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Friday, September 17, 2010

Jackie Gleason - Rebound

Jackie Gleason Presents
Rebound
Capitol SW1075
1959

Gleason credits himself with the cover painting. According to the back cover, this is his 14th album.

This album is another fine understated effort that only Gleason seems to be able to pull off. The music drifts through both sides of the set creating a soothing atmosphere that is easy to get lost in.

101 Strings - A Bridal Bouquet

A Bridal Bouquet
101 Strings
Somerset SF-6400
1958

Great early 101 Strings cover of whacky little bride, who, several days after the wedding murdered her husband with a butcher knife.

Oh, come on... that never happened... but she does look a little  tense. Anything could happen.

The Disadvantages Of You - The Brass Ring

California Dreaming
The Disadvantages Of You
The Brass Ring
Phil Bodner
Dunhill D-50017
1967

One of Enoch Light's stable of musicians, Phil Bodner created a mid to late 60s sound known as The Now Sound. California Dreaming is an example of that light swinging vibe.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Lionel Hampton BIG Band

Lionel Hampton
Big Band
Cleff Records MG C-670
1955

Great space age cover on this vintage Hampton album. The music is big band heavy on the bachelor pad vibe.

This album was re-released as part of a two record set on Verve in 1982.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Taboo - Chief Walatghi And His Afro-Drummes


Facii (stereo)
Taboo
Exotic Rhythms Of The Jungle
Chief Walatghi and his Afro-Drummers
Silver Seal UT-139

This set, with artist credit removed, was also released on Promenade Records 2125. The back cover indicates that the Promenade record is a "Cawands's Group" project. The song titles are probably correct on that issue.

This is a terrific "jungle-drums/traditional vocal chant/exotica" set.

Arbaini
Charinde
How-nes
Lesha-Kai
Facii
Aboo
De Voo
Rejagee
Hope
Od Amit

Johnny Duffy - An Excursion In Hi-Fi

Moon Of Manakoora
Johnny Duffy
At The Magnificent Theater Pipe Organ
An Excursion In Hi Fi
Liberty SL 9003
1956

This is an interesting Liberty project. When you open the book-fold jacket you are met with not only a spread of copy and photos, but also a four page insert which tells the story of the organ that was used to make this recording. Another organist of note, the actor best remembered for his role as George Wilson on CBS's TV series Dennis The Menance, Joseph Kerns, had his house built around this organ which was purchased from Warner Brothers Studio in 1955. The insert features photos of the space age exterior and interior of the home along with additional photos of the organ. I can't find any mention online of the house.

The album isn't consistent conceptually but there are a few atmospheric tunes to enjoy and of course, there is the great jacket to collect.

From Billboard - December 22, 1956: A meticulous engineering job has been done on this waxing of performance by a superior organist on a superior instrument. For pipe organ enthusiasts the sound will frequently be a revelation. Duffy has chosen a well-balanced program, mostly standards plus a couple of his own compositions, which offer a sampling of his instrument's virtuosity in a variety of musical moods. This should be fine sales bait for lovers of pipe organ listening.

Port Au Prince
Cuban Love Song
Come Back To Sorrento
Cross Country
Moon Of Makakoora
Cornish Rhapsody
Moonlight On The Ganges
It Happened In Monterey
Autumn In Rome
Down The Old Ox Road
Pigalle
American Rhapsody

Cinemagic Sounds - Richard Hayman

Theme From The Killing Of Sister George
Cinemagic Sounds
Switched-On Movie Music
Richard Hayman And His Orchestra
Command ABC 941S
1969

After Enoch Light sold Command to ABC the quality of jacket design went down hill. Graphic design real estate is wasted on this book-fold. But the music is still awesome and the engineering is remains excellent.

This album falls towards the end of Hayman's discography.

Theme From The Killing Of Sister George
Theme From For The Love Of Ivy
Consider Yourself From Oliver
Magic Carpet Ride From Candy
Don't Rain On My Parade From Funny Girl
Theme From Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Theme From The Shoes Of The Fisherman
Listen To The Sea From Ice Station Zebra
Joanna's Waltz From Joanna
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds From Yellow Submarine
Theme From Take The Money And Run

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Lenny Dee - Hi-Dee-Fi

Hi-Dee-Fi
Lenny Dee
Organ Solos With A Beat
Decca Records DL 8406
1957

On of the many great graphic and whacky cover illustrations that you'll find gracing Lenny Dee's album jackets. This appears to be his 5th album release. Dee received a nice release blurb ("...sparkles as usual...") in the Feburary 2, 1957 issue of Billboard.

Typical Dee percussive style augmented with touches of space age vibe. Stormy Weather is a nice track, available as download from Amazon.

Pac-Man Fever

Pac-Man Fever
Buckner & Garcia
Columbia/CBS
1982

OK... this is the LP release of a popular novelty recording which featured songs about classic arcade games and uses sound effects from that game to help sell the tune. Apparently, the album was completely re-recorded for a 1999 and 2002 release.

The story (from Wikipedia) is that Buckner and Garcia could not obtain rights at that time from Sony and were forced to recreate a lot of the sound effects which disappointed many fans who then began a search for the original vinyl.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Korla Pandit - The Grand Moghul Suite - Part 1

The Grand Moghul Suite
Part 1
Korla Pandit
India Records
Korla Pandit Productions 1001
1971

Another terrific autographed Pandit album cover with a number of great exotica tracks on the inside.