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

Like, that's so random

We occasionally get donations of various record-type items from patrons. Usually these are LPs, but last week we received a big stack of 7" 45s. I threw them in a pile, mixed them up, and grabbed a handful to make this hour-long mix.

I enjoy this strange mix from top to bottom - no wonder no one lets me get near to programming a radio station these days.

RandomSingles01

I suggest that for maximum "huh?" impact you should listen to it before looking at the track list at the bottom of the post (which is helpfully provided as a link only to reduce initial temptation to peek).

Since there's no album, and hence no album cover, here are some scans of some of the sleeves and discs. I especially like the Dot Records sleeve that promotes some of their other releases.




Track List