Milton Berle- Songs My Mother Loved

This was $1.  I got it to see what Milton Berle’s contribution to music would be.  Hey, where are my manners?  Another month of 2017 and another month of Donkey Show.  Most of the year, I have been running ahead of writing these posts.  Well, I have now fell behind.  Oh, well.  I have all month to get caught up.

Milton Berle (1908-2002), known as “Mr Television”, was America’s first major TV star. Getting his start on vaudeville and radio, Berle jumped on the rising medium of television in 1948 with the Texaco Star Theater, renamed later to the Buick-Berle Show, and later, just the Milton Berle show.  

This record, from Roulette Records, came out in 1957 at the end of his show’s run.  As the title would suggest, the album is a collection of songs for his mother, Sandra Berle, who passed three years earlier.

The Hugo and Luigi, who received producer credits at the bottom were Luigi Creatore and Hugo Peretti, songwriters who were also co-owners of the label.  The duo would work with Perry Como, Sam Cooke, and Elvis Presley.

Since this record is dedicated to Berle’s mother and given the fact that my mother is probably going to read this, I am going to skip over the fact that Berle was known as one of the largest endowed performers in show bidness.

And although, he worked clean for the large majority of his acts/shows, his performances at the Friar Club were often blue and made light of his gift.  Anyway, below, is a rather comical story from SNL writer Alan Zweibel, who oddly enough, used to write the jokes for the Friar’s Club roasts.

Zweibel’s recollection of Berle

Anyway, back to general decency, this record is a collection of older tunes from the first half of the century.  I am unsure who the orchestra and chorus are but they do most of the heavy lifting.  Berle does an occasional speak over on some of the songs. It is ok, overall.  I thought I was getting more Berle content when I bought this.

For a sample, I decided to play tribute to the boys of summer and Bull Durham with “Try A Little Tenderness” because women do get woolly.

Overall, meh.  Really don’t get to much out of this.  The arrangements are pretty bland and Berle’s voice overs don’t salvage this act. I guess I should factor in what I paid for this but still, meh.

Dionne Warwick- The Windows of The World

DSCN1779This was a dollar. Who is going to pass this up?

Photo of Dionne WARWICKBorn in East Orange, NJ in 1940, Warwick has sold over a 100 million records worldwide and is second to Aretha Franklin in terms as the most charted female artist.  Her family on her mother’s side were gospel singers, the Drinkard Singers.  Naturally, Warwick started out in this and other gospel acts.  She was doing background vocal work when she met Burt Bacharach.  She was signed to Bacharach and Hal David’s production company and thus, a successful team was built. The majority of Bacharach and David’s hits were written for and performed by Warwick.

Expanded and Probably more accurate Bio

This was Warwick’s eighth studio album.  Released in 1967, it would chart #22 in the US and #11 on the R&B. It contained one of Bacharach’s most covered songs, “Always Something There to Remind Me”. Although the album is full of good Bacharach/David tunes, Warwick expands by singing songs of other composers including Steven Sondheim/ Leonard Bernstein, Dory and Andre Previn, and Bert Kaempfert among others.

DSCN1780For a sample, I went with Bacharach’s “I Say a Little Prayer” as well as a Kaempfert tune, “Love”.dionne

Satisfactory record.

Telly Savalas- Telly

DSCN1082Hey, who loves you Baby? This was $4. How could I not?

Right off the bat, in the liner notes, Telly lets you know that “singing is not my bag”. However, “this is how Telly feels about this or that song” (both actual quotes). Released in 1974, hot on the success of Kojak, this was his first album. He would release several more with modest success. His version of Bread’s “If”, on this record, was actually a #1 hit in the UK.

I would hesitate to say that this is a really great album, but it is extremely listenable. Telly’s songs are a cross combination of spoken word and singing. It his delivery is what you would expect from the TV tough guy. . “You’ve lost that Loving Feeling”, You and Me Against the World”, and “Help me Make it Through the Night” suggest I am a lover , not a fighter, without letting you forget that I am still a tough guy. The song selection on this record is awesome. If you still wear medallions, you should be all over this. And he does not have that bad a voice. At the very least, the man knows what territory his range belongs in.DSCN1081

There were several songs to choose from. I wanted something that was more singing than spoken. The Beatles’ classic “Something” showcases this.

I hate to give this a top rating but it really sounds pretty good all things considered. And it delivered on what it promised, which is big in my book. It sounds like I wanted it to sound when I bought it. Are my ratings trite and arbitrary? Sure, but all ratings are trite and arbitrary. At the end of the day, Telly “can only make mistakes by pretending to be a great singer”(Also in the liner notes). By working within his limits, as a result, he nails this album.