About This Blog!

Our beloved Spock is featured in the header photo, taken in 1979. These are some of my LPs, themed compilations, and the like.

ALL LINKS 2015 & LATER SHOULD BE ACTIVE. If you find a dead FileFactory link, or for any other correspondence, send me an email; Blogger comments do not allow me to send YOU a reply. That’s msuperfan1956@gmail.com


Monday, May 30, 2011

45s & Favorites, Disc 2

You might have to be "of a certain age" to smile with fondness at these songs.  They are 45s I bought as they came out (yes, I am THAT OLD) or loved to listen to if they came on the radio.

Some are dubs of the actual 45 rpm, others are better recordings found elsewhere.

Here are the tracks:
1970
1 Mississippi Queen Mountain
2 Uncle Charlie and His Dog Teddy/Mr Bojangles Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
3 We Gotta Get You a Woman Todd Rundgren
1971
4 That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be Carly Simon
5 Walk Away James Gang
6 Tiny Dancer Elton John
7 Hocus Pocus Focus
8 Behind Blue Eyes The Who
1972
9 School's Out Alice Cooper
10 Rock And Roll Part 1 & 2 Gary Glitter
11 A Piece of Paper Gladstone
12 Back Off Boogaloo Ringo Starr
13 Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You) Stevie Wonder
14 Give Ireland Back to the Irish - instrumental - (Version) Wings
15 Early 1970 Ringo Starr
16 Mary Had a Little Lamb Wings
1973
17 You Light Up My Life Carole King
18 Back When My Hair Was Short -single version Gunhill Road
19 Rocky Mountain Way Joe Walsh
20 Under the Boardwalk Rickie Lee Jones - 1983
21 It's the Real Thing The New Seekers - 1971


Here is the link:    http://www.megaupload.com/?d=OVQ56XPK

And if you're wondering why you had The New Seekers singing Coke songs, it's because I picked up a freebie record at a record shop that had two 30-second Coke songs on one side and a minute-long Coke song on the other.  This was in 1971.  So I included the songs as a gentle reminder that this great music was brought to you by . . .

The Free Enterprise system.

I am really in love with the Carole King song included here.  It has NOTHING to do with the cloying Debbie Boone whine.  Carole King's song really resonated with me (and still does) -- I feel this kind of gratefulness for my wonderful wife.  "I didn't know how good life could be / Until you gave your love to me."  Mawkish? Maybe.  True?  ABSOLUTELY!

In the original issue of "Mr Bojangles" on 45 rpm, one side had only the song.  The other side of the single had the version "Uncle Charlie / Bojangles" given here.  It was lots of fun to play this on a jukebox and watch people's faces as Teddy the dog howled, and then the familiar guitar into to "Bojangles" kicked in, and all was semi-understood.

Friday, May 27, 2011

TREKonometry

Please be patient if you have found some nonworking links.  On Monday, if not before, new links will be put into the posts.

Today, you can OD on Trek music.  Here we have covers of Courage's ST themes, music from the films, and ABOUT Trek, too.

Here are the tracks:
1        The Galactic Force Band        Star Trek TV Theme
2        Gene Page Star Trek TV Theme
3        Gotham’s Greatest         Star Trek TV Theme
4        Gotham’s Greatest         STAR TREK: The Motion Picture Theme
5        Chris Holland        Star Trek TV Theme
6        Nichelle Nichols    Theme from Star Trek
7        Now Sound Orchestra    Ilia’s Theme from ST:TMP
8        Now Sound Orchestra    Star Trek II Theme
9        Now Sound Orchestra    ST:TMP Theme
10      Schnauzer Radio Orchestra    Star Trek TV Theme
11      The Charles Randolph Grean Sounde       Star Trek TV Theme
12      Orion Star Trek Tekkno
13      The Secret Agents         Star Trek TV Theme
14      Phil Reavis Star Trek TV Theme
15      Super Hero Orchestra    Star Trek TV Theme
16      Ettore Strata         Star Trek Suite
17      Ed Willett    Star Trek TV Theme
18      Wonderland Space Shuttle     Star Trek TV Theme
19      Laserlight Label   Star Trek TV Theme
20      Phil Woods Quintet        Star Trek TV Theme
21      London Philharmonic     Star Trek TV Theme
22      James Horner       The Search for Spock
23      Opie & Anthony    Star Trek Rhapsody
24      The Firm     Star Trekkin’

Here is the link:   http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6T898DXB  

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Edward MacDowell - Indian Suite

MacDowell was an American composer of the 19th century.  Here is a review of this album from the March, 1975 edition of Gramophone:


         MACDOWELL. Suite No. 2, Op. 48, "Indian Suite". Piano Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 29*. Westphalian Symphony Orchestra conducted by Siegfried Landau, with Eugene List (piano) on Concerto). Turnabout TV34535S (f1.29).
         MacDowell’s Second Piano Concerto has clung tenuously to a place in the catalogue.  The new version is played with plenty of dash by Eugene List who has himself already made a coupling of Nos. 1 and 2, though this new recording is not kind to the extremes of the piano register, nor to MacDowell’s skilled orchestration. List rattles off the scherzo exuberantly, though it is a movement of potentially more delicacy: comparisons with Mendelssohn would be invidious, but MacDowell is not the inferior of Litolff both in other aspects of the concerto and particularly in this deft little scherzo, a piece from the same stable as Litolff’s most famous movement. Elsewhere, there is a somewhat strenuous note in music that for all its Brahmsian apparatus is usually in spirit closer to Grieg.
The Indian Suite has also been popular, and has turned up before on records. The tunes are genuine, taken from a collection made by Theodore Baker, a pioneer of American musicology who gained a Leipzig D. Phil. for the first serious study of the music of the American Indians (he was later also the author of the exceedingly useful Biographical Dictionary of Musicians which has gone through five editions and remains in print). However, MacDowell felt obliged to make amendments to the tunes, in the words of his pupil Henry Gilbert (quoted in the sleeve-note) "in the direction of musical beauty, [but) enough of the original tune has been retained to leave no doubt as to its barbaric flavour." And there is the nub of it. These were still days when native melodies were prized for their glimpse of an exotic world — be it Indian, African, Central Asian, Japanese or whatever — but regarded as incompatible with Western music until tidied into shapes that could suit European harmony and compositional techniques. As Tchaikovsky was obliged to point out to Tolstoy, who sent him a set of corruptly arranged Russian tunes, the essence is thereby lost. In the present rapid growth of ethnomusicology, music’s accompanying discipline to the turn back towards a respect for primitive cultures, we set a better value upon genuine folk tunes, and thus MacDowell’s smooth settings can seem insipid; but it would be a mistake to dismiss them. They did help to arouse a real interest in indigenous American music; they did, through MacDowell’s excellent technique, encourage a greater respect for national composers at a time when America had few to offer; and by no means all of the settings are worthless. There is, especially in the fine Dirge, a poetic understanding of what is (whether part MacDowell or not) a fine melody of an original and moving kind. No expert on either MacDowell or American Indian music, I cannot say more; but listening in a purely amateur way, I felt strongly that even the more conventional war dance and festival reflected a proper sympathy with Indian music and culture, even if there is a long way to go before we reach the bitter, guilty understanding of that moving book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. In the light of all that is felt now, it is easy to wave MacDowell’s amiable platitudes aside; but it would be a mistake to do so when there is in the music an impressive measure of skill, warmth and understanding. J. W.


Here are the tracks on the record:

 

And here is the link:   http://www.megaupload.com/?d=TR6W4D9K


(apologies for some surface noise from the LP)

Now, I like the Suite more than  the Concerto.  I think it's kind of patronizing to the work that MacDowell did, to decry its lack of "purity" in regards to the Indian themes presented here.

Works like this suite by MacDowell, or Dvorak's Slavonic Dances, don't cheapen or trivialize the originals by changing them to attract a new audience.  A re-presentation honors the originals and brings new appreciation to the sources.

It's a fact that this music, while claiming inspiration from American Indian melodies, still sounds like Western Classical music.  Does that make it less pure or worthwhile, AS MUSIC?  No offense to the dozens of people now cranking out "Indian" music nowadays, but I would argue that MacDowell's work is just as valid as the stuff cranked out nowadays by folks with synthesizers and sampled drums (and sampled "Indian" chants!) who cater to New Age types.
Indian Suite (Suite No. 2), Op. 48

 01 - Legend        
02 - Love Song            
03 - In War-Time         
04 - Dirge          
05 - Village Festival      
     

Piano Concerto No. 2 In D Minor, Op. 23
Siegfried Landau

06 - 1 - Larghetto Calmato
07 - 2 - Presto Giocoso
08 - 3 - Largo - Molto Allegro

Monday, May 23, 2011

The Jazz All-Stars

I have a sneaking suspicion that "The Jazz All-Stars" was NOT the actual name of this recording group.  That's because when I listened to this other records, called Mission: Impossible, by "The Secret Agents," I heard the SAME performances.  Including the little flute misfire on "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." theme.

So here we the complete selections from both records, eliminating the duplicated tracks.
1 - Thunderball
2 - From Russia With Love
3 - The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
4 - Win, Lose or Spy
5 - Under Cover Agent Theme
6 - I Spy
7 - Ipcress File Theme
8 - Theme from The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
9 - The Saboteur
10 - Majorca Express
BONUS TRACKS
(as "The Secret Agents")
11 - Mission Impossible
12 - Theme from Star Trek
13 - Theme from Mannix


And here's the link:   http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YGCK0BRD  

 

Friday, May 20, 2011

Good Ol' Themes from U.N.C.L.E.


If you like spies (and I know you do), then you like The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

And if you like U.N.C.L.E., then you like the theme music.  Well, here you go.

From about ten or more various covers in the 1960s to differering versions heard on-the-air at different parts of the same season, this is a clump of U.N.C.L.E. music!  There are more than a dozen covers of Jerry Goldsmith's theme, plus a few 1960s recordings of incidental music arranged to help publicize the show.  And as for "official" versions of Jerry Goldsmith's GREAT theme:

For example, on-air, there were at least TWO different versions of the fourth-season theme, and at least THREE versions of the third-seaon theme.  I don't the musical "sting" extensions for guests stars, but variations on the saxophone or ogran or whatever "solos" that lasted only a few seconds in the middle bars.

"Psycho completists" like me notice things like that.  It's a validation of our beliefs that surely SOMETHING in this big confusing world is knowable.  It's like the guy who knows all the stats of his favorite team.  At least he's accomplished at this one thing!

Yeah, that's a part of it.  But also, listening to music from your favorite shows or movies is also a way to bring back all the good memories that go along with the show.  Kind of like looking at a photo of your favorite uncle.

Here are the tracks:
1 First Season Main Title revised Original television score 0:55
2 First Season End Title Original television score 1:14
3 Man from U.N.C.L.E. Theme Roland Shaw and His Orchestra 2:36
4 "The Deadly Decoy Affair" Main Title Original television score 1:135 The Man from Thrush Lalo Schifrin 2:55
6 Roulette Rhumba Lalo Schifrin 2:06
7 Man from U.N.C.L.E. Theme Dick Hyman 2:29
8 To Trap a Spy - Meet Mr. Solo-End Title Original film score 1:54
9 Man from U.N.C.L.E. Theme The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Other TV Themes 1:43
10 Illya The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Other TV Themes 2:30
11 Night People The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Other TV Themes 2:37
12 Second Season Main Title (arr Lalo Schifrin) Original television score 0:36
13 Second Season End Title (arr Lalo Schifrin) Original television score 0:48
14 Man from U.N.C.L.E. Theme New Original TV Themes 3:09
15 Man from U.N.C.L.E. Theme Hugo Montenegro 1:59
16 Man from U.N.C.L.E. Theme Al Caiola 2:00
17 One of Our Spies Is Missing Main Title Original film score 3:07
18 Third Season Main Title (arr Gerald Fried) Original television score 0:30
19 Third Season End Title (arr Gerald Fried) Original television score 0:38
20 Man from U.N.C.L.E. Theme Teddy Randazzo 1:33
21 Man from U.N.C.L.E. Theme The Challengers 1:38
22 One Spy Too Many Main Title Original film score 2:49
23 "The Candidate's Wife Affair"  Main Title Original television score 0:2824 Man from U.N.C.L.E. Theme The Jazz All-Stars 2:07
25 The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. Main Title Original television score 0:33
26 The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. End Title Original television score 0:39
27 The Spy in the Green Hat Main Title Original film score 2:08
28 "The Five Daughters Affair" Original television score 0:4129 Man from U.N.C.L.E. Theme Billy Strange 2:28
30 Fourth Season Main Title Original television score 0:31
31 Fourth Season End Title Original television score 0:36
32 The Karate Killers Main Title Original film score 0:29
33 Man from U.N.C.L.E. Theme Swingin' Themes for Secret Agents 2:21
34 The Helicopter Spies Main Title Original film score 2:02
35 Man from U.N.C.L.E. Theme The Man from UNCLE Cult TV Classics 2:41
36 Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. Main Title Original film score 1:17
37 Man from U.N.C.L.E. Theme Man or Astro-Man? 1:31
38 Love Ya Illya Alma Cogan 2:27
39 Man from Uncle Moskow 3:30


And here is the link:   http://www.megaupload.com/?d=HJN2CXX6


 Also included is a two-page legal-sized insert with notes on every track.  Have fun!  And if you know of any OTHER "covers" of the theme, or songs referring to the show, let me know!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Paganini Caprices

I've heard three or four versions of the astounding violin Caprices by Nicala Paganini.  But none is as fun and creepy as this version, dubbed from the LP listed on the CD front.  Ruggiero Ricco rules!

The Caprices were intended as virtuosic showpieces, like some of Liszt's works.

Also included (from another recording) is the so-called Caprice 25, the "Farewell" Caprice.  Have fun!

1. Andante 1:46
2. Moderato 2:09
3. Sostenuto 2:27
4. Maestoso 5:02
5. Agitato 2:12
6. Lento 4:31
7. Posato 2:53
8. Maestoso 2:27
9. Allegretto 2:22
10. Vivace 2:04
11. Andante 3:43
12. Allegro 2:25
13. Allegro 2:17
14. Moderato 1:48
15. Posato 2:16
16. Presto 1:22
17. Sostenuto 3:02
18. Corrente 2:15
19. Lento 2:24
20. Allegretto 3:54
21. Amoroso 2:56
22. Marcato 2:10
23. Posato 2:48
24. Tema con variazione 3:56
25. Caprice d'adieu: Allegro moderato 2:56


Here is the link:   http://www.megaupload.com/?d=MJZFV0E0

  

Monday, May 16, 2011

From Russia With Love

It's music with a bang from Si Zentner!  This is another of the 1960s spy cash-in albums.

Here are the tracks:  

01 - The James Bond Theme
02 - Burke’s Law Theme
03 - Mr Lucky
04 - Dragnet
05 - The Third Man Theme
06 - Peter Gunn
07 - From Russia With Love
08 - M Squad Theme
09 - Charade
10 - Bond’s “007” Theme
11 - The Man With the Golden Arm
12 - The Fugitive Theme



Here is the link:   http://www.megaupload.com/?d=76YHDP8Z

Stick 'em up!

 

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Records from Regulus

In our never-ending battle to share records from the popular culture to the topic of Flying Saucers and the Space Race, we bring you Records from Regulus.


Here are the tracks:
1 Man from Mars Ferrante and Teicher 1955
2 Those Funny Little Saucers in the Sky Dr Danny Hart of the Church of Soul-Truth 1958
3 Take Me to Your Leader Cha Cha Cha Sam Space and the Cadettes 1958
4 What Do You Hear from the Red Planet Conried-Pearce 1959
5 The Girl from the Fourth Dimension Sheldon Allman 1960
6 Space Mice Walter Brennan 1960
7 Sky Men Geoff Goddard 1963
8 Hootenanny on Mars Randy Starr and the Merry Martians 1964
9 You Came from Outer Space The Kirby Stone Four 1964
10 Mr Spaceman The Byrds 1966
11 The Invaders Are Here Mike Adkins 1967
12 Urban Spaceman Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band 1968
13 Space Oddity David Bowie 1969
14 It Came Out of the Sky Creedence Clearwater Revival 1970
15 Space Buggy Asleep At The Wheel 1973
16 I've Seen the Saucers Elton John 1974
17 Flying Saucer Attack The Rezillos 1977
18 The Flying Saucer Man and the Truck Driver Red Simpson 1979
19 Thing from Another World Marlin Wallace 1981
20 Rocket Ship Kathy McCarty 1988
21 I Saw Elvis in a U.F.O. Ray Stevens 1989
22 Humans From Earth T-Bone Burnett 1991
23 Background Background 2000
24 I Want an Alien for Christmas Fountains of Wayne 2005
25 Heck, I'd Go Maria Muldaur 2006
26 Flying Saucer U F O with Dee Dee Bridgewater 2006



I must say that this is some fun stuff, and I hope you like it.

Here is the link:    http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8SG6CXMZ 

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Harpsichord Variety

Some say that familiarity breeds contempt, but I beg to differ sometimes.  In the case of this music, familiarity brings content, as in contentment.

Now, most of these pieces are untitled.  All of them were dubbed from the radio a long time ago.  But there's something about a harpsichord's tinkling that, to me, suggests merriment and a little bit of restraint.

There are 19 tracks, only two of which I have labeled as works from the "Well-Tempered Clavier."  A few more of them are doubtless by Bach as well.

If you want a little merriment, here is the link:    http://www.megaupload.com/?d=R6LAIDRF    

Monday, May 9, 2011

45s and Favorites,1


Here are some of the singles I bought in my teen years.  A few are recordings of the same songs that I found for inclusion here, when my originals were too scratched up.

I am happy to include on the cover the Lenon/Ono record.  Not so much for the songs, but for the clever photo retouching that morphed Lennon into Ono.  According to Wikipedia, the two songs on both sides of the record were recorded live, on the Dick Cavett show, in May 1972.

Here are the songs:
1 Buy the World a Coke The New Seekers 1971
1970
2 Amazing Grace Judy Collins
3 House at Pooh Corner Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
4 Anticipation Carly Simon

1971
5 Levon Elton John
6 Long Ago and Far Away James Taylor
7 Brown Sugar The Rolling Stones
8 Legend in Your Own Time Carly Simon
9 Joy to the World - single version Three Dog Night
10 What the World Needs Now + Abraham Martin and John Tom Clay
11 Roundabout Yes
1972
12 Cover of The Rolling Stone Dr. Hook
13 Back When My Hair Was Short - original version Gunhill Road
14 Woman Is the Nigger of the World John Lennon Plastic Ono Band
15 All The Young Dudes Mott The Hoople
16 Give Ireland Back to the Irish Wings
17 Sisters O Sisters Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band
18 Little Woman Love Wings
19 I Saw The Light Todd Rundgren
20 Little Bit of Sunshine The New Seekers 1971




And here is the link:   http://www.megaupload.com/?d=MIBB447J 
 
Even when I know what the songs are, I still smile when I hear these songs! I hope you do too.

Friday, May 6, 2011

The Best of Scott Joplin et al

When doing a tiny percentage of the work needed to clean out my parents' home, I took it upon myself (with big brother Robert's OK) to toil in the fields of music.  I took six boxes of cassettes, LPs, VHS, and others to the Goodwill.  But I kept a few.  One was this record.

This is the second time I've "borrowed" it from Mom.  The first time was in 1979, where it can in fact be seen at the top of this page, behind Spock and his earphones.

Now, for some reason the CD release of this leaves out 4 or 5 selections.  Here, I have included them all, although one or two have been replaced with other performances due to skips on the LP.

This is such thoughtfully happy music!  (Kind of like Mom and Dad)  The first LP is performed by Max Morath solely, and the second is with the Original Rag Quartet.

Here are the Tracks:

01 - Original Rags  - 4:04
02 - Scott Joplin's New Rag - 3:19          
03 - Euphonic Sounds - 3:28
04 - Hilarity - 2:43
05 - Country Club - 4:29
06 - American Beauty - 3:39
07 - St. Louis Rag - 2:33
08 - Cottontail Rag - 3:49
09 - Patricia Rag - 2:29
10 - Silver Swan - 3:42
11 - Quality      - 2:34
12 - Elite Syncopations - 3:36
13 - Gladiolus Rag - 3:46
14 - The Cannon Ball - 2:06
15 - The Entertainer - 3:06
16 - Slippery Elm - 2:40
17 - A Real Slow Drag - 3:04
18 - Ragtime Nightingale - 3:21
19 - The Ragtime Dance - 4:20
20 - Alabama Jigger - 2:22
21 - The Cascades - 3:11
22 - Swipesy Cake Walk - 3:14
23 - Russian Rag - 2:27
24 - Grace and Beauty - 2:46
25 - Polyragmic - 2:59
26 - Carrie's Gone to Kansas City - 2:19



BURN NOTICE:  These pieces will ALL fit on ONE CD, but ONLY if you burn the disc with NO PAUSE between selections.

Here is the link:   http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CBVA23NG

enjoy.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

The Disco Wizard of Oz

The ONLY use I have for disco is when it's used on novelty records.  Like "Disco Duck," or when used in arrangements of OTHER things like Star Trek or ... The Wizard of Oz.

You know, sometimes when you see something in a thrift store, you HAVE to have it.  Like Monday's entry of Silent Movie music.  Well, that happened here, too.

There's one track per LP side, with songs flowing together in a big, mashed-up medley style:

01 - Over The Rainbow / Cyclone / Munchkinland / Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead / Munchkinland (Again) / We're Off To See The Wizard (The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz)
02 - Poppies / The Spell / Optimistic Voices / The Merry Old Land Of Oz / The Haunted Forest / March Of The Winkies / Dorothy's Rescue / If I Were King Of The Forest / Over The Rainbow / The Reprise



Here's the link:    http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LLMZYFCS 

Enjoy the cheesey arrangements of wonderful music!

Monday, May 2, 2011

A Mighty Wurlitzer

Here we have music originally played to accompany silent movies.

Surely you know that, when motion pictures were big and new, theatres had orchestras, organs, and piano accompanists to the silent films.  Sometimes scores were composed specifically for films (you can search and find a contemporaneous Metropolis score online).  When more than one or two players accompanied a movie, either this, or preselected music would be used, to keep everybody on the same page.

More often the soloist on piano or organ would have a mental repertoire of appropriate selections and, after watching the film once or twice, be able to improvise and string together these melodies to match the onscreen antics.

This album is a selection of the pieces that were more popular, found at a Salvation Army store last month.  Here are the tracks:

01 - The Perfect Song
02 - The Merry Widow Waltz
03 - Jeannine, I Dream of Lilac Time
04 - Old Ironsides
05 - Charmaine
06 - Little Mother
07 - Wonderful One
08 - Diane
09 - Angela Mia
10 - Estrellita
11 - Westward Ho!
12 - Marie
13 - Ramona
14 - The Big Chase


And here is the link:   http://www.megaupload.com/?d=P0VK4ASY

If somebody asks, I can scan the back cover and share the liner notes.