Prince Buster- The Ten Commandments 7″

busterThe world of music lost one of its giants this week with the death of Prince Buster, the King of Ska.  He died in Miami of complications from a series of strokes.  He was 78.

Obit from the Guardian

Obit from the BBC

Obit from the AV Club

pb-png_1718483346Born Cecil Bustamente Campbell in Kingston Jamaica, Prince Buster was influential in the sound system world of Jamaican music.  He pioneered ska and rocksteady in the 1960’s.  Moreover, without him, there would be no UK ska revival of the late seventies.  Madness took their name from one of his songs and the Specials liberally borrowed from him.  Both bands also covered his songs extensively.

I had this 7″ of his in my collection so I am posting it in honor of his passing.  From 1967, here is Prince Buster’s “The Ten Commandments”. The B-side of this was “Don’t Make Me To Cry”.princebuster1

RIP Prince Buster

Mantovani- The Mantovani Touch

DSCN5263 (800x780)This was 40 cents with discount.  I am sure the cheapness is what pushed me to by this along with the inclusion of “The Impossible Dream”.  mantovani-518436

I did a post of Mantovani last year.  If you want to rehash that, you can link to it here. Otherwise, I have nothing really to add about the arranger except that he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.mantovani_recording

This record, recorded in 1968, came out towards the end of his recording career.  It features a wide array of songs and composers including Mancini (“The Days of Wine and Roses”), Bacharach/David (“Alfie”), Lane/Learner (“On A Clear Day”),and Rodgers/Hammerstein (“Edelweiss”). There are a lot of soundtrack/ musical numbers on here. Although Mantovani is known for his strings and they are evident here, this album features a good amount of brass as well.  Or it least that is what my memory recalls.  I am not listening to this again. A lot of soundtrack/ musical numbers on here as well.DSCN5264 (800x784)

For a sample, I decided to go with one of the more brass heavy songs from the album, the French “A Man And A Woman”. p01bqgfh

I would normally say meh but given how little I paid for it, plus the fact I knew what it would sound like, you know what, I am still going to say meh.

The O’Jays- In Philadelphia

DSCN5270 (800x771)This was $5 at a record show, probably from last year.  I bought it at my first record show ,at which point I was trying to diversify the site.  I still would like to play more soul on the site but I have a huge backlog of records, especially from Half Price, where soul is a bit harder to find.the_O_jays4

The O’Jays were a vocal group from Canton ,Ohio.  Formed by Eddie Levert, Walter Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles, the group had some modest success with singles and touring in the 1960’s.  Massey and Isles left, but the group continued as a trio.  Bolstered by the songwriting skills of Gamble and Huff, the group popularized Philadelphia Soul with hits such as “Backstabbers” and “Love Train”.

Success followed throughout the 70’s, but Powell would die in 1977 of cancer at age 35, but he was replaced by Sammy Strain.  Success and the 80;s followed but by 1990, their recorded output would slow down. They still perform today and are a popular draw, with Eric Grant, replacing Strain.

The O’Jays Web Page

This album,  originally recorded in 1970, is pretty interesting.  It was made right before the band signed with the label Philadelphia International which was the source of much of their success.  Yet, it features songs by Gamble and Huff and has the beginnings of the Philly sound.  Reading the copy on the back, it is clear that this is a reprinting from 1973.DSCN5271 (800x788)

Anyway, when this was recorded, the band had little idea how successful the Philly Sound would be.  There are a good number of pretty good songs including “One Night Affair”, “It’s Too Strong”, “Let Me In Your World”, and “Looky Looky”.  There is a good version of “Something” (with songwriting credits to G. Garrison) but it is ruined by the inclusion of “Little Green Apples” in a medley form.  Also, if I were to lodge a complaint, the songs seems to fade out too quickly. Other than this it is a decent album.OjaysBanner940x400

For a sample, I went with the western themed “Branded Bad”.600x399xthe_ojays_js_020614.jpg.pagespeed.ic.dNaYSlMtDo

Satisfactory record.  It is an interesting beginning not just for the band, but for Philly Soul as well.

Vicky Autier- Vive Paris!

DSCN5261 (800x782)This was most likely $1.60.  On my quest to find French female singers, I came across this.  A-1622163-1279227046.jpeg

I was not able to find out much about Vicky Autier and quite frankly, I was not as eager to do much more than the basic fact checking.  I am assuming she is French.  Besides singing in Paris, at the time of this record, she was pulling regular gigs in New York and London.  She also sings in English, Spanish, and Italian on occasion.  She made three records that I know of for Capitol and was also signed to MCA.  She did a flury of singles and EP’s in France.  And that is where the story ends.  My money is on being dead now.

This was released in 1960 under the Capitol Of The World T series.  The songs are fifties style night club types.  While not the Ye-Ye of the 60’s that I like, it is still not bad.  Songs I liked include “Monte-Carlo”, “Va Mon Ami”, “Mon Oncle”, and the odd “Ballad Irlandaise”, a song about a British solider serving in Ireland, a strange subject to be tackled by the French. Anyway, the arrangements are swank and Autier’s voice is pretty good.DSCN5262 (800x770)Nifty Blog with covers from the Capitol Of The World Series

For a sample, I went with “Adieu Tristesse” (Good Bye Sadness).  117687900

Satisfactory record.

Ace Cannon-Looking Back

DSCN5259 (800x792)It’s Labor Day and the start of another month of the Show O’ Donkey.  How is this month looking?  I mean we have things this month.  Some spots could have been better but overall, I am proud of what we are doing this September.  This was all of one dollar.  I liked the song list.  Possibly the inclusion of “Night Life” cemented this sale but as I bought it over a year ago, it is hard to say with any accuracy.DSCN5314

Speaking of which, despite telling myself I was not going to buy any more records for a while, I went ahead and hit up three Half Price Books during the 20% Labor Day Sale.  I went to the one on Hwy 6 and Veteran’s Memorial because they used to have the most cheap records, the one on FM529 because they have the best records, and the one in Pearland because they have 25 cent records.  At least they all did last year.  Veteran’s Memorial had a bunch of cheap records but they went up from $1 to a $1.49 and $1.99.  Talk about bleeding me dry.  Also there were not as many $1 records in Pearland and no 25 centers.  FM 529 remained consistent with a good selection but mostly high end stuff.  Drats to this economic downturn as I guess it means the end of $1 records at Half Price.

As far as this record goes, this is the third Ace Cannon album I have posted so I kind of exhausted what I can say about him.  This, I think was his second album, released in 1962, a year after his breakout single “Tuff”.  It was recorded on the Hi label and has a pretty good selection of songs.  The title track, “Volare”, “Lazy River”, “My Blue Heaven”, and “September Song” seem to be the tracks I remember liking.  I felt his sax on this album was a bit restrained as compared to other albums I have heard of his.DSCN5260 (800x781)

For a sample, I went with the instrumental standard, “Harlem Noctune”.  Written by Earle Hagen and Dick Rogers in 1939 for the band they were in, the Ray Noble Orchestra, the song has been covered over 500 times.  ace32

As far as this album goes, I will have to say meh.  Do a search for the other two Cannon albums I have posted.  I feel they are better.  Maybe this is unfair.  It was his second effort after all.  Well, I still feel Cannon did much better work so I have to measure thus accordingly.

The Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66- Foursider

DSCN5124 (1024x1016)This was $3.20 and a two record greatest hits collection of one of the smoothest musicians to come out of Brazil.  Oddly enough, I saw (but did not buy) a Liza Minnelli Foursider record with the same concept/art work so I imagine it was a series.tempsergio

In writing this post, I am kicking myself for not posting this two weeks ago during the Closing Ceremonies of the 2016 Games in Rio.  I could have really piggybacked off some of those searches.  Oh well, opportunity lost.  Despite all initial concerns, the games went off with very little hitches, other than the crappy Olympic Village, the pool mess up, and Ryan Lochte. _89821805_89820834

 

MV5BMjA4ODQ3ODkzNV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwOTc4NDI3._V1_UY1200_CR89,0,630,1200_AL_On a somewhat relevant side note, I just finished watching Cidade De Deus (City Of God), a 2002 film about various criminals in the slums of Rio.  It was pretty good.  Hard to watch at times but real superb storytelling and a riveting narrative. A powerful film and loosely based on real events.

Which brings us to this, a collection of Bossa Nova classics from one of the genre’s leading proponents of the last century, Sergio Mendes and his Brasil ’66.  I did a post on these guys already so I am not going to rehash the history.  You can use Google for that.DSCN5125 (1014x1024)

Out of the two records, there is a lot of material to choose from including covers such as “Chelsea Morning”, “Dock of the Bay”, “After Midnight” and “For What Its Worth”, four Beatles covers, and their breakout hit, “Mais Que Nada”.  After some contemplation (but not much as it is Saturday), I decided to go with “Day Tripper” and “One Note Samba/Spanish Flea”.SergioMendes

Top Rated record.

Karel Gott- Der Star Meines Lebens

DSCN5120 (1024x998)This was $3.00.  I was familiar enough with the singer and the songs on this album were interesting enough to warrant purchase.  I kind of went on an international bent that day at Half-Price.   I imagine this is probably the cream of that crop.ae0a71bbf67148e1936bb3f719c46ed8

Schlager music, while big in Europe, never really caught on in the US.  It is huge in Germany , obvously since schlager is a German word, but not here.  Have I mentioned this fact before?  Am I repeating myself?gott dd

I thought Karel Gott was German when I got this but despite having German heritage and selling many records in Germany, he was actually born in Pilsen in which is now the Czech Republic in the year 1939.

Wikipedia has him at selling between 55 and 100 million records.  He also started painting in the 1990’s. He is perhaps the best known Czech male entertainer.  He is still alive and was quite active appearance wise in 2015.

A more in depth Bio

I believe this was Gott’s fourth album, released in 1970.  Google translates the title as “The Star of my Life”.  Recorded in Hamburg, it is a pretty interesting mix of songs.  A true international affair, the album features arrangements from both UK piano man Jimmy Horowitz and Dutch conductor Rob Pronk, as well as support from German choir leader Gunter Kallman.  DSCN5122 (1019x1024) DSCN5123 (1024x967)

The album features what I assume are German titles as well as some english speaking tunes.  The style is largely schlager tunes.  Schlager grew out of a European backlash of rock and roll and therefore, really never caught on in the US.Have I mentioned this fact before?  Am I repeating myself? Anyway, this record went to #33 in Germany.

The album is decent enough.  There are pretty funny covers of “MacArthur Park” and “Proud Mary” on here.  The rest of the songs are ok.

DSCN5121 (1024x981)

For a sample, I decided to go with a cover of Edison Lighthouse’s “Love Grows” as well as the Beatles’ “Carry That Weight”.cfa9ad7c9f_72336817_o2

Eh, it is Friday.  I would have liked this record to be cheaper but I am not going to let that keep me from crapping on it so satisfactory. The covers are interesting enough,

 

OST- Flahooley

DSCN5118 (1017x1024)This was a upper end purchase of $5.00.  A friend of mine asked me why I had not posted any Yma Sumac.  Mainly because her stuff falls in the range of collectibles and not typically under $5.00. So when I found this, I jumped on it, despite knowing little about the production it came from.MTE5NDg0MDU1NDI1NDg0MzAz (1)

Yma Sumac (1922-2008), was a Peruvian queen of exotica music.  Known for her five octave voice, she appeared on radio and made records in Argentina before moving to New York City in 1946 where she performed with her husband.  She also made numerous records as well as concert appearances around the world. She started in a handful of movies, including Secret of the Incas, the film the inspired the Indiana Jones series.  Her work has also been featured in advertising as well as in movies, such as one I always like referencing, The Big Lebowski.  The song below was used in the trampoline scene at Jackie Treehorns.

A better bio on Sumac from her Website

There is a rumor that Sumac is actually one Amy Camus, a housewife from New Jersey.  I do not believe this as I feel there would be more conclusive evidence on the net at this point.

An article with a link to another article on the subject of Amy Camus

Which leads us to this production, Flahooley by E.Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy with music by Sammy Fain.  Harburg, who wrote several US standards as well as the songs for The Wizard of Oz, had recently found himself on the wrong end of House Un-American Activities Committee and as a result, blacklisted in Hollywood, despite not being a Communist.  Not a stranger to political satire as his work, Finian’s Rainbow shows, he wrote this play based on Joe McCarthy and the Communist witch hunt.  Adjustments were made and several references were toned down, but still, from what I am told, the play was still very relevant to the current political climate.

flaho

Entry on the Broadway  Database

As far as what I can piece together, the story focuses on a toy factory.  One inventor is about to reveal a talking doll to the company’s board of directors (in early scripts, the dolls said “Dirty Red” when turned around until Harburg toned that part down). A delegation of Saudis interrupt and ask the toy maker for help repairing their genie lamp.  It would seem if I am reading this right, that Saudi Arabia has run out of oil and need the genie to return to bring back prosperity.

Flahooley The CEO is charmed by the Arabian princess and gives the task to the inventor, who hopes to use the genie to become rich enough to marry his sweetheart.  However, the genie, who is unclear on capitalism, starts to give the talking dolls away, causing panic and a witch hunt.  I am not sure how it resolves. I do believe puppets and marionettes were used pretty extensively, however.

Flahooley premiered on Broadway on May 14, 1951 and closed a few months later after 40 performances.  Even though some parts were watered down, the theater going public at the time was not ready for anti-communist satire as both the Cold War and McCarthyism were in full swing. It should be noted that the original production marked the Broadway debut of Barbara Cook, best known for originating the role of Marion Peroo in The Music Man.  A revival production was done in the US in 1998.  Two productions were also done in London, one in 1997 and one in 2012 as seen below.

 

Getting back to Sumac, she landed the role of the Arabian princess and has three songs on the album.  They were all written by her husband, Moises Vivanco and all pretty much demonstrate her beautiful range.  As far as the rest of the album goes, it is ok.  There are some decent songs including ” Who Says There Ain’t No Santa Claus” and “Springtime Cometh”.

For a sample, I went with the opening number which was a pretty good poke at McCarthy’s stooges, “You Too Can Be A Puppet”. As far as Sumac’s songs go, after some thought and listening, I settled on “Najala’s Lament”.  I felt this best showed her range both high and low although I almost went with “Birds”.ymaaa

Despite the three songs by Sumac, this is really meh for me.  It seems like a lot to pick at for three Sumac tunes. Perhaps if I paid a dollar for this, my opinion would be different.

 

Al Melgard- At The Chicago Stadium

DSCN5116 (1024x1012)This was a bit mid range at $3.00 but being a hockey fan, I thought I should check it out.  Also maybe to try and get some of the Chicago people I know on the blog bandwagon.  Organ music at sports events is kind of a lost art form.  I remember it enough at sporting events when I was a kid but it was just starting to compete with pre-taped songs.  It was the beginning of the end of an era which to my knowledge is pretty much dead now.  I mean, I think some stadiums still have organs but they are used sparingly as a mere gesture to days gone by.a11

Chicago Stadium, built in 1929 and demolished in 1994, was the home of the Blackhawks for all years of its existence (It also housed the Bulls since 1967). I should point out here what little fruit was reaped during those years as the Edmonton Oilers won more cups in less than 10 years than the Hawks during their complete tenure in Chicago Stadium.  However, I am  sure I will get reminded about the Hawk’s recent history as well as how well the Oilers are doing now.

More history on the stadium

chicago-stadium

Very much an old school stadium, it the last arena to use an analog score clock.  It was also known as one of the loudest arenas in hockey due to its shape. This was also due to what was the world’s largest theatre pipe organ according to both Wikipedia and the album cover.  Chicago.ChicagoStadi.1929BartonOrga.0420.121210

Built by Barton, it consisted of 40,000 pipes, 883 stops, and six manual keyboards (according to the back cover as Wikipedia and most other sources say 3,663 pipes). There is a popular story about how during a riot after a boxing match, the organ player opened most of the stops, cranked up the volume, and blasted the middle keys.  The result was a fury of sound that blew out most of the lights, thus causing people to leave and quelling the riot.

A Link to more information on the organ

Page from the Pipe Organ Database

 

melgard

The man behind the keys that night was the subject of this album, Al Melgard, the Melancholy Dane.  Born in Denmark, he came to Chicago with his family when he was six months old. In 1930, he became the third and most well known organist in the history of the stadium, despite losing his left index finger.  With a list in his head of over 1,000 songs, he was one of the first to match songs with on ice occurrences.  For example, when King Clancy was refereeing, Melgard would play “Clancy Lowered the Boom” when he made calls.  He also played “Three Blind Mice” whenever the officials would take to the ice, a move that greatly angered Clarence Campbell. (inevitably, Campbell put the brakes on this). A very popular figure, he retired in 1974 and died in a nursing home in Las Vegas in 1977 at age 88.1734

As far as the organ, upon closure, it was bought and put in a club for a while until the owner moved it to Arizona.  A warehouse fire destroyed some of the owners other Barton’s, but it would appear the stadium console survived.  According to undated sources, it is currently in the Las Vegas home of property magnate, Phillip Maloof.

Link to the Organ restoration

This album, released in 1958,  is a collection of simple tunes played on the great organ by Melgard.  Apparently the sound of wind thru the pipes made recording difficult.  Anyway, other than the US service songs and “I’ve Been Working On The Railroad”, the rest of the melodies are from a bygone era.  But despite not knowing the songs, this is a decent piece of history and an interesting collection of sound.  It would probably sound better live but those days have past. I believe this and three more records Melgard put out sold well.   DSCN5117 (1009x1024)

For a sample, I was really torn. I really liked “Asleep in the Deep” with its aquatic tones.  I also thought “Butcher Boy” was a more traditional stadium piece and had a gone range of tones.  Then I was torn between the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and the “Marine Hymn”.  Posting anything over four songs is sloth to me but I am sure this is out of print, so for historical reasons, here is all four songs.

ChiStadLastgame

Satisfactory enough record.

Claudius Alzner – Cocktails International Vol 3

DSCN5114 (1024x969)This was $3.00.  The title and the playlist made it worth looking into.  One strike against the record, right off the bat is the fact that this has a plastic record sleeve with round ends.  I hate these.  They never seem to fit back in with any real ease.  I would almost prefer no sleeve at all.Caipirinha-and-Bottle

Last Friday, I found myself making cocktails at a party, Caipirinha’s to be exact.  A lot of muddling and shaking was involved.  All that work and I did not drink any except maybe a sip to make sure I made them right.209990

Claudius Alzner was the arranger and bandleader of this ensemble.  Born in the home of great music, Vienna, Austria in 1930, he played the klavier or piano for Johannnes Fehring’s orchestra before striking out on his own.  Besides records, he also worked on film soundtracks.  Between the years of 1967 to 1980, he made SEVENTEEN of these Cocktail International Records.  As far as German Wikipedia knows, he is still alive although nothing is known about him after 1980.DSCN5115 (1024x992)

If I had one sentence to describe this record, I would say it was made for Gin drinkers. It is an easy listening collection of light and airy piano tunes with a band backing, grouped in clusters of two or three.  Pretty straight forward but with interesting combinations.  Manhattan_Cocktail2

For samples, I am going with the combination of “If I Was A Rich Man”/ “Winchester Cathedral”/ “El Condor Pasa”. I was leaning heavily on a grouping that included “Cielito lindo” since I can still remember the Frito Bandito.  However, I thought the whole piece was not strong enough to warrant its inclusion.cocktails-

Meh.  Too much money for this plus the plastic record sleeve that gets on my nerve.  Plus a bit too on the easy listening side and not enough lounge for me.