A Stupendous Performance

I'm a sucker for piano transcriptions, for Berlioz's mad Symphonie Fantastique, and the Dies Irae, so this is right up my alley! Maybe yours too?

01. Reveries, Passions (14:01)
02. A Ball (6:07)
03. Scene in the Country (18:08)
04. March to the Scaffold (5:15) 

05. Dream of a Witches' Sabbath (10:13)

It's MAD, I tell you!

See you on Thursday, fellow madmen and madwomen!

  

Celebrate Spring with a Be-In!

It's an "Environments" release.  The first track is a "field recording" of a bunch of hippies in Central Park.  The second half is a bunch of wild sounds in sylvan Pennsylvania.

01. Be-In, Central Park, April 6, 1969 (33:53)
02. Dusk at New Hope, PA, August 14, 1970 (36:20)

Now you can be, too!

See you on Monday, if you can return to Earth by then.

  

Not Only Galant, But Effete!

I mean, really!  Isn't this guy so cute that he makes you want to puke?  

The selections, however, are topnotch:

01 - Gluck - Ballet Music from “Orfeo ed Euridice” (15:30)
02 - Rameau - Ballet Music from “Les Indes galantes” (3:31)
03 - CPE Bach - Minuets and Trios (5:38)
04 - Rameau - Dances from “Zoroastre” (16:46)
05 - Haydn - Minuet in G Major (2:18)
06 - Haydn - Minuet in E Major (2:09)
07 - Mozart - Five Contredanses (7:53)

Join the Galant Era! 

See you on Thursday.  Until then, please DON'T keep your wrist limp!

  

Ho Hum, Britannia!

A 2007 release.  For some reason this didn’t thrill me at all, although I was enchanted by the silliness of the title “Three Screaming Popes.” The only stuff I was familiar with, the Elgar, seemed not bombastic enough.

01. Elgar: Pomp & Circumstance March #4 In G, Op. 39/4 (4:40)
02. Maxwell Davies: An Orkney Wedding, With Sunrise (13:18)
03. Turnage: 3 Screaming Popes (16:02)
04. MacMillan: Brittania (12:42)
05. Britten: Sinfonia Da Requiem, Op. 20 - Lachrymosa (8:10)
06. Britten: Sinfonia Da Requiem, Op. 20 - Dies Irae (4:59)
07. Britten: Sinfonia Da Requiem, Op. 20 - Requiem Aeternam (6:16) 

08. Elgar: Pomp & Circumstance March #1 In D, Op. 39/1 (5:41)

Go go, Britannia!

See you on Monday.

  

Harp Me, I'm Irish!

It's a 1982 cassette, complete with a "legend" by Miss Woods herself.

01. The Legend (3:05)
02. In the Forest (3:01)
03. Dialogue with a Brook (2:05)
04. Lament (2:05)
05. Gypsy Mirage (2:29)
06. Gourenspur (4:15)
07. The Harper's Vision (4:53)
08. Morning Calm (3:29)
09. Forest March (3:35)
10. Metamorphosis (2:58)
11. Brandiswhiere's Triumphant Return (3:45)

The Harp of Brandiswhiere  

See you on the other side of Saint Paddy's Day!

  

Impressive Mouths

The Swingle Singers are always a worthwhile listen.

Whether or not you are entranced, you're sure to be impressed!

01. Rossini - William Tell Overture (2:59)
02. Henry VIII - Pastime With Good Company (2:21)
03. Debussy - Trois chansons I (1:53)
04. Debussy - Trois chansons II (1:47)
05. Debussy - Trois chansons III (2:06)
06. Lennon & McCartney - Fool on the Hill (4:55)
07. Lennon & McCartney - Lady Madonna (3:33)
08. Lennon & McCartney - Day Tripper (2:22)
09. Lennon & McCartney - Blackbird / I Will (4:50)
10. René, Scott, René - Someone’s Rocking My Dreamboat (2:57)
11. Gershwin - Summertime (3:28)
12. Sondheim - Another Hundred People (2:00)
13. Debussy - Clair de lune (4:41)
14. Mancini - Peter Gunn (2:35)
15. Tchaikovsky - 1812 Overture (7:55)

1812

See you on Monday!

 

She's a Snooky One!

I bet Snooky was feisty, back in the day!

01. Listen to the Mockingbird (1:46)
02. Mystery of His Way (1:31)
03. Coming Home (1:25)
04. When It's Springtime in the Rockies (1:41)
05. Snooky's Waltz (2:16)
06. I'll Be There If Ever You Want Me (1:31)
07. Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain (2:09)
08. In the Mood / Huckle Buck (1:55)
09. You're the Only Star in My Blue Heaven / Old Faithful / Spinning Wheel (2:53)
10. Under the Double Eagle (2:11)
11. I Saw the Light / He Set Me Free (1:54)
12. Death Valley Waltz (1:36)
13. Las Gaviotes (1:44)
14. Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone (1:39)
15. Tavern in the Town (2:03)
16. The Entertainer (2:05)
17. Play a Simple Melody (1:23)
18. Playmate (1:54)
19. Zacatecas (1:45)
20. Before the Next Teardrop Falls (2:22)
21. Down in the Little Green Valley (1:46)
22. Tight or Wrong (1:29)
23. My Beautiful Annabel Lee (1:52)
24. There's a Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere (1:55)
25. Wreck of Old 97 (1:37)
26. There's a Goldmine in the Sky (2:02)
27. Enjoy Yourself, It's Later than You Think (1:56)
28. Whispering (1:33)
29. Whispering Light (2:37)
30. When the Golden Leaves Begin to Fall (2:01)
31. Spanish Two Step (2:07)
32. Old Love Letters (1:51)
33. Weeping Heart (2:07)
34. Lily Dale (1:55)
35. Chiapanecas (1:34)
36. Harbor Lights (2:27)
37. Johnson Rag (1:35)

38. I Love Little Willy (1:51) 

39. Moonlight on the Colorado (1:53)

It's rollicking, barrelhouse-type stuff.  Have at it!

Snooky Keller - Music Preservation Project

See you on Thursday, snookums!

  

Get Playful with a Dayful

These are fine performances, but I was not impressed with the premiere of the title selection.


01. Dayful of Song (12:22)
02. Cuban Overture (10:36)
03. Promenade (2:49)
04. Rhapsody in Blue (16:58)

05. Lullaby (8:56) 

06. An American in Paris (18:27)

Dayful of Song

Let me know if you like it.

   

You Waltz, I'll Polk!

And-uh-WON-TOO-TREE ...

Ed Peterka died December 27, 2005, he was from Scotland, SD.

Some of these have (almost) pitch-free vocals in an unknown language—it sounds like Yiddish or some such. And some of the music sounds like the stereotypical Mexican oompah-band music that I can sometimes hear from my backyard.


01. In Love - Polka (2:58)
02. Black Gypsy - Waltz (3:49)
03. Hot Stuff - Polka (2:49)
04. Dutch Boy - Waltz (2:47)
05. If I Were a Bird - Polka (2:26)
06. Over Three Hills - Waltz (2:34)
07. Oneta - Polka (1:58)
08. My Dreamboat - Waltz (2:56)
09. Brown Pony - Polka (3:53)
10. Red Handkerchief - Waltz (2:52)
11. Three Yanks - Polka (2:35)
12. Carpenters - Waltz (2:53)

Peterka

See you on Thursday!

  

No Duo-vers!

This is interesting Romantic-type music.

01. Duo 1 - Allegro molto (5:59)
02. Duo 1 - Rondo. Allegretto (5:53)
03. Duo 2 - Allegro moderato (8:41)
04. Duo 2 - Presto (5:45)
05. Duo 3 - Allegro molto con espressione (6:27)
06. Duo 3 - Rondo (4:18)
07. Duo 4 - Adagio (3:51)
08. Duo 4 - Allegro (7:11)
09. Duo 5 - Allegro molto (6:22)
10. Duo 5 - Grazioso con Variazioni (4:14)
11. Duo 6 - Allegro maestoso (10:08)
12. Duo 6 - Rondo. Grazioso (3:41)

Six Duo Concertants

See you Monday!

  

Landowska Plays Bach

I bought one LP of this set in the early 1980s, assembled here for you from varying ources. That's why there are a few record ticks -- but no skips.

01. Partita 1 in B-flat - Prelude (1:54)
02. Partita 1 in B-flat - Allemande (1:25)
03. Partita 1 in B-flat - Courante (1:55)
04. Partita 1 in B-flat - Sarabande (3:22)
05. Partita 1 in B-flat - Menuets 1 and 2 (2:58)
06. Partita 1 in B-flat - Gigue (1:19)
07. Fantasia in C Minor (3:23)
08. French Suite 6 - Allemande (1:41)
09. French Suite 6 - Courante (0:53)
10. French Suite 6 - Sarabande (1:48)
11. French Suite 6 - Gavotte (0:41)
12. French Suite 6 - Polonaise (0:47)
13. French Suite 6 - Menuet (0:48)
14. French Suite 6 - Bourée (0:49)
15. French Suite 6 - Gigue (1:20)
16. Little Prelude - in C (1:47)
17. Little Prelude - in C Minor (0:55)
18. Little Prelude - in D Minor (1:48)
19. Little Prelude - in D (2:02)
20. Little Prelude - in E (0:49)
21. Little Prelude - in E Minor (1:52)
22. Little Prelude - in C (0:59)
23. Little Prelude - in C (0:39)
24. Little Prelude - in C Minor (0:57)
25. Fughetta in C Minor (1:42)
26. English Suite 2 - Prelude (4:16)
27. English Suite 2 - Allemande (2:37)
28. English Suite 2 - Courante (1:34)
29. English Suite 2 - Sarabande (4:12)
30. English Suite 2 - Bourees I and II (2:39)
31. English Suite 2 - Gigue (1:23)
32. English Suite 3 - Gavotte (3:13)
33. English Suite 5 - Passapieds (3:06)

34. WTC Book 1 Prelude and Fugue in C Minor (4:05) 

35. Toccata in D (12:37)

It's a lot of fun!

Landowska Plays Bach

See you on Thursday!

  

Don’t Get Your Hopes Up!

The cover photo shows a guy dressed like Bach, with a Gibson electric guitar.  SURPRISE!  Ain’t no guitar-playing on this thing!

But on the bright side, I got my head cleaned!  (There's gotta be a dirty joke in there somewhere!)

You may like harmonica stylings, but there's no accounting, as they say.

01 - Berceuse - Gabriel Fauré -  (3:51)
02 - Divertimento No 2 - W A Mozart -  (11:50)
03 - Clair de Lune - Claude Debussy -  (4:17)
04 - Sonata in G Minor - J S Bach -  (12:12)
05 - Romanian Folk Dances - Béla Bartók -  (6:12)
06 - Because - Lennon-McCartney -  (2:53)

Bach to Lennon

See you on Monday!

  

I've Got a Loverly Bunch of Madrigals

This 1974 cassette is so much fun!  Somewhere around the time of release, PBS carried a program which featured many of these songs being sung in similar arrangements.  Whether that show featured the King's Singers, I couldn't tell ya.  But I bet you enjoy this!

01 - Now is the month of maying - Thomas Morley - 1595   (1:50)

02 - Four arms, two necks, one wreathing - Thomas Weelkes - 1608   (1:56)

03 - Hark all ye lovely saints above - Thomas Weelkes - 1598   (2:55)

04 - Since Robin Hood - Thomas Weelkes - 1608   (1:05)

05 - Though Philomena lost her love - Thomas Morley - 1602   (0:55)

06 - O wretched man - John Wilbye - 1609   (3:35)

07 - Weep, o mine eyes - John Bennet - 1599   (2:18)

08 - The nightingale, the organ of delight - Thomas Weelkes - 1608   (1:01)

09 - Come, sirrah Jack, ho! - Thomas Weelkes - 1608   (1:55)

10 - Cruel, behold my heavy ending - John Wilbye - 1598   (2:53)

11 - Fair Phyllis I saw sitting all alone - John Farmer - 1599   (1:15)

12 - L'ultimo di di Maggio - Sebastiano Festa - 1526   (1:28)

13 - Mentre il cucolo - Guiseppe Ciamo - 1584   (1:19)

13 - Un cavalier di Spagna - Pietro da Hosta - 1526   (1:11)

14 - Vessozi augelli - Giaches de Wert - 1586   (2:15)

15 - Valle, che de lamenti miei - Giaches de Wert - 1588   (6:26)

17 - Chi la gagliarda - Giovan da Nola - 1541   (2:46)

18 - Chi chi li chi - anonymous - 1555   (2:12)

19 - Contrappunto bestiale alla mente - Adriano Banchieri - 1608   (1:02)

20 - Mascherata de Cacciatori - Giovanni Gastoldi - 1591   (1:57)

21 - Matona mia cara - Orlando di Lasso - 1581   (2:37)

Madrigal Collection

See you on Thursday with more things you may love!  Happy Valentine's to all!

  

Oom-Paw-Paw!

Well, a "Riesen-Wiesen" is a big meadow.  And despite the unfortunate connotation in English, "Stimmungshits" means "mood hits."  These are the tracks:

01. Oktoberfest-Song la-la-lei-Jo (2:43)
02. Häng dich ein (3:31)
03. Wochenend-freude (3:02)
04. Schneewalzer (2:51)
05. Ententanz (Dance little bird) (2:15)
06. Stimmungs-Medley (5:08)
07. Schützenliesel (2:45)
08. Oa Maß is koa Maß (2:38)
09. Kirmes Melodie (2:52)
10. Lieder für all uns're Freunde (2:33)
11. Stimmungs-Medley (5:26)
12. Fürstenfeld (4:03)

Have a Mood Hit!

See you on Monday!

   

Real Country Lovin'!

It's a 1992 cassette by a good ol' country boy with a lot of miles on him.

01. Real Country Love (2:45)
02. Do Right Daddy (3:40)
03. A Funny Thing Happened (3:30)
04. I've Got to Pull Myself Together (2:40)
05. What's the Matter with the Moon (3:26)
06. I'll Go Out of My Head (2:41)
07. Next to Mine (3:19)
08. The Valentine Song (3:05)
09. These Favors We Ask (3:49)
10. Primetime (3:45)
11. Olivia (2:44)
12. Her Last Lonely Days (4:15)

Real Country

See you on Thursday with another hot batch of love!
  

Competent Action

It's a 1995 CD. Perhaps surprisingly for such a blatant cash-in, this is competently arranged and competently performed -- just draggy when the music should be punchy.

01. Raiders of the Lost Ark / Indiana Jones Suite (5:57)
02. ET Suite (11:38)
03. Superman Suite (12:18)
04. Star Wars / The Empire Strikes Back / Return of the Jedi (26:40)

A Tribute!

See you on Monday, fellow actioneers!

  

MA-159 - Illicit Appetites!

Yes, it's another music compilation which demonstrates that the course of true love many involve neither love nor truth.

01 - Midget - VTKMS - 1979  (2:24)

02 - Android Love - Ozzie - 1977  (3:42)

03 - I'm in Love with a Cat - Anti-Band - 1983  (1:54)

04 - Dig It Up - Hoodoo Gurus - 1984  (3:35)

05 - I Like Motorcycles - Vermilion & the Aces - 1979  (2:49)

06 - In the Slot - The Adaptors - 1979  (2:33)

07 - Don't Forget Me Tommy - The Freeze - 1981  (3:45)

08 - Computer Love - Western Hysteria - 1980  (3:31)

09 - Suburban Incest (Harry's Song) - Die Hausfrauen - 1981  (4:00)

10 - Love Makes You Crazy - Mike Batt - 1982  (3:35)

11 - Magazine Sex - Max Load - 1979  (2:27)

12 - I Saw My Baby in the Meat Section - The Happy Cadavers - 1982  (2:29)

13 - Stephanie - Brian and the Nightmares - 1986  (2:41)

14 - (I'm into) Necrophilia - The Amazing Space Frogs - 1979  (2:55)

15 - Robot Love - The Valves - 1977  (3:03)

16 - See the Children - The Cure - 1977  (3:10)

17 - If Boys Got Pregnant - The Orchids - 1979  (2:02)

18 - Laboratory Baby - Los Reactors - 1981  (1:06)

19 - Your Manikin Hand - Gluons - 1983  (3:45)

20 - Corpse Grinder - The Meteors - 1987  (2:56)

21 - The Best Big Mistake - Woody Patty - 1991  (2:25)

22 - My Girlfriend Is a Rock - Nervebreakers - 1978  (3:27)

23 - Chinese Dragon - Jezebel - 1982  (2:19)

24 - I Danced All Night with a Hamster Until I Trod on It - Jerry Jamrag & the Afterbirths - 1977  (1:38)

25 - Mary's in a Coma - The New Avengers - 1981  (3:37)

26 - Mars Bars - The Undertones - 1979  (2:07)

27 - I Hate You - Zoom - 1978  (2:01)

28 - Puke It Up - Zombina & the Skeletones - 2008  (2:38

The original art is from DC's Young Love #85.

https://www.filefactory.com/file/3ebcyax4d5i/MA-159.rar

So, fans of infatuation, tell me what you think.

See you on Thursday!