Johnny Darrell, George Jones, & Willie Nelson- Country Get Together

Here is a compilation album featuring three country stars on Sunset Records. I paid $5, mostly for the early Willie.

From 1970, here is this record featuring songs from George Jones, Johnny Darrell, and a pre-Outlaw Willie Nelson. Pretty standard stuff. As an added bonus, all of Nelson’s songs were self-written. Can’t remember much else about this album other than it was a fast listen.

For a sample, I went with Nelson’s “Mr Record Man”. Satisfactory.

Mr Record Man

Mary Martin- Hi -Ho (Mary Sings and Mary Swings Walt Disney Favorites

Here is one I spent $6. Seems to be a good choice of subject.

This is a 1958 Disneyland Record of Broadway star Mary Martin, tackling songs from the W.D. catalog. What is notably missing on the front cover is any sense of Disney’s marketing. Other than that, this is a real solid album.

A lot of the musical direction on this record can be attributed to Salvador “Tutti” Camarata (born in Glen Ridge, NJ; 1913-2005) who was brought into head Artists and Repertoire. In this position, he expanded the musical forms, most notably jazz, on the Disney Records. He also brought in top talent such as Martin, Louis Armstrong, and Louie Prima, It is Camaratta’s orchestra that backs this effort.

Pretty solid little record. I liked a lot of it and it was hard to pick a sample. However, after some whittling down of options, I went with “I’m Late” from Alice in Wonderland.

Pretty fine little record. Satisfactory.

i’m Late

Alfred Apaka and his Hawaiian Village Serenaders- South Sea Island Magic

Here is one I got for $1 ( probably 80 cents). Not sure why other than it was cheap and I have had it for a long time.

The singer of this 1957 Decca release is Alfred Apaka Jr. (born on my birthday March 19, 1919 in Honolulu). Apaka was a singer of note with much success both on and off the island. He was a mainstay at the Tapa Showroom of the Kaiser Hawaiian Village Hotel. A sudden heart attack in 1960 while playing paddle ball cut his life short at 40.

As far as the album goes, it does showcase Apaka’s smooth baritone voice over a tropical setting akin to most Hawaiian records tend to do. Can’t seem to recall much else about this record.

For a sample, I went with “My Hawaiian Souvenirs”.

Satisfactory

My Hawaiian Souvenirs

Blue Cheer- Vincebus Eruptum

Trying just to finish this week after taking a long hiatus from writing these things. For a visionary band like Blue Cheer, who were the fathers of the heavy music of the 1970’s, they probably deserve a whole lot more than what I am giving here, but regardless, here is their first album which was a steal at $2.40.

Blue Cheer, from San Francisco, was a psychedelic band whose loud, driven sound paved the way for hard music. This was their first effort, released by Phillips in 1968. It was their highest charting record at #11 and produced their biggest single (which was also their first), “Summertime Blues” which peaked at # 14. They defined a hard blues sound from a classic power trio persepctive.

This album consists of half covers and half original and mostly sounds really driven. Lots of noise and feedback. I have to divorce myself from the many imitators when I listen to this and remember who ground breaking this was. All together this is a really great album.

For a sample I went with Mose Allison’s tribute to Mississippi State Penitentiary, “Parchment Farm”.

Really great record. Top Rated

Parchment Farm

Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express- Live Oblivion Vol 1

Trying to get in the swing of things back to writing these posts but technical difficulties mar what would thus be a triumphant return. So let;s push thru this thing, which I bought for $4 with discount. I had seen this album quote a bit and I think this was the cheapest I saw it at. Nothing upsets me more than shopping during Memorial/ Labor Day sales only to find something I just bought at an earlier store, cheaper. I think I came ahead on this one, though.

I mostly associate Brian Auger ( Hammersmith, London 1939) with his work with Julie Dricoll, and most notably for me, their strange appearance on the Monkee’s. Auger started life in The Steampacket with Rod Stewart, leading to the Trinity with Driscoll, and then the more jazz fusion route with this. I am sure he is doing something these days which I should really do a better job of promoting than just flashing his web page, which is here.

This album, from RCA in 1971 , was recorded Live in Hollywood at the Whiskey. Together with Alex Ligerwood on vocals, Barry Dean on bass, Jack Mills on guitar, and Stephen Ferrone on drums, the band tears through a rock-jazz set of four songs. All rather long at 8 mins plus. But pretty good album all together. I should have stated it above but Auger is one the keyboard, for which his skill is greatly acknowledged particularly in the field of Hammond.

Since all four songs were good but long, I was kind of stuck on a sample. There are three songs more rocking on this record, but I felt drawn to the Wes Montgomery penned “Bumpin’ On Sunset”. Fine version of the song and a chance for me to shout out to Wes, who is quickly becoming one of the forgotten greats of 20th century guitar.

Satisfactory.

Bumpin On Sunset

Les Troubadours du Roi Baudouin- Missa Luba

Here is a record I got for $8. Seemed super interesting. It also had the Phillips Connoisseur Collection stamp.

The Missa Luba is a Latin Mass written around the folk styles of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The work came about from one Belgian Missionary, Father Guido Haazen (1921-2004). A Franciscan Friar, he set up Les Troubadours du Roi Baudouin, an all male choir of boys and men as well as percussion. Together with the Baluba people of Kasai and Katanga, Haazen set up to develop the Missa Luba, based on the collective improvisations of conga folk music. First performed in 1958, it has become one of the most popular staples of world music.

This record, from Phillips in 1965 ( a repackaging of the general release the year prior), features the choir going thru traditional Congo folk tunes one one side with the Missa Luba on Side 2. Pretty good stuff. I recall really liking this album. I recorded a bunch of songs for samples. Also, liner notes from Studs Terkel. Please read them. Uploading the photos was really painstaking.

For a sample, I start with “Benedictus” from the Missa Luba. This was my favorite song but as it was super short, I felt if I left it at this, you may feel ripped off. So here is “Gloria”. Also to feature something from the first side, here is a marital celebration, “Seya Wa Mama Ndalamba”. Really could have gone any direction with this record.

Really fine record. Satisfactory.

Benedictus
Gloria
Seya Wa Mama Ndalmba

The Mitchell Trio- Typical American Boys

Not sure why summer lends itself to folk records. Probably State Fairs, picnics, and 4th of July. Anyway, we have this record which I bought for $1, possibly 80 cents and possibly for the song I am going to play today. And yes, I suppose someone tried to take a bite out of the back cover

From Mercury Records in 1965, we have this from the boys (Chad Mitchell, Mike Kobluk, and Joe Frazier), This was put out towards the end of their career. It is pretty straight forward folk and largely missing the humor which seemed to be trademark on earlier efforts. I somewhat recall this being less politically pointed as others. Nothing to me like hearing the trio stick it to figures whom I know nothing about.

That being said, I mean it was a talented album. I liked it enough . For a sample, I am going with the song I bought the record for. Here is Smokin’ Joe with “Last Thing On My Mind”.

Although I am disappointed this departs from previous efforts, you can’t neat a dollar. Satisfactory.

The Last Thing On My Mind

The George Mann Orchestra Featuring the Golden Trumpet- Georgy Girl

Hey-o. Here is a record I got for $4, possibly ($3.20). I got ti for the title track which is from one of my favorite movies, which you would know if you read this blog. I pimp it every chance I get and I am not goint to waste this perfectly good segue.

Not sure if George Mann is actually a man or a moniker, but here we have this from Custom Records in 1973. I was on the fence about including the “Featuring the Golden Trumpet” in the tagline but after listening to the samples, I felt it necessary. Strong trumpet presence on these tracks.

Tracklist was decent and I recorded four samples, all of which were pretty swinging. I think at the time I listened to it, I felt it surpassed the low expectations I had for it. Here is the funky “Don’t Feel Sorry For Me” as well as “Georgy Girl” which would of been anticlamtic not to include.

Satisfactory.

DOn’t Feel Sorry for Me
Georgy Girl

Porgy and Bess Suite/ Todd Duncan Sings Spirituals

Welcome to another month of The Show and the official start of Summertime. Which is why I bought this album. For a brief period, before I bought this, I tinkered with the idea of having June nothing but posts of different versions of the song “Summertime”. However, it quickly dawned on me that if I was going to do this, I should have done it earlier as I have already posted that song quite a bit. At the end of the day, I was going to be left with a full month of nothing but Porgy and Bess albums and the thought of that made me shutter. Not sure I could stomach 24 of those albums in a row. Kind of struggled getting through this on, despite paying what seems like a ransom at $4.

This, by chance if the first post I wrote in 2020. For the period of establishing a sense of time, it is the first day in February when I finally returned to the the typewriter after three months off. I had a six month buffer going into my vacation to Amsterdam in November. I had frantically recorded songs for June and July so I could listen to them in Vondelpark. However, oddly enough, I did not listen to any songs while abroad. And then when I returned, it was hard for me to get back into the swing for reasons, I am unsure. Slow internet today does not help much.

Regardless, here we are getting back into the swing of things with this flip disc from Halo Records in 1957. One the first side, we have a suite of songs from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. On the second, we have Todd Duncan tackling popular spiritual songs. Ducan (Danville, KT, 1903-1998), was a star of the stage and, on Gershwin’s choice, originated Porgy in theater. He also originated Stephen Kumalo in Weill’s Lost in the Stars.

So one terrible effect of such a long hiatus in writing ( which must seem irrelevant to you reading this) is that since I last listened to these records in October/ November, I am terrible far removed from these records for the next two months. And sadly, this is reflective in this post. I think I thought the P&B Suite had some interesting moments. Was unsure if the second side was racist or not, but now that I know more about Duncan, I am putting it in the not category. Here he is with “Joshua Fit de Battle ob Jericho”. Also , how could you not know I was going to post “Summertime”? It was the whole subject of the first paragraph.

Kind of on the fence. I mean it is an alright album but it is $4 good? Why not? Satisfactory.

Summertime
Joshua Fit de Battle ob Jericho

The Standells- The Hot Ones!

You know, I never thought I would finish this month but here we are with this one from the Standells that I bought for $3. It was owned by someone named Trumble who wrote on the back cover as well as the record on both sides.

Here we have the group from Tower Records in 1967. This record features the band tearing thru popular rock songs from other artists such as “Last Train to Clarksville”, “Wild Thing”, Sunshine Superman” and “Eleanor Rigby”. It also features the bands big hit “Dirty Water”. Does it bother me that the group was not from Boston? Yes, on some levels.

Anyway for a sample, I thought about the time of year and to kick things off, here we have the Standell’s cover of the Lovin Spoonful’s “Summer In The City”. Yep it is that time of year again.

Once I type satisfactory, this month is over. See you on the next one.

Summer In The City