VA- 12 String Guitar

 

DSCN4644 (793x800)I got this for $3.  This past Christmas, I bought myself an Ibanez 12 string acoustic guitar and I was eager to learn any new tricks on how to play it. Below is the guitar.DSCN4768

I was greatly influenced both by Ledbelly and Pete Seeger who played the 12 string on an album I posted earlier.  I liked what Seeger referred to as the bell effect. So I decided, if I could get one cheap (under $500) I would.  I believe the Ibanez was under $300.  Off the bat. I enjoyed playing it but as of late the newness of it has kind of worn off.  Straight up, I hate tuning the thing.  But once it is in tune, it is somewhat fun to play.  I would like to learn some new techniques and styles to apply and that is what I was looking for when I got this album.

Part of me was kind of hoping my conceptions of 12 string would be shattered  or it would render an eureka moment.  That did not happen the first time around listening to this. I have not made it a second time yet.  I can’t find any technique other than applying 6 string concepts to 12.  And unfortunately, while I would like to progress more on the 12 string , all my time with musical instruments involves keeping the 6 string skills active. Someday maybe.DSCN4646 (800x789)

As for this album, it is not bad.  It is a pretty good cross section of musicians playing acoustic tunes on the 12 string, all instrumentals if my memory serves me right.  These musicians include Glenn Campbell, Mason Williams, Bob Gibson, James McQuinn, Howard Roberts, Joe Maphis, and Billy Strange.  The songs are short which is nice when you have a ton of records in your back log. And there are a lot of good songs on the record. Overall, a pleasant little album.

Mason Williams
Mason Williams

For a sample, I went with Mason Williams’ “Honey Miss Me When I’m Gone”, and Joe Maphis’ “Six by Twelve”, which I think is the best number.  Williams is best known for writing and recording “Classical Gas”.  He is still alive.  Maphis, on the other hand, is dead.  Known for his mastery of many instruments and his work in country music, the King of Strings was heavily influenced by the great Mother Maybelle Carter.  Out of respect for Maphis, Carter’s daughter June and her husband, Johnny Cash allowed him to be buried in the plot next to Maybelle.

Joe Maphis
Joe Maphis

Satisfactory

Waylon Jennings- Hangin’ On

DSCN4642 (800x796)This was $3 at a record show.  It was a good chance to get that 60’s country that I like as well as some pre-outlaw country Waylon Jennings.

Photo of Waylon Jennings

This was  Jenning’s  eighth album and the first of three that he would release in 1968.  He had previously released three records both in 1966 and 1967.  It was notable for the hit, “The Chokin’ Kind”, written by songwriter Harlan Howard, who Jennings frequently covered.

There was an argument between Jennings and producer Chet Atkins at the time of recording as to the backing band.  While Atkins wanted to use his session musicians, Jennings wanted to use his back up band, the Waylors.  Turns out Jennings won.  The end result is a pretty decent country album that went to #9 on the Billboard Country charts.DSCN4643 (800x776)

For a sample, I decided to go with one of country music’s greatest standards, “Gentle On My Mind”.  The title track, “Julie”, “I Fall In Love So Easy”, and “Looking At A Heart That Needs A Home” were all high points as well.720x405-GettyImages-83704961

Satisfactory Record.

Iron Butterfly-Heavy

DSCN4639 (795x800)This was $3 at a record convention.  The album itself is pretty worn. Very scratchy but you can tell this by listening to the sample.iron-butterfly

Iron Butterfly formed in San Diego in 1966.  The band went thru a few lineup changes before and after this album, finding their classic lineup until 1971.  Reunions would follow in later years with various lineups starting in 1974  up into present time.  The bands sound was driven mostly by founding member Doug Ingle (organ and vocals).  Ingle’s father had been a church organist and his influence is pretty heavy on what was their biggest single, “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” seen here in the classic Simpsons’ clip.

 

Official Website

This was the bands first album on Atco Records in 1968.  The personnel were Ingles, Danny Weis on guitar, Darryl De Loach on lead vocals, Jerry Penrod on bass, and Ron Bushy on drums.  Penrod, DeLoach, and Weis would leave shortly after the recording paving the way for Erik Braunn and Lee Dorman to form the classic lineup.  Also according to Wikipedia, most of the vocals on the album were handled by Ingle.  The album was a moderate commercial success for the band.4388396311_206f95c3f7

The album itself is pretty good and a precursor both the future work but Iron Butterfly as well as the hard rock sound.DSCN4641

For a sample, I went with “Unconscious Power” although the instrumental “Iron Butterfly Theme” was a close second.

I am not sure if this version off Playboy After Dark is better or not. The people dancing 1968 style are a bit disturbing to me despite being pretty tame compared to today’s standard. Can’t believe any girl in this video went home with the guy they danced with and vice versa.

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Satisfactory Record.

Oliver-Good Morning Starshine

DSCN4637 (800x785)This was $1.00.  It had enough songs that I knew and liked to warrant a purchase.20124_1458248496

I would have thought the lead singer was British, but low and behold, William Oliver Swofford, known professionally as Oliver, was born in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina in 1945. He began singing as an undergraduate at UNC-Chapel Hill, performing with two popular groups.  His tenor voice and good looks  led him to record “Good Morning Starshine” from the musical Hair, in 1969.  This single would become a hit, selling over a million copies and reaching #3 on the charts.  His next single, “Jean” from the film, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and written by Rod McKuen, would go up to #2. Modest success would follow over the next years.  However, while Oliver preferred simple folk arrangements, his producer, Bob Crewe felt otherwise.  If you know Crewe, his style called for elaborate productions. So the two parted ways ad Oliver continued to work  until 1977.  At this point, he stepped away from the music industry and pursued a family life.  Oliver would die from I believe complications from Non-Hogkin’s Lymphoma in 2000 at the age of 54.

LEAD Technologies Inc. V1.01

This was Oliver’s first and most successful record, reaching #19 on the charts.  Aside from the top singles mentioned above, this album also has the Stones’ “Ruby Tuesday”, the Beatles “In My Life”, Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now”, two songs from the musical Oliver! and a handful of originals.  The songs are well sung.  Oliver did have a very strong and rugged  voice.  Also, Bob Crewe’s production style is on display as well. This is an all right album.DSCN4638 (793x800)

For a sample, I decided to go with a track from the musical Oliver!, “Who Will Buy”. In a fit of foreshadowing, if you like the movie Oliver!, I would check out the blog again in two weeks.OLIVER_jpg_opt343x248o0,0s343x248

Satisfactory record.

The Seekers- Georgy Girl

DSCN4635 (794x800)Well, it was bound to happen eventually, but I ended up buying two copies of this record.  Both were $1.  I did a blog on the Seekers last year.  If you remember, I have tried real hard to like them and in all fairness, they do have some really good numbers, but overall, I like my folk music with rough edges.  So it is kind of strange that this would be the band I ended up doubling up.  the-seekers-gallery-22-wfkouylheuto-wfzofmcshpvt

Link to Earlier Seeker’s Post

This was the seventh album of the Seekers and apparently, in the US, it was an abridged version by Capitol Records of EMI’s Come the Day, both released in 1966. One source lists it as 1967.  I am too busy to split hairs on this point.  Anyway, it contains their big hit, “the title track “Georgy Girl” from the 1966 British movie of the same name. If you read this blog, at the very least in the last week, you know that this song as well as the movie is one of my favorites.  This is pretty much why I bought the album. I realize I posted this clip on my last Seeker’s post, but Damn it, I like it.

This album is ok.  There are some pretty good moments. Aside from my obvious love of the title track, I really liked their versions of “Red Rubber Ball” and “California Dreamin”.  It also has decent enough versions of “Yesterday”, “Last Thing On My Mind”, “Come The Day”, and “Turn, Turn, Turn”.  I still reserve my original point, that I , personally, prefer a less fine tuned folk music product, but having said this, this album is not too bad and is probably my favorite of theirs.DSCN4636 (800x787)

For a sample, I was drawn to Doug Kershaw’s “Louisiana Man”.  I think it is kind of perverse having these fine Australian singers from the UK sing a nice, clean ditty about swamp life. It also underscores the influence of Kershaw (who I posted last week) beyond his home state, especially in an age before internet.seekers-729-20130910140938412341-620x349

I like this album and it is probably the reason I keep buying Seeker’s albums despite my objections.  Satisfactory

VA-Favorites with a Foreign Accent

DSCN4633 (779x800)This was a sampler I picked up for 80 cents.  The back cover says it is a limited release from Capitol Records. I am assuming this was culled together from previous releases.  The Les Baxter track probably pulled me in although I think I have this on another album.  One thing I have noticed is that I have been inconsistent with the cover photos.  Still have not found the holy mix of what is the best way and what is the easiest way to do them.  Hence this one being a bit blurry.International-Media

There are a lot of pretty decent cuts on this track. I am not sure why one of my perennial favorites”Georgy Girl” is on here other than it is English.  I would think they would dig a bit deeper for tracks, but there you are. I also liked the versions of “Under a Paris Sky” and “Al Di La” as well as the songs I used as samples. Artists include The Lettermen, Al Martino, Ray Anthony, Eddie Heywood, Ruth Welcome, and The New Classic Singers.DSCN4634 (771x800) (2)

For samples, the songs that stuck me the most were “Love is Blue” by the The Sounds of Our Times  and “Zorba the Greek” by Laurindo Almeida.  In terms of “Love is Blue”, this was sung in French by a Greek singer Vicky as Luxembourg’s entry in the Eurovision Song of the Year in 1967.  It came in fourth.  This version is an instrumental one.  In terms of “Zorba the Greek”, I just like that it has a drum track behind it.  Kind of gives it a slightly different take. The beat was always assumed in the non-percussion version.  Here it is announced.  Does that make sense?  index.1

Satisfactory Record.

Soeur Sourire- The Singing Nun

DSCN4630 (800x794)This was $3.00.  I had seen it in the used racks for some time before I finally bit. Not sure why the day I bought it was that day.  I also did not know the back story.deckers singing_nun

The Singing Nun, aka Soeur Sourire or Sister Smile, aka Sister Luc-Gabrielle, aka. Jeanne Deckers was born in Brussels in 1933. At a young age, she showed an interest in both music and being a nun.  She would join the   Missionary Dominican Sisters of Our Lady of Fichermont in 1959.  During her time in the convent, she would write, arrange, and perform her own songs which were well received by her fellow sisters as well as visitors.  she was encouraged by her superiors to record an album, which she did for Phillips in 1961.  This is that album.  The single, “Dominique” became a Top Ten hit all over the world, hitting #1 on the US Billboard charts. The album would sell nearly $2 million copies and her life was made into a movie, The Singing Nun starring Debbie Reynolds, although Decker would call the film complete fiction .  953932

This is the part where the cheesey VH1 Behind the Music clichés kick in.  Deckers did not see much gain from her new found fame as Phillips took in a big chunk of the money while her convent got the rest.  A second album did not do as well.  Furthermore, Deckers felt censored by her superiors, only being allowed to write happy songs and the like.  A greater rift between her and the Catholic Church caused her to leave the convent in 1966.  A song she wrote a year later, a pro-contraception song called “Glory Be to God for the Golden Pill” did not help the matter.  Also, the fact that she could not record under her previous monikers hindered what was left of her career.  Deckers_and_Pecher_at_Annie_s_school

There was some bright spots later in life, however.  She enjoyed a brief but successful period in the 70’s.  Also, despite maintaining a simple and mostly chaste existence outside the convent, fell in love and entered a relationship with her roommate, Anne Pecher, who would start a center for autistic children. But just as things seemed to be improving, bad luck struck again.  The Belgium government informed Deckers that she owed $63,000 in back taxes from her first album although she never saw a cent.  The convent denied any responsibility for this debt and as a result, the autism center was forced to close.  Unable to pull herself out of this hole, Decker and Pecher killed themselves by taking an overdose of pills and alcohol in 1985.  As per their wishes, they are buried together in the Cheremont Cemetery in Wavre, Walloon Brabant, where they died.28711907

As stated above, this was Decker’s first and most successful album.  It is  collection of songs accompanied by acoustic guitar. Some songs have a scant female chorus to them. The songs are mostly religious but all are upbeat. The simplicity of the arrangement puts the focus on Decker.  The songs are all song in French.  There are a lot of good moments on this album, including “Dominque”, “Soeur Adele”, a ballad about her guitar, and “Fleur de Cactus”  all stand out.DSCN4632 (800x795)

The album included a illustrated story of Soeur Sourire, a lyric sheet with English translations, and a pouch where watercolors of the convent apparently used to be.DSCN4631 (800x716)

For a sample, I decided to go with the big hit single, “Dominique”.jeanine-deckers_getty-hero-

A simple and satisfactory album.

Nilsson-Nilsson Schmilsson

DSCN4628 (798x800)This gem was only one dollar.  I got it at a record show.  It reminded me much of a friend of mine who worked at Leon’s Lounge and who would play this album.leons-lounge

Oh Leon’s Lounge.  It was one of my favorite bars.  My home away from home when ever I was away or in exile from the Maple Leaf Pub.  And what made those exile years (more like months) bearable?  It was Leon’s Lounge and my friend who used to bartend there.   Leon’s was and still is the oldest bar in Houston.  Some people argue that the oldest bar is Lacarafe,  but this is incorrect.  Lacarafe is the oldest building, starting life as a trading store/ bakery founded by John Kennedy who had a contracts to supply Confederate troops during the Civil War.  He is buried with the Catholic Confederate soldiers off of Navigation in a cemetery in a Hispanic part of town.   I was there two months ago.  Dick Dowling is buried there.  They named the street Tuam (or 2 a.m. as it is known in the vernacular) after the county in Ireland were he was from.  So don’t let anybody tell you it is Vietnamese.  I get in that argument with people all the time.leon_s_two_0_0

Getting back to the point, the ownership of the bar has changed hands a few times, most recently last year. It is back up and running and I guess it is probably just as good as it ever was but I no longer drink so I would not know.  I wish the place luck and I am sure it is doing fine.  It seems kind of hard to mess that place up given location and history.

Leon’s Yelp Page

 

harry-nilsson-blog

Harry Nilsson, on the other hand was a prolific singer/songwriter from the 60’s and 70’s.  Born in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, in 1941, he had much success writing songs for groups such as the Monkees as well as recording his own material.  His song “Everybody’s Talkin” was used in the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy and netted him a Grammy.

1973HollywoodVampires_01_Getty_070915_hero He was a hard drinking buddy of John Lennon and Keith Moon among others.  Oddly enough, his flat in London which he lent out to friends was the scene of death for both Mama Cass and Moon.  Nilsson himself would die in 1994 of heart failure.

Nilsson’s Webpage

Various

This was Nilsson’s seventh and most successful album, released in 1971.  “Without You”, “Coconut”, and “Jump In the Fire” proved to be big hits.  “Without You” went to number #1 on the charts.  The album went to #3. Overall, the album is a good showcase of both his songwriting and singing skills.DSCN4629 (790x800)

For a sample, I went with “Jump In The Fire”  which was my friend at Leon’s favorite song.  It was also used well by Martin Scorsese in Good Fellas.  keeping with the theme of jumping off tangents in the post, many people talk about Wes Anderson’s brilliant use of songs in his movies but Scorsese is very good in this vein as well, albeit of a different period. however.henrynilsson

Top rated album.

Al Hirt- In Love With You

DSCN4625 (779x800)This was $1.00.  I have had this sitting around since May of last year and have bee trying to put it into months but it keeps getting bounced for one reason or another.  I believe I got it for the Beatles cover.p55485gbtwl

Al Hirt was born in New Orleans in 1922.  His tone and staccato delivery made him a legend on the trumpet.  He had big hits with “Java” and the theme from the Green Hornet which borrowed from “Flight of the Bumblebee”.  He came up around the same time as Pete Fountain and the two became friends despite both running competing clubs on Bourbon Street and stealing band members from each other. Hirt’s career took a hit, literally in 1970 when he was struck by an object during Mardi Gras.  He recovered and continued to excel on the trumpet.  He would died at age 76 in 1999 of liver failure.

This album came out in 1968 around the middle of his career.  It is okay.  It did not have as much as what I consider the Hirt sound as compared to other works.  I felt the tunes were a bit on the slow end as well.  In all fairness, the theme of the record seems to be romance which leads to slower ballads and I should have picked up on it when I bought it.  Also it has been since May of last year since I listened to it and I am not going to listen to it again. The record itself is pretty beat and worn so it must have gotten a lot of plays somewhere. So someone must have really liked this album.DSCN4626 (800x794)

For a sample, I went with the Beatles “Eleanor Rigby”, the aforementioned reason I bought the album.040_Al_Hirt

Meh.  Hirt has better albums out there and plus he is dead now.  If you may have noticed, I tend to give better reviews to people who are alive.

Connie Smith- Sings Great Sacred Songs

DSCN4623 (800x791)This was 80 cents.  This is the third Connie Smith album I have posted so I am hip to buying any of her early albums.  Use the blog’s search function to check out earlier posts on Smith as I am too lazy to paste links.  As normal with the third blog post that I do for people, I can of exhausted my information on Smith in the previous posts.  connie-smith-400px

This was Smith’s fourth album and her first gospel recording, a trend that would continue into the 70’s. Released in 1966, the album features 12 gospel songs backed by country session musicians.    The result is an excellent album of songs played in a simple old school country style.DSCN4624 (800x789)

For a sample, I really wanted to use “The Wayfaring Pilgrim” but this record has seen much use and the song skipped.  So instead I decided to post “He Set Me Free” which Hank Williams borrowed from with “I Saw The Light”. I was a bit disappointed in Hank about this even though Dylan and Shane McGowan among others have borrowed melodies from existing material.    I also decided to post one of my favorite gospel tunes, “Just A Closer Walk With Thee”.

To me, this is everything that a gospel record should sound like compared to the others I have bought.  This is a top rated album for sure.