe, wife of end-time televangelist Jack Van Impe. Compare the voice on the album with the one on the downloadable show (just the intro's all you need) and decide.

TRACK LISTING
Little Red Riding Hood/The Devil Wants You To Smoke
Rodale Press, c. early '60s

SIDE 1
Little Red Riding Hood (It Shouldn't Happen To A Wolf)

SIDE 2
The Devil Wants You To Smoke

The Safari

2005-09-18T20:49:00.000-04:00

Come along on a safari with us! This week, we're going to meet some incredible jungle creatures.

This neat little album dates back to 1979 and has some very cool arrangements. The instruments provide animation and atmosphere for each of the tracks. If you heard our other two albums this month, you'll hear something very familiar: the voice of Steve Clayton. This time Steve's part of a group that also consists of Mary Sue Berry, Rose Marie Jun and Tony Wells. Get your kids to sing along with them and you'll have as much fun as you'd have going on a real safari, or even watching Jack Hanna!

TRACK LISTING
The Safari
Clarus Records, 1979

SIDE 1
The Safari
Chitter Chatter Monkeys
Herbivorous Hippopotamus
Nocturnal Animals
Horns
The Lion Is The King

SIDE 2
Elephant
Ostrich
The Long Necked Giraffe
Watch Your Step
Birds In The Wild Are So Free
The Safari (Reprise)

ZIP FILE
All songs plus front cover: 27 MB

thedepartmentofrecords.com

2005-09-18T20:43:00.000-04:00

Yep, that's us! It's official. Update your links and bookmarks if you'd like. The blogspot.com address still works, but wouldn't you love to use the new, more elegant, and more official looking URL? Go ahead. Now's your big chance.

Learning About Me And The Way I Move

2005-09-11T21:29:00.000-04:00

Now that the kids are all back to school and getting settled into the flow of things, we're going to mellow the pace a bit. Learning About Me And The Way I Move is the less-rockin' precursor to It's About Time. The formula is the same: Steve Clayton and Gail Contini sing the songs, which were written by Hy Glaser and his wife Lynn and their son Jamie. This time, the subject matter is the body. Side 1 will have you in a full-body workout with hopping, skipping, jumping and more. On side 2 you get a little more intimate with songs like The Parts Of Me and I Can. I Can is fun at parties if you have the right sense of humor. How would you fill in the blank when you hear Gail sing, "I can dance on my ______ "? Since it's an educational album, we won't solicit answers here. We'll just imagine what you'd say with your _______.

Apologies for the sound quality - the surface noise was not of the nature that could be edited out with our software. This album is in mono.

TRACK LISTING
Steve Clatyton & Gail Contini
Learning About Me And The Way I Move
Ultrasound Records, 1974

SIDE 1
The Walking Song
The Jumping Song
The Skipping Song
The Hopping Song
The Running Song

Side 2
The School Parade
I Can
The Parts Of Me
What I Can Do With Me
Look At Me

It's About Time

2005-09-06T22:04:00.000-04:00

Man, weren't the '70s great for music? You had bands like ELO, BTO, and ELP on the AM, and on TV kids like us grooved to Sesame Street, The Electric Company, and that Saturday morning institution, Schoolhouse Rock. Shows like those inspired us to bring out the most rockin' educational tunes from our collection.

It's About Time looked innocuous enough: an album designed to help teachers teach young kids about time. On the back are testimonials by educators and a track listing. Look below at the track listing for a second and try to imagine what each track would sound like. OK, now download them and prepare to be blown away. What you have here is a remarkably contemporary set of tunes that not only educates, but totally rocks! The secret behind those rockin' arrangements was a young guy named Jamie Glaser. He's the son of Hy Glaser, who with his wife Lynn, produced and wrote the album. Hy was a well-regarded, if not world-famous, songwriter from the Tin Pan Alley days. Jamie followed in his father's musical footsteps and has developed an incredible resume through the years. That's him playing piano, guitars and glockenspiel on this album. Jamie's brother Randy is on percussion. Each song is sung by Gail Contini and the ubiquitous Steve Clayton - you'll be hearing a lot of him this month, since he's on three of the albums we're featuring.

There's a little bit of everything here: rock, mellow rock, swing and even a little disco. WARNING: these songs are very catchy and will make you prone to singing in public places. Make sure you have your kids with you to minimize any embarrassment you may have.

TRACK LISTING
Steve Clayton & Gail Contini
It's About Time
Ultrasound Records, 1975

NOTE: This album was originally in mono, so lucky for you, won't take up quite as much space as usual since we've recorded it in mono as well.

SIDE 1
Seven Days In A Week
Yesterday, Today And Tomorrow
Twelve Months
Thirty Days In September
The Clock Song

SIDE 2
The Season Is Fall
When Winter Comes
Spring Is Here!
Summer
A Time For Everything We Do

Links Of Record
Jamie Glaser

Love In The Afternoon

2005-08-29T23:47:00.000-04:00

Ah, love in the afternoon. The mind conjures up images of young romantics in the park, a passionate session in a satin-lined bedroom...and soap operas. You might remember Love In The Afternoon as the tagline ABC used for its soap operas in the early '80s. It was so successful that it actually spawned this album. Here we have some of the biggest stars from some of the biggest soap operas of the day...singing. Jack Wagner and Michael Damian, who were also ABC soap stars at the time, were actually good enough singers to have parlayed their talents into side careers, which explains their absence from this album. But could you imagine someone like Dr. Alan Quartermaine or Erica Kane doing a number? Well, they do numbers on their respective numbers. Stuart Damon asked for a little assistance during what might have been a long recording session on "Help Me Make It Through The Night" while Susan Lucci sought "Someone To Watch Over Me." Appropriate choices? You judge. Overall, everyone does a surprisingly good job with their chosen material, which for the most part is light, standards-type material. The exception is Sharon Gabet's good old-fashioned rock rendition of My Boyfriend's Back. Sharon does double duty as a backup singer on some of the other tracks.

TRACK LISTING
ABC Soap Stars: Love In The Afternoon
MCA Records, 1983

SIDE 1
Mary Gordon Murray (Becky Lee Abbott, One Life To Live): You Wouldn't Know Love
Stuart Damon (Dr. Alan Quartermaine, General Hospital): Help Me Make It Through The Night
Loanne Bishop (Rose Kelly, General Hospital): Don't Go To Strangers
Joel Crothers (Dr. Miles Cavanaugh, The Edge Of Night): Planes
Helen Gallagher (Maeve Ryan, Ryan's Hope): Let's Do It

SIDE 2
Sharon Gabet (Raven Alexander, The Edge Of Night): My Boyfriend's Back
Michael Storm (Dr. Larry Wolek, One Life To Live): I'm Just A Country Boy
Susan Lucci (Erica Kane, All My Children): Someone To Watch Over Me
John Gabriel (Dr. Seneca Beaulac, Ryan's Hope): Now That I Have Everything
James Mitchell (Palmer Cortlandt, All My Children): I'd Rather Leave While I'm In Love

ZIP FILE
Get the entire album plus front and rear cover art here. (33 MB)

Closed For Renovations

2005-08-21T22:44:00.000-04:00

We're taking a break for at least a couple of days as we catch up on things and reconfigure the vinyl engine that drives this blog. A new turntable is in place, but there's a possible second turntable that may make its way to the Department. For now, the new 'table is this Pioneer PL-518 found at a local thrift store.

(WARNING: The following paragraph contains language unsuitable for those without geek and/or audiophile tendencies) This is a heavy, late '70s-vintage direct-drive 'table well-regarded in some audio circles. It's a step up from the Technics SL-B2 belt-drive we've been using. The Pioneer is borrowing the trusty Shure M919ED cartridge from the Technics until a new cartridge is decided on (the frontrunner is an Audio Technica AT440ML). Of course, the possible second turntable, spotted on Saturday, could change the game. Details will follow, and there may be plenty, so fair warning. We'll be back to the music soon. Thanks for listening.

A Year At The Top

2005-08-14T22:37:00.000-04:00

What would you do for your chance at fame? Would you do it the old fashioned way and work your butt off and brag to everyone how great you are, hoping that people's connections will eventually link to fame? Or would you do something a little more sinister? Our heroes in this week's story, Greg and Paul, have come all the way out to Hollywood from Boise, Idaho and are struggling with the moral dilemma of selling their souls to the devil - literally -for a shot at the big time. They've seen the future this devil has shown them, and it is good. A recording contract, a few hit singles, and even a TV show with a soundtrack album. Back in Realityland, however, Greg and Paul find their TV show floundering. A Year At The Top spent a month at the bottom of the ratings before it got hooked off the stage. Work of the devil, you say? Well, Don Kirshner was half the brains behind this project, so in a way, yes (need we remind you of the Archies?). The other half? Norman Lear. Not a lot of the folks involved seem to talk much about this piece of '70s rock 'n' roll TV history, but they came out of it OK. A year after this show, Greg Evigan shared billing with a chimpanzee and a Kenworth rig on BJ And The Bear. Then he became one of My Two Dads with another Paul: Mad About You's Paul Reiser. As for the other Paul? He's none other than Paul Shaffer, of The Late Show With David Letterman. And strangely enough, this album is not a part of Dave's Record Collection.

TRACK LISTING
Paul Shaffer & Greg Evigan
A Year At The Top: Greg & Paul
Casablanca Records, 1977

SIDE 1
She's A Rebel
Like A Rising Star
Give Me More
We've Come So Far
A Year At The Top

SIDE 2
We're Lovers After All
Good Time Girl
Sweet Love
Love Just Comes And Goes
You Are The One

The Trini Lopez Show

2005-08-07T19:06:00.000-04:00

Here's a soundtrack you don't see much of: The Trini Lopez Show. The album was done as a soundtrack to the 1969 TV special. There's not a lot of information about the show, but we do know The Ventures and Nancy Ames were guest stars. The album itself was Trini's last for Warner Brothers' Reprise label, and really runs the gamut of musical variety: folk, oldies, soul, and even a couple of Now Sounds. It's a heady mix of stuff, especially in the medley. Nancy Ames works really well with Trini, and ain't bad to look at! The Ventures do their typical excellent job as they back Trini and Nancy. Edwin Starr's Twenty-Five Miles set the pace for the show. Mitchell Ayers was the musical director, and he and conductor David Schriver made sure each track had plenty of power for the journey ahead. And what a groovy trip.

TRACK LISTING
Original TV Soundtrack: The Trini Lopez Show
Reprise Records, 1969

SIDE 1
Twenty-Five Miles
Medley: Gotta Travel On, Down By The Riverside, Marianne, Heart Of My Heart, Goody Goody, Oh Lonesome Me, This Land Is Your Land, Bye Bye Blackbird, If I Had A Hammer

SIDE 2
Games People Play
Hawaii Five-O
Light My Fire
Reza
Mrs. Robinson
Land Of A Thousand Dances
La Golondrina (Closing)

The Complete Album in one handy .ZIP file (30 MB)

Al Harrington: I Love This Land

2005-08-03T21:58:00.000-04:00

We'd like to introduce to you Al Harrington, International Man Of Mystery. He appeared mysteriously on Hawaii Five-0 as Det. Ben Kokua, replacing Zoulou, who played Kono. He left a few years later, just as mysteriously. There's a common feeling Jack Lord may have had something to do with Harrington's disappearance: accoding to Mike Quigley's Hawaii Five-0 Home Page, Harrington was "'too tall' or 'too something'" and Lord "didn't approve" of him. Like Zoulou, Harrington was a man of many more talents than anyone saw on the show. He was a teacher, an All-American high school football player, and...a nightclub singer? Apparently so. He'd been a popular act at the Hawaiian Village, the Sheraton Waikiki and the Ala Moana, which is where this album was originally purchased (and autographed). I Love This Land is a blend of standards from the Islands and the Mainland. The Honolulu Children's Chorus joins Al on the funky It's A Small World, and the Bacharach/David-penned Living Together, Growing Together (made famous, of course, on Marlo Thomas's Free To Be You And Me album). The odes to Hawaii, including the title track, are originals written by Frank McPherson. My Hawaii teams McPherson with Don Costa, who conducted and arranged the album. Love Calls is a standout here for Harrington's demonstration of mating calls, and his jive talkin' at the end. We wonder if Al did any jive talkin' to the couple he autographed this album for. If you can't read the writing:

From George To Betsy
on your 25th
Aloha
Al Harrington

TRACK LISTING
Al Harrington
I Love This Land
Maui Records, 1975

SIDE 1
I Love This Land
Living Together
Love Calls
Island Woman
Dream Away

SIDE 2
My Hawaii
Koni Au
It's A Small World
Minoi
Try To Remember

Hawaii Five-0: Original Sound Track

2005-07-31T15:42:00.000-04:00

Just when you thought it was safe, we're at it again with another month of soundtracks! For August, our soundtracks will come from TV shows, the first of which has some personal significance.

The Keeper Of Records works at a TV station that's run Hawaii Five-0 for several years. On Friday, the station aired Five-0 for the last time. In fact, it was the Keeper's idea to air the very last episode, where McGarrett finally captures his long-time foe, Wo Fat ("I have the unique pleasure of booking you myself"). In honor of the occasion, we've decided to present a very special soundtrack, plus later this week, a special bonus album by one of the Five-0 cast members.

Hawaii Five-o was a breath of fresh air for TV audiences in the late '60s. It was a cop show, sure. But what set it apart was the fresh writing, the Hawaiian settings, and of course, the music. Morton Stevens, director of CBS's West Coast music department, was commissioned by series creator Leonard Freeman to come up with the music. Freeman explains the method to Five-0's music in the liner notes:

Before taking a tough new assignment, Morton Stevens (Director Of Music, CBS West Coast), graduate of Juilliard School of Music, arranger and conductor for Sammy Davis, Jr. in those halcyon years between 1950 and 1960, composer of literally hundreds of segments of television's finest dramatic shows, and in my opinion, a stone cold genius, made a pilgrimage to Hawaii. In our seven-island FIVE-0 state, Mort discovered for himself what I had already found: the last Eden, palm trees and skyscrapers, aloha spirit and snarling traffic jams, America's heartbeat in the pacific, mecca for more than two million tourists annually, and home for the polygenetic golden people of Hawaii, a vital, hip, swinging place, Polynesia now! That's what I asked Morton Stevens to put into music. The value of a great one-minute theme to any television series is inestimable and I wanted one for my then brand spanking new HAWAII FIVE-0. No ukuleles or steel guitars or falsetto singers or overused bongos, but a kind of melding of the Polynesian, the classic, the jazz and most of all the pop sound of today. HAWAII FIVE-0 is all these things and so, happily, is Morton Stevens' [sic] music, as you will discover. Aloha!

Each track on this album is the real thing, heard in over 200 Five-0 shows. Most people The Keeper has talked to think The Ventures wrote the theme. While they did record a popular version of it, it was Morton Stevens himself who composed it. You'll hear the full original theme here, along with incidental music used in the show. One bonus: if you listen closely Call To Danger, you'll hear what would a few years later become the music for the CBS Special introductions.

TRACK LISTING
Hawaii Five-0: Music From The TV Sound Track
Composed, Arranged And Conducted By Morton Stevens
Capitol Records, 1969

SIDE 1
Hawaii Five-0
Call To Danger
McGarrett's Theme
Front Street
The Long Wait
Blues Trip

SIDE 2
The Floater
Interlude
Operation Smash
Beach Trip
Up Tight
The Chase/Hawaii Five-0

LINKS OF RECORD

The Hawaii Five-0 Home Page
The definitive Five-0 resource, with air dates and synopses for every episode, rare facts, plus lots more.

Summer Soundtracks: The Dukes Of Hazzard

2005-07-24T19:15:00.000-04:00

We're glad you've enjoyed the Soundtracks Of Summer series. Our last album, in an instance of cosmically good timing, happens to tie in with one of this summer's hottest movies: The Dukes Of Hazzard. In another strange timing coincidence, Scotti Brothers Records is reissuing this album on CD this week. There's lots of buzz about the new movie, but not everyone's pleased with how the transition was done. Ben Jones (who played Cooter on the show) calls the movie a "sleazy insult" to the original show's fans because of its sexual overtones and profanity. Here's Ben's take on why you might want to think twice about seeing it.

Meanwhile, back in the good ol' days of 1981, the good ol' boys got together to do an album. It's not necessarily a soundtrack, but it does have much of the original cast on it. And yes, some of them even sing. In fact, John Schneider and Tom Wopat had been singers since well before they became the Duke Boys, and do great jobs wth their songs. Wopat's cover of The Band's "Cripple Creek" was produced by TV themesmith Mike Post, so that works in his favor. Catherine Bach (aka Daisy Duke) adds a little flavor, if not quite as much singing talent, with "Down Home American Girl". Johnny Cash makes a cameo appearance with his hit "General Lee", and Doug Kershaw plays his famous Cajun fiddle and sings a few tracks. James Best, as Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane, narrates between tracks, and even does an ode to his dog Flash. One notable absence: the Good Ol' Boys theme as sung by Waylon Jennings. The Hazzard County Boys sing it instead. Just take comfort in the fact that Jessica Simpl -uh, Simpson - isn't singing that unrecognizable version of These Boots Are Made For Walkin'. And keep it between them ditches! [Keeper Of Records blows Dixie horn as he drives away]

TRACK LISTING
The Dukes Of Hazzard
LP: Scotti Bros. Records, 1981
CD Reissue: Scotti Bros. Records, 2005

SIDE 1
Good Ol' Boys (The Hazzard County Boys)
General Lee (Johnny Cash)
Laughing All The Way To The Bank (Sorrell Booke)
Up On Cripple Creek (Tom Wopat)
Cover Girl Eyes (Doug Kershaw & The Hazzard County Boys)
In The Driver's Seat (John Schneider)

SIDE 2
Flash (James Best)
Down Home American Girl (Catherine Bach)
Duelin' Dukes (Sorrell Booke)
Keep Between Them Ditches (Doug Kershaw & The Hazzard County Boys)
Ballad Of The General Lee (Doug Kershaw & The Hazzard County Boys)

LINKS OF RECORD
John Schneider
Tom Wopat
James Best
Cooter's Place

Summer Soundtracks: Irma La Douce

2005-07-17T18:33:00.000-04:00

A little something different this week as our Summer Soundtrack Spectacular continues. The soundtrack we were planning on didn't pass a couple of musters, so we decided on this replacement, a soundtrack to a movie as performed by one of its stars.

Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine were reunited for Irma La Douce after great reviews from their first teaming in The Apartment. Director Billy Wilder's original choices for Nestor Patou and Irma La Douce were Charles Laughton and Marilyn Monroe, but Laughton was dying of cancer, and according to imdb.com, Wilder had suffered enough with Monroe in the other two films they made together. MacLaine believed in Wilder and Lemmon so much, she signed on for the role of Irma without even reading the script.

Someone at Capitol Records believed in Jack Lemmon enough for him to record a few albums. This, his third, takes a dozen songs from both the film and Broadway versions of Irma La Douce. Jack reveals himelf to be a pretty good pianist, with some humorous improvisation sprinkled into a few of the numbers. You'll particularly enjoy "Little Birdie" with its nod to Alouetta, and the cool, moody "Prison Cell".

TRACK LISTING
Jack Lemmon Plays Piano Selections From Irma La Douce
Capitol Records, ca. 1964

SIDE 1
Valse Milieu
Nestor Patou
From A Prison Cell
Les Halles
There Is Only One Paris For That
Rule Britannia

SIDE 2
Let's Pretend Love
Little Birdie
She's Got The Lot
Our Language Of Love
Dis-Donc, Dis-Donc
Theme From Irma La Douce

Summer Soundtracks: Trocadero Bleu Citron

2005-07-10T20:40:00.000-04:00

Now here's a flick you don't hear about every day. In fact, Google shows more hits for the soundtrack than for the movie it's from. And that's OK, because it is a pretty good soundtrack. We'll talk about it in a second. First, though, the name of the movie is Trocadero Bleu Citron, or Trocadero Lemon Blue for English-speakers. The movie is a French-Italian joint venture from 1978. It's about a 10-year-old roller skating champion who falls in love, and that's all that's out there for information about the movie itself.

The soundtrack we know a little more about. It was composed by Alec R. Costandinos, a world-renowned Eurodisco composer who ranks up there with people like Giorgio Moroder and Cerrone. In fact, Costandinos co-wrote Cerrone's hit, Love In C Minor. He's also the one responsible for Romeo & Juliet in Thank God It's Friday. Here, he keeps his basic theme going - bouncy bass lines and solid beats. It's a textbook example of how disco was done in the late '70s. On Side One is Trocadero Suite, a 16-minute number that seems to contain a little bit of Stranger In Paradise, some classical overtones, and even a possible foreshadowing of techno. Side 2 has some vocals, and if we didn't know any better, we'd think the guy in them sounded a lot like Al Jarreau. We may never know for sure since he's not credited. There are some soft romantic moments to counter the disco, most notably the piano track called Pupuce. Our opinion: if we were to judge the movie solely by its soundtrack, Trocadero Lemon Blue would have been a winner.

TRACK LISTING
Trocadero Bleu Citron/Trocadero Lemon Blue
Music by Alec R. Costandinos
Casablanca Records, 1978

SIDE 1
Trocadero Suite

SIDE 2
Trocadero Lemon Blue (Trocadero Bleu Citron)
You And Me
Moments Of Love
Pupuce
Grooves (Intro and Credits Theme)

Summer Soundtracks: A Swingin' Summer

2005-07-03T21:24:00.000-04:00

Welcome to The Soundtracks Of Summer. This week brings the first of four soundtracks we'll have this month here at The Department. And how better to start summer than with this soundtrack?

A Swingin' Summer, on the surface, looked just like any other teen beach flick. It was filmed in Lake Arrowhead, California, and true to form, there was lots of sun, sand and songs, and of course, plenty of sex symbols. Not much to speak of in the way of script, really, but who watched beach movies for plots? The few who did were treated to "A fresh, fun-filled original story about the way-out antics of teen-age life at one of America's most exciting vacation spots."
And if that weren't enough to bring 'em in, there was all this action:

- A Chicken Race on Water Skis
- Simmering Surfing Sequences
- A Krazy Karate Kaper (Is this how Hong Kong Phooey got started?)
- A Boat-Type Chase To End All Boat-Type Chases
- A Bevy Of Beautiful Beauties in a Blazing Bikini Bonanza At The Beach
- And of course, a lot of alliteration.

There wasn't a lot of big-name starpower in A Swingin' Summer, but quality compensated for quantity. James Stacy played main character Rickey. Among the singers and musicians were The Righteous Brothers, Gary Lewis And The Playboys, The Rip Chords, instrumental group The Swingers and Jody Miller, who'd soon be hitting the charts with a spoof on Roger Miller's "King Of The Road" called "Queen Of The House." The big surprise is Raquel Welch, in her first starring role (as Jeri). She not only acted, but sang, too. "I'm Ready To Groove" just about makes this flick worth finding.

TRACK LISTING
A Swingin' Summer
Hanna-Barbera Records, 1965

SIDE 1
The Righteous Brothers: Justine
The Swingers: Nitro
Carol Connors: Swingin' Summer
The Swingers: Out To Lunch
Raquel Welch: I'm Ready To Groove
The Swingers: Filet Of Soul

SIDE 2
The Rip Chords: Red Hot Roadster
The Swingers: It's Not Unusual
The Swingers: You Can't Fight Sidney Hall
Donnie Brooks: Penny The Poo
The Swingers: Arrowhead Rock
The Swingers: Theme From A Summer Place

Happenin' Harmonicas!!

2005-06-26T19:00:00.000-04:00

||

We weren't sure which of our two albums we wanted to use to wrap up our Covers Undercover series, so we decided that since they're both harmonica albums, we could do them both together. Plus, this is the last week of our series, and we wanted to go out on the weirdest note possible. As you'll find out, these albums are NOT what their covers imply.

Big Buddy Lucas & The Wigglers: 50 Fabulous Harmonica Favorites

I hear you now: you're thinking, "Sure. 50 barbershop quartet songs and old standards done on a harmonica and slapped onto two or three LPs." Au contraire, mon ami! You're wrong on both counts. First, they're all on one disc. Second, click the cover above to get a closer look at the song titles. Surprised? So was I when I discovered this marvel of effieicncy ten years ago. United Artists Records had a series of "50 Fabulous" albums, also including Hawaiian, Guitar, Dance, and Piano (with UA stars Ferrante & Teicher). Each album indeed had 50 songs apiece. How'd they do it? Volume! No - really. All the songs were encapsulated in medleys of about 4 or 5 songs each. And in the case of Harmonicas, what songs. You'll notice an inordinate number of Neil Sedaka songs, including Stairway To Heaven (remember, this was three years before Led Zeppelin was created). The Righteous Brothers, Gene Pitney, and even The Animals have songs represented here as well. On harmonicas.

TRACK LISTING
Big Buddy Lucas & The Wigglers: 50 Fabulous Harmonica Favorites
United Artists Records, ca. 1966

SIDE 1
1. Go Away Little Girl/On Broadway/Next Door To An Angel/Oh! Carol/Goodbye Cruel World
2. Point Of No Return/Looking Through The Eyes Of Love/Just For Old Time's Sake/Action
3. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'/Uptown/Venus In Blue Jeans/Foolish Little Girl
4. It's My Life/I'm Into Something Good/Chains/Only In America
5. Stairway To Heaven/Surf City/Will You Love Me Tomorrow/Up On The Roof
6. The Loco-Motion/Stupid Cupid/Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen/We Gotta Get Out Of This Place

SIDE 2
1. Please Don't Ask About Barbara/The Diary/Footsteps/Little Devil/Five O'Clock World
2. Calendar Girl/One Fine Day/Breaking Up Is Hard To Do/Oh No Not My Baby
3. Princess In Rags/Rumors/Run To Him
4. Charms/I'll Never Dance Again/Honolulu Lulu
5. He's Sure The Boy I Love/ Baby, The Rain Must Fall/It Hurts To Be In Love/Just Once In My Life
6. I'm Gonna Be Strong/Make Me Your Baby/Take Good Care Of My Baby
7. Blame It On The Bossa Nova/Peaches 'N' Cream

Jerry Murad's Harmonicats: What's New, Harmonicats?
What happens when a group of mod, swingin' '60s hits gets covered by a group of guys whose music had normally been appreciated only by people in their 60s? You get this curiosity. Surely the brainchild of the rock-hating Mitch Miller, longtime A&R head of Columbia Records, "What's New?" took a modern mix of songs and turned them into harmonica hash. Or so some people would think. These are actually pretty rockin' tunes, even as you hear them here. Fellow Columbia artist Bob Dylan, of course, would likely beg to differ. He wrote four of the songs on this album, and his comments upon hearing them this way are lost to history. I'm sure he had a few choice words about "Like A Rollin' Stone," which gets so wound up it's hard to tell for sure what it is without the label to help. Pete Seeger's "Where Have All The Flowers Gone?" and "Turn! Turn! Turn!" also get their energy levels boosted considerably more than intended. Likewise "Get Off Of My Cloud," which has enough extra harmonica notes to fill an entire album. And it wouldn't surprise me to find that album one day.

TRACK LISTING
Jerry Murad's Harmonicats: What's New, Harmonicats?
Columbia Records, 1966

SIDE 1
Everybody Loves A Clown
Yesterday
Ring Dang Doo
Blowin' In The Wind
Like A Rolling Stone
Turn! Turn! Turn!

SIDE 2
A Lover's Concerto
A Taste Of Honey
Get Off My Cloud
Where Have All The Flowers Gone?
Mr. Tambourine Man
Positively 4th Street

Dance With The Latin Champions

2005-06-19T19:10:00.000-04:00

Joe Loss is your gain...cha-cha-cha!

There's nothing quite like a dance album with a couple of wacky covers. This particular album has its share of them, including the no-expense-spared front cover.

Joe Loss was a child-prodigy-turned-bandleader who had his first performance as a classical violoinist at the ripe old age of 7. He'd then go on to thrill regular folks and royalty alike with his fresh arrangements of modern hits. "Dance With The Latin Champions" features a few of those fresh arragements alongside the more traditional ballroom fare. We'll skip the latter and concentrate on the fresh stuff.

Styles and songs mix it up on this album in grand style. The cha-cha sound of "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" almost makes you think Butch Cassidy has had a dance or two with Lucy Ricardo. Bert Kaempfert's "Happy Trumpeter" goes from Berlin to Belize with its south-of-the-border Samba treatment. Even Simon & Garfunkel get latinized on "Bridge Over Troubled Water." One song in particular is so transformed by Joe Loss's technique that it's changed almost beyond recognition into something that closely resembles a game show theme. It's the mystery track below. It and all of the others are so enjoyable (and mystifying) that we've decided to make the whole album available to you this week. Just click a track to download from YouSendIt.

TRACK LISTING
Joe Loss & His Orchestra
Dance With The Latin Champions
Telemark Dance Records, 1971

SIDE 1
Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head (Cha Cha)
My Cherie Amour (Bossa Nova)
The Happy Trumpeter (Samba)
Bridge Over Troubled Water (Rumba-Bolero)
Toreando (Paso Doble)
The Champ (Single Swing)

SIDE 2
Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday (It's a samba, and congratz if you recognized it!)
Can't Help Falling In Love (Rumba-Bolero)
Sugar, Sugar (Cha Cha)
If You Love Me (I Won't Care) (Rumba-Bolero)
Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) (Cha Cha)
Wand'rin Star (Single Swing)

The Manhattan Strings Play Instrumental Versions Of Hits Made Famous By The Monkees

2005-06-12T17:41:00.000-04:00

Hey Hey, We're The Manhattan Strings!
And people say we Monkee around...

In the '50s and '60s, you were likely to find more strings in a record store than in a marionette shop: Stradivari, Fantabulous, Clebanoff, Singing, Living, Lush, Midnight...and the most prolific, 101 Strings. If you were lucky, you might find an album of The Hollyridge Strings, Captitol Records' own string group, led by Stu Phillips. The Hollyridge Strings were the arguably the most entertaining of the string groups. Who can forget their plinky, echo-chamber-orchestra rendition of Jingle Bells? Or their albums of Beach Boys and Beatles tunes?

In about 1967, Tower Records, a budget label of Capitol, commissioned noted arranger Bob Summers to come up with yet another string group. The result was The Manhattan Strings. And true to the Hollyridge tradition, the album was a songbook of a group's popular tunes. The group in this case happened to be The Monkees. With hits all over the place and their own weekly TV show, The Monkees' newest album was destined for success. Being produced by Mike Curb wasn't a bad thing, either. But old-fashioned arrangements didn't mesh with new tunes as well as they did a few years before, and the album bellied up. Besides, with a gargantuan title like the one it bore, it was a very hard LP to ask for.

Part of the lukewarm response could also have come from the liner notes. "In this debut album are included such hits as I'm A Believer, Last Train To Clarksville, and...well, just look at all of them!" They do list a few adjectives, just to give you an idea of what you're in for: "...rich and beautiful, yet compelling and exciting!"

Although rarely do all four of those words describe each song at the same time. "The Day We Fall In Love" and "I Wanna Be Free" fall strictly under the "rich and beautiful" heading while "Last Train To Clarksville" and I'm Not Your Stepping Stone" are "compelling and exciting." "The Theme From The Monkees," meanwhile, tries to be all things to all listeners, and it turns out instead to be none of the above. In fact, as you'll hear below, it's actually sort of comical. The makeover of "Auntie Grizelda" has a similar effect, though not quite as dramatic. In all, The Manhattan Strings may not make you a believer, but won't exactly have you running for the Last Train To Clarksville.

TRACK LISTING
The Manhattan Strings Play Instrumental Versions Of Hits Made Famous By The Monkees
Tower Records, c. 1967

(Track listing is taken from label to reflect true order of songs)

SIDE 1
I'm A Believer
She
I Wanna Be Free
Look Out Here Comes Tomorrow
The Day We Fall In Love

SIDE 2
Last Train To Clarksville
I'm Not Your Stepping Stone
Theme From The Monkees
Mary Mary
Your Auntie Grizelda

Sammy Kaye: Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head

2005-06-05T19:57:00.000-04:00

Sammy Kaye was one of the most popular bandleaders of the '40s and '50s. By the '60s, he started to feel a little left out while the kids' rock and roll stormed up the charts. So in 1970, Sammy decided to issue this album of modern hits to make sure everyone knew he was still around, and that things for him were about to get better. From the liner notes:

"Everybody's talking about the return of the big bands and I like that kind of talk. Not that me and my band have been "away." But I have to admit the band business has seen better days, even though we've been working regularly. Possibly we've been more fortunate than a lot of the other bands that can't say the same, but we have seen a period of time where bands weren't drawing crowds and were therefore finding it difficult to get bookings. That appears to be changing and people are starting to see and hear the bands again and what's even more important, people are starting to dance again."

On this album we find Sammy swinging and swaying to the Now sound of some of the trendier acts of the late '60s, with pronounced tilts toward movie themes (there are four on this album) and the Beatles (three of whose songs are included). There's very little of the old big-band feel the older set might have associated with Sammy, thanks to arranger Dave Mullaney. In fact, there's even a sitar on Early In The Morning. And wait until you hear that down 'n' funky rhythm on I Want You (She's So Heavy). It's a nice balance between the old and new, as you'll hear in the MP3s we've provided. And yes, there's one extra this week.

TRACK LISTING
Sammy Kaye
Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head
Decca Records, c. 1970

SIDE 1
Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head
She Lets Her Hair Down
Something
Juanita Love Theme (From Alfred Hithcock's "Topaz")
The Old Fun City ("From Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid")

SIDE 2
Maxwell's Silver Hammer
Early In The Morning
Come Saturday Morning
Hold Me/Oh How I Miss You Tonight
Backfield In Motion
I Want You (She's So Heavy)

June Feature: Covers Undercover

2005-06-05T19:09:00.000-04:00

It's been a sad, strange week in the music world. First, the sad: we heard that WCBS-FM in New York is dropping the oldies format they made famous in 1972 and replacing it with a new, loose format called Jack.

Then, the strange: thanks to my friend Nick, I find out that Paul Anka is releasing a new album on Tuesday. But this is no ordinary Paul Anka album. In fact, it seems more like the heavy metal-swing album Pat Boone did a few years back. If you're so inclined, that's here. But back to Anka: he's taken songs from everyone from Soundgarden to Survivor and set them to a swinging beat. You can hear some of each song at Amazon.

So, in keeping with the spirit of hearing good music morphed into a form you can no longer recognize, we here at the Department have decided to do a feature called "Covers Undercover". For each week of June we'll showcase one album (we could do more, believe us) with some of the most bizarre covers you'll ever hear. Once in a while we might even throw in a mystery track so heavily made over that you truly won't realize what you're listening to. Ready? Didn't think so. But we'll get things started right now anyway.

Burt Reynolds: Ask Me What I Am

2005-05-31T23:22:00.000-04:00

No sooner does Burt Reynolds cause a media mess by slapping a TV producer than this album shows up at a flea market. Amazing. The young producer had apparently never seen the original version of Burt's new movie, The Longest Yard.Of course, chances are he's also never heard this album.

Ask Me What I Am is a 1973 album that sort of defies you to ask what Burt really is. After a listen, you might conclude that he's a storyteller, a philosopher, and maybe, just maybe, a singer. Sex Symbol? Well, have a look inside the folding cover at this poster:

Let's take the other descriptions one at a time:

As a storyteller, Burt opens the album with "Childhood 1949", a nostalgic ditty penned by the album's producer, Bobby Goldsboro. It's a paean to the things someone roughly Burt's age would have good memories of growing up. The next track, "Slow John Fairburn", finds Burt telling tales about a colorful local character who's probably just as made up as the childhood in the first song.

Burt goes deep on tracks like "A Room For A Boy Never Used", wherein we find Burt lamenting the fact he's tried and tried to have a son (he's got a whole room set up for the kid), but can't have one, for whatever reason. "There's A Slight Misunderstanding Between God And Man" will just about drown you as Burt asks questions like "Will the real Jesus please stand up?" and "Am I the shepherd or am I the flock?" We counter with, "Slight misunderstanding?"

So how does Burt sing? Well, he hits most of the notes OK, but we have a strong feeling he was guided toward his vocal targets. His voice is surprisingly light and almost fades into a whisper at times, especially toward the ends of some songs. He seems more comfortable just talking the lyrics and he does that at the ends of some lines. "One Unidentified Friend" backs him up on "I Like Having You Around." We don't know who she is (it doesn't quite sound like Dinah Shore), but she was no doubt famous at some time. And we bet Burt never slapped her.

TRACK LISTING
Burt Reynolds
Ask Me What I Am
Mercury/Phonogram, 1973

SIDE 1
Childhood 1949
Slow John Fairburn
The First One That I Lay With
Till I Get It Right
She's Taken A Gentle Lover
You Can't Always Sing A Happy Song

SIDE 2
Ask Me What I Am
A Room For A Boy Never Used
I Didn't Shake The World Today
There's A Slight Misunderstanding Between God And Man
I Like Having You Around

Remembering Ravenscroft

2005-05-24T21:42:00.000-04:00

We've lost a man whose name was as unique as his voice: Thurl Ravenscroft died on Sunday, May 22 at age 91. Ravenscroft, of course, was best remembered as the voice of Tony the Tiger, the lovable Kellogg's Frosted Flakes mascot. He was also the man who sang "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" in the classic TV version of Dr. Seuss's "How The Grinch Stole Christmas." In the '50s and 60s, Ravenscroft also released several albums, two of which we present here this week.

To hear Thurl Ravenscroft and learn more about his work, we recommend you pay a visit to All Things Thurl, perhaps the web's definitive Ravenscroft resource.

Thurl Ravenscroft Singers: 12 Great Hits

Here, Thurl and his vocalists (The Mellomen and a few female singers) sing 12 hits, a surprising number of them made famous by Connie Francis. Thurl is a background singer for many of the songs, but you'll really notice him echoing a couple of the singers' lines on "If I Didn't Care." Milt Rogers's arrangements are for the most part true to the original songs. Billy Vaughn conducted the orchestra. The album was produced by Randy Wood, who'd later start Ranwood Records, home to many of the musical acts on The Lawrence Welk show, as well as Lawrence himself.

TRACK LISTING
12 Great Hits: The Thurl Ravenscroft Singers
Dot Records, c. 1959

SIDE 1
I'm Sorry I Made You Cry
Lipstick On Your Collar
Everybody's Somebody's Fool
My Happiness
Together
Among My Souvenirs

SIDE 2
My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own
Who's Sorry Now
If I Didn't Care
Jealous Of You
Happy Days And Lonely Nights
God Bless America

Ravenscroft: Great Hymns In Story And Song

On this 1970 album, Thurl explains the history of some well-known hymns, then sings them in that voice as big as God himself. Ralph Carmichael arranged and conducted the orchestra, and wrote some of the liner notes. Dale Evans also rings in with a few thoughts of her own.

TRACK LISTING
Ravenscroft Preents Great Hymns In Story And Song
Light Records, 1970

SIDE 1
The Old Rugged Cross
Saved By Grace
Then Jesus Came
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
Let The Lower Lights Be Burning

SIDE 2
In The Garden
Beyond The Sunset
Sunrise
Heartaches
Battle Hymn Of The Republic

Site News: 5000 Department Of Records Fans Can't Be Wrong

2005-05-24T00:15:00.000-04:00

So this is what we get for leaving this poor little paradise of poppy, pappy pleasure alone. Somehow, while this site was sleeping and our Keeper Of Records was involved with other things, we've accumulated 5,000 hits. So maybe you'd like to hear a few hits. Or some misses, even. You'll get your chance real soon. There's much new music to share, and we endeavor to get back into a weekly groove. Come back often to find out what's up, and don't forget to let us know you've linked to us!

Entry Report: 4/25

2005-04-25T19:45:00.000-04:00

Looks like the blog is the way to go after all. Spurred on by another musical site or two, and a few big finds, we figured we'd better get it together and get back to updating the good ol' fashioned Blogger way.

A collection of collections came home to the Department, and a few other mystery surprises found in a store's moving sale. The big find was a complete American Top 40 show. The show originally aired the week of May 27, 1972. It's a great trip back into time, and you'll see how the countdown went when the date gets closer. Meanwhile, we're still deliberating over which album to post from the latest batch of acquisitions, so come back soon for the results.

Entry Report: 3/6

2005-03-06T16:41:00.000-05:00

I can't do it. I can;t let this site just sit and fester while the changes happen (they're about to start). So we're back to doing Entry Reports for a while to tide you over. Here's a batch of records found just yesterday.

The Supremes A'Go-Go
The girls from Inkster go go-go with covers of danceable Motown tunes and others including Hang On Sloopy and These Boots Are Made For Walkin'.

Motown Instrumentals
From Motown splinter label Natural Resources, a 1977 disc of Motown hits instrumentalized for your listening pleasure. Junior Walker's version of You Are The Sunshine Of My Life holds up well, but the real winner here is the instrumental track to Papa Was A Rollin' Stone.

Howard Roberts Chorus And Orchestra: Dream A Little Dream Of Me
A rare-for-the-time black orchestra leader doing disappointingly white arrangements of popular '60s MOR hits like Dreams Of An Everyday Housewife, Lady Willpower, and Mrs. Robinson. Liner notes by Tony Bennett.

Brad Swanson: My Melody Of Love And Other Songs Of Love
The "Whispering Organ" sounds of the mid '70s, including Sweet Gypsy Rose, Close To You, You Make Me Feel Brand New, and You Are The Sunshine Of My Life.

Larry Ferrari At The "Mighty" Wurlitzer Organ
Philadelphia's own organ king recorded this album at the Detroit Theater Organ Club some time in the mid '60s. This album was released on 8-track as well.

Ferrante & Teicher: Dial M For Music
An adventurous repertoire for the Twin Pianists. Touch Me In The Morning, Live And Let Die, and...Let's Get It On?

Roq-In' Zoo: Frig-O-Rator
A rap ode to Chicago Bear William "The Refrigerator" Perry. Banana pizzas with extra cabbage!

George DeWitt Sings That Tune
An album of standards from one of the many hosts of the '50s version of Name That Tune.

The Brass Ring: Somewhere My Love
An assortment of tunes from Phil Bodner's alto-sax-fueled group.

Brass Impact: Goin' Someplace!
Warren Kime and his group horn in on hits old and new on this Command release.

The Gunter Kallmann Chorus: Call It Love, Love Is Blue, With All My Heart
3 volumes of hits recorded and sung with German precision.

Parke's Golden Keys: Home Mortgages And All That Jazz
I kid you not. This is an album created for GAC Finance, an Allentown, PA company. Songs on side one are adapted from show tunes and feature titles like When The Homeowners Go Marching In and Do You Want A Loan, Bill Bailey? Local talent on this album has great credentials. The band is led by Parke Frankenfield.

Site News:

2005-02-28T20:03:00.000-05:00

Pardon our disappearance...we've been busy with some things and hope to be back soon.

At first, our lack of new material was because we truly didn't know how to follow up an act like the 1979 Exxon Retailers Convention. It's probably the strangest album in our 2000+ collection. The album that followed would have been a letdown, whatever it was (but oh, if we still had that Leebonny Bakley cassette). So we took some time to think, and as we thought, we realized our audio processing could stand a little work. We're still working on it but we think it's improved. Further testing will verify this.

This week we're without an album since we're now without one of the local record stores that unwittingly served this site so well. The store was discovered closed down on Sunday. We're not sure if it moved or just plain skipped town, but we sure will miss it. We're going through the last pile of records we got from that store, hoping to find a few tasty bits to post.

We endeavor to return in full some time in March. We'll see you then, and watch for a new full-size website which we're working on to serve you even better. Details to follow.

Put Yourself In Their Shoes: The 1979 Exxon Retailers' Convention

2005-01-30T22:13:00.000-05:00

Not the best in the business...

It's 1979. Gas prices are going up at a rate inversely proportionate to the popularity of disco. Oil companies are fearing a sequel to the 1973 oil crisis. So what would you do, Mr. Oil Company Exec, to keep your company's morale up in these drastic times? You could hold a retailers' convention to allay your dealers' fears. Or better, you could produce a stage show during that convention, and introduce some comic relief into the situation, like Exxon did. But what Exxon didn't consider was where the humor in their show really came from.

Much of the action in the show centers around an Exxon dealer named Harry. Harry is, for lack of a better word, harried. All the hassles of daily station life are combined with late '70s governmental meddling. "This business is giving me gas," Harry sings wearily in "Harry's Lament". There are two things that make Harry feel a little better. First is his wife, a woman Harry truly does not deserve. She is the quintessential housewife - ironing shirts, cleaning the kitchen, and even pitching in at the station on holidays and other peak times. She wouldn't have it any other way. She so enjoys her life of domestic servitude that she exclaims, "This dealer's wife is a full-service island!" You can almost hear the NOW members staging their protests over that line.

While Harry's wife is embroiled in her new battle with the Women's Libbers, Harry finds himself trying to make his Exxon the best it can be. He gets advice in the form of songs like "Once Around The Car" which teaches him how to sell a load of extras. He's assured that he and his Exxon are "The Best In The Business", and is warned that if he doesn't stay that way, his competition is going to pass him by.

Exxon went all-out for this one. In addition to the stage show, there was a film and book on this convention. The play was directed by John Allen, who also wrote the lyrics to the songs. Almost all of the singers have appeared on Broadway or TV. Lenny Wolpe has many TV guest appearances to his name. Chuck Cooper won a Tony Award for his role of Memphis in Cy Coleman's "The Life."

But they're still pretty good.

TRACK LISTING
Put Yourself In Their Shoes: The 1979 Exxon Retailers Convention

Featuring Lenny Wolpe as Harry; with Don Atkinson, Elly Barbour, Chuck Cooper, David Deardorff, Ann Hodapp, Dorothy Kiara, Bill Linton, and Orrin Reiley

SIDE 1
False Start
The Best In The Business
Harry's Lament
An Exxon Dealer's Wife
We're Gonna Pass You By
Major Surgery
Uncle Sam

SIDE 2
You Can Count On Exxon
You Can Count On Exxon Finale
Fugue For Dealers
Put Yourself In Our Shoes
Once Around The Car
I'm Starting My Future Today
We'll Never Pass You By
The Best In The Business Finale

Brand New Year: All Ears

2005-01-25T22:14:00.000-05:00

Breaker 1-9, this is Flashback. Got your ears on?

Here's a celebration of CB radio: the Instant Messenger of the '70s. Who better to lead the festivities than Radio Shack, the premier purveyor of this portable pleasure. We'll let the front cover of their 1976 album do the talkin'. Got your ears on, good buddy?

"When America falls in love it falls hard. And then it celebrates in song. So it is with Citizens Band 2-way radio, otherwise known as "ears". This album, a real slice of Americana-mid-seventies, tells it like it is on the open road. Music for every taste - pop, rock, soul, country, truckin' - sung and told in the vernacular around which Good Buddies have built a cult of togetherness. "All Ears" is contemporary folk music for the "now" generation. And Radio Shack, who commissioned it, is, like they say on TV, the only place you can find it."

Truth is, the album's a lot more country than anything else. Not that that's bad, mind you - it's actually pretty good. It's mostly good ol' fashioned country along the lines of Porter Wagoner or even Roy Clark on some tracks.

There's more talent here than a quick glance at the cover would imply. Randy Goodrum, who sings "Honey Bee, Please Answer Me" has written songs for Anne Murray, Steve Perry, and dozens of others. Curtis Young ("Ain't Ever Gonna Be Lonely Again") is a member of the legendary singing group The Jordanaires. And Mac Wiseman ("Listenin' CB Blues") is in a group called Groovegrass.

All Ears is a cool trip back in time. In fact, it's even cooler to listen to it on an 8-track.

Can you get any more '70s than an 8-track of CB music?

TRACK LISTING
All Ears
Radio Shack, 1976

SIDE 1
Shirley & Squirrely: Hey Shirley
Randy Goodrum: Honey Bee (Please Answer Me)
Bob Gelotte: Come On, Come On, CB Baby
Ed Bernet: Everybody's Somebody (In Our CB World)
Johnny Hemphill: Hey Good Buddy (Where's My Baby)

SIDE 2
Johnny Hemphill: CB Handle Hall Of Fame
Mac Wiseman: Listenin' CB Blues
Curtis Young: Ain't Ever Gonna Be Lonely Again
Oscar Ray: LJ's CB Radio
Ed Bernet: The Night I Talked To The Lord

LINKS OF RECORD
Randy Goodrum
Mac Wiseman
Curtis Young

Captain Kangaroo: Peter And The Wolf

2005-01-17T22:02:00.000-05:00

Here's a very special find. It's a promotional album from The International House Of Pancakes, released back in 1968. The star of the album is none other than Bob Keeshan - Captain Kangaroo. He narrates the story of Peter And The Wolf in what's billed as an "Orchestral Fairy Tale For Children."

The story is set to Prokofiev's Symphonic Suite, Opus 67. It's played by The Stadium Symphony Orchestra Of New York. The conductor is Leopold Stokowksi. Stokowski and the orchestra tell the tale of Peter and the Wolf by representing each character with a different instrument. It's a wonderful idea - the kids actually get to use their imaginations as they visualize the action in their heads. Captain Kangaroo fills in the gaps with his narration. The Orchestra and the Captain come together in a wonderful way on this album.

A Brand New Year: It's A Gas

2005-01-10T22:44:00.000-05:00

No, we said the topper will happen at the end of the month. But this is a good teaser. It's a pair of albums from Caloric, the beloved brand of kitchen appliances. Music for both albums is by Harry Fields.

Music For Cooking With Gas A La Carte

From the liner notes:

When you want food that is prepared perfectly for your own special tastes, it's best to order "A La Carte". And, when you dream of a new kitchen for yourself, the "A La Carte" approach is the best way to go about planning it. Just as Caloric offers the very finest in gas ranges to ensure complete flexibility in kitchen design, so the "A La Carte" music on this record has been carefully selected to bring you the utmost in easy listening enjoyment.

Now let's examine this album's subtitle: "Music That's Rare And Well Done!". That could have a lot to do with why Caloric is no longer in business. Think about it. Rare inside, well-done on the outside. Some people like their steaks that way, but how about a little consistency? The music here, while not exactly rare, is nondescript for the most part, but well done. Harry Fields composed two originals: Habanera Samba and My Rhapsody Is You. Just the thing for the dinner party you're having to show off your new tri-tone appliance suite.

TRACK LISTING
Harry Fields, His Piano And Orchestra
Music For Cooking With Gas A La Carte
Caloric/Capitol Custom, c. 1959

SIDE 1
On Green Dolphin Street
Misty
Gravy Waltz
Invitation
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
When Your Lover Has Gone

SIDE 2
Greensleeves
Bossa Nova Prelude
Moon River
Habanera Samba
My Rhapsody Is You

Music From Bach To Rock: A Salute To The 150th Anniversary Of Gas

Same basic formula as A La Carte: Caloric, Harry Fields, gas-related theme. One difference here, though, is that Caloric teamed up with the American Gas Association. Another difference is that almost all of the songs are Fields originals. But the biggest difference is the 20-page book in the gatefold cover. You get a capsule history of the role gas has played in Americans' lives, supplemented with audacious collages and a breathlessly optimistic look at the future, circa 1966. From the book:

Supplementing the intensified exploration for gas reserves is a continuing research program for conversion of the nation's coal resources into synthetic gas at the source. This conversion is not only possible with today's technology, it is becoming economically more practicable as the work continues. This one project alone provides added assurance of a virtually inexhaustible supply of gas.

There are plenty of facts and figures in graphs skewed to create the brightest outlook.

Musically, this album is little different from A La Carte. It's the same easy jazz as before. Not too special, but not too unlistenable either.

TRACK LISTING
Harry Fields
Music From Bach To Rock: A Salute To The 150th Anniversary Of Gas
American Gas Assn./Capitol Custom, 1966

SIDE 1
Harry Plays Bach #4
Springtime Of Love
Harry's Rock
Jazz Sonata

SIDE 2
Ritual Fire Dance
Wondrous
Hungarian Dance #5
C Jam Blues

A "Brand " New Year

2005-01-10T22:15:00.000-05:00

Your friends at The Department are ringing in a "brand" new year all month long. For the next three weeks, we'll be highlighting "corporate" albums - special limited releases commissioned by companies for promotional purposes. Most of the albums of this ilk are basically compilations of hits of the day, and we'll display a few of those. Others are true originals. Our final feature for the month will be the most original of the originals. It's gonna be a gas.

Site News: Notorious!

2005-01-05T21:26:00.000-05:00

The head of the Department is just beaming over what's happened here this week. There's been plenty of demand for Sammy Davis Jr.'s Plop Plop Fizz Fizz MP3s. Keeping up with that demand has been a challenge, but a very enjoyable one. (I'm starting to like the idea behind yousendit.com. I may experiment with it soon.)

Secondly, much thanks to former fellow DJ Joe Belock at WFMU for the mention on the WFMU Message Boards. Go tune in Joe's Three Chord Monte at 91.1 if you're in the greater NYC/Jersey City area, or stream it at wfmu.org if you're online between noon and 3 on Tuesdays.

Finally, if you're a fan of the direct approach, you can get the Plop Plop Fizz Fizz MP3s from...April Winchell! Knowing she's the fan of musical strangeness that she is, I thought it'd be cool to let her have a listen to them. What did she think? "STUNNING." And wait 'til you hear some of the other stuff on her site.

No decision yet on next week's album...stay tuned.

Happy New Year!!

2005-01-01T16:30:00.000-05:00

We at the Department Of Records can only imagine how you must feel right now. All the partying and drinking you did last night has probably put a serious hurtin' on ya. So we're gonna try and cure you with...

The Sound Of Sammy

Oh, what a surprise it is!

This is an odd promotional album released by Warner Brothers in 1978. Despite the cover graphics, it's really just another Sammy Davis Jr.'s Greatest hits album. There's nothing on it that you haven't heard before. Except for...

THE PLOP PLOP FIZZ FIZZ SONG!
And you get to hear it twice! Once as a big-band tune, and again as a rock song. Someone at Miles Laboratories (it doesn't say who) wrote the song. And I'd like to thank them for the images I get from the lyrics. First, there's Sammy "eatin' pizza by dawn's early light." Then, "When I'm up here singin' with style and grace, and you're all down there stuffin' your face, remember the sound of fast relief." What was that about style and grace again?

TRACK LISTING
Sammy Davis, Jr.
The Sound Of Sammy
Miles Laboratories/Warner Bros. Records, 1978

SIDE 1
The Candy Man
Birth Of The Blues
What Kind Of Fool Am I?
I Left My Heart In San Francisco
I've Gotta Be Me
Plop Plop Fizz Fizz (Big Band version) *

SIDE 2
Yes I Can
Once In A Lifetime
Hey There
As Long As She Needs Me
Mr. Bojangles
Plop Plop Fizz Fizz (Rock version) *

* Send an e-mail from HERE to get BOTH versions of Plop Plop Fizz Fizz. And take it easy tonight. Happy new year.

The Best Of The 12 Discs Of Christmas

2004-12-25T15:14:00.000-05:00

I've saved the best for last. Here are the four Christmas LPs I'm proudest to have in the collection. Unfortunately for you, they've all been released on CD at some point or other, so no MP3s.

The Four Seasons' Christmas Album
Here's the best version of Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town that I can remember. Also be sure to catch the jungly version of Jingle Bells. Christmas Tears is a Four Seasons Original written by producer extraordinaire Bob Crewe and arranger Sid Bass.

TRACK LISTING
The Four Seasons Christmas Album
Philips Records, ca. 1965

SIDE 1
The Merry Christmas Medley:
We Wish You A Merry Christmas/Angels From The Realms Of Glory/Hark The Herald Angels Sing/It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

What Child Is This
The Carol Of The Bells

The Excelsis Deo Medley:
Deck The Halls/Excelsis Deo/ O Come All Ye Faithful

The Little Drummer Boy

The First Christmas Night Medley:
Deck The Halls/Silent Night/Oh Holy Night/The First Noel

The Joy To The World Medley:
Deck The Halls/God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/Away In A Manger/Joy To The World

SIDE 2
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
Christmas Tears
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
The Christmas Song
Jingle Bells
White Christmas

The Beach Boys' Christmas Album
They don't get much better than this. Little Saint Nick, The Man With All The Toys, and Santa's Beard ("You're not Santa Claus!") all originated here on this Brian Wilson-produced album. Dennis Wilson gives a spoken greeting at the end of Auld Lang Syne on behalf of the rest of the Boys.

TRACK LISTING
The Beach Boys' Christmas Album
Capitol Records, 1965

SIDE 1
Little Saint Nick
The Man With All The Toys
Santa's Beard
Merry Christmas Baby
Christmas Day
Frosty The Snowman

SIDE 2
We Three Kings Of Orient Are
Blue Christmas
Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
White Christmas
I'll Be Home For Christmas
Auld Lang Syne

Christmas Gift 'Rap
Very much a favorite of mine because of tracks like Stevie Wonder's What Christmas Means To Me. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles do a particularly beautiful God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen with some heavy jazz influence. The Temptations' Eddie Kendricks gets soulful on Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer and Silent Night (complete with a greeting from deep-voiced Melvin Franklin at the end). The Miracles' Christmas Lullaby is just the thing to tuck the kids in with on Christmas Eve.

TRACK LISTING
Christmas Gift 'Rap
Motown Records, 1970

SIDE 1
Diana Ross & The Supremes: Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: Christmas Everyday
Stevie Wonder: What Christmas Means To Me
The Temptations: Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
Diana Ross & The Supremes: My Christmas Tree
The Temptations: White Christmas

SIDE 2:
Stevie Wonder: Ave Maria
The Temptations: Silent Night
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Diana Ross & The Supremes: Silver Bells
Stevie Wonder: One Little Christmas Tree
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: Christmas Lullaby

A Christmas Gift For You From Philles Records
The. Best. Christmas. Album. Ever. Period. The Crystals, The Ronettes, Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans, and Darlene Love were up front, with the famous Phil Spector Wrecking Crew behind them. Hal Blaine kept time (pa rum pum pum pum). Leon Russell, Don Randi and Al DeLory were on pianos. Nino Tempo (who with sister April Stevens later won a Grammy for Deep Purple) was a guitarist. And some of the percussion was done by a little known Sonny Bono. With starpower like that, a merry Christmas was guaranteed. And delivered with a ribbon and a bow.

And what a treat it was to see Darlene Love singing Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) on Letterman Thursday night. Comments?

TRACK LISTING
A Christmas Gift For You From Philles Records
Philles Records, 1963

SIDE 1
Darlene Love: White Christmas
The Ronettes: Frosty The Snowman
Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans: The Bells Of St. Mary's
The Crystals: Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
The Ronettes: Sleigh Ride
Darlene Love: Marshmallow World

SIDE 2:
The Ronettes: I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
The Crystals: Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
Darlene Love: Winter Wonderland
The Crystals: Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers
Darlene Love: Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans: Here Comes Santa Claus
Phil Spector & The Artists: Silent Night

12 Discs: Christmas Dance Party

2004-12-24T17:16:00.000-05:00

It's Christmas Eve, and the place is hoppin'. Families are making dinner and maybe even opening presesnts. Afterwards, they may just have a party. What will they dance to? We've got ideas for both sides of the Generation Gap.

Lester Lanin: Christmas Dance Party Vol. 9
Lester Lanin was one of of the most prominent bandleaders of the '30s and '40s. His music was usually best described as strictly ballroom, but it occasionally surprised with its energy. In Christmas Dance Party, there's enough energy for Santa, his reindeer and all his elves - and maybe some left over.

Lanin managed to pack 25 songs on to this record - only seven are individually gift-wrapped; the rest are medleys. It's all fine listening that even the young 'ns can have fun with.

TRACK LISTING
Lester Lanin
Christmas Dance Party Vol. 9
Epic Records, c. 1957

SIDE 1
Jingle Bells
White Christmas/I'll Be Home For Christmas/Home For The Holidays/Happy Holiday
Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairies
Here Comes Santa Claus/Frosty The Snowman
Silver Bells/Oh Christmas Tree/We Wish You A Merry Christmas
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

SIDE 2
Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
Deck The Halls/The Wassail Song/Good King Wenceslas
Christmas Night In Harlem
The Christmas Song/I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day/Christmas In Killarney
Winter Wonderland
Sleigh Ride
Let It Snow
Auld Lang Syne
A Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight

The Salsoul Orchestra: Christmas Jollies
VSOP + TSOP = Y-O-W-S-A! The classic Christmas disco album. Almost as many tracks as Lester Lanin's album and about as much energy. Of course, it's a different kind of energy. But it's enough to keep you movin' into the new year. There's even a New Year's medley at the end of side 2. Side 1 has a couple of Salsoul originals: Merry Christmas All, There's Someone Who's Knocking, and Christmas Time. All were written by Vincent Montana Jr., who was everything from producer to percussionist.

TRACK LISTING
The Salsoul Orchestra
Christmas Jollies
Salsoul Records, 1976

SIDE 1
The Little Drummer Boy
Sleigh Ride
Silent Night
Merry Christmas All
There's Someone Who's Knocking
Chrismas Time

SIDE 2
Christmas Medley:
Joy To The World/Deck The Halls/O Come All Ye Faithful/Jingle Bells/Hark The Herald Angels Sing/Santa Claus Is Coming To Town/The Christmas Song/White Christmas/Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer/I'll Be Home For Christmas/Winter Wonderland/The First Noel/We Wish You A Merry Christmas
New Year's Medley:
Auld Lang Salsoul/
I'm Looking Over A Four-Leaf Clover/Alabama Jubilee/Oh Dem Golden Slippers/God Bless America

LINKS OF RECORD:
Space Age Pop's bio of Lester Lanin
Disco Disco's interview with Ken Cayre, one of the founders of Salsoul Records. Lots of label history and some surprising facts about your favorite videos and videogames.

12 Discs: Instrumentally Christmas

2004-12-24T14:00:00.000-05:00

For some people, nothing says Christmas quite like an organ and chimes. For others, maybe a big, brassy orchestra does it. Whichever camp you're a part of, you'll enjoy these two LPs.

Larry Ferrari: I Wish You The Merriest

It's hard to find a Philadelphian who doesn't know the name Larry Ferrari. Every Sunday morning for over 40 years, the Delaware Valley tuned in to watch Larry play his organ on WPVI (originally WFIL). He was such a Philly fixture that when Wheel Of Fortune came to Philadelphia to tape a week of shows, the producers hired him to play the music. Very few compared with Larry for longevity or talent.

I Wish You The Merriest, from the late '50s, showcases Ferrari's talents at the Rodgers Theatre Organ, Model 33-E. All the classics are here, and in some cases melded together in medleys. The result is just as cheerful overall as Larry was. Even the more somber tunes muster up smiles as evidenced on Blue Christmas, the MP3 feature.

There's more on Larry Ferrari at this link on the Broadcast Pioneers Of Philadelphia site.

TRACK LISTING
Larry Ferrari
I Wish You The Merriest
Sure Records, ca. 1959

SIDE 1
We Need A Little Christmas
Sleigh Ride
Medley: It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas; Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow;
Reprise: It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
Silver Bells
You're All I Want For Christmas
Medley: Christmas Bells, I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day, Reprise: Christmas Bells
Winter Wonderland

SIDE 2
Little Drummer Boy
We Wish You The Merriest
Medley: There's No Place Like Home For The Holidays, I'll Be Home For Christmas
White Christmas
Medley: Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town, Jingle Bells, Frosty The Snowman
The Christmas Song
Blue Christmas (Request The MP3 Here!)

Turned On Christmas

It's not exactly Switched-On. But it's not quite Mannheim Steamroller either. What it is is an interesting collaboration between the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London and the Chicago Synthesizer-Rhythm Ensemble. There's a heavy emphasis on the orchestral here. Synthesizers take a lead voice here and there, but are never overpowering. The main players seem to be percussion, brass and strings. You'll hear Ann Mortifee singing on O Come, O Come Emmanuel; Carol Of The Birds; God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen; and Silent Night. This album appears to never have been reissued on CD. Although it does have a very '80s sound (some may mistake it for production music), it has held up well.

TRACK LISTING
Turned On Christmas
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Paul Freeman, Conductor
The Chicago Synthesizer-Rhythm Ensemble, John Tatgenhorst, Artistic Director
Columbia Records, 1986

SIDE 1
Joy To The World (Request the MP3!)
The Little Drummer Boy
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Angels We Have Heard On High
Carol Of The Birds
We Three Kings Of Orient Are

SIDE 2
Silent Night
Christmas Medley: The First Noel, Deck The Halls, Troika
Christ Is Born
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Adeste Fideles

LINKS OF RECORD:
JTM Media: John Tatgenhorst's music company
annmortifee.com: Ann Mortifee's site

12 Discs BONUS album!

2004-12-24T13:47:00.000-05:00

In the interest of making up for lost time, I'm doubling up on things. So you'll see four albums today and another four tomorrow. Now, though, a bonus selection. Enjoy!

Santa Claus & The Fun Street Gang
Judging from the title of this album, you might expect to hear kids from an urban setting singing some funky, Jackson 5ive-style songs. Then you see the cover. There appears to be fun, but where's the street, gang? The Fun Street Gang is apparently on a Yuletide camping trip. That's them in front of the bonfire with Santa. And it looks like the kids are having some semblance of fun.

But it took a while for their eggnog to kick in. The Fun Street Gang, for most of the album, is basically a junior version of The Norman Luboff Choir. They're good singers, but nothing out of the ordinary. A woman reads The Christmas Story and adds commentary about the Gang's performance. She, as well as the rest of the Gang, is uncredited. Santa (who is credited) makes a couple of appearances too, including nice mellow guitar versions of Angels We Have Heard On High and Away In A Manger. Who knew?
Santa, the Woman and the Gang are joined by a few special guests: The Happy Hamsters, The Silly Squirrels, and The Chipmonks, who are apparently not named Alvin, Simon and Theodore. The Hamsters, Squirrels and Chipmonks (their spelling, most likely for trademark reasons) are hard to distinguish from each other on The 12 Days Of Christmas. It's the only track they appear on.
The real show-stopper, though, is Frosty and His Funky Little 5-Piece Band. Their sole contribution to this album is a song called Santa Claus Is Discoin' To Town. Frosty sounds suspiciously like Gumby's pal Pokey. In fact, the whole track sounds ridiculously fast, even for disco. E-mail me for an MP3 and see if you agree. One thing's for sure, it makes the album.

TRACK LISTING
Santa Claus & The Fun Street Gang
Classic Christmas, 1982

All Tracks By The Fun Street Gang Unless Noted

SIDE 1
Jingle Bells
Jolly Old St. Nick
'Twas The Night Before Christmas (Grandpa?)
Angels We Have Heard On High (Santa's Guitar Solo)
Up On The Housetop
12 Days of Christmas (The Chipmonks, Happy Hamsters, & Silly Squirrels)
Santa Claus Is Discoin' To Town (Request the MP3 here!)

SIDE 2
The Bells Of St. Mary (Christmas Church Bells)
Silent Night
The Christmas Story (The Uncredited Woman)
Joy To The World
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Away In A Manger (Santa's Guitar Solo)
Oh Come All Ye Faithful
Deck The Halls
We Wish You A Merry Christmas

12 Discs: Something Festive/Tijuana Christmas

2004-12-20T19:44:00.000-05:00

Something Festive!

Something Festive! is a nice little audio Christmas card from BF Goodrich, Herb Alpert and the gang at A&M Records. Plenty of authentic south-of-the-border flavor to make the season bright, a few rare tunes, plus surprise appearances by the likes of Liza Minnelli, pianist Pete Jolly and folk group We Five (You Were On My Mind). You'll find this LP in thrift stores everywhere, and you'd do well to pick it up if it's in good enough shape. I got an excellent copy for 10 cents.

TRACK LISTING
Something Festive!
A&M Records, ca. 1967

* Sequence on back cover does not match actual sequence, shown below.

SIDE 1

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass: Winter Wonderland
Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66: The Christmas Song
Liza Minnelli: Raggedy Ann & Raggedy Andy
Julius Wechter & The Baja Marimba Band: Partridge In A Pear Tree
We Five: My Favorite Things

SIDE 2

Burt Bacharach: The Bell That Couldn't Jingle (an uncredited girl group sang this great lost Christmas tune)
Pete Jolly: It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
Claudine Longet: Snow (Written by Randy Newman)
Julius Wechter & The Baja Marimba Band: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass: Jingle Bell Rock

Border Brass: Tijuana Christmas

Much as almost every girl wanted a Barbie of her own, almost every record label wanted a Herb Alpert of their own in the late '60s. Even tiny little Design Records wanted one. They got theirs in the form of The Border Brass. Tijuana Christmas seems to be by far the Brass's most popular album. Indeed, you'll find several copies in any thrift store you frequent. I got lucky and found a copy that's still sealed. Unfortunately, it'll have to stay that way - I'm like that when it comes to sealed music. That means no samples, and no exact track sequence. However, someone has the samples and the sequence, PLUS a scan of the back cover. I'll link to that person pending his permission. For now...

TRACK LISTING (Approximate)
The Border Brass: Tijuana Christmas
Design Records, ca. 1968

* Sequence taken from front cover; may vary from record

Jingle Bells
Silent Night
We Wish You A Merry Christmas
Deck The Halls
What Child Is This?
Tijuana Christmas
The First Noel
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Jolly Old St. Nicholas
Christmas Bells

Christmas With Chet Atkins
Your favorite Christmas chestnuts slow-roasted and hickory smoked. Each track gets a mellow treatment from Atkins's guitar, and some vocal tinsel from The Anita Kerr Singers. Side 1 fetures the more modern classics; side 2, the more traditional tunes. Great listening after all the presents have been opened and the excitement dies down.

TRACK LISTING
Christmas With Chet Atkins
RCA Records, 1961

SIDE 1
Jingle Bell Rock
Winter Wonderland
Jolly Old St. Nicholas
White Christmas
Blue Christmas
Jingle Bells
Silver Bells

SIDE 2
Little Drummer Boy
Medley: The Coventry Carol, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
The First Noel
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
O Come, All Ye Faithful
Deck The Halls
Silent Night

The Ventures' Christmas Album
Nothing quite like an album full of warm California surfy-type Christmas tunes to make you feel warm for the holidays. Typically excellent Ventures fare here, but with a twist: each song starts out with a quotation from a top-40 hit of the day. They're all listed below in parentheses. Corrections and blank-filling welcome.

TRACK LISTING
The Ventures' Christmas Album
Liberty Records, 1965

SIDE 1
Sleigh Ride (Walk, Don't Run)
Snow Flakes (She's Not There)
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (Woolly Bully)
Jingle Bells (What'd I Say)
Jingle Bell Rock (Memphis, Tennessee)
Silver Bells (Not sure about this one)

SIDE 2
Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (I Feel Fine)
Frosty The Snowman (Tequila)
Scrooge (Another stumper)
Blue Christmas (When You Walk In The Room)
We Wish You A Merry Christmas (None that I can tell)
White Christmas (Sounds a lot like the theme to Medic)

Dossier 12/7: Li'l Wally Sings Polish Christmas Carols

2004-12-07T11:59:00.000-05:00

Pennsylvania is one of the polka hotspots of America. And I thought for all the world that this album was created there. But it's actually from New York outfit Jay Jay Records, who had one of the most unforgettable slogans of any record label:

When words meant different things

The music itself is not your typical Christmas music. The first thing that hits you is that it's in Polish. After all, it [i]is[/i] a polka album. Secondly, also befitting a polka album, is that there's plenty of accordion. Finally, these are not Polish translations of Christmas songs that we know and love. These are, in fact, real Polish Christmas Carols. I'd guess they're sort of along the lines of Silent Night and Ave Maria. But they're a refreshing change. They almost make me want to ask for an accordion of my own for Christmas.

A Different Kind Of Christmas

2004-12-07T11:31:00.000-05:00

It seems that all the other music sites and blogs are celebrating Christmas already, so we might as well do the same. But we're going to put a little different spin on things. You may not get anything cool like you would at Basic Hip. You won't get childhood memories like you will at falalalala.com. But you WILL get some Christmas music the likes of which you have never experienced. MP3s of each featured album will follow shortly after posting. Enjoy!

Entry Report 11/15: Record Rescue

2004-11-27T11:53:00.000-05:00

I'm thankful for the abundance of records that are still around. Unfortunately, some people aren't. On Thanksgiving Day, my record supplier of choice had a large pile of records not on its stoop as usual, but on the sidewalk in the rain, waiting to be thrown out. I couldn't stand the thought of perfectly good records going to the landfill so I rescued them all and hoped for the best. Luckily I got to the records before any damage set in. Here's the full list of 92 albums and 6 box sets that I rescued.
A few London Phase 4 albums, mostly promotional copies (marked with *s):
* The Roland Shaw Orchestra: Themes For Secret Agents
* Ted Heath & His Music: Big Band Bash
* Mantovani & His Orchestra: Kismet
* Eric Rogers At The Kingsway Hall Organ: The King Of Sound
* Les Reed: Love Is All
* Film Spectacular Vol. 4: The Epic
* Ronnie Aldrich & His Two Pianos: Invitation To Love
Ronnie Aldrich & His Two Pianos: For Young Lovers
Ronnie Aldrich & His Two Pianos: Come To Where The Love Is (Sealed)
Ronnie Aldrich & His Two Pianos: Soft & Wicked
Frank Chacksfield: Chacksfield Plays Bacharach (Sealed)

The Best Of Mancini Vol. 2
The Mantovani Touch
Mantovani: Great Theme Music
Vangelis: Chariots Of Fire soundtrack
Nino Rota: Original Sound Track Recording, The Franco Zeffirelli Production Of Romeo & Juliet
Henry Mancini Plays The Theme From Love Story (Sealed)
Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack Of The Universal-International Motion Picture The Glenn Miller Story
Glenn Miller Plays Selections From The Glenn Miller Story And Other Hits
The Glenn Miller Orchestra: In The Mod (Yes, Mod. Not mood.)
Arthur Fiedler & The Boston Pops Play Glenn Miller's Biggest Hits
Up Up And Away With Arthur Fiedler & The Boston Pops
New Recordings Of Big Band Hits Of The Thirties
The Original Hit Performances: Into The Forties
The Original Hit Performances: The Middle Forties
The Great Bands/The Kings Of Swing (A Columbia double album)
Themes Like Old Times: 90 Of The Most Famous Original Radio Themes (Liner notes by Gary Owens)
Robert Russell Bennett: Suite From The Score Of Victory At Sea Vol. 1
The Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, Conductor: Finlandia
The Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, Conductor: Invitation To The Dance
Paul Paray, Detroit Symphony Orchestra: Franck, Symphony In D Minor
Grieg: Piano Concerto And Peer Gynt Suites
Julius Baker & Jean-Pierre Rampal: Eighteenth Century Flute Duets
Zubin Mehta/Israel Philharmonic: Mozart, Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K.550/Eine Kleine Nachtmusik K.525
Riccardo Muti/Philadelphia Orchestra: Tchaikovsky/Suites From the Ballets Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty
Vienna Festival Orchestra, Kurt Adler, Conductor: Piano Concerto In A Minor, Op. 16/Peer Gynt Suite No. 1
Stuttgart Philharmonic: Beethoven's 9th Symphony in D Minor Op. 125 "Choral"
The Recorder Consort Of the Musician's Workshop: Eighteenth Century Recorder Music
Dinu Lipatti, Piano
Vladimir Horowitz: An Historic Return: Horowitz At Carnegie Hall
Beverly Sills: Opera Arias
9th Regiment Pipe Band: Bagpipes And Drums
Los Fronterizos: Misa Criolla
Riverside Chamber Singers: Madrigals Across The Centuries
The Robert Shaw Chorale: The Many Moods Of Christmas
Harvard Glee Club, Radcliffe Choral Society: Christmas Carols In Cambridge
River Road Unitarian Church of Bethesda, MD: Wolcum Yole!
Bing Crosby: Merry Christmas
The First Family (The Bob Booker spoof album of JFK that shows up everywhere)
John F. Kennedy: The Presidential Years 1960-1963 (released just after JFK's assassination by 20th Century Fox)
Berlitz German For Travellers
Stereo From Outer Space (a recording of a February 1965 satellite music transmission using Collins Radio Corp.'s Pilot Tone transmission system)
Columbia Records: An Introduction To The World Of SQ Quadraphonic Sound
Raymond LeFevere And His Orchestra: La La La (He Gives Me Love)
Andre Kostelanetz: Love Story
The Best Of Roger Whittaker
Roger Whittaker Live In Concert
Keith Mitchell: Songs Of My Time
Percy Faith: Love Theme From Romeo & Juliet
Roger Williams: Born Free
Ray Conniff's World Of Hits
Ray Conniff: I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing
Ferrante & Teicher: 10th Anniversary - Golden Piano Hits
Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass: SRO (Yet another copy, but this one's in the best shape yet)
Friends & Love: A Chuck Mangione Concert
The Bob Crewe Generation: Music To Watch Girls By (A third copy - want it?)
Tony Mottola: Warm Feelings (2 copies - one is a promotional disc, the other a store-bought copy)
The Downtown Sound Of Tony Hatch (Petula Clark's producer produces instrumentals of Pet's songs and other hits)
Si Zentner & His Orchestra: From Russia With Love (TV and movie crime themes)
Floyd Cramer: Here's What's Happening
Morton Stevens: Music From The Hawaii Five-O TV Sound Track
Lalo Schifrin: Music From Mission Impossible
The Manhattan Strings Play Instrumental Versions Of Hits Made Famous By The Monkees
The Hollyridge Strings Arr. And Conducted By Stu Phillips: Hits Of The '70s (including a version of Shaft!)
Del Close & John Brent: How To Speak Hip (a later pressing of the album that teaches the terminally unhip how to be hip. Read more about it at the always hip Basic Hip website.)

Saturday Night Fever: The Original Motion Picture Sound Track
Maria Muldaur
Helen Reddy: Free And Easy
Judy Collins: So Early In The Spring
The Carpenters: A Song For You
The Carpenters: The Singles 1969-1973
Olivia Newton-John: Come On Over
Olivia Newton-John: Don't Stop Believin'
Al Stewart: Past, Present, And Future
Crosby, Stills And Nash (their 1969 debut)
Bachman Turner Overdrive: The Best Of BTO (So Far)
Van Halen II
Grateful Dead: Shakedown Street (No cover, just a sleeve. Record's OK)
The Rolling Stones: Out Of Our Heads (Again, sleeve only)
Johnny Cash At San Quentin
A Sunday Afternoon Pops Concert (this disc is a refugee from Reader's Digest's Mood Listening For Listening And Relaxation)

Southeastern District Orchestra - Haverford Twp PA Senior High School, February 1970
WFIL 50th Anniversary: Golden Greats (A compilation LP from a legendary Philadelphia radio station. Must be from around 1972 or 1973)
WFIL: Much More Music
Joe Niagara The Rockin' Bird: ...More 10th Anniversary
"The Rebel" Bill Wright Sr. Presents A Gold Mine Of All Time Hits
John Richbourg Presents 20 Golden Oldies (The last of these two were purchased at a Boscov's department store in eastern PA and are still sealed)

BOX SETS
Solti/Mahler: The Eighth Symphony (Symphony Of A Thousand)
George Szell - The Cleveland Orchestra: Wagner Orchestral Music
US Marine Corps: Sounds Of Solid Gold Vol. 5 (oldies interspersed with messages from the Marine Corps)
The Ray Conniff Album: 66 Great Love Songs
Music Of The World's Great Composers
Jean-Pierre Rampal: The Virtuoso Flute

And of course, what would Thanksgiving be without...
Arlo Guthrie: Alice's Restaurant

Dossier SPECIAL: Goose Who's Coming To Dinner

2004-11-21T20:03:00.000-05:00

Who says you have to have turkey for Thanksgiving? Not Bill Cullen. In 1982, The King Of Game Show Hosts recorded a series of five 2-minute radio spots produced by David J. Clark Enterprises for the National Goose Council. Each spot extolled the virtues of "a crisp, crackling, succulent goose" on the table.

Along with the gung-ho goose sentiment come some historical facts you probably never knew about geese or Thanksgiving: five women prepared the first Thanksgiving dinner for about 150 people. What do you want to bet that they made goose instead of turkey?

The Founding Fathers relied on geese: the pen they signed the Declaration Of Independence with was a goose quill. And their boots were shined with goose grease.

And did you know geese make good watchdogs? According to Bill, "It's because geese are so easily aroused, and make such a racket when they are aroused, that they've always been so highly regarded as sentries."

As far as serving a goose goes, you'll need a 1/2 to 3/4 pound of goose, as purchased, for each 3 ounce serving. Geese "very obligingly" baste themselves because there's a layer of fat between the skin and the meat. And I'm told you'll love the crisp, crackly skin.

I've captured an MP3 of one of these spots for you to enjoy - it's 1.66 MB. Send an e-mail and it's yours. Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving from The Department Of Records!

Entry Report 11/19: Dime Delights

2004-11-21T13:57:00.000-05:00

I hit up the Musical Dime Store in my local antique mall, and found an unusual lot of good stuff.

Isaac Hayes: Tough Guys
Soundtrack to a 1974 French/Italian Blaxploitation flick called Three Tough Guys. Hayes stars as Lee.

Isaac Hayes: To Be Continued
Inadvertently packaged with my copy of Tough Guys. Covers of Our Day Will Come, The Look Of Love, You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling, and Runnin' Out Of Fools.

Vanilla Fudge
Slo-mo psychedelia at its best. If you thought their version of You Keep Me Hangin'' On was impressive, wait 'til you hear their 8 1/2 minute rendition of Eleanor Rigby.

Cream: Disraeli Gears
In respectable shape for 10 cents.

Hugh Masekela's Next Album
Released the year before his Grazin' In The Grass, this album has some lively covers - and a Steiff stuffed zebra on the cover. Hugh sings on a couple tracks.

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: Away We A Go-Go
The 1966 follow-up to Going To A Go-Go. Hits: (Come 'Round Here) I'm The One You Need, Whole Lot Of Shakin' In My Heart (Since I Met You), More More More Of Your Love.

Temptations In A Mellow Mood
A softer side of the Temps, showcasing standards from Broadway. Liner notes by Soupy Sales.

Joe Walsh: But Seriously, Folks...
A very nicely preserved copy.

Greg Kihn Band: Kihntinued
Steely Dan: Gold
A hits package featuring FM, Hey Nineteen, Deacon Blues, and King Of The World.

Summer '72
Yet another in a series of fake-out hits packages from QMO Sales. Unintentionally funny stuff.

Do The Hustle
2 New Yorkers from New York Hustle, Inc. teach you how do to the Hustle and other '70s dances on this 1976 Realm Records release. Not sure what realm it's actually from but it ain't this one. Instructions in the left channel, cheesy music on the right. Listen for yourself if you dare at Frank LaRosa's Vinyl Museum, and remember: "For styling, refer to the album cover, and we all remember how Valentino did it in the movies. That's the look of the Tango Hustle."

Learn How To Dance
If the Hustle's not for you, this 1974 album will teach you just about any other dance move: the Frug (people still danced that in 1974?), the Hora, the Polka, the Charleston, the Miserlou, The Strip, and even the Belly Dance. (the last two work best in that order). Musical director Jack Hansen keeps things lively. Instruction book included: "See back cover for a surprise!"

Allan Sherman: My Son, The Nut
Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh! The 1963 classic in glorious Vitaphonic High Fidelity.

Doc Severinsen: The New Sound Of Today's Big Band
A bold, brassy 1966 Command release graced by Vinnie Bell's guitar and Bill Takas's Fender bass. Classy arrangements by none other than Dick Hyman.

The Hits Are On Verve
A fine mid-'60s collection of tunes from Stan Getz, Jimmy Smith, Bill Evans, Kai Winding and others.

The Sound Of An Allen Organ
A demo record of sorts, released in 1963 on Columbia. Three Allen organs in various locations (one here in Allentown PA) play excerpts from great musical pieces.

Stereo Stew: Some Distinctive Sounds Of American Life In Dramatic Stereo
Live, on-location recording of various places like a tobacco factory, a carousel, and a firemen's parade in Ossining, NY.

Up With People!
The yay-for-America spectacular from 1965.

Swing Out Sister: Break Out
The 12" single version

Mark & Diane, The Hawaiians with the Otis Skillings Orchestra & Chorus: Christmas Aloha
Mele Kalikimaka! A possibly rare find from 1975. According to this site, Mark and Diane had a ministry a while back and now sing at wedding ceremonies. Christmas Aloha is one of their 14 albums, which are all out of print.

The World Of Hits Vol. 2
The Find Of The Week. This is a Decca disc from 1969 with plenty of good stuff. Lulu sings Shout. Whistling Jack Smith whistles I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman. The Move, The Small Faces, The Attack, Hedgehoppers Anonymous and The Alan Price Set are a few of the others on this UK import in excellent shape. Look for a Dossier soon.

DOSSIER: Ted Knight: Hi Guys

2004-11-16T22:40:00.000-05:00

Who remembers Ted Baxter, the bumbling newsman from WJM TV? OK, now who remembers Ted Knight, the actor who played Ted Baxter on the Mary Tyler Moore Show? Very good. Now - show of hands - how many of you know that Ted Knight recorded an album? Ah, not too many of you. Good. This little curiosity, released on the Ranwood label, was found at the WFMU record fair last weekend. I thought it was just special enough to keep separate from the big listing of finds you read about earlier.

Ted tackles 13 songs on this album. Some are classics. Some are originals. A couple of the classics were almost made classics again. On "Blueberry Hill," Knight argues with the engineer about why the song has to be about blueberries. "I'm not fond of blueberries. Can we change it to boysenberries?" When he finds out the song was first recorded by Fats Domino, he huffs, "Someone else already did this? What the hell am I spending all this money for?" Since it's not an original song, Knight (Baxter?) decides not to sing (speak?) in his original voice, and instead goes into an odd mix of James Cagney and Jimmy Stewart.

Ted doesn't get along too well with the backup singers, either. He chides them for not singing in time on "May The Bird Of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose" (they're singing in rounds), and on Barry Mann's "Who Put The Bomp", Ted accuses the singers of having "Rama ling-lings when I've got dip-dips. Let's get together." Did I mention they're called Ted Knight And The Poops?

The originals are kind of lackluster compared to the covers, but they're still in-character. "Male Chauvinist Pig" is perfect Ted Baxter. Chorus: "Some men are called male chauvinistic pigs, I know. To my mind, that's animal cruelty. Besides, it has nothing to do with me."

"I'm In Love With Barbara Walters" finds Ted drooling all over The First Lady of TV News, and taking a jab at then network newsmate Walter Cronkite: "This would have been for you but you're a guy."

KBIG morning jock Charlie Tuna makes a cameo apperance of sorts - he wrote the liner notes, from which I quote: "So go ahead, live dangerously, and put the album on the turntable. At least after hearing both sides, you'll be able to accept the fact that life does exist elsewhere in the universe because Ted Knight can't be all that much of a Superior Being." His singing proves it.

Ted Knight: Hi Guys
Ranwood Records, 1975

TRACK LISTING
SIDE A
1. Those Oldies But Goodies Remind Me Of You
2. May The Bird Of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose
3. The Mermaid
4. Hi Guys *
5. Who Put The Bomp
6. (The Cover Of The) Rolling Stone
7. Male Chauvinist Pig

SIDE B
1. A Man Who Used To Be
2. Mr. Custer *
3. Chick-A-Boom
4. I'm In Love With Barbara Walters
5. Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini
6. Bluberry Hill

* HEAR THE MP3S OF THESE TRACKS! The Department Of MP3s is now open and ready to serve. Just slide us a request, and we'll slide you the tunes!

Entry Report 11/9: WFMU Record Fair Finds

2004-11-09T19:24:00.000-05:00

I came away quite nicely from the WFMU Record Fair. I didn't get nearly the amount of music I intended to get, but I did get a good crateful of stuff (sans crate). Being there at the end of it all has its advantages. A guy offered free records and books at his stand. The books were gone, but there was a respectable pile of albums in a crate. I picked through the crate, found a few things, and the guy told me, "Take the whole thing." If you've been here before, you know what kind of trouble I get into when someone says that. But I agreed to lighten his load, and the guy got his wish to go home with an empty crate. He also got $5 from me. Peruse and see why I couldn't get off totally free.

The Miracles: Do It Baby (1974 album from the post-Smokey era)
Kai Winding
Ramsey Lewis: Routes (You'll see a lot more of Ramsey Lewis here as I go on)
Duke Ellington & His Orchestra: Jazz At The Plaza Vol. II
Al DiMeola: Elegant Gypsy
Ramsey Lewis: Blues For The Night Owl (2 copies)
Dick Wellstood: Live At The Cookery
McCoy Tyner: The Greeting
Earl Hines: Tour De Force
Duke Ellington & Teresa Brewer: It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing
Don Shirley
The Ramsey Lewis Trio: Pot Luck
Lester Young Memorial Vol. 1
Jamey Aebersold: Turnarounds, Cycles & II/V7s: A New Approach To Jazz Improvisation
Bay City Rollers: Rock & Roll Love Letter
Michel LeGrand: Recorded Live At Jimmy's
Dio: Holy Diver
Don Shirley: Point Of View
Earl Klugh: Wishful Thinking
Ramsey Lewis: Love Notes
Count Basie & The Mills Brothers (from Pickwick's Quintessence Jazz Series)
The Roger Kellaway Cello Quartet: Come To The Meadow (Kellaway wrote "Remembering You", the closing theme to All In The Family)
Cleo Laine: A Beautiful Thing
The Don Shirley Trio: Water Boy
Bluetip
Ben Sidran: The Cat And The Hat
Great Jazz Reeds (an RCA Camden release)
Artificial Intelligence: First Contact
Tommy Dorsey's Hullabaloo
Arthur Prysock/Count Basie (Verve, 1965)
The Best Of Arthur Prysock No. 2
Cy Coleman Sings Cy Coleman (Broadway tunesmith sings his own songs from Little Me, Sweet Charity and others)
Ramsey Lewis: Legacy
Ramsey Lewis: Three Piece Suite
Ramsey Lewis: The Groover
David Sanborn: Straight To The Heart
The Best Of George Shearing
Andre Previn & J.J. Johnson Play Mack The Knife And Other Kurt Weill Songs
Teddy Wilson Live At Santa Tecla
Marian McPartland: A Fine Romance
Oscar Peterson (from MGM's Gas Series)
Noel Pointer: Hold On
Art Tatum & Mary Lou Williams: The King And Queen Of Jazz Piano
The Groups Of Kai Winding & Sonny Stitt: Early Modern (a sticker placed by a previous owner declares this album "not worth rec'dng")
Al Hirt With His All Stars In New Orleans
Kilslug: Answer The Call (Boston-area punk band. Back cover art by Dickie Barrett of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones)
Yehudi Menuhin/Stephane Grappelli: Tea For Two
Harrison/Blanchard: Crystal Star
Lou Rawls Sings/Les McCann Ltd. Plays Stormy Monday
Ramsey Lewis, The Piano Player
Dave Grusin: Discovered Again
Ramsey Lewis: Tequila Mockingbird
Dave Brubeck: We're All Together Again For The First Time
Dave Brubeck's Greatest Hits
Up Pops Ramsey Lewis (1967 - some sold covers and a few cool originals)
Newtones '61: Have Cummerbund, Will Travel (12 girls from Newton College in Boston who decided to form a group)
Laurie Anderson: Big Science
Laurie Anderson: Mister Heartbreak
The Wilson Lewes Trio: The In Crowd (for when the original just can't cut it)
Maynard Ferguson: M.F. Horn 3
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark: OMD
Pete Fountain & Al Hirt: The New Orleans Scene
Coleman Hawkins: The Hawk Swings
Count Basie Big Band: Montreux '77 (Pablo Records)
Irwin The Dynamic Duck/The Wibble Wabble Singers & Orchestra: Duck Wars (A Peter Pan release for kids - standard 1977-vintage fare tied together by a very stupid "Ducks from outer space save the world" theme)
Helen Wheels Band: Postmodern Living
Norman Luboff, Director: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Is A Dirty Old Man: The Scatological Canons And Songs Sung In English
Ray Charles/Cleo Laine: Porgy & Bess (Orchestra Arranged And Conducted by TV themesmith Frank DeVol)
The Tokens: Re-Do-Wopp (In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion wakes up after 25 years. A 1988 doo-wop album that's still sealed.)

Special Report: The WFMU Record Fair

2004-11-09T18:36:00.000-05:00

This weekend, thousands of music lovers made their way in to New York City for the annual WFMU Record Fair. WFMU is a wonderful (fiercely) independent radio station based in Jersey City, NJ. It was originally owned by Upsala College, a school which no longer exists. But thanks to an intensely loyal following, WFMU soldiers on, fighting the good fight for the kinds of music you just can't get anywhere else.

What sets WFMU's record fair apart from any other is its variety: like the station itself, it has every single kind of music you can imagine - and a few you can't. Literally millions of LPs, hundreds of thousands of CDs, and even some books, tapes and videos were ripe for the buying. Sure, there's a lot of common thrift-store type music, but there was plenty of rare and unusual music. Most of it is pretty reasonably priced - there are plenty of LPs available for $1 or less, and CDs ranged between $2 and 10. WFMU sells LPs donated by listeners for $1 each, and CDs for $3 each. There's good stuff to be had. It's for a good cause, too, since proceeds from those albums help give the station financial sustenance.

Realizing that the sheer amount of music would be overwhelming to some, the staff of WFMU (including special events director Mike Lupica, who doubles as a New York Daily News sportswriter) wisely decided to make it a three-day affair. I highly recommend spending the $20 for the three-day pass - you're gonna need it. Admission is $5 a day otherwise.

Of course, there's more to this record fair than just people selling records. There are live broadcasts, band performances, and this year, there was even a screening of End Of The Century: The Story Of The Ramones (a kickass movie, I should say). Director Jim Fields held a Q&A session after the screening.

If you're any sort of record fan, particularly if you're on the east coast, you MUST go to the WFMU record fair. It'll be happening again next November, most likely at the Metropolitan Pavilion on 18th St. Between 6th and 7th Avenues in NYC. Find out more at www.wfmu.org.

In the next post, I'll share my discoveries from the record fair.

Entry Report 11/7 Part 2

2004-11-08T13:41:00.000-05:00

Well, I took out my big 10 inch...record of the band that plays the blues, and decided to enter it, along with all the other 78s I got last Sunday. Many have their original sleeves, and they're all in really nice shape. I decided to list the A and B sides for each.

Frankie Laine: Baby Don't Be Mad At Me/Put It In A Box, Tie It With A Ribbon
Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five: Let The Good Times Roll/Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens
Harry James & His Orch: Duke's Mixture/Don't Take Your Love From Me
Tommy Dorsey & His Orch: You Might Have Belonged To Another/Oh Look At Me Now (vocals on both feature Frank Sinatra)
Gary Crosby & Friend: Sam's Song/Play A Simple Melody
Ralph Marterie & His Orch: The Object Of My Affection/Lulu (Had A Baby)
Vernon Dalhart: Death Of Floyd Collins/Dream Of A Miner's Child
Arthur Pryor's Band: Rainbow Division March/Spirit Of Independence March
Jo Stafford/Paul Weston & His Orch: I Never Loved Anyone/The Best Things In Life Are Free
Ray Anthony & His Orch: Sound Off/Another Dawn, Another Day
Walt Dana & His Orch: Helen/Happy Harmonica
The Hilltoppers: Frivolette/D-A-R-L-I-N
Official Cecchetti Record
Dick Jurgens & His Orch: I'm So-So-So-So-So In Love/You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
Russ Case & His Orch: I Get A Kick Out Of You/In The Still Of The Night
The Four Vagabonds: Rosie The Riveter/I Had The Craziest Dream
Lewis James & His Orch: A Bundle Of Old Love Letters/Should I?
Vernon Geyer: Goodbye Little Lady/Cielito Lindo (features Hammond Electric Organ solo)
Evelyn Knight: Buttons And Bows/I Know Where I'm Going
Tommy Dorsey & His Orch: I'll Take Tallulah/Not So Quiet Please
Harry James & His Orch: The Flight Of The Bumble Bee/The Carnival Of Venice (Columbia)
Tommy Dorsey & His Orch: Aren't You Glad You're You?/A Door Will Open
Gordon Jenkins & His Orch: On The Painted Desert/For You
Frankie Yankovic & His Yanks: A Night In May/Just Because (2 copies)
Russ Morgan & His Orch: Barroom Polka/Put Your Shoes On, Lucy
Ken Carson/Music By Billy May: Nursery Rhymes Vol. 1
Evelyn Knight & The Stardusters: Powder Your Face With Sunshine/One Sunday Afternoon
Frankie Yankovic & His Yanks: On The Beach/Oh Marie
Frankie Yankovic & His Yanks: Shandy Polka/Happy Hour
Eddy Howard: Kentucky Babe/It's Worth Any Price You Pay
Johnny Vadnal & His Orch: She Told Me/Dancer's Waltz
Jose Morand & His Orch: Green Eyes/Rhumba Fantasy
Frankie Laine/Paul Dunlap & His Orch: Moonlight In Vermont/Roses Of Picardy
Buddy Clark: Don't You Love Me Anymore/The Little Old Mill
Tommy Dorsey & His Orch: It Started All Over Again/Mandy, Make Up Your Mind
Harry James & His Orch: Ain't Misbehavin/9:20 Special
Harry James & His Orch: Flight Of The Bumble Bee/Carnival Of Venice (Davis Records)
Tommy Dorsey & His Orch: You've Got Me This Way/The Bad Humor Man
Kitty Kallen/Mitch Miller's Orch: Kiss Me Sweet/I Don't See Me In Your Eyes Anymore
Ralph Marterie & His Orch: Here's To Happiness/So Long (It's Been Good To Know Ya)
Harry James & His Orch: One O'Clock Jump/Two O'Clock Jump
Shep Fields & His New Music: Please Think Of Me/Take It Slow
Teddy Powell & His Orch: Mickey/In Pinetop's Footsteps
Charlie Spivak & His Orch: The Old Devil Moon/If This Isn't Love
Harry James & His Orch: You Made Me Love You/A Sinner Kissed An Angel
Blue Barron & His Orch: Whose Girl Are You/Open The Door Polka
Jerry Shelton & His Trio: Lone Star Moon/I'll Make Up For Everything
Jimmie Lunceford & His Orch: I Dream A Lot About You/Jeep Rhythm
Eddy Howard & His Orch: I Wonder, I Wonder, I Wonder/Ask Anyone Who Knows
Lucrezia Bori: Ciribiribin/Il Baci (The Kiss)
Emil Coleman: Say It Over Again/The Parrot
Harry James & His Orch: Estrellita/My Beloved Is Rugged
The Unitones: St. Bernard Waltz/The Birthday Waltz
Harry James & His Orch: Velvet Moon/Prince Charming
Harry James & His Orch: Crazy Rhythm/Easter Parade
Glenn Miller & His Orch: It Must Be Jelly ('Cause Jam Don't Shake Like That)/Rainbow Rhapsody
Harry James & His Orch: Cherry/Jump Town
Les Baxter: Suddenly/April In Portugal
Glenn Miller & His Orch: She'll Always Remember/Shhh, It's A Military Secret

Entry Report 11/7 Part 1: 57 Titles

2004-11-07T23:29:00.000-05:00

[i]Look out for a special report on what I found at WFMU's record fair on Sunday 11/7. Amazing stuff![/i]

Here's the fourth of five crates in The Big Quakertown Haul. The fifth crate is full of 78s, which I may or may not enter here since I'm not equipped to play them.

Maynard Ferguson: Live At Jimmy's
The Carpenters
Art Garfunkel: Breakaway
* The Temptations: Puzzle People
Dean Martin: Dino
Dean Martin: Happiness Is
- Helen Reddy's Greatest Hits (2 copies)
Emerson Lake & Palmer: Love Beach
John Klemmer: Lifestyle (Living & Loving)
Ernest Ansermet/The Paris Conservatory Orchestra: Bolero/Pacific 231/Sorcerer's Apprentice/La Valse
Liberace: I'll Be Seeing You
Dawn: Tuneweaving
We Are The World
Mahalia Jackson: Come On Children, Let's Sing
Mahalia Jackson: I Believe
* Dean Martin: Somewhere There's A Someone
* The New Vaudeville Band: Winchester Cathedral
Tim Moore
Bill Cosby: Revenge
Placido Domingo/John Denver: Perhaps Love
* MCA: Christmas Through The Years
Bill Black's Combo: That Wonderful Feeling
Ken Griffin: Moonlight And Roses
The Border Brass: Tijuana Christmas
Lenny Dee: Dee-Lightful!
Billy Vaughn: Theme From A Summer Place And Other Great Themes
Rex Harrison/Julie Andrews: My Fair Lady
Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass: Going Places!!
Richard Crooks/Nathaniel Shilkret/Al Goodman & Orchs: The Music Of Victor Herbert
Lenny Dee: Organ Celebration
The King Family Album
Ray Conniff: Souvenirs
Helen Reddy: I Don't Know How To Love Him
The Montevideo Strings: I Love Paris
* Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass: What Now My Love
Jose Melis, His Piano & Strings: Tonight
Percy Faith: Today's Themes For Young Lovers
Chicago Theatre Of The Air: Musical Comedy & Operetta Favorites
Bach: Christmas Cantata 10
Helen Reddy: I Am Woman
Jesse Crawford, Organ/Botticelli, Chimes: Organ & Chimes At Christmas
John Gary: Just For You
- Christmas Sing-Along
- 25 Most Beloved Melodies
- Columbia Artists For Goodyear: Great Songs Of America
- Columbia Artists: Great Songs Of Christmas
Johnny Kay Sings Season's Greetings
RCA Artists for BF Goodrich: For A Musical Merry Christmas
Columbia Artists for Goodyear: The Great Songs Of Christmas, Album Three
Columbia Artists for Goodyear: The Great Songs Of Christmas. Album Two
Columbia Artists for Goodyear: The Great Songs Of Christmas
Columbia Artists for Goodyear: The Great Songs Of Christmas, Album Five
Ken Grisson, Pipe Organ; Larry Daniels, Bethlehem Chimes: Christmas Organ & Chimes
- 50 Great Music Treasures
* Jerry Vale: Have You Looked Into Your Heart
Jerry Vale Sings Everybody Loves Somebody

Entry Report 11/5 (47 titles)

2004-11-05T16:29:00.000-05:00

The third crate of 5 is not so much a crate as a box, but it's the same idea. *s are duplicates, -s don't meet the standards of the colletion. Here we go...

Tony Bennett: This Is All I Ask
Barry Manilow Live
Eddy Arnold (self titled)
Julio Iglesias: Non Stop
* Barbra Streisand: Memories
Johnny Mathis: Johnny's Newest Hits
- Joseph Wise: Gonna Sing My Lord
The Williams Brothers Christmas Album
Jack Cassidy & Original Cast: She Loves Me
Jermaine Jackson: I Like Your Style
Johnny Mathis: You Light Up My Life
An Evening With Arthur Fiedler & The Boston Pops: Great Songs For All Seasons/Great Songs Of Christmas
101 Strings: An Evening Of Pops Concert Favorites
Andre Kostelanetz: Grand Canyon Suite
The Andy Williams Show
Stray Cats: Built For Speed
Genesis: Wind & Wuthering
Tim Weisberg Live At Last
Georges Montalba: Fantasy In Pipe Organ And Percussion
- Jonathan & Darlene Edwards In Paris
Leontyne Price et. al: Highlights: Bizet's Carmen
* Ashley Tappen: Hammond Hits From Hollywood
* Ashley Tappen: An Organ Tribute To Ken Griffin
Jessi Colter: Diamond In The Rough
- 101 Strings: Million Seller Hit Songs From The '50s
- The Glenn Miller Carnegie Hall Concert
* Lucky Strike: Remember How Great...?
Spotlight On: Various Artists
Enoch Light & The Light Brigade Play I Want To Be Happy Cha Chas
Various: Let's Have A Hootenanny Vol. 1
Mr. Acker Bilk: Stranger On The Shore
- 101 Strings: Hawaiian Paradise
- 101 Strings: The Soul Of Spain
* David Rose & His Orchestra Play The Stripper And Other Fun Songs For The Family
Finished Touch: I Love To See You Dance/You Danced Into My Life (12" single)
Leonard Feather: Jazz Of Two Decades
Original Soundtrack: Ice Castles
Love Unlimited Orchestra: White Gold
- Shaun Cassidy: Under Wraps
Nick Gilder: City Nights
* Yes: Fragile
* Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass: Going Places!!
Pete Fountain: The Blues
Artie Shaw & His Orchestra: Moonglow
Pete Fountain's New Orleans
Benny Goodman: Sing Sing Sing
Yes: Close To The Edge

Entry Report 11/4: 53 Titles

2004-11-04T18:56:00.000-05:00

The second of 5 crates imported from Quakertown, PA. Again, the albums are listed in order of appearance, and *s indicate duplicates. Titles listed with - will not stay in the collection for various reasons such as their condtion.

Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: Empire Of The Sun
Elton John: Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy
Ronnie Milsap Live
Bobby Goldsboro: Honey
Ronnie Milsap Live
Stevie Wonder: Part Time Lover 12" Single
Norman Luboff Choir: Songs Of The West
Dean Martin Hits Again
John Raitt & Original Broadway Cast: Showboat
Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme: It's Us Again
The Brooklyn Bridge
The Ohio Players: Honey
Tim Moore: Behind The Eyes
Tim Moore: White Shadows
Barry Manilow: Tryin' To Get The Feeling
Melanie: The Good Book
* Ray Conniff: Somewhere My Love
- Smokey Robinson & The Miracles; Greatest His Vol. 2
Melanie: Gather Me
- Andy Williams: Call Me Irresponsible
- The Caroleers: Christmas Time
- Columbia Records artists: Joyous Christmas
Melanie
A Taste Of Honey
Hall & Oates: Along The Red Ledge
Bill Conti: Rocky (Original Motion Picture Score)
- Saturday Night Fever: Original Movie Sound Track
- Jesse Crawford Plays Organ & Chimes For Christmas
Diana Ross: Mahogany soundtrack
Natalie Cole: Unpredictable
The Association: Greatest Hits
- Spinners: Pick Of The Litter (warped)
Time Peace: The Rascals' Greatest Hits
The Big Sound Of Red Prysock, His Tenor Sax & Orchestra
Grease: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
- Robert Goulet: My Love Forgive Me
Four Tops: Yesterday's Dreams
Temptations Live!
Jr. Walker & The All-Stars: Greatest Hits
England Dan & John Ford Coley: Nights Are Forever
Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits Vol. 2
* Barbra Streisand/Kris Kristofferson: A Star Is Born
Daryl Hall & John Oates
The Life Book Of Christmas
- Olivia Newton-John: Making A Good Thing Better
Diana Ross & The Supremes: Love Child
Firestone Presents Your Favorite Christmas Music Vol. 4
Firestone Presents Your Favorite Christmas Music Vol. 6
Columbia Records artists: The Gift Of Christmas
Columbia Records artists: A Child's Christmas
- MCA/First Financial Marketing Group: Christmas Through The Years
* Herb Alpert & The Tijuana BrassWhipped Cream & Other Delights
The Temptations Sing Smokey
Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5

Entry Report: 11/2 (47 titles)

2004-11-02T21:08:00.000-05:00

In this post, the contents of the first of 5 crates acquired at a flea market in Quakertown, PA. Records listed in order of appearance. Due to the volume of the crate, only titles and artists are listed. Albums marked with * are duplicates of albums already in the collection.

The Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra: Carmen Dragon, Conductor: Nocturne
John Gary: So Tenderly
*Johnny Mathis: Merry Christmas
Living Strings + Living Voices: White Christmas
Andy Williams: Love, Andy
Robert Goulet's Greatest Hits
Various: A Very Merry Christmas To All (Columbia)
101 Strings: Opera Without Words
Richard Tauber: Vienna, City Of My Dreams
Dean Martin: Remember Me (I'm The One Who Loves You)
* Englebert Humperdinck: A Man Without Love
* Englebert Humperdinck: Another Time, Another Place
Mitch Miller: Christmas Sing Along With Mitch
* Four Tops: Reach Out
Various: Christmastime In Carol And Song (RCA)
Various: Christmas In America Album Two (Capitol)
Frank Doddy: Songs That Touch The Heart
Mitch Miller: More Sing Along With Mitch
101 Strings: In A Hawaiian Paradise
Al Martino: We Could
Rise Stevens/Brian Sullivan: Favorite Christmas Carols From TheVoice Of Firestone
Arthur Fiedler & The Boston Pops: Star Dust (newer copy of disc in older cover)
Myron Floren: On The Accordion - Polkas, Schottisches, Waltzes
Joe Feeney Of The Lawrence Welk Show
* Engelbert Humperdinck: The Last Waltz
* The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra Featuring Warren Covington: Tea For Two Cha Chas
Glenn Miller Plays Selections From The Glenn Miller Story And Other Hits
Perry Como Sings Merry Christmas Music
Al Martino And The Tony Russo Orchestra (in cover for Painted, Tainted Rose)
Li'l Wally Sings Polish Christmas Carols
Brother International: Hear How To Touch Type - For Beginners Or Refresher Course
Miklos Rosza: Sound Track Music From Widescreen Spectaculars
The Leasebreakers
* Lawrence Welk: Calcutta
Ferrante & Teicher: West Side Story (in cover for Stanley Black: Film Spectacular)
The Hawaiian Islanders: Hawaii Tattoo And Other Hawaiian Favorites
Various: Great Band Themes And The Songs That Made Them Famous
Sid Bass & His Orchestra: With Bells On
Dean Martin: Somewhere There's A Someone
Mills Brothers: Till We Meet Again
Henry Mancini, His Orchestra And Chorus: Music Of Hawaii
Al Martino: Living A Lie
Doris Day's Greatest Hits
The Melachrino Strings & Orchestra: Music For Romance
Jerry Vale: Have You Looked Into Your Heart
Commodores: Natural High
Commodores: Hot On The Tracks

Entry Report: 10/31

2004-10-31T22:17:00.000-05:00

You're looking at the almost 300 records (and 2 8-tracks) I found at a farmer's market on Sunday (Halloween). Some tricks, a few treats, and plenty of work. I'll give you details on what's in each crate a day at a time.

First though, some other items of interest found at the antique mall.

Jack Jones: The Full Life
From 1977, an album with two Beach Boys covers: God Only Knows and Disney Girls.

The Knack: Get The Knack
Two words: My Sharona.

4 Out Of 5 Doctors
A new-wave band I've never heard of.

Wang Chung: Points On The Curve
A new wave band I have heard of. This is the album with Dance Hall Days.

The New Wine Singers At The Chicago Opera House
The key figure in this folk group was Elaine McFarlane, who'd go on to even bigger success as Spanky of Spanky & Our Gang.

Shirley Bassey Is Really Something
An adventurous lineup awaits the listener of this album: Light My Fire, My Way, and of course, Something are a few of the highlights.

The Sleepwalk Guitars Of Dan & Dale: Theme From Thunderball & Other Themes
"THIS IS NOT THE ORIGINAL SOUND TRACK," the sticker notes. In fact, the only tune that anybody would know of is Thunderball. The other 10 songs are Dan & Dale adventure-spy originals.

Bob James: Touchdown
On this 1978 album, you'll find Hubert Laws, David Sanborn, Earl Klugh, Steve Gadd, and Mongo Santamaria. Plus Angela, which the TV buffs among you know as the theme to Taxi.

The Hollyridge Strings: The Beach Boys Songbook
That echo. That plunking harp. That familiar melody. Wait - it sounds like the Hollyridge Strings! Yes, that staple of doctors' waiting rooms hits the beach in this collection of 11 "romantic instrumentals" arranged by Stu Phillips. It's my Fab Find for the week.

Site News: New Reviews, New Features

2004-10-31T22:00:00.000-05:00

Some new supplies will be coming in soon to help me get back on track with what I originally set out to do with this site: exhibit some of the albums in my collection. Those new supplies will also help bring to reality my plan for a mailing list. The idea is to send you an MP3 or two of each album so you can hear for yourself what makes it special. I'm aiming to make the first tunes available to you around mid-November. Full details when everything falls into place.

Site News: The Record Of Records

2004-10-18T01:05:00.000-04:00

No, no huge find. Just a huge project I alluded to in the last post. I've (barely) started a database that, when it's finished, will contain track info for every album I own. Who knows, it might just make producing this blog a little easier. I've entered a jaw-dropping 20 titles today, and I'm counting the records as I go along. So the final count will be a good while longer. New turntable gear should be coming soon, so hang tight for reviews of some of the more unusual exhibits. It's all coming, it really is.

Site News: "I Demand A Recount!"

2004-10-10T19:50:00.000-04:00

While the nation is getting ready to vote, we here at The Department are already looking ahead to a recount (and we're not even in Florida). Because of the mass quantities of new records over the past month or so, we're forced to ask ourselves, "Just how far over 1,000 is Rick's record collection, anyway?" Rick himself is guessing that he's closing in on 1,500. Check back for the final number soon.

Also in the works is an Excel database of all album titles in the collection. Check on updates for that not so soon.

Entry Report 10/3

2004-10-03T19:20:00.000-04:00

Today's finds are bright with stars, singers, and a blue flame over which a famous chef is cooking a mysterious Italian dish with an old-time flavor. The main course is about to be served.

Petula Clark con l'Orchestra di Ezio Leoni
This one's a mystery. I know it's Italian. I know it's from around 1967. And it's on Disques Vogue, a French label. petulaclark.net, Pet's official website, doesn't even list it, although it does list albums with the same cover photo released for Denmark and Japan. My copy has nothing on the cover except Petula and the Vogue logo.

Here Are The Honeycombs Singing Have I The Right And Other Hits
One of the myriad British Invasion groups of 1964, The Honeycombs never could get past their first hit, Have I The Right, here in America. It's a shame they got lost in the shuffle.

Trini Lopez: The Rhythm & Blues Album
If you had a hammer, what would you do after hearing Trini sing Shout? Or Watermelon Man? Or even She's About A Mover? You'd have your chance with this disc.

The Four Seasons Present Frankie Valli Solo
In the latter part of the mid '60s, groups were exploding like fireworks. Diana Ross got top billing in The Supremes. The Beatles and The Beach Boys revolutionized music with their concept albums. And Frankie Valli went solo with this album, which features Can't Take My Eyes Off You and the Walker Brothers tune The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore.

The New Christy Minstrels: New Kick!
Mitch Miller strikes again. As America bounced into new musical territory, Columbia's head of A&R kept the ol' ball bouncing on America's TVs every week. That satisfied the old folks singing along at home, but the kids wanted something different, fresh. As a compromise, albums like this one got made. The New Christy Minstrels were a folk group, and Mitch was a folk singer, but folk went electric in '65 (thanks to Bob Dylan who, ironically, was also on Columbia!) and as folk went, so went the rest of the world. This album is the one with These Boots Are Made For Walkin', Homeward Bound, and I Wanna Hold Your Hand (listed as I Want To Hold Your Hand - how proper).

Henry Mancini: The Theme Scene
A TV and movie theme disc by one of the greats. Popular themes like Three's Company, Star Trek and Fantasy Island are joined by some rarer themes like The Children Of Sanchez and The NBC Nightly News Theme (from 1978).

The Three Suns: Dancing On A Cloud
Three Suns+10 medleys=41 songs of pure dancing pleasure in RCA Living Stereo. Released 1961.

Frank Ifield: I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)
If you remember I Remember You, then you remember Frank Ifield, the British singer from Australia who yodeled his way to the top of the charts. Tumbling Tumbleweeds and Mule Train capture Frank at his yodeling best on this album.

Peggy Lee: I'm A Woman
Yeah, fellas, she's a W-O-M-A-N. Who's singing some pretty well-known S-O-N-G-S: Mack The Knife, A Taste Of Honey, and I Left My Heart In San Francisco, to name a few.

The Parker Brothers Barber Shop Quartet
No games here...just a barbershop quartet singing the usual barbershop tunes.

Norma Jean: Saturday/This Is The Love
A 12" Disco platter from 1978.

Tavares: Future Bound
A sealed copy of the album with More Than A Woman.

Come On Everybody Let's Twist!
One of an endless stream of "Twistploitation" albums released in the early '60s. This one milks the cash cow pretty hard by including the word "twist" in every song title. Sometimes it's a tough fit. Psychoanalytwist? Please. And then the liner notes: "In [arranger Steven Garrick's] 'Strictly Informal Twist', another mood is created, and you really get into the frame of mind as suggested by the title by becoming strictly informal." All tunes written by Sanford Bellini.

Music From Bach To Rock: A Salute To The 150th Anniversary Of Gas
No kidding - that's the exact title! The album was produced by Caloric for the American Gas Association in 1966. There's a 20-page book inside the gatefold cover, chronicling the role gas has played in American life, and predicting a rosy future. If they'd only known... Music on this album is by Harry Fields.

Graham Kerr, The Galloping Gourmet: A Festive Occasion Just For You
Circa 1971. Graham Kerr In A Festive Mood on one side, and Music For The Festive Occasion on the other. Recipes inside!

Will Powers: Adventures In Success
Motivational pop from 1983.

Not So Long Ago
An RCA album from the Project Twenty series of NBC TV documentaries. Bob Hope narrates events from V-J Day to the Korean War. Much historical sound here: New York governor Fiorello LaGuardia reading the comics on the radio to a worried nation, Babe Ruth's Yankee Stadium farewell, Winston Churchill's Iron Curtain speech, and Einstein's H-bomb statement.

$64,000 Jazz
In case you haven't figured it out already, it's a tie-in to the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire of the '50s, The $64,000 Question. Another tie-in: the album was produced by George Avakian, the Jazz expert on the show. He chose tracks from $64,000 artists like Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck, Sarah Vaughn, Woody Herman, and Louis Armstrong.

The Piano Style Of Eddie Heywood
A sealed copy of this Vocalion release.

The Ventures Christmas Album
All your favorite Christmas goodies by one of America's favorite surf bands.

Jaye P. Morgan
Yes, that Jaye P. Morgan. Here she is about 20 years before her fame got a second wind from The Gong Show. A slight bit of wear around the jacket edges, but the record is almost mint. This find is dedicated to my friends on the Game Show Forum (which you'll have to register to enter).

Tony Randall: Vo, Do, De, Oh, Doe
The jackpot find of the week - maybe even the month! Excellent on the outside, mint on the inside. And only $1! Felix Unger sings (and whistles) your favorite hits from the '30s, plus the '60s hit Winchester Cathedral.

Entry Report 10/2: Exotic Blend

2004-10-02T17:02:00.000-04:00

Today, some finds that aren't exactly run of the mill. At least they're not the usual Mitch Miller or Mantovani I usually see.

The T.M. Orchestra & Chorus: Heavyhands
Cover versions of early '80s songs designed for the Heavyhands program, which exists here.

Sergio Mendes: The Great Arrival
A 1966 Atlantic release in which "Brazil's leading pianist plays the arrangements of Clare Fischer, Bob Florence & Richrd Hazard."

Jackie Gleason: Opiate D'Amour
Gleason originals grace both sides of this disc, on which you can also hear Al Caiola's guitar.

The Rehrig Family: While In Nashville
A group once featuring Dolly Parton's brother Randy. This group is now Dave Rehrig's Fever Band, a Conway Twitty tribute band based in Walnutport, PA.

Hawaii: Melodies From Paradise
5 discs of music to get lei'd by, courtesy of the Longines Symphonette.

South Sea Island Magic
A 1968 Reader's Digest box, which despite its name, features a fair amount of Hawaiian music.

Entry Report 10/2: Leftovers

2004-10-02T16:48:00.000-04:00

In all the hubbub of hauling home a hundred records, a few things got left out. Namely, the records from the record store I get my free stuff from. Without further ado...

Phil Collins: No Jacket Required
Decent shape. Don't Lose My Number, One More Night and Sussudio.

Carole King: Tapestry
A passable-to-good copy of Carole's huge 1971 album.

Sonny & Cher: All I Ever Need Is You
Some covers here: Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling, United We Stand, and More Today Than Yesterday.

Instrumental Golden Goodies Vol. 13
In the '60s, Roulette Records issued a gigantic number of greatest hits collections, much like the Now That's What I Call Music of its day. Johnny & The Hurricanes, Dave Baby Cortez, Joey Dee and Ray Barretto are on the roster.

Aretha Franklin: Young, Gifted And Black
With Rock Steady and Day Dreamin'. No cover.

Mood Music For Relaxation
I'm beginning to feel sorry for all those cast-off Reader's Digest box sets I'm seeing lately. They're almost always in terrific shape, and occasionally hold some real surprises in their grooves. So I adopted this collection of standards by various artists, including the RCA Symphony Orchestra.

Entry Report 9/26: The Hundred Haul

2004-09-26T21:19:00.000-04:00

I feel like The Godfather: someone made me an offer I couldn't refuse. The offer, from my Dime Store Music lady, was a screamer deal: 100 records for $5. A nickel a piece. Half price! The full rundown is here, but because of the volume, I've limited entries to only title and artist except for special cases. More info cheerfully imparted by e-mail. Click the link over on the right.

Standards & Space Age Pop
Morris Albert: Feelings (just shut up, OK?)
Wendy Carlos: Switched-On Bach (for a friend who noticed the copy already in my collection)
Ray Conniff: We've Only Just Begun
Ray Conniff: Laughter In The Rain
John Davidson (self-titled)
It's Show Time With Norman Frey & The Country Cousins
Jackie Gleason: Movie Themes For Lovers Only
Jackie Gleason Presents Music, Martinis, And Memories
Jackie Gleason: Today's Romantic Hits/For Lovers Only
Jackie Gleason: Today's Romantic Hits/For Lovers Only Vol. 2
Jackie Gleason: Silk 'N' Brass
The Best Of Buddy Greco
The Guadalajara Brass: Lonely Bull And Others
Jerry Murad's Harmonicats: Harmonica Rhapsody (radio promo copy)
Richard Hayman, Billy May, Hugo Montengro & Al Caiola: Magnificent Motion Picture & Love Themes
Don Ho & The Aliis: Hawaii-Ho!
Horst Jankowski: Enjoy Jankowski
Hooked On Classics I
Enoch Light & His Orchestra: My Musical Coloring Book
Enoch Light & His Orchestra: Far Away Places
Living Brass Play Songs Made Famous By Tom Jones
Longines Symphonette: Our Century In Music: The Soaring '70s (a 3-record set from the 19-volume Our Century In Music series)
Ray Martin: Dynamica
Listen Too! The Fabulous Paul Mauriat Orchestra
Sergio Mendes (self-titled)
The Mexicali Brass: What Now My Love/Spanish Flea
Mr. "Guitar" & Mr. "Y": Soft Guitars
Tony Mottola: String Band Strum-Along
Peter Nero: Nero-ing In On The Hits
Thurl Ravenscroft Presents Great Hymns In Story And Song
Doc Severinsen: Sixteen Great Performances
The Swingle Singers: Going Baroque
Billy Vaughn: Sukiyaka/Sukiyaki (Two albums identical except for the spelling of the title song)
Fred Waring & The Pennsylvanians In Hi-Fi
The Roger Whittaker Christmas Album
The Jimmy Wisner Orchestra: Cast Your Fate To The Wind

Folk
Ronnie Gilbert: The Spirit Is Free
The Pennywhistlers: A Cool Day And Crooked Corn

International
Charles Anzavour (self-titled)
Pierre Noles: Possedez En Le Rythme De Base Du Triple Swing
Joe Gurka, His Accordion And The Polka All-Stars
Best Of The Mom & Dads

Miscellaneous
Conversa-Phone's Round-The-World Hebrew Language Record Course
Exercise With...Fran Carlton
Sen. Everett Dirksen: Gallant Men: Stories Of The American Adventure
Exotica 1970 Kokee Band: Solid State
Funk & Wagnalls Family Library Of Great Music (24 records, each showcasing a different classical composer. Vol. 4 is missing)
The Graduate: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Laura Huxley: Recipes For Loving And Living (Aldous Huxley's wife)
Jenson Publications: Loser's Music Presents Sound Ideas For Concert Band Vol. VI
Jenson Publications: Marching Band '84 Summer Edition
Kings Road: Million Or More '75 Vol. 2
Steve Martin: Let's Get Small
Dorothy Siftar & Peter Haas: All Day Singing (Autographed by Peter for Dorothy)
Richard Simmons: Reach
Gregg Smith, conductor: A Festival Of Folk Songs
The Sound Of The 1970 Hurricane Grenadiers (Bethlehem, PA high school band. Jonathan Frakes plays trombone)

Rock
Deep Purple: Machine Head
Electric Light Orchestra: Face The Music
Richie Havens: Mixed Bag
The Jaggerz: We Went To Different Schools Together
Tom Jones Live At The Talk Of The Town (two copies)
The Salsoul Orchestra: Magic Journey
Boz Scaggs: Moments
Silver Convention: Save Me
Phoebe Snow: Second Childhood
Phoebe Snow: It Looks Like (Phoebe) Snow
Supertramp: Crime Of The Century
Robin Trower: Victims Of The Fury
The Edgar Winter Group: They Only Come Out At Night
The Edgar Winter Group: Shock Treatment
Steve Winwood: Arc Of A Diver
Yes: Close To The Edge

Entry Report 9/19: Dime time

2004-09-19T22:17:00.000-04:00

Leftovers from Friday's haul at the Musical Dime Store.

Music From The Broadway Musical No, No, Nanette
RCA's Broadway Strings And Velvet Voices provide the music for this 1971 release, which is still sealed.

Pardon My Blooper!
The first of Kermit Schafer's Blooper collections, from 1959. Picked this up as a spare.

Persuasive Percussion, Vols. 1 and 2
Another first, and its sequel. The first release on Enoch Light's Command Records, Persuasive Percussion set early stereo enthusiasts on fire with its brilliant engineering, masterful musicianship (by Tony Mottola and Dick Hyman, to name just two players), and copious technical information, all wrapped in an abstract gatefold cover designed by Josef Albers. Recommended reading at Space Age Pop for more info on Enoch Light and Command Records.

Explorer: A Totally New Electronic Musical Instrument In Recording!
Rocky Mountain Instruments was a division of Allen Organ. In 1967, they released an instrument called the Explorer, which was a Farfisa-style combo organ. The album shows Explorer strutting its stuff. Another spare copy that might find a home with a friend.

Ronnie Aldrich And His Two Pianos: Here Come The Hits!
Benny Hill's musical director uses his magic on The Now Sound. Hits by everyone from Brotherhood Of Man (United We Stand) to The Beatles (Let It Be). See Frank LaRosa's review and hear Sugar Sugar.

Jack Jones: For The "In" Crowd
Branching out from music for Wives And Lovers, Jones expands his repertoire - perhaps a little too much. On the disc: Leley Gore's Sunshine, Lollipops And Rainbows, Len Barry's 1-2-3, and yes, even Dobie Gray's The In Crowd.

Aerobic Celebration
A workout for your body and soul! Yup, it's a religious workout record. In fact, "America's first Christian aerobics LP," dated 1982.

Buddy Rich: Stick It
One of the world's finest drummers backed up by what looks to be a pretty solid horn section.

Exposed
A 2-disc CBS collection of new-wave. Loverboy, Adam And The Ants, Loverboy, Judas Priest and lots more.

Entry Report: 9/16

2004-09-16T21:19:00.000-04:00

In an effort to keep a somewhat reverent and official tone, all future "new finds" posts will be labeled Entry Reports. When I post album reviews, you'll see them posted as Dossiers. All pretense aside, a few new batches of sonic wonder now grace the Deaprtment's bookshelves.

Wednesday: Stoop Songs
Christmas just doesn't end here in Pennsylvania. I was aware of no fewer than three Christmas In July events here, and yesterday's finds almost warranted one in September.

Christmas With Chet Atkins: Twang under the tree from 1961.
A Merry Mancini Christmas: "Mancini's first album of Holiday Music," according to the liner notes. Originally released in 1966.
Home For The Holidays: Burl Ives, Der Bingle, the Boone family, and The Brady Bunch, all on the same album.
Aroma Disc Presents Sounds And Scents Of The Holiday Season: Standard lineup of songs and artists, but here's the twist: it was designed to be played along with your Aroma Disc machine. I'll save you a long explanation of Aroma Disc by giving you this link. Have fun.
The Rocking Horse Orchestra - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: I had this one when I was little. It's basically Kindergarten's Greatest Hits, timed to capitalize on the Dick Van Dyke vehicle the album was named for.
Arnold Stang's Favorite Funny Stories: No trick or puzzle as promised on the cover, but a few funny kids' stories from the voice of Top Cat.
The Colonial Keystone Pennsylvania: a chronicle of the early days of America's second state, narrated by Lorne Greene. A sealed piece of history.
Nassoons: Princeton's equivalent of The Whiffenpoofs. Neat mix of songs here.
Obernkirchen Children's Choir - Folk Songs And Fairy Tale: Der kinderen are alrighten. 31 girls and 6 boys from a small burg in Germany. Last track is America The Beautiful.
Andy Williams - The Impossible Dream: Double album with typical early '70s fare, plus a cameo by The Osmond Brothers And Friends. Two tracks produced by TV themester Mike Post.
Lenny Dee: a 1973 album whose title includes every track on the disc. Features organ-ized songs formerly by The Four Tops, Don McLean, Roberta Flack, and the O'Jays.
Nat King Cole - Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days Of Summer: A few of Nat's most unforgettable hits, arranged by Ralph Carmichael.
Dean Martin - Everybody Loves Somebody: Another classic from Dino.
Wayne Newton - Can't You Hear The Song?, Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast, While We're Still Young: A triple-header! Plenty of familiar songs, and lots of great players to back Wayne up on each of these three.
Maria Muldaur - Waitress In A Donut Shop: Not the one with Midnight At The Oasis but plenty here to attract interest: Linda Rondstat and Dr. John (billed uder his real name, Mac Rebennack) pop in for a track or two.
Mozart - Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K.550/Symphony No. 34 in C Major, K.338: a 10" 33 from the Musical Masterpiece Society. Henry Swoboda conducts The Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and The Orchestra Of The Vienna State Opera.
Bad Meets Evil - Nuttin' To Do/Scary Movies: I'm thinking rap here.
George Wright - Now's The Right Time: The Now Sound as played on a Wurlitzer pipe organ. Light My Fire, My Way, Aquarius and Time Is Tight are highlights.

After the haul from the Stoop, I tried out a thrift store I haven't been to in a while. From there:

Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run: I've got a copy or two already, but this one's in better shape.
Bruec Springsteen - Tunnel Of Love: Lots of Springsteen available yesterday. I threw this one into the mix.
The Go-Go's - Beauty And The Beat: The '80s Rules! And so does Belinda Carlisle.
I'll Never Fall In Love Again: A Music Minus One release of popular hits. MMO aspired to help those learning to play or sing. Bob Dorough produced this album in 1970, just after he'd completed what would become the very first album of songs for Schoolhouse Rock.
The Keyboards - Highlighting The Organ And Piano: From Time Records. One of a series of Extra L-O-N-G Playing records with an hour of music on one disc. Joe Harnell, Hargus Robbins and others play original tunes.

Thursday: Thrift Away
Two other thrift stores I haven't been to in a while held these treaures:

Enoch Light Presents Tony Mottola And The Quad Guitars: A 1973 release from Enoch Light's Project 3 label, which picked up where his original label, Command, left off. Vinnie Bell, Al Caiola, and Dick Hyman play along - in Quadraphonic sound.
Carl Stevens And His Orchestra - High Society Twist: Old songs with a new twist. Gotta love the liner notes that call Chubby Checker "the Arthur Murray of the teenagers."
Marvin Gaye - A Tribute To Nat King Cole: Did you know that Marvin Gaye really wanted to be a crooner and not a top 40 star? This album gave him the chance to be who he wanted to be.
Fun Fit Featuring Mary Lou Retton: You better eat your Wheaties! Or else I won't tell you about this album where a gold-medal gymnast turns into a singer and kids' fitness instructor. Music by Michael Zager, of Zager & Evans fame.

The Weekly: 9/13

2004-09-13T21:13:00.000-04:00

The turntable's decommissioned while The Department waits for funding to cover turntable maintenance. Meantime, some discoveries from the Dover (NJ) Street Fair. BONUS! You can hear MP3s of a couple of this week's finds at the artists' websites.

Instant Music
A Capitol Roecords collection of "Minute Masters" designed for radio and TV production. The Lee Evans Trio, Walter Wanderley, Pee Wee Hunt, and Nelson Riddle figure prominently. Riddle's tracks are extracted from his "More Hit TV Themes" album.

Roger Price: Roger And Over
An album sure to (verb) your (noun). Price, the Price of Price Stern Sloan and the inventor of Mad Libs, is joined by Don Elliott and celebrated jingle writer Sascha Burland in this comedic romp from 1960.

Mel Brooks's Greatest Hits Featuring The Fabulous Film Scores Of John Morris
All the good stuff from The Producers, Blazing Saddles, The Twelve Chairs, Silent Movie, Young Frankenstein and High Anxiety.

Barry Finnerty & Superfriends: 2B Named Later
A jazz album from 1988. Features Hubert Laws on flute. Sealed. Plenty of copies to go around and if I get there again I may pick up another. The samples sound pretty good, and you can check 'em out yourself on Barry's site.

Not Fragile: Who Dares Wins
a 1988 LP from a German metal band who's still kickin'. See for yourself on their website. MP3s may not download properly, but they're there.

The Four Tops: Changing Times
1970 was a period of changing times for Motown. The Miracles had split up. Diana Ross left The Supremes. The Jackson 5ive was ripping up the charts, and the whole Berry Gordy empire was about to uproot for California. The Four Tops, one of R&B's most enduring groups, soldiered on through it all with this album. A few originals, plus covers of Raindrops Keep Faillin' On My Head, Try To Remember, and The Long And Winding Road, which ties together with the title track in a medley.

101 Strings: Back Beat Symphony
A much better copy of something I already have. 101 Strings rocks the classical world with adaptations of Romeo And Juliet, Rigoletto, Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony and the Prince Igor Theme, aka Stranger In Paradise. For a modern-day equivalent, check out Brave Combo's Box Of Ghosts.

Joe Jackson's Jumpin' Jive
We The Cats (Shall Hep Ya) to this swingin' 1981 album whose musical guests feature bassist Graham Maby, who's played with They Might Be Giants a time or two. See what Joe's up to, and who he's "Steppin' Out" with these days on his site.

The Fruits Of My Labor Day

2004-09-06T20:35:00.000-04:00

My turntable's stylus is busted, and so am I. But that doesn't stop the flow of new goodies. Friday, Saturday and Monday were good for at least one find each. Here's a summary of each day:

Friday
A thrift store that doesn't usually carry albums had quite a nice selection for $.25 each. Seems a local high school was cleaning out some things and these records were among them. All are in fine shape.

The Muppet Show: A soundtrack of sorts, complete with Mah Nah Mah Nah and the Muppet Show Theme.
Jesus Christ Superstar: The original soundtrack.
Musical Exceprts From The Rock Opera Jesus Christ Superstar: The unoriginal soundtrack released on Pickwick, still sealed.
Columbia Presents The Great Benny Goodman: A "Best Of" collection with lots of guests.
The Art Tatum-Errol Garner-Bud Powell-Billy Taylor Years: Four fine jazz keyboardists on a two-disc Roulette set from the early '70s.
The Trombone Sound Of Harold Betters - Funk City Express
Louis Armstrong - Mame
Simon & Garfunkel - Bookends: The album with America, Hazy Shade Of Winter, Fakin' It, At The Zoo and Mrs. Robinson.
The Poetry Of Carl Sandburg: Sandburg reads almost two dozen of his poems, including The Windy City, on this 1962 Caedmon release.
Mechanical Musical Instruments Sampler No. 1: Sounds of rare instruments housed by the Musical Wonder House of Wicasset, Maine.
Beatlemania! A Hard Day's Night, Yellow Submarine, and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, all in at least Very Good condition.

Meanwhile, back at the antique mall, more dime store goodies awaited at The Store That Never Ceases To Amaze Me:

Paul Mauriat & His Orchestra - L.O.V.E: Oh Happy, Day, Get Back, and yet another version of Aquarius are the highlights from this 1970 album.
Helen O'Connell - Helen O': A collection of standards, signed by Helen.
Mike Douglas - The Men In My LIttle Girl's Life: The singer/talk show host's best-known album.
Sammy Davis Jr. Now: The Candy Man, MacArthur Park, and Shaft. Damn straight.
Sammy Davis Jr. Meets Sam Butera & The Witnesses - When The Feeling Hits You: One of the coolest bands ever teams up with one of the coolest singers ever - in the ollest place ever - Las Vegas, baby.
Pat & Mick - Use It Up And Wear It Out: Google's not a lot of help, but from what I gather, it's two British DJs...uh...doing something.
The Bill Gaither Trio - The Very Best Of The Very Best: Sealed disc of one of America's foremost gospel groups.
George Thalben Ball - The Allen Computer Organ At Chichester Cathedral: A British organist playing an organ manufactured just south of Allentown, PA. The very first Allen Computer Organ is now in the hands of the Smithsonian Institution.
Location Recording Service: A demo disc for a Burbank CA recording company.
Jenson Publications Sound Ideas For Concert Band Vol. IV
Jenson Publications: Marching Band '82: Marching band arrangements of too many '80s hits and TV themes to cover here.
The Marching Band Spectacular: A 1978 release from Big Bells Inc. Some movie and Broadway hits, and another band disc stuck in the jacket, with a similar lineup.
Hawaii: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: Composed by the late Elmer Bernstein.
Twisting The Oldies: Let Fred Astaire teach you how to twist with hits done by "The Night Owls."
Discotheque: An anonymous Mercury Wing release, not to be confused with the Time Records release of the same name. "A new dance idea banded for continuous dancing."
The Private Life Of A Private Eye: an early Command Records disc (1959) co-produced by Enoch Light and Lewis A. Davies.
David Rose And His Orchestra Play The Stripper And Other Fun Songs For The Family: Take it off, take it all off! Then put this record on and go, man, go.
Barber Shop! Featuring The Buffalo Bills With Banjo: A friend of mine has been searching for Buffalo Bills music, so I picked this up for him.
The Damnation Of Faust - The Boston Symphony Orchestra: A three-disc RCA box from 1954.
Serenade For Lovers: 9 discs of easy listening "Pleasure Programmed" by Reader's Digest and produced by RCA. The store I got it from charges for box sets by the disc, so this one cost 90 cents!

Saturday
Hard to top myself after a set of finds like that, but I just about managed to. A chance trip to a flea market I don't get to very much led me to a copy of an album by The Nashville Country Singers: Hits Of '69. It's a classic piece of cheese that I learned about from Frank La Rosa, who features it in his Vinyl Gallery. You MUST hear their (loose) interpretations of Aquarius and Proud Mary. We think it's Proud Mary - the actual title is never sung.

Monday
An impromptu trip to the record store netted some interesting selections:

Jeff Beck - Flash
Mott The Hoople - Greatest Hits: Serious water damage on the covers, but the discs are fine.
Rush - 2112
Eddie Baxter: Organ Blues 'N' Boogie
El Botteon & The Bavarian Ambassadors - Wunderbar: Local polka band album on Chalet Records, Whitehall, PA.
The Ferko String Band - Happy Days Are Here Again: And so's the polka, Mummers-style.
Scotty Plummer - Banjo On The Roof: A singin', dancin', banjo-playin, tap-dancin', antique-collectin' (?!) 12-year-old who signed this copy of his album.
The Jim Nabors Hour - Tomorrow Never Comes: What good is a record collection (especially if it's as big as mine) without a Jim Nabors album or seven? This one features Joe South's Games People Play. Whoa-uh.
Henry Mancini, His Orchestra And Chorus - Big Screen, Little Screen: All In The Family, The Tonight Show and Shaft, among other TV and movie themes. I give the nod to his later Mancini's Angels album, if only for the cover.
The University Of Michigan Band - The Greatest College Football Marches: Just in time for the Big Season. Inside the gatefold is a band member who's apparently just kicked a field goal.
The Magic Organ: Nondescript 1973 Ranwood release with Jambalaya and Blueberry Hill.
Admiral: A New Generation Of Sound: Complete with an old generation of songs, excpet for Hugo Montenegro's take on Aquarius, and Sid Bass's Mooged-up Spanish Flea.
Sammy Kaye - Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head: The Now Sound, courtesy of someone from Way Back Then. Unusual choices like Mel & Tim's Backfield In Motion and The Beatles' Something and I Want You (She's So Heavy) should make for adventurous listening.
Leroy holmes & The Southwinds - 50 Fabulous Hawaiian Favorites: How did they do it? Volume! Well, actually, all the songs are encapsulated in medleys, and there are only 10 of them. One of United Artists' "50 Great Favorites" series. It complements by Harmonica Favorites LP, which you won't believe.
Charles Anzavour - A Tapestry Of Dreams: I'm only passingly familiar with Anzavour, so decided to pick this up as my entree.
John Philip Sousa On Parade: One of 2 box sets out on the stoop today. A Longines Symphonette release.
Sparkling Organ Moods: From the RCA Record Club, this 10-sided mood-fest contains easy hits played by The Lawrence Welk Show's Bob Ralston, Gaylord Carter, Marjorie Meinert, Leonard Leigh, and Philadelphia's Larry Ferrari.

The Weekender, Part II: Box Populi

2004-08-28T20:44:00.000-04:00

An attack of the Sleepies last night necessitated the second half of this Weekender, and some retouching of the last post.

While I was vulturing some free stuff from my wonderfully local record store last night, I happened upon a few box sets:

The Art Of The Flute: Jean Pierre Rampal
7 records of "The World's Foremost Flute Virtuoso." I have a friend who may like this.

The Great Band Era: 1936-1945
A very popular Reader's Digest set of 10 records. Goodman, Dorsey, Ellington, Lombardo, Miller...and all the big band greats in their original splendor.

Green, Green Grass Of Home
a 1972 Reader's Digest box of folk music by folks I've never heard of - Louis Nunley, The Robinsons, The Womenfolk, Steve Clayton and Vick Flick. This set, like just about all the other RD boxes, was produced by RCA, so labelmates Chet Atkins, Gale Garnett and Glenn Yarborough each make an appearance (actually, Atkins makes two). Weird choices for "folk" include Your Song, Arizona, and (ulp) MacArthur Park.

You Light Up My Life: Beautiful Sounds Of Today
A latter-day RD box from 1980. The definition of "today" got stretched a little since they included songs that even by 1980 standards were considered oldies; among them, Baby Love, A Whiter Shade Of Pale, and What The World Needs Now (Is Love Sweet Love). Musical duties on all sides but one are handled by The Romantic Strings, with occasional accents by The Romantic Voices. The Orchestra Unlimited tackles the side called "Stayin' Alive/Disco Nice 'n' Easy," which I just can't wait to hear.

The Weekender

2004-08-27T20:18:00.000-04:00

10 will get you 10, but what will nothing get you? You'd be surprised. More dime-store delights today, and some fab free finds.

From The Antique Mall
They're still a dime apiece, and there are more of them than ever. My dollar got me an eclectic batch o' black stuff, including:.

Hugo Strasser: Die Tanzplatte Des Jahres '83
Roughly translated, "The Dance Disc Of The Year." Or, as translated by AltaVista, "The dance plate of the yearly." Perfect for dancing, the style of each song and measures per minute are listed. I only recognize three songs (Lady Is A Tramp, Cumparsita, and It's Only A Paper Moon), but I imagine I won't soon forget the Jive Medley and Disco Medley.

Bert Kaempfert & His Orchestra: 6 Plus 6
Six songs by famous artists, and six Kaempfert originals for famous artists.

Sound Series Vol. 6
Band music is one of the many highlights of my collection. You can always find amazing arrangements of music you'd never think would be marching band material. Here, there's Lennon/McCartney, The Mamas & The Papas, Elvis and Chicago.

Concert Band Vol. 8
One of a large series from Jenson Publications. Popeye The Sailor Man and the Love Boat theme are the two big draws.

Hal Leonard Concert Band 1990
A little bit of everything. Even Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and New Kids On The Block get marching orders.

The Year In Music's Greatest Hits
Here's a surprise package from Columbia Records. The only thing you can tell from the jacket about what's actually on the record is that a group called The Realistics recorded it. Not until you open it do you find out that some of 1979's biggest hits have been resung.

Lawrence Welk: Love Is blue
Now really. You didn't think I'd pass this one up, did you? Some hits from 1969 and surrounding years get champagne poured all over them. Spooky could well live up to its title in a way its original artists, The Classics IV, never envisioned. Details later.

The Bob Crewe Generation: Music To Watch Girls By
So nice, I bought it twice. Lightly played but still in its wrapper. If you missed it the first time, the producer of The Four Seasons does his own thing and it comes out sounding a lot like Herb Alpert.

Graham Parker: The Real Macaw
I'm only passingly familiar with Graham through my college radio station, so I took the opportunity to familiarize myself with him on this 1983 album.

Dawn Of The Dickies
Remember Tricia Toyota? This album has her story. Unfortunately it's got major warpage, so I'll have to make an attempt at baking the waves out of it. If it doesn't work, hey - I only lost 10 cents!

From The Record Store
It's so cool to live within walking distance from a record store. Especially one that routinely throws undesirable material out on the stairs for vultures like me. In today's pile...

Gli Accademici Di Milano: Vivaldi's The Four Seasons
A 1959 Vox Records release that's still sealed! Amazingly, there's not a single tear in the cellophane wrapper.

Bavarian Yodeling Songs And Polkas
A change of pace from the typical "just polkas" album. Also still sealed, but much newer. My guess is mid-to-late '70s.

Al Meixner: Alpine Melodies Volume 2
Waltzes, polkas, marches, and even a galop - all done with local flavor. Al hails from Coplay, PA, just north of Allentown - the city this blog is based in.

The Amazing Adventures Of Pac-Man
This one's been through the wringer, but it's an interesting piece. Inky, Winky, Pinky and Sue have been replaced by Speedy, Shadow, Bashful and Poky in this musical adventure. It's not the only one. Kids Stuff Records did several of these albums for other games.

Buckner & Garcia: Pac-Man Fever
You know you had it. Everyone did. These two guys got Pac-Man Fever so bad they wrote a song about it. In fact, the entire album is about videogames. And now it's on CD! And lest you think Buckner and Garcia are all washed up, I give you evidence to the contrary: their website at bucknergarcia.com.

Jose Jimenez: Our Secret Weapon
Tough to see good talent go to waste. So I enlisted this Bill Dana disc to join the ranks. Bill wrote the material with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff, well known for writing The Dick Van Dyke show and many other TV shows.

The Fleetwoods' Greatest Hits
Mr. Blue, Come Softly To Me, and 10 others from the 2-girl, 1-guy trio that actually got their name from an exchange in a phone book, not the Cadillac.

Bobby Vee's Golden Greats
He was no Elvis or Frankie, but Bobby Vee had some major talent, and a nice-size collection of hits. They're all here, along with plenty of personal info for the teeny-boppers.

Gene Pitney Sings World Wide Winners
A record executive wanted him to be known as Homer Muzzy. Fortunately, Gene thought better of the idea and used his real name on hits like 24 Hours From Tulsa, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Town Without Pity and Only Love Can Break A Heart. And he's still singing over 40 years later. His website says he'll be touring the UK this Fall.

The Amazing 17 Year Old Lesley Gore: I'll Cry If I Want To
What a way to start a musical career. Two gigantic hits that were all over the radio in 1964. With great material and Quincy Jones as the musical director, what need was there to cry?

The Tale Of Patches Sung By Dickey Lee And Eleven Other Songs That Tell A Story
It's hard to forget the story of Patches, the girl "floating face down in that dirty old river" because her parents wouldn't let her see her boyfriend. A lot of Dickey's songs told stories, and they were usually sad. "Splatter platters" were big in the early '60s, and Dickey sings two here: Teen Angel, originally a Mark Dinning tune where a girl involved in a car wreck goes back to the accident scene in a failed attempt to retrieve her high school ring; and Tell Laura I Love Her, the Ray Peterson song in which a race car driver takes the final lap of his life.

The Great Groups
A Buddah compilation with some fine doo-wop from the likes of Rosie & The Originals, The Jive Five, the Flamingos, and The Dells, to name a few.

Three Dog Night: Naturally
Jeremiah was a bullfrog... Joy To The World and Liar are the two big Three Dog Night hits from this 1971 album.

Judas Priest: Point Of Entry
Making up for some of the missing rock albums in my collection.

Moms Mabley: Live At Sing Sing
A recording of one of Moms's many trips to Sing Sing Prison to see "her babies."

Rod McKuen: Life Is
Poems and warm thoughts from Rod.

Johnnie O's Big Band: Polka Time
Your typical polka album. Released on Evon Records in West New York, NJ.

Moog Groove, Popcorn With Hot Butter

2004-08-23T22:25:00.000-04:00

Feelin' Alright? You bet!

And this'll make you feel even better!

That's right, two albums this week. Make that...two Moog albums. One had a (very) original hit, the other had other hits.

Moog Groove: The Electronic Concept Orchestra

It's 1970. Moog Mania has swept the nation like a pulse sweeps an oscilloscope. Everybody just HAS to cash in on the wonderful wall-sized music maker called the Moog Synthesizer. After Wendy Carlos made Switched-On Bach such a huge success, a lot of people thought that doing synthesized versions of current hits would be an even bigger success. Well, not exactly. But there were definitely some interesting efforts. Moog Groove is just one of them.

The track lineup on Moog Groove was pretty hip compared to a lot of other albums of its ilk. "Windmills Of Your Mind" was the nearest song to MOR in what was otherwise a fairly rockin' lineup. Hits from Steppenwolf, Joe Cocker, and The Beatles grace this disc.

So how is it? Well, the novelty of electronic music was starting to wear off a little by the time Moog Groove was released. One of the main failings of these albums was that most of them just weren't very creative. Wendy Carlos set the bar high when she recorded Switched-On Bach in 1968. It was daring because she'd played time-tested classical pieces on an entirely new kind of instrument. Most successive Moog albums featured modern music on an instrument that was in danger of becoming as commonplace as drums. Another problem was that studio time, then as now, wasn't cheap. And to do a Moog album up right, you needed a lot of it. Early synths, like the one on the cover, could only play one note at a time. To do a three-note chord, for example, the person playing the synth would have to play the same sequence three times, each in a different key. To make that job somewhat easier, some synths were ordered with multitrack reel-to-reel recorders - the one to the right of the synth had 8 tracks.

The complete creative potential of the synth hadn't quite been fully discovered by a lot of artists in 1970. Indeed, a lot of the synth voices you hear on Moog Groove are your stereotypical fat, wowy, bleepy, gleeky and brappy sounds. However, they're put to good use on these tracks, and they're backed by plenty of real instruments to make you feel at home.

TRACK LISTING
Electronic Concept Orchestra: Moog Groove
Limelight Records, 1970

Aquarius
Oh Happy Day
Hey Jude
Both Sides Now
Grazin' In The Grass*
Feelin' Alright
Penny Lane
Atlantis
Rock Me
Windmills Of Your Mind

Popcorn With Hot Butter

What a difference two years makes. In 1972, a guy named Stan Free expanded on a little-known Gershon Kingsley tune and scored a tasty synth hit. A few more creative adaptations, and a brilliant cover design (yes, that's a real popcorn box) add up to a memorable album. You can hear some different voices from the synth here, and in true Perrey And Kinglsey fashion, there's a lot of fun in these tracks. There's a refreshingly different selection of tunes. Amazing Grace is here, along with a couple of surf classics. Day By Day is the hit du jour. And there's a little-known track called Tomatoes by Neal Hefti. If you're an Odd Couple fan, you'll remember it as the upbeat flute-and-guitar track used for exterior shots in scene transitions. Stan Free gives it a nice country flavor. In all, a few nice surprises.

TRACK LISTING
Popcorn With Hot Butter
Musicor Records, 1972

Popcorn
Day By Day
Apache
At The Movies
Tomatoes
Pipeline
Hot Butter
Telestar
Tristana
Song Of The Nairobi Trio*
Amazing Grace

* These songs are on the downloadable and eminently diggable Album Of The Month for August at Dana Countryman's website. Dana, a Moog fanatic, was the inspiration for this week's selections.

Remembering Tony Mottola

2004-08-16T22:46:00.000-04:00

The world lost one of its finest guitarists last week. Tony Mottola died at age 86 in Denville, NJ. This is his obit, from Parsippany's Daily Record. You'll find a good amount of information there.

Mottola was known primarily as a session musician who played on countless albums in the '50 and '60s. Most of the albums were on his friend Enoch Light's Command Records label. His quiet, intricate playing style was both a contrast and complement to Light's bold, brassy musical arrangements. He was admired by everyone from Frank Sinatra to Bucky Pizzarelli. Although Mottola stopped playing professionally in the late '80s, he continued playing guitar every day.

And for vinyl aficionados like us, he'll always be playing in that quiet, classy style.

Recommended Reading

Basic Hip offers "Tony Mottola's Guitar Factory" as its Album Of The Week. It's an early '70s album with Tony's take on some "Now Sounds".

Space Age Pop's has a detailed biography and discography on Tony.

Spaced Out is a fine Enoch Light website with a Mottola interview and plenty more.

The Weekender: Dime Store Delights

2004-08-13T19:59:00.000-04:00

Welcome to The Weekender, this week an early report of recent musical finds.

The albums were a dime a dozen today at my local antique mall. Well, they were actually a dime apiece, but still - they don't come any cheaper unless you get 'em free. The woman who owns the store had maybe a couple thousand albums in the hall. I paid for my 20 and she broke the news to me: "I've got more inside." Oops. I ended up with 10 more. So the total for this week is close to 90 albums. Here's what's in today's stack:

New And Sealed

The Best Loved Christmas Carols
A 1985 Hallmark release recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra And Chorus

A Very Merry Christmas Vol. VII
One of a series from the late Grants Department Store.

They're Playing Our Song
A Neil Simon musical starring Robert Klein and Lucie Arnaz. Marvin Hamlisch wrote the music, Carole Bayer Sager wrote the lyrics.

Tammy Faye: The Upper Room
Well, there's no accounting for taste.

Helen Reddy: Music Music
Like I said...

Tom Jones Live In Las Vegas

"It's Not Unusual" to see a bunch of copies of this wherever you buy records. But you don't see a sealed promo copy too often, I'd bet. Hey Jude, Twist And Shout, and Delilah are a few of the more rockin' tracks.

Ane Criswell Jackson: Come On And Join
A religious album from the '70s.

Gotscheer Sanger New York: Gottscheer Volksleider
The Gottscheer Singers of New York celebrate 600 years in song.

The Vienna Choir Boys: Britten - A Ceremony Of Carols - 7 English Christmas Carols

The Sound Of Christmas, Volume 2
Your typical Capitol Records pop standards artists are on this disc. But what's in it? Why, 25 S&H Green Stamps!

John Fitzgerald Kennedy: A Memorial Album
An album of speeches produced by NY radio station WMCA. Originally aired on WMCA on 11/24/63 - the day after Kennedy was assassinated.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy: The Presidential Years: 1960-1963
Excerpts from speeches. Produced by The New York Times.

Played

20 Top Hits
Boy, let's hear it for creativity. That's the title, and that's about the extent of the creativity here. It's all anonymous covers of late '60s hits like Hurdy Gurdy, Hello I Love You, Hanky Panky, and Good Lovin'. Gary Lewis ends up with a drawl on Everybody Loves A Clown. And The Two Voices Of Gary Puckett emerge on Lady Willpower (the Elvis/Robert Goulet hybrid) and Young Girl (where the Gary Puckett/Johnny Mathis clone rears its voice). Oh well. At least this record is "Compatible." I'm not sure with what, though.

Discovery At Cypress
A release from Radio Bible Class, notable for the fact that the jacket doubled as the record's mailing container.

Tammy Faye: We're Blest
Just for the cover pix, OK?

Godspell
The genuine article.

Mancini's Angels
Henry Mancini does TV and movie themes, including Rocky, Car Wash, Charlie's Angels and his very own What's Happening!!

Ferrante & Teicher: Piano Portraits
The Twin Gene Shalits Of The Piano cover everything from The Beach Boys to Barry Manilow.

Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66: Equinox
The Beat Of Jobim do Sergio Mendes: Wave, So Danco Samba, and other wrm musical thoughts.

The Soul Of Paul Mauriat
A better-quality copy of an album I already have, and no true Space Age Pop fan should pass up. Mauriat gets soul with an album full of Motown and Atlantic covers like Respect, My Girl, In The Midnight Hour, and I Heard It Through The Grapevine.

Concert Band Series '73
A secret passion of mine is collecting band music like this. There are always surprises in these records, and this one from Big Bells Incorporated s no exception: Shaft, Three Dog Night (or The ThreeDog Night, as the cover says), and New Sounds Of The Carpenters.

Featuring Jose Melis
The composer of Jack Paar's Tonight Show theme starts this SPin-O-Rama album off with Paar's signature piece and does a few standards. Side 2 features Mike DiNapoli.

Dean Franconi: Percussive Sound Of Leroy Anderson
Songs made famous by Leroy Anderson made famous again by Dean Franconi. Includes The Syncopated Clock and Plink, Plank, Plunk - The "I've Got A Secret" theme.

101 Strings: Back Beat Symphony
Bach meets rock in tracks like Choppin' Chopin, Twangy Serenade (Schubert) and the title track, a variation on The Prince Igor Theme (Stranger In Paradise).

Donzelli Quintet: The Alley Cat, Hully Gully
A souvenir disc from Sun-Way Cruise Line, it would seem. This one's autographed by all the band members.

Joey Schmidt, Lawrence Welk, Myron Floren: Joey Lawrence Myron
Such creative album titles tonight! Typical Welk accordion polkas, with a twist: this album is signed by Myron Floren and some guy named Michael whose last name I can't read.

Svend Nicholaisen Favoritter
An expensive 1979 disc from Sweden, ja, with a couple of Bee Gees songs and some upbeat easy listening. Originally cost 29.95 Kroner at Fona.

Bill Page: Way Back Now!
Oops! Should've looked closer. The album inside the cover is Fred Waring & The Pennsylvanians. It's in nice shape, though.

Stereo Demonstrator
A $1.98 test record from Stereo Fidelity. None of those freaky tones, no guy bouncing back and forth from channel to channel. Just glorious Stereo Fidelity.

Realistic Stereo Test Record
A real test record with the tones and the guy and the other stuff. Produced in association with Hi Fi/Stereo Review, some of which is now Sound & Vision magazine.

Midweek Report

2004-08-11T21:55:00.000-04:00

Driving past my local record store today, I noticed an extrordinarily large pile of albums out front. Must have been over a thousand of 'em. All - you ready? - free for the taking! So I did what came naturally and took freely. The guy at the store said there was too much there and a lot of what was there wasn't worth selling. His loss...or was it? Here's what I literally walked away with. Quite a workout, that quarter-mile jaunt from the record store to home.

New And Sealed (!)
K-Tel's Country Teardrops: 20 Country Favorites
Luciano Maglia: Sicilia Beddia
Claudio Villa & Domenico Modugno: Arrivederci Roma (Yes, the same Domenico Modugno who made Volare a household word in the '50s, much like Plymouth would do in the '70s)
Various Artists: San Remo 69 (The best of '69, Italian style)
I Vianella, Renato Rascel and Gabriella Ferri: Welcome To Roma
Buon Natale: Italian Christmas Songs
Joseph Haydn: Concerto for Cello And Orchestra In D H.VIIB:2/Luigi Boccherini: Conerto For Cello And Orchestra In B Flat
Alfred Brendel, Piano; Pro Musica Orchestra, Vienna: Lizst's Piano Concertos No. 1 in E Flat Major, Piano Concerto No. 2 In A Major
The Boys Choir Of Vienna Woods: Romantic Vienna
Summertime With Johnny K And His Junior Ambassadors (Local Pick - released on Envoy Records based here in Allentown, PA)
Tom Glazer: Let's Sing Fingerplays (Your favorite kiddie hits in motion)
Ferron: Testimony (religious singer from Canada)
Noel Bells: John Klein On The Bells Of Stone Mountain
Christmas With Robert Shaw Conducting The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra And Chorus
The Lawrence Welk Story (a 1974 box set chronicling "The life and career of the Champagne Music Maker in music and pictures)

Standard - played, in jackets
Xavier Cugat: The Exciting New Sounds Of Strings
New Dimensions: The Exciting New Sounds Of Los Hispanos Featuring Norman Casiano
Ferrugio Tagliavini and Pia Tassinari: The Cherry Duet And Other Love Duets
Sing And Skate Along: George Stone At The Organ Accompanied By The Vocalaires
Introducing The Little Polish Girl With The Syl Rutkoski Orchestra
Max Smuliewicz And His Orchestra: Maxim Melodies (Produced in Hamburg, Sussex County, NJ)
The Joe Misto Orchetra: Polka Power
The Keggereis Duet: A Rich Man Am I (A Pennsylvania Dutch guy and his 16-year-old daughter singing religious songs)
The Harmony Sharps At Idora Park
Jolly Joe Timmer: The People's Choice (Jolly Joe owns WGPA, Sunny 1100 AM in Bethelehem, PA. His polka show airs every day)
We Love To Polka With The Fabuolous Kryger Brothers Orchestra (from Wilkes-Barre, PA)
Hans Roseneckh and his Blaskapelle (my German's rough, even with Babel Fish): Die Schwarzwalder Kuckucksuhr (some kind of cuckoo clock, apparently)
Gene Mitchko And His Band: New Sound Polka (not as exciting as it "sounds," unfortunately - there's a sound effect that introduces the theme of ths song, like bowling pinas for The Bowling Polka)
Walt Groller & His Orchestra With The Pany Sisters: There I'll Be
Joe Loss And His Orchestra: Dance With The Latin Champions (Odd dance interpretations of modern hits. "Sugar Sugar" as a cha-cha?)
Jimmy Sturr: Million Dollar Polkas
Johnny Krizancic And The Marjon Tamburitza Orchestra: Kolo Party Vol. 2
Polka Quads +1 (From Pennsylvania, the Polka Capitol Of The US, if not the world)
Dance Party (A Fiesta Records sampler of songs and styles)
Da Sanremo '75 (See San Remo 69, above, for a description)
The Best Of Pepino Di Capri (Italian singer - that's all I know)
Gus Rogan & His Balkan Strings Tamburitzans: Tamburitza Music At A Serbo-Croatian Tavern
Jose Greco: Flamenco Rhythms
Loloita Sings In German
Mandolin Music: Beethoven, Hummel
The Serendipity Singers (Their self-titled release on Philips)
Don Ho: Greatest Hits!
The International House Of Pancakes Presents Peter And The Wolf (Narrated By Bob Keeshan)
SSgt. Barry Sadler: Ballad Of The Green Berets
Hugo Winterhalter: My Favorite Broadway & Hollywood Music
Dean Martin: Dream With Dean - The Intimate Dean Martin
Andy Williams: Danny Boy (I didn't mean to get this one - honest!)
Dirty Dancing Live In Concert
Julie Andrews: Broadway's Fair
WIBG: 30 Golden Hits ("Wibbage," as known to its fans, was a hot Philadelphia radio station in the '50s and '60s. This set is from about 1969 and suffers from some serious warpage, along with surface noise. But man, is there some good stuff on here. And what cover art!)

Unjacketed
George Burns Sings. (Jackpot! This is the first album george sang on, from 1969. He didn't sing "18 Again" until his 1981 album)
An unknown Spotlight Records release with polkas and waltzes
Jolly Joe Timmer: Polka Dance Party
Two Dozen Plus: 25 Kiddie Favorites (Hmm ...got two copies of this one)
24 Of Hank Williams's Greatest Hits
Waltzing With The Mom And Dads (An incomplete set from a local-ish polka/dance band)
King Henry And The Showmen At Carnegie Hall (More local entertainers taking their show to the big time)

My friend has a couple of copies of an Avon Christmas album coming his way, as well as the Broadway soundtrack to Show Boat with John Raitt, among others.

Super Hits Of The '70s

2004-08-10T15:59:00.000-04:00

Have a nice day...in your beautiful balloon!

One of the specialties here at the Department Of Records is collecting albums with original hits - that aren't done by the original artists. Some record labels could pull this off a lot better than others, but generally the results weren't very good. This triple-disc set from RCA is one of those take-it-or-leave-it propositions collectors are sometimes faced with when they've just GOT to walk away with something after a fruitless day of searching.

Super Hits Of The '70s was actually released in the '70s (I'm guessing 1971 since there's no copyright), and unlike the excellent Rhino series you probably have a few CDs from, the phrase "Have A Nice Day" does not apply. You might expect hot RCA acts from the late '60s and early '70s: The Guess Who, Lighthouse, The Friends Of Distinction, Zager & Evans... Well, The Guess Who's "American Woman" is here, but guess what: it's an easy listening version by the Living Guitars. No Zager & Evans, no Lighthouse, no Friends Of Distinction. Or even RCA's biggest act ever: Elvis! But there is an oddly Lawrence Welk-style cover of "The Wonder Of You." So what's the point of this album, you ask? Well, read on and wonder, swingers and friends.

Apparently the point of this whole album was to showcase RCA's Living Things. "Living Things?" Yeah. Brilliant, no? Take the name of an instrument and tag it with the word "Living" so it fits in with RCA's marketing: Living Brass, Living Strings, Living Voices (that's better), Living Marimbas With Brass, Living Washboards With Moonshine (OK, OK). Got it now? The amount of "living" you get on each track depends on the track itself. The Living Jazz come to life rather nicely on "ABC" and the then Rare Earth hit "Get Ready". The Living Guitars get a big boost from a Living Sitar on "Let It Be," although they could have killed the Runaway-style Musitron. The Living Strings prove that you really can get anything you want at "Alice's Restaurant" - even string cheese. And a side of just-like-homemade kazoo solo. Open up the double-gatefold cover after you've eaten and you might just regret it. I need say no more. See for yourself.

A living nightmare...

...In living color.

I'm not sure if that's an actual font they used for the title, but it sure is interesting, hmm? Looks like the Big Bad Wolf could blow that Bauhaus right down! Unless it's shielded by the plexiglas (or is that transparent Dynaflex?) in front of the woman on the cover.

Super Hits Of The '70s
RCA Record Club, c. 1971
TRACK LISTING (in order seen on records - sides optimized for play on record changers)

Side 1
Aquarius - Living Strings
This Guy's In Love With You - Living Marimbas Plus Strings
I've Gotta Be Me - Living Voices
Bridge Over Troubled Water - Living Guitars
Get Ready - Living Jazz

Side 6
Sugar Sugar - Living Marimbas
The Impossible Dream - Living Voices
Spirit In The Sky - Living Guitars
Which Way You Goin', Billy? - Living Trio
United We Stand - Living Marimbas
Theme From "Z" - Living Strings

Side 2
Walk On By - Living Jazz
Midnight Cowboy - Living Strings
Cecilia - Living Marimbas
Love Theme From "Romeo And Juliet" - Living Pianos
Love Me Tonight - Living Brass

Side 5
Let It Be - Living Guitars
Alice's Restaurant - Living Strings
The Wonder Of You - Living Trio
ABC - Living Jazz
Daughter Of Darkness - Living Marimbas
Airport Love Theme - Living Strings

Side 6
Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head - Living Strings
Ballad Of Easy Rider - Living Trio
Do You Know The Way To San Jose - Living Jazz
A Boy Named Sue - Living Marimbas Plus Voices
Put A Little Love In Your Heart - Living Strings

Side 4
Games People Play - Living Jazz
Leaving On A Jet Plane - Living Trio
It's Not Unusual - Living Brass
Easy Come, Easy Go - Living Strings
American Woman - Living Guitars
What The World Needs Now - Living Marimbas