Favorites of the Roaring Twenties

This is a great collection, dubbed from a cassete.  Fun music, optimistic in tone overall.

Here are the songs:

Favorites of the Roaring Twenties (60:01)

01. Fred Rich and His Orchestra - It All Depends on You (2:59)

02. Ben Selvin and His Orchestra - When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin’ Along (2:56)

03. Ben Bernie and His Orchestra  - Make Believe (2:27)

04. Harry Richman - Blue Skies (2:50)

05. Ben Selvin and His Orchestra - Ramona (3:13)

06. Don Voorhees and His Orchestra  - My Blue Heaven (3:22)

07. Abe Lyman’s California Orchestra - The Varsity Drag (2:43)

08. Eddie Walters - Makin’ Whoopee! (3:14)

09. Colonial Club Orchestra - You’re the Cream in My Coffee (3:16)

10. Regent Club Orchestra - Together (3:01)

11. Helen Kane - That’s My Weakness Now (3:37)

12. Ted Lewis and His Band - She’s Funny That Way (3:19)

13. Waring’s Pennsylvanians - Button Up Your Overcoat (3:00)

14. The Capitolians - You Were Meant for Me (2:40)

15. Franklyn Baur - With a Song in My Heart (3:01)

16. Fred Rich and His Orchestra - Singin’ in the Rain (3:16)

17. The Charleston Chasers - Ain’t Misbehavin’ (3:02)

18. Nick Lucas - Tip-Toe Thru’ the Tulips with Me (2:46)

19. Earl Burnett and His Orchestra - If I Had a Talking Picture of You (2:56)

20. Johnny Marvin - Happy Days Are Here Again (2:22)

And here is the link:   http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1DKXIKNS

Keep smilin'!

  

The Gift of Memories

More musical memories of a tail-end Baby Boomer.  Here are the songs:

1969

1         Give Peace A Chance                     John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band
2         Cinnamon Girl           Neil Young with Crazy Horse

1970

3         Without You             Badfinger
4         Make Me Smile (single version) Chicago
5 Lucky Man Emerson, Lake & Palmer
6 Let It Rain Eric Clapton
7 Temma Harbour    Mary Hopkin
8 Another Day    Paul McCartney

1971

9 Free Chicago
10 Vincent Don McLean
11 I Just Want to Celebrate    Rare Earth
12 Tongue In Cheek (single version) Sugarloaf

1972

13 From the Beginning Emerson, Lake & Palmer
14 Day by Day Godspell Cast; Robin Lamont
15 You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio Joni Mitchell

16 Young Americans David Bowie 1975

17 Falling Star Karla Bonoff    1977
18 Peek-A-Boo!   Devo 1982
19 Hold On Santana    1982
20 Goodbye To You Scandal 1982
21 On the Dark Side    John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band 1983

And here is the link:   http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7FEFG7D5

Merry Christmas!

Love Those Swingle Medleys!

The Swingle Singers have been around (with various staff changes) for decades.  Their signature bright, multilayered acapella sound really shines on these Christmas songs.  And where would they be without an audacious arranger?

Here are the songs:

1)  Sleigh Ride

2) A Visit from St Nicholas

3) Coventry Carol

4)  I Believe in Father Christmas

5)  Il est ne le Divin Enfant / Petit Papa Noel

6)  White Christmas

7)  Carol Medley

8)  Audete Gaudete

9) Frosty the Snowman

10)  Christmas Song

11)  Rockin' Rudolph

12) Christmas Medley

  Winter Wonderland

  Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town

  Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

13)  Twelve Days of Christmas

14)  Silent Night

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Here is the link:   http://www.megaupload.com/?d=HVBLL0DN 

 

Springtime in December

There may be a lot of you who first encountered Stravinksy's Rite of Spring when watching Fantasia.  That's the way it was with me!

While this is wild, raucous music at times, it always makes you look down your nose on those folks who rioted at the first performance, because it was so --- ODD.

Here are two transcriptions, one for piano, one for guitar.  Both will get your eyebrows rising, your fingers twitching, and maybe your shoulders bopping, too!

As included, here are the tracks:

Dickran Atamian - solo piano

Part One:  The Adoration of the Earth  (14:35)

1.         Intro - The Augurs Of Spring - Ritual Of Abduction -          Spring Rounds - Ritual Of The Rival Tribes - Procession       Of The Sage - The Sage - Dance Of The Earth

2.         Part Two:  The Sacrifice  (15:26)

           Intro - Mystic Circles Of The Young Girls - Glorification Of The Chosen One - Evocation Of The Ancestors - Ritual Action Of The Ancestors - Sacrificial Dance: The Chosen One

Larry Coryell  - solo guitar

3.         Part One:  The Adoration of the Earth (16:25).

            Introduction - Dance of the Young Maidens - Mock Abduction - Spring Rounds - Games of the Rival Tribes - Entry of the Wise Men - Kiss to the Earth - Worship      Dance of the Earth

 4.  Part Two:  The Sacrifice (18:48).

            Introduction - Mystical Circle of the Young Maidens - Glorification of the Chosen One - Evocation of the Ancestors - Sacrificial Dance

And here is the link:  http://www.megaupload.com/?d=G0ZHU4CP 

See you Monday with more Christmas music.

  

The Children of the Day Christmas Album

From 1975, here is a heartfelt and really well-produced album.  CLICK ALERT though -- I found it at the Goodwill a couple of months ago, and in some tracks the surface noise is REALLY noticeable.

After you listen to the songs, especially "For Unto Us a Child Is Born" from the Messiah, and remember that the group only had FOUR MEMBERS -- to paraphrase ol' Jerry Lee Lewis, there was a whole lot o' dubbin' goin' on!

Here are the tracks:

01. Joy to the World (1:18)

02. What Child Is This (2:22)

03. Angels We Have Heard on High (1:37)

04. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (2:26)

05. Oh Come, Oh Come Immanuel (2:49)

06. O Little Town of Bethlehem (2:24)

07. For Unto Us a Child Is Born (4:54)

08. Hark, the Herald Angels Sing (1:28)

09. Holy, Radiant Light (4:38)

10. He Is Born (1:31)

11. Deck the Halls (1:09)

12. Oh Come All Ye Faithful (1:54)

13. Silent Night / It That's Not Love / Oh Holy Night (6:56)

And here is the link:   http://www.megaupload.com/?d=TET3SC0Z

I'll have another album on Thursday.

 

The King of Elfland's Daughter

You know, I bet you could do a "Degrees of Christopher Lee" and get to ANYBODY pretty easily.  For example, he's the narrator of this 1977 album and "plays" The Elf King.  He even semi-SINGS a number.  Mary Hopkin is also on this.

So you could go from Christopher Lee to Mary Hopkin to the Beatles to almost anybody!

This is based on the wondrous 1924 book of the same name by Lord Dunsany.  My paperback cover is from Ballantine, and looks like this:

The writers of the album are  Bob Johnson and Pete Knight of Steeleye Span, and the musical style is a lot like Span's stuff of the time.

I encourage you to read this fun book.  It's not only charming and interesting to read, it's also one of those very accurate observations about some of our human foibles.  You see, the men of Eorl have decided that life is too ordinary and boring, so they ask their Lord to send their Lord's son to marry "The King of Elfland's Daughter," so liltingly portrayed by Mary Hopkin, and thus bring a bit of Elfland's magic to their humdrum lives.

Of course, by the end of the book, they realize that there is such a thing as "Too Much Magic," and wish they could just undo everything.

The album tells just bits of the story, so to get the full appreciation -- "the goodness of it 'ot" (to quote somebody -- TELL ME WHO!!!) you should really read the book as well as listen to this fun album.  Here are the tracks:

1. The Request (3.23)

2. Lirazel (4.11)

3. Witch (3.35)

4. Alveric's Journey Through Elfland (4.57)

5. The Rune of the Elf King (3.59)

6. The Coming of the Troll (1.53)

7. Just Another Day of Searching (5.09)

8. Too Much Magic (3.58)

9. Beyond the Fields We Know (4.29)



and here is the link:    http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CWQCAELM


   see you next week!

MA-42 - Happy Christmas Time

Here is a collection I’ve made of Christmas music from many different sources, from lounge to very traditional, from instrumentals to very important lyrics.

In Track 6, “Happy Birthday Jesus,” my friends Tim and Miranda, that that time known as Sparklepop, present a sadly true and cogent look at some of the same topics raised by Charlie Brown’s “commercial dog.”  They reappear under a more recent name as Seranova, for Track 24, a great version of a song from “Charlie Brown Christmas.”

On Track 17, VM of the Beatles Remixers Group overlays a chant from one of the Beatles Fan Club’s Christmas releases with “Flying” from Magical Mystery Tour, with the result being a fun (though not profound) new Christmas ditty.

Lots of retro, punchy fun comes along in Tracks 7, 13, and 15.

Once based out of Nashville, Fleming and John work their special magic on Track 19, an Elseworlds version of “Winter Wonderland.”

Track 25 is a great piece from Joan Baez’s 1960s album Noel, with instrumentation and arrangements by Peter Schickele of PDQ Bach fame.  The entire album is a moving assemblage of music.

Track 26, from “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” just wouldn’t be the same without that shouted “Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!”  -- so I inserted that but from the TV special into the song.

I tried to put together a mix of fast and slow, of reverent and joyous.  The collection is bookended by a rousing “Hark the Herald” and a stilling “Silent Night” from an wonderful album by Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

As I get ready for the arrival of Jesus’ birthday, I’m always struck by a combination of emotions.  On one side is thankful humility:  God loves me so much that he sent his Son to show that love!  On the other side is sorrow and shame, to realize the sacrifice that my sinful nature requires for expiation.

Join me in being thoughtful and thankful!

Here are the songs:

01. The Philadelphia Orchestra - Hark! the Herald Angels Sing (3:10)

02. The O.C. Supertones - Joy to the World (2:41)

03. Martin Denny - Exotic Night (2:16)

04. Georgia Kelly - Little Drummer Boy (4:22)

05. Chris Willis - Sweet Little Jesus Boy (4:00)

06. Sparklepop - Happy Birthday Jesus (3:37)

07. Capitol Studio Orchestra - Cha-Cha All the Way (2:19)

08. Teja Bell - Carol of the Bells (3:49)

09. Joan Baez - O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (2:58)

10. Sarah Masen - Heaven's Got a Baby (4:17)

11. The Philadelphia Orchestra - Away in a Manger (2:26)

12. Erin O'Donnell - I Need Christmas (3:49)

13. Claymation Christmas Celebration - We Three Kings Bop (2:50)

14. Elvis Presley - Here Comes Santa Claus (1:57)

15. Johnny Mercer - Jingle Bells (2:36)

16. Twila Paris - Silent Night (4:25)

17. The Beatles (VM) - Christmas Time Is Here Again (2:03)

18. The Drifters - White Christmas (2:38)

19. Fleming and John - Winter Wonderland (3:40)

20. Billy May - Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer Mambo (2:38)

21. Xmas! The Beatmas - Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree (2:31)

22. Five Iron Frenzy - You Gotta Get Up (2:27)

23. A Charlie Brown Christmas - Hark, the Herald Angels Sing (1:55)

24. Seranova - Christmastime Is Here (3:16)

25. Joan Baez - I Wonder as I Wander (3:53)

26. The Philadelphia Orchestra - Silent Night, Holy Night (3:16)

Here is the link:           http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5ZG5LSY7

And Track 22 is ONE OF MY FAVORITES!!!

  

"Beruhmte Ouverturen" Sounds So Classy

It means "Famous Overtures."  And they are!

1) William Tell Overture - Rossini

2) The Merry Wives of Windsor Overture - Nicolai

3) Tannhauser Overture - Wagner

4) The Bat Overture - Strauss Jr

(number 4 is better known, untranslated, as "Die Fledermaus.")

Here is the link:    http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ZGDM3MAT

 See you on Monday next.

Gipsy Band

Erno Kalli Kiss Jr is a big name in Gypsy Music, as far as I can tell.  This is another thrift store cassette treasure.  My heart always starts beating a little louder when I see a label and can't read it!  This means that adventure may await!

These are medleys of "Gipsy" tunes, I guess traditional Hungarian stuff.  What struck me, on listening, is that many of these selections sound to me like five-minute-long introductions that never "kick off" into an actual theme or melody!  It's kind of like a piano accompanist playing those glissando "vamps" but never getting around to the song.

Still, very interesting.  The track listings below are my transcriptions of the verr-rr-rry interesting titles from the cassette liner.  It seems to lose a lot without all the phonetic typesetting curlicues.  But you can see those on the CD insert back, where I've included the cassette label insert.

The Young Master Primas - Asztali Zene Es Czardasok

          

Artist: Erno Kallai Kiss jun. and His Gipsy Band

“Asztali Muzsika”

01 - Levelem, levelem - Mit keres a temetoben - De szeretnek en a regi kis falumba visszaterni

02 - Ne szidjadok soha engem - Kiballagok a vasuthoz - Azt mondjak a mennyorszagben

03- Ugye most mar tifeletek

04 - Leveles az erdo

“Csardasok”

05 - Lakodalom van a mi utcankban - Jon a tavasz, jon mar - Felrevagom a kalapom - Zold ablakos kicsi haz - Szeretem a cseresznyet - Koncert friss

06 - Hideg szel fuj, edesanyam - Hazam ereszere raszallott - Mikor kezdtem a ladamat pakolni - Orszaguton hosszu a jegenyesor - Koncert friss

07 - Ez a kislany most kezd nekem - Csak ugy mondom maganak - Libamaj, kacsamaj - Lore, lore - Hallod-e notas, futtyos kismadar

08 - Oreg czardas - Buzavirag, buzavirag - Paros elet a legszebb - Gyere velem kiskertembe

Here is the link:   http://www.megaupload.com/?d=90EBB5C6

See you next time!

  

It Makes Me Mellow

I couldn't help but think of the Elton John song when posting this CD.

When we first entered the CD age at our house, this was porbably number nine or ten in our collection.  Nowadays it's out-of-print.

For me this rates about a SIX on the ten-point nostalgia scale.  Here are the tracks:

Mellow Sixties (37:43)

01. Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl (3:09)

02. The Hollies - Carrie Ann (2:58)

03. Stone Poneys - A Different Drum (2:38)

04. The Lovin' Spoonful - Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind (2:00)

05. Association - Never My Love (3:12)

06. Joe Cocker - With A Little Help From My Friends (4:41)

07. The Mamas and the Papas - California Dreamin' (2:41)

08. The Rascals - A Beautiful Morning (2:35)

09. Oliver - Good Morning, Starshine (3:38)

10. The Turtles - She'd Rather Be With Me (2:17)

11. Arlo Guthrie - Coming Into Los Angeles (3:07)

12. The Fifth Dimension - Aquarius / Let The Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures) (4:48)

And here is the link:    http://www.megaupload.com/?d=D9R5BY9D

See you next Wednesday!

MA-26 - Break -Ins from Beyond

Along with the rising of mass media and a united pop culture in the twentieth century came a realization that folks might have shared the same experience as you, even if they hadn’t been WITH YOU.  In other words, two people might have seen the same silent movie, even though they lived in far-apart towns.  Hence,  “So’s your old man!” came to mean, “Shut up” or “I disagree with you,” by common reference to the WC Fields 1926 silent movie of the same title.


Similarly, Veronica Lake’s hair-over-one-eye look may have been sultry and attractive, even when emulated by thousands of women in the 1940s, but it also was dangerous when those same women were working in war plants during WWII and got their loose, sultry tresses caught in machinery, leading to injury and death.  Here’s a Youtube video concerning this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgpvKXLTwr8


When recorded music reached this same plateau (or valley, take your pick), then folks could start referring to hit records with the assurance that the listener would understand the reference.  That’s the whole idea behind sound-alike “cover” versions of pop tunes.  If the imitation sounded enough like the original, then the cover version could score some sales, riding on the coattails of the original hit record.


Then came along people with twisted senses of humor, like me.  They realized that this same familiarity with hit records meant that various catch-phrases could be cut out from the recording and reassembled, much like a newspaper-ad ransom note.


And thus the “break-in” record was born.  Ordinarily, such an assemblage would have the format of a narrator or an interview giving a leading statement that could then be “replied to” by a one-or-two-second segment from a song that was current enough that the hoped-for listener would recognize the clip, and get the joke – meanwhile marveling at the assembler’s creativeness, and eventually buying the break-in record.

Here’s my own assemblage of a bunch of these, as they relate to outer space and little green men, and the like.  Not all are break-ins, there are some more straight songs.


Here are the tracks:
1 -        Marty on the Planet Mars Part 1         Martty 1954
2 -        Marty on the Planet Mars Part 2         Martty 1954
3 -        Santa and the Satellite Part 1  Buchanan and Goodman        1957
4 -        Santa and the Satellite Part 2  Buchanan and Goodman        1957
5 -        Destination Love        Jan Davis         1958
6 -        The Outer Space Looters Part 1          The Mad Martians       1958
7 -        The Outer Space Looters Part 2          The Mad Martians       1958
8 -        Flying Saucer The 3rd Buchanan and Goodman        1959
9 -        Blast Off!        Jimmie Haskell and His Orchestra      1959
10 -      Comic Strip Rock N Roll        Robert Ashley 1959
11 -      Space Ship      Dickie Goodman         1960
12 -      Santa and the Touchables       Dickie Goodman         1961
13 -      Moon Gas       Dick Hyman and Mary Mayo 1963
14 -      The Flying Saucer       Chickenman      1966
15 -      Luna Trip        Dickie Goodman         1969
16 -      London, London         Ceatano Veloso           1971
17 -      Spaceship        Spontaneous Combustion         1973
18 -      Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft     Klaatu 1976
19 -      Hey ET            Dicklie Goodman        1982
20 -      The Martian Boogie    Brownsville Station    1977
21 -      The Ballad of William Robinson        Bill Mumy       1997
22 -      Return of the Flying Saucer    Jon Goodman  1997
23 -      I Took A Trip On A Gemini Spaceship          David Bowie      2002
24 -      UFO    Darryl Rhoades           2005
25 -      le flying saucer hat      Chairlift           2008
26 -      Flying Saucers Breakfast in Fur          2009


And here is the link:   http://www.megaupload.com/?d=X17GB074


As John Landis likes to say, SEE YOU NEXT WEDNESDAY!

Farewell to a King-Sized Sweetheart

Here’s what the Daily Oklahoman’s obit read

March 22, 1959 - October 28, 2011 MOORE Mark Lynn Barragar left this life to be with the Lord on Friday, October 28, 2011. He was born March 22, 1959 in Columbus, Kansas. He was the only child of Wallace and Loree Barragar. He graduated with the Capitol Hill High School Class of 1976. He spent most of his working life as a Master Control technician. Mark enjoyed a variety of pastimes, especially entertaining. Many people know Mark best by "Ranger Roger," the name he used when he hosted "Camp Kids Club" on KOKH (Channel 25) from 1991 to 1998. His most recent passion was as an Elvis "tribute artist" known as the "King-sized King." Mark married the love of his life, Yvonne, in 1981 and is the stepfather of Dru West of Chicago, IL; and Yevette O'Leary of Shawnee, OK; and is survived by them and his son-in-law, Michael O'Leary; and grandchildren, Turner, Kathryn, Ashlyn and J. Patrick. He was preceded in death by his parents, Wallace and Loree Barragar. A Memorial Service will be held at 11 a.m., Tuesday, November 1, 2011, at John M. Ireland Funeral Home Chapel, Moore, OK, under their direction.

I knew Mark since the 1990s.  He came to a ThunderCon in full Klingon regalia.  Believe me, you pay attention to a 6-foot-4 Klingon!

Mark had played the Frankenstein Monster on Count Gregore’s Sleepwalker’s Matinee on Channel 5.  In the 1990s he was “Ranger Roger” for Channel 25.  Later he became an Elvis tribute artist, “The King Size King.” 

in the 2000s, Joyce and I saw him perform as the King several times, once at Moore’s Yellow Rose Theatre, where we bought this CD.

In between, Mark had talked to me about having his own show as a horror host (probably based on Count Gregore and other hosts).  I wrote him a couple of scripts, and when Mark said his character would be Cyclopean, I suggested we name him Professor Eisingel (“Eye”+”single”, get it?)  Alas, nothing came of that.

You can find a few more tributes here:

http://www.thelostogle.com/2011/10/31/rip-ranger-roger/

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSlh=1&GRid=79691753&

As to his CD, here are the tracks:

1) 2001 / That's Alright Mama

2)  Hound Dog

3)  Treat Me Nice

4)  Love Me

5)  Follow That Dream

6)  Viva Las Vegas

7)  In the Ghetto

8)  Wonder of You

9)  American Trilogy

10)  I Can't Stop Loving You

And here is the link:   http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CT5EG86Q

See you next week!

Under the Halloween Tree

We end this Halloween season with a bit of gentle fun, John Debney's enchanting soundtrack to the 1994 telefilm The Halloween Tree.  It was based of course on Ray Bradbury's fun tour of Halloween origins, the volume of the same name.

Here are the tracks:

01. Main Titles

02. Our Costumes

03. Pip's House

04. The Note / The Ravine

05. The Funeral March / Stairs

06. The Marley Knocker

07. Meeting Moundshroud

08. Pip and the Tree

09. Where is Pip?

10. The Barn Poster Kite

11. Landing in Egypt

12. Feast of the Spirits

13. Through the Streets

14. The Tomb Chase

15. Mummies

16. Pip's Casket

17. Funeral Procession

18. Leaving Egypt

19. Medieval Festival / New Years'

20. Stonehenge

21. Broomsticks

22. Witches Hideout

23. "What's a Witch?"

24. Witches Chant

25. Burnings and Flight

26. The Construction Yard

27. Sanctuary

28. The Cathedral

29. The Whistle / Gargoyles

30. Gargoyle Chase pt. 1

31. Gargoyle Chase pt. 2

32. Next Stop, Mexico!

33. Candle-lit Graves

34. Gargoyles Dissipate

35. Sugar Candy Skulls / Piñata

36. The Catacombs / Pip Trapped

37. The Trade

38. Coming Back

39. Pip's Alive! / Moundshroud's Pumpkin

40. End Titles

And here is the link:     http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KEE70YEZ

And, as the butcher said when he sold me the empty frankfurter casing,

HAPPY HOLLOW-WEENIE!

You Heard it in Alien

When I first saw Alien in the theatre in 1979, I snuck out to the lobby after it ended and called my wife from a pay phone, telling her I was going to sneak back into the movie and watch it a second time -- which I did.  (No way would she have wanted to go to a scary movie!)

After all the frights and tension, it was most charming to sit back and watch the final few moments of the movie, as Lt Ripley relaxes into her well-earned hypersleep, to the accompanying sound of lush, almost decadent-sounding classical music, which continued into the end credits.

If you, too, were enraptured by this music, you can listen to it again here.  It's from Symphony 1, "Romantic," by American composer Howard Hanson.

This compilation contains his first and second symphonies, along with another piece that tickled my musical fancy when I heard it, Lament for Beowulf.  (Being an English major and all.)

Here are the selections:
Symphony No. 1, Op. 22 -
1) I. Andante solenne - Allegro con forza
2) II. Andante teneramente, con semplicita
3) III. Allegro con fuoco
4) Lament for Beowulf - Op. 25
Symphony No. 2, Op. 30 -
5) I. Adagio - Allegro moderato
6) II. Andante con tenerezza
7) III. Allegro con brio

Here is the link:   http://www.megaupload.com/?d=XTI5F5ON 

See you Monday to wrap up the Halloween Season!