Motown's Attorneys

What this law firm really needs is a partner named Holland.

Another Great Cover With Kiddies

Here's another great cover that features some kids, and this time the music is worth at least one listen. I think the orchestra is great on this LP, but the singing children could be better. But what do you want for a record that cost me $0.50? Anyhow, for your download and listening pleasure, here's Cyril Stapleton And His Orchestra With Children's Chorus-Children's Christmas Album (Richmond S 30057).

Never Judge A Record By It's Cover

You've no doubt heard the adage of the title of this post, or at least heard it applied to books. In this case, the cover is much better than the contents. This great cover that looks like a yuletide rip-off of Disney's It's A Small World ride conceals a typical string laden Christmas snooze-fest. They couldn't even bother with getting the info on the front and back covers to match, and then the label is different from either of those. And don't get me started on the typos and grammatical errors in the song titles! It's a shoddy production all around. That said, I have to admit I liked a couple of the tracks on side two. So why don't you download 101 Strings-Christmas Moods (Somerset SF-71000, 1964), and let me know what you think. The cover below is from a reissue. At least the title on the front of this one matches what the record says, 101 Strings-The Glory Of Christmas (Alshire XM-4, 1980). There was a CD release with the same name some time ago, but it appears to be long out of print. You won't mistake this scratchy LP copy for that CD version, don't worry. I love that original cover though! (If the picture above looks a little familiar to some of you old-timers, it's because I shared a detail of it back in August.)

A Bleep-Bloop Christmas

Who'd a thunk it? There are actually two Moog Christmas LPs out there. When the King Of Jingaling shared out one over at FaLaLaLaLa, I knew I had to try and get the other one out. This one isn't quite as out-there as his, but it's still bleepy. Sort of reminds me of a cross between Mannheim Steamroller and an ice cream truck. Don't ask me why it makes me think of those two things, but it does. So please, download The Moog Machine-Christmas Becomes Electric (Columbia CS 9959) and you tell me what it reminds you of.

Oodles of Doodles CLX-Christmas 2005

How's this for a jolly Santa Claus? I'm not nearly so jolly as he is because I have this great sleeve, but no record! The record that should be in the sleeve is Elliot Lawrence And His Orchestra-Christmas Just A Minute! (Sesac Recordings PA-221/222). Reading the liner notes informs me that this record was intended for use by radio stations as filler around advertisements or songs or what-not, and all of the tracks are approximately one minute long (thus the title). Maybe I'll stumble across a copy someday, or maybe you have one and you'd like to share it with me. Please feel free! :)

My Mann Sy

As a complement to the LP being shared out over at FaLaLaLaLa (You have been over to FaLaLaLaLa.com, haven't you?), I'd like to offer up some more from Sy Mann, only at the Wurlitzer this time instead of the Moog. I know, I know, the Wurlitzer organ isn't as sexy as the moog, and the arrangements weren't done by the great Jean Jacques Perrey, but it's better than nothing, right? I'll certainly be sharing out more great organ music as the weeks roll on to Christmas, so think of this as a sort of appetizer. Without any further hoo-ha, here's Sy Mann playing Everybody's Christmas Favorites Organ & Chimes (Palace XM 901). Enjoy! (Oh, the last track on side 1, God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen, has a weird sort of noise in it. That's on the record. I played it through three times and cleaned it twice, but it always came out the same. This was certainly a budget release (I peeled an original sticker for $0.99 off the front before I scanned it), so what do you expect, quality recordings?)

Oodles of Doodles CLIX-Christmas 2005

I know you all thought I had forgotten about my doodles, but I've just been a little busy with other stuff. I'm going to try and get some Christmas doodles up for you this holiday season, as well as a recap of all the holiday doodles I did back during Christmas in July. These two lovely images are from the backside of the LP that I shared down below, George Feyer's Echoes Of Christmas (Vox VX 25010, 1955). Pretty cool, don't ya think?

Avon Calling!

Happy Thanksgiving Night, everybody. Unbelievably, my annual Christmas CD is already done this year. I was able to hand it out to the family at dinner today. But maybe some of you are still working on yours. (You do put out an annual Christmas CD, don't you?) And perhaps you are looking for a little bit of spoken word fun to spice things up a little, Well, from 1968, here's a guide to help you sell your Avon products. The first side (track 1) is all talk, and the second side (three tracks) is anonymous christmas music guaranteed to drive customers into a buying frenzy. OK, maybe not, but one can hope. Download it, and give it a listen. It's worth the price of admission. Whoops, almost forgot to mention, this is a 10" record.

Christmas Echoes

Well, it's the afternoon after Thanksgiving lunch, which to me means it's the official start of the Christmas season. I mentioned that to my Grandmother at lunch, and she disagrees. She said it's not right to listen to Christmas music until tomorrow. but luckily for you, I didn't listen to her. I've been listening to and recording Christmas music since not long after Christmas ended last year, and now it's time to share some of the goodies I've found. I've got many, many old vinyl records recorded and converted to MP3 files, I've scanned the covers, and now I'm ready to share it. There are lots of great sites out there doing the same thing, and many of them will have better and more interesting tunes, and probably cleaner copies. Most of my vinyl cost $1.00 or less, so it's not in the best shape, and I don't have any fancy noise filtering software, so you are going to get what you get. But for what I lack in quality, I hope to make up for in quantity. So check back in often, and see what's new.

My first share is also probably my oldest share. I believe this record dates from exactly 50 years ago. It's George Feyer's Echoes Of Christmas (Vox VX 25010, 1955). Download and enjoy! It's tinkly, cocktail lounge piano music, and it all runs together. So you're getting two tracks, side one and side two. I didn't know what to expect when I got this, but I really loved that cover. Turns out that George Feyer made a whole series of albums through his career, all called Echoes Of something. It makes great background music, or if you happen to own an elevator, you're gonna love it!

Please note, I'm using RapidShare.de for my posts. When you click on the music link, you'll be taken to a screen where you have to choose between a paid download or the free version. You are welcome to select the paid version, get a memebership, and download like a madman. Or you can select the free version. On the next page after you click the Free button, you have to scroll to the bottom and wait for the countdown to reach zero. Then a link will appear and you can download the Zip file containing the music and the cover scans. If you have downloaded anything else from RapidShare within the past hour, you'll have to wait until the hour is up. It's a bit of a pain, but it means these files will be hosted indefinately. They'll either go away if they don't get downloaded for 30 days, or they'll go away really quickly if I get a nasty email from the RIAA. Let's hope neither one of those happens.

Good News And Bad-I received an email from George Feyer's daughter-in-law last night, and she tells me that the family is in the process of making all his recordings available for legal download. That's the good news. The bad news is that I can't share it with you anymore, but I think the good outweighs the bad. So keep checking back and hopefully I'll have some information about when and where you can download some tasty GeorgeFeyer.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I only know of two songs that celebrate Thanksgiving. One of them is Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant, which isn't really about Thanksgiving, but sort of mentions it, at least, and this one I'm sharing with you today. From 1960, here is Spencer Ross-Thanksgiving Day Parade (Columbia 4-41532 7" 45 RPM single). The flip side is Tracy's Theme, and that track made it to #13 on the Billboard charts in January of 1960. Both tracks are from TV productions of famous movies. Our Thanksgiving track is from "Miracle On 34th St.", while the flip side is from "Philadelphia Story." This song is a real toe-tapping, march-along band number. I think you'll like it. Stay tuned to Ernie (Not Bert) for a whole lot more music between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's going to be a blast!

Near The End Of November

Oooh, look, a self-portrait! If you look closely, beneath the groovy starburst filter effect, you can see me reflected in this side-view mirror. Cool, eh?

Luther Played The Boogie

I saw the new Johnny Cash biopic Walk The Line on Friday night. It's really good. I'm certainly not the world's biggest Johnny Cash fan, but I was drawn in from start to finish. I was impressed by Joaquin Phoenix in the title role, but even more so by Reese Witherspoon as June Carter. Who knew she could act, and in a role other than the same blonde girl she has played in Legally Blonde, Pleasantville and Friends? But, and this is where I get to post some pictures, there are a few background performers in the film that you aren't likely to notice unless you are familiar with their real-life personas. The band The Dempseys perform in the film as Elvis' backup group. I was suprised to see them in the film, but then I remembered them saying something at one of their recent concerts about being chosen to star in a Johnny Cash film. I think I nearly fell out of my seat when Joe, the bassist (above) from the group, walked by in the background of a shot. Anyhow, I've seen these guys twice in concert, and it's been awesome both times. Super high energy from start to finish, never a missed note, and a brilliant selection of tunes. The first show I saw, the stand-up bass actually broke from being played too hard. They spent about 20 minutes with two rolls of duct tape, and started the show right back up exactly where it had left off.

These guys are active performers (unlike Luther Perkins, a member of Johnny Cash's Tennessee Two, who is famous for just standing there during performances). The shot above is the drummer, Ron, playing bass from a rather precarious perch. Yes, I said the drummer was playing bass. You've got to go see these guys, then it will all make sense.
As if a bass-playing drummer weren't wacky enough, how about the shot above, where the bassist is playing guitar and the guitarist is playing bass? I told you they were wacky. At one point, these two guys were both playing guitar. The same guitar. At the same time. Oh, and the drummer was tapping out a beat on the guitar body. You've got to see it to believe it.
Several times during the show, in response to some particularly loud cheering, or maybe just because a pretty lady flipped up her top for a second, Brad would flash a little message to the crowd from the back of his guitar. Talk about a hard shot to get! He only did this for about a second each time, since he never missed playing the next chord.
After the show, the guys in the band hung out with the crowd, selling CDs and signing autographs. This fan (groupie?) was excited about getting her glove signed by the boys in the band. Don't tell the guys in the band about this post, just in case you happen to know them. They hate me. I shot these pictures at two of their shows, and I got carried away and took hundreds of shots from right in front of the stage with my flash. I think I probably blinded them. Sorry guys. I'll leave the camera at home next time. Maybe...