Wednesday, September 30, 2009

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)

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




Tuesday, September 29, 2009

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.


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)

Thursday, September 17, 2009

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

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

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

Labels:

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

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