Christmas In July 2019-Part 3
Is it day 2 already? Seems like just yesterday we were kicking off the month. Oh, wait... I'm delirious already. Let's get this show on the road, shall we?
1. Marais And Miranda With The Pardo Ancient Instrument Ensemble-A Legend Of St. Nicholas (French) from Ballads Of Long Ago (Columbia Masterworks ML 4894, Mono, 1956). One of my favorite finds from last year was the Marias And Miranda Christmas album, but when I tried to share it, someone objected. Hopefully I can slide this single track in here and no one will notice.
2. Earl Grant-Lonely Winter from Yes Sirree! (Decca DL 4405, Mono, 1963). Not sure what the story behind this song is, but the writers are Henry Mancini and Rod McKuen. Gotta be a story there.
3. Caterina Valente With Sy Oliver And His Orchestra-Moonlight In Vermont from Plenty Valente! Singin' And Swingin' (Decca DL 8440, Mono, 1957). Her accent on this one is interesting, but English is not her native language. I gues she spoke and performed in half a dozen different languages, and had hits in most of the countries where those languages were spoken. Pretty impressive!
4. Milton Cross-The Nutcracker Suite from Milton Cross Narrates Children's Stories (Halo 50219, Mono). This is a long version of the whole suite narrated by Milton Cross. (I shared out a whole LP of his Christmas stories back during the 2018 season that's probably still available if you're interested.) Last July was the season of The Nutcracker, but I've dialed it back quite a bit this year. This is the only full version I've recorded so far, but I'll probably record a few more when I need something to share. Nothing like last year though. I think I shared ten or more full versions and a million individual songs from all across the musical spectrum. This particular version seems to gloss over or completely omit some of the gorier bits of the story.
5. German Kaliope-Silent Night (Played With Bells, Then Without The Bells) from The Charm Of The Old Music Box-Rare Old Music Boxes From The A. Hacker Collection (Yesterday's Amusements/Premier Film & Recording Corporation 13993, Mono). Yep, another track recorded from a music box. This was a thing back in the day.
6. Ernie Berger-Skaters Waltz from A Bouquet Of Songs For Mama-Organ Melodies By Ernie Berger (Audio Lab AL 1533, Mono). I think I shared out a full Christmas album from this Ernie some years ago, but I don't think it's still up.
7. Charles R. Cronham-Organ And Chimes-White Christmas from Ring Out Christmas Bells/Hymns Of Faith, Hope And Joy (Mercury MG-20001, Mono, 1950). There seems to be some confusion as to whether his middle initial is R or E. The cover says R, the label says E. These are the mysteries that plague Christmas music collectors. And was the release originally two ten inch records? I couldn't find any trace of such a release, but it sure seems like it might have been.
8. Larry Ferrari At The Gulbransen Organ-Ave Maria from My Favorite Hymns "Especially For You" (Sure Stereo Vol. 704, Stereo). Everyone loves Larry Ferrari, they just don't know it yet!
9. Jeffrey Lams And John Andrew Schreiner-O Come All Ye Faithful from Prisms-Portraits In Synthesis (Colours/Maranatha! Music SPCN 7-100-15682-3, Stereo, 1986). I don't hear it, do you? I thought maybe I was recording the wrong side of the album, or the labels were flip-flopped, but no, it's the right track. I just don't hear the song.
10. The Northern Illinois University Wind Ensemble-Stephen Squires, Conductor-O Little Town Of Bethlehem from Alfred Young Concert Band Music (Alfred Publishing No Number, Stereo, 1988). Tonight's band demo song was actually credited to an artist. Most of them aren't, so this is a real rarity.
That's it, ten more track for you. Interesting stuff. Here's the link, see you again later.
I don't hear "O Come All Ye Faithful" either. Is this a different version. I know there are some songs that use the same lyrics but to different melody/chord progression.
ReplyDeleteOn a technical note, there's a bunch of distortion/clipping on this track.
Well, distortion I don't have a lot of control over, but there really shouldn't be any clipping. I sometimes spend forever trying to get the levels right on my recordings, and I'll usually err on the too-low side if anything. I don't remember if it was this track or the one you haven't heard yet where it's really soft until you get to the end, I know I had to rip that one three or four times...
ReplyDeletemaybe the kenyans will fix it before they put it up on you-know-where.
ReplyDeletei know... "shut up, barba".
ReplyDeleteShut up, Barba. It's not funny. :( But maybe they won't steal it because there's no artwork for their CD...
ReplyDeletei bet i know who objected to the posting of marais and miranda: sesac, the society of european stage authors and composers. those guys are nuts. if they got an iron anywhere near a fire, they want to collect. back in the 70s, i was living in france and certainly not paying attention to new music in the states. when my sister found out that i hadn’t heard her favorite new tune, she mailed me a 45 rpm (without my knowledge). postal police notice. attempted smuggling. come see inspector. i went and they were ready to deport me. presumably, i had tried to import non-sesac music into france without official approval. i had violated sesac rules, french law. the geneva convention, and i don’t know what else. after all the fees, tariffs, and value-added taxes, i owed them about $25 for a measly 45, which turned out to be broken. (oh click, man click dee click click you click came click and…)
ReplyDeletei had a few friends who were members. one got a small royalty check for a tune he’d registered… odd, as it was unrecorded and only performed by him. turns out, it was a mistake. the money should have been sent to someone else with a similarly named song. sesac wanted the money back. we’re talking ten bucks here, but this guy never had ten bucks to pay for anything, much less re-pay. letters… lawyers… he was a member… he had agreed. this went on for years. he’d move. they’d find him. he was a busker, for chrissakes. he wasn’t even french (or european for that matter). they’re probably still after him. (come to think of it, he still owes me money, too… oh well.)
I hear a couple of small flourishes buried in "O Come All Ye Faithful" that sound like the tune. Basically the "Chri-ist the Lord" bit. Or I could be imagining it. Are their writing credits? Maybe it's an original. But who knows? New Age Synth dudes were always pretty weird. That said, I kinda like it.
ReplyDeleteI am all over "O Come All Ye Faithful". That song might be the most 80's sounding song I've ever heard . Delighted me to no end. I also enjoyed Ernie Berger's Skaters Waltz but I can't resist an organ melody, especially if it's for Mama.
ReplyDelete