Quoth the Ravenscroft, nevermore

I could listen to Thurl Ravenscroft talk 24 hours a day. If you don't know the name, you surely know the voice - "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch," "Frosted Flakes - They're Greeeeaaat!"


Ravenscroft has an impressive discography.


Today's selection from 1963 is Thurl giving a lesson in the basics of music and the instruments of the orchestra.


As far as I can determine, this LP hasn't been reissued on CD, which is a shame.


A Child's Introduction to Melody and the Instruments of the Orchestra 01
A Child's Introduction to Melody and the Instruments of the Orchestra 02

And God looked, and saw that it was g...WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS WEARING??!!

Barren Cross, Jesus metal from 1986. The sound is pretty good (I especially like some of the drum stuff) but I can't be in the same room as the cover without having to cover my eyes.

Apparently they're still around (if having a myspace page fits your definition of still around) and still wearing somewhat-matching clothing (acid-washed jeans thankfully replacing the spandex).

This is a promo 45rpm 12" single that I suppose proclaims their raison d'être.

Barren Cross - Rock For The King

Go ahead, click on the picture: view it full size. I double dog dare you.

Where The Wild Things Were

In light of the excitement over the new Spike Jonze film adaptation of Maurice Sendak's Where The Wild Things Are I thought that I'd dredge up a musical memory out of the 1980's - 1986 to be exact.

Sea 7 States - Where The Wild Things Are


Technical note: this is one of the few Sea 7 States recordings that I did not do. This studio time was part of the prize package from winning the Service Merchandise Battle of the Bands. I would not have chosen on my own to put chorus on my bass for this song, nor would I have made cymbal a lead instrument.

Cossacks and Violence or, Casting a Wide Nyet

Russia - "[I]t is pertinent to remark that if it were not for the traditional music of this sprawling country, there would not have been the wonderful richness in the music of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, and all the other Russian composers whose works are now staples of our modern concert and operatic reertoire." (from the liner notes)

The Cossacks

Side One - Folk Songs

Stenka Razin

Song of the Volga Boatmen

Evening Bells

Legend of the 12 Robbers

Monotonously Rings the Bell

Along The Volga

Side Two - Liturgical Songs

Te Deum

May My Prayer Please Thee

Pater Noster

Blessed Be the Man

Credo

A Man and his Six-Milion Dollar Organ

Hard-bop/soul-jazz/acid-jazz organist Richard Arnold "Groove" Holmes offers up a disco/jazz version of the theme from The Six-Million Dollar Man (and seven others). I'm not sure what else I could add.

Richard Groove Holmes - Six Million Dollar Man

Disc-O-Mite (5:20)

Salsa De Alma (5:20)

Once Is Not Enough (3:26)

Dumpy Mama (4:45)

Six Million Dollar Man Theme (4:54)

Double Scale (4:11)

125th St. And 7th Ave. (3:37)

Mama's Groove (7:06)

Hmm, southern Italy, I suppose

Some have speculated that the reason that this 1954 album cover is an illustration rather than a photograph is that Dean refused to pose for it. It's also been suggested that initially label folks suggested that he pose for it in blackface. If correct, it's greatly to his credit that he refused. Regardless, it's a fairly innocuous romp though a 12-song set of songs associated with the south.

And yes, I have seen men walking the streets of Charleston dressed almost exactly like that.

Dean Martin - Swingin' Down Yonder
(This is not the greatest pressing. In retrospect, I probably should have wet-played it)

01. Carolina Moon
02. Waiting For The Robert E. Lee
03. When Its Sleepy Time Down South
04. Mississippi Mud
05. Alabamy Bound
06. Dinah
07. Carolina In The Morning
08. Way Down Yonder In New Orleans
09. Georgia On My Mind
10. Just A Little Bit South Of North Carolina
11. Basin Street Blues
12. Is It True What They Say About Dixie

Cheating Under The Covers Again

Here's another nice compilation of covers that I didn't assemble. It's a 1976 cassette entitled "The Songs of John Lennon and Paul McCartmey performed by the World's Greatest Rock Artists."

I won't even begin to try to quibble with the "World's Greatest" designation - that's always open to debate - but I hardly think that Helen Reddy, The Brothers Johnson, Frankie Lane, and the London Symphony Orchestra count as rock.

Regardless, it's still a good listen.

Artists in order:

The Four Seasons

Helen Reddy

Frankie Lane

The Brothers Johnson

Roy Wood

The Bee Gees

Status Quo

Leo Sayer

Henry Gross

Peter Gabriel

Tina Turner

Wil Malone and Lou Reizner

The London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra