MA-67 - U.N.C.L.E. Themes A-Go-Go

It's wild, cat!  It's with it, man! It's ...

 

U.N.C.L.E. Themes A-Go-Go!

Here at the Go-Go we've got mixes and blends, baby!  We've got versions of the U.N.C.L.E. theme, we've got references to the U.N.C.L.E. theme in other works.  Man, we've even got songs that refer to U.N.C.L.E. WITHOUT using the U.N.C.L.E. theme.

Like, here are the songs ...

01. Man from U.N.C.L.E. Promo - NBC, 1965 (0:14)
02. Harlem Shuffle (live) - Open Channel D (5:25) 1983
03. Twiggy Twiggy - Pizzicato Five (4:08) 1991
04. Lucid Dream - Meat Beat Manifesto (2:12) 1996
05. Une Very Stylish Fille - Dimitri from Paris (3:17) 1996
06. Dirty Larry - Dimitri from Paris (7:25) 1996
07. The Legend of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. - Paula and the Jetliners (2:14) 1966
08. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. - The Ventures (1:46) 1966
09. Illya Kuryakin - Bobby Ellis & The Crystalites (3:20) 1967
10. Napoleon Solo - The Jokers (2:40) 1967
11. The Man from Thrush - Parris Mitchell Strings with Brass (2:36) 1967
12. Illya's Walk - Wyncote Records (1:59) 1967
13. The Thrush Tune - Wyncote Records (2:26) 1967
14. Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. Promo - CBS, 1983 (0:29)
15. April Dancer - Birdmen of Alkatraz (2:59) 1989
16. The Rock from U.N.C.L.E. - Doctor QE (2:48) 1994
17. My Friend Illya - The Ulterior Motive Orchestra (2:53) 1996
18. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. - Santiago Tamura (2:53) 1998
19. The April Dancer Affair - The Monochrome Set (4:23) 1999
20. Napoleon Solo - The Specials (3:07) 2000
21. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. - The Illuminoids (2:53) 2007
22. A Martini Built For Two (live) - Robert Bruce and the Mellowtones (3:41) 2008
23. Meet Mr. Solo (live) - Robert Bruce and the Mellowtones (2:14) 2008
24. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. - Revolution for Dogs (2:38) 2008
25. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (live) - Tokyo Sexwhale (1:38) 2009
26. The Case of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. - The Vulcans (1:43) 2011
27. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. - Robert Short (2:07) 2012
 Also included are liner notes for the erudite.

Wow, man, Dig it!

 

Check Out The Illuminoids!

The surf-guitar band The Illuminoids is a bunch of great guys.

The Illuminoids play a broad spectrum of melodic surf guitar instrumentals.  I contacted one of their members regarding permission to use one of their tracks and they've been more than kind.

I even got asked to do the graphics for their new release!  Yep, that's my "graphic design":

 

You can buy this single from their website for $7, including shipping.  It's a great deal.

Their other full-length releases are great examples of the surf-rock genre that are flavored with eclecticism and a sense of humor.  Please support them by checking their music out.  Then buy it! 

See you Monday.
 

An Old Friend in a New Suit

I hope you're familiar with the Beatles Remixers Group.

They do a great job of taking original tracks (released and unreleased) and rearranging, overlaying, and generally making make-haying of Beatles music until it's something a little different.  Usually in a good way!

This is a great example, being a joint reworking of the last Beatles studio album.  Some titles are reworked more than others, but nearly every time there's a great joy in recognizing an old friend with a different hat on.  Peekaboo!

1. Come Together
2. Something
3. Maxwell's Silver Hammer   
4. Oh! Darling   
5. Octopus's Garden   
6. I Want You (She's so Heavy)   
7. Here Comes the Sun   
8. Because   
9. You Never Give Me Your Money   
10. Sun King   
11. Mean Mr. Mustard   
12. Polythene Pam   
13. She Came in Through the Bathroom Window 
14. Golden Slumbers   
15. Carry That Weight   
16. The End
17. Her Majesty  

Bonus Tracks18. What's This One Called, John?
19. The Ballad of John and Yoko
20. Ain't She Sweet
21. Old Brown Shoe
Enjoy!

The Piano

By golly, that's what David Montgomery is playing, all right!

 

At the cusp of the digital age -- in 1977, to be exact -- this company, "Direkt to Disk," registered a trademark design.  Take a look at the top of the record jacket to see how it looked in practice.

Some time during the 1980s, I came across a copy of this LP, whether at a used record shop or thrift store I don't recall.  As with many LPs, I dubbed it onto cassette and ended up losing track of the vinyl.

Then CDs began to colonize my music collection, and the tape of The Piano went by the wayside.

I was happy to come across another copy in a north OKC thrift store a few months ago.  I know it's not my original copy because of a sound "tick" that was present in the first copy that's not there now.

Here are the selections:

1)  Waltz in E♭(“Frau Lieserl juhe!”) - Carl Maria von Weber

2)  Four Country Dances - Ludwig van Beethoven

3)  Five Waltzes from Opus 30 - Johannes Brahms

4)  Twelve Landler, Opus 171 - Franz Schubert

5)  Alt Wien - Leopold Godowsky

 

It's just a fun selection of music.  Some of the Beethoven will be familiar as the "Eroica" theme.

 

I've also included scans of the liner notes.

 

So, go! check out The Piano.

 

UPDATED LINK as of November 25, 2013:
http://yadi.sk/d/Ad1pEtvdDEWNS

 

 

 

You May Recognize a Few Songs

This fascinatin' little LP is probably from around 1960.  Here are the songs:

01 - Where the Blue of the Night Meets the Gold of the Day
02 - I Found a Million Dollar Baby (in a Five and Ten Cent Store)
03 - At Your Command
04 - Now That You're Gone
05 - Dancing in the Dark
06 - Too Late
07 - Sweet and Lovely
08 - A Faded Summer Love
09 - Just One More Chance
10 - I'm Through With Love
11 - Out of Nowhere
12 - Good Night Sweetheart
The last track, "Goodnight Sweetheart," is dear to the memories of STAR TREK fans because you hear it played on the radio as Jim Kirk & Edith Keeler find romance in "The City on the Edge of Forever."  Episode composer Fred Steiner did a great job of weaving its melody into several other bits of the background score.

As a kid of the 1960s when Bing Crosby was just some old guy you saw singing on TV shows, it's rewarding to listen to these pieces and realize that he probably really WAS dreamy to those teen girls at the other end of the radio tubes.

Listen to Bing.  

 

A Very Processed Experience of the West

I found this fine RCA LIVING STEREO LP at, where else? a thrift store.

This fun 1958 LP sounds like a reminiscence of the Old West assembled by reading pulp stories or hearing Grandpa talk about the OK Corral, and then deciding how to best present that to a six-year-old.  Or to an eighty-year-old.

That is to say, there are plenty of folks who will call the musical style of this record "cheesy."

To them, I retort, well, at least it's HONEST cheese with no fillers!  These are the tracks:

01. Home on the Range (3:14)
02. Wagon Wheels (2:37)
03. Riders in the Sky (3:20)
04. The Last Round-Up (2:42)
05. Colorado River (4:31)
06. Cool Water (1:53)
07. Red River Valley (3:17)
08. Empty Saddles (2:36)
09. San Francisco (1:54)
10. Tumbling Tumbleweeds (2:27)
11. The One-Armed Bandit (Nevada) (2:34)
12. Northwest Trail (3:22)

 I also included scans of the rear cover and an insert reproducing the liner notes.

 

By the way, one side of the record sleeve (that paper envelope that protected the LP surface from extraneous dirt) was a familiar-to-the-times display that featured other RCA artists.  But, being a nut for pop culture history, I had to scan and share the other side of the sleeve, which is happy to answer the question, "What is Stereo Sound?"

 

 

And here's your chance to travel Under Western Skies .

See you Monday.

 

The King of Elfland's Daughter

...And Christopher Lee sings!  Sort of ...

Based in the 1924 fantasy novel by Lord Dunsany, this 1977 album includes various Brits, some unallied, some from Steeleye Span, and Mary Hopkin.  Oh, and of course Christopher Lee as the King of Elfland.

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) 

You can call it a parable of people getting what they ask for and then not wanting it ... you can view it (at least the book) as an argument for how we dreary earthbound types really do have the best part of the deal (in comparison with the denizens of Elfland). 

Or you can simply think about it as something that happened long ago to folks we heard about once, in a fairy tale.

Either way, it's fun, with more good than bad.

New host ... let me know how it turns out.  Magic

MA-73 - American Favorites

Music I love to hear because it reminds me of the great country I love and am proud to have been born in.

 

01. The Star-Spangled Banner - Jerry Goldsmith (1:22)

02. This Land Is Your Land - Peter, Paul & Mary (2:27)
03. Let’s All Be Americans Now - Arthur Hall (3:05)
04. People Like You and Me - Glenn Miller & His Orchestra (3:46)
05. The Stars and Stripes Forever - The US Army Ceremonial Band (3:33)
06. Home on the Range - The Sons of the Pioneers (2:41)
07. God Bless America - Kate Smith (2:04)
08. Variations on “America” - Charles Ives (7:10)
09. The House I Live In - Frank Sinatra (3:39)
10. The Magnificent Seven Main Title - Elmer Bernstein (1:59)
11. Pleasant Moments - Scott Joplin (3:02)
12. Ragged Old Flag - Johnny Cash (3:08)
13. No Restricted Signs (Up in Heaven) - Golden Gate Quartet (2:59)
14. You're a Grand Old Flag - James Cagney (5:39)
15. High Noon - Tex Ritter (2:47)
16. Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me) - Glenn Miller & His Orchestra (3:11)
17. Battle Hymn of the Republic - John Williams & The Boston Pops (5:01)
18. A Lincoln Portrait - Aaron Copland (15:44)
19. The Stars and Stripes Forever - Vladimir Horowitz (4:00)

 

Track 1 is Jerry Goldsmith's wonderful arrangement of our national anthem.  He produced this for Poltergeist.  It's the TV station's sign-off!  But this is one of the best instrumental arrangements EVER.

Track 9 may be cheesy to some, but I am un-ironic and I love it.

Track 13 is about "No Restricted Signs" in Heaven.  And that's how it should be here in the USA, too.

Track 14 is, of course, from Yankee Doodle Dandy.

The crowning jewel is Track 18.  Although there are some hiss issues here and there, let me tell you the story.  I recorded this from a live radio performance some time in (I believe) the 1980s.  Aaron Copland himself, the composer, is also the narrator of President Lincoln's stirring, healing words.

And the final track is a wonderful, swaggering piano performance.

God bless America, and Happy Fourth of July!  Thank God for your freedoms, and live your life to spread those liberties (and responsibilities) to everybody.

See you Monday!

Mel Brooks' Greatest Hits

By request, here's a great album of film music by John Morris, for some great movies.

As you can tell by the cover, the release of High Anxiety in 1977 was the reason for this release (or excuse, or prompting, etc).  Side One was music from that film, and all the other selections were on Side Two of the LP.

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  

 If you love me, baby, TELL ME LOUD!  Or at least leave a comment.