Mickie Finn’s- The Now Sound Of Mickie Finn’s

DSCN5097 (1008x1024)Hey, it’s Monday again.  The circle of life.  This was $3.00.  I probably got it for the Beatles tune, along with some other songs I liked.  Looking at the cover, I had a pretty good idea of what this record sounded like.  It reminded me of a resturant in Houston I went to as a kid that had peanuts.  I believe it was called Ruby Red’s. You used to be able toss your empty shells on the ground.  Then one day, they reversed policy and we stopped going.  They were kind of dicks about it. Then they closed.TVGuide-Actors-1966-Mickie Finn_1_page1

Mickie Finn’s was the brainchild of one Fred Finn, who began the Finn Empire with a night club in San Diego when he was 22 years old.  Due to the high cost of moving his musical equipment, San Diego was chosen as his location.  The theme of his club was Gay 90’s, Roaring 20’s, and Swinging 30’s.  This was in 1960.  The club was a success and led to regular performances in Las Vegas, records, and a television show in 1966. Additionally, they opened a second night club in Beverly Hills on Restaurant Row.

Fred was joined by his wife, Mickie, who sang and played banjo (additional banjo duties were also handled by Red Watson and on this album, Don Van Paulta).   The couple divorced in 1973 but Fred’s second wife, Cathy, took over the reigns.  The band continued in Vegas after the closure of the night club in 1974 .  This lasted until 1988 with several encore performances.  I am not sure what happened after this.  Some sources point to retirement after some work out of Florida after 1990 (my money would be on Branson). I also believe that both Mickie and Fred are still alive (they were both born in 1938).

Website for the Mickie Finn Show

This album I imagine was riding the brief success of their TV show.  It sounds just as it looks, full of barrelhouse piano with a mix of dixieland, ragtime, and swing. It’s what the Simpsons would call “pianie”.

DSCN5098 (1024x992)This was released in 1967.  What else can I say on a Monday? I liked “Lady Godiva”, “Cabaret”, “Sail Along Silvry Moon”, and “Red River Valley”.  Other than that, if you do not like or can not stomach old timey music, this is not for you. At the very least, the songs are short. Also, Fred can play the keys off the piano.

For a sample, I went with a track from on of my favorite musical movies, “Thoroughly Modern Millie”.  I wanted to go with the Beatles “With A Little Help Form My Friends” but it skipped and I was too lazy to clean it.mickiefinns04

Satisfactory enough.  I mean, if you can’t figure this out before you buy it, you must struggle then with the obvious.

Emerson, Lake, & Palmer- Pictures at an Exhibition

DSCN5094 (1024x1012)This was one dollar.  In posting this album, I was thinking that I had the classical source this came from but I did not.  However, I noticed that the Houston Symphony will be presenting Pictures At An Exhibition on February 23, 25, and 26 next year.  I got my tickets along with two other shows next season.

Info on the Houston Symphony’s upcoming performance

Mussorgsky
Mussorgsky
Hartmann
Hartmann

Modest Mussorgsky(1839-1881) wrote these ten pieces in tribute to his friend, architect and artist Viktor Hartmann, who had died suddenly of an aneurysm in 1873.  A show was arranged to pay tribute to Hartmann’s work and Mussorgsky lent some of his art collection for this purpose.  He also wrote ten accompanying pieces for piano along with linking “Promenade” pieces based on 11 pieces of Hartmann’s work. Today, only six picturess have been confirmed as inspiration of this work.  Also, given Mussorgsky ‘s complicated history, this work was published five years after his death.

Remaining pictures from the Suite

The first orchestral arrangement of this work was done by Russian conductor Mikhail Tushmalov in 1891. The second of note was by British conductor Henry Wood in 1915.  However, the definite arrangement was done by Maurice Ravel in 1922.  At this point Wood withdrew and banned his arrangement.  Most critics praise Ravel’s version but there are those who claim Wood’s is superior.

Cut to more recent times, when prog rockers Emerson, Lake, and Palmer recorded this live version at Newcastle City Hall in 1971.  Performed as one complete piece, their effort uses 4 of the suite’s original pieces as well as the “Promenade”.  Original pieces as well as lyrics were also added.

DSCN5095 (1002x1024)The band’s label was not really happy to release an album of classical music so it was shelved in favor of their second album, Tarkus.  After that album’s success, the execs allowed this to be released on a budget label. The band would release another live album with Pictures At An Exhibition.  I posted it when Keith Emerson died last year.emrson_lake_and_palmer_lp_cove_0_1457707958

Earlier post on Keith Emerson

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The album is pretty good progressive rock and roll.  One of my main criticisms, since it is one continuous piece, is that it is hard to recognize where pieces start and end.  This being said, it is a good album.  A studio recording of the Nutcracker Suite is also included.KeithEmerson

For a sample, I went with what I am assuming is part of “The Great Gates Of Kiev”.  Hartmann designed the gate for Tsar Alexander II to commemorate his escape from assassination.  Hartmann felt that it was his best work. It is the last number of the suite and I believe it is the most famous.   Here is an excerpt from this piece which runs a bit on the long side.

Hartmann's design and inspiration for the piece
Hartmann’s design and inspiration for the piece

Satisfactory Record.

 

Sam and Dave- Soul Men

MI0000578714This was $5.00’s at a record show. Note that the cover below states wrong LP.  So I knew this at the time of sale.  I got this regardless to get some soul music on the blog as it is sorely lacking.DSCN5092 (1024x1014)

I am still getting over traveling two states over.  I know that sounds weak but there we are.  So if you do not know who Sam and Dave are, Google it.  I will say they received bump in popularity when their song “Hold On” was used in The Blues Brothers. For anything else, facilitate your own learning.sam--dave-52ca644fab8bf

The album cover with the turtle is for the 1966 debut album of Sam Moore and Dave Prater. The album, in actually, is their third album, released in 1967. It contains their biggest hit, “Soul Man”, written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter.

And along with Hayes on organ, the album featured the Stax house band, Booker T Jones and the MG’s, featuring Steve Cropper, Donald “Duck” Dunn, and Al Jackson. The Mar-Key horns( Packy Axton, Don Nix, and Wayne Jackson) are also on this as well.  Overall, it is a pretty good album.  The songs I liked on it include “May I Baby”, “Broke Down Piece of Man”, “Don’t Knock It”, “Rich Kind of Poverty”, and “I’ve Seen What Loneliness Can Do.”sam-dave-soul-men-sal-932.742--[2]-46788-p

Despite their success and impressive live show, (which included oddly enough, opening for the Clash in New York), there was much tension between the duo.  The two did not speak for 13 years during their run, according to Wikipedia.  While Sam split from the duo (with several reunions to follow), he was replaced by Sam Daniels in 1982.  This incarnation of Sam and Dave continued until Dave’s death in a car crash in 1988.  Sam Moore is still alive and working.sam-dave-04

It is hard to say, but I kind of wish I had the first album instead of this.  I really like “Hold On” and kind have had my fill of “Soul Man”.  That being said, I still like this album.

For a sample, I went with “Rich Kind Of Poverty”.

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Satisfactory record.

The Kingston Trio- Time To Think


DSCN5090 (1024x1014)This was a dollar.  I like the Kingston Trio so if I come across anything with songs that I like on it by them, I will pick it up.  On a side note, I just flew back in last night from Arizona and besides playing two periods of hockey on the fly after racing across town, I am beat.  I could have gone a bit more in depth with this, yet I choose not to today.636011859806677838-Kingston-Trio

The Kingston Trio formed in 1957 by Dave Guard, Nick Reynolds, and Bob Shane. They scored five #1 albums and sold over 8 million records by 1961.  Although they started singing Hawaiian and calypso tunes, they came to embody the growing folk movement and in that regard, were true innovators.  While typing this, I realized that calling the re-interpretation of songs that have been played for ages may not sound like innovation, but alas, that is the world of folk music.  Tensions mounted within the band, however, and by 1961, Guard left the band.  He was replaced by John Stewart of later Gold fame. The band continues to have success with top ten albums and big singles such as “Where Have All The Flowers Gone” and “Greenback Dollar”.  However, as the movement they started started to get more topical and political, coupled with pressure from the British Invasion, the trio’s fortunes began to wane.  The group sort of split in 1967 with several offshoots and reformations throughout the following years.  In 1981, a version of the band lead by Shane was joined on stage by Reynolds, Guard, and Stewart.  Kingston_Trio_312046_1964_t940

Despite their massive popularity and success, the Trio kind of found themselves in a funny situation.  Many equated folk music with leftist politics, while others felt the band was too vanilla.  In truth, the Trio skillfully mastered a wide range of styles and songs, turned people on to radicals like Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, and paved the way for new artists such as Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, and Bob Dylan.  And as stated above, despite this misguided criticism, they were massively successful. A version of the band continues today despite the death of Guard and Reynolds, and the retirement of Shane.

The band’s Webpage with a better bio since I am still getting over traveling.

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This album was around the band’s 17th or so.  It came out in 1963.  It was a move into more meaningful and pointed songs as their contemporaries were moving into more socially conscious music and in turn, perhaps, was the beginning of the end.  The album has a pretty good track list,  Thier version of “Season’s In The Sun” is pretty good.  I also liked “The Patriot Game” (which I would have used as a sample had it not skipped), “If You Don’t Look Around”, and “Alley Ally Oxen Free”.  I bought this for “Deportee” which I felt fell flat.  Other than that, it is  a decent album.2-folkways-lp-s-by-woody-guthrie-bound-for-glory-sings-folk-songs-w-inserts_1318057

As a side note, I was pleasantly surprised to find a booklet from a Woody Guthrie album inside this one.  Titled Bound For Glory, the booklet contains lyrics to several Guthrie songs, some thoughts and quotes, and a few cartoons drawn by Guthrie.  I believe it was printed in 1961 or so.woody-guthrie-bound-for-glory-folkways-w-insert-songs-story-nice_6471891

For a sample, I decided to go with “Coal Tattoo”.ktrbw21

Satisfactory enough album.

OST- The Five Pennies

DSCN5088 (1024x1003)This was $3.00 .  I bought it for Danny Kaye, I guess.  I really liked him when I was a young kid.  I was watching a movie of his about a year ago and I realized I am probably subconsciously stealing more from him than I am aware, mannerism-wise.Red Nichols

Red Nichols (1905-1965) was a jazz band leader who played the coronet.  Unlike many jazz players of his time, he was not a drug addict. Rather, he was a workaholic, always looking for the next dose of workahol.  He worked with various people and under numerous monikers, most notably, Red Nichols and his Five Pennies ( Like a nickel, get it?). He was scheduled to play the opening of Mint Hotel in Las Vegas when he suffered a heart attack.  The band played that night with a spotlight on the empty seat reserved for Nichols.

A better Resource on Nichols with audio samples

Danny Kaye, along with Paramount made this film, The Five Pennies as a semi-biographical story of Nichols.  Nichols himself played coronet on the soundtrack and in the film but was not on screen. I think the film was somewhat successful commercially.  It did garner four Oscar nominations for Musical Scoring, Orginal Song, Cinematography, and Costumes.364-2

IMDB Page on the Movie

Louis Armstrong also appeared as himself in the movie.  I would be remiss if I did not point out that Armstrong was a fan of bowel movements, enjoyed laxatives, and made a series of advertisements for his favorite, Swiss Krissly, which he also recommended for friends.10533_0554_3_lg

As far as the album, there was something I though I really liked when I first listened to it, but after a second spin, I could not find it.  It really does not hit any specific area.  If you like jazz, you really only get a teaser.  There is a lot of Danny Kaye on here, but without the visual, it really does not do anything either.  DSCN5089 (1024x1005)

For a sample, I decided to go with the Armstrong/ Kaye take of the old standard “When The Saint’s Come Marching In”, renamed “The Five Pennies Saints”.  The interplay scat routine between the two make the song worth listening to.anatole_of_paris_danny_kaye

Otherwise, meh.  Nothing really great on this album.  Like I said before, it really misses a specific area in order to cover a wider area.

Manuel and the Music of the Mountains- The Very Best Of

DSCN5086 (1024x1022)This was a dollar.  I bought this and another Manuel album around the same time.  I liked the songs on this enough to warrant its purchase.  I was unsure where exactly this music came from when I bought it, though.e50f14e9662b451b915852d560ab9a0b

Manuel and the Music of the Mountains was the pseudonym of one Geoff Love.  Born in Yorkshire, England in 1917, his parents were both in the business of show. His mother was an actress and singer from England, while his father, Kid Love was a African American guitarist and dancer.  Love traveled England as his family were entertainers until the death of his father at which point the family settled back home. Love picked up trombone early after an attempt at violin proved unsuccessful.  He stuck with this instrument and after working in a garage as a mechanic, he  became a full time musician at age 17.  He was playing jazz with various bands when WWII put a brief halt to his activities.  He did however, use his time in the King’s Royal Rifle Corps speaking with other musicians and getting advice on arraigning for other instruments. After the war, he became a freelance tromboner and arranger.  He also worked with a few bands as well.  He worked with artists such as Connie Francis, Judy Garland, Tommy Steele, Paul Robeson, Shirley Bassey, Johnny Mathis, and Mel Tomme among others.  He also recorded his own albums both under his own name and his Manuel moniker as well as a series of instrumental albums of TV and movie themes.  He would earn one platinum, fifteen gold, and thirteen silver discs.  Love died in 1991 at age 73.

The Geoff Love Appreciation page

A more Detailed Biography

Love created his Manuel persona in order to produce a series of string/ guitar heavy albums, moving away from more fuller, traditional orchestrations. He intended to keep his identity a secret but success in the US ruined his chances of this.  Love made around 30 or so Manuel records thru 1960 to 1981.1377533149349164_large

This album is a greatest hits type, released in 1976 on EMI.  It contains pretty interesting arrangements of songs such as “Eso Beso”, “Peanut Vendor”, “Love Theme from Spartacus”, “The Way We Were”, “Moon River”, “La Bamba”, and his biggest hit I believe, “HoneyMoon Song”.  In all honesty, it has been awhile since I listened to this album and as I am currently out of town, I can’t just flip it on.  I seem to think, though, that I liked this album.  The arrangements were decent enough and the track list is good.DSCN5087 (1024x1010)

For a sample, I went with “The Carioca” which I felt was a decent tune.  I also went with “Brazil” as I always choose that tune if it is on an album.2446814316_c5ebde24e2_z

Satisfactory enough album.

 

Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass- Movin’ On


DSCN5084 (1016x1024)This was most likely 80 cents.  It had a good listing of country tracks that I like.  If brass reinterpretations could work for Herb Alpert, why not this?dd

That was the idea Danny Davis had when he formed the Nashville Brass.  Before this, Davis, born in Randolph, Mass in 1925, played trumpet for several big bands before going to MGM in the 1950’s.  While there, he released some solo records and some work with a band doing pop tunes before he started work with Connie Francis.  While taking Francis to Nashville, the idea for doing country tunes with brass come to mind.  After working with a wide range of artists including Nina Simone and Frank Yankovic, Davis left MGM for RCA and  soon transferred to Nashville.  After working other artists, he suggested the idea for the Nashville Brass to his boss, Chet Atkins.  The executives at RCA in New York did not like Davis’s idea but Atkins reminded him, “young fella, I run Nashville” and encouraged him to proceed. Rounded out with a rhythm section that included Floyd Cramer, Grady Martin, Bob Moore, and Buddy Harmon, the group became a success, as much so that Davis relinquished his other duties with RCA to focus solely on the group, which made records and toured up until 2005, when Davis retired.  He would die in 2008 of a heart attack.  He was 83.

I am more likely to agree with the record executives on their point, however.  While strings helped make the Nashville sound in the 60’s, brass instruments really do not bring much to the table for country music (Johnny Cash’s Mexican horns in “Ring of Fire” being one of the notable exceptions). As a result, this record is not much more than elevator music. In all fairness, Herb Alpert’s work straddles the line.  Many fans would disagree though so I will concede that I may be in the minority with this opinion. It should be noted that Davis won Grammy’s for his work with the Brass as well as most every CMA award for Country Instrumental work.DSCN5085 (1024x1014)

This album was the Brass’s third, released in 1969.  It went to #16 on the coutnry charts.  Songs include “Wolverton Mountain”, “Movin On”, “Wabash Cannonball”, “Hey Good Lookin” and “Ring of Fire”.  My opinion of this record is in line with the preceding paragraph so no point in rehashing it here.danny-davis-nashville-brass-620x264

For a sample, I normally go with “Ring of Fire” but it is already a pretty horn heavy song, so the addition of brass really does little to enhance this.  Therefore, I went with Kenny Roger’s “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town” .41C+NFtpHHL

This record is meh for me.  Sorry to the rest of those who disagree.

Hank Snow and Anita Carter- Together Again

DSCN5167 (1024x991)This was $5.00 but worth the high price.  I got it a few weeks ago.  I swore I would not buy any new records anytime soon but I found myself searching for something specific at Half Price.  I could not find what I was looking for but unfortunately, I could not leave empty handed. I got too many records right now and even though I have made progress in my unlistened pile, it now seems to be growing again.hqdefaultdfsdfewee

Anita Carter is the youngest daughter of Mother Maybelle Carter as well as the sister of June Carter Cash.  Born in Maces Spring . VA in 1933, Anita performed with her Mother and siblings as the Carter Sisters (later as the Carter Family).In this group, she sang and played the upright bass.  She would also have success both solo and with duets, most notably with Hank Snow.  The two scored a #2 with “Down The Trail Of Achin’ Hearts” and a #4 with “Blue Bird Island”.Anita would die in 1999 of complications from rheumatoid arthritis.  gzpd5vxj42uvjx2d

It is well known that June Carter wrote “Ring of Fire” about Johnny Cash.  However, she gave the tune to her sister who made the first recording of it.  Upon hearing it, Johnny Cash had a dream about the song with Mexican horns.  He told Anita that if the song did not chart high, he would record a version per his dream with the Carter Family on backing vocals. Alternately, Cash’s first wife has claimed that the song was actually written by Cash himself while drunk and on pills and that it is actually about female anatomy.  But if the Walk The Line movie was anywhere close to accurate (which Cash’s first wife’s family claims it is not), I am sure she is somewhat bitter and perhaps biased on the subject.

This album reunites Snow and Carter after a decade since their collaborative singles for a collection of songs.  Released in 1962, the album contains a good mix of country flavored with folk.  The album contains to (very) lightly Latin flavored tunes, ” Rose of Old Monterey” and “My Adobe Hacienda”.  It also features an A.P. Carter tune, “I Never Will Marry” as well as “No Letter Today”, “Let’s Pretend”, and “A Pair Of Broken Hearts”.  Overall, a good album.DSCN5168 (1024x967)

For a sample, I went with the track that starts the album off, “Promised To John”.Anita_Carter

Satisfactory Record.  Why did I focus this post on Carter and not Snow?  Because I have already done 4 Snow posts and probably will do at least four more in the near future. Use the site’s search function for the previous Hank Snow albums.  You will be pleasantly rewarded.

Leslie West- The Great Fatsby

DSCN5079 (1024x990)This was $3.00.  The allusion to Scott F Fitzgerald’s classic is what got me to buy this.  While the record is in ok shape, the cover is not.  It is falling apart as  we speak.

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This was guitarist and singer Leslie West’s second solo album and his first after Mountain, the group which he is best known for.  Released in 1975, the album features Ex-Mountain man Corky Laing on drums.  Mick Jagger is credited with rhythm guitar but I am unsure when and where on the record.  DSCN5080 (1024x1007)

The record is pretty good and departs from his Mountain style.  There are a lot of good rock tracks with West’s guitar works highlighting the album.  There is also a pretty good mix of songs.  Besides the hard rocking tunes, there is a version of Tim Hardin’s “If I Was  A Carpenter”.  There is also a curious number “High Roller”, which has songwriting credits for Keith Richards and Jagger.  I believe this is where Jagger plays guitar.  Either way, the song’s main riff sounds a lot like “Brown Sugar”. West also covers “Honky Tonk Women” for good measure.

For a sample, I went with “The House Of The Rising Sun”.  This song has been covered various times but it is the Animals who seem to have the definite arrangement.  This cover uses this arrangement but kicks the intensity up a couple levels. I like the soft flute at the beginning. It provides a good contrast. It also features Italian born/ South African bred singer Dana Valery. WEST-01

This is a pretty decent album despite falling apart cover wise.  Satisfactory.

A.L. Lloyd- English Street Songs

DSCN5075 (1007x1024)This was $3.00.  It looked like a good, off the beaten track collection of songs but I have been burned by English tunes before, mostly under the bawdy song moniker. But apparently not enough times, though to stop trying so why not give this a whirl.  It looks like something you wouldn’t hear everyday, at least not in this century.  From an aesthetics point of view, I am sure the Bill Sykes character on the front cover had something to do with this purchase as well.A_l_lloyd_british_folksinger

A.L.(Bert) Lloyd, (1908-1983) struck me as the British Pete Seeger or perhaps more aptly, Alan Lomax, in terms of being a folklorist.  In this respect, he was a heavyweight of folk music and a contemporary of Ewan McColl.   He made numerous albums of British folk but also ventured out into the folk music of Australia, Spain, Latin America, and other foreign countries.  A key figure in the English folk revival of the 1950’s and 1960’s, he was also a key figure in  industrial folk music, a genre driven further by musicians such as Billy Bragg.

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A more in depth biography of Lloyd

Mainly Norfolk page for Lloyd

This album, as the title states, is a collection of English street ballads. Without doing to much research on the subject, these songs appear to be from the 18th and 19th century and provide an interesting social commentary of the times.  Also, it would explain the heavy use of the adjective “gay”. Accompanied by Alf Edwards on concertina, Lloyd sings these 12 tunes with the swagger of the street balladeers before him.  I really liked “The Death of Bill Brown” which tells the somewhat true story of a poacher shot by a gameskeeper near Sheffield in 1769 as well as “The Cockfight” which sings of a fight between a black and gray game cocks.  Both tunes as really good.DSCN5076 (1024x988)

However, for samples, I decided to go with “The Unfortunate Rake” (Roud 2, Laws Q26) as well as ‘The Bloody Gardener”.  The first song is very significant because of its evolution over time.  This 18th Century song details an encounter with a young man wrapped in flannel and dying of syphilis.  He asks for a military style funeral before he dies.  This song over time would turn into the Irish “Bard of Armagh” and later into the US version which is well known; “The Streets of Laredo”. It also morphed into “St James Infirmary” as well. As the back cover states, you would be hard pressed to find a folk song that does a better job of bridging centuries and geographies that this.

Information on the Unfortunate Rake

In terms of “The Bloody Gardner” (Roud 1700), this is a rather gothic tune from the same period.  Story-wise, it is a one act opera in nature, yet short and to the point, a young man’s lover, betrayed by his mother, meets her demise from the hands of a gardener, contrasting between a gentle profession and a murderous nature. Again, I am paraphrasing the back cover here but it really hit the nail on the head.

Information on The Bloody Gardener

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I was lukewarm on this album as first but after a few times, I really liked it.  Bravo.  Satisfactory.