About This Blog!

Our beloved Spock (1978-1991) is featured in the header photo, in a photo from 1979. These are some of my LPs, themed compilations, and the like. Email me with comments or questions to msuperfan1956@gmail.com – note that comments sent through Blogger DO NOT allow a personal response.

Monday, August 19, 2024

Why Wait?

Last week I wrapped up my latest fun compilation of songs from all over.
And I figured, why save things up?  Let's have some auditory fun NOW.

01 - Don't Push Me - Flirt - 1978  (3:13)

02 - Record Burnin' Party - Eighth Route Army - 1985  (2:42)

03 - One in Ten Words - The Spoons - 1982  (4:09)

04 - Any Old Time - Artie Shaw (vocal Helen Forrest) - 1939  (3:06)

05 - Condition Red - The Goodees - 1968  (2:52)

06 - Kill Kill Kill (live) - Painters and Dockers - 1985  (4:02)

07 - Three Chord City - The Cold - 1980  (2:12)

08 - The Damned Don't Cry (In Hollywood) - PVC - 1984  (4:07)

09 - Shame - The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black - 1993  (2:37)

10 - Fuchsia Rayon - Westside Lockers - 1980    (2:04)

11 - Raggedy Ann - Finders Keepers - 1966  (2:59)

12 - Patience - Mannequin Pussy - 2019  (2:14)

13 - Dream of the West - Yip Yip Coyote - 1984  (3:05)

14 - Middle Age Hippie Blues - Moe Averick - 1987  (3:21)

15 - Captain Kangaroo - Suburban 9 to 5 - 1967  (1:57)

16 - Shoot for the Heart - Karen Lawrence - 1986  (4:03)

17 - Is She Your Girlfriend Now? - Rosie Future - 1980  (3:04)

18 - Space Invaders - Player (1) - 1979  (3:32)

19 - It's Been a Long, Long Time - Keely Smith - 1959  (2:04)

20 - Abbey Road Medley (edit) - The Beatles - BRG - Mark A - 2024  (16:10)

This Silver Anniversary Anthology (number 25, doncha know) has a super-broad spectrum of songs I love.  Comments on a few tracks:

Track 5:  When “Condition Red” talks about the girl’s parents not liking that scraggly long hair, that’s probably the way my own parents (and Joyce’s) felt about me!

Track 6:  “Kill Kill Kill” is a song from a 1968 Get Smart episode, recorded in 1985 by Painters & Dockers.  Don’t try it at home, or anywhere else!

Track 7:  I been to Three Chord City, but I can’t live there forever!

Track 11:  A real-life “Raggedy Ann” was the one for me, too!  Though she was much spiffier than me, kind of opposite from the gal in this song.

Track 13:  “The Dream of the West” tickles me as only a wannabe Western song can!  (Yip Yip Coyote’s from the UK.)

Track 15:  Why can’t we all be like Captain Kangaroo? Always kind, never too hurried!

Track 17:  Man, I love the insouciance of Rosie Future’s singing!

Track 19:  Even if the swaggering orchestra is a little too too, Keely Smith’s strong, sultry voice can make me wait as long as she wants!

Track 20:  I edited the last track from several resources, including from the Beatles Remixers Group.  I always wondered what the medley would sound like with “Her Majesty” in its intended place, between "Mean Mr. Mustard" and "Polythene Pam."  I mean, When Mean Mr Mustard shouts at the Queen, he must be yelling “Her Majesty’s a pretty nice girl,” right?

THIS LINK GOOD FOR THREE DAYS.
https://www.filefactory.com/file/6nkl8h794r3c/MA-213.rar

Hope you find a little ear candy!  Let me know if the medley is crunchy enough.

See you Thursday, fellow pop fans!
   

Thursday, August 15, 2024

Don't Dance Like This

You can love the music and enjoy the performance, but PLEASE don't dance till you're dead!

In this 1990 release:

01. Piano Concerto 1 in E-flat Major 01: Allegro maestoso (5:11)
02. Piano Concerto 1 in E-flat Major 02: 1. Quasi adagio / 2. Allegretto vivace / 3. Allegro animato (8:41)
03. Piano Concerto in E-flat Major 03: Allegro marziale animato - Presto (4:25)
04. Totentanz (15:53)
05. Wanderer-Fantasie (after Schubert) (21:57)

The Totentanz is devilish, fiendish, and just the thing to give you a chill in thie hot summertime!


See you after a chilling weekend!
  

Monday, August 12, 2024

Dreaming in Triplicate!

This is a fine group of medieval-type music.

01 - Branle des Chevaux - Thoinot Arbeau
02 - Mistresse Nichols Almand - John Dowland
03 - The Round Battle Galliard - John Dowland
04 - Lachrimae Antiquae - John Dowland
05 - Toy for Two Lutes - Thomas Robinson
06 - The Earl of Essex Galliard - John Dowland
07 - Alman - Robert Johnson
08 - Go from My Window - Anonymous
09 - Courtly Masquing Ayre #4 - John Adson
10 - Lesson for Two Lutes - Anonymous
11 - Wilson's Wilde - Anonymous
12 - The King of Denmark's Galliard - John Dowland
13 - The Cobbler - Anonymous
14 - The Flatt Pavin - John Johnson
15 - Galliard to the Flatt Pavin - John Johnson
16 - Courtly Masquing Ayre #5 - John Adson

What made this triply interesting is the strange fact that, in the CD case, THREE copies of the rear insert were nestled, one inside the next!


See you on Thursday, fellow lovers of multiple musics!
  

Thursday, August 8, 2024

Hit Me One More Time!

This is a 2003 release. You may decide how "ultimate" its selections are.

1. Canon In D - Jean-Francois Paillanrd Chamber Orchestra  
2. Canon In D - Munich Radio Orchestra  
3. Canon (Over A Basso Ostinato) - Peerless 2x2  
4. Canon Of The Three Stars - Isao Tomita & The Plasma Symphony Orchestra  
5. How, Where, When? (Canon In D) - Cleo Laine  
6. Earth Angel - The Hampton String Quartet  
7. Canon - The Canadian Brass  
8. Canon In F - BRR (Shakuhachi & Koto Quintet)  
9. Variations On The Pachelbel Canon In D (From Rochberg, Quartet No. 6) - The Concord String Quartet  
10. Canon - Clive Carroll  
11. Canon - Platinum (A Cappella Vocal Ensemble)  
12. Sweet Home (Based On Pachelbel's Canon) - Dai Sakakibara  
13. Canon - Angel Romero  
14. Canon In D - Arthur Fiedler Sinfonietta  
15. Canon & Gigue In D - Guildhall String Ensemble


PERMANENT LINK.

I say this compilation is too much of a mediocre thing, although some selections are dreamy.  See you Monday!
  

Monday, August 5, 2024

Don't Baulk Over the Balkans!

This 2011 release contains music that is either elegiac or screechy – you decide!

01. Sonata For Violin And Piano No. 3, Op. 25 - I. Moderato Malinconico (9:10)
02. Sonata For Violin And Piano No. 3, Op. 25 - II. Andante Sostenuto E Misterioso (9:00)
03. Sonata For Violin And Piano No. 3, Op. 25 - III. Allegro Con Brio, Ma Non Troppo Mosso (8:34)
04. Sonata For Violin And Piano - I. Moderato (4:45)
05. Sonata For Violin And Piano - II. Allegro (6:51)
06. Eastern Chapel Meditations For Violin, Piano And Pre-Recorded Sounds (9:44)
07. Petite Suite No. 2 For Violin And Piano - I. Poco Lento-Moderato Mosso (3:36)
08. Petite Suite No. 2 For Violin And Piano - II. Andante (5:23)
09. Petite Suite No. 2 For Violin And Piano - III. Allegro Vivace (2:12)
10. "Song" From Bulgarian Suite, Op. 21 (6:21)



PERMANENT LINK.

See you on Thursday, fellow music evaluators!
  



Thursday, August 1, 2024

Corny but Goodie!


This is a 1985 release of some fine warhorses of light classical music

von Suppe
1. Light Cavalry
2. Poet and Peasant
3. Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna
4. The Queen of Spades
5. Jolly Robbers
6. Fatinitza
7. The Beautiful Galatea

von Reznicek
8. Overture: Donna Diana

Nicolai
9. Overture: The Merry Wives of Windsor

Strauss Jr
10. Overture: Die Fledermaus


So lighten up and have some fun!


See you on Monday.






Monday, July 29, 2024

A Welcome Cloudburst

This is a thoughtful, joyous, sorrowful release from 2006. Nearly all are moving, but the title track is ASTOUNDING in its depiction. And to think that a human mind conceived the ways to present and transcribe that presentation for reproduction!

  1. i thank You God for most this amazing day (1999, TEXT: e.e. cummings)
  2. I Hide Myself
  3. Sleep
  4. I Will Wade Out
  5. Go, Lovely Rose
  6. hope, faith, life, love (1999, TEXT: e.e. cummings)
  7. Hope, Faith, Life, Love
  8. Cloudburst
  9. With A Lily On Your Hand
  10. This Marriage
  11. A Boy and a Girl (2002, TEXT: Octavio Paz)
  12. A Boy And A Girl
  13. Her Sacred Spirit Soars
And the performing group, Polyphony, does such a spiffy job. I might have asked for 25% less echo in the recording, but still … this is moving and amazing.

THIS LINK GOOD FOR THREE DAYS.

When you finish listening, you too will be thankful for an amazing day.

PERMANENT LINK.

Well, that's the end of this year's JULY SPOCKEBRATION, celebrating some wonderful music about or by Americans.  See you on Thursday!
  

Thursday, July 25, 2024

Half's Better Than None


I say that because this is Tape Two of a set, but I didn't come across Tape One at the thrift store.
Nevertheless, it's a good 'un.

01 - Poor Butterfly - Fritz Kreisler - 1917
02 - Memories - Paul Reimers - 1916
03 - Just a Baby's Prayer at Twilight - Henry Burr - 1918
04 - Hello Central, Give Me No Man's Land - Al Jolson - 1918
05 - Good Morning, Mr Zip-Zip-Zip - Arthur Fields and the Peerless Quartet - 1918
06 - Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning - Arthur Fields - 1918
07 - I Don't Want to Get Well - Van and Schenck - 1918
08 - We'll Do Our Share (While You're Over There) - The Peerless Quartet - 1918
09 - I'm Gonna Pin My Medal on the Girl I Left Behind - The Peerless Quartet - 1918
10 - Sister Susie's Sewing Shirts for Soldiers - Billy Murray - 1915
11 - The Caissons Go Rolling Along (US Field Artillery March) - Sousa's Band - 1918
12 - The Further It Is from Tipperary - Billy Murray - 1918
13 - The Laddies Who Fought and Won - Harry Lauder - 1917
14 - We Don't Want the Bacon (What We Want Is a Piece of the Rhine) - The Peerless Quartet - 1918
15 - The Yanks Started Yankin' - Arthur Fields - 1918
16 - Let the Rest of the World Go By - Elizabeth Spencer and Charles Hart - 1920
17 - I've Got My Captain Working for Me Now - Al Jolson - 1919
18 - How Ya Gonna Keep 'em Down on the Farm (After They've Seen Paree) - Arthur Fields - 1918
19 - My Buddy - Henry Burr - 1922
20 - My Dream of the Big Parade - The Peerless Quartet with Billy Murray - 1926

See you on Monday for the last installment of this year's JULY SPOCKEBRATION!
  

Monday, July 22, 2024

Blame the Salvation Army for This One

Way over the top!

This begins as an OK synth panorama from 1998.  A sense of humor and/or a little spriteliness is detected, and welcome.  A couple of tracks, like 3 and 4, might be originals.  But they are sufficiently tropish to work … until we get to the vocals on “Battle Hymn,” a track which runs right over the edge into cynical sentimentalism for me.

01. America the Beautiful (3:19)
02. Yankee Doodle Boy (1:34)
03. Medal of Honor (3:45)
04. Pioneer Spirit (4:16)
05. Simple Gifts (3:16)
06. Stars and Stripes Forever (1:48)
07. Battle Hymn of the Republic (3:04)
08. Dixie (4:38)
09. When Johnny Comes Marching Home (3:06)
10. American Dream (4:06)
11. Grand Old Flag (1:41)
12. Hail to the Chief (1:18)
13. My Country 'Tis of Thee (1:28)
14. Yankee Doodle (1:41)
15. Old Glory (2:59)
16. Star Spangled Banner (1:59)


PERMANENT LINK.

Unfortunately, the overacting comes out again in the oh-so-flamboyant vocals for the last track, our National Anthem.  Just like a political speech, passion should be used sparingly, not vomited all over the carpet.

Happy America anyway!  See you Thursday.
  

Thursday, July 18, 2024

Count 'Em, Fifty!

It's a fine compilation of Western and cowboy songs.
DISC ONE:
01. Gene Autry - Back in the Saddle Again (2:49)
02. Bob Wills - Cherokee Maiden (3:02)
03. Tex Ritter - High Noon (2:49)
04. Al Dexter - Pistol Packin' Mama (2:49)
05. Frankie Laine - Mule Train (2:38)
06. Patsy Montana - I'm an Old Cowhand (2:56)
07. Marty Robbins - The Streets of Laredo (2:50)
08. Slim Whitman - Down in the Valley (2:35)
09. Gene Autry - El Rancho Grande (2:42)
10. Tex Ritter - (I've Got Spurs That) Jingle, Jangle, Jingle (1:45)
11. Roy Acuff - Wabash Cannon Ball (2:37)
12. Gene Autry - Home on the Range (2:40)
13. Red Foley - Goodnight Irene (3:04)
14. Tex Ritter - Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie (3:02)
15. Bob Wills - New San Antonio Rose (2:37)
16. Gene Autry - Have I Told You Lately That I Love You (2:46)
17. Patsy Montana - I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart (3:08)
18. Gene Autry - That Silver-Haired Daddy Of Mine (2:50)
19. The Carter Family - I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes (2:53)
20. Slim Whitman - Red River Valley (3:13)
21. Red Foley - Old Shep (2:53)
22. Tex Ritter - Jealous Heart (2:56)
23. Bob Wills - Deep in the Heart of Texas (2:12)



DISC TWO:
01. The Sons of the Pioneers - Wagon Wheels (2:17)
02. Eddy Arnold and the Hugo Winterhalter Chorus - Cattle Call (2:44)
03. Bing Crosby - Along the Santa Fe Trail (3:08)
04. Jimmy Wakely - Take Me Back to My Boots and Saddle (2:47)
05. The Sons of the Pioneers - Cool Water (2:52)
06. Patsy Cline - South of The Border (Down Mexico Way) (2:25)
07. Rex Allen - The Last Round Up (2:59)
08. Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters with Vic Schoen and His Orchestra - Don't Fence Me In (3:06)
09. The Sons of the Pioneers - Whoopie-Ti-Yi-Yo (2:06)
10. Jimmie Rodgers - Blue Yodel No. 1 (T for Texas) (3:23)
11. The Sons of the Pioneers - Empty Saddles (2:53)
12. Jimmie Davis - Nobody's Darling but Mine (2:49)
13. Jim Reeves - The Shifting Whispering Sands (3:12)
14. Vaughn Monroe and the Moon Men - Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend) (2:59)
15. The Sons of the Pioneers - Tumbling Tumbleweeds (2:44)
16. Kittly Wells - It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels (2:31)
17. Bing Crosby and the Jesters - Sioux City Sue (2:50)
18. The Sons of the Pioneers - Along the Navajo Trail (2:07)
19. Elton Britt - Someday (You'll Want Me to Want You) (2:51)
20. Vernon Dalhart - The Prisoner's Song (3:17)
21. Montana Slim - When It's Springtime in the Rockies (2:45)
22. Jimmie Davis - You Are My Sunshine (2:51)
23. The Sons of the Pioneers - Teardrops in My Heart (2:57)
24. Jim Reeves - Mexicali Rose (2:29)
25. Jimmy Wakely - Beautiful Brown Eyes (2:48)
26. The Sons of the Pioneers - Twilight on the Trail (2:28)
27. Roy Rogers - Happy Trails (2:55)




Monday, July 15, 2024

Cool Water, Just in Time!

This here's a 1959 album from the legendary Sons of the Pioneers.
01 - Cool Water 2:08 
02 - Whoopie-Ti-Yi-Yo 2:03 
03 - Wind 2:34 
04 - Cowboy's Dream 2:13 
05 - The Last Round-Up 2:49 
06 - Ridin' Home 1:59 
07 - Twilight On The Trail 2:28 
08 - Red River Valley 2:13 
09 - Wagon Wheels 2:15 
10 - Riders In The Sky 2:20 
11 - Blue Prairie 2:49 
12  - Way Out There 1:42 
13 - Empty Saddles 1:52 
14 - Teardrops In My Heart 2:21 
15 - Blue Shadows On The Trail 2:13 
16 - Ridin' Down The Canyon 2:24 
17 - Timber Trail 2:13 
18 - Tumbling Tumbleweeds 2:25
An unforgettable piece of musical American history!  And given the current heat wave in the US Midwest, perhaps your attention will be diverted for a bit!



See you Thursday for another musical angle on America!
  

Thursday, July 11, 2024

Not Corny to Me

It's hard to beat Western Swing sometimes.

01. Osage Stomp (3:05)
02. Spanish Two Step (2:57)
03. A Maiden's Prayer (3:08)
04. Mexicali Rose (3:18)
05. Old Fashioned Love (3:22)
06. Sittin' on Top of the World (3:23)
07. Steel Guitar Rag (2:49)
08. Blue Yodel #1 (2:23)
09. Silver Bell (2:40)
10. That's What I Like 'bout the South (2:39)
11. I'll See You in My Dreams (2:25)
12. The Waltz You Saved Me (2:32)
13. Corrine Corrina (3:04)
14. Time Changes Everything (2:53)
15. Big Beaver (2:50)
16. Honey What You Gonna Do? (2:57)
17. I Found a Dream (2:43)
18. Take Me Back to Tulsa (2:55)
19. New San Antonio Rose (2:48)
20. I Knew the Moment I Lost You (2:58)
21. Twin Guitar Special (2:50)
22. Mississippi Delta Blues (3:00)
23. Roly Poly (2:52)
24. Brain Cloudy Blues (3:01)

It's a 1973 cassette.  These must be taken from discs, because you can hear the pops and surface noise.  Radio transcriptions?  Who knows?



See ya Monday, buckaroos!
  

Monday, July 8, 2024

I'm a Fan Too!

It's a 1984 release of a lot of fun music.

  1. Leo Arnaud: Olympic Theme  0:59  
   2. Leo Arnaud: La Chasse  0:59  
   3. Leo Arnaud: Olympiad  1:28  
   4. Samuel Barber: Commando March  3:18  
   5. Pierre Leemans: Belgian Paratroopers  3:23  
   6. Julius Fucik: Florentiener, Op.214  5:54  
   7. Karl King: Barnum and Bailey's Favorite  2:27  
   8. Capt. Alfred Miles / Charles Zimmerman: Anchors Aweigh  2:58  
   9. Johann Strauss: Radetzky March  2:20  
 10. Ralph Vaughan Williams: Sea Songs  4:01  
 11. John Philip Sousa: The Stars & Stripes Forever  3:44  
 12. Ralph Vaughan Williams: Folk Song Suite: March: Seventeen Come Sunday  3:21  
 13. Ralph Vaughan Williams: Folk Song Suite: Intermezzo: My Bonny Boy  3:46  
 14. Ralph Vaughan Williams: Folk Song Suite: March: Folk Songs from Somerset  3:37  
 15. Percy Grainger: Lincolnshire Posy: Lisbon Bay  1:23  
 16. Percy Grainger: Lincolnshire Posy: Horkstow Grange  2:46  
 17. Percy Grainger: Lincolnshire Posy: Rufford Park Poachers  3:41  
 18. Percy Grainger: Lincolnshire Posy: The Brisk Young Sailor  1:33  
 19. Percy Grainger: Lincolnshire Posy: Lord Melbourne  3:02  
 20. Percy Grainger: Lincolnshire Posy: The Lost Lady Found  2:18  
 21. Percy Grainger: Shepherd's Hey  2:03 

Not all is strictly patriotic, but it'll get yer blood a-pumpin.


PERMANENT LINK.

Now get out there and oompah-pah!  See you Thursday.
  

Thursday, July 4, 2024

Elite Never Sounded So Sweet

This here's a 2003 release of piano-roll recordings of ragtime played by Scott Joplin and others.

01. Maple Leaf Rag (3:03)
02. Ole Miss Rag (2:46)
03. Magnetic Rag (3:08)
04. Elite Syncopations (3:24)
05. Country Club (3:27)
06. Paragon Rag (3:23)
07. Eugenia (3:56)
08. Cleopha (3:37)
09. A Real Slow Drag (3:41)
10. Scott Joplin's New Rag (3:29)
11. Leola: Two-Step (3:17)
12. Lily Queen (3:20)
13. The Chrysanthemum (3:39)
14. Heliotrope Bouquet (3:13)
15. Reflection Rag (3:43)
16. Silver Swan Rag: Ragtime Two-Step (3:07)
THIS LINK GOOD FOR SEVEN DAYS.

And as always, 

See you on Monday, friends!  Be thankful for musical performance and the nation whose imperfect history has allowed it!
  

Monday, July 1, 2024

Welcome to JULY SPOCKEBRATION 2024!

Yup, this month will feature some music that in one way or another reflects some of the glories, aspirations, or history of our great country.

This 1992 cassette features a lot of American tunes on dulcimer and other instruments.
01. Star of the County Down (2:21)
02. Eleanor Plunkett (3:23)
03. Ride the Wild Turkey (1:57)
04. Arran Boat Song (2:44)
05. Soldier's Joy / Wake Up Susie / Star of Munster (2:46)
06. Westphalia Waltz (3:33)
07. Brown County Breakdown (2:43)
08. The Ashgrove / Southwind (3:16)
09. Scotland (4:27)
10. The Dream (2:43)
11. Moran's Return (2:31)
12. My Favorite Things (2:53)
13. Rush in the Pepper / Make a Little Boat (2:46)
14. The Down Home Waltz (2:56)
15. Paddy on the Turnpike / Big Mon (2:11)
16. Nonesuch (2:21)

However, I'm a bit dismayed to read the big ole "MADE IN CANADA" on the cassette!  I bet there's a political speech in there somewhere.

But not here!  Just come back Thursday for some more aspects of Americana.

THIS LINK GOOD FOR SEVEN DAYS.


See you Thursday!