Marking Walpurgis Night

Walpurgis Night used to be marked in Central Europe on April 30th, bleeding into May Day.  Maypoles are surviving relics of the phallic/reproductive origins of this pre-Christian practice.   It has a popular cultural image of wild, orgiastic witches' sabbaths in graveyards, and the like.   But basically, it's a celebration of Spring's arrival.

Mendelssohn's wonderful piece Die Erste Walpurgisnacht ("The First Walpurgisnacht") takes a very sarcastic and tongue-in-cheek perspective on WHY Walpurgis Night is perceived as being so very naughty.  In this orchestral/vocal work, a bunch of lovable hedonists are having a loud party after dark when a couple of stupid and credulous "Christians" hear all the noise and become frightened, running away and telling everybody that it's the devil.

For me, it's just an excuse to put together some fun and creepy music in a compilation to share.  So, if you want to listen to this music after dark tonight, try not to play it so loud you'll raise the dead . . .

Here are the tracks:

1 - CBS Specials - Intro Morton Stevens
2 - The Thing Curtis and The Creepers
3 - Keep Them Cold Icy Fingers Off of Me - Pee Wee King & His Golden West Cowboys
4 - Let Sleeping Monsters Sleep - John Wayne Shot Me
5 - Voo Doo Juice - The Ghouls
6 - The Haunted House - Sam the Sham
7 - Slide Her Under the Door - Moses Longpiece
8 - The Green Monster - The Alberto Combo
9 - Haunted Haze - Chris Kevin
10 - Jole Blon's Ghost - Wayne Raney
11 - The Skeleton Dance - Carl Stalling
12 - Mr. Ghost Goes To Town - Zeke Manners & His Swing Billies
13 - Pet Sematary - The Ramones
14 - Sambra Macabre - Harry Breue
15 - Grave Robber at Large - Creature Feature
16 - Do the Zombie - The Symbols
17 - Haunted House - Creed Taylor Orchestra
18 - Laurie - Dickey Lee
19 - Rockin' Bones - Ronnie Dawson
20 - Man Eating Plant - Creepy Clyde
21 - Morgus the Magnificent - Dr John
22 - Alfred Hitchcock Presents - Ralph Marterie and His Marlboro Men
23 - Graveyard Blues - Earl Fuller
24 - Ghost Train - The Corillions
25 - Ghosts from Boot Hill - Hellbender
26 - The Ghost - George Formby
27 - Skeleton Jangle - Original Dixieland Five
28 - Scary Skeleton - Sue Schnitzer
29 - Bogey Wail - Jack Hylton

 And here is the link:    http://www.megaupload.com/?d=J3CRSRE3

 

Twilight Zone - The Movie

This 1983 film was infamous for its uneven segments, and Joe Landis's segment that resulted in the unnecessary death of actor Vic Morrow.  But it should be celebrated as one of Jerry Goldsmith's finest fantasy scores.

This particular compilation is the result of a lot work by other folks, and a little work by me.  The song "The Midnight Special," of course, opens the film, and here it is edited for length to reflect the length of the version heard in the movie.  We also have the TZ theme as heard in the film, narrated by old TZ stand-by Burgess Meredith, who also provided voiceover narration for the entire film.

The other "pop" songs are all from the first segment, "Time Out," which includes music heard on the bar jukebox, and Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze," heard in the Vietnam sequences.

Another fan put together the cartoon music added into the "It's a Good Life" segment.  After the ending segment, which includes the FOURTH rendition of Marius Constant's theme heard in this 2-CD set, we have shortened versions of the music as heard on the original 1983 soundtrack album, which incidentally used the end credits music as an "Overture."

So, here is the 2-CD complete Twilight Zone: The Movie music.

Disc 1 link:   http://www.megaupload.com/?d=UJEES6TO

Disc 1 tracks:

1) The Midnight Special (performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival) (Edit) 2:36
2) Main Title - Twilight Zone Theme (Marius Constant) 0:44

Time Out
3) Nights Are Forever (performed by Jennifer Warnes) 3:36
4) Time Change - Questions - The Ledge 4:03
5) Anesthesia (performed by 312) 3:01
6) The KKK 2:34
7) Purple Haze 3:00
8) Yellow Star 1:21Kick the Can
9) Harp and Love 1:2710) Weekend Visit 1:32
11) Kick the Can 0:36
12) Night Games 1:54
13) Young Again - Take Me With You - A New Guest 10:09

Disc 2 link:  http://www.megaupload.com/?d=0RI01G5H 
Disc 2 tracks:
It's a Good Life
1 I Remember - The House 2:30
2 Mouse Wreckers (Carl Stalling) 2:12
3 Bimbo's Initiation I  (Sammy Timberg) 0:254 The Picture 0:34
5 Bimbo's   Initiation II (Sammy Timberg) 0:306 The Sister 0:36
7 Cartoon Collage ( Carl Stalling) 4:57
8 Cartoon Monster 3:06
9 That's All, Ethel 1:4610 Cartoon Music 1:25
11 Teach Me - No More Tricks 3:53

Nightmare at 20,000 Feet12 Cabin Fever - Nervous Pills 2:37
13 No Smoking 2:07
14 On the Wing 1:20
15 A Face in the Window 2:09
16 Hungry Monster - Engine Failure 1:36
17 Twilight Zone Theme - End Credits (Overture) 5:55

Alternates 18 Time Change - Questions - The Ledge (Album Edit) 3:02
19 Young Again - Take Me With You - A New Guest (Album Edit) 5:02
20 Cartoon Monster - That's All, Ethel (Album Edit) 4:2821 On the Wing - A Face in the Window - Hungry Monster - Twilight Zone Theme (with Voiceover) (Album Edit) 4:58


Th-th-th-That's all, folks!

Goin' Fission!

With great power comes great responsibility.  With atomic power comes greater responsibility.  No one can predict an earthquake and tsunami is going to wipe out your reactors.  And if such a thing happens, then there are plenty of doom-sayers who are going to crow, "I told you something bad was going to happen."

Well, some of these people are crooning in tune, and you can listen to them here in this latest compilation of mine.

Here are the songs:

1       Jesus Is the First Line of Defense   Pilgrim Travellers          1951

2      Atomic Kisses  Earney Vandagriff         1955

3       Hydrogen Bomb       The Laurels        1961

4      The War Drags On  Mick Softley      1965

5      Atom and Evil  General Electric       1966

6      Please Don't Drop That H-Bomb on Me  Country Joe & The Fish      1967

7       Wooden Ships   Jefferson Airplane         1969

8      Political Science       Randy Newman       1972

9      Nuclear Babies Oingo Boingo     1980

10    Let's All Make a Bomb   Heaven 17   1981

11    Run Like a Villain Iggy Pop       1982

12    World Suicide  Defuser        1983

13    Uranium Rock The Cramps        1983

14    Surfin' USSR    Ray Stevens        1988

15    The Bomb    Lifesavers Underground    1992

16    Atomic Power  Uncle Tupelo     1994

17    The Bomb Inside the Bomb          We Are Scientists    2002

18    Nuclear Blues   Frances Plante-Scott      2004

19    Bomb.Repeat.Bomb.1954     Ted Leo and the Pharmacists          2007

20   Atomic Bomb    Brian Butler      2008

21    Atom and Evil song         Heaven and Hell       2009

22   Atom Bomb Blues   The Naptown Jug Busters  2009

And here is the link:   http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DCVGU2WZ 


 

An Orgy with Your Organ

Here are transcriptions of some of Richard Wagner's most thundering works, performed big and loud on organ.

These are the selections:
1. Ride of the Valkyries
2. Parsifal Prelude
3. Meistersinger Overture
4. Wotan's Farewell and Magic Fire Music
And here is where the music link is:   http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4E7MIHHT

 

Dracula's Deuce

This is a vintage 1960s monster cash-in album, another great bit of work that is "no longer available" from places like CD Universe and Amazon.  It's a lot of fun.

Here are the tracks:
1. Dracula's Deuce
2. Dracula's Theme
3. Little Old Lady from Transylvania
4. Weird Wolf
5. Be True to Your Ghoul
6. Shake, Rattle and Rot
7. Monsterbilly Heaven
8. Blood and Butter
9. The Graveyard Shift
10. Voo Doo Juice
11. Bela Be Good
12. Coffin Nails

And here is the link:   http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CKTYW6SI

Until next time, Be true to your ghoul while you Shake, rattle, and rot!
 

They All Played the Maple Leaf Rag

That's the title of the LP that forms the core of this compilation -- 15 different versions of Scott Joplin's signature tune.

Here we have a total of 27 performances, from the US Marine Band in 1906 to a solo fuzz-guitar version in 2007.  Enjoy a ragtime overdose! (that sounds like a William Bolcom music title, "The Ragtime Overdose")

Here are the tracks/performances:
1 United States Marine Band 1906
2 Vess L Ossman w/Prince's Band
3 Scott Joplin (Piano Roll) 1916
4 WC Handy Orchestra 1917
5 Willie Eckstein 1923
6 Halfway House Orchestra 1925
7 Harry Snodgrass 1926
8 Vera Guilaroff 1926
9 Bechet's New Orleans Feetwarmers
10 Earl Hines & Orchestra 1934
11 Tommy Dorsey & Orchestra 1936
12 Jelly Roll Morton (New Orleans Style) 1938
13 Jelly Roll Morton (St Louis Style) 1938
14 Hank Duncan 1944
15 James P Johnson 1946
16 Don Ewell 1949
17 Ralph Sutton w/Condon's Band
18 Joe "Fingers" Carr
19 Willie "The Lion" Smith
20 Paul Lingle 1958
21 The Spotnicks 1964
22 Eubie Blake 1969
23 E. Power Biggs - pedal harpsichord 1973
24 Emerson, Lake & Palmer 1978
25 Trittico Trio 1995
26 4brass 2004
27 Dan Sindel 2007

And here is the link:    http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5AN13HRT

 

Sunday Morning Hymns of Worship

Back when I had a job (*sigh*) and had to work on Sundays, listening to this CD helped rearrange my perspective -- thankful to be alive, thankful to have a job where I could help others.

I bet you'd love to buy this CD -- except I haven't found it listed anywhere, to share its listing with you.  So if you download it and like it, put $5 into the offering plate at church this Sunday.  And every other week, too, if you think about it!

Here are the songs on this CD:

01 Worship The King 03:10
02 All Creatures Of Our God And King 03:42
03 I Sing The Mighty Power Of God 02:44
04 I Am His And He Is Mine 03:13
05 This Is My Father's World 02:16
06 The Lord's My Shepherd 03:41
07 Guidance Medley 03:14
O God, Our Help In Ages Past
Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
08 Of The Father's Love Begotten 02:18
09 Jesus Shall Reign 02:56
10 My Faith Has Found A Resting Place 03:13
11 All Glory, Laud, And Honor 03:19
12 Jesus, The Very Thought Of Thee - A Meditation 02:52
Sun Of My Soul
Jesus, The Very Thought Of Thee
Fairest Lord Jesus
13 And Can It Be 04:57
14 When I Survey 04:00
15 The Solid Rock 03:03
16 Come, Everyone That Is Thirsty 03:11
17 Crown Him! Medley
Crown Him With Many Crowns
Lead Me To Calvary
Look, Ye Saints! The Sight Is Glorious
18 Jesus Paid It All 02:58
19 O For A Thousand Tongues 02:00
20 Give Me Jesus 02:29
21 Our Great Savior 03:37
22 Fill Thou My Life, O Lord My God 02:55
23 Ye Servants Of God 02:58
24 Praise God, From Whom All Blessing Flow 01:06 04:29
And here is the link:   http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CHBLW0PM

 

Jun'gala

I don't know anything about Marty Wilson except that his album can help bring out the tiger in you, and I don't mean Tony!

These are the tracks:

1) Jungle Fantasy
2) Taboo
3) Misty Poo
4) Passion
5) Enlloro
6) Babalu
7) Harlem Nocturne
8) Champs de Cuba
9) Yumba Murumba
10) Manteca

(and yes, there are whole mobs of people, with nine-year-old brains, giggling to themselves all over the internet about the title to Track 3)

And here is the link:   http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6IHK4FY1

 

 

Vaughan Williams' "The Springtime of the Year"

For me there is something deeply affecting about the these folk songs of England, collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams and arranged here.  This is a Musical Heritage Society LP I bought in the early 1980s, with my own graphics.

These are the songs:
Five English Folksongs
1) The Dark-Eyed Sailor
2) The Springtime of the Year
3) Just as the Tide Was Flowing
4) The Lover
5) Wassail Song

6) Bushes and Briars
7) Loch Lomond
8) John Dory
9) Greensleeves
10) Ward, the Pirate
11) Ca' the Yowes
12) The Unquiet Grave
13) The Seeds of Love
14) Early in the Spring
15) The Turtle Dove
16) An Acre of Land
And here is the link:   http://www.megaupload.com/?d=381403RK

 

Swingin' Sounds for Secret Agents

You can't beat an album that includes the ol' Velvet Fog, Mr Mel Torme himself, singing "Secret Agent Man."

Here are the tracks:
1) Percy Faith - Thunderball
2) Mel Torme - Secret Agent Man3) Village Stompers - From Russia With Love
4) John Barry - The James Bond Theme
5) David Lloyd - 007
6) Bobby Vinton - Goldfinger
7) John Barry - Ipcress File
8) Ray Conniff - Third Man Theme
9) David Lloyd - On Her Majesty's Secret Service
10) Orchestra U.S.A. - The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

And here is the link:   http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7TNOOP36

 

Times Square OST

And where were YOU the first time you heard "I Want to Be Sedated" by the Ramones?  I was watching the movie Times Square on Cinemax.

Later I bought the soundtrack album.  Only a few tracks sounds dated to me.  A couple of them are part of the film's plotline, such as "Your Daughter Is One."

These are the tracks:
01. Rock Hard - Suzi Quatro
02. Talk of the Town - The Pretenders
03. Same Old Scene - Roxy Music
04. Down In the Park - Gary Numan
05. Help Me! - Marcy Levy & Robin Gibb
06. Life During Wartime - Talking Heads
07. Pretty Boys - Joe Jackson
08. Take This Town - XTC
09. I Wanna Be Sedated - The Ramones
10. Damn Dog - Robin Johnson
11. Your Daughter Is One - Robin Johnson & Trini Alvarado
12. Babylon's Burning - The Ruts
13. You Can't Hurry Love - D.L. Byron
14. Walk On the Wild Side - Lou Reed
15. The Night Was Not - Desmond Child & Rouge
16. Innocent, Not Guilty - Garland Jeffreys
17. Grinding Halt - The Cure
18. Pissing In the River - Patti Smith Group
19. Flowers In the City - David Johansen & Robin Johnson
20. Damn Dog (Reprise - The Cleo Club) - Robin Johnson
And here is the link:    http://www.megaupload.com/?d=739VRHCD

 

More Themes from James Bond

This particular CD is my own compilation from a several sources.  As sometimes happened in the 1960s, you could finds the same piece of music -- the same take and the same arrangement -- on more than one album.

I found several Roland Shaw albums with this aspect and collapsed them, eliminating the duplicates.  The cover art is my own devising.

These tracks are on this compilation:
1) Diamonds Are Forever
2) From Russia with Love
3) Gypsy Camp
4) Thunderball
5) Teasing the Korean
6) You Only Live Twice
7) The Wedding
8) Casino Royale
9) 007 Theme
10) Diamonds Are Forever
11) Goldfinger
12) The Look of Love
13) Mr Kiss-Kiss Bang-Bang
14) On Her Majesty
15) Capsules in Space
16) Kingston Calypso
17) Talia Meets Klebb
18) Miami
19) Spectre Island
20) Underneath the Mango Tree
21) Guitar Lament
22) Death of Goldfinger
23) Mission Impossible
24) Peter Gunn
25) Wednesday
26) The James Bond Theme
And here is the link to this thrilling music:      http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4VEFCVP6
 

Mel Brooks' Greatest Hits

I picked up this LP in 1978 or whenever, and immediately started paying closer attention to the music in movies.

John Morris's work in some of Mel Brooks' films apporaches genius in its applicability to the onscreen action, AND its ability to stand alone as interesting (and hilarious) music. 

In some of the songs, Gene Wilder or Brooks wrote the lyrics.  And in the song "Hope for the Best, Expect the Worst," the melody itself is a folk song also heard in one of Brahms's Hungarian Dances.

But what you hear on this record, friend, true genius!

If you have not seen the films featured here, your world is missing something wonderfully silly.

These are the songs:
High Anxiety
1 Main Title 3:01
2 High Anxiety 2:32
3 Anxious Theme 2:55
4 If You Love Me Baby, Tell Me Loud 1:33
5 End Title 2:38
The Producers
6 Springtime For Hitler 3:24
7 Prisoners Of Love 2:25
The Twelve Chairs
8 Hope For The Best, Expect The Worst 2:38
9 Vorobyaninov's Theme (The Walk Through Russia) 3:15
Blazing Saddles
10 Blazing Saddles 2:20
11 The French Mistake 0:31
12 I'm Tired 4:36
Young Frankenstein
13 Main Title 2:54
14 Puttin' On The Ritz 3:34
Silent Movie
15 Burt Reynold's House 2:16
16 Silent Movie March 2:58

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

McCallum Mea Culpa

I was listening to the David McCallum CD tonight and found, to my horror, that the first song, "1-2-3," has a skip in it!

I have fixed that and re-upped it.  Also, why didn't somebody tell me that the CD rear jewel case insert was incomplete?

That is all fixed now.

PLEAS ... if you find something incomplete, let me know with a comment!

Here is the new link:   http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7PUD7KVJ

A Saucerful of Songs

Here are a group of songs dealing with outer space, aliens, and the space program in popular culture.

Since I've got a couple of CDs with this theme in the works (and there are probably TONS more songs I will never come across), I made sure to put one song with its sequel together here.  That's Jesse Lee Turner's "The Little Space Girl" and "I'm the The Little Space Girl's Father."

As you can imagine, most of these songs are fun and give the whole idea of otherwordly visitors the full novelty-song treatment.

As somebody else has mentioned, isn't it funny how many space visitors happen to sound just like Alvin and the Chipmunks?

Here are the songs:
1 Two Little Men in a Flying Saucer Joe Loss & His Orchestra 1949
2 Rollicking Man From Mars Scotty MacGregor 1955
3 The Fang Nervous Norvus 1956
4 The Little Blue Man Betty Johnson 1958
5 The Little Space Girl Jesse Lee Turner 1958
6 Flying Saucers Rock 'n' Roll Love Brothers 1958
7 Martian Love Song Pete Seeger 1958
8 Santa Claus Meets The Purple People Eater Sheb Wooley 1958
9 Take us To Your President Conried-Pearce 1959
10 I'm The Little Space Girl's Father Jesse Lee Turner 1959
11 We Get Messages Jimmie Haskell 1959
12 Flying Saucers The Mell-o-Tones 1960
13 The Fall of the Planet Earth The Moonbillies 1960
14 The Screemin' Meemies From Planet X Merv Griffin 1961
15 Fireball XL5 Theme Don Spencer 1962
16 That Martian Jubilee Rodd Keith 1964
17 Cockeyed Ballad Mollie Thompson 1966
18 Beautiful Zelda Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band 1968
19 Space Odyssey The Byrds 1968
20 The Moon Bug Delsu and the Smarts 1969
21 Spaceman Harry Nilsson 1972
22 UFO Larry Norman 1972
23 Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft Langley Schools Music Project 1977
24 Ain't No UFO Gonna Catch My Diesel Joe Dolce 1981
25 Flying Saucer Brave Combo 1995
26 Music Man from Mars Rodd Keith 1996
27 Alien Abduction Background 2000
28 Let Me Fly Your UFO Frank Smith 2005
29 Spaceman The Killers 2008


And here is the link:      http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QZC2L544